Uniko Blog Challenge #54 ........

Happy Friday .......

It's almost the weeknd ....... whoo hoo!!!  Let's get is started with a new Uniko Blog Challenge shall we.
It's Challenge #54 and the theme is Flowers.  There's also an optional twist ...... to use Die Cuts

I  was inspired by the colours from the photograph  .......

I love this little bloom from the You Are, Yes You stamp set.
I stamped the flower and leaves randomly over a piece of white cardstock and then coloured using ZIG markers and a waterbrush.

I cut the piece to fit the front of a 7x5 cardblank leaving space for the green border across the bottom

I stamped the sentiment along a strip of white card and attached it on the bottom across the join.

A few dots of Jewel Drops in the white spaces to finish off.

What's your favourite flower?  Stamp it, colour it, or die cut it, and enter Challenge #54 on the Uniko Blog.
You have until midnight (GMT) on the 23rd August to get your entries in so lots of time to play along.
Need some more inspiration? ..... then check out the Uniko Blog and see what the rest of the Design Team, and our lovely Guest Designer Amy Cairns have created.
You'll also find all the challenge details and prize info on there too.

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend.

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:
Stamps: You Are, Yes You clear stamp set; Simply Said (Uniko)
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicate Golden Glitz
Others: ZIG Markers; Jewel Drops (Nuvo)

Life is better in flip flops! ......

Happy Thursday .......

I hope you've had a nice day.
The rain from yesterday seems to have disappeared which is good, however the forecast for weekend is not so good.  Typical ...... the schools finish tomorrow for the long summer break. Lets hope the weekend is just a blip!
I think I'm still in holiday mood though ..... it's been a tough week trying to get back into the swing of things, but I think I'm almost there.

It's time for a little reminder of this months CAS Stencil Challenge ........

Hosted by the lovely Cathy, our theme this month is all about Alcohol Inks and Alcohol Lift

Alcohol Inks are so much fun to use, and the lift technique works so well with stencils.
Why not give them a go and play along with the challenge.
Check out the links on the challenge blog to some great video tutorials on how to use these inks .... and then have some fun!

Told you I was still in the holiday mood ........ totally agree with this sentiment.  I love my flip flops!!!

I've used my Alcohol Pearls again, on YUPO paper, to create the background.
I applied a few drops of colour onto a felt pad applicator and then swiped the colour across the YUPO

I then used a Tim Holtz stencil and the Alcohol Ink Lift Re-inker to add the sunrays ...... a few drops of the re-inker onto a craft mat, picked up with a sponge applicator tool and then lightly dabbed over the stencil to remove the colour.  Less is more with this technique ..... if you have too much of the Lift ink on your sponge  it will seep underneath your stencil spoiling the design.
Remove the stencil and blot the design with a paper towel ...... DON'T RUB!!  Repeat this a few times to make sure all the excess ink and colour has been removed.  When your paper towel is coming up clean then you can rub over the design to give it a nice finish.

I stamped the sentiment using Archival Ink and framed my sunset efore attaching it on to my card.

I stamped the little flip flops, and heat embossed before colouring them using ZIG Markers.  They were then die cut and attached onto the frame ...... cute or what!

I'm also linking this up to the CAS Mix Up Challenge.  The theme this month is Alcohol Lift Ink so this definitely fits the bill.
Alcohol Ink Lift - check!  Stamping - check! and my choice element ..... die cutting - check!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
Things are definitley getting back to normal around here ........ I'm off to climb make a start on the mountain of ironing that's appeared.  I'm sure we didn't take that many clothes away on holiday!!

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: Flip Flop Life stamps and matching die (Newton's Nook)
Inks: Alcohol Pearls - Alchemy (yellow), Splendor (orange), Deception (pink); Alcohol Ink Lift Re-inker; Black Archival; Versamark (for the flip flops)
Others: YUPO paper; Sunray Stencil (Tim Holtz); Gold Embossing Powder (WOW!); ZIG Markers; Stitched Frame Die; Jewel Drops (Nuvo)

Floating poinsettias ......

Happy Wednesday evening ......

Half way through the week already!!!  I've spent all day in the craft room and actually got some things finished ..... yeah!   No sitting in the garden enjoying the sun for me today ....... it's been raining!!

I suppose I had to make a start at some point ....... with Christmas that is. Ho! Ho! Ho!
I know, I know ..... it's still only July but, festive themed craft goodies are out there and it'll be here before we know it!

Before I went on holiday I had a little play around with the gorgeous Poinsettia stencil, and matching dies from Sweet Poppy Stencils.
I'd been using them for some up coming magazine projects, and I thought ....... would they work with the Floating Die Cut technique that Jennifer McQuire did a little while ago?  Well .... it would normally be stamps with matching dies but I think stencils work just as well ..... what do you think?

If you haven't seen this technique before check out Jennifer's video, you'll love it!!

I used all three sizes of poinsettia on the stencil and inked through with one of the red Distress Oxide inks.
I then used the matching dies to cut out all the flowers.

I arranged the poinsettias over a piece of white cardstock, placing them close together but not touching, and also leaving some white space.
Once I was happy with the arrangement I placed a piece of Glad Press n Seal over the top and lightly pressed down to secure the die cuts. (If you're not familiar with Press n Seal, it's a bit like cling film but it's tacky, like a Post It note) 
I trimmed off the excess around the edges, placed an oval die in the centre and then ran it through my die cutting machine.
Now I have two pieces, both of which I can use to create two different cards ....... one from the outer frame .......

and one from the die cut oval .....

Once you've die cut the centre, carefully peel off the backing card.  Attach foam pads to the back of each of the die cut pieces ..... these should still be in place, attached to the Press n Seal.

Using the Press n Seal to hold the pieces in place, attach them to the front of a card.  Gently peel off the Press n Seal leaving the 'floating' die cut frame behind ...... clever eh!

I stamped a sentiment in the oval aperature and added a frame to the inside

A sprinkling of Chunky White Embossing Enamel, heated from behind, a few dots of glitter glue in the white spaces, and I also added some festive red glitter to the large poinsettias

The twofer is very CAS ....... attach the foam pads as before and place the oval onto a white cardblank.   I added a simple die cut frame around the edge and some pretty white pearls in the spaces

and finished with a simple Christmas sentiment.

Well that's two for the festive box ...... maybe it's time I made a few more!!

Thanks for popping by.

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: Joy & Peace clear stamps (Sweet Poppy); Deco Christmas (Tim Holtz)
Inks: Festive Berries Distress Oxide Ink; Delicata Golden Glitz
Others: Poinsettia stencil and matching dies (Sweet Poppy); Nestabilities Oval Die; Glad Press n Seal (Amazon); Stickles Gold Glitter Glue; White flatbacked pearls; Red fine Glitter (Sweet Poppy Stencils)

Celebrating another birthday over on the CAS WAtercolour challenge .....

Happy Tuesday .......

I'm playing along with the CAS Watercolour Challenge again today .....

As you can see the theme is ...... Bouquet of Flowers.  
There's also another birthday celebration going on over there ...... it's the lovely Bonnie's birthday today ......

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY BONNIE!!

I hope you're having a fabulous day

Fingers crossed this is already with Bonnie (if not, it is on it's way!)

I stamped the pretty bunch of flowers onto white cardstock, and heat embossed them in white.

I then used a piece of acetate to smoosh a little bit of blue onto the background, trying not to get any on the flowers.

I used my new Catherine Pooler Mini Ink Pads to water colour the flowers ........ the colours are fab, they stamp beautifully and they work so well with water.  I need to add more to my collection!!
I used quite a bit of water to blend the colours and add shading, causing a little to bleed outside the lines.  I wasn't too bothered about this though, as I think it gives a nice watercolour look.

A few splatters of gold ink, and some dots of glitter glue to add a little sparkle ......

And a die cut sentiment to finish off .......

As I said I hope this has arrived in time.  Have a lovely day Bonnie ......

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: Full of Glee (Penny Black); Simple Strips Background (Taylored Expressions) plus matching die
Inks: Versamark; Fiesta Blue, Tiki Torch (orange), Party Dress (pink) & Lime Ricky (green) - Catherine Pooler Inks; Delicata Golden Glitz
Others: White Embossing Powder (WOW!); White Blizzard Glitter Drops (Nuvo)