Less is More #388 - 8th Birthday

Hey there friends

It's BIRTHDAY time ... YIPPEE and I'm delighted and highly honoured to have been invited back to my favourite Challenge blog; Less is More, of course, as a Guest Designer this month in celebration of this fabulous birthday!

Congratulations Girls and here's to the next one! 

It's COLOUR challenge time and the girls have chosen a really fun combo which I love

... and I've 2 cards to share with you; first up a silly fishy one using Briny Blue by Paper Smooches, a stencil from Uniko (Wonky Stripes) and a mish-mash of sentiments from the Briny Blue set and some Uniko sentiment stamps. I couldn't resist a couple of googlie eyes too and as the card is for my sister, who celebrates her birthday tomorrow - how about some superb lashes to those eyes!!

Next up, this one uses images and sentiments by Uniko, which is sponsoring the challenge. I've used the pre-Christmas released Pure Florals: Peony set, initially heat embossed in white powder on to the Navy cardstock before re-stamping in a no-line colouring effect. The bloom is coloured with promarkers then with some added detail using Polychromo pencils.

Ok that's all from me but I'm' in no doubt that there'll be plenty more inspiration from the regular Design Team as well as some other ex-DT members. Why not head over to the blog HERE to check them out too. 

Thanks as always for calling by and thanks for inviting me to join your birthday party girls!

Uniko - 7th Birthday Blog Hop & Linky Party

Hey there friends are you ready for some birthday fun?

Uniko is celebrating it's 7th Birthday this month and we're inviting you to join our Linky Party and Design team Blog Hop which will be open throughout this month, closing on 28th February at 11.59pm (GMT).

Here's my card using the Chrysanthemum Stencil and a couple of sentiments from the Birthday Sentiments set.

All you need to do is visit each of the team following the links below and comment on their birthday cards and if you want to join the linky party too then create a card using Uniko products as the main focus and link it up.

All the details you need about prizes and how to link up can be found on the Uniko site HERE so what are you waiting for!!!

Let's hop along and have some fun. Here's the order to follow but if you get lost along the way just head back to Bev (Uniko) at the top.

Bev
Carol 

Izzy 

Jane 
Julie
Linda

Lindsey

Rahmat
Sarah G

Sarah P - That's Me!
Wiebke 

Good luck and thanks for calling by. 

Uniko - Introducing Sweet Broom

Hi there

I'm back with Day 3 of introductions, showcasing another stamp set from the new products due for release by Uniko on Tuesday. This one is called Sweet Broom and it's super versatile as it can be used for general floral cards or Christmas too as I've shown below.

I stamped one of the images from the set 3 times in Altenew Evergreen Ink followed by the detailed layer in Forest Fern ink. I added some additional coloured detail with Promarkers and adhered a festive sentiment from the simply said blocks Christmas set, introduced yesterday. The red panel has some tone on tone images from the Sweet Broom stamp set too. 

This time shown as a birthday example using the other bloom from the set and stamped with more Altenew inks in Greys and Yellows with another of the Simply Said blocks sentiments from the original set in this range. I've added some dotty details using a grey Promarker pen and some teeny gems and silver pearls.

The release schedule, can be found over on the Uniko blog HERE as well as links and peeks at how my fellow teamies have worked their magic!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll join me for one more day of introductions tomorrow.

Uniko - Introducing Kindness Blooms

Hi friends,
Here we go with the final day of our introductions to this month's release of new goodies from Uniko and we've a simple floral beauty to share today called Kindness Blooms. 
Having researched colour combos I came up with this one that I liked and just start stamping away. Some panels were rejects and ended up tossed in the bin and others made it onto a card so here goes 
The images are stamped using various Altenew Inks and although the set itself has some sentiments, I used some from the Spring Botanicals Daffodil plus the new Birthday sentiments sets; which I think is going to be a firm favourite with me as it's so versatile and full of gorgeous curly and typed fonts.
It's not evident in the photos but there's a bit shimmer and shine from Glossy Accents, Wink of Stella and Glamour Dust on these cards.

As you can see this set is perfect to create your own backgrounds as you can mix and match colours and use some or all of the images in the set as I've shown here and below. I think this card should fit in perfectly over at Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge this week as it's all about backgrounds so I'm dashing over there with this one before the challenge closes!

Okay! We've made it through 3 days of Sneaky Peeks, 5 days of Introductions and tomorrow is the BIG reveal, release and giveaway so I hope you'll be back to join me! The release schedule can be found over on the Uniko blog HERE as well as links and peeks at how my fellow teamies have worked their magic!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll visit me again tomorrow.

Uniko - Introducing Pure Florals Chrysanthemum Stencil

Hi There,
I'm muscling in on the Stencil introductions today for Uniko because I couldn't resist bagging this stunner that coordinates with the gorgeous Pure Florals Chrysanthemum stamp set and dies.
I've three examples to share, each using Distress Inks through the stencil onto pearlised cardstock with sentiments from the new Birthday Sentiments set for the first two cards and one from the Spring Botanicals: Daffodil set on the third one.  

This week's challenge over at Simon Says Stamp -Wednesday Challenge is to 'Create your own background' so I'm heading across there to pop this one into the challenge.

Hopefully you'll join me again for some more introductions tomorrow and Tuesday before the BIG reveal, release and giveaway on Wednesday! 

The release schedule can be found over on the Uniko blog HERE as well as links and peeks at how my fellow teamies have worked their magic!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back tomorrow for the next introduction.

Uniko - Introducing Birthday Sentiments & Background Blocks Party Confetti

Hi There,
We've had 3 days of Sneaky Peeks from Uniko to tease you with this week and now let's get down to the serious business of Introductions as we get ready for this month's release of new stamps on 28th!
You may have noticed we introduced the new Stencil Design Team at the weekend so you'll find various new goodies showcased from the extended team. 
Today I'm sharing some introductions to the Birthday Sentiments, which is on a similar theme to the Festive Sentiments set released last year plus another one for the Background Blocks range; this one is Party Confetti!

First up let's go all out vivid and bold multi-colours using an old Kaleidoscope ink pad I found in my stash. As it's a pigment ink and stays wet for a little while I managed to throw some clear embossing powder over the top to give a glossy sheen. The sentiment is from the new sentiment set and the balloons are fuzzy cut from the older Balloon Bash set!

Who says it's got to be a birthday party celebration with this confetti set? So 2 baby cards where the confetti background was stamped with Versamark, heat embossed with white EP then Distress Inked in Salty Ocean (for the Boys) and Worn Lipstick (for the Girls)! I've teamed it with more sentiments from the new set plus a 'New Baby' one from the Simply Said range and that super cute teddy bear from Sweet Baby 

I hope this has whet your appetite for more!
The release schedule can be found over on the Uniko blog HERE as well as links and peeks at how my fellow teamies have worked their magic!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back tomorrow for the next introduction.

Gerbera DT Inspiration for Uniko

Hi friends I'm over on the Uniko blog this morning sharing a little Gerbara inspired combo. You'll find all my cards HERE but I wanted to feature 2 of them on my own blog to link up at a couple of challenges today so here goes:

First up to enter over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where it's Layer it Up! Although I love some layering to cards I'm rather a 'clean and simple' girl so too many layers freak me out!!! I hope this one includes enough die-cut layers/panels/sentiment for the girls at SSS.

Using: Uniko - Pure Florals Gerbera, Festive Sentiments and Simply Said, Altenew Inks, WOW Silver Sparkle EP

Next up I'm heading over to the 'Ombre' challenge at Addicted to CAS and Anything Goes and Addicted to Stamps & More. Same colour combo and products but here's my 'clean and simple' version! 

Using: Uniko - Pure Florals Gerbera, All Occasion Sentiments, Altenew Inks, WOW Silver Sparkle EP

Thanks for calling by my blog today and for more details on my cards please head over to the Uniko blog where there's another 2 varieties! Catch up Soon! 

Less is More #360 & #361

Morning friends, I'd like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. This is our final challenge of the year at Less is More and it'll be a 2-week challenge. We'd hate to have you rushing with cards over Christmas so this should give you a little longer to play - who knows you may even receive some new goodies from Santa that you'd like to use!

Anyway we have a delightful sketch for you, designed by fellow Less is More teamie Anita and I hope you enjoy! 

Here's my examples using my all time favourite set from our December sponsor, Happy Little Stampers so do play along for a chance of a prize, which we'll announce at the start of next month.

Both cards use the Butterfly Birthday set and for the first one I've stamped, masked, rotated my card panel in the misti to create a 'mirror' image (I hope) both top and bottom. The images are coloured with Promarkers and I die-cut the shape of the top panel before popping up on 3d foam. The sentiment is from the Mix Mash set also by Happy Little Stampers.

This time I did a heat-resist technique using the same Butterfly Birthday image, using Ranger Liquid Platinum EP. Once the image had cooled I inked over layers of Distress Inks in my favourite colours: Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed. The die-cut 'Happy' is from STAMPlorations and I used a scrap of card heat embossed in the same colour to create it. The 'birthday' is from the HLS Mix Mash set.

As always there's loads of fabulous designs from my fellow teamies over on the main blog HERE and I do hope you'll pay them a quick visit. 
Thanks for calling by and have a fantastic festive period!

Uniko - Introducing Pure Florals: Rose

Hi there, today is our final day of introductions in advance of this month's release from Uniko before the BIG REVEAL, RELEASE and traditional BLOG HOP GIVEAWAY tomorrow morning. 
If you are a Uniko addict and familiar with the beautiful collection of Pure Florals then you are going to love this latest addition to the range. I think this has to be my favourite set in the release and it's just oozing elegance. 
I couldn't wait to get all watery-coloured and inky with these stunning blooms and started out by heat embossing the images onto Bristol cardstock using Ranger Silver Pearl embossing powder. I've used Distress inks in Festive Berries and Worn Lipstick for the flower heads with a jumble of greens for the leaves! 
Here's my first example and if you were paying attention on Day 1 of the introductions you might wonder why I wasted a perfectly decent oval of the dotty background when framing the snowdrops ... well never one to waste anything - here it is and I've added a simple sentiment from the Simply Said set along with a few sequins from my stash. 

The next 2 are the 'same but different' - they both use some more of those water coloured roses, as used above and the Lattice stencil, which I hadn't got around to using when we introduced this one earlier in the week. First up inked with Distress Ink in Pumice Stone.

and this one with the stencil inked in Spun Sugar and Festive Berries to tone with the rose heads.

I hope you've enjoyed the introductions this week and feel inspired to go shopping tomorrow! We've got the final reveal of one more mini set tomorrow along with the release of all the goodies so I hope you'll stop by then too. 

The release schedule with all the information you need is over on the Uniko blog HERE, where you'll also find links and peeks at how my fellow teamies have worked their magic!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back tomorrow.

Uniko - Introducing New Uniko Stencils

Hello again, I'm back with Day 2 of our introductions over at Uniko as we get ready for this month's release of new stamps!
Today we are sharing examples of 3 new stencils which will be released alongside the new stamp sets on Saturday. 

As you can see from the background above the stencil features lots of lines, narrow, wide and dashed. I think it'll be one of my go-to stencils for an easy backdrop and it's so versatile it would work with many occasions. Here I've teamed it with Balloon Bash and the Simply Said Birthday sentiments from Uniko to create a fun birthday card. 
... and I did say at the start of the week that the sets didn't include any Christmas images BUT I couldn't help myself! I'm so behind on Christmas card makes that I used the same stencil as a backdrop to the pretty Christmas Sparkle bauble also from Uniko. 

I hope you like how I've played with the stencils and if you'd like the release schedule please head over to the Uniko blog HERE, where you'll find all you need to know as well as links and peeks at how my fellow teamies have worked their magic!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back tomorrow for the final day of introductions.

Uniko Revisit - November 2017

Hello there fellow crafters it's a REVIST month over at Uniko where Bev askes us to 'dig out', dust down and bring a previously released set back into the spotlight! Well it's not just one set this time but a whole array of exciting products ... some new and some older so let's get this party started!
First of all I'm delighted to announce that the long awaited coordinating dies for the ever-popular Flower Power Series have arrived! I, for one, have been waiting for these for years - mainly because I'm lazy and hate fuzzy cutting! So here's a couple of little cards using those along with a recently released Stencil to coordinate with the Background Block - Wonky Stripes Stamp.

If you follow my blog regularly you'll know I love to go a little wild with colour and inking up this stencil with the Distress inks in Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed (with mixed shades in between) seemed the way to go. With all that colour I decided to leave the flowers to outlines only and just added a little promarker colour to the centre followed with glossy accents. I only used half of my stencilled piece so scroll on down to see how I used the rest! 

These 2 are very similar and use another of the Flower Power images with matching dies. Believe it or not the Stencilled backgrounds on both examples come from another half of a 'stencilled' panel,  each card using a quarter so plenty more scraps to create something else! Here I die-cut the stem and leaves also but coloured them with a black Promarker and added some white gel dotty detail

Next up it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!! Which is as well seen as we are dusting down or should I say glittering up those Designer Snowflake Dies and this is my first ever spinny card. The background uses another newly released stencil to coordinate with the Background Block Scattered Dots but I thought it would work as snow! Yeah??? 

Having die-cut a circle from my card front and a separate panel, I blended Distress inks through a stencil of the same size on to the inside of the card. Once the ink had dried I placed the stencil over the top and used texture paste followed by glamour dust to create some festive snow. The Snowflakes were die-cut using glitter paper and adhered to card with a piece of sparkly twine sandwiched between the two to create the 'spinny' effect.  

... and last but not least here's how I used up that extra half of stencilled wonky stripes from earlier?

The stencilled panel was sliced down the middle and adhered to the card base with one strip down each side. The front panel is mounted on 3d foam and features a festive tree from the Previously released Christmas Pop set, stamped in closely coordinating colours using Altenew inks.

As is the tradition there's a blog hop giveaway and you'll find all the details including the links to my fellow teamies blogs and a sneaky peek at what they've created for the REVISIT post over at Uniko HERE

Before I leave you to hop here's the image of the sets and as always thanks for visiting my blog today and I wish you lots of luck on the hop!