Uniko Brand Ambassador...Snowflake Shaker

Hello,

Carol here with my Brand Ambassador Inspiration post for March.  

The calendar says Spring has sprung but, where I live, apparently Winter didn't receive the memo, as we're in the midst of yet another bout of snow and cold temperatures. More reason to stay inside and all the more reason to complete a card that I had started back in January! I know I 'should' be showcasing Uniko's gorgeous blooms but...the 'muses' called for something that befits the weather we're having! Let's just call it a 'winter' flower rather than a snowflake *grin*

Full-panel acetate-wrap shaker (so easy!) featuring: Let It Snow stencil background, Designer Die Sparkling Snowflake and a sentiment from Simply Said Blocks: Christmas.

Hopefully, March's blustery departure will herald a lovely April arrival (minus any April Fool's shenanigans)!

Brand Ambassador - Sharing some Happy Succulents

Hello there! 

It's Sarah here with my Brand Ambassador Inspiration post for March and I've been playing with the Happy Succulents set in a mix of mint and mauve. 

I've teamed it with the Background Block: Horizontal Stripes on the first 2 cards and a shaker example on the third one, with a sentiment from wonderful Day.

There's a little bit of fuzzy cutting on the first 2 - not my favourite past-time but in the absence of dies and to add some lovely dimension to my cards, it was a must! 

This is my first attempt of a shaker card using an acetate wrap around the front panel - I quite like how it turned out and think I might be having a slight shaker addiction at the moment! 

Thanks for calling by and I hope you've enjoyed the succulent inspiration here.

Stencil Sunday - Hello Friend

Happy Spring Forward!

It's daylight savings here in the UK. I am looking forward to warmer days & longer & lighter nights, that's for sure. Shame the clocks couldn't fast forward a few weeks instead of just one hour, right?!

Anyway, I thought I would brighten up your weekend with a Stencil Sunday creation and check in over here too! I posted HERE yesterday, so if you missed it, pop by & have a read.

I was totally inspired by the challenge over at CAS(E) this Sketch! seen HERE and below. And I have to say I am really pleased at how it turned out.

It was pretty simple really. I masked off sections of the stencil to replicate the sketch design and used a different Spring colour to ink through the Uniko Stencil - Doodle Flower. The sentiment is from BIG & BOLD Hello.

That's all I have to share with you today, but I am super happy to have found some creativity this weekend and join in on some of my favourite challenges too!

Stay safe & at home. Crafty Hugs

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Originally Organic Stamps and Dies

Hello there .....

Happy Friday .... I do hope you're all safe and well. 
It's Linda here with a little bit of Uniko Inspiration for you, using the pretty Originally Organic Clear Stamps and matching dies.

What a crazy world we're living in at the moment ....... everything is changing so fast.  We've been self isolating/social distancing as best we can, and our little island is now in lockdown.
Hubby's working from home and I'm trying to keep myself busy in the craft room ....... although some days are more productive than others!!

For me, CAS is definitley the way to go when the old mojo is keeping it's distance. And this pretty stamp set is made up of lots of different elements, including some fab sentiments, making it easy to create a variety of pretty cards.

Keeping things really simple, using just three of the stamps from the set and a sentiment, along with a bit of masking.

I simply used a piece of low tack stencil tape across my card where I wanted the sentiment to be, and then stamped the stem and leaves along both edges

I added in the flower heads and coloured the images using ZIG Markers, before removing the masking tape
A touch of glitter onto the tiny stamens adds a bit of sparkle .....

I stamped the sentiment in the centre , and then masked off top and bottom of the banner before adding just a touch of Distress Ink along the egdes to add a bit of definition

For my second card I added in the matching Designer Dies ......

CAS again .... this time I stamped directly onto my card using the pretty flourish from the set, and coloured with ZIG markers and a water brush

I added the sentiment and also a few ink splatters onto the background

I then stamped the stem and flower heads onto a seperate piece of white card, watercoloured each piece using ZIG markers, and then used the matching dies to cut them out .......

and attached them with foam pads to add dimension,

That's it from me this month.  Keep safe and well ..... this time at home is what we crafters have been training for!

Thanks for popping by .....

Sending big hugs .....

Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Pure Florals Cosmos

Good morning crafters, Julie here with a little bit of BA inspiration.

During these very difficult times we need to keep ourselves busy the only way we can, so why not indulge in learning a new technique? I found the following technique whilst seeking inspiration for this post, courtesy of the girls over at CAS Mix-up, acrylic paint backgrounds.

Many years ago I tried using acrylics for painting but didn't get on with them and the tubes lay abandoned in their box, unused and unloved. However, after deciding I would have a go, I ferreted them out from the back of the cupboard all ready to try and create a background as per the video. Sad to say that they had mostly dried out, only a Crimson Alizerin one that was usable.

I did come across some DoCrafts acrylics I bought to paint an Advent calendar for my Grandson a few years ago but the colours were too dark, except for the white. Not willing to give up, I eventually came up with this card.

Having a limited palette made me think hard about how to get a colourful but cohesive background.

The blue is straight out of the bottle, the teal is a conifer green mixed with white and the lime is white added to Altenew's Bamboo ink!

The stripes were made by placing small dots of colour at the top of the panel, then dragging an old credit card down in a smooth motion. There must have been less of the lime paint to create the patchy effect but I didn't really mind, I think it adds to the arty effect.

When dry, the sentiment and flowers were stamped in black and heat embossed with clear EP. Love the fresh look of these colours.

My second card used some of the crimson acrylic and some Mustard Seed Distress Paint, which is also classed as an acrylic. The DP is rather chalky compared to the other acrylics I used so tends to dull the overall brightness of the finished panel.

This time I tried to blend the three stripes together to create my background panel and used white heat embossing for the stamping. The finished panel was mounted on a slightly larger piece of card, edged with a YG18 Copic marker to match the orange of the background. A few sequins add a little bling to the proceedings.

So that's it from me for this month. Hope I've encouraged you to have a go, you could even enter the stripes in our latest challenge if you add a few spots or dots!

Keep smiling.

Uniko Challenge #58 - Spots & Stripes + optional twist Use A Stencil

Hey!

Welcome to the March/April 2020 Uniko Challenge.

Our second challenge for the year and we're asking for spots and stripes on your cards.


We're delighted to have Mac Mable as our Guest Designer. She is well known for her creative use of techniques and you're going to love her interpretation of the theme.

Isn't that just an awesome use of spots and stripes? If you get time please pop over to her blog and tell her how very impressed you are - HERE.

The Uniko Brand Ambassadors have also been busy creating inspirational projects to fire up your imagination. Check them out!

Bev

Carol 

Izzy 

Jane 


Julie

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. 

Due to the current chaos around the world and here in the UK, I have temporarily reduced the value of the prizes. This is so that I can keep my small business afloat during these uncertain times. I hope you understand and will still join in on the fun.

Thank you for your continued support & joining in on the fun at Uniko.

  

THE PRIZES

• Main Winner Chosen By the DT - £15 eGift Certificate
• Random Twist Winner - £5 eGift Certificate
• Random Uniko Stamps Winner - £5 eGift Certificate
• 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 24th April 2020.

Crafty Hugs,

Brand ambassador inspiration : Flower power #7

Hi there!

Hannelie here to bring you some inspiration and ... wishing you a happy St. Patrick's day 🍀

Today I am showing you three cards using the Flower power #7 stamp set. I combined the sweet flowers in the set with newer products, stamps as well as stencils, to create different looks.

Card #1

On the card above, I combined the solid flower with the Alphabet outlined set and sentiment from Happy succulents clear stamp set. I used a mask , created with a circle die, and stamped the flowers ( which reminded me a bit of the shape of a clover ) randomly to create a background for my sentiment. Everything stamped with my Misti and Altenew green inks and Versafine black ink. I finished off this one layer card with tiny black rhinestones.

Card #2

I used the same circle mask I used for the first card to mask off the focal point. I then used the Bright butterflies stencil and Altenew inks in red and purple shades for the butterflies. With the mask still in place I stamped the outline of the flowers using the rule of threes to draw the eye to the sentiment which is from Simply said blocks set. I finally added rhinestones for added interest.


Card #3

For this bright and happy card I used the solid flowers and a wreath builder (template cut with my Silhouette cameo). By changing the position of the stamp on the Misti, I could have stamped a bigger circle of flowers, but I liked the way how it actually created a little cluster of flowers ! I picked two shades of Altenew yellow ink ( Note to self... next time pick two shades with more contrast ;) . I then stamped the outline flower in black and popped the sentiment from Simply said blocks up with foam dots. Once again tiny black rhinestones in the flower centers for interest. A colored card base just to add some extra yellow 😀

I hope this will inspire you to mix the old and new, stamps and stencils to create something amazing !

Thanks for visiting Uniko today!

Hannelie

Have You Seen?

Happy Monday. 

Today I am sending you some happiness, good health and sunshine wishes your way. I know that all around the world we are struggling to deal with the craziness of everything. Stay strong, listen to your government guidelines and spend some time creating to take your mind off it all.

I thought I would pop by to tell you about a Uniko feature in the newest issue of Die-Cutting Essentials that came out on Thursday.

I am super excited to share a little peek at the feature I did for the magazine using the newest Uniko Designer Dies Kindness Blooms collection. This collection of dies coordinate with the previously released Kindness Blooms clear stamp set and were released last month during our 8th Birthday celebrations.

This is my favourite card I made for the feature. One because it was super fun to make and two it shows most of the dies in the collection AND it also shows how the tiniest die in the collection can be used in a different way to create a fun background.

Yes, I really did use the tiny circle die to die cut all those individual holes in the background! I've also used both the solid flower die combined with the detail loopy flower die combined with the coordinating stamps. All the details and instructions for this card can be found inside the magazine. You can buy the magazine online HERE.

I've not managed to create anything new with this clear stamp set just yet, but I hope to this week if time allows. However, I did receive this beautiful card through the post this past week from a lovely customer, Anne S, who is clearly enjoying combining the stamps and dies.

It makes my day to see customers and friends finding enjoyment and creativity using the products I design. It inspires me to create and gives me new ideas of how to use them! It delighted me even more to receive this prettiness in the mail, which I will display in the studio. Thank you Anne :)

One last thing before I sign off for the day, it's been a long one as I've not been sleeping well these past few days. Like most I am sure with all that is happening and on our minds.

Paper crafting, stamping, die cutting and making hand made cards is a wonderful therapy and distraction to all that is going on. So I thought that whilst Post Offices remain open here in the UK I would give you all a little discount code to use to treat yourself to something from the Uniko store.

Use Code happyspring10 during checkout.

Plus, with receiving the news yesterday that Happy Stampers Festival will not be going ahead at the end of April I have a lot of inventory and I am in need to create some space in the studio!

Thank you in advance for your support and custom. Each and everyone of you is truly appreciated.

Stay safe & well.

Crafty Hugs

March 2020 Non Release Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!

Hello & Happy Weekend.

This month is non-release month at Uniko and on non-release months myself and my awesome Brand Ambassadors revisit a previously released clear stamp set. 

With the continued popularity of Pure Florals Gerbera and recent flurry of orders for it, I thought it would be nice for some fresh creative ideas on how to use this stamp set. This stamp set was one of Uniko's first floral stamp sets and with it's realistic style, it never goes out of trend and remains popular among customers and fans of Uniko.

As usual we have our GIVEAWAY, so be sure to comment along the hop for your chance to win both the Pure Florals Gerbera Clear Stamp Set.  An alternative prize will be offered if the winner already owns this.

You have until midnight Sunday 22nd March 2020 to comment along the hop.

Bev

Carol 

Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane 

Julie

Linda

Rahmat

Sarah

What an inspirational hop, so many new ideas, I hope you all enjoyed it too :)

Thanks for joining in on the fun.

Hugs