Be More Dolly 💖

Hello.

I'm back in the studio after a few days away in South Wales with my family. It's been 27 years since I last stepped onto Caswell Bay Beach and this time I got to share it with them and relive some treasured memories of my childhood summers.

Sunshine, sea, sand and family time was definitely what my soul needed and I feel like I have come back recharged and refreshed. 

The card I am sharing today isn't the one I had planned, but with the news of Dolly Parton's death yesterday made me sad, but also inspired to share my little tribute to honour such a wonderful person. 

I love this quote...

"You can't just sit around and think of all the things you want to do. You've got to think of what you want to do, and then you've got to get out and make that happen." 

Dolly Parton

This is for you, Dolly.

I admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of Dolly's I didn't listen to her music a huge amount or follow her full career. But growing up in the 80's and 90's you couldn't not know about Dolly. Maybe subconsciously Dolly's approach to life has rubbed off on me and inspired me more than I realise, who knows.

But her death has reminded me to continue being unapologetically me and why I started Uniko. To share my love of pattern, design and love of paper crafts. To be unique and not follow or keep up with what everyone else is doing. 

So I start down and made a card to honour her. I chose the Stencil - Ink & Flip Christmas Star, Star and inked it in Sweet Pea and Berry Kiss. I then went back and inked over the Sweet Pea sections with VersaFine and heat embossed with clear sparkle EP.

I then added a trio of the small English Country Garden Butterflies, which I fussy cut and coloured with pink markers. My sentiment is from Just Because. 

That's all I have to share today, but before I go I do have some Christmas in July and Christmas *almost* in July Release winners to announce.

8th July Rustic Wreath - Glennis F

15th July Stencil Ink & Flip Christmas Star and Christmas Star,  Star - Kath B

22nd July Background Blocks Christmas Scramble - Lynne

Christmas *almost* in July Release £20 eGift - Greta

Thank you to you all for the lovely comments, continued support and custom. I appreciate you all.

Crafty Hugs

Festive Floral Friday & NEWS

Happy FriYAY! 

I've finally found a few minutes to sit down and write a quick blog post and share a card I made during a YouTube video during release week HERE. I decided on a sentiment to finish off this fun design.

I saw this fun layout/technique on Pinterest, a card by Hannelie and I've used it a few times and thought it would look fun with this stencil and I do love how it turned out.

I can't believe how quickly the summer is passing by, less than two weeks and The Beans will be heading off to their first day at secondary school! 

We're making the most of these last few days and are heading off for a little family vacation. The website will remain open to place orders, but please be aware any orders placed will not be posted until Wednesday 26th August.

Thank you for your understanding and continued custom and support.

Crafty Hugs

Introducing... Stencil - Layering Modern Poinsettia

Happy Thursday

Welcome to the third day of the Christmas *almost* in July Release product introductions. If you've been here for some time now, you'll know that I have become partial to a layering stencil or two! So I couldn't resist adapting the Season Of Beauty stamp set to become a fun layering stencil. 

If you subscribe or buy Simply Cards & Paper Crafts magazine, you might have see a recent feature in there using this stencil 😉

Introducing... Stencil - Layering Modern Poinsettia

Bev

Denise

Julie

Natalie

I hope you love this layering stencil as much as I do!  

Thank you for joining us today and I hope you come back tomorrow for the last product introduction. All the products being introduced will be available at 9am BST Saturday 8th August 2026.

Crafty Hugs

Introducing... Stencil - Layering Modern Blooms

Hello & Happy Thursday.

Welcome to Day 3 of the Uniko June 2026 Release product introductions. Today myself and the Uniko Brand Ambassadors are introducing a new floral layering stencil.

Introducing... Stencil - Layering Modern Blooms.

Let's have a look at this stencil in action.

Bev

Denise

Izzy

Julie

Natalie

Vinita

So many ways you can use this pretty modern floral stencil, I hope you've enjoyed seeing this stencil in action as much as I have. 

Thank you for joining us today and I hope you come back tomorrow for the last product introduction. All the products being introduced will be available at 9am BST Saturday 27th June.

Crafty Hugs

Introducing... Ink & Flip Triangulate

Hello & Happy Wednesday.

Welcome to Day 2 of the Uniko June 2026 Release product introductions. Today myself and the Uniko Brand Ambassadors are introducing the next addition to the unique Ink & Flip Stencil range. If you've not heard or used of these stencils before I recommend checking out videos over on the Uniko YouTube Channel.

But today, I introduce you to Ink & Flip Triangulate...

Bev

Denise

Izzy

Julie

Natalie

Vinita

The more I use and see others use this stencil, the more creative possibilities are shown. The team have done just that, thinking of ways to use it along with striking colour combos. 

Thank you for joining us today and I hope you come back tomorrow for the next product introduction. All the products being introduced will be available at 9am BST Saturday 27th June.

Crafty Hugs

Two For Tuesday & WINNERS

Happy Tuesday.

Today is a good day, Spring is in the air, the sun is shining and I have a whole host of winners. But, before I get to the winners I have a couple of cards to share.

Last week I had a lot of fun inking up the newest Ink & Flip Stencil - Layering Retro Flowers in some fun retro inspired colours. I then fussy cut the flowers out and created these two cards.

I cam across THIS card I made many years ago when Birthday Wishes was released. I liked the sentiment framing idea so used that as my inspiration for this card. Some of the flowers are adhered onto my card base using double sided tape and some I have given a little dimension by using foam tape. 

The tiny trio of dots in the centre of the flowers is achieved using an accent stamp from Organic Blooms. This was such a quick card once I had a bunch of fussy cut flowers! 

For my second card today I went with another layout I have used before HERE. I often re-use card layouts as I think it's a good way to get creative if you don't know where to start or you're in a creative slump. 

I used another of the sentiments from Birthday Wishes and this time cascaded the flowers down the card. Again, some are adhered using double sided tape, and some using foam tape. 

I then remembered this little stamp from Balloon Bash that has a trio of tiny flowers. I stamped this along the cascade in Pimento ink and added a little black dot to the centre of each to tie in with the stencilled flowers. 

Such a fun stencil and so many different ways to use the flowers and pairings with previously released Uniko stamps too. Amazingly this stencil is still in-stock, along with all the release bar the Background Blocks Birthday Scramble. This should be back in the next week or so. 

NOW, onto the winners. 

Firstly I apologise for my lateness in announcing a few of these, I seem to have a bit of memory loss these days 🙈

All winners were randomly selected using a random number or name generator. 

💙 First up, I have the winner of the Stencil MCM Baubles giveaway.... Congratulations Vicki P

💙 Next I have the January 2026 Release Day winner.... Congratulations Meghan K

Now for the 14th Birthday Winners.

💙 Grand Prize Giveaway, Win Stamps For a Year.... Congratulations Helen W

💙 Grand Prize Giveaway, Win Stencils For a Year... Congratulations Helen C

💙 14th Birthday Linky Party... Congratulations The Crafty Den (Denise M)

💙 14th Birthday Release Day Hop... tinkerscraft (Sadia A)

Congratulations to the winners, thank you to all who took the time to hop, comment and take part in the celebrations. 

Thank you to the Uniko Brand Ambassadors for all their inspiration and for all the lovely customer orders too.

Crafty Hugs

14th Birthday February Release - Introducing... Ink & Flip Layering Retro Flowers

  

Happy FriYAY!

Welcome to day 4 and the final of the 14th Birthday February Release Introductions. Today myself and the Uniko Brand Ambassadors are introducing a new Ink & Flip Stencil. And I think you are going to love this one as much as I do.

Introducing... Ink & Flip Layering Retro Flowers.

Let's have a look at it in action... 

Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie

Natalie

Steph

Vinita

This stencil is going to bring SO much fun and colour to your crafting, I hope you love it as much as I do. 

Thank you for joining us today and I hope you come back tomorrow for our traditional release day inspirational hop and giveaway. All the products being introduced will be available at 9am GMT tomorrow, Saturday 28th February 2026. 

Crafty Hugs

 

14th Birthday February Release - Introducing... Stencil Layering Retro Rainbow

Happy Wednesday.

Welcome to day 2 of the 14th Birthday February Release Introductions. Today myself and the Uniko Brand Ambassadors are introducing a new retro layering stencil. And I think you are going to love this one as much as the Stencil Layering Retro Lines. 

Introducing Stencil Layering Retro Rainbow.

Let's have a look at it in action... 

Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie

Natalie

Steph

Vinita

This stencil is going to bring SO much colour to your crafting, I hope you love it as much as I do. 

Thank you for joining us today and I hope you come back tomorrow for the next product introduction. All the products being introduced will be available at 9am GMT Saturday 28th February 2026. 

Crafty Hugs

 

Stencil Sunday - Let The Celebrations Begin

Hello February. 

Welcome to the first Stencil Sunday of February. Today I am kicking off Uniko's 14th Birthday Celebrations with some more January Release inspiration. 

I couldn't resist inking up the Stencil - Layering Bauhaus Spring Blocks.

I have a new video up on the Uniko YouTube channel HERE making this fun spring celebration card. I opted for Birthday as it's Uniko's Birthday month, but you could easily swap out the sentiment for something spring themed.

That's all I have today, be sure to stop by tomorrow for more inspiration. 

Crafty Hugs