Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

white pigment ink

Icy Arthur Snowman Card with New Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I have a sweet and icy card to share with you today based on a card that I made a loooong time ago using my Cricut (how’s that for a throwback?), with a shabby chic snowman and a peaceful aqua background. I found that card recently, because I liked it so much that I didn’t end up sending it out, ha, and as soon as I saw Arthur the Snowman from the Festive Fun release, I knew that I wanted to recreate it with a few little twists to update it and make it more my current style. 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 my card by die cutting Arthur the Snowman from some pearlescent white cardstock. I love using specialty cardstock with things like snowmen and snowflakes, because I think it increases the magical icy feel and just as a general rule makes the card more luxurious and upscale. I die cut his hat and scarf from some plain white cardstock and used my OLO markers to color the images in a pale shade of icy blue. I also used OLO markers to color the details on his eyes and nose and added some Black Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for his coal buttons.

For the background, I used the beautiful snowflake images from the older Don’t Flurry, Be Happy stamp set, stamping them on the top right side of my Sea Glass card front using Simon Says Stamp White Pigment ink. I also used a blending brush dedicated solely for use with white pigment ink, to blend around the edges near the stamped snowflakes. I think the combination of stamped snowflakes and frosted edges make it look almost like a blizzard! In order to ground my snowman, I trimmed some strips of white pearl and white glitter cardstock and adhered them to my stamped and blended card front, then added Arthur over the top with some foam adhesive squares. For some added sparkle and shine, I used some sparkling white glitter paper to die cut a few tiny snowflakes using the Snow Flurries dies. I adhered them to the card front with liquid adhesive, then added some Clear Pawsitively Dazzling Gems in the centers and a smattering around the background.

To create the greeting, I die cut the Scripty Peace die from some more white glitter cardstock, enhancing it with some sentiment strips from Holiday Messages, which I heat embossed in white on the same Sea Glass cardstock. I nestled the Peace sentiment die cut next to Arthur, then added the sentiment strips beneath, tucking them in the corner of the sentiment and Arther’s tummy. The different textures of the pearlescent white snowman and the sparkling white glitter sentiment keep the limited color palette from becoming boring and keeps the two white pieces from blending into each other.

Well, that’s all for my project today! I love having the opportunity to reimagine an older project that I loved using some new techniques and products. Inspiration is everywhere! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

VIDEO: Using White Pigment Ink with Artistic Dahlias Layering Stencils!

Hi there! I am up on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube channel today with this fun video sharing tips on how you can get beautifully vibrant results blending colorful dye inks on colored cardstock. You can watch the video below:

Or watch the video HERE on YouTube.

Colored cardstock is basically one of my most favorite things about cardmaking (as my ridiculously expansive collection of colored cardstock would attest)… there’s just something so beautiful and luxurious about richly colored cardstock, and we all know my love of monochromatic layers. I adore layering up as many monochromatic components as I can, creating a seamless feel to my card. I’ve come up with lots of fun hacks for coloring on my colored cardstock or adding color around the edge of my die cut pieces. Sometimes, though, time only permits me to do simple and quick techniques, and layered stenciling is such a great way to create impressive, custom-colored looks without getting my art supplies out. To use colorful dye inks with colored cardstock, I have a secret weapon for keeping those colors rich and vibrant: white pigment ink!

Before blending the colorful inks on my minty cardstock, each solid layer of the stencils first gets an even layer of white pigment ink, blended using a blending brush (or foam blending tool) that I have dedicated solely to white pigment ink. When blending colorful inks on colorful cardstock, it’s important to remember your color theory from kindergarten: which primary colors, when mixed together, will create which secondary colors? I.e.-red+yellow=orange, red+blue=purple, etc. For example, when choosing my coral and pink inks for this card, I knew that the base colors for the minty cardstock were made up of blue+yellow+white, and that would mix with the red+yellow of the coral to make a muddy mess. The colors certainly would not remain true. That’s where the white pigment ink comes into play. The pigment ink is a heavier formulation and does not sink down into the cardstock the way dye ink does, and so it creates a barrier when you blend your colorful ink over the top, preventing the colors from the ink from mixing with the colors of the cardstock and allowing them to stay true.

I had previously hot foiled the Celebrate and Nested Arches onto the minty cardstock using matte platinum hot foil, so I heat embossed my new Artistic Dahlias stamp set onto a panel of that same minty cardstock using coordinating platinum embossing powder, then used the coordinating stencils. I added the white pigment ink on all of the solid stencils first, wiped away any excess white ink to keep my ink pads clean, then blended the colorful inks over the top. The results are so beautifully vibrant! I even used the white pigment ink on the minty green leaves before applying the minty green ink; without it, the mint cardstock would simply have been made into a darker shade of green, rather than maintaining the light and airy feel of the pale minty foliage. I die cut the finished pieces with the handy-dandy one piece die.

To add some interest to the background, I die cut a frame using the Rounded and Braided Rectangle frame dies from an A2 panel of the same minty green cardstock, which merely pierced a die cut design . I die cut the Nested Arches hot foiled piece using the coordinating die. I also die cut the hot foiled Celebrate using the coordinating die. I arranged the die cuts on the card front and adhered them with a variety of foam tape (single and double layer) and liquid adhesive to create lots of dimension and varying heights. I find various heights to help add interest to a monochromatic card like this, bringing out the details and textures of the different elements. Finally, I added a few Champagne Glitter Drops for some sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my card today! I hope you enjoyed this technique. It’s not my typical watercoloring video, but it was lots of fun to create! Thanks so much for reading, and have a marvelous day.