Uniko: You're Going to Flip - Ink & Flip Geometric Heart Layering Stencil Revisited

Good morning 

More Ink & Flip inspiration for you today from Uniko.

Each day this week, Bev and the Brand Ambassadors are revisiting the existing Ink & Flip stencils, ahead of a new release stencil set which will be available from Saturday.  Be sure to check out the Uniko blog to see lots of inspiration from the team.

So today is all about the Ink & Flip Geometric Heart Layering Stencils.  You can use the two stencils together or just use the central geometric heart on its own.

I have two cards for you today and have used just the central heart on these, and for my first I've kept it super clean and simple...

I inked up using the first side of the stencil with Distress Oxide ink in Speckled Egg.  I then cleaned the stencil, flipped it over and then spread over the stencil using a mix of stencil paste and Distress Oxide ink in Kitsch Flamingo.  This was then left to dry before finishing the card with a sentiment from the Flower Power #3 set in black ink.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Uniko - Ink & Flip Geometric Heart Layering Stencil
• Stamps: Uniko - Flower Power #3 (sentiment)
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Speckled Egg, Kitsch Flamingo; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Stencil Paste: Sweet Poppy - Stencil Dimensions in Pearlescent White

For my other card I dug out by Brusho pigment powders...

On some watercolour card I laid the heart stencil down, sprinkled sparingly with purple Brushos and then spritzed with a mist of water to release the pigment.  I removed the stencil and left the pigment to dry, then I flipped the stencil and repeated the process using blue Brushos to complete the heart.  I had a rummage in my coloured papers and found this co-ordinating purple jacquard paper, also with a geometric pattern.  I used a border die, trimmed down the panel and adhered it to the card base, leaving the patterned paper showing at the base.  I finished with a sentiment from the Just Because stamp set.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Uniko - Ink & Flip Geometric Heart Layering stencil
• Stamps: Uniko - Just Because
• Ink: Brushos - Purple, Ultramarine; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Dies: Stampin' Up Edgelits - Adorning Accents; Altenew - Featured Sentiments
• Patterned paper from stash

I hope these have given you some inspiration today.  Don't forget to visit the Uniko blog, here, to see the Brand Ambassadors' makes using this stencil set, and we'll be showcasing another tomorrow.

Bears and Balloons

Hi there

Today I'm sharing a card I was commissioned to make for a friend for her daughter's wedding.  The special day was yesterday so I'm safe to share it online now!

The request was for it to be A5 (UK sizing) as it was a special card so this is twice the size of the normal A6 size I usually make.  As a CAS cardmaker I do struggle to fill an A5 space but I think I made it work here.

She asked for something cute and with balloons and the wedding colours were subtle pink and purple so this is what I came up with...

I've had this cute stamp in my stash for about ten years!  I've only used it once before but it's perfect for a cute wedding card.  I stamped the bears first, coloured them with Copics then masked them off before stencilling the layered balloons behind using Distress Inks.  Once dry I then stamped the heart clusters and heat embossed in silver.  I printed the sentiment onto white paper (my printer struggles to take cardstock), so to solve this I then adhered it to some white cardstock before die cutting with a curvy rectangle die.  A wrapped some lilac ribbon across the panel, securing on the reverse before topping with the sentiment die cut.  The whole panel was then adhered to the card base on fun foam and to finish I added some shimmer to the champagne glasses using a sparkle pen, you can just about see it in the photo below.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Stampavie - Bubbly Bears; Uniko - Balloon Bash
• Stencil: MFT - Big Balloons
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Distress Ink - Kitsch Flamingo, Spun Sugar, Dusty Concord, Shaded Lilac; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Silver
• Die: Spellbinders - Reverse Wonky Rectangles
• Coloured with Copics
• Accents: Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen - Clear

Challenge entries:

STAMPlorations - June Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers - June Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking, enjoy the rest of your weekend whatever you're up to.

Honey Doo Crafts - May 2020 Release - Floral Arch and Around the Table

Hi there

In this post I'm sharing my final two sample cards using the new stamps from Honey Doo Crafts.

All the new products will be launched on Create & Craft TV tomorrow, 22 May 2020, the shows being at 11.15am and 3.45pm.  And they are also already available to purchase over at the Honey Doo Crafts store, here.


First up is a card I've made using the new Floral Arch stamp set...

The Bride and Groom image I shared yesterday is designed to fit within this arch but I chose to use the arch on its own here.  I stamped the image onto some clear vellum and heat embossed it in white before fussy cutting it out.  I then coloured in the wooden arch and voile swag on the reverse using Zig markers.  For my beach scene die cut panel I firstly blended the sand, the sea, and then the clouds with Distress Inks, using a stencil for the clouds (even through I covered most of them up!).  I then added the additional details to create the sand - a metallic and a black/white embossing powder, which I sprinkled on and then heat from the underside so it didn't get blown away by the heat gun.  And for the breaking waves I used embossing enamel, again heat from the reserve side.  A closer view of the 'sand' can be seen in the next photo...

To finish, I stamped the sentiment from the same set, adhered the panel on fun foam, and then adhered the arch using clear glue dots.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Floral Arch
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Tea Dye, Salty Ocean, Tumbed Glass
• Stencil: MFT - Mini Cloud Edges
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Aztec Glintz, Salt & Pepper; Stampendous - Deep Impressions Embossing Enamel
• Vellum from Stash
• Coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

And my second card uses a new set called Around the Table...

I began with a gentle blend of Distress Inks on my card base and then stamped the table and chairs image and coloured with ProMarkers.  I created a frame using a stitched rectangular die and adhered this flat to the card.  I used the Honey Doo Palm Leaves die and trimmed a section out to lay over one corner.  I finished with an embossed sentiment from the same set and popped this up on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Around the Table
• Ink: Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass, Pumice Stone; Memento - Tuxedo Black; VersaMark
• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; Honey Doo Crafts - Palm Leaves
• Embossing Powder: Altenew - Pure White
• Coloured with ProMarkers

There is one extra new stamp set for which, unfortunately, I didn't find time to make a sample.  It's called Beach Hut and you can find it here.

Thanks so much for visiting and for taking a look at my sample cards.  I'll be back again on Saturday morning to introduce the next challenge over at Less is More.

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

Honey Doo Crafts - May 2020 Release - Bride & Groom

Good evening, folks

Tonight I'm sharing more sample cards using the new stamps from Honey Doo Crafts.

And just as a reminder, Amanda will be launching the new products on Create & Craft TV this Friday, 22 May 2020, the shows being at 11.15am and 3.45pm.


The new stamp set in focus here is called Bride & Groom.

This sample card is very simple but I love these neutral/vintage tones...

I began with a die cut panel and stamped both the image and sentiment, which is included in the stamp set, in a neutral shade of pigment ink then heat embossed it all in a pearl shade.  I added a minimal amount of colour to the happy couple, again in neutral shades, popped the panel up with dimensional foam and called this card done.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Bride and Groom
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Ink: Versa Color - Vanilla
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - White Pearl
• Coloured with ProMarkers

For my second sample I paired the stamp set with an existing stencil from the Honey Doo product range...

I started by stamping the bride and groom image on a die cut panel of white cardstock and then stamped it again on a couple of post-it notes to make a mask.  I used a heart die from my stash to create an aperture in a scrap piece of cardstock and blended through with a pale shade of Distress Ink.  I then laid the Honey Doo Floral Display stencil over the heart aperture and blended through with a different shade of Distress Ink.  I stamped the sentiment from the same set with a co-ordinating shade of pigment ink and heat embossed in clear.  The panel was adhered to the card base using fun foam for dimension and I finished by adding some shimmer to the bride's dress using a glitter pen.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Bride and Groom
• Stencil: Honey Doo Crafts - Floral Display
• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; MFT Die-namics - Stitched Heart Stax
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Ink - Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet; Versa Color - Ash Rose
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Accents: Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen - Clear

Thanks for visiting, I'll be back again tomorrow with more samples ahead of the shows on Friday.

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

Perfectly CAS - September 2019 Challenge

Hi there

I'm super thrilled to be a member of the Design Team of a brand new challenge that is starting right now.  The 'Perfectly CAS' challenge is exactly that, all about creating perfectly CAS (clean and simple) cards by following the rule of one third. 

Our first monthly challenge is an easy one...

Here's my sample card...

I chose a lovely icy blue/lilac shade of textured cardstock for my upper panel.  I then used floral images from a stamp layering set, stamped and embossed the outline image in silver, then stamped the second layer in a blue tone to co-ordinate with the background.  After adhering the panel flat to the base, the sentiment was then stamped in the same blue ink onto a white strip and popped up on 3D foam.  I love this simple sentiment, it could be used for lots of different occasions.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Altenew - Golden Garden, Leaf Canopy
• Ink: VersaMark; Versa Color - Smoke Blue
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Silver
• Cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

The Flower Challenge - Challenge #36 - Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations - September Challenge - Anything Goes with Flowers

Please do pop over to the main challenge blog, here, and check out what the rest of my fabulous teamies are sharing, they have some gorgeous examples for you.  And as this is a monthly challenge there's plenty of time to link up.  Even if you find CAS cards a little daunting, why not give it a go :)

Cute Wedding

Hi there

Apologies for the radio silence.  I've completely lost my creative mojo lately, I'm hoping to sit down and have a proper look for it later!

In the meantime, I thought I'd pop on and share a card I made last month.  I was commissioned to create a card for a friend for her son's wedding, I was waiting until after the day to share it here then it completely slipped my mind.

Here it is, the brief was an A5 wedding card with a cute theme featuring owls...

As a CAS cardmaker I really struggle with larger sizes such as A5, as I find it difficult to fill such a large area whilst maintaining my usual style.  As I opted for the textured frame I was really happy with how this turned out.

I began by cutting the upper panel, from a sheet of embossed stripe cardstock, and die cutting the stitched aperture.  This way I could be sure that the focal point was positioned correctly on the card base behind.  I roughly marked the focal area with a pencil and then stamped the branch, owls, leaves, hearts, top hat and flower, before then roughly masking and creating the clouds with a stencil and Distress Ink.  Before adhering the panel, I wrapped some decorative ribbon around the panel and topped with a bow.  The panel was then adhered on 3D foam strips.

I printed the wording onto some white cardstock (using a font called dearJoe 5 CASUAL) and cut the two hearts out with a stitched heart die to tie in with the stitched aperture.  I adhered these, popping some 3D foam squares behind the parts that overlapped the aperture, and to finish added some Glossy Accents to the owls' eyes...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Paired Up (branch/hearts/leaves), Woodland Pals (owls); Mama Elephant - Three Amigos (hat); Penny Black - Salutations (flower)
• Ink: Altenew - Lava Rock, Mocha, Morning Frost; Versa Color - Olive, Pink, Rose Red; Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stencil: MFT - Cloud
• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; MFT Die-namics - Stitched Heart Stax
• Accents: Glossy Accents

Challenge entries:

Fab 'n' Funky - Challenge #440 - Wedding

Thanks so much for visiting, hopefully I'll find some crafty inspiration soon and be able to share more with you.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :)

Muse Challenge #278 - Happy I Do Day

Good afternoon

It's a new week at Muse challenge and it's my turn to be your designer.

I recently purchased a new mini stamp set from Clearly Besotted's August Release called I Do Day and really wanted to ink it up, and as wedding season is in full swing I thought this theme would be ideal for this challenge.

Hopefully you can find some inspiration from this one such as the apricot colour, monochrome design, white embossing, florals, wedding, roses, etc.  This was quite a quick and easy one to make too.

Here it is...

I wanted a soft colour to go with this pretty roses stamp and found this unusual apricot colour in my stash.  It's not a colour I use often but I thought it would be lovely and soft for a wedding theme.  I stamped the roses four times, at different angles around the edge of the panel in VersaMark ink and then heat embossed in white.  I then stamped and heat embossed the sentiment (also from this stamp set) also in white.  I popped the panel up on the card base using fun foam.  The sheen from the embossing can be seen better below...

To finish I adhered a scattering of co-ordinating sequins, from two different sets of shaker mixes.

Materials used:

• Coloured Cardstock: Bazzill Basics - Assorted pack
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - I Do Day
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Sequins: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Pearl Necklace and Peach Schnapps

Challenge entries:

STAMPlorations - Summer Theme & Sketch Challenge - Anything Goes

STAMPlorations - Summer CAS Card Challenge
Cards in Envy - Somthing New (new stamp set)

I hope you can gain some inspiration from my card.  The challenge linky will be open for a week :)

Thanks so much for visiting.

Lightbox Wedding

Hi guys

A friend of mine had her gorgeous wedding on Saturday and today I'm sharing the card I made for her and her husband.

I wanted to use a new stamp set and co-ordinating embellishment from Skull and Cross Buns with which you can create one of the massive trends at the moment....a lightbox!  Check out the site, here, for this new stamp set, as well as some new embellishments and stencils :)

This one took a little forward planning as it was my first attempt at creating a light up card using Chibitronic LEDs and a pull-tab slide switch, I've only made them previously using the push battery method.  My first circuit started to be a little temperamental before I completed the card so I started again and had success the second time around!

Here's the completed card...

And here it is with the light activated...

I started by cutting an aperture where the lightbox would sit and marked on a piece of card behind (on which I would build my circuit) where I wanted the LED, battery and slide switch to be.  I then followed this tutorial, here, to create my circuit (my card is much less complicated than the one in the example!).  Apologies, I didn't take any photos of the inner panel.

I marked through the acrylic grid with pencil onto the back of some vellum to help with alignment and then stamped the letters and heart in black and heat embossed with clear powder.  I then erased the pencil lines and adhered the vellum behind the aperture.  I wanted to diffuse the light a little more so added another layer of vellum.  The light is very bright in these photos, you can in fact see the heart with the light activated.

The circuit panel was then adhered in position on the card base.  I didn't take into account that the copper tape could be seen through the vellum so I did some surgery with some scrap white card to cover that area and just made a hole for the LED to shine through.  I stamped the sentiment before adhering the top panel on 3D foam.  Next I adhered the acrylic lightbox grid over the aperture using Glossy Accents to ensure it adhered well.  I then stamped, coloured and die cut the floral image and popped this up on 3D foam.  I finished by adding some really pretty iridescent jewels.

I just hope the little circuit is still behaving itself now it's in the hands of the new Mr and Mrs! :)

Below is a very amateur video I took to show it in action...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Lightbox Love; Clearly Besotted - Fairytale Ending(flowers), Time to Celebrate (arrow on slider); Lawn Fawn - Happy Wedding
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Fairytale Ending; Stripped (for the slider switch)
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Image coloured with ProMarkers
• Tools: Chibitronics - White LED sticker (copper tape and battery)
• Vellum from stash
• Accents: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Jewels (Clear iridescent mix)

Challenge entries:

Daring Cardmakers - Weddings and Anniversaries

Just Add Ink - Challenge #415 - Inspiration photo

Dream Valley - Challenge #182 - All Things Bright and Beautiful

AAA Cards - CAS Game #118 - Use a Frame

Thanks so much for visiting today.  Why not get yourself some Chibitronics LEDs and have a go yourself.  It's very satisfying when it works! :D

Less is More Week #334

Good morning

Wow, what a hot week it's been here in the UK!  I love the sun but this heat has been taking it out of me.  Thankfully, since Thursday it's been a little cooler so it's much more bearable now.

So, let's get to the reason for today's post.  At Less is More this week we have a Sketch challenge for you.  It's been a while since we've had a sketch challenge so here it is...

We continue to have STAMPlorations as our fab sponsor this month so please do play along for a chance to win the monthly prize.

I find sketch challenges the most difficult but I've managed three cards for you this week (it might have something to do with the fact that I designed this week's sketch! haha Hope you like it!)

So let's get to it with my first card...

I used a curved die to create some masks and then blended in between with Distress Inks in sunset colours.  After removing the masks I stamped the flowers in waterproof black ink.  I then 'painted' the petals with clean water and blotted with a paper towel to remove the colour.  I went over the petals a couple of times to achieve the faded look a little more.  I finished by stamping the flourishes and sentiment.

Materials used:

• Die: Avery Elle - Dotted Borders Dies (to create the masks)
• Ink: Distress Ink - Squeezed Lemonade, Carved Pumpkin, Candied Apple; Archival - Jet Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Flowers for Design; Clearly Besotted - Message Me

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #247 - Make Your Mark (sponge blending)

Penny Black and More - June Challenge - Anything Goes

The Flower Challenge - Challenge #9 - Anything Goes

I chose a kraft and lace theme for my second card...

On a panel of kraft cardstock slightly smaller than my card base I used some thin paper cut from a curved die to mask the wavy section.  I then stamped the lace design in VersaMark and heat embossed in white.  I chose thin paper for my masks as I wanted to achieve the best impression from my stamp.  With thicker masks you usually get a narrow margin that doesn't stamp properly.  I also heat embossed the sentiment and die cut around it with a stitched heart die.  The main panel was mounted on fun foam to the card base, and then I adhered the heart and added a single white pearl.

Materials used:

• Kraft cardstock: Neenah - Desert Storm
• Dies: Mama Elephant - Landscape Trio Dies; MFT Die-namics - Stitched Heart Stax
• Stamps: Wow! - Lace; Clearly Besotted - On Your Day
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Accents: Hobbycraft - 3mm white pearl

Challenge entries:

CAS(E) this Sketch - Challenge #227

Alphabet Challenge - 'H' for Hearts

I reached for some patterned paper for card three...

This patterned paper pack has been in my stash for about ten years!!!  So it was nice to create with it again.  I adhered a strip to my card base and then cut a panel of white cardstock, split using a curved die.  I stamped the sentiment in grey before adhering both white panels on 3D foam.  I used a die which co-ordinated well with the design of the paper and used this to cut a flower from some bright pink cardstock, adhered over the panels to finish.

Materials used:

• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Snowdrifts; Tim Holtz - Wildflowers
• Patterned Paper: Dovecraft - A Hint of Pink
• Stamp: Wplus9 - Fresh Cut Florals
• Ink: Versa Color - Sky Gray

Challenge entries:

Happy Little Stampers - June Challenge - Anything Goes with Dies

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Use Patterned Paper

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Please do pop over to the LIM challenge blog and check out my teamies' creations this week, they've really shown how versatile this sketch is, and no doubt will have more inspiration for you over on their personal blogs too.

Have a lovely weekend :)

Happy Little Stampers March 2017 CAS Challenge

Good evening

The March challenges are starting to get into action over at Happy Little Stampers and today marks the start of the CAS challenge for this month.  This week, on your clean and simple creations we would like to see...

And once again there will be a prize up for grabs from the Happy Little Stampers store, as with each of the monthly challenges!

I decided to ink up the HLS set called Simply Said and made a wedding card...

On a spare piece of white cardstock I stamped the stitched heart from the set multiple times in VersaMark ink, overlapping the images.  I then heat embossed these in white before blending over with Distress Inks.  I used a stitched heart die to cut out a section and then adhered the die cut 'congrats' over this.  Before adhering the heart to the base I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment, also from the set, in silver.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Simply Said
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Cracked Pistachio, Shaded Lilac, Worn Lipstick
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Heart Stax; Clearly Besotted - Congrats Word Die

Challenge entries:

Inkspirational - Challenge #129 - 'Connect' (wedding - two people connecting)
Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #231 - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for popping by.  And don't forgot, you've got the whole of March to play along with your dies, just remember to keep them CAS for this challenge.  I hope you'll join us.