Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

peonies

Colorado Craft Company August 2021 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

I’m so excited to be helping my friends over at Colorado Craft Company introduce some of the new stamps and dies that debuted today! We’re celebrating with a blog hop, complete with giveaways and lots of inspiration! You should have arrived here from Daniel West, and your next stop is Erin Thompson. You can also get the full hop list at the Adrienne Kennedy-3C blog. These new stamps and dies are so gorgeous, lots of beautiful florals and whimsical-but-elegant designs, which are right up my alley! I have two projects to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

I have noticed a theme about my projects lately: lots of pink and purple. Today, I decided to focus more on the purple part of that dynamic duo with a pair of projects showing some purple love!

For my first project, I decided to do some no-line coloring on the beautiful image from Big Bold Hibiscus Hummingbird. I stamped it first using some no-line coloring ink on a sheet of Copic-friendly white cardstock, then used Copic markers (the exact shades are listed in the photo below) to add color to the images.

After I’d finished coloring the image, I used the coordinating dies to cut the image out, as well as one of the greetings included in the Big & Bold Hibiscus Hummingbird, which I stamped in a coordinating shade of plum ink.

On the card base, I stamped the outline stamp around the edges of the A2 card base, and used the same lilac ink and blending brush to blend a light halo to glow from behind the floral die cut.

I adhered the Copic colored floral image and sentiment using some foam adhesive for lots of dimension, then added a few iridescent pearls for some extra shine.

For my second card, I used the beautiful new Big & Bold Peonies Frame stamp to create a lovely tone-on-tone card. I began by stamping the image on a panel of lavender cardstock with embossing ink, then heated silver embossing powder. The beautiful detail on the stamp shines through so clearly with the silver embossing on the colorful cardstock!

On the card base, I used some washi tape to mask around the edges of a lavender A2 card base, then blended a lilac halo around the edges, leaving the middle section bare. I also stamped one of the greetings from the Big Bold Peonies Frame set in the center using the same lilac ink.

I die cut the center from the floral frame using the coordinating dies. I popped up the floral frame on the blended card base using foam adhesive, then added a few iridescent gems for some sparkle!

To celebrate this release, Colorado Craft Company is sponsoring a giveaway on each of the designer’s blogs! To be entered into the giveaway, simply leave a comment telling me what your favorite new stamp set is from this release. The winner will be randomly selected by Colorado Craft Company and announced on their blog on August 7, 2021.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Your next stop on the hop is Erin Thompson. Thanks so much for reading today, and happy hopping!

Hero Arts and Gina K. Collaboration!

Hi there! Today, we have an extra special collaboration between Hero Arts and yet another of my most favorite companies (and people!): Gina K.! These two rockstar companies epitomize kindness to me. Gina is just about one of the nicest people you could ever meet, and the kindness and community spirit that Hero Arts exudes makes me insanely proud to be part of their Creative Team. Today’s blog hop is celebrating this gorgeous new stamp set: Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS). (Such a perfect name for a collaborative stamp set like this, right?) We have a stellar blog hop list for you today, with lots of beautiful floral inspiration. You should have arrived here from Caly Person’s blog, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse’s blog. You can also head back to the Hero Arts blog if you get lost.

This stamp set is absolutely stunning. Like, I literally gasped when I saw images of it. Gina’s florals are always so gorgeous, and this trendy, beautiful spray of peonies is a perfect way to represent the two companies. And let’s not forget the eloquent and meaningful sentiments included in this large 6×8 stamp set! Here’s a peek at Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS):

Gorgeous, right? I had to create a quick project before I left on vacation, so I can’t wait to get back and delve into Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS) a little further!! That peony spray is just stunning! I think that keeping the project fairly simple shows off the beauty and detail of the large peony spray.

For my project today, I started by stamping the Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS) main image onto a panel of white Neenah card stock using Intense Black ink. Then, I colored the beautiful peony image using my Copic markers in shades of R59, R56, RV34, RV32, and R81 for the flowers and G46, G21, and YG61 for the leaves. I colored the little berry sprays with a black Micron pen to keep things simple.

After I’d finished coloring the image, I used my Micron pen and T-square to make a neat black rectangular frame around the edge of my card front, skipping over the flowers to allow the blooms to spill over the edge of the frame. I love adding a simple frame like this to floral cards; it gives them such a clean, elegant finish, I think!

The final touch was to add a greeting created with White embossing powder and Pitch Black card stock. I popped it up using foam tape to add a little extra dimension.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Now, for some fun giveaway information! Hero Arts is giving away one Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS) stamp set to a lucky commenter! All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment on the hop stops. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Comment by Sunday, August 4 at 11:59pm PST. I hope you’re enjoying the hop! Your stop is Ilina Crouse’s blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Hero Arts
Gina K. Designs
Jennifer McGuire
Kristina Werner
Kathy Racoosin
Laura Bassen
Jaycee Gaspar
Yana Smakula
Michelle Short
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Janette Kausen
Caly Person
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse

Honey Bee Stamps 4th Anniversary Celebration!

Hi there! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been sneaking peeks of Honey Bee Stamps‘s release. This release is a doozy… over 50 new products being debuted… and it’s super appropriate, because it’s their 4th Anniversary! Four years of Honey Bee goodness! I am so proud of how much Honey Bee Stamps has grown, and so honored to have been part of Melissa’s Design Team for almost two years now! I seriously am so lucky to be able to work with so many wonderful people in this industry, and Melissa is on one of my absolute favorites!

There’s a huge blog hop going on today and tomorrow (my “official” blog hop post is tomorrow), but I created so many projects using the new goodies in this release that I thought I’d spread the details about them out over two posts! This post will be long, with lots of pictures, but that’s just how much I have to show you!! 🙂 Let’s get started!

For my first project, I wanted to create a birthday card using the fantastic new Balloon Bunch dies. These are a set of nested dies, with two different shapes included in the die set, and they range from teeny tiny to gigantic! I die cut a bunch of them from some watercolor paper, then used Vicki Boutin’s Watercolor Brush Markers (such gorgeous, vibrant colors in this watercolor set!) to watercolor the solid balloons in a pretty mint, jade, pink, and fuchsia color scheme! I also added a generous layer of Ink On 3’s Pixie Dust to each ballon to make them super festive.

Next, I blended some pretty purple, pink, and mint inks on a white A2 card using blending brushes, layered my die cut balloons over the top, and adhered them with foam tape. I also die cut a glittery white “birthday” using the new Birthday Honey Cuts die. I white embossed a coordinating greeting from the new Happy Birthday stamp set onto some strips of vellum. (So many cute sentiments in that stamp set! Definitely a must have.) The final touch was some jewels and Nuvo drops.

For my second project, I used the absolutely stunningly detailed new Mandala die. I die cut the Mandala from some beautiful gold card stock, then layered it on an alcohol ink background that I had in my stash. (I like to make a bunch of them at once and then have them on hand for a quick background!) I stamped the greeting from Thanks a Bunch using Brass embossing powder onto some heavyweight vellum, then fussy cut around the edges.

The final touch was a few gems around the edge of the intricate Mandala die cut.

I saved my favorite for my final project today… Y’all know I’m a sucker for anything peony, and these new Spring Peony stamps from today’s release immediately claimed my attention as soon as I received my package. They’re gonna be awesome in any medium. For today, however, I decided to put my Luminance pencils to use. I absolutely love the look of colored pencils on colored card stock to create a seamless, almost screen-printed look, so I stamped several of the blooms and foliage from Spring Peony onto some beautiful teal card stock using white pigment ink, then colored them with my C’aran D’ache Luminance colored pencils.

I wanted to keep that deep teal background, allowing the peonies to be some bright pops of saturated color, which was accomplished by coloring the flowers on the same shade of teal card stock, then die cutting them and layering them on my teal background. I also die cut one of the new Double Stitched Polygon dies from that same teal card stock and popped it up on the teal card base using foam tape.

I die cut the white “bloom” from the new Bloom Honey Cuts and added the rest of the sentiment from the Bloom stamp set on strips of white card stock. I arranged the flowers on one side of the Double Stitched Polygon die cut, then adhered them and the greeting components using liquid adhesive. The final touch was a few jewels for sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. Be sure to stop by the Honey Bee Stamps blog to get linked up to Day 1 of the Blog Hop. (Psst… There are prizes to be had!!!) And don’t forget to come back here tomorrow for Day 2 for even more inspiration using the newest release from Honey Bee Stamps! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

The Stamp Market October Release Blog Hop!

Good morning! Today, I’m super excited to be taking part in The Stamp Market‘s October Release Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from the fantastic Carly Minner’s blog, and your next stop is the fabulous Lea Lawson’s blog. Amy has released some absolutely stunning designs this week, and I was lucky enough to work with the insanely, marvelously, jaw-droppingly gorgeous Floral Bouquet (I don’t currently possess enough superlatives to describe how much I love this stamp set). I couldn’t resist doing two cards for today’s hop, so let’s get started with the details!

I cannot express how much I love the Floral Bouquet stamp set. This little spray of beautiful flowers with the berries…. makes my heart go pitter patter. It reminds me of a beautiful French toile, so I stamped a pretty background panel using some Copic friendly black ink, then colored them a shocking pink with Copic markers, adding lime green to the leaves and some peachy orange to the berries. I could see these beautiful nosegays in SO many color combinations…. such a stunning design.

After I’d finished coloring all of the flowers, I added a frame using my T-square and a black marker. I die cut the “You” from an older Stamp Market set (that is sadly retired) using black glitter paper. Those flowers though…. wow! I want this print on a chair in my craft room…. or maybe some wall paper… Hmm.

Copics used: RV06, 17, 66, 69; T7; YR02; R05, 08; YG 11, 13, 17, 21

For my second project, I was unable to resist no-line painting that giant peony image from Floral Bouquet. What a truly superb rendition of a big fat peony. Those giant petals… they’re fantastic for practicing shading and depth. I can’t wait to dig in with my colored pencils, either. 😉 After stamping the images using Ink On 3 Fadeout Ink, I used a combination of Daniel Smith Quinacridone Coral, Rhodonite Genuine, and Neutral Tint for the florals, with Undersea Green and Indanthrone Blue for the leaves, with a halo of Indanthrone Blue as well.

After all of that work painting that massive peony, I didn’t want to cover it up with too much of a sentiment, so I white embossed a greeting from Beautiful Blooms on a thin strip of black card stock, then popped it up using some foam adhesive.

Here’s the full hop list in case you get lost:

Emily Midgett <—- you’re here!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my projects today! Amy has created another beautiful lineup of products for this month’s release for The Stamp Market. I hope you will stop by and check it out!

Give Me All the Peonies

Good morning! Happy Saturday! Things have been a little quiet on the blog over the last week… I’ve been prepping for a few upcoming events, and I am not allowed to share them…. yet. 😉 Stay tuned tomorrow for new, beautiful products being peeked from Honey Bee Stamps! For today’s project, I thought I’d share some no-line pencil coloring using my favorite stamp set from Hero Arts’s Spring catalog release: Peonies. I haven’t had time to make my Man Card Monday this month, so Girl Card Saturday is my solution. 🙂

I started by stamping the main peony image on some colored pencil paper using Inkon3’s Fadeout Ink. I then stamped some leaves and a bud without masking…. one of the fun things about using such pale ink for no-line coloring is making easy bouquets with no masking required, because the ink lines are covered up with the coloring! Score. But…. that’s about the quickest part of this card haha. No-line colored pencil work is very time consuming. Time consuming, yes, but in my opinion, the results are definitely worth it.

I then used my Polychromos pencils to color the image. I wanted a deep, saturated fuchsia peony with jade green leaves… I wish I could remember which colors I used! Next time I will write them down haha. After I’d finished coloring the image, I black heat embossed the sentiment from the Peonies stamp set. I used my T-square to create a frame around the edge of the card front, then used my black fine tipped pen to add some random dots.

The final step was to add some Ombre Purple Sequins on the card front to add some sparkle.

Well that’s all for me today! I hope you are having a fabulous weekend. Be sure to check back tomorrow for some Honey Bee release fun! Thanks for visiting!