Uniko Challenge, a reminder

 Just a quick reminder that you still have time to enter the latest Uniko challenge.

Here's my take on the theme.

Using some die cut strips of red and green card stamped with Christmas Sentiments and heat embossed with white EP, I created a tree. I was inspired by one of Therese Calvird's same but different Christmas You Tube videos where she used sentiments to create a tree, of course if you don't want to think it out you could use the ready made elements from the Pattern Building Christmas tree set.

I finished of my tree with a punch star and die cut snowflake in gold mirror card and a free hand cut brown card tub.

So why not have a play, see what you can come up with, we'd love to see your take in the challenge gallery. Check out the rest of the team and our GD for more inspirational makes.

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Uniko Challenge

Morning all. It's time for a brand new challenge at Uniko.

Here's my card based on the twist this time.

Its a very simple card, just a couple of stamped holly leaves and berries from the Winter Foliage stamp set and the matching dies. the leaves were stamped on green card and although the veins showed up to begin with they had faded by the time I took the photo! The berries were stamped with red on red and then some Glossy Accents added on top.

From a panel of red card, I cut a curve using an Avery Elle set and knocked back the colour with some Rusty Hinge and Barn Door DI around the edges, before adding it to a white, A6 note card. The thread is 1/3rd of a strand of twine as it was too thick originally. I made a rough bow and glued it to another die cut set of berries. The leaves were added and then sandwiched by the glossy accented berries and glued along the edge of the join after I'd stamped the greeting from Christmas Sentiments.

So where will the theme take you? We'd love to see you in our gallery. For more inspiration please check out the rest of the team and our GD here. 

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Uniko challenge, a reminder

Good morning, it's going to be a busy day here on my blog but first I'm just popping by to remind you that there's still time to join in the current Uniko challenge. Here's my card for your inspiration.

The cosmos are still flowering in my garden and will continue to do so until the first frosts, so I decided to use them to create this card, using Uniko's Pure Florals- Cosmos stamp set. I'd seen a card on Pinterest that used the same flowers and colours and I loved how it looked.

Using a pale ink, Altenew's Limestone, I stamped the images onto an A6 panel of white card and coloured them with Copics to give a no line effect. 

The sentiment, from Doodle Flower, was stamped with Versamark onto soft grey card and heat embossed with white EP before being die cut, then matted and layered to give more impact. A few homemade gel dots, Copic marker with added Glossy Accents on an acetate sheet, were added to fill in the gaps.

So that's it for the moment. What will inspire you, we'd love to see your take in our gallery. If you are in need of more inspiration why not check out the rest of the DT and our fab GD Nonni here.

The next post in our September release is up in an hour.

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Uniko

Good morning folks.

It's the start of a brand new challenge over at Uniko.

Here's my card to inspire you.

I used one of the large Doodle Flower stamps from the last release and the smaller ones from BB Doodle Flowers around the sentiment from Birthday Sentiments.

On some white card, I stamped the larger flowers and also one of the BB Doodle Flower with black ink.

For something different to my usual Copic colouring, I inked some Mustard Seed DI over each flower and then some I left yellow and others I added Carved Pumkin, Ripe Persimmon and Dried Marigold DI with a blending brush, adding more colour towards the edges and allowing some of the yellow to show. After fussy cutting the blooms, I added the dark centers with a C10 Copic marker, its not quite as stark as black.

On an A6 white base card I stamped the large sentiment and then arranged the flowers around. When satisfied with the arrangement, I glued them down and trimmed any overhang away. Using the small 3 dot stamp from BB Layered Floral, I added some dots between the orange flowers, then some white gel pen to the center of the flowers. The finished flowers remind me of the Rudbeckia and Helianthus flowering in the garden at the moment.

So that's about it from me but for more Autumnal inspiration please check out the rest of the team here and our lovey GD Nonni.

Uniko Challenge, a Reminder

Good morning, just stopping by to  remind you that there is still time to join in the Uniko Flower challenge.

Here's my take.

I had some leftover flowers from this post for the July release so just coloured a few more to match up with this weeks colours at Color Throwdown and used this frame which I'd also made for the release but decided not to use.

After colouring and fussy cutting the flowers, I stacked 4 of my die cut frames together and temporarily attached it to my slimline base card. Using one of the leaflets from the Doodle Flowers set, I stamped a few of them in two shades of green where I was going to place my flowers. Marking the open center of the frame, I carefully removed it and stamped my sentiment, also Doodle Flowers, and then glued the frame in place. My coloured, fussy cut flowers were arranged around the frame and attached, some on foam some not.

That's it from me but please check out the rest of the team here and then why not join in?

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Uniko Challenge #66

Good morning. It's been a busy few days here in the craftroom and I'm here again to let you know that there is a brand new challenge starting over at Uniko. Here's my take on it.

I love the combination of the soft green polka dot background and the bright pink gerbera.

I don't make many slimline cards, they were something I made many years ago when I first started making cards but they have made a resurgence in recent months. Recently, I even treated myself to some new dies to make slimline cards.

The background was made using the BB Scattered Polka Dots stamp, stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with white EP repeated over the length of the panel. Using some Bundle Sage DOx, I then added some colour. The choice of colour was influenced by the photo over at Inkspirational, loved the soft effect it gave. The Gerbera was stamped then colored with my Zig watercolour brushes and fussy cut. The white frame was cut using a Creative Expressions die and the opening made larger by cutting away the center on my trimmer, the original was a little too large for my tastes. As there was such a large space for my greeting, I added some die cut letters in white with a hint of black showing from behind and a a stamped sentiment from Pure Florals- Peony in white EP on black. All elements were glue flat onto the background.

So where will you go with this challenge, we'd love to see them in our gallery. There's more details to be found on the Uniko blog as well as links to all the BA's and GD Dhruvika's inspiration too.

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Uniko challenge, reminder

 Good morning folks, time to remind you that there is still time to join in over at Uniko for our Anything Goes, optional twist of dies, challenge. Here's my take using a few Uniko Goodies.

I took inspiration from a card I made at the start of my time at Uniko here,  I love the contrast of the black oval with the white embossed sentiment with the soft hint of green in the stencilling. I think it has a definite air of sunny days, just like we had for the Bank Holiday when I made it, and how unusual is that here in the UK?

For this take, I started by stencilling over the front of my white base card with Twisted Citron DI with the Mid Century Modern Squares stencil, letting the colour fade out towards the edges. Then, on a die cut black oval, I stamped and embossed with white EP, the fab sentiment from Birthday Wishes. The die cut elements come from Originally Organic Additions stamps and dies and I used the mirror stamping technique to get the foliage element to face the opposite way, just like my original card. I tend to die cut the shapes then use a homemade jig in my MISTI to stamp them before colouring with Copics.

Arranging the blooms into a pleasing form I added them to my black oval and the adhered it all over the stencilling.

So for more fab inspiration from the rest of the team and our GD Elaine, Please check out the Uniko blog here. You'll also find all the Ts and Cs there too.

Happy crafting!

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Uniko -March Challenge

Good morning folks, it's time for a new challenge over at Uniko.  

Here's my card based on this month's theme.

The day I made this card the sky was blue and the daffodils at the top of the drive by the road, were just showing a bit of colour, heralding the start of spring. So using Spring Botanicals - Daffodil, I created this little group in homage, by stamping, masking and heat embossing with white EP. I then went in and coloured the blooms with a mix of Mustard Seed and Wild Honey DIs, adding shadows with a blue grey Zig watercolour pen. Over the top of the yellow on the leaves, I added a wash of Salty Ocean to create the green stems. 

The sky is a mix of Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch, which I blended in with water past the yellow blooms. I mixed Mustard Seed with Salty Ocean that was left on my palette and washed that in between the stems, adding extra yellow for texture. I then masked all the blooms and over stamped with one of the Nature's Treasures (retired) foliage stamp with Salty Ocean and added a few flicks with the Zig pen. When dry I went in with the Zig pen and defined the shadows a bit more.

My white heat embossed sentiment from the same set completes. The finished panel was trimmed and then added to an A6 top fold card.

So where will you go, we'd love to see your interpretations in the gallery. There's more inspiration from the team over at Uniko, if you need it.

Snowdrops

Good morning, time for a brand new challenge at Uniko.

Here's my inspiration for the latest challenge.

My starting point for this card was my stack of Gelli plate experiments. The background panel used here was cut from a larger piece made by taking a print after the first pull from a stencil overlay, using the Let it Snow stencil. The result is a ghostly, delicate effect that reminded me of frosty mornings like we had last weekend. I decided to use the Snowdrops from Spring Botanicals - Snowdrop, as they are the harbingers of spring and remind us that there is hope of spring after the dark winter days. Very appropriate at the moment I think. They are were also in my mind as I put the bins on the roadside the other day, as there are clumps of snowdrops at the side of the lane just waiting to burst into life.

I stamped the snowdrops and then masked them off before stamping a couple more stems, then used Copics to colour. After fussy cutting, I glued them onto my Gelli plate background and added a torn card snowdrift, allowing the two lowest blooms to hang over. A little bit of Wink of Stella added a bit of sparkle to the snow bank!

My completed panel was added with foam pads over a white linen A6 linen effect base card and a sentiment strip added below, leaving a thin shadow line between the two elements. The sentiment is from the Pure Florals Peony set.

Whilst I had the Snowdrop set out, I decided that I would make another in order to enter Darnell's Twofer Challenge and the Flower Challenge.

Here is what I came up with.

This time I went landscape and one layer for my watercolour interpretation.

No stencil this time but simple masking and heat embossing.

Using masking tape I masked off a border around a piece of mixed media paper and stamped the single spray of flowers with Versamark, then heat embossed with fine white EP.

At first I used a mixture of Chipped Sapphire and Blueprint Sketch for the background but it wasn't deep enough so I went over it with a deep blue Zig marker, blending out with water towards the edges.

The flowers were coloured with Zig markers and blended out with plain water before my sentiment was added and more fine white EP. The sentiment is from the same set as the snowdrops but I cut it up in order to get the placement just right. Carefully removing the masking tape gave the crisp white border. I thought the sentiment was perfect for anyone who needs a lift in these crazy times.

Not sure which one I prefer, they each have something to commend them I think.

OK, that's all from me, please check out the rest of the team and GD over at the Uniko blog, where you'll find all the Ts and Cs.

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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

Uniko Challenge #61

Morning all, hope I find you well and coping in these strange times.

It's come around to be time to announce the start of a brand new Anything Goes challenge over at Uniko.

Here is my inspiration using Nature's Treasures II stencil and So Much stamp set.

I chose to go with the option of thanks for my card.

I've been playing with my Gelli plate these last few weeks, I bought it a couple of years ago and it was still in its package, unloved and unused. I was always fascinated by the prints I saw online but a little wary too. I'm really a CAS girl at heart so was a bit reluctant to let the control out of my hands but after watching another Jennifer McGuire video on You Tube, I decided to crack the seal and have a play.

Needless to say I now have a pile of backgrounds and you may see a few more of them in weeks to come, it was quite addictive.

I first created my background by adding Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade and Abandoned Coral DOx to my plate, spread it out with a brayer and took a couple of prints off it. The one I used for this example was the second and was much paler than the first so the leaves I added later would show up. 

For the leaves, I added a mix of Gathered Twigs and Spiced Marmalade to the plate then added the stencil over the top and took a print. I repeated this a couple of times, moving my background around as I pressed over the plate. The leaves become paler with each pull giving the effect of recession, as though you are looking through the branches.

On an A6 base card I added part of the finished leaf panel, then added a larger one of cream over the inked one, trimming away the excess.

On a strip of black card I heat embossed the sentiment with gold EP and trimmed it down before adding to my cream panel, leaving a small line of the top panel showing.

So that's about it from me, please check out the rest of the DT inspiration and then why not join in?

Uniko challenge, a reminder

Welcome to a post to remind you that there is still time to enter the challenge over at Uniko.

Here is my card, hopefully fulfilling the brief!

I chose some bright and cheerful DOx inks to match the flowers from The Card Concept, to colour this panel which I had previously stamped, masked and heat embossed in white with the Pure Florals Lily set, love the tropical feel to this colourway.
You might recognize the background as I made it at the same time as my watercolour one from the start of the challenge. It was as easy to make 2 as just one using my MISTI. This time I used plain white card.
On the finished embossed panel, I added DOx in Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade,
Abandoned Coral and Candied Apple and blended them from light to dark over it.
Once the ink had dried, I buffed up the panel to remove extra ink from the embossing with a bit of kitchen roll and added some peachy orange fun foam to the back, keeping the glue to the edges only.
Using a rectangle die, I cut the center away to leave the raised frame. The center came away with only a little help from a craft knife as the glue had squished out! The central foam was then free to be used in another project.
The frame was glued to an A6 base card and the unmounted center panel was slipped in to the center and glued flat to the base card.
On a strip of black card, I embossed the sentiment and added a gold glitter die cut 'Sending' popped up on black foam.

That's all from me, but for more bright and happy Uniko inspiration, please check out our fab GD Viv and the rest of the team here, along with all Ts and Cs.


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I was inspired by the colours of the floral elements to create my background for this clean and layered card.