Thursday 27 February 2020

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration

Morning all.
As you may know, we're celebrating Uniko's 8th Birthday.  We've had the Birthday Linky Party .....

...and there's the amazing Birthday Giveaway where one lucky winner will receive a fantastic prize.

Today I have a couple of birthday cards over at Uniko to share, one feminine and one more unisex.

Here's my first card using the recently released Hello Lovely and a sentiment made up from elements from both Birthday Sentiments and Festive Sentiments stamp sets. Yes I said Festive, Happy is not just for Christmas!



My second card is interactive and I was inspired to make it after watching this video on You Tube.


For all the instructions on how I made them pop over to the Uniko blog. 
I'm off later this morning for a little crafty fun with a friend I made at the Altenew class I attended in November. Its our second get together after the first had to be postponed from early December to last month due to the 'flu. 
Looking forward to some crafty chat with a fellow Julie!

Tuesday 25 February 2020

Ahoy There Mate!

Morning all.
It's time for a brand new challenge at Cardz4Guyz.
This time we would like to see your masculine cards using:-

INK and/or PAINT

For my inspiration I used two different inks in two different ways.


The background was made by using ink smooshed onto a panel of mixed media paper and left to dry. 
All I did was add DI in Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon and Peacock Feathers to a craft mat,  then spritzed with water and dunked the panel in the middle!
Whilst waiting for it to dry, I stamped and coloured with Copic alcohol ink markers the island and pirate.
The porthole was created using an Avery Elle double pierced circle die set die and some pearls. Yes I did say pearls, I added some Versamark to some pearls and then sprinkled on some charcoal EP and heated up. The end result is sort of grungy aged effect.
Once the panel was dry, I trimmed it to size and added to a base card and added the elements, job done.

So which direction will you go in? The choice is yours, so long as it's for a bloke then it's fine!
Check out the rest of the DT here and why not join in?

I'm joining in over at:-


I went with the tropical island vibe and the gorgeous colour of the sea!


The 'nuts' on the porthole were embossed with charcoal EP

Sunday 23 February 2020

Uniko's 8th Birthday & February Release

Good morning and welcome to the February & 8th Birthday product reveal, blog hop & giveaway! Today we're excited to share the seven new clear stamp sets to the Uniko line up plus one new coordinating Designer Die collection.

Well here's my first card using the BB Decoratif and the sentiment from Anniversaire Arts Decoratif.


This is made from the larger panel I used in my first card here.
The alcohol ink on Yupo panel was made by adding dark grey and blue and moving it around with a puffer and felt pad. When dry, I added lots of baby powder to the surface to ensure there were no sticky bits then stamped the BB Decoratif with Versamark and heat embossed with gold EP. A quick buff with a microfibre cloth when the embossing was dry got rid of the baby powder!
The panel was trimmed down close to the edge and mounted on a panel of white card to create a narrow trim. I then decided to add a matching gold border by adding the same gold EP to a pre trimmed panel of white card edged with Versamark. 
The sentiment, from Anniversaire Arts Decoratif, was added with Versamark to a black base card and the same gold EP used to heat emboss. The finished panel was popped up on pads above the sentiment.

My second card uses both the Kindness Blooms stamps and the matching dies.


I started by stamping the flowers and leaves with Versamark on a panel of white card and then heat embossed using white EP. 
When cool, I inked up the panel with a mixture of Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade and Fossilized Amber DOx, blending as I went, then buffed up with my microfibre cloth to remove the excess.
My black sentiment banner was stamped with one of the Anniversaire Arts Decoratif set and embossed with white EP. A few sequins complete.

My third card uses the gorgeous Spring Botanicals-Tulip and a strip from the Background Builders Arts Decoratif set.


I stamped and watercoloured the tulips before fussy cutting them and putting to one side.
On a panel of white card, I die cut the aperture with an MFT die, then used it to trace onto the base card to show where I needed to stamp the background. 


You can see the embossed pattern in close up above. I repeat stamped the strip stamp and embossed with Silver Pearl EP. The die cut panel was then popped up on pads and the tulips added. The sentiment from the same set was stamped on black with white EP.

Finally, this card uses the Happy Days set and Background Blocks Pinstripe II.


I used the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and the colours from Color Throwdown. 
To start, I die cut a stitched circle from a panel of linen effect card stock and cut three strips of scrap card, one stamped with the pinstripe block in grey and the others I inked with Picked Raspberry and Wilted Violet. The foliage stamp was stamped with Altenew Parrot ink before fussy cutting it.
I flipped the center die cut and placed it back into the aperture before placing the coloured strips and the fussy cut sprig. The sentiment from Happy Days was stamped in black and white EP, a few tiny sequins were added to complete.

So here is the full set of stamps from the release.

*PLEASE NOTE:- To protect Bev's designs and discourage the blatant theft of them, there is a watermark over the top of the product image. This makes the image appear that the lines are not solid. We apologize for the inconvenience and ensure you that this is not part of the design or physical stamps you will receive. To see what the stamp/s look like when stamped, please have a look at the samples in the product gallery. Thank you for your understanding*

The products will be available to purchase at 9pm GMT on the Uniko Website. 

Alphabet Outlined £16
Copyright Uniko Ltd 2020
www.uniko.co.uk

Anniversaire Arts Décoratifs £5
Copyright Uniko Ltd 2020
www.uniko.co.uk
Background Blocks Arts Décoratifs £5
Copyright Uniko Ltd 2020
www.uniko.co.uk
Background Builders Arts Décoratifs £10
Copyright Uniko Ltd 2020
www.uniko.co.uk
Background Blocks Pinstripe II £5
Copyright Uniko Ltd 2020
www.uniko.co.uk

Happy Days £5
Copyright Uniko Ltd 2020
Spring Botanicals Tulip £10
Copyright Uniko Ltd 2020



Designer Dies Kindness Blooms £16.50
Copyright Uniko Ltd 2020
So that's it. You have seen all the new stamps and die sets but be sure to comment on all the Brand Ambassador blogs for your chance to win the ENTIRE Release! You have until Midnight GMT Saturday 29th February 2020 to leave a comment. The winner will be announced Sunday 8th March 2020 along with all the other 8th Birthday Celebration Winners ;)

Jane 
Julie - That's me
Linda
Sarah P
Wiebke 


Joining in over at:-




Saturday 22 February 2020

Introducing Happy Days and Background Block Pinstripe II

Well it's the final day of introducing the Birthday release at Uniko.
What do you think of it so far? Lots of Art Deco inspired stamp sets but also some floral ones as well.
Today we are looking at two new stamps, Happy Days, a silhouette foliage set and another background block, Pinstripe II.

Here is my card using both stamp sets using both together in a kissing technique.


I don't know what made me try this technique but I'm certainly glad that I did, as I think it adds interest to the foliage spray. 
I used my MISTI for this technique but you don't need to but it certainly makes things a lot easier!
.
 The spray was stamped first with the solid colour then I inked up the Pinstripe Background Block on an Acrylic block in a slightly darker colour and tapped onto the spray whilst it was still in the MISTI. As the card panel was still in the same place as was the leaf spray, the lines only stamped onto the original stamped image. You only have one go at this technique as there is no chance of a second inking. I didn't get 100% coverage but the overal effect works I think.
I decided on a rainbow of colours as I couldn't decide on which colours to use, moving the spray each time and re positioning it before stamping each time.
The space left after all this cried out for a large bold sentiment, so I used the largest one from Birthday Wishes stamped in black.

For more release inspiration check out the rest of the team below.
Jane 
Julie - That's me
Linda
Wiebke 


Joining in over at:-

Take It, Make It Challenge   GRAB OUR BANNER
                                                           AG

Friday 21 February 2020

Introducing Spring Botanicals Tulips

Morning all.
We are rattling through the introductions of the new release from Uniko.
Today we introduce another member of the Spring Botanicals, Tulip.
This is a lovely bold image, perfect for colouring in what ever medium you prefer. I chose to use a no line watercolour technique for my card.


I stamped the large flowers with Altenew Limestone ink onto mixed media paper and then used a mixture of Seedless Preserve and Dusky Concord DI and Altenew's Evergreen, Forest Glade and Frayed Leaf to watercolour the flowers and leaves. I had a snippet of NitWits paper that I wanted to use so that really dictated the colour choice for the blooms.
On an A6 base card, I added the DP down one side then my trimmed down watercoloured panel. 
I made my sentiment from a few stamp sets, one black straight onto the w/c panel the other white heat embossed on black then up on pads. A few sequins complete.

For more BA inspiration check out the links below.

Jane 
Julie - That's me
Linda
Sarah P

Joining in over at:-




Thursday 20 February 2020

Introducing Designer Dies - Kindness Blooms

Good morning folks.
It's day 3 of the new release from Uniko. and today we introduce another set of dies to go with a previously released set. This time Bev has chosen Kindness Blooms to be the next die set release.
In my card I've used the dies to create my own letterpress elements, just to show you how you can get more from your dies.


I took the large looped outline from the set and cut 3 from card and one from vellum. I did the same for the leaf die but cut another two sets. Each element was then glued together, 3 card then one vellum to create your type-press block. The vellum needs to be the top layer as this is how you add the ink! 
I prepared my BigShot for embossing, adding my tan mat over my base cutting plate. After deciding on the layout I carefully added the stacked die cuts to a panel of white card which I had previously laid onto the tan mat and placed the top plate over, trying very hard not to disturb the die cuts.
After running the sandwich through, I again moved carefully to remove the letterpress elements from the machine to reveal the design.
To complete I stamped the sentiment in matching ink and added some sequins and a large gem to the bloom center. I decided to trim the panel down a little and added it to a matching pink base card.

For more inspiration using these new dies, check out the rest of the team below.

Bev
Carol 
Hannelie 
Jane 
Julie - That's me
Linda
Sarah P
Wiebke 

I'm joining in over at:-

Grab our logo
Dies and/or Punches
I used die cuts to make my letterpress images

      

Wednesday 19 February 2020

Introducing Anniversaire Arts Decoratif and Background Builders Arts Decoratifs

Hi, and welcome back to the second day of the February Uniko release.
Today as the blog title suggests, we are introducing another Background Builder and a sentiment stamp set with an Art Deco feel.
My first card just uses the largest sentiment as the focus with a frame made with one of the small patterned stamps included with the sentiments.


I kept with the Art Deco feel and made a background to echo the small stamp in black, gold and off white card. 
The sentiment was stamped and heat embossed with sparkly black EP before adding the gold embossed pattern top and bottom on a die cut circle. It's such a fab sentiment that I didn't think it needed much else!

My second card uses one of the strips from the Background Builders set and the Outlined Alphabet set, just gold on black this time.


The strip was stamped repeatedly onto a panel of black card before the sentiment from Pure Florals Cosmos was added and the fussy cut letters embossed with the same gold EP were added. The finished panel was simply added to a black base card with pads.

So what do you think of the release so far?
For more release inspiration, check out Bev and the rest of the team below.
Jane 
Julie - That's me
Linda

Joining in over at:-


Tuesday 18 February 2020

Introducing Alphabet Outlined and Background Blocks Arts Decoratifs

Good morning.
It's day 1 of the February release at Uniko.
My first card uses the Alphabet Outlined set. Big and bold outlined letters and numerals. Here I've gone with the numerals to make a masculine card, but change the colour way and it could be made feminine or even by changing the sentiment you could turn it into an anniversary card.


The outlined numerals were stamped in grey on a white base card before the 40 was coloured with Copics and the sentiment from Wonderful Day stamped in black.

My second card just uses a snippet of a larger panel made by adding dark grey, turquoise, and blue alcohol inks to a panel of Yupo paper and smooshed around with an air puffer and a blender. When dry, the panel was stamped with the BB Arts Decoratif a couple of times in Versamark and heat embossed with gold EP.


The main part of the panel will come up later but this snippet was added to the base card and then to match the embossing on the panel, I inked the edge of two strips of white card with Versamark then heat embossed with gold EP. On the smaller white panel, the sentiment was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with sparkly black EP.
Assembling the card, the gold strips were attached to each white panel and then added to the base card. I think this would work well as a card for a man, as the colours are quite dark and masculine.

For more fab inspiration using these two new stamp sets, check out the rest of the BAs and Bev.

Bev
Carol 
Hannelie
Jane 
Julie - That's me
Linda
Sarah P


I'm joining in over at:-


Monday 17 February 2020

February Release Sneak Peeks from Uniko

It is finally time to share the 'official' sneak peeks for the 8th Birthday February Release at Uniko! With so much excitement already, it has been hard to keep these till now & you might have already spotted lots of peeks at the new products being released around social media! 

Anyway, this month we have 7 new clear stamp sets and 1 designer die collection to match a previously released clear stamp set.  All the new products will be available to purchase on Sunday 23rd February 9pm GMT. 

Okay, let's have a look at the peeks...





With Bev's current obsession with Outlined Sentiments, she thought it was time to expand the collection and the Uniko clear stamp line up was also in need of a new Alphabet set, just wait 'till you see this set in action! 




This next peek is of a new Background Block. This one is such a fun design and starts the collection of Art Deco styled stamps for this release.




The 1920's and Art Deco design style has always captured Bev, so with us entering 2020, she thought it quite apt to bring her love of the style into a collection of stamps. This set is filled with fun birthday and celebration sentiments in a wonderful Art Deco style font.




It has been a while since Bev last released a Background Builders clear stamp set, but this new addition featuring 5 Art Deco designs is sure to be a wonderful addition to the series and also compliments the two peeks above beautifully.




As each day passes there are more and more little signs that Spring is hopefully not far away. With that in mind Bev couldn't resist adding another flower to the Spring Botanical collection. This time a beautiful tulip. 




You might be thinking with this next peek that you've seen it before, Pinstripes. You have, but the orientation of the stripes on the stamp has changed! Another fun Background Block and staple design to add to your collection! 




Lastly for the stamps 
another silhouette design. The previously released Just Because clear stamp set remains a favourite and the floral/foliage silhouette is a stamp with beautiful possibilities. By adding this new foliage silhouette to the mix, it is sure to add even more. 




Lastly for this release we have one Designer Die collection. This time to coordinate with another favourite, Kindness Blooms. 
That is all the sneak peeks for this release, which means tomorrow the real fun starts! The Brand Ambassadors and Bev will be back to start the product introductions with lots of inspiration. 

We'd love to know what you are most excited to see in this line up of products and what your favourite is! 




Win Stamps For A Year! DON'T FORGET to enter the HUGE prize giveaway on THIS post too! 

Thank you so much for stopping by today & I do hope you will come back & see what these sneak peeks can do!