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!

Bev

Carol

Deborah

Izzy

Jane

Julie

Linda (that's me!)

Lindsey

Rahmat

Sarah G

Sarah P

Weibke

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 ......

Another week whooshes by ......

Happy Friday ......

It is Friday isn't it ....... this week seems to have gone by so quickly, I'm not quite sure what day of the week it is!  I'm looking forward to the weekend ....... let's hope it's a quiet one (as if that's going to happen!)

Let's turn the clock back a little shall we ...... to last weekend, when it was my November workshop. I've just realised I haven't shared the projects with you.
We were playing with Distress Inks, and the fab new Distress Oxides, creating Galaxy Backgrounds and winter skies. Surprisingly, we didn't get as messy as I thought ..... aprons and the odd pair of gloves were worn by some.

Jennifer McGuire was the inspiration again ....... check out her blog/video for this technique and you'll be hooked too!

Distress Oxides applied with a brush onto watercolour cardstock ........ spritzed with water and dried (left hand piece below)

Black Soot DOX  onto a craft sheet and spritzed with pearl mica powder then applied over the top of the colour using the acetate smoosh technique (right hand piece)

Same colours of Distress Inks applied directly from the ink pad on to watercolour card, spritzed and dried as before (left hand piece)

Then black soot spritzed with mica added over the top (right hand piece)
By applying the ink directly from the ink pad you get a much more intense colour .....

And the Black Soot Distress is more black than the Oxide version ...... love it!

Here's some of the inspiration pieces ......
Simple white embossing looks great  ......

How about a cute design ...... stamps are by Clearly Besotted. 

Love these little aliens .....

Here's one you've seen before ...... using the inlaid die cutting technique ......

We also created the good old simple night sky using just blue shades of Distress Ink ........

and then flicking water over the top to remove some of the colour.  I also added a few drips of pearl mica to give that starry look

And we had to finish with a Christmas card ....... still love this little guy!

A few stamped and embossed snowflakes gives a real festive look

There's one more workshop to look forward to this year ..... the preps been done, everythings ready

Looking forward to this at the beginning of December ......

Speaking of December ..... not long to go now.  I'd better make a start on those Christmas cards!
We've almost finished the Christmas shopping though  .... well the big stuff anyway. What did we do without the internet!?
I've made a start on the festive food list too ..... don't worry it's all hidden so we won't be tempted to eat it.  I just have to remember where I've put it!
And town is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  The festive lights in Douglas switched on last night.

We took the little man down there to see it and he loved it.  Especially when it started snowing! 

Although he was quick to tell me that it wasn't REAL snow ..... it was just bubbles!!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely weekend.
I'm hoping for a quieter week in the craft room next week ..... I've a bit of catching up to do.
I've been Santa's Little Helper this week, creating this little lot ......

A ticket system for Santa's grotto at the Poker Stars kid's party

All hand painted and decorated tags ......... fronts and backs

I hope this gets me on the Nice List!!!

Cheerio until next time .....

Reach for the Stars ......

Happy Friday ......

It's the weekend ..... whoo hoo!!!
It's also the first Friday of the month so, it can only be ..... the launch of this month's Craft Stamper Challenge ......

We have a fabulous sponsor this month ...... the amazing RubberDance stamps

And the lucky challenge winner will get to choose a RubberDance stamp set .... ooooh!

As always the theme is Anything Goes .... as long as there's actual rubber stamping on your project somewhere .... no digis please.
You can enter up to THREE projects only into the challenge .... just make sure that each project has its own blog post
Speaking of blog posts ..... when you link up your entry to the Craft Stamper Challenge post, please link back to the actual project post and NOT just your Blog ...... and, only one project per post please.

OK .... onto a spot of inspiration.  I've been playing around with Galaxy Backgrounds ....... using Distress Oxide inks

A little messy but what fabulous results ...... I love it!!  Jennifer McGuire has a fantastic YouTube video ..... if you've not already tried this effect, give it a go .... it's fun!

I used smooth, hot pressed, watercolour card because you do need to add quite a bit of water to blend the inks.  I'm sorry I didn't take any photos of the whole process, it was only supposed to be a trial run, but I just loved the result so much that I decided to use it.

I used fossilized amber, seedless preserves, salty ocean and peacock feathers Distress Oxides and applied them randomly all over my watercolour card.  I then spritzed heavily with water and let the colours blend together whilst drying them using a heat tool.
Next, came the messy bit .... I smooshed black soot Distress Oxide ink onto my craft sheet, spritzed it with a pearl mica spray instead of plain water and then used a piece of acetate to smoosh the black over the top of the colours.
What! .... black ink over the top of the colours ..... that can't be right, well ....... yes it can, this is the fun part. 
Just keep applying the black over the top of the colours, leaving some of the colour from underneath showing through (this is where I'm sorry I didn't take pictures of the process).
Because of the mica spray you get this fabulous pearlescent sheen over the top of the chalky finish from the oxides .... it's so pretty and makes this amazing galaxy sky

Just remember to dry off each layer of ink that you apply.  If you add too much black and think you've ruined your piece don't worry ..... dry it off, add a little more colour on top, spritz a bit more water and dry it again.  Too much colour .... then add a bit more black.  There's no right or wrong, just keep going until you're happy with the result ..... it will come!

I heat embossed part of my sentiment ....... Written in the Stars stamp set from My Favourite Things

and used one of the matching dies (Shining Stars) to cut the rest

I will be doing this effect again .... I love it!! ..... and I promise to take more pictures of the process next time.  I'll show you just how much of a mess I can make!

Check out the Craft Stamper Blog for more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

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

If you're off to watch a firework display this weekend, have fun ...... but please stay safe.
I'm off out on a girlie night with Lauren this evening which should be fun.  We're off to the Tea Junction for a Sparkle event .... apparently we have to dress to impress!  Better start going through the wardrobe ..... it could take a while!!

Cheerio until next time