Saturday 28 November 2015

Uniko: Countdown to Christmas Blog Hop


Hello Friends, I'm back again and this time it's for the 
Uniko 
Countdown to Christmas Blog Hop

Here's my cards using sets from the latest release and this first 
one is definitely not your traditional colours but I just can't resist
a rainbow now and again. I've also used Balloon Bash to decorate
my bells using versamark ink and clear embossing powder. The other 
'shiny' details are created with a versamark pen and the clear EP.
To finish a hand-drawn string using a Signo silver gel pen.


I'd like to enter this one over at Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday challenge
where this week it's Anything Goes!

Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog



This one uses distress inks to create a snowy sky but using silver embossed
bells instead of the traditional snowflakes! I couldn't stop humming the 
'Silver Bells' tune which gave me the idea. 

I'd like to enter this one over at Merry Monday where they are looking for
blue and white Christmas cards with texture this week! I'm hoping the 
raised silver embossing will count as texture! 



Ok it's time to hop and don't forget to leave a comment at 
each of the Design Team blogs below in order to be eligible 
for a prize. You'll find all the details you need over at the main
Uniko blog HERE (also the first stop on the hop!) 


Sarah P (That's Me)


Thanks as always for calling by and good luck with the hop!


Sarah

Less is More #252


Hi there! Are we ready to play Less is More?
We've got an easy one for you this week

Fruit

I mean there's loads of them to choose from isn't there?
Sadly I don't have many in my stash so made my own 
tangerines on the card below ....


It's Christmas at every opportunity for me so satsumas are festive - yeah?
 I started out by stamping a wood grain background from Winnie & Walter  
followed by the embossed sentiment from Happy Little Stampers. The rest of the elements
 are die-cut using circles for the 'satsumas' and Clearly Besotted Autumn Foliage for the 
leaves and pine-cones. For added interest and definition I've inked with distress inks 
plus Wink of stella and glossy accents to some to them. 

It's 'Anything Goes' this week over at 
Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday so I'm zipping across with this one!

Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog



For this one I've used the Simply Scrumptious stamp and die set from
Clearly Besotted, I love this elegant circle of strawberries and once again
the berries are coated with glossy accents. I've used an MFT Die-Namics
stitched basic border die to curve the white panel then added some design
paper from my stash for added interest.

Hope you enjoy this one and don't forget to check out the main 
Less is More blog for the stunning designs from my teamies.

Thanks for calling by and happy crafting.
Sarah

Friday 27 November 2015

Uniko Challeng #27 Reminder


Morning friends, it's time for a quick reminder about this month's Uniko
 Challenge where the theme is Christmas with the optional twist of CAS

Despite my love of CAS I went a bit OTT last week so back in the
Clean and Simple swing for this one using a combination of mini images
from various Uniko sets: Background Builders: Vines Winter Additions, 
Essentially Christmas, Jingle Bells and Simply Said: Christmas


As well as some fantastic cards from the DT HERE we have two 
super talented guest designers with us this month;

Our winner of last month's challenge, Jen of The Other Fickle Pixie
plus Shona of Twine Around. I hope you'll stop by their blogs and check
out their fantastic creations and leave some friendly comments.

You'll find all the details of prizes and closing dates on the Uniko blog
and as always I really appreciate your visit to my little blog!


It's an 'Anything Goes' week over at 
Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday so I'd like to link this up there!

Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog

I'll be back tomorrow with the Uniko Christmas Blog Hop so 
more prizes up for grabs and more superb inspiration from the team!
Hope to see you then!
Sarah

Sunday 22 November 2015

AAA Cards Challenge #53


Morning friends it's time for us to announce the latest challenge
over at AAA Cards, which will run for the next 2 weeks!
Our theme is: Anything Goes but please keep your cards Clean and Simple 
in line with the challenge guidelines, which can be found on the blog HERE
Here's my card and at this time of year I can't resist incorporating a few
extra Christmas cards! This one is ultra CAS and I'm playing along at a
few other challenges which you might also like to link to - details below!

A super quick and simple card which is great for mass production!
I've used the Signature Christmas stamp set from Clearly Besotted,
it's an oldie but certainly a goodie and one of my Go To sets for Christmas!

I'd like to link up to the following challenges:

CAS Colours & Sketches: I've gone as close to the colours as my stash allows!
CAS(E) This Sketch (I've flipped the sketch on it's head)
CASology: Pretty (I'm hoping the pretty delicate colours will wing it!)






I hope you feel inspired to play along this time and there's more
stunning creations from my fellow teamies over on the AAA Cards Blog

Thanks as always for stopping by my blog and hope you have 
a fun and crafty-filled week!

Sarah

Saturday 21 November 2015

Addicted to CAS #77 - Happy 3rd Birthday!


Morning friends I'm so excited to be here on the current Design Team
and helping to celebrate the 3rd Birthday of 

Addicted To CAS

Our fabulous and super talented Co-Captainess at ATCAS
has chosen the codeword for this one 


and you might notice that Kylie our Captain, Loll has also
dusted down the challenge blog, revamped, modernised
and made some slick and chic alterations. 
Hope you like what you see - she's so talented!

In honour of Kylie's recent venture into stamp design and manufacture 
I've used the gorgeous butterfly set from Happy Little Stampers, 
masked and watercoloured with distress inks to create my card.
The dimension is created using a 'Birthday' word die from 
Clearly Besotted which is mounted on 4 layers of black card.
The other sentiments are from Happy Little Stampers Butterfly set 
and to finish some added dots and spots with a silver gel pen.


and a little close up for the dimension


I hope you feel inspired to play along but there's loads more 
fantastic makes from my fellow teamies on the ATCAS blog HERE
and we have Gerrina of Gerrina's Creatieve Wereld joining us once again
as our Guest Designer so I hope you'll pop along to her blog with some love!

What's more there are lots of very generous sponsors helping us 
to celebrate too so prizes, prizes and more prizes!
Here's what you have the chance to win if you play along!


Prize is $20 gift certificate

Prize is Balloons and Banners set

Prize is $12 gift card

Feel Free to Grab My Badge for Your Blog!
Prize is $12 gift card
http://samistampsshop.blogspot.com.au/

Prize: £20 e-gift card

http://www.bugaboostamps.com/ 
Prize is 7 digis 

http://buyscribblesdesigns.blogspot.com.au/
3 images to the winner

.
http://www.scrappinessdesigns.com.br/store/
$5 voucher to her store

EDIT: thanks Kylie for suggesting I enter my
... it's would be rude not to!


Well I hope you feel ready to create, craft and play.
Have some fun and thanks as always for stopping by.

I'll be back tomorrow with another challenge from
AAA CAS Cards so hope to see you then!
Sarah

Less is More #251


Hi there blog buddies ... are we ready for that 
Saturday Morning Feeling to kick in?
Time for me to announce our latest challenge over at 

Less is More

... it's Theme Week and we would like to see Numbers!

Well I've a few BIG birthdays coming up which I need cards for
so numbers works for me although can't say much for the mojo!

First up one of my daughter's best friends will be celebrating this week



I decided to play along at the MUSE Card Challenge with this one, 
especially as my adorable Teamie Anita is THE MUSE this week!

Here's her card:

I've kept the layout very close to Anita's but used sentiments instead of
leaves! My daughter sifted, quickly, through my sets to find words and
phrases to describe her friend! I love the 'You're a Good Egg' and 
'You Crack me Up' from Mama Elephant: Just Hatched. The others are
taken from Uniko Studio and Clearly Besotted sets. The words are stamped using
a sticky pigment ink then heat embossed in clear EP to add some shine!
The sparkly '18' die-cut is from Avery Elle then inlaid  into a stitched circle from 
Simon Says Stamp. To finish I've scored a few lines above and below the panel, 
and added some sparkly gems from my stash.


Think I'm going through a purple patch!


This one is for a very special Auntie who constantly encourages my craft hobby,
sends me wonderful treats from the US, where she lives and even took
me to loads of crafty outlets when I visited her a few years ago!
She may read my blog posts and her birthday isn't until the New Year
but this one is to lull her into a false sense of security because it's just
sweet and innocent! The REAL one I make could be non-publishable!!!

I started out by die cutting the circles using the Simon Says Stamp: stitched 
circle dies, '60' from Avery Elle: Count It number dies before running the 
deep purple panel through a We R Memory Keeper Next Generation embossing
folder. I've then inlaid the die-cuts, including the numbers which have some 
extra detail using a white gel pen! The sentiment is from Uniko: Classic Birthday
and heat embossed in white using Hero Arts EP. To finish a couple of 
clusters of sequins, gems and pearls from my stash.


I hope you'll find some time to play along and don't forget to pop across to 
the main Less is More blog for some superb creations by my fellow teamies!

Thanks as always for stopping by and I'll be back shortly with 
the details of the latest challenge at Addicted to CAS ... what's more
it's a Bumper Birthday challenge so lots of prizes up for grabs too!





Sarah

Friday 20 November 2015

Uniko Challenge #27

Hello friends, it's time to announce the last challenge
for 2015 over at Uniko today and our theme is

Christmas with an optional twist ... CAS

The latest release of sets from Uniko was last week so
what better way to showcase them a little more but use them
for our challenge which is what I've done, using Jingle bells 
and Labelled Christmas.


Despite being a CAS girl at heart I've not exactly twisted on this one
but I wanted to create a background using those gorgeous poinsettias 
from the set and accessorised with some gold foliage. 

I hope you feel inspired to create and don't forget there's loads 
more gorgeous designs from my fellow teamies at Uniko HERE
You'll also find details of the challenge prizes too! 

Edit: You can tell it's THAT time of year ... I forgot to mention
our fantastic Guest Designer Duo for this challenge ...

I'm so excited to announce them ... we have Shona from Twine Around along 
with our winner from last month's challenge; Jen from The Other Fickle Pixie.
They've both made super-cool CAS cards for today so hope you'll 
pop along and leave some love on their blogs!

Finally I'm heading over to Simon Says Stamps - Wednesday Challenge
with this card as the theme is Christmas this week

Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog


Thanks as always for calling in today and I'll be back tomorrow
with challenge details for Less is More and Addicted to CAS a little later!


Sarah

Sunday 15 November 2015

Uniko sponsors CAS Colours and Sketches


Hello there craft buddies ... hope you are well.
We've had a very wet and windy day here in Cumbria
with the threat of flooding in the town but thankfully it's not
been as bad as the news and weather reports initially thought.

So what better way to keep warm and dry but tucked up in my 
craft room and I've a card to share for the latest challenge at

CAS Colours and Sketches 
where they are celebrating not only a 3rd birthday but also 150 challenges! 
Well done and Congratulations!

The Uniko DT were asked if we would like to make a card 
for the challenge but unfortunately I was up to my eyeballs with
all sorts of things so didn't get around to it for Wednesday so here's
my entry to the challenge using the following sets from Uniko: 


Background Builders: Christmas, Essentially Christmas and Classic Numbers.
 I've teamed these with a stitched circle die from Simon Says Stamp to
create the aperture and Count it number dies from Avery Elle.
To finish a couple of doodlebug sprinkles as my holly berries.

Here's the sketch if you fancy playing along and the challenge closes
at 11pm GMT on Wednesday, 18th November.


Thanks as always for calling by and have a great week.

Sarah

Saturday 14 November 2015

Less is More #250


Hello there friends are we ready to get festive?
Well the season is certainly in the air at 

Less is More

this morning and what's more it's that
'dreaded' One Layer Card week ... themed Santa!

I received some magnificent happy mail ... via email this week,
from Michelle at The Card Grotto - I'd won her recent giveaway!
 Free entry to the latest Online Card Class: Holiday Style! 
Michelle is one of the guest designers this time and I can't wait for that lesson!
Having never taken part in these classes before I'm finding it so fun and
jam-packed full of inspiration - pity I can't keep up with the daily homework!!!

Onto my card and I was inspired by May Sukyong Park of Mayholic in Crafts,
another of the guest designers at the Online Card class. Her brilliant technique 
makes fantastic us of all the teeny little stamps in sets.


Santa falling down the chimney is an old wooden stamp that's been
in my stash forever and I've used various sets by Clearly Besotted, 
Uniko and Paper Smooches to create the colourful explosion of gifts and images.

I'd like to link this card up to the student gallery over at 



Next up using some new sets from Clearly Besotted


A wintry little scene with Santa heading through the woods into town!
The sets are Santa Baby, Birch Tree Background and Naughty or Nice!
Santa is coloured with Zig Clear Brush pens. I stamped and masked him 
first before creating a snowbank with some torn post-it tape then stamped 
the background and the sentiments once the mask was removed.


Just the two from me this week as I've had a busy time introducing
the new stamps at Uniko but there's plenty more to see over on the main
Less is More blog HERE - as usual my teamies have rocked it with their
fabulous creations so hope you'll stop by their blogs too.

Thanks for calling in today, have fun and happy crafting!

Sarah

Thursday 12 November 2015

Uniko Sponsoring 25 Days of Christmas Tags!

Morning friends, today I'm delighted to be a part of


... hosted annually by the super talented Tracey McNeely.
This year is the 5th in a row and in the last few years I have swooned
and admired all the stunning tags on display by a bunch of fabulous
crafters, in the hope that I might be able to join in to ... unfortunately I've
never managed it as I'm usually awash with Christmas card making!

So I was super EXCITED to say the least when Bev, (Uniko)
told us that, along with a some of the other A* craft companies she would be 
sponsoring Tracey's event this year and did I/we want to play along - 
well I didn't need asking twice!!! 

Here's what I came up with ... 


... using my favourite snowflake dies from Uniko, with a Background Builders: 
Christmas set and a little sentiment I received from Bev this weekend - 
she's such a generous lady and I love promoting Uniko products. 
I hope you feel inspired and please pop along to the main
Uniko blog HERE as there's more goodies to look at from my fellow teamies!
 
... and if you fancy playing along at Tracey's event then click HERE
for all the event information and link up.

Almost forgot! I'd like to link this up at Happy Little Stampers
Christmas Challenge - where the theme this month is TAG!


Thanks as always for stopping by and hope to see you soon!

Sarah

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Uniko - Reveal, Release and GIVEAWAY - November 2015

Hi there, it's here at last the full reveal and release of the latest sets from

Uniko 

... what a bunch of stunning designs they are and I'm sure you
won't want to waste any time getting your hands on them.
Here's a couple more cards I've made using a mixture of stamps from 
the 4 the sets - Christmas is in full swing at the Sazzle House!


For this one I've teamed it with a 'garland' from Garlands Galore and
the images are stamped with Versamark Ink then heat embossed in 
WOW Gold EP and coloured with Zig Clear Brush Pens. Can you tell
I've been watching videos by the wonderful Julia Altermann of
 (Just One More Card)? Gone a bit dotty for dots!



It's not too obvious on the photo but the card base was stamped with 
the little presents from Essentially Christmas to create a tone on tone BG 
plus I stamped some on a piece of white card stock, then made a 'happy' mistake ... 
I grabbed the white embossing powder instead of clear but I love the effect - 
my gift wrap is now unique on each pressie!!! 
The tree and presents are fuzzy cut and mounted on 3d foam.


So all these yummy goodies are now available to purchase over on the 
Uniko website HERE! and you might like a look at what's in store:

  











We are also opening the traditional Release Day BLOG HOP and GIVEAWAY!
You'll need to visit each of the DT below and leave a comment 
at each one in order to be entered in the HOP!
Beverley
Jane
Sarah G
Sarah P (that's ME!)

So what are you waiting for ... there's a £15 eGift Certificate up for grabs!

Sadly some of the DT didn't receive the sets in time to create
SO ... drum roll please ....
We are having a special BONUS Countdown to Christmas Blog Hop
on Saturday, 28th November! More details HERE


Thanks so much for calling in and I'll be back again tomorrow for Uniko! 
This time to take part in Tracey McNeely's 25 Days of Christmas Tags



Hope to catch you then
Sarah