Two For Tuesday & WINNERS

Happy Tuesday.

Today is a good day, Spring is in the air, the sun is shining and I have a whole host of winners. But, before I get to the winners I have a couple of cards to share.

Last week I had a lot of fun inking up the newest Ink & Flip Stencil - Layering Retro Flowers in some fun retro inspired colours. I then fussy cut the flowers out and created these two cards.

I cam across THIS card I made many years ago when Birthday Wishes was released. I liked the sentiment framing idea so used that as my inspiration for this card. Some of the flowers are adhered onto my card base using double sided tape and some I have given a little dimension by using foam tape. 

The tiny trio of dots in the centre of the flowers is achieved using an accent stamp from Organic Blooms. This was such a quick card once I had a bunch of fussy cut flowers! 

For my second card today I went with another layout I have used before HERE. I often re-use card layouts as I think it's a good way to get creative if you don't know where to start or you're in a creative slump. 

I used another of the sentiments from Birthday Wishes and this time cascaded the flowers down the card. Again, some are adhered using double sided tape, and some using foam tape. 

I then remembered this little stamp from Balloon Bash that has a trio of tiny flowers. I stamped this along the cascade in Pimento ink and added a little black dot to the centre of each to tie in with the stencilled flowers. 

Such a fun stencil and so many different ways to use the flowers and pairings with previously released Uniko stamps too. Amazingly this stencil is still in-stock, along with all the release bar the Background Blocks Birthday Scramble. This should be back in the next week or so. 

NOW, onto the winners. 

Firstly I apologise for my lateness in announcing a few of these, I seem to have a bit of memory loss these days 🙈

All winners were randomly selected using a random number or name generator. 

💙 First up, I have the winner of the Stencil MCM Baubles giveaway.... Congratulations Vicki P

💙 Next I have the January 2026 Release Day winner.... Congratulations Meghan K

Now for the 14th Birthday Winners.

💙 Grand Prize Giveaway, Win Stamps For a Year.... Congratulations Helen W

💙 Grand Prize Giveaway, Win Stencils For a Year... Congratulations Helen C

💙 14th Birthday Linky Party... Congratulations The Crafty Den (Denise M)

💙 14th Birthday Release Day Hop... tinkerscraft (Sadia A)

Congratulations to the winners, thank you to all who took the time to hop, comment and take part in the celebrations. 

Thank you to the Uniko Brand Ambassadors for all their inspiration and for all the lovely customer orders too.

Crafty Hugs

Uniko's Top 25 Products of 2025 - Number 10

Hello & Happy Tuesday. 

We're into the top 10 of Uniko's 25 Products of 2025. These have been determined by sales this year. Coming in at number 10 is Bauhaus Blocks. 

I was delighted to see this clear stamp set in the top 25, so I couldn't resist making a couple of new cards in a video. You can watch this HERE on the Uniko YouTube Channel. I also share my insights into using the Taylored Expressions Magnetic Glass Board and the NEW Misti Light. Both are available from Dies To Die For.

As it's Tuesday, I have two cards to share. 

Let's have a closer look at the first card.

For this first card I stamp the blocks on an angle in opposing corners. I like to do things in threes or odd numbers, I find it pleasing to the eye.

I used a trio of Stampin' Blends to colour various parts of each of the blocks, in Light Summer Splash, Light Pumpkin Pie and Light Strawberry Slush. Once I stamped the sentiment I adhered the panel to my card using foam adhesive.

For my second card I went for a slightly longer card than I usually use, 10.5 x 15cm. I stamped all five blocks from the stamp set, coloured and then fussy cut them. Next I adhered the blocks using foam adhesive and added the thank you sentiment, also from the set. 

I hope these new ideas inspire you.

Crafty Hugs

Two For Tuesday - Hexagonal Christmas

Happy Tuesday.

It's been a crazy start to Autumn here at Uniko HQ and I am hoping things are settling, in that I can start sharing more inspiration here and across social media.

Today I made time to make a couple of cards and I even recorded making one and have a YouTube Short HERE. 

I fancied Inking & Flipping and turning it Christmassy. 

For this card I was inspired by a layout I've used before HERE. As you can see I replaced the Chrysanthemum with the Ink & Flip Geometric Hexagon. 

I started inking with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink. Cleaned the stencil, flipped and used Nuvo Glacier Paste in Golden Era. 

I added a hand drawn string with a fine liner, added a sentiment from Christmas Sentiments and a bow stamped in Dragonfruit using the one from Mid Century Modern Wreath Builder.

Sometimes I like using a little bit of ribbon and these little tabs are one of my favourite ways to use it. It doesn't create bulk. I adhered the bauble layer to my card base using foam tape, 1mm thick.

Next up I wanted to use both layers of the Ink & Flip Geometric Hexagon.

First I started with the bauble. I inked it with Dragonfruit & then Peacock. I also stamped the same bow and fussy cut both the hexagon and bow.

Next I went to the background layer. I inked with Honeysuckle and Oceanside to create a slightly softer feel to the colours. I added gold splatter using Gansi Tambi Starry Watercolours.

I stamped the same sentiment, drew a line for the bauble string before adhering the hexagon and bow using foam adhesive.

That's all I have today, but I would love to know which is your favourite of the two.

Crafty Hugs

Technique Two For Tuesday - Background Blocks Christmas Scramble

Happy Tuesday.

I finally feel like I am settling into routine and found a little bit of creative mojo. Anyone else struggle when they've had a holiday? 

Anyway, let's have a look at what I created for today...

Since seeing the Brand Ambassadors use the paper piecing technique with this stamp, Background Blocks Christmas Scramble, I've been wanting to do it too! 

I decided to dive into my pattern paper bit box, something I rarely do and came across scraps of this Swiss dot paper from Papertrey Ink. I've had these scraps for years. 

As I was fussy cutting and adhering the letters, it got me to thinking how I could use the Background Block Swiss Dots, to create a similar look. 

So that's what I did for my second card.

For this I heat embossed the Swiss Dots background onto white card using VersaMark and Clear Gloss EP. I then inked over with Dragonfruit, Sweet Pea, Buttercup, Parsley, Oceanside & Midnight. Again fussy cutting and adhering using foam tape.

I could have achieved the same look by doing solid colours on more stamped and embossed Background Blocks Swiss Dots backgrounds, but I quite like this ink blended look. 

Although I love both, I can't decide which I prefer. Which do you prefer? 

Thanks for stopping by.

Crafty Hugs

Two For Tuesday.

Happy Tuesday.

Today I have two cards to share. The first I pretty much made during the Background Blocks Swiss Dots YouTube video HERE. And during the video I promised I would share a card made exactly the same, but using the Taylored Expressions Perforated Paper. 

So I had this idea, basically wondering if I could achieve a similar look to perforated paper using the Background Blocks Swiss Dots. 

I started by stamping the background using Pebble ink and then I stencilled the Layering Picked Posies over the top. 

I finished with a sentiment from Everyday Sentiments adhered using foam tape and a trio of enamel dots. I absolutely LOVE the result, but I wanted to see how it compared to using the same stencil in the same colours and layout on the TE Perforated Paper. 

So off camera I made it.

This challenged me to finally cut into the paper! It's a little on the pricey side and you only get a few sheets, so something you would want to use sparingly. 

I love how it turned out and it was easy to stencil onto. 

In comparison to my first card the perforated paper has more of a yellow/off white colour compared to the Simply The Best 280gsm card from Limetree. 

With there being a lot more holes in the perforated paper compared to dot cover on the stamped card, the detail layer of the stencil is a little more subtle on this second card.

Personally I prefer the stamped version, but it doesn't mean I won't be trying the perforated paper in another project. 

I'd love to know which you perfer.

Crafty Hugs

Two For Tuesday Tangle!

Hello & Happy Tuesday. 

Today I have a couple of cards to share, totally inspired by cards shared in the Uniko VIP Facebook Group HERE this week. Thank you Debi for kick starting my Zentangling again! 

Debi has cleverly used the Pure Florals Gerbera and Pure Florals Chrysanthemum stencils and instead of inking with colour, Debi used a black fine liner and beautifully drawn the outline and filled with pattern. So it got me thinking of what other Uniko Stencils I could use for this fun technique. 

Here's what I came up with...

As you can see for my first card today I decided upon the Stencil MOD Background Builder. This was pretty quick to create the outline and it was fun to add all the doodles, I found it very relaxing.

Once I was happy with my doodles I added the Birthday Wishes sentiment from Simply Said Blocks III and a trio of Poppy enamel dots.

I then went on the hunt for another stencil and as I was flipping through my folder I came across the Stencil Flower Power #8.

Again, another easy design to draw the outline with and the spaces being a little bit bigger I was able to be a lot bolder with my doodles. 

For this card I chose a sentiment panel to go across the card and adhered with foam adhesive. The sentiment is from Everyday Sentiments and again I chose the pop of red with Poppy enamel dots. 

That's all I have today and I hope you'll give this fun technique a try. Now the decision is to see what I can Zentangle next! 

Crafty Hugs

Two For Tuesday - Originally Organic

Hello & Happy Tuesday.

I hope your week has begun well. It was back to school for The Beans yesterday and back to routine for me in the studio. It's a week of show prep for me this week as on Friday I will be heading over to Port Sunlight for The Stamping Together show.

Even though it's a busy week, I am still squeezing in a bit of creative time and I was inspired to dust off my Originally Organic stamps for my Two For Tuesday.

Originally Organic debuted in September 2016 and to me it was one of the first sets that defines my style of design and way I prefer to draw. So it has a special place in my design loving, paper crafting, card making heart. It was about time I gave it some fresh inky love and I couldn't resist paring it with some of my favourite stencils.

Uniko's first stencils, Scattered Polka Dots and Wonky Stripes didn't debut until October 2017 and I can't think off the top of my head of many cards where I have combined stencils with Originally Organic. 

For my first card I chose one of my most recent stencils, MOD Background Builder. I masked off the edges of my card to create a rectangle before using a trio of yellow inks through the stencil. I then simply added my favourite image in black and one of the sentiments for a one layer card. 

For my second card I chose the stencil, Cloud 9. And unusually for me I decided to create an oval window. Ovals are not a shape I lean towards very often.

This time I opted for Grapefruit and Sorbet inks to create this fluffy background. I then used the stem and one of the flower options. Again opting for a one layer card.

There is another reason why this month Originally Organic was restocked. If you saw the reveal of the Papercraft Society Box 51 HERE on YouTube you might connect the styles 😉 I can't wait to show you more!

Crafty Hugs 

Two For Tuesday AND a Winner!

Hello!

Happy Tuesday and a belated happy spring. Apologies for myself being quiet here and across social media this past week or so. Before last week I was finalising some exciting products and then I got struck down with a nasty cold/flu bug. A week later and I am just starting to feel better and finally have some energy back.

Anyway, enough of my woes, how about some creative inspiration...

I was inspired to use the Stencil - Cloud 9 as my starting point for my Two For Tuesday and opted for a circle aperture. I used a circle die to create an aperture mask and stencilled the cloud onto my white card layer. I used Altenew inks to get the beautiful ombre look.

To finish I added a sentiment from Up & Away and adhered a hot air balloon using foam adhesive. I then layered this onto my card base using foam adhesive. 

For my second card I used the circle from the aperture I die cut for the first card as my cloud focal point. Again I used the same inks for the clouds and I love how you can get different layering looks each time. I find this stencil very therapeutic to ink.

I'm longing for warmer days now and to see those butterflies fluttering in the garden. So for this card I opted to ink and colour the largest butterfly from English Country Garden Butterflies. The sentiment is from our popular Simply Said Blocks. All of the elements are adhered to the card using foam adhesive.

Now before I go, I have been reminded that I forgot to announce the winner from the 11th Birthday Release Blog Hop HERE. Apologies for my forgetfulness and thank you to those who emailed me a reminder this week.

With the help of random.org the lucky comment is...

Alice

 

Three sweet cards, love so much especially the first one with the fabulous crocus, daffodil and snowdrops!

Congratulations to Alice! 

You have won a £30 eGift Certificate to spend in the Uniko store. Please email me at bev@uniko.co.uk to claim your prize.

Thank you to everyone who hopped and left comments, they are much appreciated by all of us here at Uniko. We have one more chance for you to win from the 11th Birthday celebrations this week, so be sure to keep an eye on the blog! 

Crafty Hugs

 

Two For Tuesday - Pure Florals Cosmos

Happy Tuesday! 

I seem to be on a creative Two For Tuesday roll, and this week it is Pure Florals Cosmos getting the creative attention. 

It's been a while since I took my time and did some Copic colouring. I kept things simple, just choosing a trio of purples to colour the cosmos blooms. But created a little interest by making a window style card and also colouring onto a stone coloured card base. 

Having cut a window on this first card, this sparked the idea for my second card. This one is very CAS and uses the partial cut window for the spotlight effect.

I kept the cosmos colours exactly the same, just shading and adding more of the darker purple for the cosmos layered behind.

Pure Florals Cosmos is just one of the clear stamp sets coming in the next batch of restocks due in the studio, if the order goes to schedule, on Friday. 

Along with Pure Florals Cosmos, there is Background Builders Christmas 2018, Background Builders Seeing Stars, Block Party Christmas, Pattern Building Christmas Tree and Simply Said Blocks II. These are all available on back order.

That's all from me today.

Crafty Hugs

Two For Tuesday

 Hello & Happy Tuesday.

It's been a while since I did a Two For Tuesday post and it just so happened I made a couple of one layer cards using a mix of Flower Power and Sentiments Outlined. I kept the layout the same for both, but just switched up the flowers and sentiments.

I started by stamping the sentiment in black ink from Sentiments Outlined and then scattered the solid flower from Flower Power #7 in Sorbet and Honeysuckle C9 inks. 

The leaf is from Flower Power #6 and stamped in C9 Parsley. I finished the design with some Gloss Dandelion Yellow Nuvo Drops to the centre of the flowers. I also coloured the sentiment with an aqua shade of Copic Marker.

For my second card I used the rose from Flower Power #6 and this time stamped them in Poppy and Honeysuckle C9 inks.

I thought the 'Have a Perfect Day' sentiment was a nice choice and this time I stamped it in turquoise and coloured in the closest match of Copic Marker.

Two fairly quick cards and wonderfully mail friendly! 

That's all from me today. Thanks for stopping by.

Crafty Hugs