Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

no line watercolor

Simon Says Stamp Always There Collection- Now Available!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon! *I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links at no extra cost to you. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

Hi friends! Simon Says Stamp has released their latest collection, called Always There, and good heavens is it filled with gorgeous goodies! (Click HERE to see the entire collection!) I say that slightly bashfully, as I have not one, but two, new sets that I’ve illustrated for them, called Blooms of Encouragement and Keep Palm! These 6×8 sets feature some of my most favorite illustrations that are perfect for these late spring and early summer days, and I’ve done my best to fill in the blank spaces with useful, meaningful, and maybe even a few punny sentiments. I have several projects to share with you using these new goodies along with lots of other projects with new products from the release, so let’s get started with my first project!

For this first project, I wanted to put my watercolors to use with the pretty tulip image from Blooms of Encouragement. I began by stamping the large floral image using Inkon3 Fadeout Ink on some nice watercolor paper, then used Karin Brushmarker Pro Watercolor Markers to add color to the floral image. When working with these Brushmarkers, I prefer to scribble the color on a palette or glass mat, then pick the color up with my damp paintbrush. This allows me to better control the intensity of the color on my finished watercolored piece, rather than putting the marker directly to the paper. Sometimes the color sinks down into the watercolor paper and is finicky to move around, so picking the color up and putting on my paper with the paintbrush gives me the most control over the movement and saturation!

Once I had finished watercoloring all of the images, I die cut the large scale floral with it’s coordinating die, which is super detailed and makes life so much easier! After I had die cut the image, I used some gorgeous shimmery glitter watercolors to add some extra shimmer to the oval frame in the center. Using my MISTI, I also stamped a greeting from Blooms of Encouragement onto some creamy cardstock using Iris Pawsitively Saturated Ink, then stamped it again using embossing ink and added Iridescent Purple Embossing Powder over the top, creating a lovely iridescent purple sentiment. I die cut the greeting using the coordinating die and popped it up in the center of the watercolored oval with foam adhesive. When designing the set, I made sure that each of the sentiments was sized appropriately to fit within the open space of the oval.

To create the card itself, I thought I’d try something a little different with a vellum card base. Working with translucent card bases can be a little tricky, because the adhesive on the back of the elements on the card front can’t be easily hidden. After I had created my top-fold vellum A2 card base, I adhered the tulip die cut to the center of the card front with some thin foam adhesive, then opened the card base and added strong double sided adhesive tape behind the solid die cut and placed a coordinating wisteria panel in the center, successfully covering the adhesive on the back of the die cut from the card front! I also added a few Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for a little extra sparkle.

For the sentiment, I stamped one of the encouraging greetings from Blooms of Encouragement, again using Iris ink, then trimmed the strip with a guillotine trimmer. I mounted the sentiment strip on a panel of Ivory cardstock (using a T-square to make sure it was perfectly straight-I had a mishap when I tried to stamp directly on the panel itself and this solution covered up my mistake!) then used Red Line Tape to adhere the panel to the interior of the vellum card base. I learned at CREATE that this tape is invisible on vellum, and I am pleased to report that while not 100% invisible, it does do a great job hiding on vellum!

I am so excited about my new Blooms of Encouragement set… I went a little nuts creating with it, so I have lots more inspiration to share with you. I think this vellum card was so fun and definitely something a little different than my normal project, and I am really in love with how it turned out.

Don’t forget about the blog hop, starting tomorrow bright and early!! The Always There release (Click HERE to see the entire collection!) is absolutely smashing, and the blog hop promises to be filled with exquisite inspiration as always. I hope you’ll join us. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Floral Holiday Inspiration with New Simon Says Stamp!


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

Hi friends! I am back today with some holiday inspiration using one of my new stamp sets from the Heart to Heart Release  from Simon Says Stamp (click HERE to check out the entire release!) called Loving You Bouquet. When I was originally illustrating this floral bouquet, I had envisioned it as a holiday bouquet, but Simon Says Stamp decided to accompany it with more versatile sentiments so that it could be used not just for Christmas, but for Valentine’s Day and beyond! The talented designers working with Simon Says Stamp have showcased it in a variety of beautiful colors, but I wanted to share my projects today using more traditional holiday colors, first with an embroidered ornament, then with a beautiful coordinating A7 watercolored card. It’s easy to customize floral bouquets to suit whatever your occasion might be with the appropriate colors and sentiment. Let’s get started with the details on my projects!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links at no extra cost to you. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

An acquaintance of mine got married several years ago and shared photos of her wedding bouquet on social media, featuring utterly lush and luxurious red anemone flowers. I was instantly smitten with them and have seen them used in holiday floral arrangements all over Pinterest and the florist accounts that I follow on social media! That stunning red anemone was the inspiration for my projects today, featuring a beautifully creamy white gardenia paired with that lush scarlet anemone. I wanted to do some crewel work with needle and thread to create a holiday keepsake as well as a matching holiday card.

I stamped the bouquet from Loving You Bouquet onto some creamy white linen (an old cloth napkin that I found at the thrift store worked perfectly for this project!) using a light gray ink. I then placed the stamped cloth within a 5″ embroidery hoop and began my crewel work. I used what I call a “stained glass” technique, keeping each individual petal unique with one shade of thread on each petal, rather than trying to do too much elaborate shading with multiple shades of thread on each petal. Once I had finished embroidering the image, I added some metallic bronze seed beads from my stash to the flower centers and the tops of the berries. I love the additional texture and shimmer these beads add to the overall effect! I cleaned up the back of the ornament and added some ribbon to hang it from a tree, finally using my hot glue gun to add a coordinating red satin bow at the top. I think this will look so pretty on our Christmas tree next year!

For the coordinating card, I gave myself the freedom to do some detailed no-line watercoloring. When illustrating a new image, I try to add enough details and intricacies to the floral bouquets that they look lovely stamped on their own or with simple coloring, but I also love to just sit down and let my cares fall away as I become absorbed in super detailed watercoloring. I stamped the image from Loving You Bouquet onto some cold press watercolor paper using Inkon3’s Fadeout Ink, then used Karin Brushmarker Pro markers to color the images. With watercolor markers, I like to scribble the color out onto my glass craft mat or porcelain palette, then pick up the color with my damp paintbrush and apply it to the image. This technique allows me maximum control over the intensity of the color on my watercolor paper, as well as keeping the edges and contrast super clean and crisp.

Once I had finished coloring the images, I splattered the edges of the panel with some Simon Says Stamp Gold Splatter Medium. I also used my Simon Says Stamp T-Square to create a gold frame around the edges, bringing the eye towards the center of the card front. I trimmed the edges down slightly, then created a gold embossed sentiment slide using the Label Slides Christmas and coordinating Label Slides dies, through which I threaded some gold cord and adhered to the center of my card, securing the gold cord around the back of the panel. Once everything was complete, I mounted the finished panel on a piece of A7 Rainbow Splash Scarlet cardstock, giving a thin red accent frame around the exterior of the watercolored panel. Finally, I added a gold cord bow beneath the sentiment slide, then added some Gold Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for additional sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I am always tickled when I can use the same stamp set for multiple occasions. It’s so important to be able to get as much bang for your crafting buck, and my new Loving You Bouquet definitely fits that bill! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Peaceful Sunset Sail with New Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! We are deep in the throes of summer around here, with temperatures to match. To try to avoid the sweltering air outside, I’ve been dreaming of an ocean vacation, complete with ocean breezes and cool cocktails. The gorgeous new Sunshine Sailboat Embossing Folder from the  Friend Like You release definitely evokes all of those vacay feelings, so while I had my Daniel Smith watercolors out, I decided to create a gorgeous beachy card. Let’s get started with the details on my project!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

I began by running an A2 panel of Arches Cold Press watercolor paper through my die cutting machine using the new Sunshine Sailboat Embossing Folder. Arches Cold Press is my favorite watercolor paper to use with these super detailed embossing folders; the texture on the cardstock combined with the heavy weight allows those gorgeous details to be visible while still allowing it to hold up with lots of water from the watercoloring!

I used Daniel Smith Watercolors to add lots of vibrant coor to the panel, creating jewel-bright seas, a vibrant sunset sky, and a glowing sun. I enhanced the sun and the clouds with some shimmery watercolors using Pink & Main Water Gems. It’s hard to see in the picture, but the subtle shimmer is absolutely spectacular! I think it positively radiates sunshine! After I had finished watercoloring, I allowed the panel to dry completely, then used White Gouache to add some reflections and waves to the water, as well as enhancing the white edges of the cloud and the sails on the sailboat. These little touches of white are so simple, but I think they really take the card to the next level and make it look more realistic!

Because I wanted to keep the watercolored panel as the star of the show, I used the new EZ Strips Reverse Get Away with the EZ Strips Rectangles die to easily die cut all of the sentiments in one fell swoop. (The best part about this die is that it works with tons of other EZ Strip panels and stamps! It’s definitely an investment purchase that you won’t regret!) I popped the small “you’re going places” sentiment strip up on the card front with some thin foam squares, then added a few Butter Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for a bit more sparkle and texture.

I am absolutely in love with this card! I want to be on this beach, watching the sun set behind a sailboat, enjoying the cool ocean breezes and a cocktail, don’t you? Don’t forget to check out both days of the Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You blog hop; you still have a few days to hop along! Click HERE to get linked up to the hop. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

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

Hi friends! I am hopping along today to celebrate the newest release from Simon Says Stamp, called Friend Like You. You should have arrived here from Debby Hughes, and your next stop is Lisa Addesa. You can also start at the beginning of the hop on the Simon Says Stamp Blog. I had my Daniel Smith watercolors out for my Dahlia Background watercolor project, and so I thought that I would put them to use to create a sweet framed project using the darling storybook-style illustrations from Undersea Friends. Let’s get started on the details!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

Today’s project was inspired by my embroidered project from THIS post; the illustrations in the Best Fishes stamp set are super similar to the illustrations in the new Undersea Friends stamp set (I think they were created by the same artist!), so I thought… how sweet would it be to create a little gift set in two different mediums, perhaps to hang on the wall of a nursery or child’s bathroom? For yesterday’s project, I used my needles and embroidery floss as my medium, but I pulled out my Daniel Smith watercolors in a variety of shades of blue and aqua. I trimmed down a panel of Arches Cold Press watercolor paper to slightly larger than 4×6 inches, then used Hero Arts Contour Ink to stamp the sweet undersea critters from Undersea Friends.

After I had stamped the images, I used my Daniel Smith watercolors to add lots of vibrant color to the critters, working in sections so as to avoid the colors bleeding into one another and to keep the edges of each individual piece nice and crisp. Moisture will always seek moisture on watercolor paper; in order to avoid the colors blooming into one another and the edges blurring, it is important to make sure that you damp watercolored areas are never adjacent. Allow a bit of drying time before adding color to the area directly next to it. I always do multiple layers of color in varying intensities to achieve lots of dimension and depth to the images, creating shadows and contrast by using more intense color and adding light color washes to the background with very diluted color. I used a black pigment pen to add some small details to the eyes on each critter.

After I had completed the main watercoloring, I decided to go back in with my handmade glitter watercolors and add some sparkling accents to the critters, as well as add some gorgeous iridescent shine to the bubbles! The painting looked fine without these sparkling accents, but I think they really take things to another level without a ton of additional work. Once the panel was completely dry, I trimmed it down, then used the new A7 Rectangles Dies to die cut some mat frames, nestling the mats inside one another, then adding my watercolored panel to create a crisp black aperture around my underwater scene! I placed the entire project inside an inexpensive frame that I purchased at the dollar store; it looks quite beachy to me!

Well, that’s all for my project today! Now for some fun giveaway information:

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop, selected from each blog’s comment section. Winners will be selected and posted on our Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 2nd of July. Winners can email the folks at Simon Says Stamp to claim his/her prize!

As an added bonus for those hopping along with us, Simon Says Stamp is offering the not-yet-released Simon Says Stamp/CZ Design exclusive You 2 3×4 stamp set as a free gift with purchase! This stamp set is automatically added to your cart that contains any purchase of Friend Like You products! Click HERE to see the full release! The gift with purchase promotion will expire 6/29 at 11:59 pm EDT or while supplies last.

Your next stop on the hop is Lisa Addesa. Don’t forget: tomorrow is Day 2 of this blog hop and will feature tons more inspiration! Be sure to start at the Simon Says Stamp Blog tomorrow so that you don’t miss out. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You Release Night!

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

Hi friends! It’s release night for Simon Says Stamp, and it’s always an extra fun release when I have a new stamp set included! The new Friend Like You release features all kinds of fun summer-themed products, including my new Dahlia Background stamp. We have a local flower farmer who has the most exquisite dahlia blooms, and I always look forward to seeing her colorful photos on Facebook from which to draw inspiration! I created this 6×6 background stamp with colorists in mind, though as I will show you in future projects, you can easily use this background stamp on it’s own because of the level of detail. For tonight, though, I thought I would share an intricate watercolored piece that I framed to display in it’s entirety. Let’s get started with the details on my project!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

To begin, I stamped the entirety of the Dahlia Background image on a panel of Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper using Hero Arts Contour Ink, which is my favorite ink for no-line watercolor and alcohol marker coloring. Because this particular watercolor cardstock has such deep texture, I found it necessary to stamp the pale gray Contour Ink multiple times to achieve a crisp, easily visible impression. The detailed nature of the illustration makes it handy to use a MISTI Stamping Platform with a pressure tool to achieve even pressure on the stamp so as to avoid any bare spots.

Before I began watercoloring, I taped my stamped panel down to my watercolor board. My particular board was built for me by my husband, but you can use a simple cutting board; I have an inexpensive bamboo cutting board that I found at TJ Maxx for only a few dollars that works perfectly! This stiff board allows me to add as much water to my watercolor paper as I need without worrying about the paper warping. I selected three different shades of pink from my Daniel Smith Watercolor palette, as well as a cool evergreen. I wanted to challenge myself to keep this painting simple, using only one color per bloom while still trying to achieve the detailed contrast and shape for which I strive on all of my paintings. I was able to achieve this level of detail by varying the amount of water that I used for dilution on each layer; I began with extremely diluted paint, basically adding a subtle wash of color to each petal and blurring the edges of even that pale wash by cleaning my brush and using the clean, damp paintbrush to fade the color away completely.

With each new layer, I added a bit more concentration of paint to my brush, intensifying the color and keeping it at it’s most intense towards the center of the blooms. To achieve the definition of each petal, I made sure to keep each petal separate while wet, working in sections that were not adjacent to avoid the wet paint blooming into the next petal. Water seeks water when working on watercolor paper, so keeping that distance between each damp petal is key to maintaining that definition and crispness on the edges. After my painting had dried completely, I removed my painter’s tape and trimmed the edges using my guillotine trimmer to make a nice, crisp cut line. I mounted the panel in an 8×8 inch frame, using a white mat around the edges to allow the bold and vibrant florals to pop from the background!

Well, that’s all for my project today! I have a wide variety of inspiration to share with you using these new goodies from the Friend Like You release, but I of course couldn’t wait to share my newest illustration here on my blog. It’s such a thrill to see my designs come to life in stamp form, not to mention seeing what other crafters create with them! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!