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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

nested domed arches

Greenery Swag with All the Joy!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I have been dealing with a stomach bug (thanks kiddos for sharing those germs… not what I meant when I said I wanted you to share!!), but I wanted to pop in quickly with this project featuring some dramatic die cutting using goodies from the new Simon Says Stamp All the Joy release. This card doesn’t have a smidge of stamping on it, just lots of die cuts and textures from different cardstocks. Let’s get started with the details!

To start, I die cut the different elements using the new Greenery Swag die from some different shades of green and sparkling red glitter cardstock. I love adding botanical elements to holiday cards, and the Greenery Swag die set features some classic holiday botanical imagery in a lovely swag. I always like to customize my die cut cards by snipping them apart to create unique arrangements, and there are lots of elements in the Greenery Swag die set that can easily stand alone depending on where you snip them off!

To add some interesting texture behind my botanical arrangement, I ran a panel of Rainbow Splash Black cardstock through my die cut machine with the new Twining Berries embossing folder. I also die cut the center of another A2 panel of black cardstock using the Nested Domed Arches die, reserving the actual die cut for another project and adhering the frame from the negative space to my embossed panel using black foam adhesive. I arranged the botanical die cuts to the bottom of the frame, adding some more individual leaves off of another die cut to allow them to peek from behind the arched frame.

After I had added all of the leafy bits to my card, I die cut the detail layer of the new All the Joy die cut from black glitter paper, then die cut the background outline piece from heavyweight vellum. I added the die cut greeting to the card with more black foam tape, then added a sentiment strip trimmed down from the Reverse Christmas sentiment card set. Finally, I accented the centers of the flowers and a few other spots with some Onyx gems for a bit of extra sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today. Do you like to customize your die cuts by trimming them and arranging them on your project in a unique group? It’s one of my favorite ways to customize my cards! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Fancy Ornaments in Rose Gold!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! How do you feel about rose gold? I personally don’t really love rose gold jewelry for myself, but I absolutely adore it for crafting… especially holiday crafting. Traditional holiday color schemes are always acceptable and festive, but sometimes I like to switch it up and use something totally unique and super elegant, like this monochromatic blush and rose gold project today using goodies from the new Simon Says Stamp All the Joy release. Let’s get started on the details!

To start, I die cut a panel of pale blush cardstock using a large die from the Nested Domed Arches die set. I then ran that arched die cut through my die cutting machine using the Fancy Ornaments embossing folder. The detail on this embossing folder is absolutely scrumptious, and you can do so many marvelous techniques with it to enhance the details. I chose to keep things a little simple, though, and let the details just add some subtle texture to the backdrop by adding some Cheeky Pawsitively Saturated blending around the edges of the arched die cut. I also splattered some rose gold handmade metallic watercolors on the background to add extra shimmer!

If you haven’t tried using embossing folders with metallic cardstock, this is your signal to try it out ASAP. The details from these 3D embossing folders become even more spectacular when using metallic mirror cardstock like the Rose Gold metallic cardstock from Simon Says Stamp. I die cut each of the different ornament shapes from the Fancy Ornaments set using the Rose Gold mirror cardstock and ran them through the embossing folder to add the textured details.

For the greeting, I die cut the detail layer of the Monoline Merry Christmas die set from some coordinating blush foil cardstock in the Memory Box Vintage Pastel paper pad, then adhered it to the background layer cut from vellum. I arranged the embossed mirror ornament die cuts and die cut sentiment on the embossed arch and adhered them with some foam adhesive. I also added sparkling rose gold twine to each ornament to allow them to “hang” on the card front. I popped up the die cut arch on a panel of peachy rose gold glitter cardstock that I found in my stash. I love how the different metallic textures add interest to the monochromatic card! I added a few sparkling gems for one last touch of shimmer.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Embossing on metallic foil cardstock is such a unique way to add some incredible texture and luxury to your holiday cards without adding a bunch of extra time to your project. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

One Peony Panel, Two Cards!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I love a good patterned background stamp; don’t you? I especially love a background stamp like the Pretty Peonies Background Stamp, which gives you enough detail as to be able to use it on its own (like I did HERE) or to put your coloring skills to use like I did for today’s card. After taking the time to paint the image, I wanted to maximize the amount of projects that I could create with it and ended up with a pair of cards! Let’s get started with the details.

I began by stamping the Pretty Peonies Background Stamp onto some Fabriano Artistico Cold Press watercolor paper using black pigment ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The black pigment ink picks up the smaller details beautifully, while the clear embossing powder makes the watercoloring super easy, creating little wells for each individual image so that the colors don’t spill into each other! I taped my embossed image down to my watercolor board, then used Karin Brushmarker Pro markers to watercolor the images. I like to scribble my watercolor markers onto a glass mat or ceramic palette, then pick up the color with a damp paintbrush. I find that this method (rather than putting the marker directly to the paper) helps me control the vibrancy of the color that is added to the images, allowing me to maximize the contrast and create shadows and depth on the images.

After I had finished painting the image, I trimmed it down to A2 size, then die cut the very center of the image using the Nested Domed Arches dies, creating a window within my floral panel. I backed this window with some clear acetate and added a frame of Black Foam Adhesive around the open window. I filled the shaker with an abundance of shimmering black and charcoal gems and sequins from my stash and backed the entire panel with a piece of plain black cardstock, highlighting the crisp black embossed lines.

Once I had filled my shaker window, I white embossed a greeting from Elegantly Modern Greetings onto some more black cardstock and die cut it with the coordinating die. (Side note-I love how detailed these dies are! So intricate and beautiful!) I popped it up over the window of the card front using more Black Foam Adhesive, then added a couple of sparkling black leaf sprigs, cut using Black Glitter Paper and the Windswept Leaves dies. So many fun details going on with this card, and those dramatic pops of black against the vivid pink peonies are just so beautiful!

My second project features the “leftover” watercolored peony die cut. I die cut another Nested Domed Arches die from some more Black Glitter Paper, creating a sparkling black frame around my pink peony die cut. I also die cut the Laurel Leaves Background Plate from some more black cardstock and adhered it to an A2 panel of black cardstock. This black-on-black adds just a hint of patterned texture to the background to keep things interesting behind the peonies! Because we have two different patterns going on this card front, that solid black glitter frame around the peonies acts as a bit of a visual buffer between the two patterns!

After popping up my arches die cuts on the textured black background using foam adhesive, I heat embossed another greeting from the Elegantly Modern Greetings set and popped both pieces up on the peony panel using foam adhesive. I added a few shimmering pink gems to finish things off.

This minimal color palette card features so many different textural elements and lots of height to keep things interesting!! I love when I can get two different cards from one watercoloring session. It makes it so easy to build up a stash of cards this way. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Man Card Monday with Simon Says Stamp!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi there! How about another project (or two) for Man Card Monday? I love flowers, and I don’t deny that my blog is lots of flowers lots of the time, but at least once a month, I post a card with decidedly masculine overtones. This helps jumpstart my creativity a little by making me think outside of my normal floral, super feminine box as well as hopefully provide you with a little inspiration for that elusive man card! Last month, I shared some super graphic inspiration, featuring bold cool colors, lots of texture, and a few metallic elements. This month, I have changed things up with these subtle cards that feature a serene color palette and lots of greenery. I think greenery on it’s own is a perfect “neutral” that can be used for both men and women alike. Let’s get started with the details!

I kept my color palette very muted this month, with some warm gray/platinum and lovely greens created with Pine, Sage, and Aspen Pawsitively Saturated Inks from Simon Says Stamp. I have had the unfortunate need for sympathy and “thinking of you” cards for men recently, and so I wanted to offer encouraging sentiments without going over the top. The Well Wishes stamps and dies by CZ Design from Simon Says Stamp provide poignant sentiments with bold, graphic fonts that work perfectly for these gender neutral projects.

For my first card, I used the Pine, Sage, and Aspen inks to stamp the Leaf Edges in an ombré on my white A2 card front. Using my MISTI stamping tool, I stamped the top with the lightest ink, dabbing the edge of the ink line with my microfiber cloth to let it fade away a bit, which helps the ink colors blend into each other more seamlessly without adding harsh lines. I stamped the middle of the stamp with the middle color, again dabbing the edges with the cloth, then the darkest color at the bottom.

Once I had added all three ink colors to the stamp, I stamped the entire image again with embossing ink and covered it with clear embossing powder, giving me the ability to blend over the top without compromising the crispness of the stamped image. I also blended lightly in the corner using Aspen ink and a blending tool. Such a lovely, serene background!

Next, I die cut two Sword Fern die cuts from white cardstock, leaving them in place in the negative die cut space. I flipped them over and added a few pieces of Simon’s Very Very Low Tack Tape to the back to hold these delicate die cuts in place while I blended Pine ink in the center and Aspen ink on the edges. Despite a plethora of options for colored cardstock amongst my stash, I did not have an exact match for these unique shades of green, so creating my own custom colored cardstock was super easy with some ink pads and blending tools! I die cut a Nested Domed Arches die cut from some heavyweight vellum to soften the area behind the die cuts and sentiment. I popped up the blended ferns and embossed greeting from Well Wishes on top of the vellum arch. I used some neutral twine to add a a fun textural element to the card, as well.

For my second card of the set, I began by blending the detailed stencil from the Dimensional Cubes Stencils using Cozy ink. I did spray the super delicate stencil with some Pixie spray first to make sure that the stenciled lines stayed nice and crisp. I trimmed the stenciled background panel down slightly and matted with some Midnight Green cardstock from Simon Says Stamp to create a thin, super dark green frame around the edge. I also die cut some Windswept Leaves foliage dies, again from white cardstock, then blended Pine ink in the center and Aspen ink on the edges, keeping these delicate die cuts in place with Very Very Low Tack Tape on the back of the negative die cut piece.

Next, I die cut the Circle Thin Frames dies from some white cardstock. I like to leave these frame dies together, though they can be snipped apart, so that I can run them all through my machine at once and have tons of leftover frames to use for future projects! I backed one of the white frames with a vellum die cut circle, again to soften the busy background pattern, and adhered it to the patterned background with liquid adhesive dots on the solid portion of the frame. I arranged the leaf die cuts around the embossed sentiment die cuts from Well Wishes and adhered them to the card front. To avoid adding feminine “sparkle” to the card front, I added a few white enamel dots for a bit of extra textural interest.

Well, that’s all for my Man Card Monday project today! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Simon Says Stamp Just For You Release+New Illustration!

Hi there! I am really excited for this month’s Simon Says Stamp Just For You release, not just because it’s full of fun springy products, but also because I have a new illustration included in the release: Herb Labels! I designed this set to create super cute labels for your herb garden, including Mint, Basil, Rosemary, Dill, and Tomatoes (which aren’t technically an herb, I know). Because I’m a cardmaker and have a black thumb, I also included several super cute, punny sentiments to give you multiple uses for this set! I have a couple of cards using some new and old goodies from Simon Says Stamp, so let’s get started with the details!

The world outside is slowly turning green, the light lasting longer, birds are singing… spring is definitely on the way. My cards today channel that crisp brightness with pops of verdant green. I used Field Paws-itively Saturated Ink as the primary color for both of my cards. This bright green embodies the brightness of the greens in springtime, and it was a perfect fit for both of my cards!

My first card starts by stamping the new Leaf Edges stamp with Field ink onto a panel of white cardstock, then cutting it out with one of the Nested Domed Arches. I blended some more Field ink along the bottom left edge, as well, which covered up a spot that I didn’t get stamped perfectly. (wink wink) As I was looking through my bin of dies from Simon Says Stamp, I discovered that the Privet Branch die was a very close match to the leaves on one side of the the new Leaf Edges stamp. I cut the foliage die from some Meadow cardstock from Hero Arts. You could also use the Field ink to blend your own custom cardstock to make sure it was a perfect match!

To create a background for my leaves, I used Field ink to blend all of the layers of the Radiating Squares layered stencil set. I thought this geometric pattern looked lovely juxtaposed with the graceful movement of the Leaf Edges and Privet Branch images. To prevent my leaf images from being overpowered by the busy background pattern, I trimmed down a panel of vellum slightly smaller than A2 size and layered it directly over the top of the stenciled panel. This helped to soften the pattern without completely covering it. I adhered the stamped, blended arch die cut with some liquid adhesive, then added the branch die cut with some foam tape. I flipped it over and hid my liquid adhesive on the vellum behind the solid die cuts.

I die cut a Handlettered Greetings “with sympathy” die cut from some more Meadow cardstock, snipping the individual words apart with my sharp scissors. I die cut the rectangular Thin Frames die, once for the larger rectangle, and twice for the thin frame and interior rectangle portion, which I adhered together to add a bit of height. I adhered the sentiment word die cuts on the rectangle using liquid adhesive, then popped it up with some foam tape. The final touch was to add a few Opal gems for some subtle sparkle and added texture.

My second card uses the same fresh, crisp green-and-white color scheme, this time with my new Herb Labels. I began by die cutting the large frame from Herb Labels from the center of an A2 panel of white cardstock. I layered a solid A2 piece of white cardstock behind the negative of the frame, then placed them both in my MISTI and used the opening as my guide to place the large label stamp in the center of my full piece of cardstock. I stamped it with the Field ink to create a vibrant, crisp frame behind my die cut frame.

I also stamped the dill bunch from the Herb Labels set, again using Field ink to coordinate with my frame. I used a very fine tipped black pen to outline the string wrapped around the base of my dill bunch. I also used the Field ink to stamp the smaller label, adding one of the punny greetings from the Herb Labels set and die cutting both the dill bunch and the frame using the coordinating dies.

To add a little extra texture to the large frame die cut, I ran the entire panel through my die cut machine using the Pinpoint Starlets embossing folder. I love the sweet texture this provides to this crisp white cardstock! I popped up the embossed panel on the stamped background using some foam squares, then added a double layer of foam squares to the back of the dill bunch. I also popped up the sentiment label using foam squares. The extra height and texture would help to add some interest to the simplistic color scheme of the card!

Well, that’s all for my project today! I have some more goodies to share with you using the Just For You release, as well as some more cards using my new Herb Labels set. Be sure to check back tomorrow! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!