Uniko Challenge

 Morning all, time for a new challenge at Uniko. 

Here's my take on this latest challenge.

Who doesn't like a bit of sparkle at Christmas?

To start this design, I took an A6 panel of light blue card and created the halo effect by ink blending with a selection of DIs. I used Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers, working in from the edge to the middle and back out again. Once dry I added some gold embossing paste through the Let it Snow stencil around the edges of the inked panel. 

The BELIEVE was cut from sparkly, gold, glitter paper using alphabet dies and glued flat to the center of the inking. The rest of the sentiment from Most Wonderful was stamped and embossed in gold EP.

I thought it needed a little bit more sparkle and dark contrast, so stamped some snowflakes from Snowflake Serenade  in Altenew's Teal Cave ink and heat embossed some with sparkly gold EP.

To complete, I trimmed the panel down to create a border and added it to an A6, white, side fold base card.

Here's another card I made using the same halo effect but this time I used shades of red DI, Festive Berries, Barn Door and Aged Mahogany on red card.

 Not as many snowflakes over the inking this time and one large holographic one for added sparkle. Recognise it? It's the large snowflake die with the points cut away! I thought it was a little too large for the effect I wanted. The small, stamped, snowflakes from Stunning Snowflakes were stamped with the Aged Mahogany, 1st and 2nd generation stamping.

My sentiment banner is from the Pure Florals - Poinsettia set, gold heat embossing on black, which I glued flat onto the gold snowflake and the popped the whole snowflake up on pads over the background.

For more seasonal inspiration check out the rest of the team here, then why not get your sparkle on and join in. If you aren't into sparkle then we'd still like to see your festive makes.

I'd like to join in over at:-

I chose red and gold

                                                          Christmas

Watercoloured Poinsettia

 Morning, its beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my craft room, what with all these Christmas themed cards, but needs must, the stash is not as full as it usually is at this time of year.

So using a few challenges I came up with this card.

I used Penny Blacks Scarlet Majesty for this off the edge, CAS, no line watercolour design.

To start I inked the image with a pale ochre ink and stamped onto Mixed Media paper. The colour and detail was then added with a paintbrush. I used DI for the main blocks of colour and added detail with some Zig markers. I cut the original stamped panel using a rectangle die and then added the gold embossed sentiment from Uniko. I found some satin gold paper in my stash that matched the embossing so used it to create a very thin frame before adding it to an off white side fold base card. I'm trying very hard to use all the odds and ends I've accrued over the years rather than have to buy in new, especially as shopping trips are somewhat curtailed at the moment. There's still a lot to use up so I must try harder!!!

Joining in over at:-

   

Anything Goes or Tic Tac Toe, Die Cut (panel), Embossing(heat) Clean and Simple

Kraft die cut thanks

Morning all. How's lockdown #2 going down with you? Must admit nothing much has changed here chez Beech other than my hair appointment next week is a no go! Still, its not the end of the world and I'm sure Kerry will ring me to rebook when she's able. The old fringe may need a trim between now and then though!

As its Tuesday it means a new challenge for you at Cardz4Guyz . This time our theme is:-

THANKS/THANKSGIVING

Here is my masculine take on the theme.

This incorporates both themes with a card using die cut letters and a stamped pumpkin.

I like the idea of replacing letters with images, I did a Christmas one where I replaced the O in HO with a Christmas pudding!

Once I'd got the idea in my head, decided to use a kraft and orange colourway to keep it masculine, popping up the die cut letters with fun foam ones. If you glue them together and leave a little bit of the foam showing it adds detail without it being over fussy. Its another favourite technique I've used before.

My pumpkin is from a STAMPlorations set, Thankful and Blessed, which I stamped, coloured with Copics and then fussy cut. I decided to add a leaf after I'd cut it out as I thought the pumpkin was a little bare!

Around the edges of my kraft base card, I stamped an old Magnolia stitched border in Memento Desert Sand, I didn't want it to stand out too much and distract from the main sentiment but it dried a lot lighter than I wanted but decided I would have to leave it as it would not be practical to change it. 

That's about it really for the moment but please check out the rest of the DT for more masculine thanks inspiration.

Joining in over at:-

CAS on Friday - Use a big sentiment

Color Hues - #6

Afternoon folks. I hope I find you well in these difficult times. 

Here in the UK we are in our second week of lockdown take two and crafting is keeping me sane and occupied. I must admit to retreating to the craft room with just my inks and pens for company, shutting the outside world out when I'm stressed, either that or read a good book. I would say gardening too, but at the moment its not really the weather for it, other than a bit of tidying in the herbaceous borders when the ground isn't too wet.

Anyway, as it says at the top of the post, its time for a new challenge at Color Hues. Here is my card based on the new colours.

As the challenge over at CAS Christmas is all about non traditional colours, I decided to make a Christmas card with an old Woodware bubble wreath stamp.

On a panel of white card, I stamped the outline wreath in brown and then filled in the openings with buttons, crystals and pearls from my stash, adding some brown areas with my Copics for contrast. To some I added Glossy Accents, some I left flat, again for contrast. I was quite pleased with the end result, not much of the original stamp is visible!

To complete I added a sentiment banner and a ribbon bow and hanger. The trimmed down panel was then added to a base card edged with the same dark Copic marker, it beats finding some matching card!

Please check out the rest of the DT for some fab inspiration, then why not join us?

I'd like to join in over at:-

Christmas Flowers or Wreaths or Garland

STAMPlorations, a reminder

 Its reminder time at STAMPlorations, have you joined in yet? If not there's plenty of time left and here is a little more inspiration to get you going.

The prompt word at CASology at the moment is STAG, so I headed over to the stag's head die from 2 deer dies for my card inspiration.

The image in the prompt photo reminded me of Zentangle images, so after cutting out my stag head using one of the deer dies, I went ahead and added some doodles freehand with a black fine liner. I kept the panel from which I had cut the deer and reinserted the finished die cut and added the sentiment from Christmas Elf, adding the completed panel to an A6 white note card.

Such a simple card to make and very striking.

Check out the STAMPlorations blog for more inspiration and you'll also find all the Ts and Cs there too.

Joining in over at:-

   

25 Days of Christmas Tags

Hi and welcome to a post that is all about Tracey's 25 Days of Christmas Tags extravaganza. Today Uniko are the featured company, so the BA's are joining in with some ideas for you.

Here's my take using some of Uniko's 'snowy' sets!

I don't do shabby chic really but I do love and admire those made by others and after seeing a card on Pinterest, I was inspired to turn the idea into a tag, but in my own way!

I die cut a couple of circles from white card, a stitched one and a slightly larger plain one. I wanted the texture of the stitching and the only other die I had that was slightly larger in diameter was a plain one! Basically just use what you have!

Using the smaller circle, I masked off sections and secured it in my MISTI, before adding the stamping and inking. I went with a brown and blue colour palette, using shades of brown from Altenew's Warm Gray set and the blue was Tumbled Glass DI. 

The stamped snowflakes are from Uniko's Stunning Snowflakes and Snowflake Serenade sets. The large die cut one is also Uniko, the large Sparkling Snowflake die, which I cut down to fit the tag, adding a punched snowflake from the stash on top. I couldn't find any sparkly card the right colour, so added Versamark all over the die cut and added some WOW white sparkle puffy EP., the smaller snowflake was edged in Tumbled Glass DI.

The middle panel was stamped using the Christmas Background Builders set and the bottom right with two stamps from the Background Builders Classic set, plus a couple of punched snowflakes edged in DI.

To finish, I added clear Nuovo drops in Grey Mist in between sections and in groups of 3 over the right hand panels, silver stickles to the brown snowflake centers and pearls to the die cut ones.

Once dry, I sandwiched the silver die cut hanger between the two circles and added a bow of blue, brown and jute string.

There's lots more Uniko tag inspiration over on the Uniko blog as well as LOTS of tag inspiration over on Tracey's blog.

A new challenge at Cardz4Guyz

 Morning all, its come around to Tuesday again so its time for a new challenge at Cardz4Guyz.

This time we challenge you to make a card for:-

AN ADULT MALE BIRTHDAY

Well I just happened to have had a significant birthday to make for, for my OH and here is the card I made for him.

I used one of my go to layouts, originally from Sketch Saturday, using some NitWit papers and an LOTV image that reminds me of the OH and our little dog Max. He's small in stature but big on character, the dog not the other half!!

I had been tempted to make a big thing out of the fact that the OH was turning 65 and make that the focus of the design but in the end I went with this more subtle layout.

To start I stamped and coloured the little chap and his companion with Copic markers, then fussy cut him out. I cut a panel of white card and die cut a circular aperture from it and then used a hound's-tooth EF to create some texture on it. From some matching card I die cut the frame using two circle dies and added it to the embossed panel. The small circle that I cut from the panel, I inked using a cloud stencil and some Salty Ocean DI to create a background.

To put it all together, I cut a piece of scrap paper the same size as the embossed panel and laid the embossed panel over it before carefully gluing the now inked circle back flat into the aperture. My fussy cut gent was attached to the panel then added with foam pads. 

On a 5 x 7 white base card, I added strips of DP before adding the completed front panel. A sentiment strip stamped in dark brown and brown die cut numerals was added to complete.

For more masculine inspiration please check out the rest of the team here, then why not join in?

I'd like to join in over at:-

Color Hues #5 - Uniko's Pure Florals - Peony

First of the month, so I'm back again with another card, this time for the latest challenge over at Color Hues.

Using these colours.

 

I used this lovely large bloom from Uniko's Pure Florals - Peony.

Keeping it simple, I just embossed it onto kraft with Versamark and white EP, along with a birthday sentiment. On a panel of MM paper, I repeated the process and coloured the bloom with Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed DI in a watercolour technique. Shadows were added with a Zig watercolour brush pen Brick Beige, which is as near as I could get to the colour of the kraft card.

After fussy cutting, I glued it over the kraft outline and then die cut the whole panel with an MFT scalloped stitched frame die, adding it to a white note card with foam pads.

For more yellow and kraft inspiration check out the rest of the DT here, we'd love to see your take on the colours in our gallery.

Joining in over at:-

The white on the wood reminded me of the white embossing on the kraft.

STAMPlorations Theme and Photo Challenge

Good morning folks. A new month means a new challenge over at STAMPlorations Theme and Photo Prompt.

Here's my inspiration card for you, can you guess our theme?

I had one idea in my head to start with but as I was making it, it morphed into this!

I started by stamping Blossom Spray #3 and the sentiment from Balloons and Banners using my MISTI in Versamark on black and heat embossed with white EP, and again in black on white card. I was going to cut out the flowers from the second white panel but in the end decided to chop up each panel and make this! Of course that means that there are four more pieces to make another card with!

I reassembled the card onto some scratch paper and then trimmed it all down to leave a small border when I attached it with foam pads to a black A6 note card.

A simple design but a very dramatic look. So where will your design take you, we'd love to see your interpretation.

Check out the rest of the team here for more inspiration and also to see all the Ts and Cs.