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

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 August 2025 Release - Introducing Background Blocks MOD Circle Builder

 Good morning, 

We are continuing the introductions of the Uniko August release today with another addition to the Background Blocks series. This one is called Background Blocks MOD Circle Builder.

I had a great time stamping and colouring this, adding some of the additional stamps to the corners to give a rounded effect. I then set to work with my corner rounder and layers of cardstock, offsetting the layers in a mid century modern style.

Not having had the embossing powders out for a while, I set about heat embossing the repeat pattern on my second card and simple coloured in random segments with a darker shade of the cardstock.

As both my cards turned out more on the masculine side I'd say this is a great stamp for creating cards for the men in your life. 

Lots more fabulous inspiration over on the Uniko blog and the Brand Ambassadors blogs too. 

Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie

Steph - you are here

Vinita

More to come tomorrow so make sure you pop back then! 

Much love

Steph x

Uniko August 2025 Release - Introducing Background Blocks Bauhaus

Welcome back!  

We are in the swing of another wonderful release from Uniko today with an addition to the Background Blocks series. This one is called Background Blocks Bauhaus.

This card features the stamp twice and as you can see the repeat pattern works well for a background. I didn't think a small sentiment would stand out well given my choice of bold colours so I opted for the Uniko Alphabet Outlined stamp set for the letters HB2U (happy birthday to you).

Here I stamped half the stamp to one edge and the other to the opposite edge before masking and filling in the areas across the top and bottom. I chose two colours of blue, left some semi circles blank and filled the others with zentangle designs. This was a really fund card to make as I lost myself in the zentangle creations, very relaxing! 

Of course the Brand Ambassadors have done a fabulous job of creating wonderful and varied designs with this new stamp and you can check them out over on the Uniko blog. 

Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie

Steph - you are here

Vinita

Come back tomorrow and later this week for even more introductions! 

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #201 - Universe

Morning all, 

Welcome to this month's challenge from The Male Room which is all about the 'Universe'.

Just like the universe, the theme is vast! 

I created a background using the smooshing technique and distress oxide inks in Black Soot, Hickory Smoke, Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet and Broken China. I then stamped the stars, planets and sentiment from the My Favourite Things Space Explorer stamp set. 

Join in the fun over at The Male Room where you will see further fantastic inspiration from the rest of the Design Team. 

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #200 - Dogs and/or Cats

Welcome! 

The Male Room has a new challenge for you today and the theme is Dogs and/or Cats.

I do love both dogs and cats but chose to focus on dogs for my card as we have a beautiful dog called Elsie as part of our family.

The chair and the dog are both from a stamp set I received with a craft magazine a long time ago. I was looking through my patterned papers for a wallpaper type background but came across the brick wall and thought it worked rather well. 

So, dogs or cats, or both for you? Show us by joining in the fun over at The Male Room blog.

Much love

Steph x

Uniko Ink & Flip Stencil Masculine Brand Ambassador Inspiration

Good morning, 

Welcome to the Uniko Brand Ambassadors joint post today where we are using Uniko and Ink & Flip stencils to create masculine projects.

I have used two different shades of blue ink to create my star using the Uniko Ink & Flip Christmas Star stencil and added sentiments to the centre from Uniko Sparkle Sentiments and Uniko Reach For The Stars stamp sets. The sentiment is heat embossed in gold onto vellum before adhering to the aperture which I cut out using a craft knife.

Just before the Uniko Brand Ambassadors celebration of Bev's innovative Ink & Flip stencils, we found out that a well known US brand has taken some of Bev's Ink & Flip designs without asking permission. They recently showed some sneak peeks of their August release which featured designs which are an exact copy of Uniko's Ink & Flip Christmas Star and Uniko's Ink & Flip Geometric Christmas Tree. Hopefully when Bev reaches out they will see their error and rectify it. But in the meantime, a friendly reminder to support small independent businesses. 😊

Lots more lovely masculine inspiration from the Brand Ambassadors if you follow this blog hop and if you leave lovely comments along the way you will be entered into a draw to win your choice of Uniko Ink & Flip stencil.

Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie

Steph

Vinita

Much love

Steph x

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Monday Blues

Good Morning, 

Welcome to my Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration post for June. As we are focussing on masculine makes this month, I have dug out some older Uniko stamp sets and focused on blue hues. 

My first card uses the Uniko Block Party Coffee Love stamp set. I started by sweeping my white card with a light grey cube ink pad and then stamped and coloured the image. I added faux 'planks' using an embossing board before attaching to a card blank using foam pads. 

Sticking with the grey ink and blue alcohol markers, I changed my stamp to Uniko Background Blocks Equaliser stamp set. I used the sentiment and the extra musical notes stamps from the set to finish off the card.

And finally for today, I created a birthday card with the Uniko Up & Away stamp set. I stamped the hot air balloon and basket before colouring in and fussy cutting out. I attached this to piece of card on which I had stamped clouds, the flag tail and the sentiment. 

That's all my cards for today which hopefully has given you some masculine inspiration for Father's Day this coming weekend (in the UK).

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #199 - Fun Folds

Good morning, 

Welcome to this month's challenge from The Male Room which is all about 'Fun Folds'.

This is always the type of challenge that gets my little grey matter working. I don't often do different fold styles so I have a little browse on Pinterest and see what I think I can achieve! 

I don't even know what this fold style is called so pop me a comment down below if you do. I started with a piece of card A6 in size and scored it into four equal parts along the long side. I adhered this into a square tube using an extra piece of card to attach to the two ends, on the inside. I then cut four further A6 panels, two black and two teal. I decorated each panel with patterned paper, die cuts and sentiments before adhering to the inner square tube. I made my card into a Father's Day card as it's that little bit more special.

Very much looking forward to seeing what you create and to add to my list for the next time we have this type of theme. Lots of wonderful inspiration on over on The Male Room blog so pop over and check it out.

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #198 - Under the Sea

Morning all, 

Today at The Male Room, we have a new challenge for you and the theme is 'Under the Sea'.

It took me a while to decide what I was going to use for this challenge as it turns out I have quite a lot of sea related stamps and dies! In the end I opted for a set I got with a past craft magazine.

I heat embossed the shells and star fish with clear embossing powder before adding a mixture of watercolour inks across the panel. I accidentally got a couple of splashes lower down on the panel but decided to continue because this is the definition of handmade and unique! Finally I added a sentiment from another set in my stash.

I'm looking forward to seeing your creations so pop on over to The Male Room blog and join in! 

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #197 - Geometric

Good morning! 

Welcome to The Male Room challenge #197 for which we have the theme 'Geometric'. 

I was tempted to do some die cutting for this challenge but then I remembered a stamp set I have in my stash that I hadn't yet managed to use:

The stamp set I have used is Uniko Background Builders: Delightful Diamonds. Some of the colourful diamonds have been stamped directly onto the panel with others stamped, fussy cut and adhered using foam pads for added interest. 

I hope you like my card, and go check out the rest of the super inspiration over on The Male Room blog where you will also find the linky to join in with the challenge. 

Challenge entries:

AAA Cards game 287, silhouette and geometric

Addicted to CAS challenge #279

Update: My card was picked as one of the top 3 in the Addicted to CAS challenge. ❤️

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #196 - Mixed Media

Good morning, 

This month at The Male Room we have a mixed media challenge for you.

For mixed media I usually resort to heat embossing and ink smooshing but I wanted to see what else I had in my stash that could mix it up a bit and I've been doing some wax seals recently so I decided to use one on my card for this challenge.

I have embossed the white panel and in addition to the wax seal I have used blue ribbon, orange cotton and a twine bow. The sentiment is even a sticker to add even more mixed media to the card!

Now it's your turn to join in the fun but before you do, hop over to The Male Room blog and check out the brilliant creations by the rest of the Design Team, and don't forget to add our challenge graphic to your blog post to be eligible for votes. 

Much love

Steph x

Uniko Celebrating 13 Years - Introducing Alphabet Solid and Background Blocks Waves

 

Morning all, 

As we continue the Uniko 13th Birthday celebrations we have another two stamp sets to introduce today. 

Firstly we have Uniko Alphabet Solid stamp set.

I have used the large letters to create four small 'love letters' to peek out of the four die cut envelopes. Since this is a love card, I thought it would be appropriate to use the language of love i.e. Uniko Large Background French Script stamp for the background. 

For this card I lined up the letters to create 'BIRTHDAY' and stamped it in black. I slightly shifted the card and stamped again in purple ink to create a shadow. I then took the 'Happy' from several Uniko stamp sets (some now retired) and stamped around the edges. Finally I added a couple of strips of cardstock in black and purple before adhering everything to a slimline card blank. 

Secondly today we are introducing Uniko Background Blocks Waves. 

Another great background block stamp with very funky wavy lines which I thought would match well with the Uniko Mid Century Modern Frames stamp set. 

This card idea was formed after I went to the cinema with the children. Can you guess what film we watched?! (Follow the yellow brick road...). So we have the poppy field from the Uniko Remembrance stamp set and the emeralds made using the Uniko Ink & Flip Layering Geometric Gem stencil and the Uniko Sparkle Sentiments stamp set. Finally the sentiment and hot air balloon from the Uniko Up & Away stamp set were perfect to finish off my card.

Don't forget to check out the Uniko blog for lots more beautiful creations from the Uniko Brand Ambassadors and come back tomorrow for more introductions.

Much love

Steph x

Seven Hills Crafts January Colour Challenge

Good afternoon, 

I'm very pleased that I have found time today to make a card to enter into the Seven Hills Crafts January Colour challenge. It has been ages since I entered a challenge as I'm usually too busy either working or creating cards for the Design Teams I am a part of but today I have found a snippet of time to complete this challenge. Hopefully I will be able to enter more challenges as the year progresses. 

The colour theme has been inspired by fashion and a minimum of three colours from the below need to be used:

My eye immediately went to the gorgeous mustard and teal combination on the top row and I decided to team them with the dark blue on the bottom row.

For my card I used Altenew Monstera 3D die set and Lawn Fawn Happy Birthday Line Border die, both brands are stocked in the Seven Hills Crafts online store. 

That's all for me for today, hope you like the colour match for my card!

Much love

Steph x