BA Inspiration, a couple of ideas for those tricky to make cards

 Hi, Julie here with a couple of cards for those tricky to make occasions.

Sadly last week I received news that one of my neighbours from our old street had tragically passed away far too soon, after a long battle with cancer. It's never a good time and often your mojo goes out of the window so I like to have a few cards in the stash for such occasions. Well, despite my best efforts the card I had in mind was damaged so I decided to make another in short shrift! So using the original as a template, I came up with this based on a card I'd seen by the fab Therese Calvird.

Using Pure Florals-Lily, I stamped the large bloom in grey ink and then coloured using Copic markers. To make the focal point of this A5 card, I die cut the bloom from the panel twice using a couple of circle dies to create the border.  The central panel was then glued onto my card. The raised section was made using the same dies and some white fun foam which I stuck behind the coloured border which I added, matching the pattern. A simple white embossed sentiment on black completes.

Over at Color Hues there is a colour challenge to use copper and green, looking at the sympathy card, I think I could have used that but I decided to make this card, showing that Christmas stamps are not just for Christmas!

I know many of you struggle with masculine cards. So one of my tips is to go CAS and foliage is a great way to get a masculine feel too. Here I've used Season of Beauty and Winter Botanicals Sweet Broom to create the focal point. The solid stamping was done in shades of green from Altenew's  Tropical Forest set and the outline from Winter Botanicals- Sweet Broom, was stamped with Versamark and embossed with Copper EP. The sentiment was stamped in the darkest shade of green to compliment the arrangement.

So that's all from me for the moment but I hope I've given you a couple of ideas for those often difficult to make cards.

Happy crafting

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Three Ways with Pure Florals: Lily

Good morning

Anita here with some floral inspiration for your Monday morning.  I recently bought an autumnal bouquet of flowers and within it were some stunning orange lilies.  So that's where the inspiration came from for these cards, using the gorgeous Pure Florals: Lily Clear Stamp Set.

I have used the same image on all three cards but used a different technique on each.  On all three cards I've used sentiments from the Simply Said Blocks II Clear Stamp Set.

First up, I left the image uncoloured and added colour and interest around it...

I stamped the flower directly onto the card base and then stamped and fussy cut a mask to cover it.  I then ink blended the background using three shades of Distress Oxide ink, before then inking through the Party Confetti Stencil using the same inks to add some interest.  Finished with a sentiment stamped in black.

For the second card I used the negative mask which was left over from the same masking sheet...

On a white cardstock panel I stamped the lily and then used the mask to cover up the background.  The lily was then coloured using Distress Oxide inks once again and a little Copic colouring for the stem and stamens.  I die cut the panel using a scalloped rectangle and then stamped the sentiment before adhering the panel flat to the card base.

Finally, a little spotlight colouring...

I stamped the image onto some white cardstock and die cut with a stitched rectangle die.  I then die cut a smaller rectangle from within it and coloured this part with Copic markers.  The sentiment was stamped to look like a tab before adhering the uncoloured panel flat to the card base.  Then the coloured section was popped up on 3D foam.

There are so many techniques to use with stamped images and I love looking for new ways to 'stretch' what I have in my stash.  I hope that has given you some ideas.  My colouring skills aren't the best so ink blending or even leaving images uncoloured can still look effective.

Wishing you all well for the week ahead and sending crafty hugs

Thoughtful Thursday

Happy Thursday.

Today I have a sympathy card to share. The colours, floral choice and theme inspired by the passing of  Queen Elizabeth II.

I chose Pure Florals Lily as my flower choice as to family Queen Elizabeth II was known as Lillibet. I stamped the lily onto my white card panel in black ink and created a mask to place over the stamped image. 

I then ink blended some soft purples around the lily and then stamped a variety of the sentiments from the set onto the card using the two darker shades of purple. I used Altenew Shades of Purple ink collection. The panel is then mounted onto a purple card base.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Crafty Hugs

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Pure Florals: Lily

Good morning all, 

Steph here today with my Brand Ambassador inspiration for this month. I decided to focus on the beautiful Pure Florals: Lily because I haven't worked much with the Pure Florals range yet. 

My preferred method of colouring is alcohol markers so that's where I started. Initially I was going to use a white card base but I felt the Kraft base really lifted the florals. I added a simple embossed border before heat embossing the sentiment and adhering the florals with foam pads.

I wanted to push myself and try out colouring with coloured pencils too, and see how different the result was.

As you can see the result is much more subtle. Now, I don't have the best set of colouring pencils. I've always resisted investing in the very expensive ones as I just don't think I'll get the use out of them like I do with my alcohol markers. 

Which version do you prefer and what is your preferred method of colouring? I'd love to be better with water colours too...maybe I'll try that soon and share with you too.

Much love

Steph x

A CAS Sympathy Card - BA Inspiration

Good evening, Julie here with a late evening bit of BA inspiration. 

It's the start of a new challenge at Perfectly CAS and my DT inspiration card uses Uniko's Pure Floral - Lily set to make a sympathy card.

Sympathy cards are not the easiest of cards to make so I try to have a couple ready in my stash for those unwanted but necessary occasions. You don't always have the inspiration for a brand new make at times like that.

So here is quite a quick CAS card to add to your stash.

The lilies were stamped with Memento Grey Flannel on white card and masked to create a bouquet. After colouring with Copic markers, using a Googled image as a guide, I cut out the bouquet with a circle die. I also cut a piece of copy paper with the same die for use later.

Using the original circle die and a slightly smaller one, I die cut a frame from white fun foam and then cut a frame from my die cut, stamped panel to match. The fun foam frame was added to the copy paper and the centre panel also. The outer frame was then added to the fun foam frame matching the pattern and a sentiment from All Occasion Sentiments, stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with white EP, added. I think the frame adds interests but keeps the card CAS.

The completed panel was then added to a 5 x 7 dark grey card. White space isn't always white!

Hopefully I've given you a idea for a card for a hard to make situation. One I hope will be in my stash for quite awhile!!

So 'til next time, keep safe and keep crafting!

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Christmas cards or not

Bonjour !

It's Izzy here today with 3 cards using products of the last release. Needless to tell you that Christmas approaching, I make cards to add to my Christmas stash. Nevertheless, I'm quite often inspired by challenges around in blogland.

Lately I had a card to make as a DT for a challenge asking to use torn paper and I made the following card thinking that Uniko was still the sponsor. Here is the card.

I love this big and gorgeous Designer Die Sparkling Snowflake so I used it as the star of the show for this card. I cut one in a blue Vellum paper and another one in white paper that I covered with glitter.

I torned a strip in a white paper that has glittery incrusted and I adhered it to a blue iridescent panel. I foam mounted this panel on the double blue card and I adhered the snowflakes on top. The sentiment from the BIG & BOLD - Snow Clear set is stamped and heat embossed with white puff embossing powder.

For the following two cards, I've been inspired by the Twofer card challenge. They asked us to use holiday greenery, and I thought that the greenery of the Season of Beauty set was perfect to illustrate this challenge and to show the versatility of the Uniko stamps.

First I've made this Christmas card. I die cut a square in a red card stock and I stamped and gold heat embossed the sentiment on it. I cut a square in Vellum and I adhered the red square on top. 

Both squares are adhered on the card. And to finish I coloured the berries with a red metallic gel pen. I love how the gold embossed greenery shine over the black card. 

Although exceptionally we were allowed to enter two of the same occasion cards, I opted for a totally different occasion for the second card. This greenery is also beautiful on its own and I found it perfect for a grief card.

I cut a square panel and I stamped the greenery with a very dark grey, then I stamped the sentiment from the Pure Florals - Lily set. 

On the double white card I embossed a square slightly bigger than the free panel. I cut a strip of Vellum that I fixed to the back of the panel with adhesive tape. I did the same with a thin black ribbon. To finish I flat adhered this panel over the white card and I glued a little black knot on the ribbon.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope this Christmas or not post will help you to use your Uniko supplies for different occasions. Just try and you will see what results !

Have a great crafty week !

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Dramatic Outlines

Hello Sarah here, with my latest Inspiration post ... I was tempted to go festive makes but in the end couldn't resist playing around with the Pure Florals range and showcasing how fantastic these outline images can be without traditional colouring techniques.

Instead I've created multiple backgrounds using a combination of Distress Inks and Oxides which I think sets the floral outlines off a treat! I can't remember the exact colours I used as I just grabbed some of my favourites and started blending away.

These quick and easy makes use sentiments from the Simply Said Blocks range. The floral outlines are stamped using Versafine Onyx Black ink before embossing with clear embossing powder and just off the edge of the card panel so no masking required.

First up using the Pure Florals: Peony

...  a couple using the Pure Florals Lily

 

... and finally Pure Florals Rose

I hope you like these ideas and thanks for stopping by the blog today. 

Floral Stamp with floral stencil

Hello friends Rahmat here.

Today I am using floral stamps and stencils with some coloring and partial fussy cutting on this birthday card.

I started with stamping the Pure floral - Lily in Versafine black onyx ink, and then used a pink Chameleon pen to color  it, it gives a perfect gradient to the petals.

I partially fussy cut the floral panel.
On the base card I used the stylized flower stencil in green distress oxide.
I added the floral panel using the foam adhesive.
The sentiments is from the Cosmos set, I heat embossed in white on a black strip.
A few jewels to finish off the card.

Uniko has a lot of stencils now, and you can always mix and match these with stamps.
All the above products are from floral range from Uniko, and they all go pretty well together, I hope I had inspired you to combine the stamps and stencils.

           Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate your kind  feedback :) Have a great day!
                                                                     

DT inspiration - Pure Florals coasters

Bonjour !

Izzy here. To start June month, I wanted to share with you what I've offered to my mother for Mother's day which was last Sunday.

A few years ago, I bought some coasters in ceramic that were waiting to be decorated. As I was looking for an idea for this special day, I wanted to try stamping on them and what better than the Pure Florals collection to do it !

 As the coasters have a porous texture, I had to use Memento Luxe ink to stamp the images, and I coloured them with Fabrico markers from Tsukineko . These two mediums, once dry do not blend with water, so that you can clean the coasters with a wet cloth when dirty.

For this coaster, I used the large outline rose of the Pure Florals : Rose set. As for a card, I used the masking technique on this coaster. I first stamp the rose, then with a post-it note I mask it to stamp the leaves and the bud. Then I coloured the image with two red (#114 &#156) Fabrico markers for the flowers, and two green (#110 & #167) markers for the leaves.

For this one, I used the gorgeous lily of the Pure Florals : Lily set. As I didn't want the outlines of the flowers to be too dark, for all the coasters, I used second generation stamping to stamp the images. I used the Memento Luxe Gray flannel ink. I coloured the Lily with (#106, 110, 134 & 161) Fabrico markers. 

Next is the beautiful chrysanthemum from the Pure Florals : Chrysanthemum set. I used the large outlined stamp. I think this one is my favourite since I succeeded to blend perfectly both colours. This ceramic absorbs very quickly the ink so that it is quite difficult to blend inks together and that's why it's hard to hide the markers lines. I coloured this one with (#111 & #132) Fabrico markers.

Of course I had to also make one with the stunning gerbera from the Pure Florals : Gerbera set. My mother loves flowers and except the lily, they have all these gorgeous flowers blooming in their garden. For this coaster, I used the two outlined stamps and I tried to make a gradient pink tone, the wide open one being clearer than the one we only see in profil. As I told you before, it's hard to perfectly blend the colours without lines marking. But I finally like the result. This one is coloured with ( #106, 115, 134, 161) Fabrico markers.

I love how they finally look all together, so I hope that Bev will design other Pure Florals flowers to make new ones for me ! 😉

I hope you get inspired with these coasters, I wanted to show you the versatility of the Uniko stamps which can be used also on other medium than cards. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fabulous June month !

Izzy xx

January 2018 Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!

Hey!

It's time for another Uniko Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY - Whoohoo!! For those of you who are new around these parts I will explain what this post is all about...

Here at Uniko HQ it is just myself behind the screen, blogging, designing, packaging stamps & orders through the Uniko online shop, customer service and all the things in between. I *usually* release new product every other month for a number of reasons, but mainly so I can keep up with everything!

On non - release months like this month I like to set myself and the Design Team a challenge to look back at a previously released product and give it some more love.

Usually I choose just one product that was released the previous year or a once favourite that hasn't seen much air time! This month however, I decided to give the Design Team a HUGE choice and to choose their favourite from any of the 5 releases we had. That's a choice from 24 clear stamp sets, 5 stencil designs and 2 designer die collections. That might not sound a lot compared to other companies out there, but that is a HUGE inventory for me and Uniko ;)

Anyway, be sure to comment along the hop for your chance to win a £15 eGift Certificate to spend in store. You have until Midnight (GMT) Sunday 21st January 2018 to comment.

Happy Hopping!

CLICK HERE to see more from Beverley

CLICK HERE to see more from Carol

CLICK HERE to see more from Deborah

CLICK HERE to see more from Izzy

CLICK HERE to see more from Jane

CLICK HERE to see more from Lindsey

CLICK HERE to see more from Rahmat

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah P

Hugs