Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

video

Introducing: OLO Fine Nibs-Now Available for Preorder!!

(Affiliate links used at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!)

Hello friends! I am SO EXCITED to share that my friends over at OLO Marker have been cooking up something truly wonderful over the last several months. To date, my single complaint about my OLO Markers is that the nibs are a wee bit hefty for some of the super fine detail work that I like to do with no-line coloring on my stamped images. I know I was not alone in that sentiment!! Well…. OLO has listened to our pleas, and I am so thrilled to let you know that they are putting OLO Fine Nibs into production! I was sent some prototypes of the new fine nib markers to share my thoughts with you all, and let me tell you, they are TRULY a game changer for the delicate images with which we card makers work!

Now, you have even more options to customize your markers, depending on your coloring style and the types of images with which you work. The bold Chisel Nib is great for big backgrounds and large, solid images. The Brush Nib works perfectly for the medium-sized images that need that juicy color saturation. And now, the Fine Nib has been added to the lineup to complete the trifecta of coloring options, making coloring delicate images much easier!

I have put together a short introductory video/reel to show what they can do, and I plan to do a video this week putting these fabulous markers to use in longer format.

My initial thoughts?

~The blends are exquisite; buttery smooth, as we’ve come to expect from these exceptional markers.

~The Fine Nibs are a bit sturdier than the brush nibs, and while the brush nibs work beautifully for larger images, the fine nibs make it possible to maneuver and blend the colors without having too much saturation on the cardstock, which is a must for those tiny images.

~The sturdy construction of the Fine Nibs make them ideal for doing tip-to-tip color blending, creating even smoother blends without oversaturation on your cardstock! (I demonstrate this technique in the video above.)

~The Fine Nibs are absolutely perfect for the small, detailed images with which cardmakers particularly create. The super smooth blends with this sturdy, fine nib within the small confines of stamped images really are going to be a game-changer.

I used a combination of the Brush and Fine Nib markers to create this image in the video, and I am gobsmacked at how perfectly they colored these tiny, delicate images from my new Blooms of Encouragement stamp set. (Side note: I used only two of each color for these images above, and it is incredible to me the depth that you can achieve with merely two shades!)

How to purchase:

This release is a bit different than others; rather than having all of the markers in production already, the folks at OLO are working on kind of a kickstarter campaign, meaning that once the preorders have reached a certain level, the production will officially begin.

To entice you further, the folks at OLO are offering discounts for those who place their preorder during the launch campaign. You can receive 20% off for the full 256 set, 15% off for the 128 color set, or 10% off of the 64 color set. These discounts will be available until the goal has been reached, so be sure to take advantage!

You can peruse the Fine Nib page on the OLO Website HERE.

OLO has created a page to answer your Frequently Asked Questions, which you can check out HERE.

Preorder your set HERE!!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or to OLO if you have any questions. These markers are going to be such an incredible addition to my craft room, and I’m so excited to see them put into production!

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

VIDEO: No-Ink Press Plates with Pinkfresh Studio!

Hi friends! I am on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube Channel today with this pretty “blurple” project inspired by the colors of one of my favorite flowers: hydrangeas! You can watch the video HERE on YouTube or below:

Below, I’ve included a quick written rundown of my techniques!

To begin, I used the Pinkfresh Studio 1″ Blending Brushes to blend a superb combination of blue and purple inks in an ombré, creating a soft “blurple” blended background. From light to dark, I blended: Sheer Freesia, Hydrangea, Blue Jay, and Sapphire inks on my plain white A2 panel of cardstock. After I had blended this pretty background, I adhered it with light-tack tape to a panel of thick scrap cardstock, creating a bit of a cushion behind this regular-weight cardstock so that I could use it with the Leafy Lattice Press Plate! Carissa Wiley shared this trick awhile ago, and I have been absolutely obsessed with it since then. After adhering the blended panel to the scrap Bristol cardstock, I used Calico White ink to press the Leafy Lattice Press Plate into my blended background. The extra cushion allows that impression to be nice and crisp in the lighter-weight cardstock, and the white pigment ink creates a subtle pattern and texture.

Once the background had been completed, I turned to the focal point. I have been having fun experimenting with textures on coated cardstocks lately, pairing pearlescent cardstocks with embossing folders, and today I used the Bluebonnet Bliss Press Plate and dies with some stunning periwinkle mirror cardstock that I found in my stash. (I make it my mission to collect interesting “specialty” cardstocks and sometimes have the problem of wanting to hoard them for a long time, so then I forget where I found them!) I impressed the beautifully detailed Bluebonnet Bliss Press Plate into this foil cardstock without inking up the plates, allowing the almost etched impression to be the focal point for my card! I impressed the image twice and then die cut the images out with their coordinating dies.

To accent the background and further enhance the feminine feel of this card, I die cut some Midnight Navy Glitter Cardstock from Pinkfresh Studio using the Fancy Edgers dies, backing the glittery, lacy strip with some pearlescent white cardstock for added shimmer and contrast. I placed the strip on the blended and pressed card front with liquid adhesive, then added the impressed Bluebonnet die cuts with liquid and thin foam adhesives. For the greeting, I stamped the “hugs” from the Basic Sentiments Stamps suite, using Hydrangea and Blue Jay inks to create an ombré sentiment. I popped the sentiment pieces up using thicker foam adhesive squares, then added a white pearlescent bow die cut created using the Wrap Around Elements dies (which are now discontinued– a twine bow would also work here!) to create the look of a hand-tied bouquet. Finally, I added a few Iridescent Dew Drop embellishments to fill in some of the blank areas on the card.

Well, that’s all for my project today! If you haven’t tried using your Press Plates without ink to add gorgeous texture, I hope this project inspires you to try it out. The impressed texture is exquisite and lends such an air of sophistication to your projects. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

VIDEO: Ink Swiping with Metallic Details Using Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I have been having tons of fun lately with the popular ink swiping technique using the debossed side of embossing folder panels. I have been loving playing with different ink color combinations; the key to being able to use multiple colors on your ink swiped projects is selecting lighter colors to blend on your images and very dark colors for your ink swiping to ensure that those messy “overspill” areas are completely covered. Here’s a video to demonstrate:

Or you can click HERE to watch on YouTube!

In case you can’t watch the video, here’s a quick rundown of the process:

Brilliant Hibiscus Embossing Folder

Bold Smiles

Pawsitively Saturated Ink:

Sky, Dusk, Night, Dew

Nested Domed Arches Frames

Clear Pawsitively Dazzling Gems

silver glitter cardstock

Altenew Metallic Watercolor Palette

Vivant Sage Green Narrow Ribbon

Hero Arts Iridescent Blue Embossing Powder

silver paint marker

To start, run an A2 panel of white cardstock through your die cutting machine using the gorgeous Brilliant Hibiscus Embossing Folder. Rather than using the side with the embossed images popped up, we are going to flip the panel over so that the images are impressed down into the paper. I selected a cool blue color palette, using the gorgeous blues in the Pawsitively Saturated Ink Trio 25 and Dew for the foliage. I blended Sky and Dusk in the center of each flower using a blending brush, then blended some Dew ink on the foliage. These cards come together quite quickly, as you don’t have to be too fastidious about your ink blending, because the darker ink will cover up anything that spills over the sides.

After I had blended the details on the flower images, I placed my Night inkpad directly on the paper and gently swiped the color on the raised areas. Because the flowers are depressed into the cardstock, the petals and images will keep their light, blended color and the details will be highlighted with the dark ink!

After I had blended and swiped to create the pretty background, I decided to go in with some metallic highlights to add some extra luxury and shimmer to the card. First, I used a silver paint marker to add the flower centers, then used both silvery white and minty green metallic paints from the Altenew Metallic Watercolor Palette on the edges of the petals and the foliage. I also splattered some more of the silvery white metallic paint around the edges of the card, creating lots of shimmering highlights on this pretty card!

For the greeting, I stamped a sentiment from Bold Smiles onto some white cardstock using Dusk ink, then stamped again with sticky embossing ink, which I covered with Hero Arts Iridescent Blue Embossing Powder to add iridescent shine to the sentiment. I used some residual ink left on the blending brushes to make sure that the sentiment die cut matched the rest of the saturated blue background. To highlight the sentiment and draw the eye to it amongst the bold background images, I die cut a Nested Domed Arches Frames from some silver glitter cardstock. I popped it up with some foam adhesive, then added the sentiment die cut with a double layer of foam adhesive to give it a bit more height and make it more visible amongst the busy background. Finally, I added a few finishing touches with some Vivant Sage Green Narrow Ribbon and Clear Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for extra texture and sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today! I don’t know who came up with this technique, but I am certainly enjoying playing with it. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Video: Bridgerton Inspired White Velvet Flowers with Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I have a new video featuring a fun background building technique, created to look like some of the beautifully embroidered dresses from the show Bridgerton! The exquisite details from the elegant dresses of the 19th century adds an element of luxury that is simply not found in typical modern clothes. I wanted to channel those elegant embroidered details with some textured velvet cardstock and an intricate floral die from Simon Says Stamp. You can see me bring this card to life below or HERE on YouTube!

In case you can’t watch the video, I will share some of the details on my project below:

The delicate lines and intricacy of the Daisies & Leaves reminded me so much of the intricate embroidered patterns on the clothing in the Bridgerton world that I couldn’t resist creating an equally beautifully intricate background! You could easily replicate this technique using plain white cardstock, but I wanted to add a bit more textural interest and luxuriousness to the card, so I die cut a bunch of these delicate daisies using the Pawsitively Velvet Snow White cardstock. This velvet cardstock adds that little extra detail that takes the card from pretty to gorgeous and channels the luxurious hand embroidery from the show’s wardrobe perfectly!

To more easily adhere these super delicate die cuts to my slimline panel (3.5″ x 8.5″) of Rainbow Splash Heather cardstock (the perfect Bridgerton Blue!), I used Micro Dot Adhesive Sheets. After arranging my die cuts in their approximate location, I simply placed the back of the velvet die cuts on the sticky side of the Micro Dot Adhesive Sheets, replace the release paper on the top, flip it over, burnish the back to make sure that the adhesive is really stuck on there, then remove the now-sticky die cut from the Micro Dot Adhesive Sheets. This quick process creates a multitude of stickers that are perfect for these super intricate die cuts!

I placed the sticky die cuts on the blurple background, rotating them as I went to ensure that they didn’t look “cookie cutter,” which helps to create a cohesive, continuous pattern. I used some anti-stick shears to trim the excess from around the edges, using some of the leftovers to fill out some of the leftover open spots. The feel of this background with the velvet cardstock is simply divine!

After I had created the background, it was time to add a sentiment. I die cut the Fancy Happy Ever After from some super sparkly and opulent Altenew Dazzling Diamond glitter cardstock. I also added the shadow layer, cut from some vellum to soften the pattern behind the die cut and make the sentiment more visible. I popped up the sentiment die cut with some foam squares, then added a complementary greeting from some older wedding sentiment cards. Finally, I accented this lovely card with some Clear Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and a bow (a Bridgerton bow!) using some white faux silk ribbon.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Feminine, detailed, luxurious… attributes of the Bridgerton world, to be sure! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!