Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

reverse holiday greetings

Away to the Window with New Simon Says Stamp + Free Gift Cards!!

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

Hi friends! I have a super crisp, bold, and graphic holiday card to share with you today using goodies from the new And Everything Nice release from Simon Says Stamp! (click HERE to see the entire release!) Festive decorated window imagery is everywhere right now, and the beautifully intricate Balcony Window dies from Simon Says Stamp are perfect for dressing up to fit the holiday mood! I created this card with one of my favorite holiday color palettes: bright, crisp white with pops of vibrant red and verdant greenery, accompanied by a little sparkle. Let’s get started with the details!

*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!*

To begin, I die cut the arched window from the new Balcony Windows set three times from plain white cardstock, adhering all of the die cuts together with liquid adhesive to create a dimensional die cut. I backed the window with vellum, though it is difficult to see in the photo, trimming off the edges with my sharp scissors. The Balcony Windows set comes with two intricately detailed window images, as well as two different options for fencing that you can use to create beautiful architectural scenes!

To embellish my window, I used solid green cardstock to die cut the foliage from the new Holiday Window Decor, then die cut some festive details with red glitter and white pearl cardstocks. I adhered these details to the wreath and garland with liquid adhesive, then used my trimmer to trim down a sentiment from the Reverse Holiday Greetings sentiment panels that I’d embellished with some glittery red toner foil and my laminator.

To create this card base, I wanted to add a little extra fun detail with a slightly offset card front, so I used the Simon Says Stamp Scoring Board to score a fold 3/4″ from the edge of my A2 card front, then used some Tear-rifically Tacky Tape to add the thin folded edge to the back of another panel of white A2 cardstock, creating a quick, moderately fun fold card! (I’m no engineer to be able to do those crazy-but-amazing fun fold cards like some of my friends!) I added my window die cut so that it was just lightly hanging over the edge of the card front, adding plenty of liquid adhesive so that it was sturdy while still hanging over the edge. I added the festive greenery and the sentiment strip with som foam adhesive, then added a few Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for a touch of extra sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today. Now for some fun sale news: Simon Says Stamp is running their B1G1 gift card deal!!

$20 in free gift card?! Awesome! Click HERE to go right to the gift card page!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Snowflake Shaker Card with New Simon Says Stamp DieCember Goodies + FREE Gift With Purchase!

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

Hi friends! I am back with another project featuring some of the fabulous goodies from the new Simon Says Stamp DieCember release. I love a good shaker card; there’s something so festive and just plain fun about receiving a card that is filled with fantastic shaker bits and sequins. A shaker card always puts a smile on the recipient’s face, right? So it only makes sense to send Christmas Cheer with a super fun shaker card created with some creative die cutting and sparkling sequins. Let’s get started with 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!*

I absolutely adore cover plates; they create such an enormous impact with one piece of cardstock and one pass through your die cutting machine. The new Starburst Plate is so beautifully intricate that I wanted to stretch that easily-created die cut even further by creating a die cut window with the negative space and a second card with the positive space! (More about that in a future post.) I began my project today by die cutting an A2 panel of white cardstock using the Starburst Plate, then placing the one of the Nested Domed Arches in the center of the die cut and running it through my die cutting machine again. I made sure to reserve the patterned, arched die cut for a future project, and backed the remaining negative piece with an A2 piece of acetate, creating a large, plain window to start my shaker card! I added an appropriately-sized Nested Domed Arches Frame die cut, cut from some Simon Says Stamp Silver Glitter Cardstock, creating a border around my window opening.

After creating my background, I used the previously-released Frosty snowman die with some colored cardstock to create the focal point for my project. The finished Frosty fits perfectly inside my arched window! I used the Simon Says Stamp 3D Foam Adhesive Strips around the edges of the back of my shaker front, then filled the entire shaker with some gorgeous and fun wintry sequins, adding a few plain red sequins to coordinate with the cheerful red scarf, mittens, and hat on my Frosty. I sealed up the shaker with a panel of plain white cardstock. I love how the sparkling sequins peek through the snowflake windows from the Starburst Plate die cut!!

For the greeting, I used my Minc Machine with Picket Fence Studios Red Flake foil to make the Reverse Holiday Greetings set look super shiny and festive. I trimmed the strip down and tucked it beneath my snowman with some more thin foam adhesive. Tucking the sentiment right beneath Frosty helps to ground him a bit so that he’s not floating in midair in my window!

Well, that’s all for my project today. Simon Says Stamp DieCember celebration is in full swing, and to make things even more special and fun, Simon Says Stamp is offering an exclusive freebie: Be of Good Cheer die set

You can receive this adorable Be of Good Cheer die set set from Tim Holtz with any $25 Tim Holtz purchase! Click HERE to check out all of the goodies eligible for the promotion!

I created a fairly quick tag using the sweet Santa die from Be of Good Cheer:

Some white embossed snowflakes on a cheerful red tag created the perfect backdrop for my happy Santa!

I added a few Peppermint Pawsitively Dazzling Gems, a cherry red bow, and a jingle bell to make things extra special.

Well, that’s all for me today. This fantastic freebie (valued at $16.99!) is only available while supplies last, so don’t wait! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and Happy DieCember!

Simon Says Stamp Gingermas Wonder Box Projects!

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

Hi friends! I have some super fun and sweet (pun intended) inspiration to share with you using products found in the Simon Says Stamp Gingermas Wonder Box, which is a 12 day crafty advent calendar filled with the most delightful assortment of coordinated goodies. If you’re curious about all of the different products included in this super fun box (that makes for a great gift!), you can see each day revealed below, including Day 3 from me, myself, and I!

You can see the adorable little treat box that I created, embellished with several items from the Gingermas Wonder Box, including a darling tag created with products from Day 1 and Day 2 of the box, as well as the sweet vintage Santa mug from Day 3, which I embellished with some red velvet Tim Holtz trim and a loop of white silk ribbon, which can easily be removed from the box and added to your Christmas tree!

*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!*

Since my project above focused primarily on the items from days 1, 2, and 3, I decided to use a few more of the products in the Gingermas Wonder Box to create a pair of gingerbread-themed projects!

I have recently fallen down the stitching rabbit hole, and so I was super excited to see the adorable Gingerbread Man die included in the Gingermas Wonder Box! I knew that I needed to make some decor with my newfound felt and embroidery floss collection, and naturally I had to add a coordinating card.

I have been slowly collecting items to use for embroidery, including small embroidery hoops and plain cloth that is easily stitched! I created a blank canvas upon which I could add my sweet gingerbread man, which I die cut from some deep brown felt. (He almost looks a little burnt, but I was going for a chocolate brown, poppy red, and white color palette!) I used coordinating deep brown embroidery floss to stitch him onto the white fabric in my embroidery hoop, then added the frosting details, his buttons (made from Black Pawsitively Dazzling Gems), and bowtie with liquid fabric glue.

After I had finished my gingerbread man, I die cut the Merry Word die from some black felt and adhered it to the embroidery hoop with some more fabric glue. To further embellish, I mimicked Gingy’s little bow tie with some red and white polka dot ribbon from my stash, sewing the bow just beneath the “merry” sentiment. I had a mishap with some hot glue as I was trying to clean up the fabric sticking out around the edges on the back of the embroidery hoop, so I decided to embellish around the edges of my hoop with the little Tim Holtz Christmas Confections candies that came in the Gingermas Wonder Box to cover it up. Finally, I added a touch of sparkle with some Peppermint Pawsitively Dazzling Gems! Wouldn’t this be adorable placed on a mantle or with a loop of ribbon as a wall hanging? I just love it!

Of course, I had to show a card option with the Gingerbread Man die, because not everybody likes to stitch! I used the negative space to create a shaker card, first by die cutting Gingy from the center of a panel of coordinating deep brown cardstock, slightly smaller than A2 sized, then backing that window with some clear acetate. I die cut the frosting details from white glitter cardstock and his little bowtie from some leftover red felt scraps that I had from my felt wall hanging above. I adhered the details to the acetate window and allowed them to dry.

To create the shaker portion of the card, I used Simon’s 3D Foam Strips to create a seamless border around the back side of the window. I used a second panel of the same deep chocolate brown cardstock to back my shaker window. I filled the shaker with Simon’s Starshine Embellishment Mix and sealed the shaker up. I added a simple greeting from the Reverse Holiday Greetings that I had foiled using Red Flake Toner Foil and my Minc machine. These sentiment cards are a great way to add a simple and elegant greeting very quickly to your card! If you’re mass-producing anything, you should definitely take a look at them! Finally, I used a white gel pen to add some simple stitching details to the edge of the shaker window panel, to add one more little touch of white and break up the monochromatic background.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! If you are interest the Gingermas Wonder Box, don’t wait to purchase it, because it is almost sold out!! Luckily, Simon Says Stamp has each of the individual products included in the box in their store, so you can pick and choose what you would like to purchase if you don’t want the entire thing. Options are always a good idea, right? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Simon Says Stamp Festive Fun Blog Hop-Day 1!

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

Hi friends! I am hopping along with Simon Says Stamp today to celebrate their new Festive Fun release! You should have arrived here from Amy Rysavy, and your next stop is Debby Hughes. You can also find the full hop list on the Simon Says Stamp Blog. I am always excited for a new release and all of the creative possibilities that it brings, but the opportunity to play with my own illustrations always makes the creative process even more thrilling. I have two new sets that debuted with the Festive Fun release: Old Fashioned Christmas and Poinsettia Swag. I shared some inspiration using the Old Fashioned Christmas in THIS blog post on release night, but I thought I’d share a video for today’s hop using the new Poinsettia Swag set. I am a sucker for a good floral arrangement, and what flower is more iconic for the holidays than the poinsettia? You can watch the video below or click HERE to watch it on YouTube.

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

If you can’t watch the video, I’ll give a quick rundown of my process! I began by stamping my new Poinsettia Swag illustration in the corners of an A2 panel of Hammermill cardstock using Simon Says Stamp’s Intense Black Ink, then used OLO markers to add vibrant color to the images in traditional shades of vivid ruby red and jade green. I used the coordinating die to die cut the images, and because they were stamped in the corners of the A2 card front, they each have some straight edges. I didn’t mind the straight edges, because I knew that I wanted to frame them with some glittery cardstock!

To create the background for the vibrant floral arrangements, I wanted to add a very subtle pattern and colorful glow behind the floral die cuts. I used the stamping off method to add some a subtle floral pattern on the edges of my A7 card front, inking up the Poinsettia Swag stamp as normal with Cranberry Pawsitively Saturated Ink, pressing the stamp once onto a piece of scratch paper, then using the residual ink to stamp the image again on the card front. This technique creates a light pattern on the background that does not overpower the colorful floral bouquets. After I had finished stamping, I toned the pattern down even further by adding some tone-on-tone ink blending over the stamped areas.

After I had completed my background, I die cut the A7 Nesting Frames from some gorgeous Ruby Glitter Cardstock from Pinkfresh Studio. I like to leave my frame dies wired together so that I can cut a huge variety of sizes from one pass through my die cut machine! I saved the rest of the frames for a rainy day and adhered one to my stamped and blended background using liquid adhesive. I arranged the poinsettia swag die cuts around the frame, using the straight edges of the frame as a guide for where to place my florals. I popped up the flowers with some thin foam adhesive squares, then added two different greeting components. I stamped, heat embossed, and die cut a greeting from Poinsettia Swag, pairing it with a sentiment from the Reverse Holiday Greetings sentiment card set that I had foiled with some gorgeous red toner foil and my Minc machine. I tucked the greetings amongst the florals with some foam adhesive, then added a festive red bow and some Peppermint Pawsitively Dazzling Gems. Definitely a special card meant for an important person!

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! The winners will be selected from each blog comment section and posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 13th of November. Winners can email Simon Says Stamp to claim his/her prize!!

Simon Says Stamp is also offering a fabulous Free Gift With Purchase. Simply add $100 or more from the Festive Fun release to receive the adorable Cozy Together stamp and die set totally free, added to your cart automatically! What a great gift, right??

Your next stop is Debby Hughes. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Rich Red Ink Blending with New Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Inks!

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

Hi friends! The new Sweet Wishes release from Simon Says Stamp contains a gorgeous new ink trio of luscious, vibrant reds that I used as the inspiration point for my projects today. I always love new ink colors, as color is frequently the first element that I decide when mentally designing my project, and these vibrant, cool reds are absolutely perfect for the holiday season. I used two different techniques with the same embossing folder for today’s projects, so let’s get started with the details!

*I have linked 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!*

For both of my projects today, I put the new Ink Trio 30 to use with the beautifully intricate new Poinsettia Field Embossing Folder. The 3D embossing folders from Simon Says Stamp are amongst my most favorite products from every release, because there are so many ways to use them, and so many mediums with which to pair them. I’ve used two different techniques for my projects today, creating two completely different looks with almost identical supplies.

For my first project, I ran a panel of white cardstock through my die cutting machine using the new Poinsettia Field Embossing Folder. To add color to the panel, I flipped the embossed image over to reveal the debossed background, with the images impressed into the cardstock rather than popped up. I then used small blending brushes to blend the two lighter inks in the new Ink Trio 30 in the center of each flower, blending the lightest over most of each flower and enhancing the center of each flower with a small amount of the middle shade from the trio. After I had finished blending on each flower (which sounds time consuming, but actually went quite quickly!), I swiped the darkest shade from the Ink Trio 30 over the raised areas, putting the ink pad directly onto the cardstock, which enhances the pattern and creates such unique texture! I blended that same deeper red around the edges, creating a halo, and splattered the entire panel with metallic red watercolor.

After I had finished creating the background, I die cut a frame from some glittery red cardstock using the Nested Domed Arches Frames and adhered it to the card front using liquid adhesive. I used the same glittery red cardstock to die cut the detail layer of the Fancy Happy Holidays die set and added a vellum shadow behind it. To enhance the sentiment, I die cut some foliage using the Airy Pine Needles die and Rustic Sprigs die, tucking the monochromatic die cuts behind the sparkling dimensional sentiment. Finally, I added a few Cherry Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for added sparkle!

For my second card, I did some simple ink blending using the new Ink Trio 30, using blending brushes to blend a smooth ombré horizontally across a white A2 card front. After ink blending, I made sure that the cardstock was completely dry with my heat tool and ran the panel through my die cutting machine with the Poinsettia Field Embossing Folder. The color saturated panel enhances the incredibly detailed background so beautifully, adding texture and pattern to the panel.

After I had finished the background, I die cut another glittering frame, this time using the A2 Thin Frames and the same Crimson glitter cardstock from Simon Says Stamp. I adhered the frame around the edges of the blended, embossed background. The frames help to draw the eye towards the focal point in the center of the card, as well as add texture to the monochromatic card. I die cut the detail layer of the Simple Peace die from some coordinating red cardstock and the shadow layer from more red glitter cardstock, adhering the two layers together with liquid adhesive. I popped the sentiment die cut up with some foam adhesive squares, then tucked a sentiment strip from the Reverse Holiday Greetings sentiment card set, to which I had added some red toner foil using my Minc machine. To accent the sentiment pieces and add a bit more botanical softness to the card, I die cut a deep red Airy Pine Needles sprig and tucked it beneath the sentiment pieces. Finally, I added a Bordeaux ribbon bow and some shimmering gems.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Each of these cards is so different while still being exactly the same color palette. It’s amazing what a difference technique makes for the color saturation with these embossing folders! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!