Uniko January 2025 Release - Introducing...Ink & Flip Layering Flower Stencil and Simply Said Blocks Occasions

Good morning

More Uniko introductions for you today.  First is another Ink & Flip stencil, Layering Flower Stencil, which is a smaller version of Flower Power #8 and another set to join the sentiment sets already available, Simply Said Blocks Occasions.

My first card is very clean and simple, just using the central part of the Ink & Flip Layering Flower stencil, and a sentiment from the new Flower Power #11 set which was introduced yesterday...

I inked through both sides of the stencil, blending from pink, to purple and blue in both directions.  I then simply stamped the sentiment in black and added a few silver gloss gems.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Uniko - Ink & Flip Layering Flower Stencil
• Stamps: Uniko - Flower Power #9
• Ink: Distress Ink - Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Accents: Gems from stash

Onto my second card, and here I used just the stencil which inks up the outer background effect and creates a great shape in the centre, and I also used a sentiment from the new Simply Said Blocks Occasions set and also the existing Simply Said Blocks set, and the flower is from Flower Power #11...

I inked up a panel through both sides of the stencil using a blush shade and lemon shade of ink and the overlaps produced the orange shade.  I then simply stamped the flower head and stem in black and the sentiment in the same ink colours.  The small dot is also from the Flower Power #11 set.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Uniko - Ink & Flip Layering Flower
• Stamps: Uniko - Flower Power #11, Simply Said Blocks, Simply Said Blocks Occasions
• Ink: Altenew - Buttercream, Pink Pearl; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

For my last card I used both ink and paste through the stencil...

On a die cut panel I inked up through the first side of the stencil in Milled Lavender Distress Oxide ink.  I then cleaned the stencil, flipped it, and then spread the paste through the second side which had been mixed with some of the Distress Ink for a similar tone.  The "happy" is from the Simply Said Blocks set and the "Mother's Day" stamps are from the new Simply Said Blocks Occasions set.  I stamped these in a co-ordinating grey shade of ink and fussy cut them out and adhered them on 3D foam.  A small enamel dot in the centre finished off the card.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Uniko - Ink & Flip Layering Flower Stencil
• Stamps: Uniko - Simply Said Blocks, Simply Said Blocks Occasions
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Milled Lavendar; Altenew - Silver Stone
• Stencil Paste: Sweet Poppy - Stencil Dimensions Pearl White
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Accent: Doodlebug Sprinkles - Lilac assortment

Thanks so much for taking a look today.  You can find more projects from the team using these two new products over at the Uniko blog, here.  There are some great creations, I've seen them already.

All the new products will be available from Sunday 5 January 2025.

I hope you'll pop back tomorrow when I will be introducing the final product of this release which is a re-introduction.

Uniko February/March 2023 Release - Introducing...Hoppy Easter and Everyday Spring Sentiments

Good morning

More today using stamps from the upcoming release from Uniko.

Today, the team are showcasing two new sets...Hoppy Easter and Everyday Spring Sentiments.  Hoppy Easter is a cute set with, you've guessed it, the Easter bunny, with an outline and solid image.  And the sentiment set has lots of great Spring themed words using the font which features in many of Bev's already popular sets.

Here's my first card using the Hoppy Easter set...

I stamped the outline image of the bunny, along with the facial features, directly onto the card base and coloured him in using Copics.  I then die cut an oval aperture from some gingham patterned paper and adhered it over the card base so his face was peeping through.  The sentiment stamped in black finished the card.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Hoppy Easter
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Coloured with Copics
• Die: Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Ovals
• Patterned Paper: Docrafts - Boofle

And for my second card I used the solid bunny image, along with some of the words from the Everyday Spring Sentiments set...

I stamped the solid bunny in a sandy brown shade and die cut him out with an oval stitched die.  I then sprinkled on some chunky embossing enamel to create the tail, heating from below so as not to blow the powder out of position.  Flock or a cotton ball would have been better for the dimension I was after but this bunny will have to make do with a shiny tail! :D 

To create the sentiment strips I used masking tape and ink blended the pink and yellow strips, before then stamping a selection of the sentiments in black.

Materials used:

• Stamp: Uniko - Hoppy Easter, Everyday Spring Sentiments
• Ink: Altenew - Sand Dunes, Buttermilk, Frosty Pink; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Embossing Enamel: Stampendous - Chunky White Deep Impressions
• Die: Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Ovals

Don't forget to pop over to the main Uniko blog, here, to see more card examples from the team.

The new products will be available to purchase from the Uniko website from 4 March at 9.00am GMT.

I'll be back with more introductions tomorrow.  Enjoy your day! 

Uniko - Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Flower Power

Hi there

Happy Easter, everyone! 

Today I'm over on the Uniko Blog with some Brand Ambassador inspiration, and I chose to showcase the Flower Power sets this time.  You can find all the information on how I made the following cards over on the Uniko post, here.

First up, a little emboss resist and ink blending...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Flower Power #3, Flower Power #4
• Dies: Uniko - Designer Dies Flower Power #1-#6 Collection; Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Scalloped Rectangles
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Oxide - Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral, Worn Lipstick; Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White

Next up I created a stamped floral background as my focal point...

Materials used:

• Stamps - Uniko: Flower Power #6
• Ink: Altenew - Wisteria, Hydrangea, Frayed Leaf; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Scalloped Rectangles

For my final card I watercoloured the flowers using watercolour pencils.  Unfortunately, my camera has washed out the colour a little on this one...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Flower Power #2
• Ink: VersaMark; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; MFT Die-namics - Rectangle Peek-a-boo Window
• Watercoloured using Derwent Inktense pencils

Challenge entries:

Card 2:

Color Hues - Challenge #39 - Purple and Green

Card 3:

Inkspirational - Challenge #263 - Technique Challenge - Watercolour

STAMPlorations - April CAS Challenge - Anything CAS Goes (Blue & Purple)

I'd also like to make you aware of a 10% discount code that Bev at Uniko is kindly offering on all orders this Easter weekend so if you do want to make a purchase, please do use the code easterspecial10 for a discount.

Thanks so much for visiting today and I wish you all a wonderful Easter Sunday. 

Less is More - Challenge #440

Good morning

Happy Easter weekend :)  There's a fresh new Colour challenge just starting over at Less is More today so I'll get straight to it, here's the cue card...

Pink and grey is a colour combination we see very often, but I don't think I've ever combined it with gold.  For my Design Team card I decided to use gold embossing to outline my images...

This was the first outing of this cute little stamp set by Clearly Besotted.  I stamped the bunny and Easter egg, and then the smaller egg separately, with grey ink.  I then left the stamps in my MISTI so I could re-stamp later.  I coloured the images with copies and then returned the cardstock to my MISTI and restamped in VersaMark ink before heat embossing in gold.  I used anti-static powder beforehand to avoid any stray embossing powder clinging where I didn't want it.  I took two pierced square dies and cut my images out with one and embossed my card front with the slightly larger one.  I then stamped the sentiment on the card base, fussy cut the smaller egg and adhered the square on fun foam topped with the second egg.

 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Spring Plushies
• Ink: Memento - London Fog; VersaMark
• Coloured with Copics: RV02, RV10, C0, C2, C3
• Embossing Powder: Wow - Metallic Gold Rich
• Dies: MFT-Dienamics - Pierced Square Stax

Challenge entries:

My Time to Craft - Challenge #454 - Easter

Make My Monday - Challenge #145 - Easter or Spring

NBUS - Challenge #25 (first use of this stamp set)

STAMPlorations - April CAS Challenge - Anything Goes

Uniko - Challenge #64 - Signs of Spring (Option: Easter)

Thanks so much for visiting today and I hope you enjoy your Easter weekend whatever you are doing.  I hope that many of you are able to catch up with friends and family as best you can, certainly in the UK the restrictions are beginning to be lifted and we are able to meet small numbers outdoors.  

Stay safe and I'll be back very soon with more to share.

Easter at Skull and Cross Buns

Hi guys

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards using some stamps from the Easter range at Skull and Cross Buns.

At Skull and Cross Buns, as well as stocking clear stamp sets, inks, stencils and embellishments, Emily's main passion is for making wood mounted rubber stamps.  The stamps are amazing quality and the fact that they are manufactured in my home county of Devon, makes me a huge fan.  Personalised stamps are also available so please do take a look at the website.

Ok, onto my cards, which both use the 'bunny bum' stamp, as well as some others from the selection.  Here's the first...

I die cut a faux stitched square and heat embossed the round sentiment and image in the centre in white before ink blending over the top with Distress Oxides.  I then placed the panel in my MISTI and stamped the bunny four times, leaving the stamp in position and turning the panel 1/4 turn each time.  I then stamped the hot cross bun in between the bunnies in a light brown ink which I then coloured with Copics.  I popped the panel up on fun foam onto the card base and added some adhesive and white flitter to the bunny tails.

Materials used:

• Die: The Works - square stitched dies
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Bunny Bum, Hot Cross Bun, Happy Easter Wreath
• Ink: Altenew - Frosty Pink; Memento - Desert Sand; VersaMark; Distress Oxide - Squeezed Lemonade, Cracked Pistachio
• Embossing Powder: Brutus Monroe - Alabaster White
• Copics: E50, E53
• White flitter from stash

Challenge entries:

Make My Monday - Challenge #145 - Easter or Spring Card

Uniko - Challenge #64 - Signs of Spring (Option: Easter)

And my second card...

On my card base I adhered some patterned papers, one in a very thin strip along the top edge of another.  On a die cut rectangular panel I then stamped the bunny, sentiment and the daffodil (using mini stamps from a clear set) and coloured the daffodil with Copics.  I then used an embossing pen on the bunny's tail and added some chunky white embossing enamel in two layers for dimension.

Materials used:

• Patterned paper: Dovecraft - Garden Party
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Bunny Bum, Happy Easter Quirky, Spring Motifs clear stamp set
• Ink: Altenew - Coral Berry, Forest Glades; Memento - Bamboo Leaves, Cantaloupe
• Copics: Y08, YG17
• Embossing Powder: Stampendous - Chunky White Deep Impression Embossing Enamel

Thanks for the visit today, I'll be back tomorrow evening to introduce the new Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge for April.

(AD - some products kindly gifted for design team purposes)

Skull and Cross Buns April/May Release - Crafty Harlequin Diamonds and Easter Icons

Hi guys

I'm back this evening to share another couple of makes using products from the Skull and Cross Buns April/May release.

I think you're going to love the new set called Crafting Is My Super Power.  There are some great crafting item images as well as some crafty sentiments, including this fab one I've used on my card.  I've also used the Harlequin Diamond Pattern Stencil which is part of a five stencil bundle...

I used the shifted stencilling technique on a white cardstock panel, first inking in Cracked Pistachio before shifting very slightly and then inking with Peacock Feathers Distress Ink, both of which were faded out towards the centre.  I then stamped and fussy cut the stencil and ink pad images and popped these up on 3D foam alongside the sentiment.  The panel was then adhered flat to the card base.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Set of 5 April/May 2019 Large Stencils (Harlequin Diamond)
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Crafting Is My Super Power
• Ink: Distress Ink - Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers; Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Coloured with ProMarkers

For my next card I've combined two more of the new stamp sets, Spring Motifs and Spring Sentiments...

Although this card looks fairly simple, it did take some time to stamp and emboss the words onto the kraft card as most of these are separate stamps so there was lots of lining up and stamping in stages to ensure the ink was still sticky enough to accept the embossing powder.  Once the panel was complete I sliced away the central diagonal section and adhered the two corners to the card base.  I then stamped five of the images directly on the card base and coloured these very simply with ProMarkers.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Spring Sentiments, Spring Motifs
• Ink: VersaMark; Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Embossing Powder: Altenew - Pure White
• Coloured with ProMarkers

Challenge entries:

Always Fun Challenges - Challenge #103 - Use Kraft

Uniko - Challenge #52 - Spring optional twist Easter

Here's a reminder of the full Skull and Cross Buns April/May Release, all now available on the website, here...

As always, thanks so much for visiting.

Skull and Cross Buns April/May Release! - Spring Scene

Hi guys

Popping, or should I say, hopping by today to share the first of my makes using the fab new April/May product release by Skull and Cross Buns.

The release includes:

• 3 new clear stamp sets
• 4 new stamp set bundle
• Happy Stamping Card Making Kit - loads of Spring themed goodies
• Bundle of 5 stencils

You can find all the new products by following this link, here.  These are also feature on the Skull and Cross Buns Facebook page, here.  I've included a collage of the new products at the base of this post.

For my first card I've made a Spring scene for an Easter card combining three products form the new release...

I ink blended the background with Distress Ink and a cloud stencil and a little green along the base.  The rest is just stamping and colouring of all the little individual elements.  And for a little bling I added some sparkle to the bee's wings...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Spring Motifs, Spring Sentiments, Spring Friends (available in the stamp bundle or kit)
• Stencil: MFT - Cloud
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass, Mowed Lawn
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Accent: Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen - Clear

Skull and Cross Buns April/May Release:

Challenge entries:

Uniko - Challenge #52 - Spring: optional twist Easter

Inkspirational - Challenge #183 - Cloud

I'll be sharing lots more over the next few days so I'd love for you to pop back if you have time.

Curtain Call - Guest Designer!

Hi guys

Last month I was lucky enough to be the Lead for the Green challenge at Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge.  And by winning the challenge I'm delighted to have been invited to be their Guest Designer for the next challenge, which starts today.

So, without further ado here's the inspiration photo...

And here's my interpretation...

I think it's fairly obvious which elements I used from the photo!  I started by stamping the tulips with a little masking for dimension.  I then cut a rough mask to cover the flowers before gently blending through a stencil to create the background.  I then took inspiration from the cracked paint on the chair in the photo and used a die to cut some patterned paper which was a great match for the flaking paint, and I then added a little shading to the edges of the jar die cut to add some depth.  I then stamped the sentiment, matted the panel onto some orange cardstock and then adhered it flat to the card base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Spring Blooms, With Love
• Ink: Altenew - Sunkissed, Orange Cream, Rose Quartz, Puffy Heart, Frosty Pink, Cotton Candy, Forest Glades, Frayed Leaf; Distress Ink - Weathered Wood (stencil shading); Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stencil: MFT - Checkerboard
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Spring Blooms (jar)
• Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants Designs - Country Boutique
• Coloured Card: Papermania

Challenge entries:

Inkspirational - Challenge #132 - Spring

Creative Inspirations - Challenge #272 - Spring Spectacular

Penny Black and More - April Challenge - Spring

Stamping Sensations - April Challenge - Anything Goes

Uniko - Challenge #40 - Spring with an Optional Twist of Easter

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  And a big thank you to the team at Curtain Call for inviting me to join them for this challenge.