AAA Colourful Colourboard #26

Good morning, 

It's time for a new colourboard at AAA Colourful with the new challenge #26.

An intriguing mix of beiges and blues. 

I chose to create a beehive with the colours and added die cut elements from the same die set.

Looking forward to seeing what you create with this simple colourboard. Check out the inspiration over at the AAA Colourful blog and join in too. 

Much love

Steph x

AAA Colourful Colourboard #25

Hi all, 

Welcome to the February AAA Colourboard Challenge #25. This month we have a great colourboard for you as follows:

A really good selection of colours to work with here. And this is what I came up with.

I had the mustard frame left over from another project so I put it to use here and added a smaller die cut and embossed panel of dark blue to the centre, topped with the floral, sentiment and finally the bow (just to get the purple in there!). 

Please check out the fabulous inspiration over on the AAA Colourful challenge blog and link up your wonderful creation too.

Much love

Steph x

AAA Colourful Colourboard #24

Good morning and Happy New Year from AAA Colourful!

How is your New Year going so far and did you have a good Christmas break? We spent Christmas with family in Northern Ireland, which is always tricky to organise since I don't have the 'magic' of Santa and have to get the presents over there without the children seeing! 

So here we go with the AAA Colourful Colourboard #24.

As I prep my January cards before Christmas I am usually still in the festive mood when designing my cards and they are my favourite cards to create anyway! I went a bit overboard with this month's challenge as you will see!

Since the 'JOY' is die cut from the three different shades of pink, I then used them on further cards. 

At least I got to add to the Christmas card stash! And now it is your turn to play along. Create your card and join in the fun over on the AAA Colourful blog.

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #205 - Christmas Colours

Good morning, 

Welcome to this month's challenge from The Male Room where we have the theme of 'Christmas Colours', specifically red and green.

For this theme of red and green, you don't actually have to create a Christmas card but they are my favourite type of card to make so I did! I used the Waffle Flower Merry Wreath stamp set and matching dies. 

So, are you going to create a Christmas card or just use the theme colours to create something else? Join in over at The Male Room and check out the rest of the Design Team creations while you are there. 

Sadly I have to add to the end of this post that this will be my last one for The Male Room as life has become more busy and I have had to take the decision to reduce my crafting time, and therefore my DT commitments. I wish the rest of TMR team the best and hope to join in future challenges when I can. 

Much love

Steph x

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Technique Tuesday

Good morning, 

I recently saw a great technique on @ardythpr1 Instagram page and decided to recreate it using Uniko products. 

First I selected three background or larger stamps and smaller stamp sets with matching details to the larger sets. I then inked three separate panels by directly rubbing the ink from Distress Oxide pads onto white card. The idea is to then ink the background (or larger) stamp onto the card with a muted ink, followed by white heat embossing the stamp from the smaller matching set over the top. Finishing off with a white die cut shape and a white and black die cut sentiment. 

Here I have used Uniko Large Background Tropical Paradise stamp for the background, inked up with Memento Espresso Truffle. The smaller stamp which has been white heat embossed is the Uniko Paradise Leaves stamp set. For the inked panel I have used Pine Needles and Peeled Paint Distress Oxide inks.

Thinking I needed a lighter background panel, I used Shabby Shutters and Speckled Egg Distress Oxide inks for this panel. I then used the Craftstash exclusive Uniko Picked Posies Fresh Cut Foliage stamp for the background, again using Memento Espresso Truffle ink. The white heat embossed stamp is from the Uniko Season of Beauty stamp set.

My final card is slightly different mainly because I had a 'moment' when inking up the larger Uniko Hello Lovely stamp set and inked it with embossing ink in error. Once I realised my error I decided to go with it and heat emboss in copper. I continued to heat emboss in white using the Uniko Pure Florals: Peony stamp set. The background for this inked panel uses three distress oxides which are Antique Linen, Spun Sugar and Victorian Velvet.

I've not had much time in the craft room lately and I'm finding a little frazzled for craft inspiration at present so seeing this video of Ardyth's was a great way to kick start me back into crafting. I hope you like my creations and also encourage you to head over to Ardyth's Instagram page to see the original inspiration.

Much love

Steph x

AAA Colourful Colourboard #22

Hi all, 

Welcome to the AAA Colourful challenge where this month we have a festive inspired colourboard for you.

I wanted to use the colours to create poinsettia for my card and I was going to have a plain white die cut background but then I remembered my Spellbinders Circular Stitch Background die and decided to do a bit of stitching! 

Can't wait to see what you decide to create and of course there's lots of lovely inspiration over on the AAA Colouful blog.

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #204 - Floral

 Hi all, 

Do we have an exciting and maybe a little tricky challenge theme for you this month at The Male Room. The theme is Floral but of course you have to keep it masculine. 

Hmm tricky for sure, so I decided to start with a dark colour for my card base and work with muted tones. I found some floral dies in my stash that were subtle florals and I added a die cut sentiment using Lawn Fawn Happy Birthday die.

I can't wait to see what you come up with for your masculine floral card. Check out the inspiration over on The Male Room blog and join in the fun.

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #203 - For A Baby Boy

Welcome! 

Today at The Male Room we have a challenge theme full of cuteness - 'For A Baby Boy'.

I went with the typical blue colours but of course anything is great for a baby boy. I used my die cutting plate to give a quilted look to the background. I added a die cut frame in a darker blue and stamped the teddy and 'welcome' sentiment from the now retired Uniko Sweet Baby stamp set. Finally I die cut the letters to spell 'baby' and adhered everything in place. 

What colour/s will you choose and what image/s will you select? Check out the fantastic creations by the rest of the Design Team over on The Male Room blog, and of course join in the fun with us too. 

Much love

Steph x

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Christmas Blossom

Good morning, 

As with our revisit of the 2025 Uniko release products earlier this month, I have focussed my Brand Ambassador inspiration on Christmas and a 2025 release product, namely Uniko Layering Spring Blossom stencil.

I have used one inking of the Spring Blossom stencil to create all three cards and added elements to the last card using Uniko Layering Bauhaus Christmas stencil. 

Once I had inked the panel in Christmas colours, I placed a stitched die so that half of it contained the florals and half did not. I then stamped the 'Peace, Love &' part of the sentiment onto the blank half. On another piece of card I stamped 'joy' from the Uniko Big & Bold Joy stamp set, fussy cut, adhered to vellum and fussy cut leaving a border. 

From the remaining inked panel I die cut a circle and mat it to a larger die cut circle of dark green card. I stamped the sentiment from the Uniko Simply Said Blocks Christmas stamp set and adhered this using foam pads.

This left me with just a small amount of the inked panel remaining so I die cut an oval and used the Uniko Mid Century Modern Baubles stamp set to add a bauble hanger. I inked up two circles using elements from the Uniko Bauhaus Christmas Blocks stencil and added bauble hangers. I threaded all three 'baubles' with twine and adhered to a rectangle of card which I then adhered to the card blank using foam pads. Finally I added a sentiment from the Uniko Simply Said Blocks Christmas stamp set.

Hopefully I've given you some inspiration today and shown you how you can create Christmas cards without necessarily using Christmas stencils or stamps. 

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #202 - Create Your Own Background

Morning! 

Welcome to this month's fund challenge from The Male Room where we are asking you to 'Create Your Own Background'.

Lots of options to play about with here. I went for a technique I saw on Instagram earlier in the year...but of course I can't remember who did it now. Mention it in the comments below if you know who it was!

So firstly I laid down strips of double sided tape and added the green embossing powder. I set this with the heat gun before using an embossing folder to create the leaf pattern. I decided to keep the rest of the card simple with a die cut sentiment and make the background the feature of the card. 

I'm excited to see what backgrounds you come up with and how you choose to create yours. Join in the fun over at The Male Room, and check out the inspiration from the rest of the Design Team. 

Much love

Steph x

AAA Colourful Colourboard #19

Good morning, 

Welcome to this month's challenge from AAA Colourful and here is the colourboard for this challenge:

Despite the colourcard image being a little autumnal, I decided to head in the direction of summer!

The ice cream dies are from Concord & 9th Cool Treats set. I added a white die cut frame and banner to finish my summery birthday card. I'm not a big fan of ice cream or ice lollies but they are nice to cool down with on a hot day. What is your favourite ice cream or lolly?

Lots of fabulous inspiration over on the AAA Colourful blog where you can also join in with this month's challenge.

Much love

Steph x

Uniko August 2025 Release - Introducing Layering Retro Stripes and Ink & Flip Mid Century Leaves Stencils

Morning all, 

Today we have two new stencils to introduce and we are starting with Uniko Layering Retro Stripes.

For some reason this stencil reminded me of a doll I used to own called Rainbow Bright. She definitely had a blue dress and I wonder if she had a rainbow similar to this design which is what triggered the memory. So, I used rainbow colours onto blue card but I had to ink all the layers in white ink first to help the colours show. 

For my next card I've moved the stencil around a bit to create a different pattern and added a stamped and die cut sentiment from the Uniko Big & Bold Wish stamp set with matching dies. 

Next up we are introducing Ink & Flip Mid Century Leaves stencil.

Here I have randomly inked the leaves and left spaces for flowers which I inked using another stencil.

For this card I used the stencil the other way and placed my flowers with the pointy part of the leaf facing upwards. I teamed the stencil with Uniko Mid Century Modern Florals stamp set for the flower heads and the leaf centres. 

Two really great stencils which we will all have a great time playing around with. And you can see lots more super inspiration over on the Uniko blog. 

Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie

Steph - you are here

Vinita

Don't forget we have the full reveal, release, blog hop and GIVEAWAY tomorrow. See you then!

Much love

Steph x

Uniko Christmas In July 2025 Release - Introducing Ink & Flip Christmas Tree Pattern & Ink & Flip Snowflake Pattern

 

Hi all, 

We have two fabulous additions to the Ink & Flip stencil range to introduce to you today. First up is the amazing Ink & Flip Christmas Tree Pattern stencil, which I am loving! 

Here again I have busted out the blues to create a frosty scene, my trees are a frozen forest! I inked the stencil in white, flipped and inked in blue before adding some stickles to the edge of a few trees for a frosty glimmer. 

To break up the pattern I die cut it into a large circle and lifted a couple of the trees onto foam pads (using trees from the offcut piece). I added a sentiment from a new set being introduced later this week. 

On my next card I have used green card and inked in two shades of green oxide ink before adding some cute gold gems to the top of the trees. The sentiment, which has unfortunately not photographed well, is from the Uniko Simply Said Blocks Christmas stamp set. 

Next up is the the equally fabulous Ink & Flip Snowflake Pattern stencil.

Here again I have inked once using white ink, flipped and used glitter stencil paste for the other half. I did have to ink this side in white also to make the glitter paste stand out as it dries clear like glue! 

I noticed the snowflakes fit nicely into a hexagon shape so I die cut this and a small frame to offset. I added a sentiment from the Uniko Christmas Sentiments stamp set. 

For this card I really wanted to use a bright pink and black colour scheme, so I inked the stencil with black ink before flipping and using a bronze glitter paste. 

I then cut the piece into three strips before adhering to a black card blank. The sentiment is from the Uniko Simply Said Blocks Christmas stamp set. 

Don't forget to head over to the Uniko blog to check out the wonderful creations by the rest of the lovely Uniko Brand Ambassadors.

Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie

Steph - you are here

Vinita

Still more exciting introductions to come on this great Uniko Christmas in July release so make sure you come back tomorrow. 

Much love

Steph x