Friday Focus & a WINNER!

 Hello & Happy Friday! 

It's a soggy one here today & the perfect kind of day to spend in The Studio. I though I would do a Friday Focus post and give some love to another of the Uniko July 2021 Release stamp sets, before I announce the winner of the Release Day Blog Hop! 

I felt I neglected the Background Blocks Diagonal Stripes a little during the release, mainly because I misplaced a card I had made in the chaos, which I have now located - haha! So that is what I have chosen as my focus today.

Stripes are such a handy pattern for so many occasions and I think they can be paired with literally anything. From florals, to foliage, cutesy and more. 

Here is a look at the misplaced release card I had made...

I combined the diagonal stripes with the Stencil Tropical Leaf I, which I spent ages fussy cutting out after I had inked it in green and then added a sparkle embossing paste over the top. 

I finished the card with a sentiment from Simply Said Blocks III. I had some help from the Brand Ambassadors for the sentiments in this set, I think they are super useful and appropriate for the current times.

For my next card I was inspired by THIS card I made using the popular Background Blocks Horizontal Stripe.

This time I shifted the focal background block pattern and added in more of a second colour. I still used Pure Florals Cosmos and but the sentiment is from Doodle Flowers.

I love this Buttercup yellow from Concord & 9th, so it influenced my next card for today...

I was aiming for statement stripe and I think I achieved it! I knew after I had stamped the Background Block Diagonal Stripes that I wanted to used the BIG & BOLD Wish Designer Dies, but I did procrastinate for some time on the angle.

As you can see I opted to keep the wish level. The BIG! sentiment is from the coordinating BIG & BOLD Wish clear stamp set.

Lastly for today I went for something a little different and more of an experiment. I wanted a grunge look, aiming more to have less of a blocky feel, but although it turned out a little different than I had imagined, I went with it.

I applied Concord & 9th Mushroom ink to the stamp slightly and more to the centre of the stamp. I then used my stamp shammy to dab off the ink slightly. I really like the mottled effect and it picked up some of the aqua colour off the shammy from my second card! 

I finished off the card with some previously stamped and coloured flowers from Doodle Flower and Background Blocks Doodle Flower, but added in some leaves from Flower Power #6 for a more chunkier feel.

That's all the cards I have to share today, but before I go, how about a winner for the July 2021 Release Day Blog Hop! Thank you to everyone that took the time to hop along and leave a comment, they are truly appreciated.

Without further ado, the lucky random comment is...

Dee Earnshaw

26 JUILLET 2021 À 17 H 42 MIN

lovely designs!!! the first one is my favourite – love the colors

Congratulations Dee! Please email me at bev@uniko.co.uk no later than Sunday 15th August 2021 with your postal address to claim your prize.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Crafty Hugs

Two For Tuesday - Stencil Mixed Mini Geometrics

 Hello & Happy Tuesday! 

I was surprisingly organised yesterday and managed to squeeze in a little creative time. So with having all the recent Uniko Stencils still in arms reach I set to making a couple more cards using the Mixed Mini Geometrics stencil.

Mixed Mini Geometrics

If you've been MIA and missed the release you can catch up HERE. There is still time to join in on the Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY! 

Anyway, let's have a look how I have used the stencil today...

For this first card I had already stamped and coloured the Pure Florals Cosmos flowers in this pointillism colouring technique and hadn't got round to adding them to a card. So I decided to create soft subtle background using the stencil and Altenew Mountain Mist ink.

I fussy cut the flowers, adhered them using foam adhesive and finished the card off with the 'Make a Wish' sentiment from the Pure Florals Cosmos stamp set.

For my second card today I have gone to the opposite end of the spectrum and gone for bright and bold...

I recently treat myself to the Altenew Detail Ink Blending Brushes and they make it so easy to apply ink to small areas and prefect from creating a rainbow effect. I selected 5 colours of Altenew inks and coloured each of the geometric shapes with a different colour. I then moved the stencil slightly and then drew inside the shapes to create this cool effect. 

As you can see I adhered my panel to a black piece of card before adhering to my bas card. I finished the bright design off with the BIG & BOLD Wish die cut sentiment and white heat embossed accompanying sentiment.

I love how different these cards are, I hope you have enjoyed them too. 

Crafty Hugs

 

A card in less than 10 minutes

Hey all Rahmat here.

I am up with a quick card, this one is inspired by our current challenge. Have you joined us yet? Do join us with any flower card you make!

Cosmos is one of my most favorite and most used set from Uniko. So I have used it once again.

I won't be writing a post on how I made the card, please watch this short time lapse video, on how this is made.

Here is the card:

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

                                                                    

Inspired by Chinese Porcelain - DT Post

Hello everyone, Rahmat here. Today I am up with a card inspired by the Chinese Porcelain. For almost a decade I have been living in a Chinese region which is heavily influenced by the Portuguese architecture, and from time to time I do get inspired by the local culture for my cards. Here we have the Portuguese influence of white and blue tiles everywhere. So I have used the colors white and blue from the Chinese Porcelain, but used the Portuguese tile form for the card.

Here is a look of tiled form on the card.

I had used the Beautiful Blooms III set and I love Tea set for the flowers and stamped using Chipped Sapphire Distress ink, all over in random.

I used a white base and added a Pattern paper with text from Doodlebug

I then cut the stamped panel into tiles, and added the panels to replicate the tiles on the top and bottom, leaving some space in the middle for the sentiment.

The sentiment is from Cosmos set, I stamped it using the same ink, and edged the panel with silver glitter paper.

I hope you like my inspiration, and you do try it out.

Supplies:
Uniko Bold Blooms III


Cosmos


White card stock
Chipped Sapphire distress ink
Doodlebug PP
Silver Glitter paper

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

                                                                    

CAS Colours & Sketches #217

Hey!

How did we get to April already?! 

This year is flying by and I seem to be spending much of it ill in bed with bugs :( Though I am pleased to say I am fully recovered from the bad cold I have had for nearly 2 weeks and to top it off over the sickness bug I had at the end of last week! I'm fighting fit and back on the healthy eating to ward off anymore nasties ;)

Anyway, enough of my moans, groans and woes! I am here with a new CAS Colours & Sketches challenge to inspire you. A new month means a new hostess and this month you have the pleasure of ME inspiring you! 

As usual we have a colour challenge to kick the month off to a good start...

When I was choosing my colours I was planning that Spring had sprung here in the Northern hemisphere and I can easily say it has. We have had a wonderful few days recently and it definitely gives the soul a lift.

Now I know that in the Southern hemisphere you are saying farewell to Summer and entering Autumn, but this colour combo has much more to offer than florals, which I am sure you will show and inspire me with.

Anyhow, I decided upon a floral beauty to inspire you today...

Looking at these colours I was thinking of a meadow filled with English Country Garden flowers and imagined it full of Cosmos - happy sigh.

I stamped the Cosmos from Pure Florals: Cosmos in Lawn Fawn Manatee ink, masked it and stamped the speckled background lightly, by stamping off, with So Safron and Shaded Lilac Distress ink. I then coloured the flowers in with Prismacolour Pencils and stamped the sentiment from Originally Organic Additions.

I hope that I have inspired you to play along this week and if you need a little more inspiration, be sure to head on over to the CAS Colours & Sketches blog HERE to see what the amazing Design Team and Guest Designer have created using the colours.

I look forward to seeing you in the gallery & have fun!

Hugs

My Five Faves From Year 4 of Uniko

Hey!

Did you see Lindsey's Design Team Inspiration post from earlier today? It's one not to be missed and be sure to check it out HERE.

I'm back this evening with my next instalment of My Five Faves. If it's your first time visiting or you've been MIA for a few days, Uniko is celebrating their 5th Birthday. This means there has been 5 years of inspiration and I've been taking a wander down memory lane and choosing 5 favourite projects from each year. It's not as easy as it sounds! You can catch up on the others HERE, HERE and HERE.

Anyway, onto my first choice for today...

You can't have a celebration without balloons, right? This card is from February 2016, when I introduced Balloon Bash. I chose this card because of the simplicity and colours I have used. I love one layer cards too and they don't always turn out as good as this one (well, for me anyway!).

Ah, Pure Florals: Cosmos. Another firm favourite of mine and many! Another one layer card which turned out well and again a card using my favourite colour combo ;) This card uses the technique of adding ink to your stamp block, spritzing and then stamping it onto your card. Such a fun technique which produces different results each time.

Next I have another technique card...

This is such a fun way to use the negative part of a die cut that you would normally throw away. I also chose this card because of the happy roses from Flower Power #6 and Background Builders: Vines.

If you are unfamiliar with Uniko clear stamps, one thing I take into consideration A LOT when designing the stamps is 'how can they and will they coordinate with previously released clear stamp sets'. Having the same image in a larger or smaller size creates a wealth of possibilities and you can create pretty stamped backgrounds like I have on the card above!

My next card uses a combination of stamps, both of which I LOVE and that work so beautifully together like on this...

Beautiful Blooms II and Natures Treasures II a wonderful combination. I love this colour combo too, Baja Breeze, Lucky Limeade and Chocolate Chip.

Lastly, but by no means least I had to choose a I LOVE Coffee card, for all you coffee lovers out there...

This card shows how Uniko clear stamps can be paired with other companies stamps/products you may have in your stash. On this card I have used Stampin' Up! Grunge Grid BG stamp, why reinvent the wheel and all that?? 

Ok, so that wraps up day 4 of my five faves. If you want to check out more projects using these featured sets then take a look at the Pinterest pages via the links below...

I LOVE Coffee

Beautiful Blooms II

Natures Treasures II

Pure Florals: Cosmos

Balloon Bash

Flower Power Series

Thanks for stopping by again today & I hope to see you tomorrow for my last five faves!

Hugs

CAS Colours & Sketches #186

Hey!

This month over at CAS Colours & Sketches we have LOTS of fun challenges in store. As it is the summer months we are taking it in turns to be a hostess for the week. This week is my turn to be hostess.

It's sketch week, so I have created this sketch HERE and seen below for you to try...

Even though I had tons of ideas when I created the sketch, I kinda stumped myself when it came to creating my card! Anyway, this is what I came up with...

I kept to the sketch and as Pure Florals: Cosmos doesn't seem to leave my desk at the moment it got inked up again! 

I stamped the flower onto a die cut tag with the top trimmed off onto Whisper White CS using VersaFine Onyx black ink. I then coloured the petals in using my Prismacolor pencils, blending two shades of aqua using Gamsol.

My colour choice was inspired by the current ColourQ challenge colours seen HERE and below. I couldn't resist as it is a fabulous colour combo! 

Ok, that's all from me today! I hope I have inspired you to give the sketch a go and join in on the challenge this week. Be sure to stop on over HERE and check out what the rest of the CAS Colours & Sketches DT have done using the colours and I hope to see you in the gallery.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:

Stamps: Uniko Pure Florals: Cosmos 

Ink:  VersaFine Onyx Black

Card Stock: SU! Whisper White & Basic Grey

Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, PTI Tag Sale Die & Foam Adhesive.

CAS Colours and Sketches #184

Hey!

This month over at CAS Colours & Sketches we have LOTS of fun challenges in store. As it is the summer months we are taking it in turns to be a hostess for the week. This week our hostess is the lovely Karen.

Karen has come up with this awesome sketch HERE and seen below for you to try...

Another FUN and easy sketch this week. Don't you think? I had a hard time deciding what stamps to use, but this is what I ended up using...

I decided to use Pure Florals: Cosmos with a sentiment from Simpy Said and paired the stamps and sketch with the current Color Throwdown challenge colours seen HERE and below.

The Cosmos flowers are stamped and heat embossed in white onto normal SU! Whisper White CS then lightly watercolored.

I adhered the flower cluster to the card using DST, but as the edges of them were not adhered, it creates a feeling of depth and movement with the petals.

Ok, that's all from me just now, I hope I have inspired you to give the sketch a go and join in on the challenge this week. Be sure to stop on over HERE and check out what the rest of the CAS Colours & Sketches DT have done using the colours and I hope to see you in the gallery.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:

Stamps: Uniko Pure Florals: Cosmos Simply Said

Ink: SU! Pretty In Pink, So Saffron and Calypso Coral VersaFine Onyx Black

Card Stock: SU! Whisper White. PTI Melon Berry

Accessories: Rhinestones. Detail White Embossing Powder

CAS Colours and Sketches #184

Hey!

This month over at CAS Colours & Sketches we have LOTS of fun challenges in store. As it is the summer months we are taking it in turns to be a hostess for the week. This week our hostess is the lovely Karen.

Karen has come up with this awesome sketch HERE and seen below for you to try...

Another FUN and easy sketch this week. Don't you think? I had a hard time deciding what stamps to use, but this is what I ended up using...

I decided to use Pure Florals: Cosmos with a sentiment from Simpy Said and paired the stamps and sketch with the current Color Throwdown challenge colours seen HERE and below.

The Cosmos flowers are stamped and heat embossed in white onto normal SU! Whisper White CS then lightly watercolored.

I adhered the flower cluster to the card using DST, but as the edges of them were not adhered, it creates a feeling of depth and movement with the petals.

Ok, that's all from me just now, I hope I have inspired you to give the sketch a go and join in on the challenge this week. Be sure to stop on over HERE and check out what the rest of the CAS Colours & Sketches DT have done using the colours and I hope to see you in the gallery.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:

Stamps: Uniko Pure Florals: Cosmos Simply Said

Ink: SU! Pretty In Pink, So Saffron and Calypso Coral VersaFine Onyx Black

Card Stock: SU! Whisper White. PTI Melon Berry

Accessories: Rhinestones. Detail White Embossing Powder