Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Background Blocks Mid Century Modern

Good morning all, 

I hope this blog post finds you well? Welcome to my first Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration post of 2022! 

I am starting the year off with Uniko Background Blocks Mid Century Modern stamp. I love the Mid Century Modern sets and this one is particularly good for masculine cards, however I have applied a mix of styles here.

My first card teams the background block with a mix of sentiments from Uniko Simply Said Blocks and Simply Said Blocks II stamp sets. The sentiments are heat embossed onto black card using blue embossing powder while the background block was stamped and heat embossed in yellow powder. I used the stamp twice, slightly overlapping, to give a longer edge to the card and I trimmed it before adhering to the card base.

For my second card I wanted a softer and more feminine feel so I teamed the background block with florals from the Uniko Originally Organic Additions stamp set. The elements of this card are all stamped in dye ink which gives a softer look than the heat embossing above. 

Possibly my favourite of the three cards, here I have heat embossed the background block in black onto yellow card. I have used the block twice to show how nicely the background blocks fit into a slimline card. I have added some enamel dots over some of the 'terminals' (I often think of this stamp as an underground map!!). The sentiment is from the Uniko Doodle Flowers stamp set and is white heat embossed onto a black card strip before being adhered with foam pads. 

Hopefully there's something here to kickstart your New Year crafting. I know I found it hard getting back into it after a very lazy break between Christmas and New Year! 

Take care and keep crafting!

Much love

Steph x

Christmas in January?!!!

Hi everyone, 

Usually by this point I’ve had enough of Christmas crafting but this year I made the cutest card for my daughters and as I was making it I though it would be easy to replicate. So, 20 Christmas cards later…

I really love the combination of teal and red card. The die cut wreath is from Simon Says Stamps and is a eucalyptus wreath. The animal stamps and matching dies are from Concord & 9th called Furry Friends. These stamps are so versatile! I added the hats from a set I got with a UK card making magazine. Finally the sentiment is from the Simply Winter Sentiments by Lawn Fawn. I added some stickles to the hats which can’t be seen well on the photos on the white trim but looks amazing in real life!

It’s so rare I actually get time to create something not for my own design team obligations so I’m entering these into the following:

Happy Little Stampers January Christmas Challenge

Freshly Made Sketches #519

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge #578

Much love

Steph x

Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #480

Good afternoon all, 

Thanks for joining me for Color My Heart Color Dare challenge #480. This week's challenge is a triple colour grid so I'm sure you will want to play along. 

All you need to do is use ALL three colours and you can also add in black, white and greys (grays!) for free. We reference Close To My Heart colours but you can use any brand as long as it is a VERY close match.

For my card I chose to use the wonderful Capri as my card base colour. I've got a slight obsession with coloured card bases at the moment! To this I added two die cut circle frames cut from Wild Berry cardstock. The florals are from a very sweet little stamp set from Uniko called You Are, Yes You. I stamped the flower several times and coloured them with shades of all three of the challenge colours. The top sentiment is die cut from white and Wild Berry card whereas the lower sentiment is stamped in black ink on white card. 

Please do head over to the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge blog and check out the awesome inspiration from the rest of the Design Team. Show us what fantastic papercraft the colour selection inspired you to create. 

Much love

Steph x

Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #478

Hi everyone, 

Welcome to this week’s Color My Heart Color Dare challenge #478. This week we have a colour theme which includes neutrals and just ONE other colour. Gold and silver can be added too but do not count as either your neutral or your colour choice.

For my neutrals I chose Kraft card (box), dark brown (coffee beans) and white and for my one colour I used burgundy. I needed to make a gift box for a gift card present to a well known coffee shop (can you guess which one?!). 

First I wrapped my ready made box with burgundy card and secured in place. I then used a coffee bean stencil and dark brown ink to create the pattern at the bottom. I heat embossed the coffee cup in white before cutting out. The lid is die cut along with the ‘steam’ swirls. This was a quick make as I didn’t have a great deal of time but I’m pleased with the result and under daylight it’s a much better colour match to the coffee brand than this photo seems to show.

Head over to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog to check out the other Design Team makes and to join in the fun. Be sure to let your friends know about our challenge too.

Also, I note that we have not yet had any entries into challenge #477 which is such a shame as the inspiration photo is so beautiful. Will you be inspired to create something as lovely as the photo? 

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #158 - For a Teenager

Good morning, 

Today’s challenge is for The Male Room and the theme is ‘For a Teenager’. 

Oh my goodness, not an easy challenge but certainly one that gets the grey matter going! 

I always seem to go for bright colours with my ‘teenager’ cards. Here I have used Funky Fossil Snap Happy stamp set and white heat embossed it onto coloured card. I added detail by stencilling small ‘splatters’ onto the camera images themselves along with a larger one onto the Kraft card base. I fussy cut the cameras and adhered using foam pads. The sentiment is from the same stamp set and I masked the inner area of the film strip so I could add the sentiment to it. 

I hope this helps inspire you and you will join in with our challenge. Go check out The Male Room challenge blog for more fantastic creations from the Design Team. 

Much love

Steph x

Funky Fossil Gnomes Part II

Morning all, 

I didn’t think I’d have time to post Part II of my Funky Fossil Gnomes this week but if I don’t do it now I won’t get round to it for ages and then the Christmas spirit may have passed!

As with the last trio, I have used acrylic paints and a mixture of stencils, texture paste and Nuvo drops.

I will be entering into the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge #574

The Holly and the Ivy Christmas challenge #106

Happy New Year to you all wherever you are and whatever you will be doing…I’ll be in bed! 😂

Much love

Steph x

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration - Always and Forever

Hey Everyone, 

How are you feeling now that Christmas Day has been and gone? Did Santa bring you what you wanted or are you going to get it yourself in the sale?! 😂

I love Christmas but I definitely get to a point where I’m ready to move on from it so today I’m taking a break from Christmas cards and looking ahead, perhaps to Valentine’s, with these cards.

All three cards use the Uniko Always and Forever stamp set and the same set of rainbow coloured inks or coordinating card stock. In addition the first card uses the straight line stamp from the Uniko Pattern Building Christmas Tree stamp set (darn it, I didn’t quite manage to move away from the Christmas stamps after all!). 

For the first card I used some light pencil lines and a stamping platform to keep everything straight whilst stamping the background in rainbow colours. I added a fussy cut heart which was heat embossed in white onto black card. 

The second card also has the coloured diagonals but this time I used card to create the background before stamping and heat embossing the heart and sentiment in white on black card. 

For my final card I stamped the hearts in the rainbow inks before fussy cutting and adhering to black card with foam pads. For added interest I have filled in the gaps with drops of glossy accents.

I hope you get a little time to craft over the festive period and I wish you all a great New Year whatever your plans may be. 

Much love

Steph x

Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #476 (Team B)

Good afternoon all, 

I hope you are all set for the Christmas season but don't panic if not as there's still time! You will be pleased to know that Color My Heart Color Dare challenge #476 is open to festive and non festive cards so if you have finished your Christmas crafting you can still join in!

As always both Team A and Team B have created beautiful projects this week so be sure to check them all out. Team A have a theme of 'bright and bold colours' (challenge #475) whereas Team B (challenge #476) have a theme of 'soft and pastel colours'.

As I am on Team B, my card is made using soft and pastel colours. I chose to make a Christmas card because I recently purchased this gorgeous stamp set from Concord & 9th and I haven't had chance to use it before now.

The stamp set is called Merry Mantles. I have teamed it with a sentiment from the Uniko Most Wonderful stamp set. For the background I have stamped the Uniko Background Blocks Diagonal Stripes in a darker shade ink than the card. 

I hope you are inspired to join in with either challenge (#475 for bold and bright and #476 for soft and pastel). Head over to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog to check out all the fantastic makes by the rest of the Design Team and join in! 

Much love and Merry Christmas,

Steph x

Funky Fossil Gnomes - Part I

Good morning all, 

A while ago I purchased two packs of Funky Fossil’s trio of gnomes (so 6 in total!) and I had the best time decorating them. 

This set was given as a late November birthday present so the recipient would be able to use them for Christmas this year. 

I have used acrylic paint for the base colours and beards. The decorative elements are a combination of heat embossing, texture paste or painting through a stencil. I’ve added detail with some Nuvo drops, stickles and a white gel pen.

The second set are being given as a gift for Christmas so I will share those at a later date!

I haven’t had time to enter any challenges for ages so here goes:

Happy Little Stampers Dec Stencil Challenge 

Happy Little Stampers Dec Christmas Challenge 

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge 572 

The Holly and the Ivy Christmas Challenge 106

Much love 

Steph x

Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #474

Hello everyone, 

I'm here today with Color My Heart Color Challenge #474 where we have a Fancy Five challenge of which you need to select at least THREE colours (excluding the free colours). 

We reference Close To My Heart colours but you are free to use any brand as long as it is a VERY close match.

My card today uses Papaya, Avocado and Flamingo. I thought they looked like party colours so I have made a birthday card with a little party going on!

The die set I have used is from Spellbinders called Birthday Animals. First I stamped the Avocado and Flamingo card stock with Uniko Party Confetti Background Block stamp to give interest to the die cuts. I then cut the dogs, cake and cake stand from the stamped card. The table and chair are copper in colour but this hasn't translated well on the photo. I decorated the cake with small pieces of papaya and copper card and the party hats with papaya, copper and avocado card. The sentiment is Lawn Fawn Happy Birthday Line Border which I have snipped down to fit into the gap on the top right hand side of my card. All the elements were adhered to a stitched border papaya card die cut before being adhered to a white card blank. 

I'd love to see what you decide to make with this week's colours, maybe adding in the Harbour or Rosemary to tone the card down a little!! Please head over to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog to check out the brilliant inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

Much love

Steph x

Christmas Craft Creations December Challenge

Good morning all, 

Welcome to the December Christmas Craft Creations challenge. This month we are looking for you to 'Make a Scene'. 

For my scene I have used the Uniko Background Builders: Winter Wonderland stamp set. 

I started with a black card blank and heat embossed the sentiment to the top in white. The snow is also heat embossed directly onto the card front but in pale pink. I then heat embossed the hillside scenes onto separate pieces of black card stock, in green and blue, before fussy cutting the top edges. The bottom edges line up with the bottom of the card front and the green layer has been adhered using foam tape for dimension. Finally I heat embossed the sentiment in white onto a strip of black card and adhered to the top layer.

I hope you like the card and will head over to the Christmas Craft Creations blog for more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team. I am sad to say that this month will be my last one as part of the CCC team. I have unfortunately had to step down as my work and family commitments have increased to a point where I'm struggling to fit everything in. I am sure I will be back to participate however, and I wish the rest of the team all the best with the ongoing challenges. 

Much love

Steph x

Uniko Challenge #68 - Reminder

Morning everyone, 

Here’s a reminder about the current Uniko challenge #68. The theme is ‘Celebrate’ and the optional twist is Reds & Greens.

Again I made a Christmas card, well it’s rather close now and celebrate we will!

For this card I used the Uniko Winter Foliage stamp set (which is one of my favourites!). I simply marked out a pencil circle as a guide in the top left corner of a square of white stamping card. I then stamped the berries three times and again on masking paper. After I had masked the berries I stamped the holly leaves in two shades of green. I stamped the pine cones on a different piece of card before cutting out and adhering with foam pads. The sentiment is from a now retired Uniko set which I inked up in brown. I then adhered the panel to red glitter card before adhering to the card blank. 

Please do pop over to the Uniko blog to check out the amazing inspiration from the Uniko Brand Ambassadors and to join in the fun!

Much love

Steph x

The Male Room Challenge #157

Hi All,

Welcome to this month's challenge from The Male Room. We have the theme of Food for this month.

Since we are fast approaching Christmas, my choice of food was Christmas pudding! 

Here I have used a stamp set from Clearly Besotted called Christmas Pudding. I have stamped the puddings in Lawn Fawn Walnut ink and added the holly stamped in Lawn Fawn Noble Fir and Lobster inks. The sentiment is from the same set and I finished it off with a die cut holly. You can just make out that I have added Nuvo Drops to a couple of the holly berries, on the sentiment and the pudding in the middle of the card front. The panel was then layered onto a dark brown card base.

I hope you will head over to The Male Room challenge blog to check out the other fabulous creations by the talented Design Team and join in the fun! 

Much love

Steph x