BA inspiration: Featuring Spring Botanicals Primrose

 Hello everyone!

Happy Sunday!

Vinita is here today to feature Uniko's new and gorgeous Spring Botanical Primrose stamp set. Let's get started with the details.

For the background, I ink-blended the picked raspberry distress oxide ink from top to bottom in an ombre pattern. I heat embossed the floral pattern on both edges using Carousel Wow EP and mounted the panel to my hot pink card base. 

Then I heat embossed the floral image on a scalloped vellum panel. I heat embossed the sentiment using Opaque Bright White EP from the Bright Butterflies set. I mounted it to the card front using transparent adhesive tape to add dimension to the floral pattern.

It's fun to come up with a completely different technique featuring an intense pink as the main color with metallic accents and a pop of sparkle!

Thanks much for stopping by today!

Happy crafting!

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Stamp & Stencil Combo

Good morning.  Anita here with some Brand Ambassador inspiration for you.  How are you enjoying the birthday month celebrations so far?  We're just past the halfway point and there is so much more to come so don't forget to keep checking back here for more.

For this card I decided to use a technique I love to use when stamping with detailed images.  I've used the gorgeous Pure Florals: Peony stamp set for the image and sentiment, and used the Quilted stencil...

This technique is great if you are short of time or if you're less experienced with colouring...just colour the background instead and it's surprising how this makes the image pop.  So I began by stamping the peony in black ink and I also stamped a mask at the same time which I cut out and then placed over the image.  I then gently ink blended the background starting from the top right corner using two shades of blue ink and fading it out.  I then placed the stencil over the top and used the darkest shade of blue to ink through.

I then removed the mask, stamped the sentiment and added a few flat iridescent sprinkles for some sparkle. 

This card came together pretty fast, the most time consuming part is cutting out the mask but you also then have it for a couple more projects.

Thanks for taking a look and I hope this month of Uniko celebrations is giving you lots of crafty inspiration.  There is so much more to come too!

That's all from me today, I hope you enjoy your week.

 

BA Inspiration: Mixed Media Christmas Tree Trio

Hello everyone!

Happy Thursday!

Vinita here! Recently I was going through my stash and rekindled my interest in Silver glitter paste. Because of the paste opacity, a thin layer makes it more opaque and visible the underneath color. Talk about the drama! 

So I thought it would be the perfect use for a new stencil release Christmas tree trio recently at Uniko.

It looked complicated but was easy to make. 

Here are step-by-step instructions with pics:

On a white panel, I placed my Christmas Tree trio stencil and drew the outlined trees one by one as shown in the above pic.

Once again, I put my stencil to ink my solid outlined tree using mowed lawn DI in between all these trees one by one.

It appeared like this as shown in the above pic.

I ink-blended the rest of the space using forest moss, crushed olive and mowed lawn DI. I outlined my trees using a green acrylic marker for more interest.

Now it's time to decorate my trees and the background. I added some confetti using DI.

I used my beloved Posca white pen for snowfall in the sky. Stamped the sentiment from the Pure Florals Poinsettia stamp set. To finish it off I wrapped a thread around the trees. 

Hope you all enjoyed this!

Happy crafting! 

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Flowers and Confetti

Good morning!

Anita here with some BA inspiration for you.  As you will be aware, if you've seen Bev's most recent posts, Uniko is celebrating it's 12th Birthday this month!  So it will be birthday inspiration aplenty this month.  Please do check back over the posts of the last few days to find out all about the Uniko Giveaways, and there's much more to come this month too.

On to my card, and I've mixed a few different products to create this one.

On a panel of white cardstock, slightly smaller than my card base, I began by masking off a "swoosh" and lightly ink blending using Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade and Dried Marigold.  I then laid the Party Confetti Stencil over the top and ink blended using Dried Marigold (over the Squeezed Lemonade) and Abandoned Coral (over the Dried Marigold).  I then removed the masks and stamped the large peonies image from the Hello Lovely Clear Stamp Set.  I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Flower Power #2 Clear Stamp set and heat embossed in white onto a strip of coral cardstock.  The panel was then adhered on 3D foam.

I think the floral image, along with the swoosh of colour and confetti stencilling is a great mix for a feminine birthday card.  And I think you can tell from these sunny colours that I can't wait for Spring to arrive!

There will be lots more inspiration in the coming days and throughout the rest of February so I encourage you to check in and see lots more from the team.

Thanks for taking a look and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

 

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Rustic Christmas

Good morning!

Anita here, so sorry it's been so long!  I'm sharing two cards today and I decided to dig out an "oldie but goodie" stamp set for these, Rustic Christmas.  I just love the perfect little tree in this set so have kept these cards clean and simple so it takes centre stage.

First up, I've tried to create a northern lights sky as my backdrop...

I used some low tack tape to mask off a vertical panel and then randomly ink blended the areas of light using Distress Inks in Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn and a touch of Picked Raspberry.  I then filled in the rest of the panel with both Black Soot and Chipped Sapphire, blending over some of the lighter colours.  I then stamped the tree in Versafine Clair Nocturne ink for a crisp dark image.  Once dry I used an anti-static powder tool at the top of the inked panel and stamped and heat embossed the sentiment, also from the same set, in white.  I finished by adding some falling snow using a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen.

My second project is another one layer card, again, super simple...

To enable the solid baubles to appear as if on the tree and in the foreground, I stamped them first in pigment ink and heat embossed in clear, this then created a barrier when stamping the tree over the top.  I used Versa Color inks here.  As you can see below, the pink ink didn't hold as much of the embossing powder so let some of the green ink through but I like the effect it gives of the baubles being amongst the needles.  To clean up the green ink I just used a slightly damp cotton bud to wipe away the ink from the baubles.  I simply stamped the sentiment below and added a gold, sparkly enamel star.

I hope this gives you some inspiration and encourages you to have a rummage through your stash to see what older stamp sets you have that could be inked up.  Thanks for taking the time to visit and I wish you a lovely Wednesday.

 

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Snowflakes

Good morning everyone, 

Steph here today with my Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration for this month. 

We seem to be having a mix of weather in the UK from heat waves to all of a sudden very cold and autumnal weather and then back to warm weather again. So I thought I'd throw in a few snowflakes just to remind us that Christmas isn't all that far away...yes I'm trying to ignore that fact too! 

My initial idea was to have three beautiful inked panels peeking through a die cut aperture of the snowflake but I really didn't like it once I had done so I resurrected the remainder of the panel and inset a beautiful silver snowflake instead. Here I have used Uniko Let It Snow stencil with white ink and Uniko Sparkling Snowflake die. The sentiment is from the Uniko Christmas Sentiments stamp set. 

My next cards are slightly different as I didn't have enough of the remaining inked panels to use as above. So I adapted the design and used the snowflakes cut from the panels instead. 

I like the patterned snowflakes against the plain card base for some CAS cards ready for Christmas. For these cards I have use Uniko Christmas Folk Snowflake stencil and Uniko In The Forest stencil.

Much love

Steph x

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Autumn Vibes

Good morning!

Anita here with a trio of cards for you today.  The weather here in the UK is certainly telling us it's autumn and although the leaves haven't yet started to turn, I thought I would go with an autumnal theme.  I've used the same little batch of ink colours on all of these cards.

First up, I've used one of the Background Blocks stamp sets, Layered Modern Floral...

On a white panel I stamped the image, which is created using two main stamps from the set, together with some tiny accent stamps.  For the flowers I initially stamped using a pale orange shade, then re-stamped with a mid orange tone applied to the stamps with a blending brush to the inner parts and then a third time with a dark orange applied to the very centres.  For the leaves I stamped first with a lightish green and then applied a darker olive shade to various parts when re-stamping.  I finished with some of the individual leaves and dots to fill the design.  The sentiment is from the Simply Said set which I've stamped in brown ink.  The panel was then die cut with a scalloped rectangle and adhered flat to the card base.

My second project is a one layer card using the Beautiful Blooms III stamp set...

I kept this one super simple.  I stamped the flower first, letting each shade dry before stamping the next layer, this just stops the images bleeding when using dye inks.  I then masked the flower and stamped the two leaf/stem images either side, building up those layers too.  I finished with a sentiment stamped in brown, this one being from the Organic Wishes stamp set.  

And for my final card, I've revisited a layout/design I used to use a lot, using the Organic Wishes set...

I stamped the images in VersaMark ink and then heat embossed in white.  I then used the emboss resist technique, firstly masking off a vertical section and then ink blending the background with four shades of dye ink.  I die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle and stamped the sentiment from the same set, before adhering the panel flat to the card base.

Thanks for taking a look, have a lovely Wednesday!

 

Hello Autumn & End of Summer SALE!

Hello and Happy Autumn!

Today is the official first day of Autumn as I have gotten older I feel we should welcome and appreciate each new season when it arrives. I don't have a favourite season, mainly because each brings a beauty & wonder of its own.

As much as I have had a wonderful summer with The Beans, I am looking forward to cozy nights in and enjoying laughter over a cup oof hot chocolate. Taking walks through the crunching fallen leaves and savouring the low sunlight and feeling that crispness in the air.

This inspired my cards today...

I've been having fun with our Designer Dies recently and with Autumn here I choose the newest Natures Treasure II Designer Dies for my two cards today.

I started by ink blending some Autumnal inspired colours on a my base card, making sure to mask off the edges to line up with the top layer I had planned. 

I then moved to the top layer oof my card, die cutting the panel with both of the larger dies in the set and making sure to keep a hold of the inner cut outs. I then adhered this die cut panel to my ink blended base card using foam adhesive. My sentiment is from Simply Said Blocks III and I added some enamel dots to finish.

Not wanting may die cut pieces to go to waste, this lead me to make a second card.

I started by ink blending the leaves with the same colours as my first card. I then adhered them to my base card in roughly the same positions as I die cut them from the first card. My chosen sentiment for this card is from Simply Said and again I added some enamel dots to finish.

That's all my creativity for today, but before I go how about a little End of Summer SALE!  
 

Thanks for stopping by.

Crafty Hugs

Jolly Bauhaus

Hello & Happy Weekend.

It's a little grey, wet and windy here today, perfect weather for staying in and crafting. Which is what I plan on doing. Well, alongside the usual weekend chores! 

Hopefully the card I have to share today brightens up your day...

I was inspired to create a background with one of the square designs from Bauhaus Blocks and knowing that I wanted to add sone colour, I decided to heat emboss the squares. I used VersaMark ink and clear gloss embossing powder to do this.

I then went over the embossing with Concord & 9th Poppy, Marmalade and Honeysuckle inks to create this vibrant ink blended background. I felt it needed a little more detail, so decided to die cut a circle window to stamp my sentiment inside. I had debated a square window, but thought a circle would bring more contrast to all the squares. I then adhered the panel to my base card using foam adhesive.

My sentiment choice is from Mid Century Modern Wreath Builder for the Jolly Wishes. Which in hindsight I wished I stamped slightly higher up in the circle aperture. The sending part is a partial sentiment from Simply Said Blocks II. Finally my usual enamel dots to add the finishing touch.

That's all I have to share today, thank you for stopping by.

Crafty Hugs

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Fantastic Foliage

Good morning, crafters

Anita here, and today I have two cards for you, both using different Uniko foliage sets.  I've had these sets in my stash for a while but this is the first outing for both of these!  Two very different stamps and two very different cards.

First up, I've used a beautiful stamp set which is part of the Framed series, Framed - Floral Vines...

I chose to use a pale grey cardstock for my main panel.  I began by stamping the image in Antique Linen Distress Ink.  This is the ink colour that I always use for this technique, where I want to colour the image and then re-stamp and emboss after, as it is pale enough to disappear under the final embossed lines.  So after stamping I coloured the leaves and flowers with Copic markers.  Then, with the stamp still in the same position in my Misti, I re-stamped in VersaMark ink and heat embossed in white.  I added the sentiment in black, which is from the Birthday Wishes clear stamp set, before trimming down the grey panel and also the card base to fit the ratio of the framed image.

For my second card I've used the Large Background Sketched Foliage stamp...

This is a technique I've not used in a while - layered emboss resist.  A little time consuming but you can create some great effects with it.  I just used one layer on this example but you can use multiple layers if you choose inks with varying depths of colour, starting with the lightest.  I began with a white cardstock panel and roughly ink blended using Distress Oxide in Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn.  I then left it to dry before stamping the image in VersaMark and heat embossing in clear.  The clear embossing powder ensures that the ink shades you've applied on the first blend are trapped under the embossing.  I then ink blended with the darker shade, Rustic Wilderness, over the entire panel.  The embossed areas then just need a buff with a soft cloth to wipe off any ink being resisted.  For a little interest I added some water droplets and blotted these away to remove some of the colour.  The panel was die cut with a stitched rectangle and I added a strip using a sentiment from the Simply Said clear stamp set.

I can't believe it will be September tomorrow, it doesn't feel like we've had summer yet here in the UK.  I'm not quite ready to start with the autumnal projects yet so let's hope September will bring summer back, at least for a little while!

Thanks for popping by today.  I have a little time off work next week so I may be back sooner with more inspiration for you.

 

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Picked Posies

Good morning all, 

Thanks for joining me, Steph, today for my Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration post. I thought it would be nice to show off the range that Bev created exclusively for Craftstash called Picked Posies.

My first card uses the Uniko Picked Posies Fresh Cut Foliage background stamp and adhered this to the card blank at an angle. I then stamped and die cut the florals from the  Picked Posies set. The sentiment is from the sentiment set of the same name and I have fussy cut it and adhered it over vellum before adding to the card front.

This time I created a monotone card and stamped the background in two shades of purple. Directly onto this I stamped the outline and solid Picked Posies stamps. Finally I die cut the word ‘smile’ using the Uniko Picked Posies Smile layering sentiment.

My final card uses the Picked Posies Plaid layering stencil set over which I have added flowers and foliage stamped and die cut using the Picked Posies set.

This range is currently on sale exclusively at Craftstash so if you like what you see then head over and check them out!

Much love

Steph x

Introducing... Ink & Flip Stencil - Christmas Star

Welcome to Day 3 of the product introductions for our July/August Release. 

Hopefully you didn't miss day 1 and day 2 product introductions, but if you did you can catch up HERE and HERE. 

Today myself and the Brand Ambassadors are showcasing a fun and in my opinion another innovative Uniko stencil. This stencil has a fun ink & flip feature and this design creates a Christmas Star.  

Enough talk, lets have a look at the creativity and join me around Midday (BST) Live on Facebook as I demo this new stencil.

  Anita

Bev

Julie

Steph

Vinita

A wonderful addition to the collection, don't you think?

We will be back tomorrow with more to share. This clear stamp set with all of the product we are introducing this week will be available 9am Sunday 6th August 2023. 

Crafty Hugs