Uniko - Introducing Happy Days & BG Block Pinstripe II

Here we are ... the final day of introductions to the latest goodies from Uniko which will be available to purchase in the store from tomorrow following the BIG REVEAL, RELEASE & GIVEAWAY!

Today it's the turn of 2 more stamp sets in the range; Happy Days, which is a foliage silhouette stamp with a similar style to the previously released 'Just Because' and some beautiful 'curly' sentiments. Alongside this we have another Background Block - Pinstripes II and here's my examples.

I hope you've enjoyed our introductions this week and thank you for supporting us.

Tomorrow is the big reveal of the sets so I hope you'll be able to join me then. More details and 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!

DON'T FORGET to enter the HUGE prize giveaway to 'WIN stamps for a year' details on THIS post!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back tomorrow for the BIG REVEAL, RELEASE and GIVEAWAY!!!

Uniko - Bev's 40th Birthday Blog Hop

Hi friends, can you believe that Bev, super talented and simply awesome owner of Uniko is celebrating a BIG birthday today! 40 years young! 

The Uniko DT are sharing a sneaky surprise birthday blog hop in honour of Bev's birthday today so why not head on over to the blog HERE for more details. You can also join in by creating a birthday card for Bev and link it up to the post. We hope she'll love the fact that we've taken over the blog!!!
Here's my card and I just couldn't resist going with my 'go to' rainbow blended look using the Uniko Stylised Floral Stencil along with some birthday sentiments from the Simply Said Blocks range. I recently purchased the Bold Numeral dies by Altenew, die-cutting the stencilled panel with 40 before popping them up on 4 layers of black cardstock. A few enamel dots to finish the look!

Many congratulations on your special birthday Bev and hope it's FAB-u-lous,

 bursting with fun and surprises!

It's also my sister and brother-in-laws' wedding anniversary today so using slightly 'cooler' rainbow tones on this one with a die-cut heart from WPlus9, circular 'Happy' sentiment by Neat and Tangled plus die-cut 'popped-up' Anniversary sentiment from Clearly Besotted.

As always thanks for calling by my blog today

Less is More #369

Hello my crafty friends, it's time to announce our latest challenge at Less is More and we're stepping back in time with what's required for this one! All the details are on the main challenge blog HERE and here's our cue card.


You might decide to use a technique or stamp set that's not seen the light of day in a while or an additional element/embellishment that's perhaps no longer deemed 'fashionable' in crafting circles at the moment. 
Unbelievably I've 3 cards to share with you today ... having had a 2 week Easter break I had a little extra time to craft. These first 2 use handmade paper / mulberry paper I think it was called although this one is a thicker variety than others. 
For the first card I used a Columbus scalloped circle die from Mama Elephant to create a frame for the handmade paper. I stamped the sentiment from WPlus9 around the circle and mounted the 'wonderful' die-cut sentiment on foam to hide the balloon string. The balloon is from the Happy Little Stampers set 'Simply Said' and it's coloured using Promarkers.

This one uses a glittery embossed handmade / mulberry paper which I've adhered to some teal cardstock then used a die-cut 'Happy Birthday' sentiment from Impression Obsessions

Last but not least I have to admit that I own hundreds of these papery flowers in my stash; all different shapes, sizes and colours and I simply couldn't resist using them along with 2 mini sparkly brads in the centre (another of those no-longer-fashionable craft items).
I used some of the foliage stamps from Altenew Vintage Flowers to create a backdrop for the paper blooms but I'm not sure it's working for me! The sentiment is by Happy Little Stampers, our sponsor this month at Less is More.

As always there's loads of fabulous designs from my fellow teamies  over on the Less is More blog HERE and as I mentioned earlier, our sponsor for this challenge is Happy Little Stampers so do play along for a chance of a prize, which we'll announce at the start of next month. 

I hope you'll feel inspired to play along with and have some crafty fun along the way.
Thanks for calling by today!

A Trio of Sunday Challenges

Hi there friends, I'm rather pleased with myself ... having a couple of non-design team specific cards to share with you today for a change! The benefit of our cold, snowy, wet English weather meant a good excuse to escape to my craft room.

First up, I'm super excited to have found time (just) to enter the new 'Twofer Card Challenge' with these cards. I thought I'd find this challenge a breeze as I love making TWO-fers on my blog but this took some thought to come up with 2 completely different designs and occasions. I hope these generalised ones count!

The theme, as you'll see from the Cue Card below is 'Feathers' ... Easy I thought, thinking of my gorgeous WPlus9 Fanciful Feathers stamp set and dies then I realised I'd have to get out of my comfort zone and whip up 2 completely different ways to use it. 

Here I created a very random pattern of the smaller feathers using Altenew Inks, in some cheery bright colours, to cover the whole card front ... yikes I'm used to more 'white' space than this but it's quite fun stepping outside of my usual 'box'. Using a Uniko Christmas set; Rustic Christmas I added the little birds randomly to the pattern. To finish a die-cut hugs from my stash, coloured with Promarkers and Winked with Stella on a stitched rectangle with a 'sending' sentiment also from Uniko.

This one uses a Brusho off-cut extravaganza! I just love these colours, yet when using Brusho you never quite know how it'll turn out. This time using the matching dies to the WPlus9 set I die-cut some feathers, adhered them to a stitched rectangle with a strip of the brusho panel to the right. The 'For Your Kindness' is from the Fanciful Florals stamp set and the die-cut Thanks also by WPlus9.

I'd also like to link these up in 2 Simon Says Stamp Challenges ... The SSS Monday one is Birds of a Feather, with the SSS Wednesday one 'Add a Sentiment'

Thanks for visiting my blog today and I hope you've had a fun crafty day too.

STAMPlorations Giving Thanks Blog Hop 2017

Hi there friends, I'm delighted to be representing Less is More, as a Guest Designer, once again in the STAMPlorations Giving Thanks Blog Hop following a lovely invite from Shery, owner and talented designer over at STAMPlorations!

Why not visit her blog HERE for some fabulous inspiration! AND why not head to the Less is More blog HERE where there's links and details about how you too can join in the blog hop and win some prizes along the way

I've used some lovely Fall themed stamps which Shery sent me and I've stamped the images using some masking here and there, coloured with promarkers. The panel was die-cut using a WPlus9 Scalloped rectangle die before mounting on fun foam then a kraft cardbase where I've stamped some of the leafy images in a tone on tone effect.

Today marks the 3rd time Shery has teamed up with her own wonderful team of designers at STAMPlorations as well as a selection of Guest Designers, like me, from various Challenge blogs, where Shery generously sponsors with prizes throughout the year. 

Shery is also releasing a whole new bundle of stamps to coincide with the Blog Hop and there's a Thanksgiving sale too. I'd say there's plenty to get you tempted to play along and I hope you feel inspired to do so.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today and don't forget to head over to the STAMPlorations site HERE for all the info as well as the Less is More blog

Less Is More #340

Morning friends, oh I have missed blogging and crafting! This is the first post I've 'written' since my 2 week holiday in France - anything that has appeared here was thanks for Mr Blogger and his scheduling expertise! So it's a pleasure to be back and introducing our latest challenge at Less is More
Being the first one of the month it's the turn of Colour week and here's our Cue Card

Hopefully that won't cause too many issues; there's no need to use actual fruit images - just whatever takes your fancy. I started imagining all those exotic fruits ... mango, pineapple, kiwi, watermelon, to name a few and took it from there.
I recently treated myself to the stunning 'Spring Blooms' set from WPlus9 so this is a first for inking up this beauty with some vivid ink colours from Altenew. I also added some extra detail to the images with coloured pencils before die-cutting the 'Friend' word die from Paper Smooches, mounting it on several layers of card before popping it back into it's negative space. The 'Good Luck' sentiment is from Uniko: Simply Said range.

The Muse Challenge blog is having an 'Anything Goes' week so I'd like to pop this card in over there. I used to play along there almost every week but the time just seems to fly these days so I couldn't pass up this opportunity!

Next up one of my friends is celebrating a BIG and special birthday plus she's addicted to sweeties, particularly wine gums although I didn't have a stamp with those so gummy bears will have to suffice! These are from the Avery Elle Pick n Mix set.

The bears are coloured with Promarkers, die-cut and arranged along a stitched curved border die from MFT with a 'celebrate' sentiment from Uniko: All Occasion Sentiments #6 and the smaller sentiment is Clearly Besotted: Laugh Out Loud! There's a teeny little pale blue inky blending behind the bears too and I've coated them with Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents.

I'd like to pop this one in over at CASology where the theme is 'Juicy'

Being the beginning of a new month we are also welcoming back Seven Hills Crafts as our Sponsor for August and I hope you'll play along this month to be in with a chance of winning a prize.

 

Don't forget to check out the fabulous designs from my fellow teamies over on the main blog HERE and have some fun! 
Thanks for calling by today!

Honey I Shrunk The Kit #12 - Going Up

Hey there friends, it's time for another day out with my fellow Honey Babes for another HISTK post! I can't believe how quickly the weeks passed as it doesn't seem long since we were showcasing Shona's super cute set. This time our host is the lovely Hazel, who named this kit 'Going Up' - read on for more details ...

There was so much to work with that I ran out of time before using everything but it does mean I can play some more with what's left and here's the cards I've made so far ...

For this first one I die-cut a window in a panel of black cardstock using the MFT Rectangel Peek-a-boo die and popped that up on fun foam for dimension. A piece of design paper behind with my little koala scene. The sentiment is die-cut with a snow-drift die, also MFT Die-namics and the images and sentiment are all coloured with Promarkers.

It's an Anything Goes Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge so I'd like to link my card up there. 

Here's I've coloured the die-cut butterflies with distress inks, before placing them in an embossing folder from WeR Memory Keepers Next Level folders. Another MFT die used here to separate the black and white card stock - basic stitched border dies. The sentiment is die-cut using a Sizzix oval stax and I've added some colour-coordinated enamel dots - just because I love them and it needed a little extra 'lift' I thought!

First of all I created a frame for these lovely die-cuts using the WPlus9 Sunshine Layers dies. The images were coloured with promarkers and fuzzy cut (where necessary) before mounting my little scene on foam or directly on the cardbase for differing dimension. I couldn't resist adding those gorgeous diamond gems for extra detail and the sentiment seemed perfect for the scene.

As luck would have it when I made this card I had been using the 'Time To Party' set by Clearly Besotted and I realised the balloon die-cuts (which I don't own) were the perfect fit! Hey what a stroke of luck. Using a little more of the design paper I picked 3 colours to tone with it and stamped the balloons in Altenew Inks, adding a little water to spread the pigment on the water-colour cardstock. I coloured the 'make a wish' die-cut sentiment with the same inks and adhered everything to the card also making use of the twine as the strings for my balloons. 

Over at Time Out their having a 'celebrations' themed challenge and I'd like to play along there although sadly I've certainly not twisted with the one layer option!

It was such a joy to work with this kit Hazel and thanks so much for sending it and inspiring us with such gorgeous bits and pieces from your stash ...

Kit contents include:

Stamps: Gerda Steiner Designs - You're Koalafied/ STAMPlorations - Noteworthy 2/ Bella Stamps - Tomorrow's Dream & A Beautiful Day/ 
Dies: MFT - Brushstroke Birthday Greeting/ Clearly Besotted - Let's Party Die Collection / Spellbinders - Day Dreams (sun and clouds) / Butterflies (not sure) 
Other: Patterned paper: Stampin' Up! - Birthday Basics (retired) / Yellow twine


As always thanks for calling by my blog today and I'm off to check out what the rest of my teamies, below, have made with this fantastic bundle. 
Hazel Hodgkins: Hazel's Paper Designs Sarah Gray: Funky Fossil Designs Shona Chambers: Twine Around Anita Bowden: Neet & Crafty Sarah Platt: Sazzle Dazzle Crafts ... that's ME!

Less is More #333

Hi there crafty friends, are you ready for this week's challenge at Less is More and it's another fun one so hope you feel inspired to join us and play along. I've 3 cards for you today, with a couple of family birthdays coming up soon and several friends also it seemed the perfect opportunity to get ahead of myself.

I'm on a bit of a shaker roll at the moment and loving this curly 'friend' die-cut sentiment from Paper Smooches, which certainly works a treat in glitter cardstock and adhered directly on to the acetate window. Having tried brushos with cling wrap I was fascinated to see a video by the fabulous Jennifer McGuire HERE using watercolours with cling wrap. I need to get a little more practice in to make them as vibrant as JM's but for a first attempt I was pretty impressed and I've used a piece as the background to my shaker window. I used a stitched circle die from Simon Says Stamp for the window and the sprinkles from Little Things by Lucy.

It's an 'Anything Goes' week over at Addicted to Stamps and More so I'd like to head across there with this one.

... here's the family ones!

First up for my niece followed by her mum's below. Their birthdays fall on consecutive days next month. The images are from Clearly Besotted: Time to Party and Laugh Out Loud, plus the Basic Alphabet also by CBS. For a change I used my Memento dew drop inks, that have been neglected of late but I'm loving the colours and they were easy to blend for the 3 matching stripes behind the balloon panel.

Another example using Jennifer McGuire's Watercolour 'cling wrap' technique inside a die-cut heart shaped aperture from WPlus9. The inlaid 'sister' word die is from Clearly Besotted and 'Happy Birthday' by Avery Elle.

Ooooh! before I forget ... here's our Cue Card for the Less is More challenge and there's still time to be in with a chance of a prize from our generous sponsor for this month, STAMPlorations.

Don't forget to check out the fabulous designs from my fellow teamies over on the main blog HERE 
Hope you'll play along and have some fun and thanks for calling by and I'll be back soon!

A Little Tuesday Flower Power!

Hi friends, I've a card to share today  and would you believe this card was started last summer at the HLS retreat in Swindon when my buddy Anita let me borrow this stunning bloom. I stamped and heat embossed it ... and it has remained in that state until this week!!!

I finally decided to add some yummy blue tones with an inky blend of Distress inks over the top, a splatter of water with perfect pearls and to finish a little bit of sparkle with some sequins. It's such a beautiful and detailed stamp that I can't even remember which company makes it ... Anita can you help out with that??? The sentiment is by WPlus9: Ranunculus

I'd like to link this one up at The Flower Challenge with a massive apology as it's one of those challenges I really should enter every month, especially because I own so many floral stamps and they really are my favourite image on cards. So here at last ...

Thanks for calling by my blog today and I hope you're enjoying a crafty week!