Blog Hop (Page 5)

Introducing… Stencil MOD Background Builder

Hello, Happy Monday & No Tricks, Just Treats, I Promise! 

Welcome to the first of the introductions for this mini stencil release. I am super excited about this first stencil for a few reasons.

Firstly the design, it is a fun modern design that when I designed it, I had our Mid Century Modern Collection in mind. But as you will see from the all the inspiration today, it pairs with so many products wonderfully.

Let’s have a look at this stencil in action…

For my first card today I wanted to use the stencil as part of my focal point paired with a flower built using Mid Century Modern Florals.

I love this colour combo, shades of black, grey and a splash of orange. I finished the card off with a sentiment from Simply Said Blocks II and some orange Nuvo Drops.

For my second card I wanted to use just the stencil and show you how it can fill a whole background.

The stencil is designed to easily move and fill your space. I will share a video on how to use it, but simply I started with the stencil centred on my card and then moved it up, down and side to side until it was fully covered.

I then added a sentiment & accent from the stencil which I have inked & fussy cut. The sentiment is from Everyday Sentiments and adhered to the card using foam adhesive.

So what do you think? Do you love it as much as I do? Want to see more inspiration, be sure to check out the Brand Ambassador Blog Hop HERE.

This stencil along with the others we will be introducing over the next few days will be available on the website 9am GMT Thursday 3rd November.

As it’s Halloween, I am giving one lucky comment left across social media a chance to win their choice of stencil from the website. You have until midnight Thursday 10th November 2022 to comment.

Crafty Hugs 

To BEE or not to BEE Blog Hop

Hello & Happy Saturday!

Welcome to the 2022 BEE or not to BEE Blog Hop!

Hopefully you have hopped on over from the official start of the hop on Milka’s blog and all the participants and GIVEAWAY information can be found at the end of this post.

Although a little later in the year, the purpose of this blog hop is to celebrate World Bee Day, to support bees and to raise public awareness of the importance of bees and apicultural products.

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Source: https://www.worldbeeday.org/en/

I had a BEEautiful creative time and made three cards to share with you today. They each use our popular sell out BEE Happy clear stamp set along with Background Builders: Hexagons.

For my first card I used just BEE Happy. I love using the hexagon heart as a focal point. I placed the bee so that I could use the Sweet as can sentiment to flow towards the bee.

Next I used a hexagon die to create a trio of windows. I then stamped one of the hexagon designs from Background Builders: Hexagons inside the windows onto my base card.

Ive embellished with some stamped, fussy cut bees and used another of the mix and match sentiments.

Lastly today I used the hexagon heart again and paired it with one of the background building strips and another of the sentiments.

I hope you have enjoyed my clean & simple cards, but there is plenty more inspiration on the hop.

1. Milka Gubo

2. Amy Tsuruta

3. Beverley Brown You Are Here!

4. Larissa Walgemoed

5. Neha Bhatt

6. Nonni Niskanen

7. Valentina Bizjak

Once you have hopped and commented along the 7 stops, be sure to return to Milka Gubo  and add your name to InLinkz.

We have 7 wonderful blog hop sponsors which includes Uniko!

7 prizes will be given away to 7 winners. 

Giveaway is opened Worldwide (+18), except for minors.

For your chance to win, hop along blogs of the participating designers listed in blog hop list and leave comment on each blog hop stop (7 stops). After commenting, return back to Milka’s blog and add your name to InLinkz, but prior you do, please read Blog Hop details, terms, giveaway rules and privacy policy which are shared in Milka’sblog post below InLinkz.

InLinkz opens on August 20th, 2022, 8 PM CEST.

InLinkz closes on August 27th, 2022, 11:59 PM CEST

Winners’ names will be announced on Milka’s blog on September 4th, 2022 during the day.

Crafty Hugs

July 2022 Reveal, Release & Brand Ambassador Blog Hop!

Hello, Happy Friday and Happy Release Day! 

I do hope you have enjoyed the fun this week as myself and the Brand Ambassadors have shared inspiration using the new products in this mini release. The day is here and we can now officially introduce you to the 4 new products lining the shelves here at Uniko HQ and they are all available to purchase HERE.

Now, let’s get to the inspiration as I know that’s what you’ve come for!

For my first card today I used Background Blocks Rays and paired it with the previously released Nautical Treasures, which is back in stock.

This card was inspired by my husbands recent work on a project for Hartlepool Council, they are hosting The Tall Ships Race again in 2023 and I’ve been lucky to get the inside scoop on promotional material and videos!

I thought the rays would be an awesome backdrop to the sail boat sailing off into the sun set. I think it creates an awesome CAS masculine card.

Next, I wanted to use Stencil – Tropical Leaf #2 to create another CAS card with some fussy cut detail.

For this I lined up my stencil with the edge of my white mat layer. I used a trio of green inks to blend through the stencil and then simply fussy cut around the leaf just in this one corner.

I used pink & aqua ink to blend onto my base card and by adding the leaf panel to the card base with foam adhesive creates interest by allowing the ink blended background show through a little more in this one area. I used texture paste to add the leaf detail and the sentiment is from Paradise clear stamp set.

Lastly for today I used Paw Print Hearts with the previously released Sunshine & Rainbows.

Again, this was another idea I had in my mind when I designed the stamp set, so it felt good to get ink to stamp and to card!

I stamped the rainbow direct onto my mat layer using my stamping platform and then used the same colours to ink and stamp the paw print heart. I’ve adhered this using foam adhesive.

The sentiment is from Simply Said Blocks II and the tiny heart accents from Sunshine & Rainbows.

That is all from me today. Be sure to check out what the Brand Ambassadors have created, you can find the links HERE.

I hope you have chance to leave comments along the way, I will be randomly selecting one lucky from all that are left during the week to win a £20 eGift Certificate to use in the Uniko store. I will announce the winner here on the blog Friday 5th August.


Thank you for all the support and for joining in on the fun this week. I will be back tomorrow with more inspiration!
Crafty Hugs

Introducing… Paw Print Hearts & Stencil – Scattered Polka Hearts

Hello & Happy Thursday!

Welcome to the final day of product introductions for our mini July 2022 Release. Today we have paired two products ton introduce together, Paw Print Hearts and Stencil – Scattered Polka Hearts.

I’m excited to share this stamp set and stencil with you, so I will get straight to the three cards I have made to share with you!

I paired these products to introduce together today as I think they go together lovely. I have used them both here on my first card today.

I started by stencilling the hearts in a lovely Coral Berry colour from Altenew and then die cut the heart. I then stamped the sentiment on the edge and the large paw print onto my base card in the centre of the heart aperture. I’ve adhered the die cut stencilled panel with foam adhesive and added a little heart enamel embellishment to finish the card. The sentiment reads, ‘The paw prints left on our hearts never fade’.

For may next card I went super clean and simple. Perfect for a sympathy card.

Here I have simply stamped the large paw print in the centre of my white mat layer in a soft pink ink. You could easily switch the colour for gender or keep it gender neutral by using any colour to be honest!

I then stamped the other sympathy sentiment over the top of the paw print in black ink. I then adhered the stamped panel to my base card using foam adhesive.

Lastly for today I created a similar card with a few more paw prints and used the spotlight technique with a raised die cut heart.

I used the 3rd sentiment option from the stamp set, which simply reads, ‘with sympathy’. I used a soft limestone grey to stamp the paw prints walking across my card.

I think that although this clear stamp set is themed towards pet sympathy cards, the sentiments can be used across a variety of sympathy cards and the images could lend themselves to celebrating our furry friends for other occasions.

I hope you had chance to leave comments along the way, I will be randomly selecting one lucky from all that are left during the week to win a £20 eGift Certificate to use in the Uniko store. 


All of the products that have been introduced this week will be available at 9am BST tomorrow, Friday 29th July 2022 over HERE on the website.


That’s all for today, be sure to stop by again tomorrow for our traditional Reveal, Release & Brand Ambassador Blog Hop. You will get another chance to comment along the hop to be entered in to win the £20 eGift Certificate.

Crafty Hugs

Introducing…Stencil Tropical Leaf #2

Hello and Happy Wednesday!

There is no hump day here at Uniko HQ as we are back to introduce another product for our mini July Release. Today we have a fun stencil introduction, Tropical Leaf #2.

This is a stunning monstera leaf and comes as a stencil and mask combo for even more possibilities.

So let’s have a look at this stencil in action…

For my first card today I have gone for a one layer card. I used bright cheerful tropical colours and opted to use the mask part of the stencil. The sentiment is from Paradise clear stamp set.

I love the simplicity of this card, but the grand size of the image and colours create impact.

For my second card today I went for a slimline card. This card size I don’t often reach to make, but it lends itself nicely towards these large images.

For this card I used the stencil part and created a layered ombre cascade of monstera leaves. I used white texture paste to add the leaf detail and the sentiment is from Floral Vines.

Just two simple cards from me today, that hopefully show you the impact this large stencil can create.

I know the Brand Ambassadors have some wonderful stencilling techniques and creative ideas to share with you using this stencil & mask, so be sure to hop along all the stops listed over HERE.

WOW! That was creative and inspirational. I am sure you agree. I hope you had chance to leave comments along the way, I will be randomly selecting one lucky from all that are left during the week to win a £20 eGift Certificate to use in the Uniko store.


All of the products being introduced this week will be available at 9am BST Friday 29th July 2022 over HERE on the website.


That’s all for today, be sure to stop by again tomorrow for more! 
Crafty Hugs

Introducing… Background Blocks Rays

Hello & Happy Tuesday!

Hopefully, you have hopped on over from Anita’s blog or HERE the Uniko Blogspot blog where I have introduced the first of the mini July Release products.

You might already know that Background Blocks are one of my favourites. I love pattern and I love products to create quick, interesting and fun focal points on cards and creations.

I think you will agree that Background Blocks Rays is a fabulous addition to the series. I’ve made a couple of cards to share with you today as to how it could be used.

I love an angle, rainbow colours and how this turned out! I used my trusted stamping platform & lots of low tack masking tape to separately ink and stamp each ray. It was quite a lengthy process, but I think the results are striking.

Especially adorned with two bold Mid Century Modern Florals flowers. I adhered the one on the right direct to my card using glue and the one on the left has a little dimension. The sentiment is from Everyday Sentiments and of course I embellished with some Nuvo Drops.

When I was designing this block I was intending it to be used with the recently released Sunshine & Rainbows clear stamp set. So it was only right that I paired the rays with that set today too!

Like with most larger solid stamps, I use a stamping platform. Ease of use and repeat stamp to get a fresh crisp image.

I love this cheerful yellow I’ve used to stamp the rays, Buttercup from Concord & 9th. I’ve then stamped a small rainbow in Marmalade, Ocean Waves & Honeysuckle, fussy cutting each of the arches. I know, I need to release some matching dies 😉

I let the rainbow and clouds overhang my mat layer slightly, this helps draw interest to the focal image and sentiment.

I hope these two cards have added some creative cheer to your day. It’s a little drizzly and overcast here. Hopefully the sunshine will make an appearance.

That’s all from me today. Be sure to check out all the stops on the hop and leave a comment for your chance to win a £20 eGift Certificate. I will be randomly selecting one lucky from all that are left during the week to win a £20 eGift Certificate to use in the Uniko store.


All of the products being introduced this week will be available at 9am BST Friday 29th July 2022 over HERE on the website.
Crafty Hugs

June 2022 Release Day, Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY

Happy FriYAY!

The day is finally here 🎉 Myself and the Brand Ambassadors get to introduce you to the NEW products you’ve been getting a look at all week and they will shortly be available HERE to purchase at 9pm BST.

Hopefully you have hopped on over from HERE, you’ll want to hop and comment along all the stops for your chance to win an £20 eGift Code (Open Worldwide inc. EU) all details can be found at the start of the hop.

Let’s get to seeing some more inspiration using all of the release as I couldn’t leave anything out and I have had a lot of fun creating!

First up is Organically Zesty. I wanted another quick colouring option, so this time I reached for Background Builders: Classics. I used my stamping platform to stamp the ombre yellow stripes across my card on a slight diagonal. I think this adds to the interest and draws your eye to the main image.

I added the sentiment and some yellow gloss Nuvo Drops for added interest and adhered the panel to my base card using foam adhesive.

Next I created a lime card using the Layering Stencil – Zesty.

I used all 4 layers for this card, but I chose to only selectively ink the juice splats. I used Altenew Tropical Forest ink collection for the layers, starting with the lightest. I kept the layout really simple and used one of the Organically Zesty sentiments stamped and heat embossed in white.

For my Background Builders Hearts card I looked for inspiration from a card I made a very long time ago, when Background Builders Round In Circles was released! I loved the layout, so recreated THIS card using the hearts instead.

I started by stamping the light pink open heart strip 3 times along the righthand side of the white panel. I then stamped the crosshatch heart in a slightly darker shade of ink.

To recreate the balloon from the original card I used the larger heart with the lined segments. Again stamping in a darker shade of pink and colouring the segments with markers. I added some fine glitter to the heart and the congratulations sentiment from Everyday Sentiments. The panel was then adhered to a light pink base card.

Lastly for today and by no means least I used Sunshine & Rainbows and the Stencil – Raindrops. I was inspired by Jane’s cards yesterday HERE where she stamped the rainbow arches in black and the background was coloured.

I started with the stencilled background. I used a piece of medium aqua card stock from my stash and some Gina K Texture Paste through the stencil. Once the paste was dry I repositioned the stencil back in place and then used detail stencil brushes to apply a rainbow of colours to each of the drops.

The rainbow arches were stamped in shades of black and grey. I used Altenew’s Gentleman’s Grey Collection. I then fussy cut the arches adhered them using foam adhesive finishing with one cloud and a sentiment from Simply Said Blocks II.

That is all from me today. I will be back tomorrow on the Uniko Blogspot Blog with some more post release inspiration!

I’d love to know what has been your favourite from this release & thank you for all your support & comments this week across social media. It is all very much appreciated.

Crafty Hugs

Introducing… Sunshine & Rainbows and Stencil Raindrops

Happy Thursday!

Welcome back to day 4 and the final introduction day of the June 2022 Release. I don’t know why I have been holding off bringing Uniko’s version to this trend for so long, but finally it’s time to add my ‘stamp’ to the rainbow trend! 

Introducing, Sunshine & Rainbows and Stencil Raindrops. I hope you like these products as much as I do. I honestly had so much fun creating with these, and all of the release to be honest.

For this I used the Stencil Raindrops (yes, I know, I have my drops upside-down) for the background. I tried to keep my stencilling really soft, I can be quite heavy handed at times, even using a brush!

I then used my stamping platform to stamp the rainbow, each arch comes as a separate stamp so you can alter the size of your rainbow. I used all 5 pieces here.

There is also a nifty trick to lining up and keeping your arches uniform and spaced by using the acetate carrier sheet from the stamp set for placement!

I fussy cut the rainbow and my clouds and adhered to the card using foam adhesive. The sentiment is one of the mix and match options from the stamp set and I couldn’t resist stamping the word rainbow in a rainbow of colours. Again, I achieved this by using my stamping platform.

For my second card today I went for some muted tones. I think when we have a rainbow themed set our creativity is often limited or blocked by only using bright colours and traditional rainbows. But they do look so fun in other combinations too.

I used the 2nd biggest arch, missed the next one down and then used the smaller two. Stamping in Concord & 9th Peacock, Stardust & Aqua Sky. The small heart in the middle is stamped in Sorbet and the tiny hearts to fill in the rainbow gap are stamped in Dove.

I chose the Thinking Of You sentiment from Everyday Sentiments as I thought the softer colours reflected this. And for the first time in ages I added some Bakers Twine!

Well, that’s it, all the products have been introduced. That indicates just one thing, tomorrow IS Release Day!

All the new products will be available at 9pm BST and we will have our traditional Release Day Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY going live just before around 8:30pm. I do hope you have enjoyed the fun this week and will pop back tomorrow.
Crafty Hugs 

Introducing… Background Builders Hearts

Happy Wednesday!

Welcome back to day 3 of the June 2022 Release product introductions. There is no mid week hump day as today we are bringing you all the love with the next addition to the Background Builders series, Background Builders Hearts ♥️ 

Like the previously released geometric background builders, this set contains both single image stamps and building strip stamps. This is perfect for all those love occasions from Valentine’s to anniversaries, to weddings and those times when you just want to tell someone you are sending them love. 

And how appropriate to release this stamp set during Pride month, which inspired my cards today…

I couldn’t resist stamping a rainbow of texture hearts along the edge of my card. The size of these hearts is the same as the ones in the previously released BIG & BOLD Love, which I have used to stamp the smaller solid and outline hearts.

For the LOVE U heart I used sentiments from Festive Sentiments Outlined stamped inside another of the hearts from this new background building set. I finished the card off with some glossy Nuvo Drops and some enamel hearts from my stash.

For my second card to day I went super CAS. This time pairing another of the individual hearts with the LVE from Alphabet Outlined. As you can see I used a fine liner to fill in the outlined letters and alcohol markers to colour the heart.

That’s all from me today. I do hope you will stop back tomorrow for the last of the product introductions.

Crafty Hugs 

Introducing… Uniko Stencil Layering Zesty

Happy Tuesday!

Welcome back to day 2 of the June 2022 Release product introductions, I hope you enjoyed yesterday. Today we have a super fun layering stencil, zesty to introduce to you.

This stencil is so versatile and as you will see there are more possibilities than just making fruity inspired creations with the 4 layering options the collection contains. 

I know you came here for pretty inspiration, so let’s get to it!

This first card actually turned out better than I imagined it! It was a little labour of love as it involved creating two sets of masks for the shapes and then stencilling 3 layers for each colour of fruit. Lemons, oranges and limes.

I used Altenew ink collections for ease, as their sets with 4 shades of ink really do take the guess work out when it comes to layering! I kept the sentiment focal simple but bold, heat embossing one of the mix and match options from Organically Zesty onto black card. I added a few clear gloss Nuvo Drops to finish.

For my second card today I had some fun with just one of the stencil layers to create a non fruity design with a more pastel vibe.

As you can see I paired it with the BIG & BOLD Wish Designer Dies and the stamped sentiment from the coordinating clear stamp set, BIG & BOLD Wish. I added some white gloss Nuvo Drops to the centre of the ‘flowers’ as I just can’t resist!

I can’t wait to have more fun with this stencil combination and I know the Brand Ambassadors are going to have you drooling with their juicy creations!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Crafty Hugs