Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Floral Friday

Good morning lovely peeps. 

Steph here today with a look at some florals in the stencil form. Using the recent Uniko Ink & Flip Layering Retro Flowers stencil I have created two cards; one using the florals as a background and one where I have fussy cut the florals and teamed them with a couple of other Uniko stencils.

Using both the layering stencils I inked up a full panel of the florals. To this I added a sentiment from the Uniko Organic Blooms stamp set and some cute bee and ladybird toppers.

With the remaining florals I fussy cut them and added them to stems stencilled using the Uniko Layering Flower Fusion stencil, and butterflies created with the Uniko Butterfly Pattern stencil. A little addition of some Nuvo Drops and a sentiment from the Uniko Organic Blooms stamp set to finish the card.

Much love

Steph x

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Mid Century Modern Birthday

 Good morning all, 

Steph here today wishing Uniko a Happy 14th Birthday and taking us on an MCM journey using Uniko Mid Century Modern Birthday stamp set. 

I stamped a series of boxes across the bottom of the card and added the outline, ribbon and bow details using darker shades of ink. Following this I added the stamped sentiment.

For my second card I wanted to use more of the smaller stamps in the set and instead of using the stamps as presents I created a pattern for either end of the card. I stamped the sentiment in the middle and them in filled with a few more of the smaller stamps.

And finally, although this is a birthday post, I couldn't resist creating a Christmas card as the idea had brewed in my head as I was creating the two previous cards! My Christmas present 'tree' is topped of with a lovely bow and the sentiment is from the Uniko Simply Said Blocks Christmas stamp set (but now I think about it, it could also be a birthday card for a Dec birthday!). 

I hope you are enjoying the Uniko birthday celebrations this month and have had time to join in the fun Linky Party here. 

Keep an eye out for a new release later in the month too.

Much love

Steph x

Celebrating 14 Years - Throwback Thursday

 

Happy Thursday. 

I thought it would be fun to do a little Throwback to where it all began. There are a few new to Uniko followers and customers, so you might not know much about the beginnings of this little company. 

First up, I'm Bev. I am the owner and designer of all things Uniko. I wear all the hats here in the studio, from designer, customer service, picker packer and everything in between. I absolutely LOVE everything I do. 

I especially love meeting lovely customers at shows and crafting with them at Uniko Stamping Retreats. It can often feel a little isolating working alone, but it can also be very rewarding and I am proud of what I have achieved in 14 years. 

Ok, so where did it begin...

Back in 2005 I started a BA (Hons) in Textiles & Surface Design. Though the course concentrated more on drawing, sewing and printing across fashion, interiors and the gift industry. I saw more and more links and associations with the paper crafting industry. In 2008 my mother died suddenly and my whole world turned upside down, I was close to quitting everything, including my degree. However, I decided that life was too short and instead of quitting the degree I quit nursing and concentrated my efforts into the degree. It was in my final 2 years that the idea of Uniko was born.

 

It was during those 2 years that I concentrated my designing towards stamps, patterned papers and developing my business idea. Here are a few of drawings from those two years which inspired my first 2 clear stamp sets and continue to inspire my designs today. 

So, after all that back in February 2012 on Saturday 11th, Uniko Studio (which it was called then) was open for business.

So how the name Uniko come about?

I am a HUGE fan of Marimekko a Finnish design company and at Uni I was known as 'Marimekko Girl' by a number of my tutors! 

One of my all time favourite designs that can be found on various items around the house is by Maija Isola and is called Unikko, seen below.

So partly in homage to my favourite design, memories of going to Finland with my mother and wanting to be 'unique' compared to many of the UK stamp companies/designs that we current when I began the name & company Uniko was born.

I started small launching just 2 clear stamp sets (which are now retired, they may make a reappearance one day as trends change).

After 14 years so much has happened and changed not only with how Uniko has changed, developed and grown with now over 300 products available on the website. But so much has happened to me too, I have got married, have two beautiful children, moved house, started taking Uniko to paper craft shows, running Uniko workshops and more recently collaborating on workshops AND with all that YOU my friends, loyal customers, blog readers and social media followers have stuck by me and helped me to keep going and to enjoy bringing you (in small amounts) products to use in your love for paper crafting. 

It really does bring me so much joy each time I see a new customer order and a huge grin on my face when I see a card or project around blog land and social media with Uniko products used on it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you that makes this happen. 

And because we all need a little card inspiration, I chose a trio of my favourite cards made with these two original clear stamp sets.

I started with these two stamp sets because I wanted to bring more creative masculine products to make cards like the above. 

But of course they had to have a floral twist too...

Thank you for hanging in there with such a LONG post. But before I go today I have a question....

If you could choose a retired Uniko clear stamp set/s to return, which would it be? 

Crafty Hugs

Uniko's 14th Birthday Card Linky Party.

 

Today is officially Uniko's 14th Birthday. 

This day 14 years ago I opened the website with the launch of two clear stamp sets. And the rest they say, is history. 

Usually I start things off with the Birthday Card Linky Party. This year I thought I would switch it up and have the party start today. 

Simply create a birthday card using any Uniko products (current, retired or digital) and link up in the linky below. More details are at the end of the post including the prize.

Now, lets have a look at the inspiration...

Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie

Natalie

Steph

Vinita

WOW! So much inspiration and it's always fun for me to see what Uniko products the Brand Ambassadors choose to use for their cards. 

There is plenty of time to join in on the fun.

The deadline for submission is 23:59 (GMT) on Sunday 8th March 2026.

 Prize - £25 eGift Certificate 

Open Worldwide

Party Rules

Use Uniko Products Only*.

No back linking. Linked cards/projects must be new.

Maximum Entries 3 Per Person.

*If you don't own any physical Uniko products you are welcome to use THESE FREE Uniko Digital images to create your card. 

Don't use social media or have a blog to upload your card & link from? 

No worries. Just drop me an email bev@uniko.co.uk titled Uniko 14th Birthday with a photo and I will upload for you.

Winners will be chosen by Brand Ambassador votes and will be announced on Wednesday 11th March 2026, along with all the winners. 

Crafty Hugs

Add Your Birthday Cards Below...

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Technique Tuesday

Good morning, 

Steph here today. I recently saw a great technique on @ardythpr1 Instagram page and decided to recreate it using Uniko products. 

First I selected three background or larger stamps and smaller stamp sets with matching details to the larger sets. I then inked three separate panels by directly rubbing the ink from Distress Oxide pads onto white card. The idea is to then ink the background (or larger) stamp onto the card with a muted ink, followed by white heat embossing the stamp from the smaller matching set over the top. Finishing off with a white die cut shape and a white and black die cut sentiment. 

Here I have used Uniko Large Background Tropical Paradise stamp for the background, inked up with Memento Espresso Truffle. The smaller stamp which has been white heat embossed is the Uniko Paradise Leaves stamp set. For the inked panel I have used Pine Needles and Peeled Paint Distress Oxide inks.

Thinking I needed a lighter background panel, I used Shabby Shutters and Speckled Egg Distress Oxide inks for this panel. I then used the Craftstash exclusive Uniko Picked Posies Fresh Cut Foliage stamp for the background, again using Memento Espresso Truffle ink. The white heat embossed stamp is from the Uniko Season of Beauty stamp set.

My final card is slightly different mainly because I had a 'moment' when inking up the larger Uniko Hello Lovely stamp set and inked it with embossing ink in error. Once I realised my error I decided to go with it and heat emboss in copper. I continued to heat emboss in white using the Uniko Pure Florals: Peony stamp set. The background for this inked panel uses three distress oxides which are Antique Linen, Spun Sugar and Victorian Velvet.

I've not had much time in the craft room lately and I'm finding a little frazzled for craft inspiration at present so seeing this video of Ardyth's was a great way to kick start me back into crafting. I hope you like my creations and also encourage you to head over to Ardyth's Instagram page to see the original inspiration.

Much love

Steph x

Mid Week Mid Century Modern

Happy Wednesday.

We've made it halfway through the week, so I thought I would share some Mid Century Modern inspiration. Plus I was itching to ink up the Ink & Flip Mid Century Leaves Stencil and pair it with a current favourite, Flower Power #10.

Here's how the combination came together.

I started with the Stencil, using Pistachio first and then adding Artichoke shading. I masked to miss a row of leaves. After flipping the stencil I repeated with the same colours. 

I then stamped the Flower Power #10 flower nine times, coloured with some autumnal Copic markers and fussy cut the flowers out before adhering with foam tape.

 

To finish I added a sentiment from Simply Said Blocks and a trio of Sunflower enamel dots. I love how this one turned out and I think I'll be having fun some fun with this and different Flower Power combinations. 

That's all for today.

Crafty Hugs

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Mid Century Modern Monday

Good morning all, 

Steph with you today. 

If you were present for our release at the beginning of August, you will be familiar with the Uniko Background Builders Mid Century Modern stamp set. I had a really great time playing with this set so I wanted to use it some more for my Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration post this month. I love background builder sets as there are so many different combinations, layouts, colours etc...to play with.

For my first card I simply stamped the line stamps three times down the card and infilled with the stamps as shown. To this I added a sentiment strip stamped using a sentiment from the Uniko Bauhaus Blocks stamp set. 

On my next card I wanted to use the stepped line so I stamped this four times and selected the various semi circles to stamp over the top. I have used chalk ink on all these cards (I'm a bit obsessed with it at them moment!) which gives a nice translucent effect. The sentiment is a mix of stamps from Uniko Mid Century Modern Wreath Builder and Uniko Mid Century Modern Everyday Sentiments stamp sets.

My final card is inspired by a search of Mid Century Modern Pattern and I absolutely love how it turned out! I have used a couple of other stamp sets to create the background. these being Uniko Mid Century Modern Florals and Uniko Mid Century Modern Birthday stamp sets.

Well I hope you have enjoyed this Mid Century Modern showcase as much as I enjoyed creating it! 

Now it's over to you to show us what you create with your new stamp set. Don't forget to show us over on the Uniko VIP Facebook page. 

Much love

Steph x

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Monday Blues

Good Morning, 

Steph here today with my Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration post for June. As we are focussing on masculine makes this month, I have dug out some older Uniko stamp sets and focused on blue hues. 

My first card uses the Uniko Block Party Coffee Love stamp set. I started by sweeping my white card with a light grey cube ink pad and then stamped and coloured the image. I added faux 'planks' using an embossing board before attaching to a card blank using foam pads. 

Sticking with the grey ink and blue alcohol markers, I changed my stamp to Uniko Background Blocks Equaliser stamp set. I used the sentiment and the extra musical notes stamps from the set to finish off the card.

And finally for today, I created a birthday card with the Uniko Up & Away stamp set. I stamped the hot air balloon and basket before colouring in and fussy cutting out. I attached this to piece of card on which I had stamped clouds, the flag tail and the sentiment. 

That's all my cards for today which hopefully has given you some masculine inspiration for Father's Day this coming weekend (in the UK).

Much love

Steph x 

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Alphabet and Animals!

Good morning, 

Steph her today. Did I mention how much I loved the Uniko Alphabet Solid stamp set during the February birthday release? So, I have used this stamp set as my focus for my Uniko Brand Ambassador inspiration post this month and teamed it with Uniko's animal themed stamps, creating some 'play on words' sentiments to add even more fun! 

First we have a 'Hoppy' birthday card using the bunny from the Uniko Hoppy Easter stamp set and the birthday from the Uniko WILD stamp set (currently unavailable).

I'm particularly pleased with this daft sentiment! The cat stamp is from the Uniko Mid Century Modern Purrfect Day stamp set. The rest of the sentiment is made from parts from the 'From our home to yours' in the Uniko Festive Sentiments stamp set. 

And finally, also a slightly daft sentiment teamed with the paw print from the Uniko Paw Print Hearts stamp set and a heart from the Uniko Falling Hearts Serenade stamp set. 

For all these cards I used VersaMagic chalk inks which give a nice effect to the silhouette style of these cards.

Thanks for visiting today.

Much love

Steph x

March Meet The Maker - Making

Hello & Happy FriYAY! 

Today on March Meet The Maker it is all about making. So I made a card and created a little YouTube short of me making it, you can watch it HERE 😀

I chose Beautiful Blooms II to ink up today and here is my finished card...

I used my 'go to' colours, Buttercup, Honeysuckle, Oceanside & Parsley. My sentiment is a mix of the happy from Happy Succulents and the birthday from Birthday Sentiments.

AND before I go I am so late in randomly selecting and announcing the winner of the March Brand Ambassador Blog Hop (my apologies). 

Random.org selected lucky no. 

And the winner is Lucy E

Lucy E.11 March 2025 at 23:13

Fabulous cards! What creative ways to use the stamps!

Congratulations Lucy, please send an email to bev@uniko.co.uk to claim your eGift Code prize. Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and hop along with us.

Crafty Hugs