Uniko December 2023 Reveal, Release, Brand Ambassador Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Good morning!

It's release day over at Uniko and I'm here to reveal the whole release and share another card.

Here's the final card I made and I decided to use the new Background Blocks Perspective stamp to make a festive design...

I stamped the image, first in a pale blue ink on blue cardstock.  I then coloured with Copics before restamping in VersaMark and heat embossing in white.  I then stamped and heat embossed two of the small snowflakes from the Snowflake Serenade stamp set into some of the squares.  The panel was then die cut with a stitched rectangle die.  I adhered the panel to a card base and then carried on filling in the remaining squares with some snowflake, star and dot embellishments, and I added some details with a white gel pen.  I stamped the sentiment, from the Pattern Building Christmas Tree set, in blue ink, trimmed it down and adhered it to the centre on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Background Blocks Perspective, Snowflake Serenade, Pattern Building Christmas Tree
• Ink: VersaMark; Versa Color - Sky Blue; coloured with Copics
• Embossing Powder: Brutus Monroe - Alabaster
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Accents: various from stash

So, now to reveal the new products in full.

Two new Background Blocks stamps, first up is Background Blocks Layered Stripes...

and Background Blocks Perspective...

and last but not least, Bev's super creative Ink & Flip Snowflake stencil...

So, just a mini release but I'm sure you'll agree these are great little additions to the Uniko library.

Be sure to leave some comment love either on the Brand Ambassador blogs or social media.  You can find all the links over at the Uniko blog, here.  

You have until midnight Friday 15 December 2023 to comment for a chance to win a £20 eGift Certificate.  Good luck!

Thanks for visiting today.

Uniko December 2023 Release - Introducing...Ink & Flip Snowflake

Good morning

It's the final day of new product introductions at Uniko and Bev has worked her magic with this one.

It's another stencil in the Ink & Flip series and this time it's a Snowflake.  It's designed to be inked on one side, then flipped top to bottom and re-inked to create the rest of the design...genius!

Here's my first card...

The stencil is square so I chose to use a square card base for this one and I grabbed two delicate shades of Distress Oxide to create the design.  I then used sentiments and a co-ordinating die from the Big & Bold Snow set, and embossed the sentiment in silver sparkle.  This was then die cut and popped up on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Uniko - Ink & Flip Snowflake
• Stamps: Uniko - Big & Bold Snow (and co-ordinating die)
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Lost Shadow, Milled Lavender; Versafine Clair - Morning Mist; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Silver Sparkle

And for my second card I combined the stencil with the Big & Bold Merry set...

I used the stencil on an angle this time on my usual A6 card base, I just masked off the outside edges.  I picked two shades of Distress Oxides and I love how these remind me of Fruit Salad sweets!  I then stamped and heat embossed the "merry" in gold sparkle on vellum and fussy cut it out.  I adhered this on slim bits of 3D foam and stamped the sentiment to finish.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Uniko - Ink & Flip Snowflake
• Stamps: Uniko - Big & Bold Merry
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Scattered Straw, Saltwater Taffy; VersaMark; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Sparkle

To see more projects and this stencil in action my fellow Brand Ambassadors are sharing more makes over at the main Uniko blog, here.

The new products will be available to purchase from the Uniko website from tomorrow, Friday 8 December.

I'll be back tomorrow with the full release reveal and details of the giveaway.

Uniko December 2023 Release - Introducing...Background Blocks Perspective

Good morning

Its day two of the new release introductions at Uniko and today it's all about another background stamp...Background Blocks Perspective.

I think this can be used for lots of occasions and may be a great solution for those oh so difficult cards for the guys.

Here's the card I made, and I paired it with sentiments from the Explosion! Additions stamp set...

On a die cut panel I stamped the perspective image and coloured it in with Copics.  I adhered this flat to the card base.  I then heat embossed the sentiments in white on black cardstock before adhering the strips on 3D foam

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Background Blocks Perspective, Explosion Additions
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versamark
• Embossing Powder: Brutus Monroe - Alabaster
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Wonky Stitched Rectangles

The team have some great projects for you today over at the main Uniko blog, here.  Pleaese do take a look.

The new products will be available to purchase from the Uniko website from Friday 8 December and there will also be a blog hop and giveaway so be sure to check back and comment along the way.

I'll be back with more inspiration using the last of the new products tomorrow.

Uniko December 2023 Release - Introducing...Background Blocks Layered Stripes

Good morning

I'm here today to introduce the first product from the latest release coming up from Uniko.

It's a new addition to the Background Blocks series and a lovely bold and versatile design, Background Blocks Layered Stripes.

Here's my first card...

On a panel of white cardstock I stamped and heat embossed the stripes in clear.  I then used the emboss resist technique to ink blend the background before trimming down the panel.  I chose to pair this with a flower created using elements from the Mid Century Modern Florals set stamped in just black and grey to contrast with the background.  I fussy cut the flower and adhered on 3D foam.  I then used a sentiment from the Simply Said Blocks set, which I stamped on a scrap of cardstock that was trimmed from the background piece.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Background Blocks Layered Stripes, Mid Century Modern Florals, Simply Said Blocks
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Oxide - Picked Raspberry, Blueprint Sketch, Squeezed Lemonade; Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Morning Mist
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss

And for my second card I combined the background stamp with elements from the Mid Century Modern Baubles set...

I used a circle die to cut a mask and put this in position before stamping the layered stripes background in red.  I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment from Mid Century Modern Baubles, as well as the bow which was stamped separately and fussy cut.  I used an embossing pen to create the string and also heat embossed this in gold.  The bow was popped up on 3D foam and I finished the card by adding some dotted shading to the bauble using a gold gel pen. 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Background Blocks Layered Stripes, Mid Century Modern Baubles
• Ink: Versa Color - Cardinal; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich
• Accents: Uniball - Signo gold pen

For more projects by the talented Bev and my fellow Brand Ambassadors, please do pop over to the main Uniko blog, here, to see this new stamp in action.

The new products will be available to purchase from the Uniko website from Friday 8 December.

I'll be back with more inspiration using another of the new products tomorrow.

Uniko December 2023 Release Sneak Peeks

Good morning 

Bev has been busy organising anther product release for you over at Uniko!

Here are the sneak peeks of the first two new stamps, two further additions to the Background Blocks series...

And Bev has used her creative genius to create another "Ink & Flip" stencil...

So, be sure to check out the Uniko blog, here, over the next few days to see the introductions by the Brand Ambassadors and to see the new products in action.  I'll be back tomorrow with the first of product intro.

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Rustic Christmas

Good morning!

I'm sharing two cards over at the Uniko blog today, here, and I decided to dig out an "oldie but goodie" stamp set for these, Rustic Christmas.  I just love the perfect little tree in this set so have kept these cards clean and simple so it takes centre stage.

You can find all the information regarding the steps taken to make these cards over on my Uniko post.

First up, I've tried to create a northern lights sky as my backdrop...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Rustic Christmas
• Ink: Distress Ink - Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Picked Raspberry, Black Soot, Chipped Sapphire; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Brutus Monroe - Alabaster
• Accents: Sakura - White Gelly Roll 10

My second project is another one layer card, again, super simple...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Rustic Christmas
• Ink: Versa Color - Magenta, Violet, Turquoise, Evergreen; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Accent: Doodlebug - Sprinkles: Graduation Assortment

I hope this gives you some inspiration and encourages you to have a rummage through your stash to see what older stamp sets you have that could be inked up.  Thanks for taking the time to visit and I wish you a lovely Wednesday.

Uniko October 2023 Release in Review, Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & Giveaway

Happy Saturday!

Over at Uniko today we have a Release in Review post for the new October 2023 products.  It took a while for the goodies to reach the Design Team so we weren't able to make inspiration projects in time for the introductions at the start of the month.

Bev is holding another blog hop and giveaway, so if you hop along and comment on all the Brand Ambassadors' posts (links over on the main post) you are in with a chance of winning a £20 eGift Card.

Ok, I'll get straight to it with my projects.

For this card I paired some of the new goodies with the Natures Treasures II Stencil...

I wanted to stamp some of the small leaf images inside the leaf stencil so I used a tool for this card that I've not used for years...my light box!!  To make it easier to stamp within the stencil I began by taping the stencil to the panel and then using an embossing tool from the back of the panel to trace around the shape, thereby pushing the cardstock forward so it was raised on the front and more in line with the edges of the stencil.  I grabbed one of my blending brushes and used the residual green ink from one of my previous projects to create the pale green background, and then proceeded to stamp the small leaf images from the new Autumn Serenade Clear Stamp Set.  The 'thanks' is also from this set and the 'for all you do' is from the new Big & Bold - Thank/s/ful Clear Stamp Set.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Autumn Serenade, Big & Bold Thank/s/ful
• Stencil: Uniko - Natures Treasures II
• Ink: Altenew - Autumn Blaze, Olive, Mocha, Sea Forest, Marshland; Versafine Clair - Fallen Leaves
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Scalloped Resctangles

Next up is a card using the beautiful Remembrance Clear Stamp set...

The poppy images in this set are just beautiful as they are so I just kept this card super simple.  Just stamped and coloured with Copics.  I chose to go with a blush pink for the petals, I think the pink and peach varieties are stunning.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Remembrance
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; VersaMagic - Pink Grapefruit
• Coloured with Copic Markers
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles

Next up is the new addition to the Big & Bold series...Big & Bold Thank/s/ful. 

I began by stamping the wreath from the Rustic Wreath Clear Stamp set, also stamped the berries, and then the tiny leaf from the Autumn Serenade Clear Stamp set.  I stamped the 'thank' and the 's', first in grey ink for a slight shadow, then shifted my card slightly before stamping in black.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Big & Bold Thank/s/ful, Rustic Wreath, Autumn Serenade
• Ink: Altenew - Forest Glades, Moss, Crimson, Silver Lake; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

And finally, I have two cards using the Framed: Snowflakes Clear Stamp set...

I began using one of the trees from the Christmas Pop Trio Stencil and ink blended using Cracked Pistachio Distress ink.  I then used just a section of the large stamp from the Framed Snowflakes set to stamp the background within the stencil.  I completed the card with a sentiment from the Pattern Building Christmas Tree Clear Stamp set and added some gems and a star from my stash.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Framed Snowflakes, Pattern Building Christmas Tree
• Stencil: Uniko - Christmas Pop Trio
• Ink: Distress Ink - Cracked Pistachio; Altenew - Hydrangea; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Scalloped Rectangles

And I used the Framed Snowflakes again here, paired with a sentiment from the Stunning Snowflakes Clear Stamp Set...

Revisiting an old design layout here.  I used low tack masking tape to create the horizontal mask.  I ink blended using Saltwater Taffy Distress Oxide ink, blending it out in both directions.  I then used the individual snowflakes that come with the Framed Snowflakes stamp set and inked these along the edges of the mask in various colours of pigment ink.  I removed the mask and added a sentiment from the Stunning Snowflakes set and finished with some silver glitter snowflake gems, sparkle was required!

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Framed Snowflakes, Stunning Snowflakes
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Saltwater Taffy, Versa Color - Mint, Lagoon Blue, Altantic, Peony, Petal Pink; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Gems from stash

I hope you enjoy taking a look at all the inspiration from the team, and if you're in the UK, enjoy the extra hour in bed tomorrow!

Uniko October New Release, Brand Ambassador Blog Hop and Giveaway

Good morning!

It's new release day over at Uniko and if you follow the Uniko blog you'll have seen the introductions from Bev throughout this week.

The release will be available to purchase from the Uniko website from this evening at 9pm BST.

There are some great new stamps in this release.  First up is the latest addition to the Framed series: Framed - Snowflakes

Here's the card I made using this set...

Here I used a panel of watercolour paper and heat embossed in white the main frame and a couple of the separate snowflakes.  I used the wet on wet technique, adding water within the confines of the frame and then adding colour from a variety of pink, blue and purple Zig markers.  Once dry I trimmed the panel down and adhered it to a card base.  The sentiment, from the oldie but goodie Stunning Snowflakes set was heat embossed on vellum and wrapped around a strip of pink cardstock.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Framed Snowflakes, Stunning Snowflakes
• Ink: VersaMark; Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White

Next up is a beautiful new stamp set called Autumn Serenade, a new addition to the "Serenade" series...

Here's my make using this one...

I began by stamping the main swirl image and heat embossing in gold.  I then masked off a vertical section and ink blended with four shades of Distress Oxide.  The stamped sentiment finished this one.

I just love the shine of the gold with the chalky finish of the oxides. Just remember to give the embossed parts a quick buff with a soft cloth to bring the shine back after inking.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Autumn Serenade
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Oxide - Lumberjack Plaid, Vintage Photo, Carved Pumpkin, Pine Needles; Versafine Clair - Fallen Leaves
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich

Bev has now added poppies to her floral collection.  Introducing, Remembrance...

And here's my card...

I stamped the image on some watercolour paper and then, after not using them for ages, decided to add colour with my Brushos.  I carefully sprinkled a teeny amount of the red and spritzed with a water mister.  I then did the same with two shades of green.  Once the panel was completely dry I die cut with a scalloped rectangle and stamped the sentiment before adhering to a card base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Remembrance
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Brushos - Brilliant Red, Emerald Green, Leaf Green
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Scalloped Rectangles

There is also a new addition to the BIG & BOLD series, with BIG & BOLD Thank/s/ful.  Such a useful set and this can also be paired with BIG & BOLD You.

The set also features a two step leaf in both solid and outline form along with a variety of accent sentiments.  The leaf design also co-ordinates with those in the Autumn Serenade set.

Unfortunately, I don't have a sample card to share for this set yet.

Bev will be selecting one lucky winner to win the entire release.  All you need to do is leave some comments over at the main Uniko blog post, here, as well as comments on the Brand Ambassadors' blog posts (linked within that post) and/or social media.  You have until midnight on Saturday 14th October 2023 BST, good luck!

I think you'll agree that Bev has smashed it once again with these new products.

Happy Saturday, I hope you enjoy taking a look at all the inspiration from the team.

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Autumn Vibes

Hi there

I'm over on the Uniko blog today, here, with a trio of cards with an autumnal theme.  I've used the same little batch of ink colours on all of these cards.

You can find a step by step description of each make over on the Uniko blog post.

First up, I've used one of the Background Blocks stamp sets, Layered Modern Floral...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Background Blocks Layered Modern Floral, Simply Said
• Ink: Altenew - Sunkissed, Orange Cream, Autumn Blaze, Sea Forest, Marshland, Espresso
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Scalloped Rectangles

My second project is a one layer card using the Beautiful Blooms III stamp set...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Beautiful Blooms III, Organic Wishes
• Ink: Altenew - Fired Brick, Autumn Blaze, Orange Cream, Sunkissed, Mangrove Root, Sea Forest, Marshland, Espresso

And for my final card, I've revisited a layout/design I used to use a lot, using the Organic Wishes set...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Organic Wishes
• Ink: VersaMark; Altenew - Sunkissed, Autumn Blaze, Sea Forest, Mangrove Root; Versafine Clair - Fallen Leaves
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles

Thanks for taking a look, have a lovely Wednesday!

 

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Fantastic Foliage

Good morning

I'm over on the Uniko blog, here, today with some Brand Ambassador Inspiration and I have two cards for you, both using different Uniko foliage sets, Framed - Floral Vines and the Large Background Sketched Foliage stamp.

You can find full details of how these were made over on the Uniko blog post.

Card 1...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Framed - Floral Vines, Birthday Wishes
• Ink: Distress Ink - Antique Linen (initial stamping prior to embossing); VersaMark; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Coloured with Copic Markers
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Cardstock from stash

Card 2...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Large Background Sketched Foliage, Simply Said
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, VersaMark; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles

Thanks for popping by today.  I have a little time off work next week so I may be back sooner with more inspiration for you.