It Worked... New YouTube Video

Happy Thursday.

Today I recorded a new YouTube video as I promised, showing how I created my card in yesterdays post combining the Stencil - Layering Bauhaus Blocks with Background Blocks MOD Builder. 

For this card though I switched out the Background Blocks MOD Builder for the Stencil - MOD Background Builder, a slightly larger version of the stamp.

I switched up my colour combo for this card, using Honeycomb or Sunflower (I can't remember now), Spiced Cider & Midnight. I show the colours in the video! 

A little pre warning, the video is long, I talk a LOT and I won't be mad if you fast forward during my fussy cutting! So grab a drink and get comfy, or why not get your supplies and craft along with me! 

Here is the link to the video...

Happy Watching & 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

Celebrating 12 Years Winners, Winners, WINNERS

Hello & Happy Monday.

I'm kicking the week off announcing ALL the Celebrating 12 Years Winners, Winners, WINNERS.  I used Random.org to select the lucky entry and all the prizes apart from the Linky Party were picked on Brand Ambassador vote. But I also have a card to share, so that first...

I decided to make a thank you card, to thank you all for making February one to remember. I've been wanting to use the Background Block MOD Builder (apologies for it selling out so fast) with Uniko Style.

I stamped the background block and coloured it using a trio of aqua alcohol markers. I used C9 inks to stamp the flowers from Uniko Style in Pink Lemonade & Honeysuckle and then Buttercup and Sunflower. I finished with the Thank You sentiment from Mid Century Modern Everyday Sentiments and a trio of Honeysuckle enamel dots.

Restocks of the February Release are due in the studio 16th March. Thank you to all those who have placed a backorder in anticipation of their return.

Now let's get to the winners...

First up I have the winner of the Uniko Papercraft Society Box, exclusive to CraftStash. Thank you for all the comments and love about this box. It was super fun to design for this and it is something I will consider bringing out Exclusive to Uniko in the near future.

And the winner is...

Congratulations Aileen 

Please send me an email to bev@uniko.co.uk with your postal address and I will get the box in the mail to you. 

Next up we have the first of the Grand Prize winners, Win Stamps For a Year! 

Congratulations The Crafty Den - Denise Morgans! Please send me an email to bev@uniko.co.uk with your postal address and I will get the February 2024 Release in the post to you. 

Next is the second Grand Prize winners, Win Stencils For a Year! 

Congratulations Greta! Please send me an email to bev@uniko.co.uk with your postal address and I will get the February 2024 Release Stencil in the post to you. 

Next we have the Birthday Linky party Winners. As voted by the Brand Ambassadors the winner is...

Ishani

Congratulations Ishani! Please email me and I will send you your £25 eGift Code to spend over at www.uniko.co.uk. 

As this beautiful spring sunshine has put a smile on my face, AND there were so many wonderful entries into the link up. Based on votes I have added two more prizes and the winners in no particular order are...

Emma

Bev K

Congratulations Emma and Bev K. Please email me and I will send you your £10 eGift Code to spend over at www.uniko.co.uk. 

Lastly and by no means least I have the winner of the Release Day Brand Ambassador Blog Hop. Thank you to everyone that hopped along and most of all left lovely comments.

Denise Bryant 

Such awesome cards! Great designs and color combos on your creations! I am loving this release!

Congratulations Denise! Please email me and I will send you your £25 eGift Code to spend over at www.uniko.co.uk. 

A big congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who joined in on celebrating 12 years, I appreciate you all. I don't think I have forgotten anything or any of the giveaways I mentioned. If I have, be sure to let me know ;)

Crafty Hugs

 

Uniko's Customer Top 10 of 2023 - Number 10

Hello & Happy Festive Friday 🎄

Apologies for being quiet round here this week, I have been gifted with an early Christmas sinus cold 🥴 and I've been resting amongst finishing last minute Christmas preparations. Hopefully I am over the worst and on the road to recovery, ready for 🎅🏻 

So while I've been resting, my brain hasn't and I thought it would be fun to see out 2023 with a little feature, Uniko's Customer Top 10 of 2023. 

I'm here today to kick things off. Coming in at the 10th most popular product of 2023 is, Stencil - MOD Background Builder.

This stencil joined us in October/November 2022 and was the first to feature this fun background building feature as well as providing an instant focal point. 

Even though there is an abundance of inspiration using this stencil, there is always room for more, so I squeezed in a little creative time to make this...

I set about a long task with a lot of masking to ink this in these beautiful Concord & 9th colours! But I think it was worth it as the result is so cheerful. 

Next was to decide on a sentiment and as I had Mid Century Modern Wreath Builder at hand I decided upon Happy Wishes. 

Thank you for stopping by & enjoy the inspiration during this often busy period. Remember it's okay to take time for you.

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 

One Layer Happy Birthday

Hello & Happy Tuesday! 

It's week 5 of the school holidays and I feel it's zooming past. I don't feel ready for them to be over quite yet, I'm enjoying the non routine of life. Creating has been a little bit hit and miss this past week, but I did manage to make a quick one layer birthday card for my Mother In Law yesterday.

I'm trying hard to embrace the soft stencilling and I achieved this by not inking my blending brushes at all with fresh ink. I simply used what was remaining on each of these coloured brushes and I am delighted with the results.

I wanted a silhouette image to layer over the Stencil - MOD Background Builder and decided upon the one from Just Because and the sentiment from Happy Days. A few enamel dots in Pebble finished my quick make.

I hope you are all well and enjoying the remainder of the summer. Who knows, we might get a nice Indian Summer for September  - here's hoping! 

Crafty Hugs 

Sending Sunshine

Happy Thursday! 

How did we even get to Thursday? This week has totally flown by, quite literally. Along with being super productive in the studio with LOTS more designs coming soon 😉 We also welcomed some feathered friends to our garden this week.

I can't remember how long The Beans have wanted pet chickens, it's probably nearing 2+ years. This week their wish came true and a friend of grandad gifted them four, two each. We welcomed Bonk, Zonk, Cluck & Daphne on Tuesday evening.

Of course Jelly is curious and wants to play with his new sisters 😂  and at lunchtime today a new chicken run arrived, so they can have a little bit more supervision, Under the watchful eye of our back garden camera! 

Four happy chickens and no doubt two happy Beans when they get home from school! 

Anyway, enough of chicken fun, how about some creative fun and a cheerful card...

I've been wanting to play with the Stencil - MOD Background Builder and specifically the smaller elements around the edge of the stencil. Here I used the trio of lager leaves to create this fun colourful card.

I stencilled the trio and as you can see, I used a little bit of masking to add in a 4th petal to some of the MOD 'flowers'. I then fussy cut them out and arranged on my card base.

The sentiment is from Everyday Spring Sentiments and I finished off with some Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops. 

Now for some news...

I have found a venue to run an all day (10am-4pm) Uniko crafty retreat. 

Location is Worsall, Yarm.

Date availability is Sunday 8th October 2023

Approx Price - £45 (includes a crafty pack to make between 5-6 cards, instructions & free product) 

I’d like to get a rough ideas on numbers before I confirm booking, so if you are interested in joining the fun, please either leave a comment here on the blog or drop me an email bev@uniko.co.uk 😃 

That's all for today, I'll be back tomorrow with more to share.

Crafty Hugs 

Mid Century Modern Flower Power #3

 Hello & Happy Wednesday.

I hope the sun is shining for you where you are, if not, I hope this brightens your day. 

I made this card a while ago and I've been waiting for the Stencil - MOD Background Builder to restocks to arrive before I did. And they are due to land in the studio, along with others as soon as Mr Postman does his rounds! 

As I've mentioned in my other Flower Power posts recently, I wanted to highlight and breathe new life into this collection of stamps and show how they pair with newer Uniko products.

And I chose Flower Power #3 to pair with this stencil as I feel this modern Chrysanthemum has a Mid Century Modern feel to it. And I am really pleased with how this turned out and I am loving the new Concord & 9th Pebble ink colour. 

I adhered the flower & the sentiment from Simply Said Blocks with foam adhesive and added a few white enamel dots to finish.

Now, before I go I thought I would share the news that I have shared on Instagram and Facebook this week. As finally I can share one of the BIG things that I’ve been working on behind the scenes @unikoltd HQ 🎉

Uniko’s Exclusive @craftstashcouk Collection, launching Friday 19th May 2023! Here is the first sneak peek I shared on Monday.

Since Autumn 2022 I’ve been collaborating with CraftStash UK to bring you more of my unique, fresh & modern designs across a wider range of products. 

My first collection is perfect for summer with florals, foliage, mix & match sentiments and more 😊

Like all my products available at uniko.co.uk these are all designed by my own fair hand and will coordinate beautifully with lots of my previously released products. 

I will be sharing more sneak peeks this week here on social media 

AND 

I hope you will be able to join me this Friday 19th May at 12:30pm BST as I go live with @loucollinscrafts on CraftStash to formally introduce to the six products in this collection 👏🏻

Here are a couple more sneak peeks...

This one above I shared yesterday and it features 3 of the 6 products from this collection. And for the peek below I have paired a new die with 2 of the clear stamp products.

I'm super excited about this collection and I can't wait to show you on the blog how this new collection will be a fabulous addition to your Uniko collection and work with previously released Uniko products. 

Ok, that's all from me today!

Crafty Hugs

 

Introducing... Stencil MOD Background Builder

Hello, Happy Monday & No Tricks, Just Treats, I Promise! 

Welcome to the first of the introductions for this mini stencil release. I am super excited about this first stencil for a few reasons. Firstly the design, it is a fun modern design that when I designed it, I had our Mid Century Modern Collection in mind. But as you will see from the Brand Ambassadors inspiration, it pairs with so many products wonderfully.

The second thing that makes me excited about this stencil is the concept of how to use the stencil. I have designed it in a way that there is an instant focal point, but you can also move the stencil to repeat the pattern and fill a larger area. I also added some smaller accents.

So without further ado, let's have a look at this stencil in action. 

Anita

Bev

Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane

Julie

Steph

Wiebke

So what do you think? Do you love it as much as I do? This stencil along with the others we will be introducing over the next few days will be available on the website 9am GMT Thursday 3rd November.

As it's Halloween, I am giving one lucky comment left across social media a chance to win their choice of stencil from the website. You have until midnight Thursday 10th November 2022 to comment.

Crafty Hugs