Winner & A Card...

Hey & Happy Monday!

I do hope your week has got off to a good start? Mine started a little wobbly with a sleepless night and snotty beans, but all turned out to be an OK kinda day - phew! Anyway, someone's week is going to be improved considerably (I hope) as I am here to announce the winner of the January 2017 Design Team Blog Hop and GIVEAWAY! 

Thank you to everyone who hopped along and left such lovely comments. Random.org has helped me pick the winner from all the comments left...

And the lucky comment was left by...

Preety11 January 2017 at 11:02

Beautiful card :) love the flower design and colors used. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers
preety

Congratulations Preety! Please send me an email to bev@uniko.co.uk by Monday 30th January 2017 along with your postal address. I can then get your prize on its way to you.

How about a card before I go...

This card was inspired by a challenge I came across by joining in on the current TIME OUT Challenge HERE. The current Guest Designer at TO and person they are CASEing is Ksenija from Sweet Kobylkin. Ksenija happens to be running a Chasing Mojo challenge HERE, which is to CASE a card in the gallery on the post or someone else in blogland. 

I chose THIS card by Victoria Shipunova. I was first drawn to the swirly floral stamped image framing the sentiment. I was inspired to recreate this using Uniko clear stamps Originally Organic in particular and then the vibrancy of the colours.

Way back in October at the Happy Stampers Festival, I did a little retail therapy as well as running the Uniko stand, its got to be done, right...? ;) I purchased a few more Zig Clean Colour Brush Pens to go with the little quartet I already owned. Shamefully (hangs head), I've not got round to opening them, let alone using them. So, with the lovely Darnell inspiring blogland to use their NBUS, I am joining with NBUS #9. 

This time I used new stuff on my card and one of the optional themes CASEing. I do plan on having a go at the other optional theme of the NBUS challenge which Deborah also inspired me to have a go at HERE, the hidden message. So, all being well I will have more to share later in the week :)

Until then, thank you for stopping by.

Hugs

Supplies:-

Uniko Clear Stamps: Originally Organic

Card: Stampin' Up! Whisper White

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Zig Clean Colour Brush Markers, MISTI & Stampin' Up! Enamel Dots

A Look Back At 2016!

Hey & Happy Boxing Day!

I do hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day, I think this year has to of been one of the best for us as a family of four :) Seeing the beans faces as they walked into the front room with all the new toys and train set laid out was a picture. Plus, I just loved every minute watching them play together learning their new toys and then pulling daddy down to the floor to help and play. It truly melted my heart.

Here are a couple of photos from Christmas morning, apologies for my bed head!

Me and Ben the bookworm, checking out the new Peppa Pig books!

Josh admiring the train set

Josh getting stuck in with all the toys! 

Anyway, back to the title of this blog post... A Look Back At 2016! This year has been an amazing year for myself personally, but it has been a fantastic year for Uniko. We have had 5 fabulous releases, with 16 new clear stamps sets lining the Uniko HQ shelves. 

I don't know about you, but to me this year has almost passed by in a blur! With that in mind I thought it would be nice now the main seasonal festivities are over and as 2016 draws to a close, to take a look back at Uniko's 2016.

Today, I am looking back at the 2016 February Release. This was Uniko's 4th Birthday celebration and I launched 4 clear stamp sets, Beautiful Blooms III, I Love Tea, Some Bunny and Simply Said. So, I dusted the sets off and got to work with the help of my Christmas present from Santa, the MISTI and made a few new cards to share with you...

First up is a card using Beautiful Blooms III, the perfect set to get my MISTI into action! This set features a lovely modern 4 step layering bloom. I decided to only use 3 of the layers, but with the help of the MISTI it was a breeze and such a quicker process.

I've not had the time to sit and 'play' with my stamps or join in with challenges, so I was inspired to join in on the current CAS(E) this Sketch! sketch for the layout of my card seen HERE and below.

I also got my new and neglected Altenew inks out for this card. The sentiment is from Originally Organic, a clear stamp set I will be looking at later in the week, but the sentiments work perfectly with florals, so I couldn't resit using it and showing you how Uniko clear stamp sets can work together for even more possibilities.

Next I was inspired by THIS photo on Pinterest to use I LOVE Tea clear stamp set and replicate some blue and white fine bone china.

The teacups are stamped in Encore Gold ink and again I used my MISTI for this simple stamped image. I don't know if this happens to you, but when I stamp using metallic inks onto smooth card the image can slide slightly. So using the MISTI prevented this from happening :)

The teacups were decorated using the small Beautiful Blooms III image from the I LOVE Tea clear stamp set and the larger bloom from Beautiful Blooms III. As you can see I love to coordinate clear stamp sets when I am designing them! The sentiment is from Simply Said and as I need a few thank you cards post Christmas that was the reasoning behind my choice.

Lastly, but no means least I inked up Some Bunny clear stamp set. Though this set is oriented towards Spring and Easter, it is also a perfect set for New Baby cards, Children's Birthdays and more.

I used the current Freshly Made Sketches sketch seen HERE and below for the layout of my card and I opted to make a New Baby Congratulations card. No harm in having one of these on hand for 2017, I know a few people expecting next year.

The bunny is such a fun and cute image, perfect for those who like to colour. But it also suits some paper piecing, for when you are short on time! The congratulations sentiment is another from Simply Said.

So, that's a quick look back at the February 2016 Release, I hope I have given you a little inspiration to dust off these sets if you have them ;) There is a small amount of 3 of the sets in stock on the website and I have planned some restocks to arrive in January.

I hope you will join me again tomorrow, when I will be taking a look back at the 2016 April Release. Until then, thank you for stopping by.

Hugs

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CAS Colours & Sketches #167

Hey!

It's time for another CAS Colours & Sketches challenge & as this is the 5th Thursday in the month, this week is a double challenge. Our hostess Jane has chosen 3 colours and a sketch for you to combine and spark your creativity...

I think this has to be my first double challenge I have done at CC&S not just as a DT member but as a player. They scare me and my creativity! 

So to overcome this I sat down and thought logically. I started by looking at the colours and my stamps to see what theme the colours would suit. With the chocolate brown and my I LOVE Coffee set being prominent on my desk that is what I opted for and this is what I came up with...

After choosing the main stamp set to use the rest of the card kind of fell into place! I had recently bought SU! Timeless Textures stamp set and have been wanting to pair the cup stain stamp with my Uniko stamps for sometime and this card was perfect for doing that.

I still used Chocolate Chip for the stains, but stamped them off before stamping onto the panel to achieve a lighter shade. I used Pacific Point to stamp the open polka dots from Background Builders: Circles and the Uniko flower is stamped in Summer Sun, the closest yellow I have.

As I have used polka dots I thought I would also enter my card into the current "Less is More" challenge HERE, which is to use polka dots this week.

Ok, enough waffle from me, head on over HERE for more inspiration from the Design Team and I hope to see you playing along and in the gallery this week.

Thanks for stopping by today.

CAS Colours & Sketches #157

Hey!

Welcome back to another fun week & challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week Patricia our hostess has inspired us with another fun colour challenge HERE and seen below.

At first I found this colour combo to be a little tricky, mainly the Soft Suede. If it had been a green, no problem, but a brown I had to put my thinking cap on ;)

Anyhow, this is what I came up with...

I reached for the recently released & popular I LOVE Coffee set, as the brown was perfect for the cup and sentiment. I added a Rose Red heart duo to the cup and a strip of So Saffron CS to the bottom of my white CS layer. 

After adhering the coffee cup to the card with foam adhesive, I decided the hearts (from Flower Power #3) needed a little sparkle. So I added some Wink Of Stella, which made the ink run and a lighter shade of Rose Red in-between the hearts happened! 

I've made another card HERE over on the Uniko website blog too using this weeks Stamp Of The Week - Flower Power #2. I'd love you to pop on over and have a look :)

Anyway, be sure to check out all the FABulous CC&S Design Team inspiration HERE and join in on the fun too. Hope to see you in the gallery :)

Thanks for stopping by.

More Coffee...!

Hey!

Sorry for being MIA for a few days, things have been a little crazy round Uniko HQ and home the past few days. 

Also, if you have been trying to email me at beverley@unikostudio.com and haven't been able to get through I do apologise. I have had some email issues since the website server went down. All should be resolved tonight, but you can always get through on sales@uniko.co.uk for future reference ;)

Ok, so tonight I have a super CAS almost OL card to share with you...

It is one we made at my class on Saturday (the last for 2015) at The Paperlane. The ladies had a lovely time using the recently released November goodies :) It looks like 'I LOVE Coffee' and 'Essentially Christmas' are the two popular sets of this release as there are only a few left in stock over on the website HERE! 

When I made this sample for the class I was inspired by a NEW to me challenge HERE over at Paper Issues. They have a challenge called Let Me Espresso My Gratitude (Round 1) HERE So I thought I would join in (Thanks to Amy from Tsuruta Designs for the heads up on the challenge :))

I started out by stamping & then masking the coffee cup, once masked I used the SU! Grunge Grid to stamp the BG in Going Grey ink & then added the Uniko Flower motif to the cup, sentiment & little coffee beans. 

The layout of my card was inspired by and based on the current CAS(E) this Sketch! layout seen HERE and below, another fun challenge to join in on & one of my favourites :)

Ok, that's all from me today. I will be back A LOT this week (fingers crossed) as I have SO much I want to share with you all :) I will also be back on the website blog HERE tomorrow with the next Stamp Of The Week which took a small hiatus last week due to the November Release.

Anyway, until the next time, thanks for stopping by today.

Introducing... I LOVE Coffee

Hey!

I am SO happy you have stopped by today, here at Uniko I am in full swing with the November Release & today we have the next product introduction :)

Today three of the UK based Uniko DT are joining me & WOW they've whipped up some beauties to share with you! 

First up a I have a trio of cards to share with you...

As this little mini set features a mini version of the Uniko logo flower (Flower Power #3) I decided that my first card should feature the Uniko colours :)

I also used the current CAS(E) this Sketch! layout seen HERE and below. You know I love a good sketch challenge!! 

Next up are two cards that are the same but different, in the fact that I have personalised the labels on the coffee cups ;) I used the tiny alphabet from Garlands Galore to do this...

You can just about see on this close up that I have stamped the label separately & adhered it just with DST to give a slight raised effect but keeping the card mail friendly.

This duo was inspired by the current #ShareHandmadeKindness challenge that the awesome Jennifer McGuire is hosting on her blog HERE, where you can find out about all the details & join in.

These two cards will be on their way to their recipients tomorrow when the beans & I walk to the Post Office, it is a good job the beans like going out (for now) in their stroller as we do it twice a day!

Anyway, the DT have made some wonderful samples in such a short space of time, so be sure to pop on by to their blogs below to see more...

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah P

CLICK HERE to see more from Jane

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah G

Ok, that's all we have today, but we will be back tomorrow with more to share as we introduce the next product lining the shelves on the 11th November.

Sneak Peeks 5th & 6th November. These little teasers give you hints at what is in store!

Introducing... 7th - 10th November. Here you'll get to see the soon to be released products in action. 

Release Day! Thursday 11th November you will get to see all the products in their entirety and purchase them HERE on the website! As tradition holds there will be a mini Design Team Blog Hop with a chance for a lucky person to win an eGift Certificate. 

AND as the DT in the US are late getting their release goodies, we have organised an extra blog hop & prizes of course...

Countdown to Christmas Blog Hop! Saturday 28th November is the official DT Blog Hop showcasing the release & of course prizes up for grabs!

Hope to see you tomorrow for more & thank you for stopping by today :)