Introducing Modern Blooms Layering Stencil

Morning all, it's day 3 of our introductions of Uniko's June release. Today we have a fab layering stencil for all you MCM followers, Modern Blooms.

Love the styalised blooms on this design of Bev's which I've teamed with a simple bold sentiment, Christmas and Birthday Sentiments.

Each layer allows you to add detail in a different colour, I've used a mix of DIs in Seedless Preserve, Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed and Twisted Citron for the main elements. Whilst the stencil was in place I added some darker shades to the flowers and leaves. The Blue dots were Salty Ocean and the flower hilights Vintage Photo.

To make the panel have a softer feel, I added a soft inking of a matching colour over the flowers and leaves. The happy birthday was stamped in black and outlined freehand with a white gel pen for some added dimension and the completed panel added to my white A6 base card on foam pads.

What do you think? Bev and the rest of the girls have come up with some fab ideas, why not check them out.

Bev

Denise

Izzy

Julie -that's me

Natalie

Vinita

I'll be back tomorrow with another introduction, see you then.

 

Introducing Ink n Flip Stencil Triangulate

Good morning. As promised I'm back with day two of intros for Uniko's June release. Today we are focusing on another Ink n Flip stencil called Triangulate. As you can see from this example it's all about triangles!

I enjoyed playing with this stencil to see what I could create and the card is a result of rotating the stencil instead of flipping it! Four rotations and four colours, I don't know what made me choose these, I must have needed cheering up!

The inked panel was trimmed down to create square then a simple Doodle Flower sentiment added to a Greetery white die cut circle and layered onto a black and the white stacking circles. A perfect simple card for a bloke I think.

With the other half of my panel I made this simple card using one of my leftover die cut panels and a simple die cut sentiment.

That's just a couple of ideas but I'm sure the rest of the team have some brilliant ideas to inspire you, why not check them out?

Bev

Denise

Izzy

Julie -that's me

Natalie

Vinita

See you back here tomorrow for another intro!

Introducing Background Blocks Scramble

It's the first day of tntroductions for Uniko's June release. Today it's the turn of a Background Blocks stamp in the Scramble Series, Thank You. Here's one I idea I came up with.

On a panel of mixed media paper, I stamped and heat embossed the image with white EP. Then I added some Brusho crystals, Leaf Green, and spritzed with water to make the majic happen. I love how the colour just bursts when the water hits it. Using a dry brush, I removed the excess ink from inside each letter, then mopped again with a paper towel. When the panel was completely dry, I coloured each element with a watercolour marker brush pen, again in shades of yellow and green. My finished panel was then trimmed and added to a panel of coordinating green card before adding to an A6 note card.

That's just one idea but I'm sure the rest of the team have some brilliant ideas to inspire you, why not check them out?

Bev

Denise

Izzy

Julie -that's me

Natalie

Vinita

See you back same time tomorrow for another introduction.

Uniko June Release Sneak Peeks

Morning all, hope you had a good weekend.

This week Bev is introducing a new stamp and a trio of fabuluos and versatile stencils, here's a little bit of a sneak peek for you.

First up is this addition to the Background Block stable.

Regulars will perhaps recognise this style of stamp from a couple of other releases. The others have proved popular as they create a quick and simple cards.

The next is another of Bev's inventive Ink n Flip stencils that has been in use at a couple of the recent Uniko retreats.

Next up is a layering, floral stencil.

And finally another stencil duo that can be used individually or together to create fabulous all over backgrounds.

That's all for the peeks but I'll be back with Bev and the other BAs tomorrow with the first of our introductions.

All these items will be available from 9am BST Saturday 27th June, see you tomorrow!

Color Hues #135

Hi, were over halfway through June and so it's time for a brand new colour challenge from Color Hues. This time we've gone for a bold colour pairing, here's my take.

I've had this Sizzix die set in my stash for a couple of years without ever using it, so I thought it was time to open it and give it some love. There are quite a few different elements in the set to create a scene but they were a little too large for my A6 format, so I stuck with the picture frame, sofa and rug to make a congratulations on your new home card.

The yellow DPs are ancient, Papermania from my very earliest card making days that have been languishing in my yellow paper drawer, this was the perfect opportunity to use them! First I die cut the sofa from kraft and black, then the cushion from yellow DP. These were then layered up, having first removed the black legs to reveal the kraft ones. The New Home pic was made by stamping a Pink and Main sentiment and adding some foliage freehand with my Zig markers, with some gold card for the frame. I almost forgot the rules and went with green but stopped in time and used a neutral khaki colour! 

The scene was added to a die cut white panel with a pencil line drawn across to mark the join between floor and wall. The sofa was added over the rug on pads and the framed sentiment added flat. A Sugar Pea sentiment in matching Memento London Fog completes.

So where will the colours take you, the team and GDs have come up with some great ideas here.

Looking forward to seeing your makes in the gallery!

Veg Patch

Morning all, an other month has flown by, so it's time for a brand new challenge over at Cardz4Guyz.

This time we would like to see your MASCULINE cards designed on the theme of:-

GARDENS and GARDENING

When I saw the theme, I knew straightaway which stamp I would be using, Lili of the Valley's Veg Plot! Here's my design.

After stamping and colouring with Copic markers, I fussy cut the image and then went looking for a layout. In the end I used one of my old cards and a leftover panel from cutting out a postage stamp style panel, waste not want not! My DP in the background is NitWits, my leftover scrap was just a tad too small so I ended up printing off another 8"x 8" panel to use here.

The DP was glued flat to an A6 note card and the frame and image added with foam pads. A scrap of twine and a LOTV tag sentiment complete the card. 

So what will you come up with, we're all waiting to see what you post to the C4G gallery. If you want more inspiration, there's lots more on the theme over on the C4G blog page here.

Joining in over at:-

 

Color Hues #134

Is it June already? Mind you the last week has dragged somewhat, we're not used to such high temps limiting what you can do. At times like this I can hear my Mum say that she was wasting time when it was so hot, I can see her point of view now!

Anyway, I've been playing in the craftroomj and not feeling guilty about it. Here's a card I made for the brand new challenge over at Color Hues.

I found this cute digi from LOTV in my printed off but not coloured box and thought it would fit the new challenge colours, together with a couple of neutrals, grey for the elephant and pale brown for the cushion he sits on. The DP is really ancient and has been sitting in my stash for 20 years plus I think! There's still over half a sheet left, so I must remember to use it! 

After colouring the image with Copics, I fussy cut the image and set it aside. I had a vague idea for a layout and found a die cut panel in my stash which I embossed with an equally ancient Cuttlebug folder. The gingham DP was added to a white note card and then the image was added to the embossed panel before being added to the card base on foam pads. I did think about using a ribbon across the bottom half of the panel but it obscured the text, so I left it off, along with a stamped sentiment which did the same!

So that's it really, but the rest of the team our GD Kim Miller have come up with some fab inspiration, check it out here.

The challenge will be open until June 14th @ 9am EST!

Have fun!

Joining in over at:-

Use stencil and/or EF

I chose EF

Keepy Upies

Hi, it's a lovely warm and sunny Bank Holiday here in the UK, very unusual.

As a result we are staying close to home as being retired, every day seems like a Bank Holiday, we also get to miss the crowds which accompany a warm sunny Bank Holiday!

So here I am with the curtains closed to keep the heat out with a card I'm linking up to a few challenges.

This is another of the fab LOTV digis from my stash coloured in my Son in Law's team colours of Liverpool, hence the choice of DP too. I found the sketch on Pinterest and have used it a couple of times as it allows the image to shine. 

For once I decided not to fussy cut my Copic coloured Striker image, simply layered him onto some red card, adding some DP and zig zag detail to make up for the size of the image panel. On more red card, I mounted some matching NitWits DP, finishing with a LOTV stamped sentiment. The whole panel was then added to an A5 card base.

Joining in over at:-

 

#850 Anything Goes

Happy 17th Birthday ladies

#838 Special Anniversary Anything Goes

Happy 17th anniversary too.

Uniko FB Challenge

Just popping by to remind all Uniko followers that there is still a couple of weeks to join in with the FB VIP Challenge on the theme of ANYTHING GOES and the chance to win £15 to spend in store!

Here's a card I made recently for my daughter's friend's birthday, all details are on the Uniko blog here.

Joining in over at:-

Happy 7th Birthday!

A Cosy Jumper

 Morning all. I can't believe a month has gone since the last Cardz4Guyz challenge went live but it must have as there's a new one!

This month it was my choice and I chose the theme of -

SQUASH IT!

In other words use an embossing folder to do all the hard work!

I love EFs and have a box full of them, though I don't always use them as often as I should. They range from geometrics to florals, those that add texture and even some that create a scene. For this simple card, I've used a cable knit one that was a freebie in a mag I believe. With out much effort you have a very effective sweater.

To begin, I chose some camel coloured card cut a partial circle from the top of an A6 panel, then embossed it, centering the cabled to achieve a balanced look. I remembered just in time to cut the opening as if not you run the risk of squashing all that lovely definition in the embossing! On another piece of the same card, I used two nesting circle dies to cut a piece which I laid over the original opening. A scrap of white linen textured card was then glued behind to suggest a T-shirt. I trimmed the panel to slightly less than A6 before adding to an A6 base card in the same cardstock.  A simple die cut sentiment, Uniko was added to complete. 

I've used this technique a few times to create simple masculine cards, here are links to other projects, here, here and here along similar lines.

So what EF will you incorporate in your designs? We're looking forward to seeing all your MASCULINE makes in our gallery but if you need further inspirationj, please check out the Cardz4Guyz blog.

Color Hues #133

Afternoon all. As we are over halfway through May already, its time for a brand new colour duo from Color Hues. Here's my take.

I was walking around the garden the other day whilst my pooch was on a sniffari and I noticed that the iris I split up 2 years ago were about to burst into full bloom. Last year they seemed to resent their splitting up and didn't make much but this year they have gone mad! Although as of the time of typing this they are still in tight bud, they should soon be in full bloom!

So as I was looking through my stash for inspiration for the latest Color Hues challenge, I landed on Altenew's Build an Iris stamp and set too with my watercolours. Of course the blooms had to be violet but the throat is usually orange or yellow but that's NOT ALLOWED, so I improvised with dots of white toned down with some of the lime green paint I used on the stems and leaves. I'm not sure which iris the designer was looking at for this stamp but mine don't have curly leaves, I suppose it's artistic licence! As usual I painted each petal and leaf in turn as in the peony from last month, keeping away from the last until it was dry to reduce bleeding, adding a little bit of neutral Paynes Grey for the shadow. The papery bud wrappings, are a mix of Burnt Umber and the Violet

After fussy cutting, I mounted the blooms on a panel of embossed white card and then added a die cut stamped sentiment, also Altenew.

So that's me done, but there's lots more inspiration from the rest of the team for your delectation! Looking forward to seeing your makes in our gallery.

Joining in over at:-

Color Hues #132

Afternoon and welcome to a post for the brand new challenge from Color Hues.

It's a new month, so we have a new colour duo for you, here's my take.

As regular readers may know, a friend and old work collegue is a MASSIVE Leeds Rhinos fan and every year I try to incorporate their colours into her birthday card, along with the odd rhino! Well as the latest Color Hues colours match, here is her 2026 card!

I've used the ever faithful MFT Birth-Yay set, stamping and colouring the stacked buddies. I also fished an older happy birthday background stamp out of the stash, also MFT, which I stamped and heat embossed with white EP before inking all over with Blueprint Sketch DI.

To make the card, I stamped and coloured with Copics the buddy stack and then fussy cut it. The embossed and inked panel was cut to fit my base card and a thin sliver of Copic coloured card was glued against the edge to introduce more yellow as it was a little blue heavy! The sentiment was stamped in black and the fussy cut pals were added on foam pads.

That's all from me but please check out our GD and the rest of the team over on the Color Hues blog page.

Joining in over at:-

 

Uniko FB VIP Challenge Reminder

This months Uniko FB VIP Challenge is all about GEOMETRICS. Here is a design I came up with using some of the smaller stamps from lots of different sets and the Postage Die set from Waffle Flower.

I found a ready cut panel of white card in the die packaging, so used that to create my design. The stencil which comes with it was used for ease but I could have easily masked off each section before I added the background inking and stamping.

Each of my rectangles was inked with DI, either Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers or Twisted Citron, then with the masking still in place, the stamp detail was added with the same ink. I used BB Pinstripe, BB Triangulate, Bee Happy, Balloon Bash, BB MOD Circle Builder and Uniko Style stamp sets

Finally all masking was removed and the sentiment stamped. Birthday and Christmas Sentiments and a few small silver die cut dots complete. The panel was matted onto some black card and then on pads onto a 5 x 7ich white base card.

There are lots of fab Uniko geometric themed stamps and stencils to use, if you don't have any, think outside the box. Looking forward to seeing all your different geometric designs in the FB VIP gallery!

Joining in over at:-

Clean and Simple Birthday Fishes

 Morning all. Another month has flown by and it's time for another challenge from Cardz4Guyz.

This month Helen has chosen the theme of:-

CLEAN and SIMPLE

Well I'm a simple girl with simple tastes, so this suits me down to the ground. I also think CAS is the way to go when you're struggling to make a card for thoses pesky males! Here's my take.

I've used a few of challenges to inspire this make, CAS Colours and Sketches, The Paper Players and AYLI.

Using the sketch from CAS Colours and Sketches and the theme from the Paper Players, I used the smallest fish from MFT's Gill Friend to create this design. The fish always remind me of the films Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, especially the smallest ones.

On a piece of scrap card, I inked some Mermaid Lagoon and blended it with some Peacock Feathers DI, spritzing with some water before cutting a trio of circles out with a die. On some Copic friendly card, I stamped 3 of the smallest fish along with some vegetation from the Birthday Fishes set. After colouring with Copics and fussy cutting I added them to my circles which were then added to my white base card. A simple sentiment from the same set stamped in black completes.

What will you make? We're always happy to see your MASCULINE creations in the Cardz4Guyz gallery, where you'll also find more CAS masculine inspiration from the rest of the team!

Joining in over at:-

Simple or Fussy

Simple is the way to make a successful masculine card, in my opinion! Good job I'm not a fussy and fancy girl!

Color Hues #131

Afternoon all.

We are over halfway through April so it's time for a brand new colour pairing from Color Hues. 

This time I've gone with a floral themed card using the colours and Uniko's Pure Florals Peony. What do you think?

To start, I used Altenew's Limestone ink stamped onto Mixed Media paper, to create a no line look, then I smooshed some of their other inks onto an acrylic sheet to use for a watercolour technique. I used Coral Berry, Grapevine and Coral Bliss for the petals and Olive, Moss and Evergreen for the stem and leaves.

Each petal was painted separately, first with plain water then with the paler Coral Bliss and darker Coral Berry, allowing the water to blend the colours. It's best to paint sections that don't touch one another to reduce the risk of colour bleeding until each section has dried. Some of the lightest areas had virtually no colour and the off white paper showed through to suggest hilights. I repeated the technique for the leaves, using first Olive then Moss.

To create an even greater sense of depth, I went back into the bloom, first with a damp brush, I wet the areas that needed to be in shadow before going in with the Grapevine ink. For the green shading I used the Evergreen ink. Once dry, I fussy cut it out and concentrated on my background. 

A Mama Elephant die was used to cut an eyelet panel from white card, then I removed the center with a rectangle die to create a frame. Using the magnets in my Misti, I held the frame and bloom down whilst I placed the greeting from Uniko's Originally Organic. Once happy with the placement, I removed the frame and bloom and stamped it in Memento London Fog. The frame and bloom were then glued to my A6 white base card.

That's all from me but please check out the rest of the team and our GD over on the Color Hues blog for more fab inspiration. As usual you have up until the 29th April to link up your green and coral makes, have fun.

I'm joining in over at:-

In the Garden or AG

Simple or Fussy 

I've never been happy throwing on the fripperies and embellishments, so this is as fancy as I go. I'm a simple girl at heart!!

Color Hues #130

Afternoon. It may be April Fool's Day but here in the UK it's after noon so if you do trick me it's all on you! Any how, it's also the start of a new colour duo from Color Hues.

Here's my take.

Stamping Bella's Edna was another from my to colour box and I thought she would look great in the new colours! For those of you who are interested I used Copics RV02, 04, 06 and RV17 for the fuchsia element and B34, 37 anf 39 for the navy. 

After colouring and fussy cutting her out, I stated on my background. A freebie EF sorted out the wave effect and an OI die, a bargain from a local shop that was closing down, supplied the frame, which I popped up on foam pads. 

My sentiment is from Uniko and the PPP sequins, which started off as clear, were coloured with B39 to match her outfit.

So that's about it from me but please check out the rest of the girls over on the Color Hues blog.

You have until the 14th April to enter BUT please stick to the rules, use only the colours given plus the usual neutrals, please note GREEN is not a neutral, we wouldn't want to disqualify your entry after all your hard work!

Uniko Product Revisit

Morning, there's no March release from Uniko, so Bev and the other Uniko Brand Ambassadors are revisiting the two releases from earlier in the year.

I've chosen the fabulous Bauhaus Blocks Spring Layering Stencil for my focus, here are couple of ideas.

I started by covering an A6 panel of white card with the various elements of the stencils, using Cracked Pistachio, Picked Raspberry and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxides. When I had covered the white  panel, I realised that I had made an error in one of the flowers, so it stood out like a sore thumb, so not wanting to waste the panel I cut it up and made two cards!

This first card uses a part of the panel.

Another error was that my A6 panel wasn't, about 5mm too narrow! I had to make a decision and decided to use it, trimming it down so that it fit an A6 topfold note card, with a white border showing. To emphasise the gap, I added a panel of paper inked on my Gelli plate. I used the Squeezed Lemonade and Cracked Pistachio to give a kind of speckled effect. The Oxide inks blend so well like this, I prefer it to straight inking. The combination of yellow and the soft green gives a lovely spring feel to the card. A stamped and embossed sentiment completes.

Remember that error on my original panel, well here is what I made with that.

The error was front and central, so I just covered it with the sentiment! More of my Gelli plate paper and some Greetery dies complete.

I wonder what the rest of the team have been inspired to create? Why not pop along and check their blogs and Instagram accounts out to find out?

Don't forget to comment as you go for a chance to win some Uniko goodies.

  Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie - that's me

Natalie

Steph

Vinita

 Hope you left some comment love along the way, Bev will randomly select a comment to win the £20 eGift certificate to spend in store.  The winner will be announced on Monday 13th April 2026. 

Happy crafting!

Under the Bonnet

 Good morning and happy St Patrick's Day to those who celebrate it.

We have a new challenge for you from Cardz4Guyz where our theme this month is :-

LIGHT BLUE and BROWN

Here's my take after a bit of head scratching!!

I've known about the challenge for quite sometime and had lots of ideas buzzing in my head but I couldn't quite settle on just one, so this card was made a bit last minute! It nearly didn't get made at all as when I started to colour my LOTV digi image, my E57 Copic marker decided not to play. Perhaps I had neglected it and it had dried but all it did was leave a blotchy mark. So I abandoned it and went to watch the new Scarpeta on Amazon Prime. It's base on the books by Patricia Cornwell that I've read, about an ME in the USA, a bit gory and the stream played up, but overall I quite enjoyed it. Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis were great as Kay and sister Dorothy but Lucy, not what I had pictured in my mind's eye. Benton wasn't quite as suarve as I imagined but Marino is OK. Anyway, back to my card!

Coming back to the image the next day, I thought I could rescue it, waste not want not, and I think I have, adding some white gel pen to create a tweed cap which I then coloured over with a blue marker.

After finishing the rest of the colouring, I fussy cut it out, printed off some matching DP from NitWits and got ready to assemble.

Textured shaped panel on foam pads over DP onto a card base and a stamped Uniko sentiment, the image was also added on pads. 

There are a couple of other challenges around that are featuring blue and brown, so I will join in there too.

If you need more inspiration please check out the rest of the Cardz4Guyz team here. Looking forward to seeing your makes in our gallery.

Color Hues #129

Good afternoon. 

As we whizz through the month of March its time to start a new colour challenge at Color Hues.

This time Marcia has chosen a fun and cheery colour combination, here's my take.

First of all I thought of crocus with purple petals and rich yellow anthers as they were dancing in the longer grass in the garden but I couldn't use green for the leaves, so abandoned that choice and went for this Gorjuss image that was another from my to stamped but not colouired box. It's an old one I stamp sometime ago when an old friend was visiting for some crafty time. 

The girl was coloured with Copics and fussy cut. I usually have the light coming from one side or the other when colouring but this image had shadows already quite prominent to suggest front on light and so I went with that, not as much option for shadows that way though, but the hair was quite a large part of the image!

My background DP is from an old magazine and the white panel was an equally ancient EF that matched. Another elderly item was the purple ribbon on which I perched my girl. A couple of sentiment banners were stamped and added under the edge of the embossed panel, the layout an other oldie from Sketch Saturday (on pause).

That's about all from me but please check out the rest of the team and our GD here for more colourful  inspiration.

The first signs of spring in our fields, who doesn't love a cute lamb?! The mum's started coming home from the lambing sheds last week with their little ones.

Joining in over at:-