Uniko - Let's Have Some FLIPPIN' Seasonal Fun - Release Day, Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY

Good morning and Happy Card Making Day!

What a way to mark the end of the FLIPPIN' week....it's World Card Making Day AND it's release day over at Uniko.  The two new Ink & Flip Layering stencils are now available.

I made another card using the new Ink & Flip Layering Cobweb stencil and paired it with the cat from the Mid Century Modern Purrfect Day stamp set, and a couple of elements from other brands...

For the cobweb this time, I used ink through the first side then, once flipped, I used some glimmer paste.  Be sure to clean off your stencil straight away if using pastes, they dry quickly!  Once dry, I stamped the cat, the sentiment and the spider in black ink and then added the spider's thread using a silver pen.  These spiders are far too small for this design but it's all I had in my stash and my drawing skills are zero! :D 

Materials used:

• Stencil: Uniko - Ink & Flip Layering Cobweb
• Stamps: Uniko - Mid Century Modern Purrfect Day; Clearly Besotted - Simple Script; Card-io - Field Day
• Ink: Versa Magic - Oasis Green; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Paste: Nuvo Glimmer Paste - Moonstone
• Accents: Uniball Signo pen - Silver

So, let's now take a look at the two additions to the Ink & Flip stencil series in full.

Ink & Flip Layering Cobweb...

and Ink & Flip Layering Geometric Christmas Tree...

Aren't these great?  As you can see from the projects shared by the team, they can be used in so many ways.  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.

Make sure you have commented along the hop as Bev will be giving away 3 Ink & Flip Stencils of the winner's choice. Comments will close for the chance to win at midnight on Sunday 13th October 2024 BST, with the winner announced on Monday 14th October 2024.

The products are available from the Uniko store now, here.  

Thanks for visiting today.

Perfectly CAS December 2021 Challenge

Good evening

It's time for the December challenge over at Perfectly CAS.  

Sadly, this will be my last post as a member of the Perfectly CAS Design Team, I have made the difficult decision to step down.  I'm so sad to be leaving as I joined the PCAS family from the very beginning in September 2019, and I love that Kylie founded this challenge, aimed at keeping designs perfectly clean and simple.  As mentioned in my recent LIM and HLS posts, I need to take some time to just create without deadlines and DT commitments.  Thanks so much of course to my wonderful friend Kylie, for inviting me to join this fantastic team, and to my super talented teamies whose CAS creations are just amazing.  I still plan to post regularly so please do stick with me.

Ok, onto the last PCAS challenge of 2021...

I went with the sky option of the challenge cue card and, as I'm so far behind with my Christmas cards this year, I made one to fit this challenge...

I knew exactly which stamp I was going to use, and it was the landscape/sky image from this Card-io set, isn't it fabulous?! I just thought it was so unusual and such a lovely scene backdrop.  So, using my MISTI, I stamped it repeatedly using three shades of pigment ink, to create this gradient effect.  It took quite a few re-stamps and blotting ink off areas of the stamp but it's a great technique if you have a stamping platform.  Before stamping the stag I blended a little ink in the 'snow' where he would be standing, just to create some shadow.  The stag and sentiment were then stamped in black.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Card-io - Magical Christmas; The Greetery - Budding Beauties Winter (sentiment)
• Ink: Versa Color - Neptune, Heliotrope, Lilac; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Challenge entries

CASology - Week 398 - Above

Sweet Stamping - Anything Christmas

We Love Stamping - December Challenge - Anything Stamped with CAS Option

NBUS - Challenge #33 - first use of the background and stag stamps

STAMPlorations - December Challenge - Anything CAS Goes

Dream Valley - Challenge #260 - Christmas

Thanks so much for all your visits and comments, they really are appreciated.  As always, this challenge link will remain open for almost a month, until a few days prior to the next challenge starting.

Less is More Challenge #456

Good morning

Welcome to Saturday and a new challenge over at Less is More.  Today it's a Theme challenge, here's the cue card...

 

We have our September winner joining us as a Guest Designer today, the super talented and wonderful CAS card creater, Asa.  Please do pop over to her blog to take a look at her card and to say hi.

As always at this time of year I'm behind with making my Christmas cards so if the theme fits, that's what I'm making! :)

I began with a die cut stitched rectangle and then ink blended the skyline.  I figured out where the tree and mouse would be stamped and added a little ink blending to ground them.  These were then both stamped in black.  Next I sprinkled over some embossing enamel to create some snow, heating from the underside so the heat gun didn't blow it out of position.  I then adhered the panel onto the card base using fun foam before stamping the sentiment below.

Materials used:

• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Ink: Versa Color - Neptune, Heliotrope, Lilac; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Stamps: Card-io - Magical Christmas (mouse); Woodware - Three Trees; Simon Says Stamp - Happy
• Accents: Stampendous Deep Impression Embossing Enamel - Chunky White

Challenge entries:

Stamping Sensations - November Challenge - Christmas

We Love Stamping - November Challenge - Christmas

Happy Little Stampers - November Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes: Make a Scene

There's lots of inspiration from my teamies over at the Less is More challenge blog, and as always the challenge link is open for two weeks.  Hope to see your cards in the gallery.

Christmas Card Multiples - Scenic Papers

Hi there

More of this year's Christmas cards and in this post I'm sharing some that I made using more patterned papers from my stash.  All of these were scenic papers which I've acquired free with publications over the last couple of years.  So glad I put them to use, my papers all too often get forgotten.

So I cut them down and added an accent here and there to make some slim cards.

Here are the first two...

I simply trimmed these down to leave a border at the top and bottom of the card bases, then cut some skinny strips of no-shred silver glitter card which were adhered in place to frame the top and bottom of the scenes.  Then to finish these I just stamped the sentiments in a co-ordinating shade.

Materials used:

• Patterned papers and glitter cardstock from stash
• Stamp: Altenew - Bells & Boughs (free with Simply Cards and Papercraft)
• Ink: Versa Color - Mountain Lake; Versafine - Onyx Black

I made the following six cards from two sheets featuring three of the same design...

The panels were trimmed down and matted onto charcoal cardstock before adhering to the card bases.  I simply added to the scene by stamping the sleigh image and then made sentiment strips with white heat embossed sentiments.

Materials used:

• Patterned paper and cardstock from stash
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Sing It's Christmas; Card-io - Christmas Scenery 2
• Ink: Altenew - Pure Graphite; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Brutus Monroe - Alabaster White

And finally, I had this lovely winter design which I trimmed down the centre to make two tall, slim cards...

These were simply trimmed down, matted and layered onto red cardstock then the card bases.  Then the heat embossed sentiments were die cut with a stitched rectangle die and these were adhered flat to finish off the cards.

Materials used:

• Patterned paper and cardstock from stash
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangle Stax
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Mini Messages
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Brutus Monroe - Alabaster White

These were super simple to create with only a little crafting involved but I love how they turned out.  I still have lots of papers so I'll certainly be revisiting them more often now.

I'll be back again soon with a few more projects.

Less is More Challenge #433

Hi there

Today, I'm back to announce the new challenge at Less is More.  This will be the last challenge of the year in order to give the Design Team a little break throughout December.

And just to cheer you all up, we're finishing with a One Layer Challenge!  But I can assure you it's an easy one, here's the cue card...

And we also have a familiar face joining us for this one.  Our previous leader at Less is More, the lovely Chrissie, was our October challenge winner and is therefore joining us as our Guest Designer.  Please do pop over to take a look at her lovely CAS project and to say hi.  It's so great to have you back, Chrissie!

I have two one layer makes to share with you this time.  The first was a super quick make and I'm actually really loving this one...

I masked off the back of the green card base and then lightly blended some green ink from the upper corner, fading it out.  The holly (from an oldie but goodie stamp set, now retired) was then stamped in dark green ink and the sentiment in VersaMark.  I then heat embossed the sentiment in gold before finally adding some holly berries with Nuvo drops.

I'm still way behind on my Christmas makes this year, so as I love this design so much I think I may make more of these, and some variations of the same layout.  Although this was a one layer card, made from one piece of green card, to stretch my coloured cardstock I'll more than likely make panels to adhere to the fronts of more cost effective white card bases.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Christmas Poinsettia, Sing It's Christmas
• Ink: Distress Ink - Pine Needles; Altenew - Evergreen; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich
• Accents: Nuvo Crystal Drops - Autumn Red

Challenge entries:

Time Out - Challenge #175 - Quick

We love Chocolate Baroque - November Challenge - Christmas

And while we're on the subject of holly, I wanted to share this picture with you.  I took it a couple of weeks ago when visiting a local Country Park.  I've never seen a holly bush with so many berries, it looks so festive!

Ok, would it even be approaching Christmas if I didn't make a winter scene card using my Card-io stamps?  Here's card number two...

I masked off a central rectangle on my card base and then chose a selection of images from the different scene-builder sets and roughly planned the layout.  Using some paper scraps cut with curves I gently blended the glow and evening sky, the snow banks and shadows where my images would be, and gave the edges a touch of ink to frame the scene.  Then it was just a case of stamping the images in black ink, the church and trees with a mask in place, and the foreground foliage in first and second generation stamping.  To finish, I adhered some fine glitter with a glue pen, which you can see more clearly below.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Card-io - Festive Fun, Festive Scene, Greenery 1, Mini Tall Trees, Dear Deer, Branching Out
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Marigold, Neptune
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Frost - Frosty Dawn
• Quickie Glue pen

Challenge entries:

Uniko - Challenge #62 - Tis the Season (option: Sparkle)

Thanks so much for taking a look today.  As usual, the challenge linky over at Less is More will remain open for two weeks.  Looking forward to seeing lots of one layer makes in the gallery in the run up to Christmas.

Less is More Challenge #424

Good morning and happy Saturday

Less is More has a new challenge beginning today and it's the turn of their One Layer challenge.  Lots of options for this one and time to get ahead as the challenge is all about...

Continuing as our generous sponsor for July is

and remember, just by playing along will put you in the running for our monthly prize.

A little ink blending and stamping for my sample card this time...

I began by die cutting a circle from a post-it note to use as a mask to create a moon.  I then ink blended with Distress Inks to create a wintery dusk sky.  I removed the mask and then stamped the branch and bauble in black to create silhouettes.  The string was hand drawn with a fibre tip pen.  I finished by stamping the sentiment in a co-ordinating shade and added some Glossy Accents to the bauble for some shine.  Apart from the drying time of the gloss, this was a pretty quick card to make.

Materials used:

• Die: Hero Arts - Infinity Circle Dies (for the mask)
• Ink: Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass, Shaded Lilac, Spun Sugar; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Heliotrope
• Stamps: Fancy Foliage (free with Creative Stamping magazine); Card-io Majestix - Zendangles; Clearly Besotted - Sing It's Christmas
• Accents: Fibre tip pen, Glossy Accents

Challenge entries:

AAA Cards - CAS Game #169 - Made in Minutes (Christmas in July)

Time Out - Challenge #166 - Peaceful

Thank you as always for taking a look.  Don't forget, you can find lots more inspiration over on the main challenge blog where my teamies are sharing some great makes.  

Winter Wonderland Walkies

Hi there

Back again with two very similar cards, and using more Card-io stamps that I just love for winter cards.

This first card was made for my bestie, she became mum to a puppy earlier this year which was my inspiration for this design...

On a die cut panel I masked a curve with some scrap paper and blended the sky and sunrise.  With the mask still in place I stamped the fir trees using first, second and third generation stamping for some depth.  Using the mask again I blended a little colour at the base of where my images would be, and then stamped the dog walker, the tree and the sentiment.  I then used a glue pen to add some glitter to the slope of the hill.  To finish I sprinkled on some embossing enamel for the snow.

The next card I made for my brother and sister-in-law, who recently re-homed two beautiful dogs...

This card was made in exactly the same way, just using a few different stamps and these little images were perfect for what I wanted.  And I've only just noticed I forgot to add the embossing enamel for the snow!

Materials used:

• Stamps: Card-io - Mini Tall Trees, Winter Trees, Festive Fun; Winter Wonderland - free with Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine (sentiment on Card 1); Enchanted Corner - free with Papercraft Essentials magazine (sentiment on Card 2)
• Ink: Versa Color - Neptune, Orange, Marigold; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Frost - Frosty Dawn; Stampendous - Chunky White Deep Impression Embossing Enamel

Challenge entries:

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #470 - Anything Goes

Christmas with the Cuties - Challenge #34 - Christmas Cuties

Creative Inspirations - December Challenge - Festive Fun!

Happy Little Stampers - December Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

STAMPlorations - December CAS Cards Challenge - Anything Goes

Just one more Christmas card to share with you from my 2019 makes, I'll be back with that one very soon.  I'd love for you to pop back x

Christmas Card Multiples - Winter Sunrise

Happy Christmas Eve!

I'm finally home from work so it's feet up and relax time :)

But before I do that I thought I'd share another little set of cards I made this year, another design using Card-io stamps.  I just love their scene builder stamps and I was particularly happy with how these turned out.

I die cut four pierced squares, and four more slightly larger.  On the smaller of the squares I created the snow scenes, first by masking and ink blending the sunrise and tree background and then stamping all the trees.  I then sprinkled and heated some chunky embossing enamel to create the falling snow.  I adhered the larger of the squares flat to the card bases then adhered the inked squares on fun foam.  The sentiments were stamped in black below.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Card-io - Mini Tall Trees, Winter Trees; Christmas Sparkle (free set with Creative Stamping magazine)
• Ink: Versa Color - Neptune, Marigold, Orange; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Pierced Square Stax
• Accents: Stampendous - Chunky White Deep Impression Embossing Enamel

Challenge entries:

Allsorts - Challenge #551/2 - Anything Goes

Uniko - Challenge #56 - Christmas (optional twist: tree)

Happy Little Stampers - December Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting, I still have more cards to share so I'll be posting those over the next week or so.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas with your nearest and dearest, I hope you all have a fabulous time.