Advent Calendar Extravaganza with Taheerah Atchia

Hey!

Eeeeeeek! I am SO happy you have stopped by today or maybe you arrived via the secret door, either way I warmly greet you :)

A few weeks a go my dear friend and former Uniko DT Member Taheerah mentioned a wonderful festive idea for the stamping / paper crafting community to take part in & be a part of during the countdown to Christmas. 

Well, I couldn't say no to such a wonderful idea & so Uniko is super honoured to be a sponsor for this wonderful event.

Advent Calendar Extravaganza is -the- festive event of the season! This ‘hop with a twist’ was dreamed up by Taheerah Atchia and features surprise destinations each day! Joining in the fun with Taheerah are over 60 special guests - each serving up some fantastic Christmas inspiration! Just like an Advent Calendar, you’ll never know where you’re going to be visiting next until you ‘open the door’!

And that’s not all! With 25 *amazing* sponsors taking part as well, your crafty wish list is bound to get a boost with a chance to win a prize EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

Join in the fun every day at taheerah-atchia.com to see what special surprises wait behind the door!

A card maker at heart I would normally have a card to share with you, but today I have a little gift box I made a while back during the Uniko November Release...

I had recently purchased the SU! Square Pillow Box die set and immediately put it into use, not like a lot of my NBUS items that sit waiting for love ;) On the box before assembling I have stamped a trio of snowflakes in opposing corners using the snowflake duo from the Uniko November Release Mini Freebie set. They are stamped in VersaMark Dazzle ink which has a subtle sparkle to it. I also added a trio of gold snowflakes to the vellum window which are heat embossed in Crystal EP.

The sentiment is also from the freebie set which is stamped in gold onto a Pretty Pink Posh Mini Tag die cut & embossed with Crystal EP. A few rhinestones, ribbon and gold thread finished it off perfectly, all set for a little gift to be popped inside :) 

That's all from me today, but be sure to join in on the fun as it’s not a party without a prize - and with prizes every day there are several chances to win! Today’s prize is generously supplied by Uniko so you’ll definitely want to get your hands on it! Simply leave a comment on this post to enter - then head back to taheerah-atchia.com and leave a comment there too to double your chances! 

Don’t forget to grab the other surprise destinations from Taheerah’s blog and head over to them to leave comments there as well to improve your odds even more! You have until 7am EST on Thursday 31st December to leave all your comments! 

Don’t forget the Advent Calendar Extravaganza runs from 1st-25th December inclusive so make sure you visit taheerah-atchia.com every day for fabulous inspiration and amazing prizes every single time! 

Merry Christmas!

Introducing... A Gift For You

Hey & Happy Monday!

Well, it might only be a small release here at Uniko Studio this month, but the three sets being released sure pack a lot of punch! I do hope you agree and that you are looking forward to the full reveal and release tomorrow?? If you missed the first couple of product introductions you can catch up HERE and HERE.

It wouldn't be a birthday celebration without gifts, hence the theme of the next little set I am introducing today...

A Gift For You might only contain a majority of birthday themed sentiments along with a couple of generalised sentiments for gift giving, but this little set will be perfect for all year round gift giving! On this first card I have used the little gift and two step stamping bow and combined it with the large birthday from All Occasion Sentiments #2.

My last  card today uses one of my 'go to' layouts...

I stamped the gift in black and fussy cut it out and then adhered it onto the corner rounded panel using double sided tape. I coloured the ribbon band with a Spica at you pen and added gold glitter to the polka dots. The solid bow is stamped in Turquoise Gem, cut out and adhered using foam adhesive. A couple of tabs of ribbon added to the panel before adhering the panel using foam adhesive, simple!

So, what do you think? Do you like what you've seen?? I'd love to know ;) I've a couple of the DT joining me with the introductions today, along with our Guest Designer this month Rebecca from Mellymoo Papercrafting. Be sure to stop by their blogs for more inspiration using this set...

Erika

Taheerah

Rebecca

Don't forget that over the next few days up until Release Day I will be picking some random lucky winners for prizes! There are lots of ways to be in the chance of being picked a winner, following & commenting here on the blog, DT & Guest Designer Blogs, Facebook, Pinterest to name but a few. Winners will be announced on the blog Feb 11th before the Release & Reveal post.

The three products you've been introduced to will be available tomorrow at 9am HERE on the website & if you missed the NEWS they will also be available HERE at i {heart} papers in the US. Be sure to stop by the blog for the Random Winners Post & Release & Reveal post as there will be a more prizes up for grabs!!

Until then, thank you for stopping by today :)

Countdown to Christmas Day 20

Hey & Happy Friday!

Are you all set for Christmas Day? I'm not quite done yet, I've still a few bits and pieces to do, I don't seem to be in a huge rush to get everything done as we don't go over the top at Christmas on presents or buying in food like the apocalypse is coming! 

Tonight I have my last Christmas party to attend which is a sit down meal at a carvery and like I said earlier in the week I do love a dinner and a Christmas dinner is on the top of my list! Anyway, like most people I assume, I am accessorising with red. I am wearing a blue dress with red shoes and a red cardigan. My dress and cardigan are both plain and so I got thinking as to how to dress it up a bit without going OTT and so I decided to make a little felt poinsettia brooch to pin to my cardigan...

I used the Designer Dies Graphic Flowers from Time to create my brooch using just the two largest dies. I die cut 2 loopy flowers from Pure Poppy felt and then sniped the loops off and then die cut the large solid flower from Pine Feather felt. 

A simple bit of hand stitching and a few white seed beads to the flower centre and it was done. I think it took me about an hour max to make this little brooch and they would make a lovely little last minute gift too or stocking stuffer.

That's all from me today, I am off to start getting ready to go out, even though I've 7 hours till the meal! I'll be back tomorrow with more to share, until then, thank you for stopping by today :)

Supplies

Accessories: Uniko Studio Designer Dies Graphic Flowers from Time, PTI Pure Poppy & Pine Feather Felt. White Seed Beads, Brooch Fixing & Embroidery Floss.

Countdown to Christmas Day 18

Hey!

I've just about made it in time to share my Countdown to Christmas Day 18 project with you all, I simply ran out of time this evening before another Christmas party! This evening it was my local card club party, we meet twice a month to do paper crafts and generally chat about the hobby among other things ;) 

Anyway, so I made them each a card and put together a little gift for them all & thought I'd share them with you...

As you can see I am still on my snowflake wagon! I decided on a negative die cut card and the red card stock in the aperture is stamped with Background Builders: Round In Circles in white. I also added some glitter around the edge of the negative die cut for that Christmas sparkle.

Along with the card I wanted to give them each a little gift so I used some little acetate favour boxes and filled them with three mini Toblerones which fit just perfectly inside. I then wrapped ribbon around the boxes like you would a present, super simple, cute & most importantly well received by my friends :)

That's all from me today, but I will back again tomorrow at a more reasonable time ;) with more to share. Until then, thank you for stopping by :)

Countdown to Christmas Day 17 & a Winner!

Hey!

Today I had my first Christmas party with a large group of people that I go walking with, it was a sit down meal which I thoroughly enjoyed, I do love a good traditional Christmas dinner!

Anyway, I am back today with another pretty packaging project to share...

Time is whizzing by SO fast now and creativity time is short so simple and quick packaging maybe whats needed for you too? 

For this I used the Designer Dies Snowflakes to create a tag. I die cut & glittered the largest snowflake and then added a white heat embossed Merry Christmas 1 3/4" circle which is adhered using foam adhesive for some dimension. I then adhered a white 1 1/34" circle on the reverse to write who the gift is for.

A cluster of small die cut snowflakes also dowsed in glitter added a little more interest and bling to the packaging. I'm pleased with these pretty gift bags as they match the kraft snowflake card I shared HERE the other day. 

How about a winner for the December release day blog hop? I'm a little late posting this but, better late than never. So without further ado random.org picked number 70, who left the following comment on Nicki's blog...

Sarah GrayDecember 11, 2013 at 4:39 PM

How pretty! Love the soft colours and great use of the hearts - sweet design :)

Congratulations Sarah! Send me an email to beverley@unikostudio.com with your mailing address and I will pop your prize in the mail to you :)

That's all from me today, I will be back again with more to share as I continue my final preparations for Christmas. Until then, thank you for stopping by :)

Supplies

Card Stock: White from stash

Ink: VersaMark

Stamps: Uniko Studio Label Love: Christmas & Label Love: Thank you

Accessories: Uniko Studio Designer Dies Snowflakes, Hero Arts Prisma Glitter

Countdown to Christmas Day 9

Hey!

This is my second post for today, if you missed my first post this morning you can catch up on it HERE. It's worth a look as I'm introducing a new clear stamp set being released at Uniko Studio on the 11th December. 

Anyway, this afternoon I am back to share Day 9 of my Countdown to Christmas...

I said yesterday that I was still undecided on a Christmas Card design, I have finally decided upon one which I shared HERE on Day 7 and I decided to decorate some little kraft gift boxes to match the cards.

Now, all I need to do is decide on some little gifts to pop inside and I already have an idea of those so another job is crossed off the list! I will most likely do is add some white ribbon and tie it in a bow on the top of the box in the gap above the sentiment for that perfect finishing touch.

That's all from me today, I will be back tomorrow with more to share with my Countdown to Christmas at 2pm GMT and another new product introduction at 9am GMT. Until then, thank you for stopping by today :)

Supplies

Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: Uniko Studio Pure Florals: Poinsettia

Accessories: Kraft Boxes 4 x 4 cm & Ranger Stickles

Countdown to Christmas Day 4

Hey!

I'm back this afternoon with day 4 of my Countdown to Christmas, this mornings post HERE was by Gillian our December Guest Designer who won the last Uniko Studio Challenge. Be sure to check out Gillian's beautiful & festive card as a challenge reminder. There is still 10 days to get your entires linked up.

Ok, back to my project for today...

The inspiration for this card came from the current CASology challenge HERE which is ribbon. I had all the usual ideas of using ribbon on cards, tags & gifts floating around my mind. Then all of a sudden it came to me - a gift card, but not in the usual sense of creating a gift card holder but merely a card disguised as a gift. 

Yes, it's not an original idea but it's what came to me and sometimes you just have to go with the flow! I've used minimal supplies on the card and any colour ribbon can be used. You could even match the colours to your actually gift wrapping for the year if you are a colour coordinating theme person. 

I decided to add a small die cut heart tag stamped with a 'With Love' sentiment from Flower Power #3, but it would still look pretty & festive even without the tag. Thinking about this card now as I type it doesn't even have to be a card for Christmas, it would suit any occasion. 

That's all from me today & I hope I've inspired you a little bit to use some of that ribbon I know you're hoarding like me! I'll be back tomorrow at the usual time of 9am GMT with Day 5 of the countdown, with something a little different! Until then, thank you for stopping by today :)

Supplies

Card Stock: SU! Crumb Cake. Dovecraft White

Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: Uniko Studio Flower Power #3

Accessories: Sizzix Framelit Heart Dies, Gingham Ribbon from stash. Linen Thread. Foam Adhesive

Countdown to Christmas Day 1

Hey!

Today marks the beginning of the traditional countdown to Christmas, have all got your advent calendars? If not then you can countdown with me here at Uniko Studio where each day I will be getting my festive spirit into FULL swing! I will be sharing lots of CAS and most importantly quick creative projects from cards, tags, gift wrapping & simple memento gifts. Hopefully it will give you some ideas & inspiration :)

So, let's open door no.1 and see whats inside...

Behind todays door is the simple bottle tag. I love this invention and even though I've used & kind of cheated by using the die from Papertrey Ink, they are really simple to make even without a die which would open you up to more possibilities in size, I will give a few tips at the end of the post.

I've only used a small selection of supplies (listed at the end of the post) and a batch of these would be easy to whip up in assembly line style.

I think you can see the sparkle of the snowflake die cut in the photo & I also added some extra sparkle to the stamped red label just for good measure! It is also perfectly fitting to enter into the current 'Less is More' challenge HERE which is to add SPARKLE to your creation.

To make your bottle tag without a die;

1. Cut a rectangle of card 2 1/2" x 7"
2. Score across the tag 2 1/2" down and die cut or punch a circle
3. Round corners of the tab with corner punch or use partial die cutting technique with a slightly larger circle die
4. At the bottom of the tag find the centre of the width and up each side measure 1/2" to 3/4" and use a craft knife & ruler to cut the V shape.
5. Decorate!

I have also made these into multipurpose tags in the past which also double up as a gift card holder. This is achieved by cutting two bottle tags out, cutting off or missing off the loop to hang the tag and leaving an inch to an inch & half gap at the top. Then secure this to the full bottle tag just around the sides & bottom of the die as to ensure you can slip the gift card in the top with just a part of it peeking out. Then just decorate as above or however you should please. You could also coordinate the colours with the shops gift card.

I kind of started with my festive spirit yesterday with the current Super FREE Saturday, which I showcased HERE on the blog yesterday. It is also available from the website HERE for free. The labels in the download are perfect for the centre of the snowflakes as you can see by yesterdays cards but they would also work inside other die cut shapes too.

Ok, you will be pleased to know that's all I have to share with you today, I've waffled on for far too long! I will be back tomorrow with more to share, until then THANK YOU for stopping by & don't forget that the Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sale is still on over at the website HERE. The bargains are selling out FAST along with the Stunning Snowflakes & Designer Dies Snowflakes so don't leave it to the last minute or you might miss out!

Supplies
Card Stock: SU! Real Red & Bermuda Bay, White from Stash
Ink: VersaMagic Red Magic, VersaFine Onyx Black
Stamps: Uniko Studio Label Love: Thank you & Label Love: Christmas
Accessories: Uniko Studio Designer Dies Snowflakes, Hero Arts Prisma Glitter, PTI Bottle Tag Die & Limitless Layers Dies. Foam Adhesive.

#3

Hey!

TGI Friday! I'm so glad it's the weekend, it's been a busy week here in The Studio and I'm ready for some time with my man! Anyway, I have a trio of CAS cards to share with you today which started from the last Play Date Cafe colours HERE. Again, I was too late to enter them into the challenge but thought I'd still share them with you...

A super simple design using one stamp & three colours! Below are photos of each individual card...

Another little gift ensemble to package & give as a little Thank You to some one. Well, that's all from me today but I will be back again tomorrow with more projects to share! 

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Supplies:

Card Stock: WPlus9 White, PTI Aqua Mist & Berry Sorbet, SU! Perfect Plum 

Ink: SU! Pool Party & Perfect Plum. PTI Berry Sorbet

Stamps: Uniko Studio Label Love: Thank you

Accessories: PTI Satin Ribbon in Fresh Snow, Plum Pudding, Berry Sorbet & Aqua Mist, Foam Adhesive & Corner Chomper.

Be Still My Beating Heart...

Hey!

My heart goes a little faster occasionally when I'm creating, especially if a challenge sparks the perfect combinations of colours and stamps, today's little project was one of them moments...

This ensemble above of a card & matching tag came about after seeing the last challenge at Do You Stack Up (DYSU) challenge HERE and seen below...

Kraft & Twine is a combination I haven't used for some time and the pop of red and white in the photo above sparked my creation! 

I started with the card and began by stamping the chevron Washi stamp from Wonderful Washi on a piece of white CS so that the design went over the edges of the CS. I then mounted it onto some Real Red CS before adhering to my Kraft card base. 

I then created the 'Thank You' label using stamps from Label Love: Thank you and adhered it to the PTI die cut with foam adhesive. Before I adhered it to the card with more foam adhesive I wrapped some linen thread around the centre of the chevron 3 times. Here's a close up of the detail...

I thoroughly enjoyed making this CAS card that I had to go on and make the matching tag! It's been ages since I've made a matching tag too! 

The process of making the card was the same as the card except for making the chevron stripe smaller in width. Though I missed the deadline for the challenge it really sparked my creative juices!

That's all from me today. I'll be back again tomorrow with a trio of CAS cards to share, until then, thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Supplies

Card Stock: PTI Kraft, WPlus9 White, SU! Real Red

Ink: SU! Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: Uniko Studio Wonderful Washi & Label Love: Thank You

Accessories: PTI Dies, Foam Adhesive & Linen Thread.