Wednesday 28 February 2018

Today's the Day!! .......

Happy Wednesday ......

And welcome to Uniko's 6th Birthday & February Release, Blog Hop & Giveaway!
It's been a busy few days, showcasing all the gorgeous brand new products and guess what .... they're all available to purchase now on the Uniko website!
Have you got your favourites?  Is there something there that you just have to have?

Well, before you dash off to fill those shopping baskets how about a fun Blog Hop to celebrate the new release, with tons of fabulous inspiration from the Design Team.

I've got a couple of cards for you using two of the new stencil designs .... the stunning Chrysanthemum (I shouldn't say it but this is one of my favourites!)




I love this large bloom ....... it's so easy to create stunning cards, just think of all the colours that will look amazing with this.


I've gone a nice cheery yellow ..... well, Spring is on the way so I'm told!
I used Distress Oxide inks .... I think it was Squeezed Lemonade with a touch of Wild Honey.  I love the crispness of these inks and they give great coverage.

A simple sentiment, from the new Spring Botanicals - Daffodil stamped onto a strip of white cardstock

and then layered onto another piece coloured with the same Oxide ink, and attached to the bottom of my card
A few Nuvo Jewel dots here and there add the finishing touch


Another favourite is Seeing Stars ...... this is a fab little stencil which will be great for so many occasions.


I've used it here on top of a galaxy background which  I found in my stash


I applied texture paste through the stencil and then sprinkled glitters over the top whilst the paste was still wet ....... gold, crystal and a pretty platinum shade


The sentiment is from Reach for the Stars and goes perfectly with this stencil


You may already be hopping and have arrived here from Julie's Blog .... if not, don't worry you can't get lost.  There's a full list of all the blogs below.

Your next stop is the lovely Lindsey.  Hop over and say Hello, and don't forget to comment along the way for a chance to win the ENTIRE NEW RELEASE!!  That's right, one lucky winner will win ALL of the brand new stamps and stencils .... how cool is that!

You have until midnight (GMT) on Saturday March 10th to complete the hop and leave your comments, and the winner will be announced on Sunday 11th March ..... Happy hopping!

Linda (that's me!)

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm braving the weather this morning and going into town to, amongst other things, collect my mobile phone, and it's not good news (sigh!)  In case you've missed the saga of the mobile phone, it had an unfortunate dip whilst we were moving house ....... yes, it ended up in the toilet  ..... again!!!
Last time this happened the lovely gentleman in the gadget shop managed to fix it for me, unfortunately he hasn't been able to work his magic this time (sob!)  
So .... I'm off to see if the nice people in the phone shop can get the sim card, take all my stuff off and put it all back onto my old phone, which luckily I still have lying around.  Either that or I ask hubby to buy me a nice shiny new one for my birthday next week ....... not really what I wanted for my birthday!!!

Cheerio until next time ......

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Introducing ....... Kindness Blooms and Fun Flowers

Happy Tuesday ......

It's the final day of Introductions for the brand new launch from Uniko.   Tomorrow's the BIG release day ...... all the new products will be available on the Uniko website and we're going to have some fun with a Blog Hop and giveaways.

Before all that though there's a couple of things still left to show you ...... Kindness Blooms, a cute little floral stamp set that includes two really fun flowers, some useful little accent stamps and of course sentiments to match. 
We also have Fun Flowers ..... which is a fab little stencil designHere it is in action ...... how cute is this design!


I've simply used the whole stencil along with Distress Oxide inks (I'm seriously addicted to these at the moment)
I've brushed the inks through the stencil onto a larger piece of white cardstock, blending the different shades as I went along


I then cut the panel to fit a black 7x5 cardblank leaving white space at the bottom so that I could stamp my sentiment (the new Birthday sentiments come in handy again!) and also tiny strip of the black down one side


I added a strip of white card inked using one of the Oxide colours across the edge of the stenciled area just to give a cleaner finish, and then I added a few dots of Nuvo Jewel Drops to the centres of the flowers


Inside the card I just used one of the flowers from the stencil, masked off around it and used the Oxides again


It's such a pretty design .....


I also had a play with the new stamp set .....


I created my own little flower garden ......


Coloured with ZIG markers and a waterbrush.


I used one of the accent stamps for the flower centres, heat embossed in gold, and added a few splatters of ink onto the background


I used one of the small word stamps from the set to create my sentiment banner across the bottom


And added a little something on the inside ......


Well, that's it ....... the whole of the new release.  What do you think?  I do hope you love it as much as the Design Team.  Check out the Uniko Blog to see more fabulous inspiration.

Don't forget we have the big release tomorrow and the Blog Hop ..... see you then!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
It's been all go here this morning .... first off we had snow!!  Nowhere near as much as you guys in the UK but, the clouds are gathering again and it's so COLD!!
Then I had some furniture show up.  They weren't due until Thursday, but they rang and said could they deliver today.  So now I have my beautiful new dresser in the kitchen.  I can finally get the rest of my stuff put away.
Then the window guy came round to check out all the doors and windows.  We'd had some problems with a couple of the doors when we moved in so he's checked over the lot!  Let's see what he comes up with when I get the report back!

Now it's time for a coffee I think .... then it's back to the craft room.

Cheerio until next time .....

Monday 26 February 2018

Introducing ........ Life is a Song, Background Blocks Equaliser and Equaliser Stencil

Good morning ....

Welcome to Monday! I hope you've had a nice weekend.

Let's start the week with a look at more of the new releases coming from Uniko.  There's still a few more new designs to show you, and then they'll all be available on the website on Wednesday.  Any favourites yet?

Today is Day 4 of the product introductions and we have a bit of a music theme going on.
There's a cute little stamp set ..... Life is a Song. Equaliser from the Background Blocks range and a fab co-ordinating Equaliser stencil with all sorts of possibilities.

Todays products will make great cards for guys I think .... and teenagers. And of course anyone who is into their music. 
Don't forget to pop over to the Uniko Blog for more inspiration and great ideas from the rest of the DT.

See what I mean ..... definitely one for the boys .....


I've simply used Distress Oxide inks through the stencil onto black card .... easy!


A little bit of Glossy Accents over the top gives a gorgeous shine and makes the colours pop and it also gives the design a bit of dimension.


A simple sentiment from the Life is a Song stamp set, heat embossed in white is the perfect finishing touch.

The little stamp set is fab ....... and so useful.  Here's an idea using just the stamp set


I found a piece of card in my bit box, left over from a previous project, that I think makes a great background.
It's been done using the acetate smooshing technique, to apply Distress Ink onto the card


I've then used the stamps to create my design ......


The words in the centre, stamped simply in black Versafine with the word Music heat embossed in silver
I've added in the music notes around the sentiment, stamping off the edge atg the sides and then carrying this on in the background


The stamps work great for the inside of your cards too .....


I've teamed them up here with the Birthday Sentiments which are also from this new release.  i love it when stamps work so well together


There's one more day of introductions to come, then we have the big launch day with a fun Blog Hop and Giveaways .... can't wait! 

Thanks for popping by ..... have a great day.

Cheerio until next time

Sunday 25 February 2018

Introducing ...... Seeing Stars and Pure Floral Chrysanthemum stencils

Happy Sunday folks ....

I hope you're enjoying your weekend, and that the weather is being kind to you.  Here on the island it's been gorgeous ..... a little on the cold side but lovely and sunny.  Lets hope it stays that way!

It's Day 3 of introductions for the new UNIKO Studio release coming up next week.
It's just stencils for you today ....... there's a fab background stencil called .... Seeing Stars.  
A great design made up of different sizes of stars, that you'll be able to use for all sorts of occasions.


I've just used part of the design here ..... picking out some of the smaller stars to frame my sentiment, which is also from UNIKO.  It's called  Reach for the Stars and it goes so well with this new stencil


I've stamp one part of the sentiment simply in black ink and then heat embossed the word stars in gold

I've then used Distress Oxides (my go to inks at the moment) for the stars ..... so pretty


A few dots of glitter glue here and there for a touch of sparkle and you're done.

The second stencil is the beautiful Chrysanthemum from the Pure Florals range .... this is stunning!
It's a glorious large single bloom with so much detail .......


Again .... Distress Oxide ink (Picked Raspberry) onto a square of white cardstock which I've then cut into four smaller squares

Layered each one onto a slighter larger piece of card and then attached them to the front of a 7x7 cardbase, leaving a slight gap in between the squares


I also used foam pads to add a bit of dimension and you can just see there's a few dots of glossy accents on there too.


A simple sentiment, using the new Birthday Sentiments set is all that's needed on the front, and then why not use the stencil again sinde the card ......


I do love this design ........ think of all the colours you can use!

Check out what the rest of the design team have created, you'll find them all on the UNIKO Blog along with all the details of whats to come in this new release.

There's a couple more days to go before the BIG day so keep popping back to see the rest of the new goodies.

Thanks for stopping by ....... Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
We're off later, making the most of the sunshine.  We're going south this time down to Castletown.  There's a farmers market down there today which sounds like fun.  You know me and food!!!

Cheerio until next time .....

Friday 23 February 2018

Introducing ....... part 1 of the UNIKO new release

Happy Friday .......

It's almost the weekend ..... and what a busy weekend it's going to be.
After the sneak peeks earlier in the week, Bev and the DT are now going to 'reveal' the brand new release coming from UNIKO Studio, available from the 28th February

Today we've got ....... a fabulous new stamp set, Birthday Sentiments


Think of all those fun sentiments and sayings you can create with this.
I love the large words (and what a gorgeous font!) great for making a statement, then create the rest of your sentiment by using the smaller words.

We have a new Background Block: Party Confetti

A fab little stamp for all those birthdays and celebrations ...... and last but not least today, a fab new stencil design to coordinate with both of the above ........ Balloon Bash.

Here's a really quick and easy card for you ..... just change the colour of the balloon to suit the occasion


I've simply inked just one of the balloons on the stencil, using Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide ink


I've added in a couple of stamps from the the Balloon Bash set ....... the tiny stars stamped onto the balloon (using the same DOX ink) and the fancy bow which has been heat embossed in silver.


I drew in the tail from the ribbon using a Stardust Gel pen before adding in the sentiment


A few dots of glitter glue for a touch of sparkle and of course a little something on the inside .....


Balloons .... perfect for any celebration ....


And see what I mean about creating your own sentiments ....... 

They work so well with the Background Block too ......


And you don't have to use the large words all the time ..... the small ones say it all too


Although I do like to mix them up .....


There's four more days of Introductions before we have the BIG Release when there'll be a Blog Hop and a fab Giveaway.  You can find all the details on the UNIKO Blog along with more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend.
I'll be back with more of the new release over the weekend.

I'm taking things a little easy today ...... a bit of a late start this morning after the lovely lunch out yesterday and tonic and gin tasting last night. 
What a great night ..... run by my favourite tonic company Fever Tree down on the Quay in Douglas. 


Nice gins ..... great company .....  and there was food!  The perfect way to spend a Thursday, and the heads not too bad this morning ..... considering!!


Hubby's off work again today so we're venturing up to the north of the island I think.  We're off up to Ramsey, for a spot of retail therapy. 

Cheerio until next time .....