DT Inspiration ...... Artist Trading Coins

Happy Monday .......

Good morning ..... it's Linda here.  I hope you've all had a nice weekend.  Did you do anything nice? The family and I were across in the UK for a wedding.  Hubby's brother and fiancee finally tied the knot.  They've only been together about 25 years so I think it was time don't you.  We had a lovely day.  It's always nice to see the whole family.

Anyway ..... lets get the week started with a little crafty project shall we.  Artist Trading Coins ..... another fun addiction craze to hit the craft world.

Just in case you haven't heard about them, AT Coins are a little like ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) ..... except they're round!!
They're little pieces of artwork created to swap or trade.  They can be any theme or colour you like, they can have whatever you fancy putting on there, you can make them in sets or single ones it's entirely up to you.  They just have to be two and a half inches in diameter ...... cute or what! And just like ATC's you need to put your details on the back ...... title of AT Coin, the date, your contact details etc.

I like to make mine in sets ..... usually in 3s, and I love to use these pre-cut MDF circles. They make a fabulous base to work on.

I've used the gorgeous Pure Florals: Peony from the last Uniko release on these, and I love how they've turned out (will I be able to give them away, that's the question!)
Even though the flowers in this stamp set are quite large, they're still perfect to use on smaller projects.

I started by giving the MDF coins a quick coat of white gesso, and then blended colours of  PaperArtsy's Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints over the top.  Once this was dry I stamped the peonies using Versamark Ink and heat embossed them in white. 

I used more acrylic paints to colour the blooms ..... mixing the paint with a little water to create a touch of shading.  The heat embossing acts as a resist to the paints so you don't loose any of the detail when you add the colour

The words I've used are from Uniko's Originally Organic stamp set.  I used stencil tape to mask off the parts of the sentiments that I didn't need, and then stamped the rest onto plain white card and fussy cut.

I simply attached the words onto each of the AT Coins and then finished off by splattering a little metallic gold ink and some white paint onto the backgrounds

As I said earlier, my coins are MDF, but they don't have to be.  Why not try cutting some two and a half inch circles from plain cardstock, or if you have a punch that size even better.  If you want them to be more substantial just layer two or three together and then have some fun creating your miniature works of art.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great week.

Cheerio until next time .....

January 2019 Non Release Blog Hop WINNER!

Hey!

I'm popping in today to announce the Winner of the January 2019 Non Release Blog Hop! With the help of random.org the lucky comment was no.77 and the lucky commenter is...

Congratulations Sathya! Please send me an email to bev@uniko.co.uk no later than 31st January 2019. I will then get your prize in an email to you!

Thank you to everyone that joined in on the fun and took the time to comment and hop along with us :) 

Next month we are celebrating our 7th Birthday, with the FUN beginning on the 1st and a NEW Release on 11th! 

Hugs

Uniko Challenge #51 - Anything Goes, optional twist Love

Hey! 

Welcome to the January/February 2019 Uniko Challenge. 

This is our first challenge of 2019 and we've chosen a really simple theme to ease you back in - Anything Goes. But for those of you that are already into the swing of 2019 challenges and would like more to get your teeth into we've added the optional twist of LOVE.

We have the amazingly talented and super creative Trina P joining us as out Guest Designer for this challenge. I'm sure you all know of her and are just as impressed by her cards as we are, but it's always worth a visit to her blog to check out what's she's been up to.

Guest Designer - Trina P

Aww! How cute is that!

The Uniko DT have also made cards to inspire you to join in and play along.

Bev

Carol

Izzy 

Jane

Julie

Linda


Wiebke 

Are you ready to play?

Well, just in case you need some more incentive to play along with the challenge here are the details of the prizes.

  

THE PRIZES

• Main Winner Chosen By the DT - £25 eGift Certificate
• Random Twist Winner - £5 In Stock Clear Stamp Set of Winners Choosing
• Random Uniko Stamps Winner - £5 In Stock Clear Stamp Set of Winners Choosing
• Top 3 Chosen By DT - 150 Loyalty Reward Points

You've got plenty of time to play along with this challenge. The deadline for submission is midnight (GMT) on Friday 22nd February 2019 (7.00pm EDT).

Hugs,

Simple Stamping and Stenciling~Uniko Studio DT Inspiration

Hello,

Carol here, 'giving some love' to a variety of my Uniko stamps and stencils today; hopefully, my trio will make you smile and, perhaps, even offer a bit of inspiration (which would thrill me to bits and pieces!).  Nothing super-duper fancy, as you'll see; rather, just a whole lot of inking, a bit of dry embossing and a curved panel die cut.  Clean and simple; the kind of card to make when time is at a premium.

As all three share the same design, I'll just dive in with the basic ingredients and 'how-to'...

Card 1

Lower panel: base of Tattered Rose Distress Oxide 

(I used Bristol cardstock for this section; Michael's heavy weight cardstock for the top portion)

Stencil: Nature's Treasures II; Tea Dye Distress Oxide

Stamp: English Country Garden: Butterflies

Sentiment:  Simply Said

Card 2

Lower panel: dry embossed (hard to see in the photo, but definitely there)

Stencil: Fun Flower

Stamp: Fun Flower; stenciled with Ripe Persimmon Distress Oxide; leaves with Versafine Clair)

Sentiment:  Simply Said

 Card 3

Lower panel: base of Distress Oxides - Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire

Stencil: Let It Snow; Stormy Sky Distress Oxide

Stamp: Stunning Snowflakes; various ME pigment inks (I love pigment inks...just sayin')

Sentiment:  Simply Said; and 'Winter' from Stunning Snowflakes

So...I'm ready with two birthday cards and one 'just because'! Easy to recreate! If you decide to give these techniques/styles a go, do let me know! I'm always on the lookout for dazzling inspiration and ways to elevate the way I use my Uniko stamps, stencils and dies!

Have a wonderful day!!

DT Inspiration - stenciled resist technique

Hello, Wiebke here to share some inspiration with you!

For today I made a colourful "sound card" with a stenciled resist technique.

The Uniko products I've used are the Equaliser stencil and a combination of the stamp sets Life is a Song & Most Wonderful.

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Magic of Music

Magic of Music - Detail

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About this card & technique:

For the stenciled resist technique I first applied a clear embossing paste through the Equaliser stencil onto the paper. After it was complete dry I started adding the colours - this time I used Zig Clean Color Real Brushes and blended them with a moisturised cloth and a brush and some water.

(When you don't have clear embossing paste you can also use clear embossing powder - apply the embossing ink through the stencil and then add the powder - don't forget to use a antistatic powder tool before!)

The embossed areas will stay white / in the colour of your paper and pop out of any colourful background!

Some colours tint clear products - if you want it really clear you need to check the combination of your materials before!

In this case it was ok for me to get some staining, it reminds me more to the old "Winamp Music tool"! ;-)

I cut down my paper in the shape of the equaliser blocks (with a similar edge around) and adhered it to my cardbase. The sentiment is a combination of two different Uniko stamp sets - Life is a Song & Most Wonderful,

To repeat the clear part of the background I used clear embossing powder for the first part of my sentiment "believe in the magic of" and white powder for the "music" and the note.

To add some sparkle, I drew a slim line around the sentiment with the amazing Sakura Gelly Roll - clear star pencil.

The headphones are a die cut (sorry, I have no brand name). I combined a normal black and a pearlescent black paper to get some optical dimension. The shells are adhered on the card with some 3D pads, for the rest I used a strong fluid glue.

To get the full list of all used supplies please hop to my blog.

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Musical greetings from Wiebke.

January Non-Release Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!

Hey & Happy Weekend!

Welcome to the first Non-Release Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY of 2019 - 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. However, like last January, I have given the Design Team a huge task of choosing to use their favourites from those released in 2018. Thats a total of 23 new clear stamp sets, 2 re-introduced clear stamp set, 14 stencil designs and 2 new designer die collections to choose from!

Let's see what the design team favourites are and how they have been inspired to use the products. Be sure to comment along the hop for your chance to win a Uniko £25 eGift Certificate. You have until Midnight (GMT) Saturday 19th January 2019 to comment, winner will be announced Sunday 20th 2019.

Bev
(Using Wonderful Day & sentiment from Pure Florals: Peony)

Carol 

Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum Stencil,  Simply Said Blocks 

Izzy 
(using Winter botanicals: sweet broom)

Jane

(using Beautiful)

Julie

(Using Pure Florals = Peony and Wonderful Day sentiment)

Linda
(using Nature's Treasure's II stencil & Just Because)

Rahmat

(Using Pure Florals: Peony)

{Coming Soon}

Sarah G

Sarah P
(using Beautiful)

 
Wiebke 
(using: Natures Treasures II Stencil - (2018/05) & Pure Florals - Rose Stamps (2017-12))

WOW! Wasn't that a fun hop. It certainly looks like all the florals were a BIG hit with the Design Team. 

I'd LOVE to know what your favourite product released in 2018 was, be sure to add it to the comments, I might just pick a random winner to win their favourite ;)

Thanks for joining in on the fun.

Hugs

Peony Love

Hello friends, Rahmat here.
I am up with my inspiration using the recently released Pure Floral - Peony.
I got these stamps much later than the release, so thought of sharing it with more inspiration for you guys.
I am hooked with coloring for past 2 years, and I am still very much enjoying it, its pretty therapeutic.

Today I have 2 cards, One with plain colored image and white BG and the other with colored image and a colored BG.

The first one is stamped and colored using the distress inks.
I have let the image be the star here, didn't feel like adding anything else here. I had stamped the sentiment on the image.

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If you follow my instagram @rahmat.ccc, you would have seen how I am experimenting with backgrounds nowadays. So I did one for the peony as well.
I stamped the image in Versafine ink and used a pink alcohol marker to color it, adding some shading as well.
Then I masked the image and did some inking and stenciling, followed by white pigment ink stamping for the Bokeh effect. After going back and forth I decided to add the sentiment onto the image, and I like how it looks. I added the front panel with foam adhesive.

I hope you guys like my Inspirations with the peony stamp, and if you already haven't got it, maybe you should consider getting it.
Its a beauty whether colored or left uncolored.

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