Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Autumn has arrived!

Hi all, 

Steph here with my Uniko Brand Ambassador post for October and given that the weather has now and truly turned, I thought I'd celebrate Autumn rather than moaning about how cold and wet it is! (But I might still moan a bit!).

For this card I have used Uniko I Love Coffee stamp set, just what is needed on a soggy autumnal day! My floral background uses Uniko Beautiful Blooms II stamp set which I think works beautifully in the orange and browns I have chosen for my card. 

Using fawn / brown based colours I turned the Uniko English Country Garden - Butterflies into moths for my next card. I stamped the solid butterfly over the background and added one of each the small and large butterflies using foam pads. 

My final card uses Uniko Winter Botanicals: Sweet Broom stamp set. I masked a section across the upper part of the card on which I later stamped the sentiment from Uniko Floral Vines stamp set. 

So that's my autumnal inspiration to match the autumnal weather (might be nicer if the rain would stop!). Thanks for stopping by.

Much love

Steph x

Autumnal Thanks & a Winner!

Hello & Happy Thursday, 

Apologies for my quietness around here and socials, its been a week of forced rest and recovery from a horrible chesty cold the Beans brought home from school and kindly shared with me and the whole family.

Anyway, luckily I made this card before I was poorly and saved it to share with you all for when I announced the winner of the October Release Blog Hop.

I've said it so many times before, but I always try to add in some smaller stamps to fill the gaps when designing stamp sets. These little accent stamps can create big impact, which I have hopefully shown on my card.

I revisited an old technique, of which the name has currently left my brain! Where you ink the stamp with a light shade and the roll the edges in a darker shade or even dap with a small blending brush. This gives aa natural looking effect to the image.

I used scotch tape to mask the section for the sentiment and then stamped the leaves. I used a variety of Concord & 9th colours with an autumnal feel. I then inked an acrylic block with a few of the colours to add watercolour splats before stamping my sentiment & accenting with two fussy cut leaves.

I've mainly used Autumn Serenade, but also the leaf from Big & Bold thank/s/ful from the October Release, which leads me on nicely to the winner.

Thank you for all the lovely comments here on the blogs and around social media, they are appreciated by us all. So with the help of random name generator, the lucky comment is...

cm7 October 2023 at 14:43

An array of beautiful cards, Steph; each one really highlights how wonderful this new release is. I'm especially smitten with your snowflakes; a pretty wintry wonderland, indeed!
~carol

Congratulations Carol! 

Please drop me an email at [email protected] along with your mailing address and I will get your goodies in the post to you.

We have another Release in Review Brand Ambassador Blog Hop coming at the end of the month for another chance to win & lots more inspiration. Plus, I will be back tomorrow with Day 5 of Uniko's 12 Days of Christmas inspiration and giveaways! 

Crafty Hugs

Introducing... Autumn Serenade

Welcome to Day 2 of the product introductions for our October Release. 

Today I am introducing a new addition to our Serenade series with Autumn Serenade. I definitely think there is a place for more leaves & foliage in the Uniko line up. And you might notice the cross over with the leaf design from BIG & BOLD thank/s/ful which I introduced HERE yesterday.

Let's have a look at this set in action...

If you were in Lincoln at the weekend and took part in the make & take, you got to play with this new set and make this card. A simple ink blended rectangle using Distress Oxide Ink in Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain from top to bottom. 

I then removed the mask to stamp the falling leaf image. I wanted to keep the colour soft and rustic, so I used VersaFine Clair in Morning Mist. The sentiment from the set I wanted a little more prominent and so I stamped in VersaFine Nocturne ink.

For my second card today I wanted to highlight some of the smaller stamps in the set to create this clean & simple design.

I added in a few more green tones for the leaves, using Concord & 9th Avocado, Evergreen and Parsley, mixed with Stardust and Wheat.

I then stamped the Autumn Blessings over the leaf cluster. Super simple, but I am pleased how this turned out.

That's all I have for today, but I will be back tomorrow with more to share. This clear stamp set, along with all the products being introduced this week will be available 9pm GMT Saturday 7th October 2023. 

Crafty Hugs

 

Introducing... BIG & BOLD Thank/s/ful

Welcome to Day 1 of the product introductions for our October Release. 

Today I am introducing a new and long awaited addition to our BIG & BOLD series, BIG & BOLD Thank/s/ful. When I am designing new products, one of my aims along with value is versatility. More bang for your buck as the saying goes.

So this is what I have hopefully achieved with todays clear stamp set. As you will see by the name it its thank/s/ful, that's because I have created separate stamps for the thank, the 's' and the 'ful'. This way you can easily stamp a different sentiment suited for the occasion you are making for. 

I think my cards today demonstrate this...

For my first card I really stepped out of my colour comfort zone for this autumnal 'thanks' card! You know them moments after you've made something and then you are not sure about sharing it. This is how I feel about this card! 

Anyway, here it is. I used Concord & 9th inks in Nutmeg, Wheat, Stardust, Sunflower and Spiced Cider. Stamping from bottom to top using my stamping platform. I started with the thanks section of the sentiment and then repeating with the 's'. Using a stamping platform definitely made this easier.

To finish the card I added the thanks panel to a Spiced Cider card base and added the 'so much' sentiment and a trio of falling leaves also from the set. 

My second card today I kept an early autumnal colour scheme, this time adding in some greens...

This time I joined the thank with the ful for thankful and created a slimline card, overall size 10.5 x 20cm. I then set the sentiment aside to dry before fussy cutting it out. 

My background is stamped using the leaf stamp options, solid and outline. The vein detail comes as a separate stamp too. This time I used Parsley and Avocado along with Cayenne and Stardust. 

There is one more sentiment combination, I'll be sharing that on release day! Thank you for stopping by today & I'd love to know your initial thoughts about this stamp set.

This clear stamp set, along with all the products being introduced this week will be available 9pm GMT Saturday 7th October 2023. 

Crafty Hugs

 

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

Hello October, World Card Making Day AND a Winner!

Hello October 🎃

Happy Saturday and Happy World Card Making Day.

I couldn't let the day pass without making and sharing a card! I managed to squeeze in this card between dropping The Beans at a birthday party and before I had to pick them up, amongst getting a few house jobs done in that time too! 

I am obsessed with the Stencil - Mid Century Modern Shapes. I just love coming up with new layering options and using different colours. 

For this card I selected the Altenew Natures Wonders Collection, I think the shades are very Autumnal and I decided to pair the largest sprig from Season Of Beauty with the shapes. Plus I selected this sentiment as it really is an all season sentiment and not just for Christmas. I really do think you can find joy in all the seasons. 

Okay, so how about a winner for The Stamping Together Festival tickets and £10 spend at the Uniko stand. I know a lot of followers here and across social media aren't able to attend, so keep your eyes peeled for another giveaway soon! 

Congratulations Angie D you are the lucky winner! 

I will forward your name to the organisers, so your name is on the door for you and your guest. Please come and see me at Uniko to claim your £10 spend 😊 

Hope you have all had a lovely day & have found some crafty time like me! 

Crafty Hugs

Brand Ambassador Inspiration : Pure Florals Gerbera

 Hi there!

Hannelie here with inspiration using the ever so popular Pure Florals Gerbera stamp and die set !

On the first card I used :

• Pure-florals-gerbera stamp set (only the leaves)
• Background-blocks-splatter
• Simply-said-blocks-iii-clear-stamps
• Distress inks : Peeled Paint - Vintage Photo - Dried Marigold
• Versafine black ink
• Black rhinestones
• Misti

On the second card I used :

• Pure-florals-gerbera stamp set 
• Background-blocks-splatter
• Floral-vines-clear-stamp-set (sentiment)
  
• Distress inks : Peeled Paint - Vintage Photo - Dried Marigold
• Versafine black ink
• Misti
• Rhinestones
• Craft foam

On the second card I used the background block splatters to stamp the watercolors all around the edge of the card. I first applied the distress ink to my glass cutting board, spritzed it with water, and stamped with the three colors randomly around the edge. After it dried completely I used my Misti to stamp the outline images and sentiment. To add some interest, I used a die to cut out the rectangle and popped it up with some craft foam.

On the third and last I used :

• Background-blocks-splatter
• Pure-florals-gerbera-clear-stamp-set-die-bundle
• Simply-said-blocks-iii-clear-stamps
• Distress inks : Peeled Paint - Vintage Photo - Dried Marigold
• Versafine black ink
• Rhinestones
• Foam squares for dimension
• Misti

I sometimes think we forget to use all the stamps from a floral set. The leaves in such sets are so valuable especially during Autumn when we love to make cards showing off the the splendor of the season !

Thanks for popping in today! 

I do hope you leave here inspired   ♥

Hannelie

Brand ambassador inspiration - Leaves and geometrics

 Hi there!

Hannelie here bringing you inspiration for your Autumn cards !

I went through my Uniko florals and found beautiful leaves in there which I combined with different geometric background sets. Love how it turned out !

Here's the first card :

For this card with a more masculine feel I used :

• Beautiful-blooms set ( leaves )
• Background-builders-delightful-diamonds 
• Simply-said-blocks 
• Altenew ink
• Circle die
• Craft foam for dimension 
• Misti

Second card :

For this elegant card I used :

• Beautiful-blooms-i-clear-stamp-set-die-bundle
• Background-builders-squared
• Anniversaire-arts-decoratifs-clear-stamp (Sentiment)
• Pure-florals-chrysanthemum (Outlined leaves in the background)
  
• Altenew ink
• Gold rhinestones and gift string
• Misti

Third card :

For the last card I used :

• Background-blocks-graffiti-texture-clear-stamp
• Pure-florals-gerbera (outlined leaves)
• Anniversaire-arts-decoratifs-clear-stamp (birthday)
• Christmas-wishes-clear-stamp-set (greetings)
• Rectangle die to cut the frame
• Foam squares for dimension
• Brass rhinestones
• Misti

I hope you feel inspired to take a closer look at your floral sets... there are beautiful leaves in there waiting to shine as focal point on your cards... for ANY season!

Wishing you a beautiful day and week ♥

Hannelie

Autumn is in the air 🍂

Hello & Happy Wednesday.

Another evening blog post for me today, the days just seem to be running away from me. Those six hours the boys are at school just fly by and before I know it, it's time to walk back and get them! 

Autumn 🍂 is in the air.

Although the first day of autumn in the UK us next week, the signs have been slowly creeping in the past couple of weeks. Slightly darker mornings, the light fading earlier and that crispness in the air that accompanies both. The leaves are already starting to change colour and fall too.

I don't have a favourite season. There are things I love about them all. Today I was inspired by the changing of the season and embracing the rustic feel of autumn.

I think I achieved this with my chosen colours. The Nature's Wonders collection from Altenew. Like many of the Brand Ambassadors, I was inspired to ink up the recently restocked, Season Of Beauty clear stamp set! 

As you can see I decided to pair the larger foliage sprig with the Stencil - Wonky Stripes. I am loving the movement this combination creates. Especially with stamping the foliage so it falls off the edge of the panel. 

What is your favourite thing about autumn? 

Until tomorrow. 

Crafty Hugs

 

Celebrate World Card Making Day 2020!

 Happy Weekend

& 

Happy World Card Making Day 2020!

I hope everyone is having a lovely day & those in the UK are staying warm and dry. It's a very wet day here in the North East and the perfect kind of day to stay in and create! Which is exactly what I have been up to today ;)

I've been inspired by the changing colours from Summer to Autumn on my morning walk to school with The Beans and like the card I shared for the Uniko Challenge Reminder HERE, I decided to use Altenew Warm & Cozy ink collection for my card today.

It's been a while since I used the Uniko Stencil - Wonky Stripes. Here I have used the masking technique to ink the individual stripes in each of the four ink colours.

I've then embellished my card with a floral bouquet and sentiment from Wonderful Day. Brand Ambassador Jane has been using this clear stamp set recently and totally inspired me to dust mine off! I'm so glad I did, as I really like how this Autumnal card turned out.

As it is a celebration today and I am feeling a little sad with not being at Happy Stampers Festival today, I have a BIG Giveaway to add some cheer to the day!

The Prize valued at over £85* contains a few of my favourite Uniko products:-

Alphabet Outlined

BIG & BOLD Happy Clear Stamps & Designer Dies

BIG & BOLD Wish Clear Stamps & Designer Dies

Hello Lovely Clear Stamp Set

Stunning Snowflakes Clear Stamp Set

Designer Die Sparkling Snowflake

Stencil - Let it Snow 

*If the randomly selected winner already owns any or all of the prize contents 

a suitable replacement will be offered.

HOW TO WIN!

There are a few ways to enter the giveaway...

1. Leave a comment on this blog post.

2. Comment on the Facebook post. An extra entry if you share the giveaway post on FB.

3. Instagram - Be a GENUINE Follower of Uniko, Like, Comment, Tag a Friend/s to tell them about the giveaway, Share on your IG stories for an extra entry. 

You CAN enter on all 3 social media platforms. 

The giveaway will close at Midnight GMT Sunday 4th October 2020.

The winner will be randomly selected from all the social media platforms combined and announced early next week. Any comments left after the close of the giveaway will not be included.

Crafty Hugs Bev x

CAS Colours & Sketches #239 Colours

Hey & Hello September!

Where was and did the little bit of summer we had go? Sometimes in the UK we are lucky and we get an 'Indian Summer' in September, but not this year. We are in full Autumn weather today, with rain, wind and more rain!

Anyway, enough of that how about a fresh new month of challenges over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This month Fiona is our hostess and. Kicking the month off Fiona has this wonderful colour combo HERE to inspire your creativity...

Here is what I came up with...

I knew I wanted to make a fall inspired card and use leaves, so I reached for Natures Treasures II (back in stock on Sept 18th) and paired it with a 'Thanks' sentiment from the September Release, which you will see more of tomorrow ;)

My layout was inspired by the current CAS(E) this Sketch! layout seen HERE and below, such a fun sketch :)

I used the Tangerine Tango and Always Artichoke to stamp the leaves and fussy cut them out. The sentiment is stamped and foam mounted onto a white card base. I then just placed the leaves to represent the sketch and just adhered them with DST. I've then mounted the panel onto a Fresh Fig card base.

That's all from me today using the sketch, but if you need some more inspiration using the sketch be sure to pop by the CAS Colours & Sketches blog HERE and see how the DT and Guest Designer have used it.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hugs