Tuesday 30 October 2018

Today's the day .......... Release Day for the BRAND NEW Uniko stamps and stencils

Happy Tuesday ......

Yeah!! it's here ........ brand new Uniko Release Day .......  whoo hoo!!!!

I hope you've enjoyed the last few days when we've been introducing the four BRAND NEW stamp sets, along with two re-released ones, and the three BRAND NEW stencil designs. 
Well today, it's time for the New Release Blog Hop and GIVEAWAY.

Join in the fun with Bev and the Design Team and hop along with us.  There's an amazing prize up for grabs so don't forget to comment along the way.  You could win the entire new release .... yes all of it!  You have until midnight(GMT) on 9th November to play along, so plenty of time.

Here's a few more ideas for you using some of the new stamps and stencils .........

BIG & BOLD Merry stamp set with the Folk Snowflake stencil ........


Perfect Pearls Mist sprayed through the stencil onto black card.  The result was this gorgeous, shimmery background


The sentiment was then stamped over the top and heat embossed .... looks great!
The holly leaves are from the Uniko Winter Foliage set, stamped in Peeled Paint Distress Oxide and fussy cut.

Because my piece of black card was bigger than the stencil, I ended up with a border top and bottom of the design.  Instead of cutting it off, the piece fit perfectly on a DL card ..... I just needed to trim the sides away.  I added the decorative borders just to hide the rough edges ..... looks cute though I think!


BIG & BOLD Merry again, this time with the gorgeous Sweet Broom ......



A lovely layering stamp and looks so pretty whatever colours you use.  I've gone with gold embossing then added the detail to the leaves using a pretty pink metallic ink


The Quilted stencil next, along with the Santa from one of the re-released sets .... Jolly Christmas.  And not forgetting the new Simply Said Block - Christmas


I used two colours of ink with the stencil, first the green shade, then I moved the stencil to fill the empty squares and stenciled with red ink


One of the Background Builders next, the new Christmas 2018 set.  These are great for making quick and easy, fun designs


The sentiment is from the Uniko All Occasions Sentiments #4 ..... love this font!

Last up from me today is the Scandinavian Christmas stencil .....


I've used part of the design to decorate my Christmas tree.


Stencil paste with glitter on the top ......  and a snippet of card to make the base.


Well I hope you're feeling inspired, and that you love the new release as much as we, the Design Team do.

All the new stamps and stencils will be available on the Uniko website from 9pm this evening.  You'll have to hang on to your shopping lists for just a little while longer, but the good news is there's a 24hr FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING offer on all orders of £15 or over starting from 9pm this evening (Tuesday)  through until 9pm on October 31st.

Don't forget we're celebrating the new release with a Blog Hop and Giveaway.  All you have to do is leave comments as you visit each blog, and you could win the entire new release.
Happy hopping!
Linda (that's me!)
and


Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off up to Ramsey this morning with Lauren and the little man.  My favourite shops are up there so this could be an expensive trip! No doubt it will cost me lunch too.

Cheerio until next time .......

Monday 29 October 2018

Introducing ....... BIG & BOLD Merry and Background Builders Christmas 2018

Happy Monday .......

Welcome to a new week ...... and a fun filled one at that.
We've got Halloween coming up on Wednesday, a family get together with a nice roast dinner on Thursday (I'm doing the cooking!).   There's the firework display in Douglas on Friday (finger's crossed the nice weather holds),  and then on Saturday, I'm off out for a day of craft, chat and no doubt delicious cake!!!
On top of all that it's half term here on the island.  School's out, so little man will be around too.

Let's get the week underway with the final introductions from the brand new Uniko release.
Today we've got the last of the new stamp sets ...... BIG & BOLD Merry
Exactly as it says ..... it's big, it's bold and it's Merry


And last but not least ....... the new Background Builders - Christmas 2018!
Another collection of festive borders, great for backgrounds but also so much more!

It's called Background Builders but, that doesn't mean to say that's all you can use it for.
If you're like me, and still have most of your Christmas cards to make how about something CAS ..... great for the kids to send to all their school friends .....


I've teamed up the cute little Santa from the Jolly Christmas set with just part of one of the border stamps
The little guy has been fussy cut and attached using a piece of folded acetate so he actually moves when you touch him .... so cute!


**edited **
Something I haven't done for a while is play along with the Less is More Challenge.  As the current theme is all about Dimension I thought this little guy fit the bill perfectly so I'm joining in with the fun.

Back to the release .......
The trees this time ...... a multi coloured forest!


They were simply stamped across a piece of white card (they fit perfectly across a 6 x 4 inch card) and then coloured using sparkly gel pens.
I fussy cut around the trees to remove just the top part of the card .....


I then stamped my sentiment underneath (from the Jolly Christmas set ..... love these little words) and added a sprinkling of 'snow' using chunky white embossing powder



The snowy sky is directly on the card blank ..... shades of blue Distress Inks blended across the top, and splashed with water and a little bit of that chunky white EP again
   

 The trees have been attached over the top using foam pads to give dimension


Last but definitely not least ...... BIG & BOLD Merry



I do love large sentiments ....... they make great focal points.

The snowflakes were stamped first, using gold and silver metallic inks ..... these are actually from
another stamp set from the BIG & BOLD range ..... BIG & BOLD Snow


Once these were dry, I heat embossed the large Merry across the centre and also added a couple more of the snowflakes and embossed those too


The rest of the sentiment was simply stamped in black ink to add a contrast


and I finished off with a touch of sparkle here and there, and some splatters of gold and silver ink.

Well ........ that's the lot!  You've seen all of the new release.
The big Release Day is tomorrow and as always there'll be the Release Day Blog Hop and Giveaway.
More ideas and inspiration using the new stamps and stencils and there'll be a fantastic prize up for grabs.  See you all tomorrow.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great week.
It's time for a coffee I think.

Cheerio until next time .....

Sunday 28 October 2018

Introducing ....... Winter Botanicals Sweet Broom and Quilted stencil

Happy Sunday ........

Did those that needed to, remember to put the clocks back an hour last night? 
Yes here in the UK we're back on Greenwich Mean Time.  We all got an extra hour in bed this morning ...... hmmmm,  doesn't feel like it ....... and I'm not looking forward to it going dark earlier either.

Anyhow ....... Bev and the Design Team are introducing more fabulous designs from the brand new Uniko release coming VERY soon.  How's the shopping list coming along?

Today we have another lovely new stamp set ........ Winter Botanicals - Sweet Broom
A pretty layering set ......

And, the last of the new stencil designs ....... Quilted
I can see this being used for quite a few occasions.  Great for backgrounds, perfect for new baby cards don't you think


I've used it here with some vellum on a Christmas design (I'm on a mission to fill my festive box!)


I've dry embossed the design first by running the stencil through my big shot with the piece of vellum, and then I added in some white detail using a fine embossing tool on the back ......


This is about as close as I get to parchment craft!!

I then stamped some foliage (from Uniko's Winter Foliage)  onto a piece of coloured cardstock, using the same shade of ink. You can see it just shows through the vellum panel giving it a really soft look.
The vellum was attached to a die cut frame and placed over the top.

The sentiment was heat embossed on the bottom using WOW's Platinum EP ....


and I stamped, heat embossed and fussy cut more elements from the Winter Foliage set to embellish the frame


I also added tiny dots of glitter glue onto the vellum panel, to add just a touch of winter sparkle.


Here's another festive idea using the Sweet Broom stamp set (I said I was filling up my festive box!)


I started by stamping my sentiment first using a gold ink (from Uniko's All Occasion Sentiments #4) 


Next, I used the outline stamps of the leaves and heat embossed these in gold.  


I then used my MISTI to add the layer of detail to the leaves, and stamped this using a platinum metallic ink.  It has a nice green tint to it and looks pretty against the gold.


The berries were simply coloured using a ZIG marker and a bit of water and I finished off with a few splatters of gold ink and a sprinkling of  Chunky White Embossing Powder.

That's it from me for today ...... there's one more day of introductions to go then the big release day is Tuesday, so you haven't long to wait.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Time for another coffee I think

Cheerio until next time ......

Saturday 27 October 2018

Introducing ...... Scandinavian Christmas & Christmas Folk Snowflake stencils along with NEW Simply Said Blocks - Christmas

Happy weekend! ......

More NEW products from the Uniko range to tempt you with this morning.  It's stencils this time, two brand new designs ....... Scandinavian Christmas, a pretty design filled with traditional Christmas images.  Use it whole to create a fabulous background, or just use part of it to decorate baubles or Christmas trees for example (the poinsettia on here is just gorgeous!)

We've also got the beautiful Christmas Folk Snowflake ...... another pretty all over design that can be used as is, or chop it down and just use part of it.

There's also a great little sentiment stamp set ....... Simply Said Blocks - Christmas.  I love this range, they are so useful, and this new set is full of festive sayings, perfect for all those Christmas cards.


Now for some inspiration .......  I don't know about you but, not only did I see a snowflake design in the new Christmas Folk Snowflake stencil, but I saw a pretty poinsettia too.  It's great when products have multiple uses ...... it's what I call value for money!


I used white stencil paste through the design and sprinkled over with red glitter whilst the paste was still wet.


I cut it down to fit on the front of a 6x6 inch card blank (with a bit of matting and layering) and I added a dot of gold glitter glue to each of the 'poinsettia' centres.


One of the Simply Said Blocks stamped in gold ink was perfect for my sentiment, and I added a little twist of gold thread behind.

Scandinavian Christmas .........


Just look at all those cute little images ..... add a touch of sparkle to them with some crystal glitter


and of course, those Simply Said Blocks go so well too .......


Thanks for popping by today .... I hope you're enjoying seeing the new release.  Got any favourites yet?

There's still more to come ........ check out the Uniko Blog each day until the big release on Tuesday next week. You'll find links to all the Design Team blogs on there too, for more ideas and inspiration.

Have a great weekend.  The sun is shining here this morning .... looks a little chilly out there though.
Time to dig out the gloves and boots I think.

Cheerio until next time .......
PS ..... if you're in the UK, don't forget to put your clocks back tonight! 

Friday 26 October 2018

Introducing ..... Background Builders - Christmas & Jolly Christmas

Happy Friday!!! ......

Are you ready for the weekend .... it's going to be a busy one.
I'm joining Bev and the rest of the Uniko Design Team to introduce the BRAND NEW stamp and stencil release from Uniko.
All the fabulous new products will be available to buy on the Uniko website on Tuesday October 30th - Release Day, so start making your shopping list now.

Today we've actually got two stamp sets that are re-releases ........ Background Builders - Christmas
a great set of  border stamps.  Traditional Christmas images with a couple of layering designs in there (I love the holly and the sweet little berries!)



And we've also got ...... Jolly Christmas.   How cute is that Santa!!


 Now for a little inspiration .......


CAS  ...... and quick and easy to make too.  Perfect for all those Christmas cards ..... told you I loved the holly!


I used my MISTI to stamp the leaves, then added the cute little berries, and finished with the sentiment border underneath.
A few splatters of gold ink onto the background, and tiny dots of crystal glaze to add a little shine to the berries ..... done!


Not just for borders and backgrounds either ......


Why not use all the stamps and create tags for all those lovely Christmas gifts ...... it's a great way of using up all those snippets of cardstock too


Festive red and green ink, a little bit of white embossing (always looks great on Kraft card) and a touch of gold ......


Now I just need to buy more presents!

The Jolly Christmas stamp set dropped through the letterbox yesterday so I haven't had much time to play but ...... it's another great set for quick cards. I managed to get these finished late last night ....... the little tree is just soooo cute!!


I stamped a whole load of the trees ..... and the Santa (you'll have to wait to see what I've done with him though, he's not finished yet!) These have been heat embossed in gold, coloured using ZIG markers and a water brush, and then fussy cut.


I stamped the sentiment, using the MISTI to line it all up ........ it's four of the separate dinky little word stamps that come on the set, that you can use to create lots of Christmas sayings



I then added the trees above ...... two flat onto the card and the middle one with foam pads to add a bit of dimension


A few dots of glitter glue and a sparkly star on top finishes the card off nicely


For the co-ordinating tag, I embossed the tree in white this time and used more of those dinky sentiments


Well, that's day one of the introductions, there's lots more to come.
Pop along and check out what the rest of the DT have created.  Links to their blogs can be found on todays Uniko Blog post

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend.
Looks like its the craft room for me today ..... we've had sun and blue sky, very heavy rain and very grey skies, and hailstone already this morning, and it's only 9am!!

Cheerio until next time ......