Throwback Thursday and Last Chance!

 Hello & Happy Thursday! 

Today I am doing a little reminiscing with a throwback Thursday. 

Unfortunately, the time has come to say farewell to a couple of clear stamp sets. I never find this easy and it really does take me a while to let them go. BUT, as much as I do love these sets, trends change, just like the seasons AND there is always so much newness around the corner.

So what are we saying farewell to? 

Decorative Doilies - The Hands Of Time

Firstly it is with a heavy heart we are saying farewell to Decorative Doilies - The Hands Of Time. This stamp set holds a special place in my heart. I originally designed elements of this set at college while studying for my degree in Textiles and Surface Design. 

This set is closely connected to the two clear stamps I launched Uniko with back in February 2012, Today, Tomorrow and Always Time and Today, Tomorrow and Always Extra Time. These sets were designed for my final major project and I poured hours of research, drawing and designing into them as I learned Adobe Illustrator. 

Here are a couple of my favourite cards made using this set. You can see more on Pinterest HERE.

And for old times sake, I have a fresh card to share with you using this set...

Yep, I am still on that slimline card band wagon! However, I was inspired by the new sketch over at CAS Colours & Sketches seen HERE and below for the layout of my card. They have also requested it to be slimline.

The sketch was perfect for using lots of the doilies from the set. The hardest part was selecting which largest doily to showcase as the main feature. 

I knew I wanted this card to be super colourful, so I opted for this one as I love colouring it in rainbow! I love how it turned out. I used a selection of Stampin' Up! markers to colour the doily and then I used some of the coordinating inks to stamp the backdrop of doilies. I used all but two doilies for this card. 

The sentiment is from Simply Said Blocks III and I added some enamel gems to add the final touches. I know this won't be the last time I ink up these stamps. They will forever remain a firm favourite. Especially when it comes to quick sparkling Christmas cards. However, it will probably be the last card I make and share here on the blog using it.

The next stamp set we are bidding farewell to is...

Background Builders - Vines 

This is another stamp set from the early years of Uniko, April 2014 to be exact! Here are a few of my favourites using this set. And you can see more HERE on Pinterest.

And a close up of a different card 

And again, for old times sake, a new one...

It's funny how you don't use a stamp set or product for a long time, but when you finally ink it up and start creating a whole host of ideas come to mind! 

For this card I selected one of the long leafy stamps to create this garland across my card. I then stamped a variety of the tiny flowers in a selection of inks. I tried to choose colours with an autumn feel, but it came out pretty summery.

You might recognise some of the flower designs from the Flower Power series. Don't worry those aren't retiring just yet, they'll be about for a while longer. The sentiment I have used is from Floral Vines.

So that's it, my Throwback Thursday and a farewell to these two stamp sets. It's been lovely looking back and I know for sure these early stamp sets will always have a special place in my heart and crafting stash. 

There are still some available on the website HERE at bargain prices, waiting for a loving inky home.  Once they are gone the product will be removed from the website 😢 

That's all from me today.

Crafty Hugs

 

Back In Stock!

Happy Friday!

I thought I would pop by today & let you know about a HUGE batch of restocks which arrived in the studio this week - yay! 

With no new release scheduled until January 2020, it gave me the opportunity to restock a lot of popular clear stamp sets and some of which have been out of stock for some time now, apologies for that.

Anyway, let's have a look and see what's back...

So many favourites of mine here :) Today I was inspired to used Background Builders: Vines, you can check out my card and post HERE.

Have a wonderful Friday & I hope you find some time to be creative.

Crafty Hugs

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Last chance to buy before retiring Sweet Baby

Bonjour !

Izzy here. Today I'm echoing Jane's post from last Saturday, as she explained, some stamp sets have to be retired to make room for the new ones. For this occasion, they are on sales with 50% off, so I'm here today to give you some inspirations on how to use the Sweet Baby stamp set.

As all the Uniko stamp sets, this one is very versatile, you can not only make Babies'cards but also cards for other occasions and that what I'm showcasing in this post.

The first trio are Babies cards using not only the Sweet Baby set but combining it with other Uniko stamps.

My first card uses the ducks of the Sweet Baby set together with the So Much set. I simply stamped the ducks, masked them and then I stamped the flowers. I coloured them with Kaleidacolor inks and a blender pen. I stamped the sentiment and I die cut a frame (x3) and glued it on the card base around the image.

Stamps: Uniko, Sweet Baby & So Much - Die: MFT, Stitched square scallop - Inks: Kaleidacolor, Baby Powder & Altenew, Industrial Diamond

My second card uses the onesie that I stamped in pink on a pattern paper. I made the background with the Scattered Polka Dots stencil and Catherine Pooler inks that have the same shades than the pattern paper. I matted this dotted background onto pink and then onto the card base. I die cut a scallop circle that I embossed with a dotted embossing folder. I then foam mounted the onesie on it. I stamped the sentiment onto a banner and I also foam mounted it.

Stamps: Uniko, Sweet Baby - Stencil: Uniko, Scattered Polka Dots - Die: Spellbinders, Classic Scalloped Circles Small & No brand, Tags and Labels - Inks: Catherine Pooler, Party Dress, It's a girl, It's a boy, Daydream & Versafine, Onyx Black.

My third card of this group is very simple and quick to make. I stamped the duck on a white cardstock, I coloured it with colour pencils then I fussy cut it. I glued a white feather on the double white card and I adhered the duck with a glue dot. To finish I stamped the sentiment.

Stamps: Uniko, Sweet Baby  & Simply Graphic, Planche Petit Trésor (sentiment) - Colour pencils: Faber-Castell Polychromos, #107, 108, 113.

Now with my second trio of cards, I show you how you can make cards for different occasions with this set. This time I used the teddy bear for the first two ones.

My first card uses the bear of this set and I combined it with the Background Blocks : Party Confetti and the Designer die BIG & BOLD Happy Collection. I stamped the party confetti block on a white cardstock then I die cut a square that I foam mounted on the double white cardstock. I stamped the teddy bear in brown on a scrap of paper and I fussy cut it. I die cut a party hat, I coloured it then I glued it on teddy's head. The teddy is glued on the background and foam mounted on the card. To finish I die cut the Happy word in black cardstock and I adhered it on the background. The rest of the sentiment is stamped.

Stamps: Uniko, Sweet Baby  & Birthday Sentiments (stamped sentiment) - Die: Uniko, BIG & BOLD Happy collection & Create a Smile, Cool Cuts Magical Frame - Inks: Kaleidacolor, Desert Heat & Cappuccino Delight - Promarkers: Lipstick red & Cardinal red.

The second card used again the bear but this time for a Christmas card. I combined it with the sets Background Builders: Vines Winter, Rustic Wreath and Simply Said Christmas. This is a One Layer Card. I stamped the bear in brown and I coloured it with colour pencils. Then I stamped the sentiment in black. At the bottom I used stamps from the Background Builders: Vines Winter and from the Rustic Wreath sets.

Stamps: Uniko, Sweet Baby ,  Background Builders: Vines Winter, Rustic Wreath & Simply Said Christmas (sentiment) - Colour pencils: Faber-Castell Polychromos, #103, 132, 189, 230, 231 - Inks: Distress, Mowed Lawn, Festive Berries, Vintage Photo.

And finally, for the last card I used the Sweet Baby set together with the Spring Botanicals Snowdrop to make a Spring card. I die cut a rectangle in a friendly watercolour paper, I stamped the duck once with Distress ink, I masked it and I stamped another one that I also masked. Then I stamped the snowdrops also with Distress ink. To colour this scene I used Zig Clean Colour Real Brushes. To finish I stamped the sentiment and I matted the image on a double card.

Stamps: Uniko, Sweet Baby & Spring Botanicals Snowdrop - Zig Clean Colour brushes: #050, 051, 052, 041, 045, 302, 303 - Inks: Distress, Mustard Seed & Shabby Shutters.

As you can see this stamp set is very versatile, useful for baby cards but also nice to be used for other occasions. So if you want to have a chance to get it before it is retired, you can find it HERE.

Thank you very much for stopping by and have a great crafty week !

My Five Faves From Year 3 of Uniko

Hey!

Are you enjoying the Birthday Celebrations here at Uniko? I sure hope so and there is EVEN more to come as the February Release Sneak Peeks begin on Saturday - WhoooHoo! 

Yesterday, I shared a Digital FREEBIE download, if you missed it be sure to check out the post HERE.

Anyway, today I am back to share my FIVE favourite projects from Year 3 of Uniko. This was the year where the beans were still tiny babies and took A LOT of my time. I remember sneaking off to the studio one evening for a little creative time and only being there 5 minutes before being called back for mummy duties! Even with that I still took me a little while to narrow down my favourites ;)

Let's see what I chose...

This was the year Neons made a come back and were trending during the February 2014 Release. This card uses the Explosion! clear stamp set, a set perfect for your hard to make masculine cards. I have another reason for highlighting this card and clear stamp set, you will find out next week ;)

My second card I chose because I love the Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum clear stamp set, but also because of the technique I used on the card. I've used a technique called White Wash Watercoloring and you can see my original post HERE. 

I chose this next card because I simply LOVE it! The colours, layout and clear stamps I have used really show off this stamp set.

This was the year I introduced Background Builders: Vines and Background Builders: Vines Winter Additions clear stamp sets, another two popular sets which sold out on it's debut! Currently out of stock due to popular demand recently, but will be back in again soon. There are also plans for other follow up sets in this series ;)

Ah, Paradise Hummingbird. I chose this card as it reminds me of the most amazing time of my life, getting married in Hawaii! Again the card uses my 'go to' colour combo and I can't resist cards using it ;)

Lastly, I chose another technique card...

This card uses the baby wipe technique and you can read the original post HERE. On the card I have used Flower Power #5, but any clear stamp which has more of a solid appearance will work and is best for this technique.

Looking back through my creations has reminded me of some awesome techniques I had forgotten about and which would look just as good using newer stamps from Uniko. You might just see these techniques in the coming week ;)

To see more using the clear stamp sets I have highlighted today, check out the Pinterest pages for them via the links below...

Background Builders: Vines

Background Builders: Vines Winter Additions

Explosion!

Flower Power Series

Paradise Hummingbird

Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum

That's all I have to share today, but I will be back tomorrow with more. Design Team member Lindsey is also here on the blog with some more Design Team Inspiration for you. 

Until then, thank you for stopping by today.

Hugs

CAS Colours & Sketches #201

Hey & Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates. May you have a day filled with love, thanks, family and friends.

It's already Thursday again, which means it is time for another challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This month Patricia is our hostess this month and has another fabulous CAS sketch HERE for you all to try...

This is what I came up with...

I struggled with my creativity with this sketch at first, but finally got there in the end and I am pretty happy how it turned out too! 

The countdown to the Uniko November Release is underway and I have shared Sneak Peeks HERE and HERE. All the release stamps are on my desk as I finish up projects for the Introductions and Release Day posts, so a few happened to sneak onto my card ;)

Along with using a few new stamps on the card I combined them with some from Background Builders: Vines Winter Additions a set which coordinates lovely with one of the November Release clear stamp sets! 

Uniko is proud to be sponsoring the NEW challenge over at TIME OUT Challenges HERE. This fortnight the challenge is 

Christmas with an Optional Twist of Glitter/Shimmer

So, I am linking up over there and I look forward to seeing you in the gallery! Oh and don't forget the current Uniko Challenge HERE is also Christmas ;)

Ok, that's all from me for now, I hope I have inspired you to give these colours a go and join in on the challenge this week. Be sure to stop on over HERE and check out what the rest of the CAS Colours & Sketches DT have done using the colours and I hope to see you in the gallery.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:

Stamps: Uniko Background Builders: Vines Winter Additions and Rustic Wreath

Ink: SU! Real Red, Rose Red, Old Olive, Pear Pizzaz and Chocolate Chip. VersaFine Onyx Black

Card Stock: SU! Whisper White

CAS Colours & Sketches #198

Hey!

Oh my, how did we get to Thursday already?! This week has been one of 'those' weeks and all my good intentions on getting caught up and even ahead on things has gone astray! 

I knew the time would come when the beans would drop their afternoon sleep of 1-2 hours and this week is the week it has happened - NO! Plus to top it off (as if I am not worn out enough) they decided that they could climb out of the cots and so a transition into cot beds has come earlier than planned. Along with even MORE excited chaos at bedtime! 

So by the time they have both settled and gone to sleep this week I have been too tired and frazzled to do anything! Hence my lateness in my CC&S card today :(

Anyway, it is a new month and so we have a new hostess over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This month Patricia is our hostess and has kicked things off HERE with a beautiful Autumnal colour challenge.

This is what I came up with...

I have used a combination of Background Builders: Vines and Background Builders: Vines Winter Additions on my card today. This wasn't my first choice of clear stamp set to use, but the one I was after has seemed to of walked away from it's space on the shelf I think tiny bean hands may be the culprit there ;) so I opted for these instead and it all turned out better than expected.

I used the current Freshly Made Sketches layout seen HERE and below for my card design and it worked really well with the focal panel.

Ok, that's all from me for now, I hope I have inspired you to give these colours a go and join in on the challenge this week. Be sure to stop on over HERE and check out what the rest of the CAS Colours & Sketches DT have done using the colours and I hope to see you in the gallery.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:

Stamps: Uniko Background Builders: Vines and Background Builders: Vines Winter Additions

Ink: SU! Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip and Always Artichoke

Card Stock: SU! Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie & Always Artichoke.

Accessories: Foam Adhesive

FABulous 50!

Hey!

Tonight I 'made' myself sit down and create! These beans are exhausting at the moment, literally full of BEANS! So, once they have gone to bed and I've tidied up the whirlwind of toys that has passed through the house I have been too tired to sit and create :(

Anyway, I needed to make a couple of cards so while I was at it I decided to make a card (all be it a little late) for the wonderful Sandie (a Uniko DT Alumni), who turned 50 on Monday...

There are a couple of link ups in blogland to celebrate Sandie's birthday. First up HERE at Kylie's blog and HERE at TIME OUT Challenges, who have a CAS with optional twist of use purple theme.

As you can see by my card above I decided to use the optional twist of purple. I used 4 different shades, stamping various tiny flowers from Background Builders: Vines, adding green leaves also from the set and swirls from Natures Treasures II.

The sentiment is from All Occasion Sentiments #3 with the '50' from Classic Numbers and embossed with Stardust EP. I kept my card one layer and added a few rhinestones to add a little more sparkle and fill a few gaps. 

I came across a new to me challenge too called CanYouCaseIt? and decided to play along their too with the current sketch seen HERE and below.

That's all from me tonight, I am determined to make a couple more cards before I call it a night and crash in front of the TV! 

I'll be back tomorrow though with this weeks CAS Colours & Sketches creation, until then, thanks for stopping by :)

CAS Colours & Sketches #171

Hey!

I'm popping by today to share my Design Team card for this weeks CAS Colours & Sketches challenge HERE. 

This week is sketch week and our hostess for April, Louise has another fun sketch for you to use to get your creative juices flowing...

This was such a fun sketch and the hardest part was choosing which stamps to use! Anyway, this is what I settled on...

I decided to pair a few tiny flowers from Background Builders: Vines with a leaf from Natures Treasures I and a sentiment from Flower Power #5. My colours were determined by the new ColourQ Challenge colours seen HERE and below.

To create my curves I used a circle die and a pencil to lightly draw a stamping line. I started with the leaves and added the fussy cut flowers. I then filled in some gaps with the teeny tiny flowers and dots. To finish the card off I added some tiny rhinestones and some Wink Of Stella to the larger flowers.

I look forward to seeing you in the CC&S gallery HERE and be sure to check out the rest of the CC&S Design Team inspiration.

Ok, that's all from me toda. Sorry it has been so quiet around here this past week or so, it is full steam ahead for Happy Stampers Festival show prep. Eeeek! I am a mixture of excited, nervous and worried all at the same time - LOL! 

Anyway, must dash, lots to be done while I have a bean free afternoon ;) Thanks for stopping by and hanging in there with me in my absence, it is much appreciated.