Friday 30 June 2017

Coffee Beans!

Hey & Happy Friday!

The weekend is almost here - yay! I am SO ready for the weekend and to have daddy home to 'help' with the beans! It's been a long week to say the least, even if I did have a bean free day yesterday ;)

During my bean free hours I managed to create a few cards, including this one I have to share with you today...




Today is the last day to get your creations linked up to the Summer 2017 Coffee Lovers Blog Hop HERE. Along with Uniko being a Super Sponsor there are LOTS of other fabulous company prizes to be won. 

Anyway, back to my card. I had been wanting to join in on the current "Less is More" challenge HERE and seen below, since I saw the sketch on Saturday! 




And the current Color Throwdown colours HERE and seen below seemed a fun combination to use too.






As you can see I used the Uniko I LOVE Coffee clear stamp set for the card, using just the trio of beans stamped in Altenew Mocha ink and the wavy sentiment stamped in Altenew Moss ink. The die cut wave is a Mama Elephant die and I added a trio of Stampin' up! enamel dots in Pumpkin Pie.

That's all I have to share for with you today, hopefully I will squeeze in some more inky time when the beans have gone to bed tonight! 

Don't forget I have a Blog Candy GIVEAWAY HERE, be sure to hop on over and comment to be in the chance of winning AND I've a little GIVEAWAY over on my Instagram account today too! 

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs 

Tuesday 27 June 2017

CAS Colours & Sketches #229 - Sketch

Hey!

I'm here again with my next CAS Colours & Sketches design team inspiration for you. This week it is Janes's turn to be hostess as we each take it in turns for May & June. This is also sadly Jane's last time at being hostess too, as Jane has decided to step down from the DT.

Jane... you have been an awesome and inspirational teamie over at CAS Colours & Sketches and your weekly inspiration over there will be truly missed. I know we will still see your awesome inspiration around blogland and here on the Uniko Blog ;) and we might even see you in the CC&S gallery from time to time...?

Anyway, in true Jane style she has this FABulous sketch to inspire you this week...




Jane is looking for one element larger than the other two, but they don't have to be circles and is happy for you to change the width of the chevron slightly. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when creating your card. Don't forget to keep is CAS to be considered for the weekly winners! 

Here's how I used the sketch..




The hardest part of this sketch, was choosing the images/elements for the circles. I had so many ideas buzzing round my head! As Marvellous Mehndi was still on my desk from last weeks colours, I reached for it again.

I decided I wanted to join in on another challenge as the colours are 'lush' and perfect for the idea I had in my head! The challenge is the current Global Design Project challenge HERE and seen below.




I am LOVING the new Stampin' Up! In Colours and I am totally kicking myself for only getting them in the card stock, I wish I'd got the markers too. They are NOW on next months list!




I've had this MTF double stitched border die for AGES and it was about time I gave it a real outing on a card. Jane's sketch was perfect for it too. I started by die cutting the chevron border twice and a centimetre apart on the white card layer. This meant that the Lemon Lime Twist base card would show through. I then decided to die cut a chevron out of Berry Burst and added that as a colourful border and interest to the chevron.

The small mandala is mainly coloured with Pool Party, with hints of the closest matches to the other two colours in markers I had. As I kept the areas to a minimum the difference can hardly be seen.  I then added two enamel dots to follow the sketch. Again, the sentiment is from Simply Said, such a handy set for all types of occasions ;)

That's all from me today, if you need some more inspiration using the sketch be sure to pop by the CAS Colours & Sketches blog HERE and see how the DT and Guest Designer have used it.

Thanks for stopping by today.
Hugs


Monday 26 June 2017

Sweet Baby...

Hey & Happy Monday!

I do hope that your week has started well?

Mine started EARLY, 5:45am to be exact, all thanks to a little bean that decided it was time to get up and was refusing to go back to sleep even in mummy and daddy's bed. He was shortly joined by his brother and they were demanding breakfast! There is one thing I've learned with these beans and that is when they are hungry, they are HUNGRY! 

Anyway, onto some baby talk (nope, I am not pregnant and nor will I be anytime in the future!) a CCAD college friend of mine Abbie, who also did some work experience with Uniko back in 2013 recently (8 weeks ago) had a baby boy... Rory James Paul. 

Yep, I am a super bad at taking this long to make a card :( but here is what I made in the end...




Of course I had to give Sweet Baby a dust off and ink up AND no surprises really that I made a shaker card too ;) I had planned on sharing this card on Friday and to link up at last weeks Less is More challenge, but I simply ran out of time. Story of my life at the moment!

Short and sweet tonight as I've still a few emails to catch up on and this mummy needs some sleep! Thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow for my CAS Colours & Sketches card.

Hugs




Friday 23 June 2017

The 2017 Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!

Hey & Happy Friday!

YAY! It's time for another Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, I'm super happy to be a little organised this time and have a project made to enter on day 1!




Uniko is honoured to have been invited again by the lovely Amy from Tsuruta Designs to sponsoring another fun blog hop and challenge, you can check out all the details over on the Uniko Website Blog HERE, I have blog candy there too ;) AND more details HERE over at the hop!

Anyway, onto my card...




At the moment Summer to me = Tropical! Hence my decision to pair I LOVE Coffee with Paradise clear stamp set.

I was inspired by a couple of challenges for the ink blended panel and layout of my card. Firstly the challenge over at AAA Cards HERE is the resist technique. 




I stamped the outline Hibiscus flower and solid leaves using VersaMark and heat embossed them with clear EP. I then blended two of my favourite distress inks over the top. 

The second challenge I was inspired by was the new CAS(E) this Sketch! layout seen HERE and below.




I continued the Hibiscus flower theme onto the Coffee cup, keeping it simple by stamping it in Lawn Fawn Merman ink and adding a touch of Stampin' Up! glitter for some Summer sparkle! 




The sentiment is a combination from Simply Said and I LOVE Coffee. I added a trio of Stampin' Up! Glitter Enamel Dots to finish the design off.

Ok, that's all I have to share with you today, but be sure to check out my post HERE with the Uniko Sponsor details, more inspiration and BLOG CANDY




Wednesday 21 June 2017

WINNER of the June 2017 Design Team Blog Hop!

Hey!


I am popping in this afternoon to announce the WINNER of the June 2017 Design Team Blog Hop HERE.  Random.org helped me pick the lucky comment...




In order of the hop the lucky commenter is...

Each one of these are awesome! xxx

Congratulations Chris! Please send me an email to bev@uniko.co.uk by Thursday29th July 2017 along with your postal address. I can then get your goodies on the way to you.

THANK YOU to everyone who left such lovely comments along the hop.

Hugs to you all.



Dt Inspiration - Gerbara

Hey all its Rahmat here, I am up with 2 cards today using the Gerbara daisies.

I masked and stamped the flowers and leaves using the misti.
I had used the Altenew and Stampin' Up inks for stamping.

I used the same pink ink and used a water brush to add color on the flowers
Then I cut out the panel in a strip and used a shimmery maroon strip to add in the middle of the panels to add some interest.



I used a happy word die to cut the stamped panel, and then added it using some foam adhesive to give dimension. I stamped the small sentiment in pink from Happy Succulents, on a white strip and added using a foam adhesive.
A few pink pearls to finish off.





------------------
For the second card I used Altenew inks to stamp all over in random, and used the small stamps from Background vines and Originally Organics additions set.
Used the same die cut from winnie &walter to cut out the stamped panel, and added a red textured card base under the die cut for interest.
Stamped the small sentiments from Happy Succulents set.


Supplies:
Pure Florals : Gerbara
 

Happy Succulents



Originally Organics Additions
 OriginallyOrganicAdditionsPP

 Background Builders : winter vines additions

 

 I hope I have provided some inspiration!
Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate your kind  feedback :) Have a great day!
                                                                    

Tuesday 20 June 2017

CAS Colours & Sketches #228 Colour Challenge

Hey!

I'm here again with my next CAS Colours & Sketches design team inspiration for you. This week it is Patricia's turn to be hostess as we each take it in turns for May & June.

This week is colour week and these are the colours Patricia has chosen...




We've used Stampin' Up! colours, but feel free to use any make of product that closely matches them as possible and don't forget to keep it CAS and a card though, to be considered for the weekly winners!


Here's how I used them...




Metallics always throw me a little and I get stuck as how to incorporate them! They are something I only occasionally use. However, I instantly thought of using Marvellous Mehndi on my card this time. The other colours in the combo reminded me of the rich, earthy colours of ethnic textiles.




Again, I kept things really simple. Choosing the larger mandala from the set to heat emboss in Kettle Copper EP onto Dapper Denim card and adding a small strip of Peekaboo Peach down the edge. The sentiment is from Simply Said.


That's all from me today, if you need some more inspiration using the sketch be sure to pop by the CAS Colours & Sketches blog HERE and see how the DT and Guest Designer have used it.

Thanks for stopping by today.
Hugs


Saturday 17 June 2017

The Saturday Show Returns!

Hey & Happy Weekend!

Do you remember the feature I used to do called The Saturday Show? I used to have a lot more time on my hands to peruse the internet and blogland to find and comment on all the wonderful Uniko customer projects. I also liked to choose a few and share them here on the Uniko blog.

Now that I am 'slowly' getting some time back and the beauty of places like Facebook and Instagram especially, I am able to find and see Uniko customer projects more easily :) So I thought it would be nice to kick start this feature again once a month.

So without further ado it's over to YOU...




First up is this beautiful Happy Succulents card by Julia, which I spotted over on Instagram. Those beautiful purple hues are so striking. Thank you so much for tagging #uniko over on IG Julia.

Next are two cards also spotted on Instagram by Julie, a wonderful customer at Uniko for many years  (thank you)...





First this pretty Originally Organic card. The designer paper Julie has paired with the swirly foliage image from the clear stamp set is just perfect. The colours are just so happy and summery too.

This next card by Julie really packs a punch with the bold colours and awesome CAS design...




Here Julie has combined the SUPER popular Background Blocks Halftone with the Explosion! clear stamp set. What a super masculine card, don't you think? 

Thank you so much Julie for sharing and tagging #uniko on Instagram.

Next I have some more floral designs to share from Elaine who has also been a loyal customer at Uniko for many years. Elaine never ceases to amaze me with how she uses Uniko's floral stamps...




On this first card Elaine has used Background Blocks Doodle Flower and the emboss resist technique, which is the current game over at AAA Cards. Just look at those happy summery sunshine colours :)

On this next card Elaine has used Pure Florals: Lily paired with a sentiment from Originally Organic...




A beautiful CAS design. The layout, gold embossing and beautiful watercoloring really made this card stand out. Which lastly leads me onto to this stunner...




Just a quirky die cut technique really adds interest and pizzaz to this already beautiful coloured Lily. Be sure to pop by Elaine's blog Craft-E-Place and checkout all the beautiful and inspiring projects.

Continuing the floral beauties is Sharon...




Sharon created this Neapolitan coloured shaker card using Background Blocks Doodle Flower, aren't those colours just scrumptious? A huge congratulations to Sharon for her Top 5 placing for this card over at Passion for Promarkers too :)

Continuing the theme of flowers, Sharon also used the Pure Florals: Lily to make this shimmery beauty...




Just look at the beautiful pink Lily and overall stunning design. Lastly, I have one more card by Sharon I wanted to share...




The die cut curves of this card design really draws focus to the floral heart wreath from Originally Organic Additions. Such a beautiful CAS showcase of this clear stamp set. Thank you for sharing your Uniko creations Sharon and be sure to head on over to From My Craft Desk to be inspired even more.

There seems to be a floral theme occurring, as I share this next card...




This card is by Nonni from Nonni's Handmade Cards and features the popular Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum. This design is beautifully stamped, masked and coloured. The added die cut technique really keeps the focus on the flower but gets the sentiment across. Thank you for sharing this beautiful showcase Nonni.

Lastly and by no means least I have a two cards to share by Izzy from Izzy scrap. Again, I couldn't help but continue this floral theme...




So many of you are enjoying the recently release Pure Florals: Lily and the array of designs show how versatile this set is. Keeping the leaves and buds as black and white outlines really makes the embossed watercolored Lilly POP from the card. The added sentiment helps highlight the warmth from the design too. LOVE this split layout too.

Next up is this Beautiful Blooms III beauty...




Yellow and Grey is a wonderful combintion and I love how Izzy used the colours. The subtle splattering and mirrored stamping of the floral frames the 'happy' sentiment. Thank you for these beautiful showcase's Izzy.

I hope you have enjoyed this months The Saturday Show and I really could have shared so many more wonderful customer designs. It was so hard choosing what to share here on the blog today. I will continue to keep a look out for your wonderful designs using Uniko products and don't forget to #hashtag me using the following, so I can find you! 

#uniko
#unikoltd
#unikostamps

Don't do social media or blog? Why not drop me an email (bev@uniko.co.uk) with a photo of what you create using your Uniko goodies. I'd LOVE to see them and be able to share them here on the blog :) 

THANK YOU to everyone that has purchased Uniko clear stamps and designer dies, you make me so happy and you keep this little business and dream of mine alive. I appreciate YOU more than you will ever know.

Hugs 

Tuesday 13 June 2017

CAS Colours & Sketches #227 Sketch Challenge

Hey!

I'm here again with my next CAS Colours & Sketches design team inspiration for you. This week it is my turn to be hostess as we each take it in turns for May & June.

This week is sketch week and this is what I came up with to hopefully spark your creativity....




I've used circles on the sketch, but feel free to substitute them for a shape/element that inspires you. As long as I can see the basis of the sketch you are good to go! Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch too when creating your card. 

Don't forget to keep it CAS and a card though, to be considered for the weekly winners!


Here's how I used it...




These were the stamps I had imagined to use when I designed the sketch! As usual I reached for some of my favourite colours in my Altenew ink collection to stamp the blooms from Beautiful Blooms II. It's been a while since I have inked up this set, so it was nice to dust it off and give it some love ;) 




Both the blooms and leaves are fussy cut out and adhered flat to the card with DST, with just the sentiment from Simply Said adhered to the card using the thinner foam adhesive. I added a little sparkle to the leaves with some Stampin' Up! fine glitter, a trio of enamel dots and a strip of yummy polka dot DP to compliment the leaves.

That's all from me today, if you need some more inspiration using the sketch be sure to pop by the CAS Colours & Sketches blog HERE and see how the DT and Guest Designer have used it.

Thanks for stopping by today.
Hugs