CAS Colours & Sketches #302 - Seasonal Sketch

Hey!

Oh my! I am running terribly behind this week on all areas of life :( I'm finally here with my final DT card for CAS Colours & Sketches. It's been a blast being on the DT and I will miss being part of a wonderful team. However, my life is so busy at the moment, something had to give.

Anyway, the countdown to Christmas has begun and over at CAS Colours & Sketches the Design Team are getting into the festive spirit too. This week the challenge HERE is to choose a sketch from 2018 and make it seasonal.

I chose to use the colours from challenge #295 seen HERE and below...

And here is how it festive...

I LOVE snowflakes! With all the talk of the possibility of snow this weekend and having recently purchased The Stamp Market Snowflake Die, I had to put it to use! 

I die cut the snowflake from some left over sparkly card (Stampin' Up! I think) and paired it with some heat embossed snowflakes from Background Builders: Christmas and the 'Let it Snow' sentiment from Simply Said Blocks Christmas. For good measure and simply because I love the stuff, I added some Simply White Gloss Nuvo Drops!

There is still time to join in on this last CC&S challenge for 2018 and there is more inspiration from the CC&S Design Team over HERE. Be sure to check out which colour combo they've all chosen to make seasonal :) I look forward to seeing you in the gallery and happy festive CAS card making! 

Hugs

Introducing... Snowflake Serenade Clear Stamps

Hey!

Welcome to Day 3 of the December 2018 Release product introductions. 

I am so happy you have decided to pop by again. The countdown to the December Release is in full swing and this is the fun part where you get to see the sneak peeks in action. Be sure to catch up and comment on days 1 & 2 HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. I have a little giveaway each day, see details at the end of the post! 

As December is a super busy time for everyone, it is just me doing the product introductions for this release. Though the Uniko DT will be joining me on Release Day for our traditional blog hop :)

Anyway, let's have a look at another new product Snowflake Serenade clear stamp set. This stamp set plays on the wintery side of the season, making it versatile and not just for the Christmas & Holiday period. The clear stamp set features a lovely main large swirling design comprising of snowflakes & holly leaves. There is a trio of sentiments and a trio of accent snowflakes in varying size.

Here's how I have used the stamps for my showcase today...

I've stamped the large swirling design in Encore Silver ink & heat embossed it in Stardust EP for added sparkle. I changed the orientation of the stamp, repeating the above to fill in other sections of my card layer.

I used one of the sentiments from the set & decided to embellish the design with the smallest  die cut snowflake from Designer Dies Snowflake Trio. I've die cut this from a silver shimmer card stock scrap I had in my stash.

Just the one card from me today using this set, I was thrown off track mid week with hubby being involved in a little car accident. He managed to stop his car from hitting the one in front, but was then hit from behind, squishing our car into the one in front. He's fine apart from a gash to his head and a few aches and pains. Though I spent the majority of the afternoon in A&E with him to get him checked over. AND crazily I plan a release for the day after a little family weekend away!!

Anyway, as it is the season of giving, each day of the introductions I will be randomly selecting one lucky comment from either this blog post, the Uniko website blog post, Facebook or Instagram to receive an eGift Certificate code to the value of £10! So be sure to leave a lovely comment ;) Winners will be announced on Tuesday 11th December before the release!

Winners will be announced on Tuesday 11th December before the release!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs

November 2017 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 a product that was released the previous year or a once favourite that hasn't seen much air time! This month however, I decided to look back at a few products Uniko released in October 2017 HERE.

Specifically the Uniko Designer Dies and NEW Uniko Stencils...

Designer Die Snowflake Trio £15

Copyright Uniko Ltd 2017

www.uniko.co.uk

Designer Dies Flower Power #1 - #6 Collection £12

Copyright Uniko Ltd 2017

www.uniko.co.uk

Uniko Stencil Scattered Polka Dots £4.50

Copyright Uniko Ltd 2017

www.uniko.co.uk

Uniko Stencil Wonky Stripes £4.50

Copyright Uniko Ltd 2017

www.uniko.co.uk

Be sure to comment along the hop for your chance to win ALL the products being revisited. You have until Midnight (GMT) Saturday 18th November to comment and the winner will be announced Sunday 19th November 2017.

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

CAS Colours & Sketches #248 - Colours

Hey!

Happy Tuesday and happy November! I can't believe we are into another new month, these days and weeks are flying by so quickly I can hardly keep up!

The weather here in the NE of the UK seems to all of a sudden turned very cold and wintery. I don't mind the cold as long as it isn't raining and cold! Luckily so far its been dry/sunny and cold!

Anyway, back to why you are here!

A new month means a new hostess at CAS Colours & Sketches. This month our hostess is Samantha and she has come up with some wonderful inspiration, including this colour combo HERE and below to start us off...

And here is how I have used the colours...

Greens, not my strongest colour to work with and when I use a green I tend to choose more earthy greens or bright lime greens. So I was a little stumped at first when I saw this combo! 

When I get stuck I often turn to Instagram or Pinterest for inspiration and thats what I did. As I don't have these colours in Stampin' Up! ink, (I could have matched close colours) but had them in card stock, I was looking for a design to incorporate card.

I was heavily inspired by Laurie Schmidlin's striped snowflake card on this post HERE. I am drawn to anything with a snowflake on it and even more so when there are stripes involved too!

I trimmed a panel of white card and simply adhered strips of alternating Tranquil Tide and Emerald Envy card, leaving a gap in between. I then die cut the panel using a MFT stitched die. 

The snowflake is the medium one from the Uniko Designer Die Snowflake Trio die cut from a silver shimmer CS. I bought this from The Papermill many many moons ago and only have small off cuts left :( The sentiment is from Pure Florals: Poinsettia stamped and embossed in Silver Dollar EP. Both the snowflake & striped panel are adhered to a white card base using half thickness foam adhesive.

That's all from me today & thanks for stopping by, but if you need some more inspiration using the challenge be sure to hop on over HERE to see what the rest of the CAS Colours & Sketches Design Team have made.

Hugs

Supplies Used:

Introducing... Labelled Christmas

Hey!

Welcome back to the last product introduction for the November Release, which means that tomorrow is the full reveal, release day & all the goodies will be available HERE to purchase at 9am GMT :)

Anyway, more on that in a bit, so how about todays clear stamp set...

This set features 4 of these 1 3/4" circle labels and I have made cards featuring 2 of them. My first card features the 'Let it Snow' label which I have stamped in Encore silver ink & heat embossed with stardust embossing powder - my absolute favourite for Christmas cards :)

As you can see I have inset the stamped & embossed label inside a 2" circle cut from Papertrey Ink Hawaiian Shores polka dot DP and added a fussy cut Stunning Snowflake for good measure! Oh and some yummy Pretty Pink Posh sequins ;) The double layered panel is adhered to the base card using foam adhesive.

Next I chose the 'Merry Christmas' label and paired it with the holly leaves & berries from Essentially Christmas. 

I started by using a 1 3/4" circle mask to stamp & place my holly images. The label is then stamped in VersaMagic Red Magic & punched out using a 1 3/4" circle punch & adhered to the card using foam adhesive. 

I added a few single red berries using the tiny berry stamp from Jingle Bells & again some Pretty Pink Posh Sequins.

That's all from me but I know the DT have made some wonderful samples in such a short space of time, so be sure to pop on by to their blogs below to see more...

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah P

CLICK HERE to see more from Jane

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah G

So, tomorrow is the day & the 4 products I have been introducing will be available to purchase HERE. Now, unless you have been hiding under a rock & missed me mention it HERE, the wonderful Jennifer McGuire is encouraging people to share handmade kindness.

Well, I am sharing a little handmade kindness in that I have a limited number of little 'gifts' that will be added to November Release orders. So be sure to get your order in early to be one of the lucky orders ;)

Release Schedule:-

Sneak Peeks 5th & 6th November. These little teasers give you hints at what is in store!

Introducing... 7th - 10th November. Here you'll get to see the soon to be released products in action. 

Release Day! Thursday 11th November you will get to see all the products in their entirety and purchase them HERE on the website! As tradition holds there will be a mini Design Team Blog Hop with a chance for a lucky person to win an eGift Certificate. 

AND as the DT in the US are late getting their release goodies, we have organised an extra blog hop & prizes of course...

Countdown to Christmas Blog Hop! Saturday 28th November is the official DT Blog Hop showcasing the release & of course prizes up for grabs!

Hope to see you tomorrow & thank you for stopping by today :)

Let it SNOW...in July!

Hey!

It's a super rainy Monday here at Uniko HQ. So I am spending the beans nap time getting a little creative in the studio! It certainly adds a little cheer to my day :)

I decided to play along with the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge HERE and seen below and created another Christmas card.

With a few clear stamp restocks expected tomorrow HERE in store, but are also available for pre order now, I decided to reach for my Stunning Snowflakes and BIG & BOLD - Snow stamp sets to create my card. I combined them with the SU! Little Letter dies which I have had in my stash for a while but not used - Oops! 

Let it SNOW in July, well it feels pretty Autumn like here today and I actually turned the heating on for an hour, so if it did snow it wouldn't shock me! Haha! 

There is still time to use the 10% discount code SUMMER10 which expires at midnight tonight. Be sure to take advantage of this little offer :) All our offers, re stocks and more are always announced via our newsletters, sign up HERE at the bottom of the website.

Ok, that's all from me today, but I will be back later in the week with more to share. Until then thank you for stopping by today :)

Some 'ME" time!

Hey!

How are you all? Can you believe that we are in November already, how did that happen?! The days here are simply flying by, the beans certainly like to keep me busy that's for sure!! 

Yesterday morning Daddy took them to the park in the pram to watch the local non-league football, which gave Mummy some 'ME' time that I decided to use NOT doing housework for once! Instead I popped into the studio and created this card...

It is one that I had started a few days ago and finally got round to finishing. It just so happens that it also fits perfectly into the current challenge over at 'Less is More' HERE, which this week is a colour challenge using non-traditional Christmas colours.

For my card I used one of my favourite non-traditional colour schemes, aqua, white & silver along with a non-Christmas stamp set - Decorative Doilies The Hands Of Time. The sentiment is from Stunning Snowflakes and I also added a Snowflake die cut.

Ok, so that's all I have for today, tomorrow on the blog we have our winner of challenge #14 guest designing for us, so I do hope you will pop on by & join in on the challenge :) Until then, thank you for stopping by.

Countdown to Christmas Day 5

Hey!

Is it really day 5? Oh my Christmas Day is only 20 sleeps away & I still have quite a bit to do AND there is SO much excitement just around the corner here at Uniko Studio too with the December Release - Sneak Peeks begin on Saturday! 

Anyway, yesterday I said I had a little something different to share with you and here it is...

What do you think of my little Christmas tree decoration? Below is a close up of the sparkly snowflake detail...

I love sewing and making stuff but I don't always have the time or patience to make them! But, as it's the Countdown to Christmas and it incorporated snowflakes I made time and TBH I throughly enjoyed myself! I'm thinking of making a couple more of these in different colour combos and giving them as little gifts to some special friends. 

They are super simple to make too. I started out with 100% wool felt (Papertrey Ink) in Aqua Mist and I die cut 2 hearts using the Sizzix Framelits Heart collection (the second largest). I then die cut a Vintage Cream medium Uniko Studio Designer Die Snowflake. I used 100% wool felt as I tried using the cheap felt I had in my stash but the snowflake simply fell to pieces as it was too flimsy.

I then placed the snowflake on the top heart and used some simple hand stitching using embroidery floss to secure the snowflake in place. I added some Swarovski beads to add some sparkle along the way too. Once the snowflake was in place I secured the hanging ribbon and then used a blanket stitch to sew the hearts together. As I neared the end of my sewing I padded the heart out with some toy stuffing. 

That's all from me today, I hope that you have enjoyed todays inspiration?! I will be back tomorrow with more to share, until then thank you for stopping by today :)

Supplies

Accessories: Uniko Studio Designer Dies Snowflakes, Sizzix Framelit Hearts Dies, PTI Aqua Mist & Vintage Cream Felt, Embroidery Floss & Swarovski Beads.

Design Team Inspiration - Non-Traditional Holiday Colors

Nicki here today with some Design Team Inspiration! I hope you've enjoyed seeing the wonderful creations by Bev and the design team lately using all the NEW products from the October release!

One set that seems to be super popular and one that I haven't used until now, is Stunning Snowflakes. I love the fact that there are 3 different snowflake designs, AND that they each have 3 different sizes! This makes for SOOOO many possibilities! Plus, those sentiments?! How cute are they, and how awesome are the fonts?!?! :)

I am a little tired of using the traditional red, green, and white for holiday cards (yes, already). So, I thought it was time to think outside the box a little, and use some non-traditional colors for this winter/holiday card.

I saw a bottle of Stickles sitting on my desk that I hadn't used much, and that was my inspiration for my color scheme. It's kind of a pink/coral color, so I decided to pair it with cream, kraft, and brown. I'm really loving how it all looks together!

First, the background was stamped using the "MERRY CHRISTMAS" stamp from Background Builders: Christmas. Next, the snowflakes were stamped with Pretty in Pink ink (SU) on top of the inked background. The die-cut snowflakes are layered, and popped up with foam tape. I placed the Stickles all around the outer edge of the pink snowflake to really give it some SPARKLE--and a little dab on the inside opening of the cream snowflake! Lastly, the sentiment is stamped with a medium brown ink.

I hope you've enjoyed this card today, and that I've inspired you to use some non-traditional colors for your holiday/winter cards!!

Supplies

Card Stock: PTI - Rustic White; SU - Pretty in Pink; Cream Shimmer (unknown)

Ink: SU - Pretty in Pink; PTI - Classic Kraft; Tsukineko - Jumbo Java

Stamps: Uniko Studio Stunning Snowflakes, Background Builders: Christmas

Accessories: Uniko Studio Snowflake Designer Dies, Stickles-Fruit Punch, Foam tape

Christmas Magic!

Hey!

Sorry I'm a tad late with my post today, I've been screen printing some tote bags today for the up coming Christmas Designers Marketplace, that I have a stand at. 

I enlarged the Gerbera flower from the Pure Florals set and another flower of a stamp set to be released in 2013 and put the images onto a silk screen. I experimented in my final year at Uni screen printing at home in the kitchen and it works well. I promise to share some photos in the coming days of my little production line & final products! 

SNOW! I love snow & still find it magical so with the snow arriving today I made a set of these cards...

I used PTI's Damask snowflake dies and once die cut smothered it with glitter! The sentiment is from Uniko Studio Pure Florals: Poinsettia. 

The current challenge over at CASology HERE  & seen below is perfect as the cue word is sparkle & there is plenty of sparkle on this card!

Ok, thats all from me today, I'll be back again tomorrow with more to share. Thanks for stopping by today.

Hugs

Sparkly Snowflakes!

Hey!

There are many things I love about Winter and Christmas and one of those things is snowflakes, whether they're falling from the sky or on a paper crafting project...

So, when I saw the current Freshly Made Sketch seen HERE and below I had to break out my PTI Damask Snowflake Dies! 

I added a Label Love: Thank you label to the centre of the snowflake with an appropriate sentiment for the season...

So, did you see the teeny tiny peek on the blog yesterday...? Have you seen anything today...? I remember as a kid seeing the 'Do Not Open Until...' on my Christmas presents under the tree, but I turned out to be a pretty good expert at opening and re-wrapping them and getting away with it! I get over excited about Christmas and I guess I'm excited about the upcoming release here at Uniko Studio and so there have been 2 little pre peeks here on the blog! 

That's all from me today. I hope to be back again tomorrow with more to share, thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Supplies:

Card Stock: White Shimmer, Grey & Red from stash.

Ink: SU! Real Red, VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: Uniko Studio Label Love: Thank you

Accessories: PTI Damask Snowflake Die, Hero Arts Prisma Glitter & Foam Adhesive.