March Meet The Maker - Decision

Hello & Happy Monday.

Today on March Meet The Maker it's all about decisions. Which had me thinking a lot about the good, the not so good and the AWESOME ones I've made over 13 years!

So I thought I would talk about the awesome decision I made in October 2017 and that was to add stencils to the Uniko product line up. 

In October 2017 I started simple with two much loved designs, Stencil Scattered Polka Dots and Stencil Wonky Stripes.

And in 7 years I have expanded this range to super sizing favourite floral stamps from the Flower Power series and the Pure Florals series.

After these awesome designs, I still felt I could create something that was FLIPPIN' awesome. Pun intended as I launched my first Ink & Flip Stencil in July 2023 and have expanded the series with 9 Ink & Flip designs in the collection and more on the way! 

I then got my thinking cap on to design some fun building stencils like the popular Stencil Mod Background Builder, which I further developed to create the Stencil Layering Bauhaus Blocks.

And more recently I expanded my Layering Stencil Collection with some beautiful florals and butterflies. 

I'd love to know which is your favourite Uniko Stencil and do you have a, "I Wish Uniko Would" when it comes to stencil patterns and designs?

Drop me a comment below, I'd love to know.

This leads me kind of nicely to let you know of some Stencil Restocks that landed in the studio today...

Stencil - Layering Organic Blooms £13.75

Stencil -Flower Power #5 £4.50

Stencil - Layering Picked Posies £13.75

Stencil - Pure Florals Gerbera £4.50

Stencil - Squared £4.50

AND finally the restock of the Geometric Happy Birthday arrived. Which means those who ordered during the Uniko 13th Birthday February Release week and qualified for the free stencil, but are awaiting their stencil, they are on the way.

If you missed the free gift but want to purchase the stencil, they are now available on the website HERE.

Stencil - Geometric Happy Birthday £4.50

That's all I have to share today, but be sure to pop back tomorrow for some colourful inspiration from myself and the Uniko Brand Ambassadors.

Crafty Hugs

Uniko 13th Birthday & February Release WINNERS!

Happy Weekend.

It's finally time to announce all the winners of the Uniko 13th Birthday Celebrations and February Release. 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to join in on the fun and leave wonderful comments around the Uniko and Uniko Brand Ambassador blogs and social media.

There are quite a few to get through, so let's get started.

First up we have the winner of the 13th Birthday Linky Party. The overall winner chosen by Brand Ambassador vote to receive a £25 eGift code to spend in store is...

Kath 

We also decided to vote to select two runners up to win a £10 eGift code to spend in store and the lucky winners are...

Steph W

Greta

Again, thank you to all that entered their beautiful cards using Uniko products. If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the Uniko VIP group. In the group there is a monthly challenge with a chance to win a £10 eGift code. The celebration challenge continues in there until midnight 10th March 2025 and a new challenge starts on 11th March 2025.

Next up is the lucky winner to win stamps for a year, chosen randomly using random.org the lucky number selected was 27 and the winner is...

Tracey A 

Next up is the lucky winner to win stencils for a year, chosen randomly using random.org the lucky number selected was 8 and the winner is...

Lynne K 

The next lucky winner is from the Valentine's Day Giveaway I did HERE on the Uniko website blog, to win a love themed prize.

BECCA YAHRLING

Feb 24, 2025

I simply L*O*V*E those clouds and the colors on card #1. And the balloon is darling. Gorgeous cards! What I love about paper crafting is the simple joy it gives me every day … even if I’m just looking at another crafter’s projects for inspiration.

The next lucky winners are people who I have selected from across the blogs & social media throughout the whole month, who have consistently left lovely comments. 

Glennis F

Denise B

Lesley G

Meghan K

Kailash

Lastly for today is the lucky comment winner from the Release Day Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & Giveaway. Random.org chose lucky number 43...

And the winning comment is....

Melissa Leftrick28 February 2025 at 20:09

Such fun cards!

Congratulations to ALL the winners. 

Please contact me a bev@uniko.co.uk before Saturday 29th March 2025 to claim your prize.

Crafty Hugs

March Meet The Maker - Behind The Scenes

Happy FriYAY! 

Today with March Meet The Maker, it is all about Behind The Scenes. This reminded me of a feature I did for Simply Cards & Papercrafts Magazine, which I didn't think was that long ago until I actually found it! 

It might have been almost 7 years ago, as The Beans were still at nursery and they are now almost at the end of primary school. And the studio has changed a little to accommodate my husband again after The Beans decided they wanted separate bedrooms. 

But I thought it would be fun to share. If you click on the picture it should be big enough for you to read! 

My now, a day in the life at Uniko...

9am - 10:30 ish

At the start of my day is a little bit of admin. Emails, responding to enquiries and sending any such as product restock requests. On Monday's I update the website with a new Card Of The Week. I then look at the website to see what orders have come in overnight and I get to packing those. 

10:30 -12:30 ish 

I get to creating something new to share on the Uniko blog and, or social media for the day. Sometimes I am really organised and I am creating in advance!

When I am organised with new makes to share, I am able to use this time to get designing new clear stamp sets and stencil designs.

12:30 - 13:30 ish

I take a break, have lunch and do a couple of jobs around the house. It's usually gathering washing, pots and tidying up after The Beans! 

 

13:30 -15:30 ish

This is when I finish up anything I was doing pre lunch and then I check to see if anymore orders have come in before I walk out to the Post Office (rain or shine) to drop them off. 

I enjoy my walk out to the Post Office, its nice to get some fresh air and it's also the time I use to clear my head and I often come up with new card ideas and sometimes new product ideas! 

15:30 - 16:30 ish

This last hour often is catching up on social media, posting and commenting. The Beans are back from school at this time, so depending on how much I am demand, depends on what I can get done before I am fully present with family and home life.

And of course, my day never runs as smoothly or as organised as this! 

It wouldn't be a normal day if I didn't share a card, this is what I made for today.

Sorry, not sorry! 

It's more Stencil - Layering Bright Butterflies. I just can't resist inking them up at the moment and they've added cheer to a dull day here in the NE of the UK. 

I used Concord & 9th inks today in Pink Lemonade & Carnation, Buttercup & Sunflower, Grapefruit & Sorbet, Sprout & Parsley and Oceanside & Peacock. My sentiment choice today is one from Spring Botanicals Primrose.

That's all I have today. I'd love to know what you would like to see more of from Uniko behind the scenes and or creativity from me.

I'll be back tomorrow with more to share and winners from last months celebrations.

Crafty Hugs

March Meet The Maker - My Style

Hello & Happy Wednesday.

The theme today with March Meet The Maker is all about style. So I thought a YouTube video would help me show my style and make it a little more interesting. 

You can watch my video HERE. 

As you will see on the video I feel that the Originally Organic and Originally Organic Additions clear stamp sets are the stamps I feel that represent my style or designing. And here are the finished cards I promised I would share from the video.

I started with this swirly organic foliage, pairing it with the Stencil - Mid Century Modern Shapes. I chose this stencil because I feel that the Mid Century Modern Collection is also one of my recognisable styles. Using stencils like this to add colour to then stamp over an image is one of my favourites too.

Next up is how I decided to use the stem & leaves with the flowers I stamped in the video.

I decided to fussy cut the image out once I had coloured with alcohol markers and adhered it to my card using foam adhesive for some dimension and interest. I chose the sentiment from the new Organic Blooms set.

Next is the heart wreath from Originally Organic Additions.

Again I decided to fussy cut the heart wreath out after I had coloured with alcohol markers and added a sentiment from Everyday Spring Sentiments.

A bit of dimension using foam tape to adhere to my card base and I left my card as that. I felt it didn't need anything else.

And I also have a bonus card.

I talked about in my video how you could possibly combine the smaller bloom from the new Organic Blooms with this stem and leaves. So I gave it a go! 

My colouring of the flowers isn't my best! But otherwise I love how it turned out. I fussy cut the blooms adhering the orange/red flower with double sided tape and the yellow using foam adhesive.

What do you think?

Also, would you have chosen these clear stamps to showcase my style? I'd love to know if there was something else you would have said.

Crafty Hugs

March Meet The Maker - Meet Me - Bev Brown AKA Uniko.

Happy Monday 😃

Today is day 1 of March Meet The Maker 2025 and having followed for quite a few years from the side lines, I dipped my toes in once but couldn't keep up! I decided this was the year to commit and join in on the fun. 

Especially as March is looking quieter compared to January and February. Plus, with all the celebrations last month, I gained quite a few new followers. So this is a good opportunity for me to tell you more about Uniko.

Today is Brand Re-Introduction. 

So I've called it, Meet Me.

Hello I’m Bev and I am Uniko 😃

I design all the products and lovingly package and check them for any imperfections. Providing you, my lovely customers with top quality, unique and innovative products is my aim. I am pleased to say it is very rare a faulty stamp passes my eagle eyes! 

And I do a happy dance every time I’m packing a wonderful order and my heart bursts with joy when a customer tags me @unikoltd when they share a card or creation using Uniko products ♥️

If you message, phone or send an email to Uniko, it’s me on the other end of the line. I am always happy to help and do my best to answer as quickly as possible. If it’s technical related and I don’t know the answer, I have to contact my tech support. AKA as husband 😂 He works full time & so I often have to wait until he’s not busy for his help! Other than him, it’s just me here. 

However, I am honoured to have a wonderful team of Brand Ambassadors…

Anita @craftyneet 

Izzy @izzyscrap 

Steph @morticraft 

Julie @sportyjules56 

Vinita @craft_craver 

These beauties help me on the blog and across social with amazing creative inspiration 🥰

AND I can’t forget to mention Claire @earlybirdstamps who has been by my side at all the craft shows I take Uniko too since the very first one ♥️

I know not everyone is on social media to be able to tag/share their makes with me. So why not snap a photo and email me instead. The beauty above is by Ruth @ruthgetscrafty on Instagram.

Before I get to todays card, how about 5 things about me you might not know… 

1. I love colour and I have an ink pad addiction 😂
2. My favourite number is 3 
3. I love cats 🐈‍⬛ 🐈 Jelly (almost 4) and Cali (almost 1) are my fur babies. 
4. Chocolate is my weakness, especially Salted Caramel M&Ms and Brownie M&Ms 😋
5. When I’m not crafting or on mum duties to my twin boys you might find me reading a good book. I like mystery, crime, thriller and psychological thrillers 📚

It wouldn't be a Uniko post without some inspiration, so here's what I made today. 

I've had this stencilled Layering Bright Butterfly fluttering around my desk since I inked it some time last week! So it was calling to be adhered to a card. 

With little time to create before the light of the day faded I put together this really CAS card. I think it took me longer to find the Floral Vines clear stamp set to be able to stamp the sentiment I wanted, than it did to put the card together! 

Thank you again for all the wonderful release day orders on Friday and over the weekend. You are all awesome.

Welcome to Uniko if you are new around here 😃 

Crafty Hugs

Thank You 🥰 & Last Few Hours!

Hello March & Happy Sunday Evening! 

I wanted to pop by and say Thank you for celebrating with Uniko. 

I am simply blown away by the overwhelming response to the Uniko 13th Birthday February Release this weekend 🥰 Clearly I didn't anticipate so many wonderful orders, that not only did the FREE Stencil - Geometric Happy Birthday get snapped up on Friday, there are a number of sellouts. 

Don't panic, I will be getting a restock of the Free Stencil along with the Stencil - Layering Organic Blooms this week, along with some requested restocks, and I should have them by Friday 7th March. 

*Please Note* Any order placed after 11pm Friday 28th Feb there will be a slight delay in shipping your order, as I don't want you to miss out on the free gift. My sincere apologies for the inconvenience and my oversight on not ordering enough 🥴

Clear stamp set restocks will take a little longer, I will update as soon as I have an expected date. Thank you for those who have signed up for the Notify Me When Back In Stock, I will be ordering items with most requests along with the new release sellouts. 

There is still time to hop and comment along our traditional Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & Giveaway, so be sure to join in HERE.

AND There Is Still Time To...

Take advantage of FREE Shipping on all orders of £40 or more. Normally this is £60 for UK and £70 for International. This expires at midnight GMT tonight. 

How about a little inspiration I didn't get round to adding to my post on Friday and to end my post a little sweeter. I know that both of this have flown off the shelves and are currently sold out, but I didn't have anything else finished to photograph earlier.

First up is the Layering Organic Blooms panel I stencilled during my YT video HERE. I know I wasn't totally happy with the colour combination, but it has grown on me a little since. 

I decided to trim the panel down to 10 x 13.5 cm and adhered it to a 10.5 x 14cm card base. I added a simple 'Thank You' from Everyday Sentiments and a few C9 Sorbet Enamel Dots.

Next up is the images I stamped from Organic Blooms and coloured using the stencils, which I also demoed during my video. 

For this card I fussy cut the images out, adhering the stems direct to my card panel and the blooms with foam adhesive. I used the same sentiment and a trio of Buttercup Enamel Dots to finish.

Thank you again for all your lovely orders and support, I truly appreciate each and every one of you ♥️

Crafty Hugs