Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

simple peace

Peaceful Rose Gold Christmas Trees with Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! We are past Halloween, and while Thanksgiving is our next holiday, many cardmakers are in full holiday cardmaking mode! The last year or so has added some felt and embroidery techniques into my holiday crafting repertoire; I so enjoy being able to use my papercrafting supplies to make unique handmade gifts out of felt and cloth that make the recipient feel really special. (At least, I hope they do!) With each new release, I find myself examining the dies and stamps to see which products I can pair with felt and/or embroidery to create those meaningful gifts that will last beyond this single holiday season. The gorgeous details on the newer Frosty Nordic Tree die coupled with the fact that each layer of the tree is separate makes it the perfect die to use in a variety of ways and with a variety of mediums. Let’s get started on the details for my gift set!

*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!*

As you all know, I can’t get enough of unique, non-traditional color palettes for the holidays, and rose gold is such an exquisitely feminine way to bring in that festive holiday shine. I found some rose gold metallic felt in my stash, along with some lovely printed snowflake fabric, and used those as the basis for my felt project, which in turn became the inspiration for the matching card. I love that the Frosty Nordic Tree die set comes in three individual dies, making it possible for you to use them in a variety of ways! While the original intention of the dies is to layer one complete die cut above another, I used die cut each layer of the tree individually, then used the die for the layer above to cut off the top of the die cut. This results in a die cut with the perfect spot into which the above die cut can snuggle neatly, creating a seamless, flat image!

Once I had adhered the felt die cut tree onto the center of my fabric in the embroidery hoop using felt glue, I used a pen to draw some flourishes around it, which I then embroidered with a satin stitch using coordinating embroidery floss. I added some Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems as well as a coordinating blush bow for a tree topper. For some final sparkling touches, I added a few sequins and seed beads to create “berries”! Wouldn’t this be so pretty as an ornament on a Christmas tree?

Inspired by my felt project, I decided to pair the Frosty Nordic Tree dies with one of my favorite cardstocks from Simon Says Stamp: Metallic Rose foil cardstock. Again, I took advantage of the fact that each layer of the tree is an individual die in order to create a trio of trees that are different heights and shapes. I die cut one tree as intended, with three different-sized layers, then die cut a short and squat tree with just the top two layers, then cut one tall and slim tree with only the smallest die! I adhered the layers for each tree with dots of liquid adhesive and set them aside.

Behind the trees, I wanted to create an elegant, snowy backdrop, so ran a panel of blush colored cardstock through my die cutting machine using the Fanciful Flakes Embossing Folder. I swiped the Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink Pad over the raised areas, adding a touch of definition to the textured snowflakes, then splattered the background with iridescent metallic watercolors. After this had dried, I mounted the textured panel in the center of a full size A2 card front, creating a white frame around the background. I arranged the trees in a trio, adhering them with liquid and foam adhesive in varying heights, then added a Simple Peace die cut for the greeting, enhanced with some embossed sentiment strips from the Peaceful Trees stamp set. Finally, I added one last touch of sparkle with some Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! My husband’s birthday is at the end of this month and gets a little grumpy about putting up holiday decorations too early, so I will have to content myself with holiday spirit in my craft room! Have you started making your holiday cards yet? We’re getting ever closer to that big day!! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Painted Holiday Heart with Poinsettia Swag from Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I am back with another project featuring my Poinsettia Swag illustration, this time with some different and unique-to-me mediums. I have been really enjoying creating things other than cards lately, and raided my local dollar store to find different items that I could pair with my stamps and dies. I found these birch wood heart cutouts and thought they’d make perfect ornaments or little wall hangings! I used the Altenew Acrylic Markers to add some color to my Poinsettia Swag illustration from the new Festive Fun release from Simon Says Stamp. Let’s get started with all of 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 began my project by painting the entire heart with some pearlescent white paint. I did paint it with multiple coats of this white pearl paint, allowing some dry time between each coat to allow for maximum coverage. After I had allowed the white pearl paint to dry overnight, I used Nocturne ink to stamp the floral image directly onto the painted wooden heart. I used my heat gun to dry the ink a bit, then began coloring.

The Altenew Acrylic Markers are great fun for projects like this; their opacity and viscous nature means that they can be applied to a variety of surfaces, including this painted wood! I used the markers in shades of coral-y red, peach, and minty greens to add vibrant color to the poinsettia images, then used the Spectrum Noir Liquid Gold markers to enhance the details on the individual petals. The addition of this golden metallic marker helps to add a level of luxuriousness to the project and helps to further define each individual petal. I also used the gold marker to add some little dots here and there around the bouquet, almost like I would with sequins or gems! I think it helps to balance out the images a bit.

Once I had finished coloring the image, I die cut the detail layer of the Simple Peace Die from Simon Says Stamp’s Matte Gold Metallic cardstock once and twice more from plain white cardstock, adhering the three layers together with liquid adhesive. I added the simple sentiment to the painted wooden panel with liquid adhesive, then added a few Peachy Pawsitively Dazzling Gems around the bouquet. Finally, I threaded some coordinating ribbon through the holes at the top of the wooden heart to create a hanger.

Well, that’s all for my project today. I love creating things that are a bit more tangible and purposeful than cards… things that hopefully would be kept for a bit longer than a card, ha. (I can’t be the only one who struggles thinking about their hard work getting tossed in the trash!) This would be so pretty on a Christmas tree as an ornament, or even on a door knob or just as a wall hanging, I think! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

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!