Friday Focus - Balloon Stencil and a Reminder

Morning all, Julie here with reminder that you still have time to join in at Uniko's FB VIP Challenge where the theme is

Anything Goes!

What says happy birthday more than balloons, so when my daughter asked me to make a card for her dance teachers 50th this is what I came up with.

On a panel of white card I inked an array of balloons using Balloon Bash stencil and some rainbow colours of Distress Oxides. I chose, Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Salty Ocean, Twisted Citron, Wilted Violet, and Picked Raspberry. I filled the 5 x 7" white panel with an array of different balloons, overlapping them to create a sense of depth. Once complete, I splattered some water over the top and lifted it off with a clean paper towel to create the effect of confetti. There is a stencil to create the balloon strings but I prefered to add them freehand with a black fineliner pen. 

On a scrap of black card I stamped the 50 Sensational Years with one of Bev's earliest releases, Classic Numbers in Versamark and embossed with white EP. It was then trimmed to create a banner and added to my now trimmed down panel. Happy birthday from the Doodle Flowers set was stamped above and the finished panel added to a 5 x 7" white card base.

Judging by the photos on FB, the old classmates had a fabulous time, as did the birthday girl!

So if you've made a card using Uniko products, why not share it on the Uniko VIP FB page for a chance to win £15 to spend in store.

You've got until June 11th to join in!

Happy crafting

xx

Brand Ambassador Inspirations : Summer cards

  Hello everyone!

Happy Wednesday!

Fill up a drink and let toast to the Summertime!

Vinita here, Today's card inspirations are full of summer and sunshine! I made two cards showcasing Monstera Leaves in summery colors and sunny mood. I am showcasing super trendy technique of contemporary art - abstract collages!

First card

The soft pastel hues of the summer sun along with circle is the inspiration of this card. I love how this circle created a landing spot for smaller stamped leaves.

To create this look, I stamped the circle from the Background Builders: Round in circle stamp set using Memento rose bud ink and to achieve the soft color impact, I re-stamped the image using Frost white pigment ink on it. Then I stamped the Paradise leaves in black and soft lemon color. In between the top two leaves I created a summer sun in soft yellow using the little part of the circle image directly.

The sentiment is from the Sunshine & Rainbows stamp set. The completed panel attached to the light cream color panel using double tape.

For this CAS card, I created a simple stroked panel by dragging my Memento dye ink directly in smoky blue from the top to bottom directly 3- 4 times. I stamped the paradise and monstera leaves straight on the card using both outlined and solid images in sweet plum dye ink and Versafine Onyx black ink.

The sentiment is from the Originally Organic Flower Garden stamp set.

Have a sun-filled day!

Happy crafting!

Birthday Wishes

Happy Tuesday.

This week is my birthday week and I decided to bring all the birthday inspiration. Yesterday I shared this fun Balloon Bash card. You can watch the YouTube short of me making it HERE.

Today, I thought I would share one of the cards that we made during the Uniko and Stampin' Up! Mashup on Saturday.

On this card I paired the Stencil Layering Retro Rainbow with a butterfly from a Stampin' Up! set called Extraordinary Life. The sentiment is from Simply Said Blocks III.

For the three rainbow arches I used SU! Basic Grey. I started by inking light and increased the intensity for each arch. For the butterflies I used Calypso Coral, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Lost Lagoon and Night of Navy.

I love showing how Uniko products can be paired with other wonderful companies, and I think this turned out pretty well. 

I'll be back with more to share this week, and a special offer too, so stay tunned.

Crafty Hugs

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Pretty Primroses

Good morning, 

Steph here today with my Brand Ambassador Inspiration and for this one I was inspired by one of my fellow Brand Ambassadors, Julie. I loved her use of the Uniko Spring Botanicals Primrose stamp on her March FB challenge card here so I reached for the stamp set and had a go at creating three very different cards.

For my first card I stamped, coloured and fussy cut the image four times. I wanted this card to look like a planted bed of Primroses.

I really love to see white on Kraft so I stamped and heat embossed the image onto Kraft card and coloured with watercolour pencils. The image hasn't picked up the colours that well as they are a bit stronger than this on the card itself with more gradient of colours. 

Finally I tried my hand at a pocket shaker. I stamped the primrose onto a piece of card before colouring with alcohol markers. I took a piece of acetate which was larger than the card and scored the edges to fold around the back of the card and create a pocket. I added some heart shaped sequins and glitter before fully sealing the acetate on the back of the panel. I adhered this to a blank card base. Using the primrose stamp in the same location I stamped it again onto another piece of card and used a craft knife to cut around the image before stamping the sentiment and adhering over the shaker panel. 

Three completely different styles using the same stamp to hopefully get the creative juices flowing! 

Much love

Steph x

Roses & Birthday Wishes

Hello & Happy Monday.

Today I thought I would share one of the cards that we made at yesterday's Uniko Stamping Retreat at a new venue in Hartlepool.

This card was a hit with the ladies and like me they love this supersize rose.

Along with having the pleasure of inking up this Stencil - Pure Florals Rose again, I dusted off this old 'ghosting' technique. It's such a fun one and give this lovely shadow look. 

I'll be sure to share a video soon of this fun technique, I have another stencil I'd like to try this technique on.

Crafty Hugs

BA Inspiration Pure Florals - Peony

 Good afternoon, Julie here with a little bit of floral watercolour inspiration. Over at Color Hues the colours for the latest challenge are Coral and Green, so I thought I would ink up my large Pure Florals Peony and do some watercolouring with inks. Here is the result.

I used Altenew's Limestone ink stamped onto Mixed Media paper, to create a no line look, then I smooshed some of their other inks onto an acrylic sheet to use for the technique. I used Coral Berry, Grapevine and Coral Bliss for the petals and Olive, Moss and Evergreen for the stem and leaves.

Each petal was painted separately, first with plain water then with the paler Coral Bliss and darker Coral Berry, allowing the water to blend the colours. It's best to paint sections that don't touch one another to reduce the risk of colour bleeding until each section has dried. Some of the lightest areas had virtually no colour and the off white paper showed through to suggest hilights. I repeated the technique for the leaves, using first Olive then Moss.

To create an even greater sense of depth, I went back into the bloom, first with a damp brush, I wet the areas that needed to be in shadow before going in with the Grapevine ink. For the green shading I used the Evergreen ink. Once dry, I fussy cut it out and concentrated on my background. 

I used a Mama Elephant die to cut Eyelet panel from white card, then removed the center with a rectangle die to create a frame. Using the magnets in my Misti, I held the frame and bloom down whilst I placed the greeting from Originally Organic. Once happy with the placement, I removed the frame and bloom and stamped it in Memento London Fog. The frame and bloom were then glued to my A6 white base card.

That's all from me for today, but why not take a moment to try the technique. You don't need watercolour paints, just some dye inks and a paintbrush! You can get really lost in the process, well I know I do!

Keep crafting! 

Technique Tuesday & a Winner!

Happy Tuesday. 

I've just about caught up after Crafterama Gateshead on Sunday and I found time to create a card inspired by my daily walk to the Post Office this week. 

I read or heard some where recently how getting outside can get the creative juices flowing, and that is certainly true this week. The blossom on the trees is in full bloom, beautiful pinks and white. And it got me to thinking how I could translate this onto a card. 

Of course I had to ink up the Stencil Layering Spring Blossom and I am currently obsessed with inking on kraft card stock. 

You can check out the process over on the Uniko YouTube channel HERE.

And now, how about the winner of the March Non Release Hop. I counted up all the comments left across all the Brand Ambassador blogs and social media. The winner was then randomly selected and I am delighted to say the winner is...

Jacqueline @a_word_foryou 

Congratulations! I have sent you a message.

Crafty Hugs