You can find me on the Uniko Blog today ......

Happy Wednesday .....

Just popping by to say I'm on the Uniko Blog today with a little spot of DT Inspiration, using the brand new Abstract Triangles stencil and the Graffiti Background stamp from the latest Uniko release.  If you have the time I'd love to see you over there.

Have a great day .....
Cheerio until next time ......

There's still time to play along with the CAS Stencil challenge .....

Happy Monday evening ......

We're just about to sit down for dinner but, first I wanted to give you a quick reminder of this month's CAS Stencil Challenge ..... there's still plenty of time if you'd like to play along.

Hosted by the lovely Nancy, it's all about Powdered Inks this month ....... things like Brushos, Infusions, Lindy's Magicals, Color Bursts, you know what I mean.  Little pots of magic that react with water and other mediums.
If you're not familiar with Powdered Inks, check out this month's challenge post on the CAS Stencil Blog.  There you'll find links to some really useful video tutorials.

For my inspiration piece I've used Brusho's, but this time I've used Translucent Stencil Paste instead of water, to react with the  powders .......

I've used the pretty Leafy Flowers stencil from Sweet Poppy and just two pots of Brusho .....  a red shade and a green.
I just love how you get so many different shades from the one pot of colour.

I placed my stencil onto a piece of white card and taped it down around the edges.
If you've never used Sweept Poppy Stencils before ...... give them a try.  They're made from top quality stainless steel, and the designs are so detailed. 
If you use the magnetic sheet underneath your cardstock, because they're metal stencils they do stay in place really well.  Although I would recommend still securing them with low tack stencil tape ...... a) to absolutely guarantee that the stencil doesn't move, and b) also protect any cardstock showing around the edges from stray ink or stencil pastes etc.

I sprinkled a tiny amount of the Brushos through the design, trying to keep the powder off the actual stencil.
Instead of spritzing with water I used Translucent Stencil Paste over the top.  Because this is water based it still reacts with the Brushos activating the colour so it spreads in the usual way.
You could of course mix the Brusho with the paste before you put it though the stencil, but this is much more fun!

I've also tried using Gel Mediums with this technique and they give similar results.
The only thing is you can't put any leftover paste back into the pot because it will have some of the colour mixed in with it ...... but you know me I don't like to waste anything so, I grabbed a bit of leftover card, added a tiny bit more Brusho, and put the paste through the stencil again ....

the result was .... a matching gift tag!

A few splatteres of co-ordinating ink here and there .....

and a couple of simple sentiments finishes everything off nicely ......

Happy stenciling!

Thanks for popping by ...... don't forget to check out what the rest of the Design Team have created, over on the CAS Stencil Challenge Blog.

Enjoy the rest of your day.
I've got slow cooked Pork Belly waiting for me and it smells deeee-licious ...... Yum!

Cheerio until next time .....

Happy Weekend! .....

Happy weekend .....

I hope you're having a good one.
I've been a bit quiet on here the last few days ...... I've been getting my breath back after all the fun of the Uniko Birthday celebrations.  Everything is good though ..... busy, busy, busy as usual. 
I got a sudden urge to Spring clean everything at the beginning of the week (what's that all about!!)
The house is absolutely sparkling!  Windows done, floors done, woodwork polished.  A lovely new bed in the spare room ready for our visitors in April,  and the hot tub is all dusted off and ready to be refilled!  Even the craft room is tidy!!
I also bought myself a new breadmaker, just a small one.  The kitchen has been filled with the smell of freshly baked bread nearly every day, which is lovely ....... the results aren't bad either!

I have been in the craft room too this week ....... doing a little bit of this and that. 
I'm going to start my workshops again I think.  Thanks to the lovely Eileen Godwin I'm feeling all inspired.  She did a fab Facebook video, decorating a calendar page and I so want to do one of my own. 
So, I ran it by my crafty ladies, and Eileen of course, and they all want to create their own calendars so a workshop it is ...... watch this space!

I was also busy with some Sweet Poppy Stencil stuff.  Lucy asked me to re-create one of my previous samples for her .......

Slightly different from the original one, but still pretty.
It's the Change in the Season's stencil on Kraft card, lots of white ink and a touch of sparkle.

Whilst I was waiting for the stencil paste to dry on this one,  I also had a little play with some of the new designs that were still out on my desk.  These will be on Hochanda at the beginning of March.

The Steam Train ...... great for masculinen designs

This is a fab stencil .... a nice large design but, you don't always have to make big cards with the larger stencils.  If you're happier creating something smaller, just use part of the design .....

This is actually the result of a 'happy accident' ...... I never throw anything away if I can help it.
I'd used the stencil previously with the black paste and black glitter on the top, on a piece of cardstock coloured with Brushos but ...... I didn't let the paste dry properly!
As you can imagine the smudge wasn't easy to hide (ooops!) ....... so I just cut it off!

There was still enough of that fab train left though, to die cut using one of my circle dies

You can see there's a couple of bits that overlap the actual circle ......

To do this I first placed the die where I wanted it to be and drew a fine line along the edges of the metal die, either side of the bit that was going to overlap. 
I then fussy cut around the sections of the train on the outside of the lines.  I put the cutting die back in place with the fussy cut sections on the top, and then ran the die through the Big Shot as usual.  The result was a die cut circle with the overlapping bits still attached ..... hope that makes sense!!

A simple sentiment and a co-ordinating frame .......

And a few splatters of matching ink to finish off

The card above is my 'go to' card size, which is 7x5 inches. 
Here's the same stencil, in full this time, on a large square card

Black paste again, this time with sections highlighted using a Liquid Chrome marker

Has this been fussy cut ...... no.  It's a sneaky peek at a matching die that will be available for the Steam Train stencil .... how cool is that!
It doesn't cut the steam cloud ...... so I've used my sentiment in it's place.

Another of the new designs is the pretty Floral Mandala ....

Used here with Distress Oxide inks .....

a little touch of Stardust Gel Pen to add a bit of shimmer around the edge

And then a hidden sentiment in the middle, die cut using one of the new Sweet Poppy word dies that are coming soon

It also looks great when used with the stencil pastes too .....

I think the date for the Sweet Poppy shows on HOCHANDA is March 6th (the day after my birthday!) at 12pm and 4pm.
New products as well as some favourites, and lots of tips and techniques from the lovely Lucy.

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

Cheerio until next time .....

Today's the Day! It's the Uniko 7th Birthday February 2019 Release Blog Hop GIVEAWAY and Treasure Hunt

Happy Monday ........

Let's get the week off to a great start shall we.
You might want to grab a coffee .... this is going to be fun but it could take a while.  There's lots to get through and loads of pictures.

Over the last few days, along with the rest of the Uniko Design Team, I've been introducing the brand new Uniko Birthday Release, available later today, on the Uniko website.  Check out the New Arrivals section from 9pm this evening (GMT)

There's SIX gorgeous new clear stamp sets, TWO of which have fabulous matching sets of dies, and ONE brand new stencil design.
If you need a reminder, here they are ......

The new stencil design ..... Abstract Triangles (I love this!)

The stamps, and designer dies ....
Great sentiments and words with  BIG & BOLD Happy

A great set of dies to match this one .....

Birthday Wishes ....... perfect for the inside of your cards as well as out

 Two new Background Blocks ..... Graffiti Texture and Pinstripe

A gorgeous new floral ..... Passiflora 

with matching dies available too ...

And finally the pretty Febrauary Release Freebie ...... You Are, Yes You! 

Yes, this little beauty will be added FREE to Release Day orders of £25 or more, until Sunday 17th Feb ..... or until stocks last!

If there is any stock left after that date, it will be available to purchase.

Now for a little inspiration .......

First up, BIG & BOLD Happy ....... great words, the perfect party accent stamps, and those matching dies!

I've used the large Happy stamp here, heat embossed with a sparkly powder and then used the die to cut it out .....

It's so cool how everything works so well together too .....

I've used the Abstract Triangles stencil, Graffiti Texture Background Block and the Birthday Wishes set here.  If you follow the Uniko Blog then I'll be taking you through how I made this one later in the month.

Passiflora up next ..... the gorgeous new floral set, with those matching dies .....

Use just some of the layering stamps to create fun looking flowers .....

I've used one of the dies too ..... to add a touch of dimension

Could that be the new Pinstripe Background Block too ...... yes, it is!

Here it is used again, this time with the pretty Freebie stamp set ..... You Are ....Yes You!

I do love this little bloom .... I've simply stamped it all over a piece of white card, filling in the gaps with one of the leaf stamps, and coloured with ZIG markers ....

Added a cute little sentiment from the same set .....

And finished off with a strip down the side stamped with the Pinstripe ....... 

A few sparkly sequins add the final touch ...... so pretty!

Last but not least, a really quick and easy, CAS design, using the Pinstripe again,  the flower and leaf from the Freebie set and one of those fab sentiments from Birthday Wishes .......

A fancy die cut edge to show off the Pinstripe panel 

The flower simply stamped and coloured ...

And the sentiment is centre stage .....

What a great new release!

The fun's not over yet though.  

As we're celebrating Uniko's 7th Birthday there's something a little special going on with the Blog Hop ..... there's a Treasure Hunt!

Hidden in some of the photos along the blog hop you'll find little balloon icons like this ....

The rules of the Treasure Hunt are simple .....

1.  Follow the Blog Hop, leave comments along the way, and find ALL the icons

2.  Send an email to ....... bev@uniko.co.uk with the following information

• the Design Team member's name and the Balloon Letters you've found
• the actual word that the balloons spell out

It couldn't be simpler.

Entries need to be emailed no later than 28th February 2019 so that the winner can be announced on March 1st.  The winner will be randomly chosen from all the correct entries received.

The prize up for grabs is a BIG one!  The winner will receive THE ENTIRE 7TH BIRTHDAY FEBRUARY RELEASE!!!  Yes, that's right .... all 6 clear stamps set, 2 sets of co-ordinating designer dies and 1 stencil design ..... WOW!!

And that's not all ....... another winner will be randomly chosen from ALL the comments left on the Blog Hop posts, and they will win  ALL 6 BRAND NEW CLEAR STAMP SETS!!

The more comments you leave along the way, the more chances you have of winning.  You have until midnight (GMT) on Thursday 28th February to complete the Blog Hop and leave your comments.

Here's a full list of all the Blogs involved in the Blog Hop .......

Bev

Ruth

Carol 

Izzy

Jane 

Julie

Linda (that's Me!)

Lindsey

Sarah G

Sarah P

Wiebke  

Happy Hopping!

Thank you so much for popping by, and making it to the end of this post .... hope it was worth it. I think I've included everything!

Enjoy the rest of your day.  I'm off for a lie down I think .... my head hurts!

Cheerio until next time .....