June 2017 Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!

Hey & Happy Weekend!

It's time for another Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY! As June isn't a release month, the Design Team and I are here today to revisit and give some fresh inky love to a previously released clear stamp set.

This month I decided to dust off and revisit the previously released Originally Organic clear stamp set and also take the opportunity to get a closer look at the matching dies too!

This clear stamp set was released last year HERE and was and still is hugely popular. Now with the matching dies, it has even more possibilities.

As usual I have picked a couple of my 'old' favourites using this set...

You can find more inspiration using this set HERE on the Pinterest Page.

Now, how about some fresh new inspiration using this set AND don't forget to comment along the Design Team blogs to be in the chance of winning the Originally Organic clear stamp set AND the Originally Organic Designer Dies. Or a £15 Gift Certificate if you already own the prize! You have until Midnight GMT 18th June to get your comments in.

CLICK HERE to see more from Beverley

CLICK HERE to see more from Deborah

CLICK HERE to see more from Jane

CLICK HERE to see more from Lindsey

CLICK HERE to see more from Rahmat

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah P

Thank you for stopping by and hopping along with us today.

Hugs

DT Inspiration - Something Sweet

Hi there friends, I'm here with a little Design Team inspiration post for you and I'm combining this card with the latest challenge over at Less is More too. It's our ONE layer week with a 'Sweet' theme and these gorgeous cupcakes jumped out of my stash and begged me to include them!

How could I resist! My card involves some masking, first with the front cake, then the rear one then both while I inked through a Concentric Grid stencil by My Favourite Things. I used Delicata Gold ink for the stencilling but sadly the shimmer isn't very noticeable on the photograph. The other inks are Altenew and I simply had to add some sparkle with glossy accents to my sprinkles and glamour dust to the icing. 

The 'with cake' sentiment is from the 'Celebrate with Cake' set and the 'Celebrate' from All Occasion Sentiments #6

If you'd like play along at Less is More this week then you have until Friday, 16th June at 10pm BST to link up and don't forget it's a CLEAN & SIMPLE challenge and this week your card must be on ONE layer only to be eligible for the showCASe or monthly prizes.

Thanks so much for calling by today and hope you like my sparkling cupcakes.

Have a good day and I hope you fit some crafting into it.

Sarah x

DT Inspiration - Stamps and Matching Dies

Hi it's Jane here and today I'd like to show you some ways to use Bev's wonderful stamps and their matching dies.

I'm steering clear of the new Originally Organic dies as Bev has already featured them HERE. So I'm focussing on the other dies in the Uniko collection.

Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum ~ Designer Paper

So easy! I just stamped onto paper and then use the die to cut out the flower. What could be simpler than that?

Supplies:
Stamps: Uniko Pure Florals: Chrystanthemum 
Die: Uniko Pure Florals: Chrystanthemum
Ink: SU, wisteria wonder; Versamark, clear
Embossing: Ranger superfine, white 

Pure Florals: Gerbera ~ Off The Edge

One of the beauties of using a matching die is the precision of the cut. So yes you can fussy cut after stamping, but somehow my cutting never seems to give such a neat and even result. And with the flower and leaf protruding off the top edge of the card it's bound to be what the eye keeps looking at all the time. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Uniko, Pure Florals: Gerbera, Sentiment from Pure Florals: Cosmos
Die:  Uniko, Pure Florals: Gerbera
Inks: SU, rose red, old olive

Beautiful Blooms I ~ Stacked

When a die set contains the same die in differnt sizes it's easy to create a card with a little bit of a raised effect. I chose to stamp in two different colours for both the flower and the leaves and stacked them up using glue. You could use foam pads if you wanted even more of a raised dimensional look.

Supplies:
Stamps: Uniko, Beautiful Blooms I, Simply Said
Die:  Uniko, Beautiful Blooms I
Inks: SU, melon mambo, calypso coral, wild wasabi, cucumber crush 

All three of the stamps and matching dies that I've used can be bought separately or as a bundle. Go check them all out in the Uniko shop - HERE.

Thanks for your time today and I hope I've inspired you a little.


 
 

CAS Colours & Sketches #226 Colours

Hey!

I'm here again with my next CAS Colours & Sketches design team inspiration for you. This week is Cathy's turn for hostess as we each take it in turns for May & June.

As we are in the first week of June this week is colour week....

Here's how I used them...

These are a few of my 'go to' colours, especially when stamping with Originally Organic. I've used Calypso Coral and Crumb cake quite a bit in the past with this clear stamp set, so it was natural for me to reach for it again!

Though I love all the images in the set, I always seem to reach for the swirly foliage stamp. I think it is the flow and swirls that I am drawn to. I stamped the image around the edge of my white card mat layer in Altenew Espresso ink and selectively coloured the images using my SU! markers in the 3 challenge colours.

I added a sentiment from Originally Organic Additions and finished the design off with a few of my favourite enamel dots! 

That's all from me today, if you need some more inspiration using the sketch be sure to pop by the CAS Colours & Sketches blog HERE and see how the DT and Guest Designer have used it.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hugs

Challenge #41 Reminder

Hey!

The Design Team, Guest Designer and myself are here today to remind you about the May/June 2017 Uniko challenge.

This month we have the following challenge...

 

And with Father's Day coming up on Sunday 18th June maybe you could combine the two and twist with us. Whatever you decide you'll be pleased to get one of those tricky masculine cards safely into your stash.

 Challenge Guidelines:

* You can use any products/stamps to enter the challenge, but we do LOVE to see you use your Uniko products. Plus, there is an extra chance to win a prize if you do ;)

* Email entries welcome, just email a photo of your card to bev@uniko.co.uk and I will add it to the Uniko Flickr gallery and link up!

* Share the challenge graphic in your post and link back to the challenge if possible ;)

This month we have the awesome Hannelie joning us as our Guest Designer. If you were impressed like me by her card at the beginning of the challenge - here - you're going to be bowled over by this new one!

 

 How spectacular and creative is that! Hope you have time to drop by her blog and tell her how fabulous she is.

The Uniko Design team also have some more masculine inspiration to share, be sure to follow the links to their blogs to find out more and I am sure they'd love a nice comment too ;)

CLICK HERE to see more from Jane

CLICK HERE to see more from Lindsey 

CLICK HERE to see more from Rahmat

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah G

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah P

CLICK HERE to see more from Deborah

So much inspiration, so many great ideas! Are you inspired?

Now, if you need 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 - £4 In Stock Clear Stamp Set of Winners Choosing
• Random Uniko Stamps Winner - £4 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 month's challenge. The deadline for submission is midnight (GMT) on Friday 23rd June 2017 (7.00pm EDT).

CAS Colours & Sketches #225 - The Double!

Hey!

I'm here again with my next CAS Colours & Sketches design team inspiration for you. This week is Patricia's turn for hostess as we each take it in turns for May & June.

This week is THE DOUBLE....

Here's how I used it...

I kept things pretty simple and chose a large stamp to be the focus of the design. The doily is from Decorative Doilies - The Hands of Time. I had to find close matches for the Purely Pomegranate and Blue Bayou as I have never had those colours!

I added an offset die cut rectangle instead of a full mat rectangle to add a little interest to the focal point and finished the design off with a few of my favourite enamel dots! 

That's all from me today, if you need some more inspiration using the sketch be sure to pop by the CAS Colours & Sketches blog HERE and see how the DT and Guest Designer have used it.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hugs

DT Inspiration - Smooshed Sentimental Cards

Hi, it's Lindsey here with a post on how to make simple mixed media cards. 

I've used the colourful backgrounds with the big bold sentiments from the All Occasion Sentiments range. Very quick and easy to make and they pack a real punch.  

It's not difficult to create backgrounds like these, and it's lots of fun!

I've used a combination of smooshing and splattering with several different media: water-based ink pads, mica powders, Brushos, and Mica powders. I also added some metallic splatters using Gansai Tambi watercolours.

If you don't have all these different media there's no need to rush out and buy them all! The essentials are 2 similar shades of ink pads. The other medias are a bonus. You could also try adding accents using metallic gilding wax, shimmery pastels or even some sparkly eye shadow!

I chose a single colour theme in each media so that I didn't end up with a brown muddy colour.  

For my blue toned card I used a blue distress ink pad, turquoise Brushos and turquoise mica powder with a final splattering of silver watercolour paint.  

For my orange toned card I used yellow and orange ink pads, scarlet Brushos and gold mica powder with a final splattering of gold watercolour paint.

The smooshing technique is pretty haphazard.  

You need to randomly spot your ink pad on an acrylic block and then spray with a fine mist of water to disperse the ink. You want pools of ink rather than even coverage, then just stamp away onto a piece of card. While the card is damp you can sprinkle on some Brushos and Mica powders. If you want more coverage just repeat the process until you are happy.  

These backgrounds do take a while to dry, especially if you use normal card stock (my preference) although you can use watercolour card if you prefer. I put a large acrylic block over my finished piece to help it dry flat. If the background is a little warped once dry, you can adhere it to your card base with 3D sticky pads to offset this.  

Once the backgrounds are completely dry all they need is a bold sentiment and a trio of embellishments. I heat embossed the sentiment on my orange background and used a dark blue ink for the sentiment on my blue background.

I hope I've inspired you to go have a play!