Design Team Inspiration

Uniko 2019 Christmas Party!

Welcome to the Uniko Christmas Party!

As I didn’t have a release this month or last month and was undecided upon a revisit, I thought it would be nice to have one last celebration in 2019 with a Uniko Christmas Party. Everyone LOVES a party, right?

This is a crafty party of course! Join in the party by sharing your Christmas cards, tags, projects or scrapbook pages using Uniko Clear Stamps, Stencils or Designer Dies. See the Party Rules at the end of the post to be eligible to win one of the three prizes on offer.

How about an incentive to join in & some PRIZES!

  • First Prize £25 eGift Certificate
  • Second & Third Prize Winners Choice of £10 In-Stock Clear Stamp Set
  • Random Lucky Comment £5 In-Stock Clear Stamp Set

It wouldn’t be a party without some crafty inspiration, so I have a Christmas card to share with you…

How about some Christmas party lights all ‘Merry & Bright’ to start things off?! This string of lights is from Background Builders: Christmas 2018 and I just LOVE adding my favourite Nuvo Drops to the lights to give them dimension and a beautiful colour POP!

The layout of my card was totally inspired by the current challenge over at AAA Cards HERE, which is ‘Along the Edge & Optional Twist Time Travel’.

How about some more awesome inspiration from my talented Brand Ambassadors…

Bev

Carol 

Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane 

Julie

Linda

Rahmat

Sarah P

Wiebke 

The LINK UP to join in on the Uniko 2019 Christmas Party can be found HERE.

I do have a few rules for this party….

Party Rules


* The party is open to everyone, everywhere in the world

* Anything Christmas Goes (Cards, Tags, Projects, Scrapbook Layouts Etc)

* Your entry MUST include at least ONE Uniko product (clear stamp, stencil, designer die or digital freebie) as the MAIN focus of your entry.

* Join in as many times as you like, as long as your entry ticks the rule above!

* Link Up will CLOSE on 8pm 31st December 2019

*WINNERS will be announced 6th January 2020

*The first prize winner will be chosen from a vote by the Uniko Brand Ambassadors and the last two winners will be chosen randomly from all the entries that have adhered to the rules. The lucky comment winner will be selected randomly from all the comments left on the Uniko & Brand Ambassador Blogs.

Enjoy the party!

Crafty Hugs

October 2019 Post Release Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!

Happy Weekend!

Welcome to the October 2019 Post Release Brand Ambassador Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY! Hopefully you have hopped on over from HERE, where I have introduced todays blog hop and given you a little refresh of the October Release  which went live on the website HERE a couple of weeks ago.

Today I have a few more cards to share with you using some of the new products. I was hoping to have more to share, but the ideas in my head will have to wait until I have some more creative time 😉

First up I couldn’t resist using Season Of Beauty, this large clear stamp set has so many creative possibilities and one idea I had when designing it was to build my own Poinsettia flowers using the leaves in the set.

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I used two shades of pink/red Altenew inks to stamp each flower, starting with a light shade for four leaves opposite each other and then a dark shade to fill in the gaps. The largest flower is fussy cut and adhered to the card using foam adhesive.

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My apologies for my terrible photos of this card, I need more practise (still) with my light set up and my iPhone always struggles with these bright pinks!

Next I wanted to use the Background Blocks Scandinavian Christmas to execute a white on kraft idea I have had in my head for some time now.

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For this card I used my MISTI to stamp the background block purposefully off centre in Unicorn White Pigment Ink and then heat embossed with WOW! Opaque White EP.

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Then onto some small strips of kraft card I have stamped the peace, love, joy sentiments from Festive Sentiments Outlined with VersaFine Onyx Black ink and then I have coloured the sentiments with a white gel pen. I love the result and the sentiments look fab adhered over the edge of the stamped background using foam adhesive.

Next was time for a shaker card as I haven’t made one for ages and the new stand alone Designer Die Sparkling Snowflake was calling to be used!

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I love making shaker cards, though they are quite time consuming! The results however out weigh the time taken to add all the foam adhesive around a fussy design 😉 Plus, the sparkly sequins are such a happy sight too!

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One thing I must try harder on is thinking about sentiments and sentiment placement prior to assembling cards. Especially cards that take as much time as this! I could have left it sentiment free, but I felt it needed one when complete. I’ve added the ‘Let it Snow’ from Festive Sentiments Outlined, which is stamped onto a light scrap of Pool Party card and again adhered using foam adhesive.

Lastly for today I have used Festive Sentiments Outlined to create a reasonably quick CAS card…

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Again, my iPhone really doesn’t like photographing red with lots of white, so it seems to have a pink shade to the white card 🙁 Anyway, the current sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch! seen HERE and below was perfect.

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I used my larger MISTI to stamp the sentiments and then simply coloured them in with marker pens and adhered the panel with foam adhesive to a red card base.

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That’s all I had time to create this week for the hop, but I have so many more ideas and cards I want to make and share using these new products, that you’ll see more in the coming days and lead up to Christmas!

Now it’s time for some inspiration and a fabulous blog hop with my awesome Brand Ambassadors. Be sure to comment along the hop for your chance to win the ENTIRE Release! You have until Midnight GMT 2nd November 2019 to leave a comment and a winner will be announced shortly after.

Sarah P

That was one fabulous and inspirational hop! I hope you all enjoyed it too and don’t forget to comment along the way to be in the chance to win all the NEW goodies!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Crafty Hugs

Re-introducing Nautical Treasures AND Introducing Background Blocks Nautical Stripes, Anchors & Fleur De Lis Stencils

Hey!

Welcome to Day 3 of the July 2019 Release product introductions.

Hopefully you have hopped on over from our lovely Guest Designer Keren’s blog HERE. If you missed the start of the hop and introduction to todays products, you can catch up HERE.

Today we are re-introducing a previously released and retired clear stamp set, Nautical Treasures. Plus, I have designed some new products to go perfectly with it! Introducing the newest Background Block, Nautical Stripes and 2 new stencil designs, Anchors and Fleur De Lis.

Today I have a couple of clean & simple nautical inspired cards to share with you. First up I have one pairing the new Background Block Nautical Stripes with the sail boat from the previously released and retired Nautical Treasures.

 

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This card was really quick to make. I stamped the Background Blocks Nautical Stripes in Altenew Desert Night ink. I always use my MISTI for this, so I can repeat stamp for a perfect impression, especially with the more solid stripes in the design.

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The sail boat is stamped in Catherine Pooler Midnight ink, fussy cut out and I added a stencilled anchor to the sail. The sentiment is from Nautical Treasures.

Lastly for today I have this quick and easy card…

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This time I decided to use the thick stripe from Background Builders Classics, which we introduced on Monday. Again I used Altenew Desert Night ink and my MISTI to stamp. I then stencilled one anchor to strip of white card & tied through some bakers twine. The sentiment is from Simply Said.

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Unfortunately that is all I have to share with you today, my mojo was exhausted with the recent heat here 🙁

However, my AWESOME Design Team and wonderful Guest Designer this month, Keren Baker have worked their magic with today’s products, so be sure to hop along & see them…

Bev (that’s me)

Carol 

Sarah P

Wiebke 

WOW!

That was a phenomenal inspirational hop, so many creative designs and lovely to see fresh inky creativeness with Nautical Treasures too!


I hope you enjoyed it and you will join us again tomorrow for another product introduction and LOTS more inspiration 🙂

Hugs

June 2019 Non-Release Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!

Hey & Happy Weekend!

Welcome to the June 2019 Non-Release Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY! Hopefully you have hopped on over from HERE, the beginning of the hop & where I have introduced everything!

So, with Father’s Day just next weekend, I thought it would be useful for some masculine card inspiration! So I set the Design Team & myself the challenge to use the previously released Explosion! Explosion! Additions & Designer Dies Explosion Collection for this months revisited hop!

This collection of Uniko products are perfect for those hard to create masculine cards! The comic book and Pop Art trends are still going strong in the paper crafting world too 😉

As usual we have our GIVEAWAY, so be sure to comment along the hop for your chance to win a £25 eGift Certificate code to spend over on the Uniko website. You have until midnight BST Saturday 15th June 2019 to comment along the hop.

And here’s what I created…

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I was totally inspired by the current sketch challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches seen HERE and below. The rectangle feature of the sketch screamed to have the halftone explosion ‘spotlight’ stamped. AND it looks like great minds think alike, as I wasn’t the only one. Be sure to check out DT Julies card 😉

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I absolutely LOVED the Catherine Pooler ink colours I used for THIS card using the Explosion! collection, that I decided to use them again! I’ve used Rockin’ Red, Suede Shoes and Limoncello.

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I’ve used Copic Makers Y35, YR09 and YR16 to colour the BAM! and the Happy Father’s Day sentiment is from Simply Said.

That’s all I have to share with you today using this collection of Uniko products, but be sure to visit my awesome Design Team for even more inspiration. Don’t forget to leave some comment love, which will also put you in the chance of winning a £25 eGift Certificate!

Carol 

Sarah P

Wiebke 

What an inspirational hop, so many new ideas, I hope you all enjoyed it too 🙂

Thanks for joining in on the fun.

Hugs

To Bee or Not to Bee Blog Hop

Hey & Happy Monday!

Welcome to the 2019 BEE or not to BEE Blog Hop!

Hopefully you have hopped on over from the Uniko Blogspot Blog HERE, where I have shared all the information about the hop & you can see all the Uniko DT inspiration. The official start of the hop begins on Milka‘s blog and all the participants can be found at the end of this post.

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.

30443077_808986252629901_3993565518379683661_nSource: https://www.worldbeeday.org/en/

And this is what I have created for the occasion…

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I’ve combined Uniko’s Bee Happy clear stamp set with some die cut hexagons using the Sizzix Framelits Hexagon Hive die. I also used the die to ink blend the coloured hexagons on the hexagon heart.

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Happy BEE Day!

This year the Uniko Design Team have joined me with creating inspiration to share with you all and we have a mini hop contained inside the BEE or not to BEE Blog Hop!

Carol 

Izzy

Jane 

Linda

Lindsey

Rahmat

Sarah P

Wiebke 

BEE sure to hop along all the Uniko Design Team and leave a comment, as I will randomly select a lucky comment from those left on the Uniko DT blogs to win a BEE themed Uniko prize 🙂 You have until 31st May to comment!

ALSO…

For your 1 in 19 chance to win one of the sponsor prizes seen in the graphic above, hop along blogs of the participating designers and sponsors listed in blog hop list below and leave comment on each blog hop stop.

Milka Gubo

Alexandra Suta

Alice Huang

Amy Tsuruta

Donna Mikasa    

Kathy Curry

Larissa Walgemoed          

Neha Bhatt

Nonni Niskanen

Samantha Mann

Sonja Kerkhoffs

Tina Pavlovic                        

Valentina Bizjak

Gerda Steiner Designs

Honey Bee Stamps

Lawn Fawn

Newton’s Nook Designs

Paper Smooches

Pretty Pink Posh

Uniko

Your Next Stamp

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’s blog post below InLinkz.

InLinkz closes on May 31st2019, 11:59 PM CEST. Winners’ names will be announced on Milka’s blog on June 3rd2019 during the day.

There will be couple additional giveaways along the hop. Details about additional prizes and giveaway rules can be found on blogs that offers additional prizes.

Giveaway is opened Worldwide (+18) only. 

Happy Hopping!

March 2019 Non Release Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!

Hey & Happy Weekend!

Welcome to the March 2019 Non-Release Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!

For those of you who are new around these parts I will explain what this post is all about…

Here at Uniko HQ it is just myself behind the screen, blogging, designing, packaging stamps & orders through the Uniko online shop, customer service and all the things in between. I *usually* release new product every other month for a number of reasons, but mainly so I can keep up with everything!

On non – release months like this month I like to set myself and the Design Team a challenge to look back at a previously released product and give it some more love.

With Spring just around the corner here in the Northern Hemisphere, I thought it would be nice to give some fresh inky love to Spring Botanicals Daffodil, Spring Botanicals Snowdrop and Stencil Bright Butterflies.

As usual we have our GIVEAWAY, so be sure to comment along the hop for your chance to win Spring Botanicals Daffodil and Stencil Bright Butterflies (an alternative prize to the same value will be offered if the winner already owns these). You have until Midnight (GMT) Saturday 16th March 2019 to comment, winner will be announced shortly after.

I’ve created a trio of cards to share with you today using all 3 products and some different techniques on each of them.

First up I have used Spring Botanicals Daffodil

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I’d created this scored Basic Grey (Stampin’ Up!) card base probably more than a week ago. I’ve been loving the trend I have been seeing around social media of adding embossed scored lines to cards. After purchasing a new Fiskars mini paper trimmer with interchangeable blades, I had to give it a go!

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I decided to do some partial fussy cutting of the daffodil, which is stamped in VersaMark ink and heat embossed with detail white EP. I used Prismacolor Pencils to colour the daffodil and adhered the panel to the scored card base using foam adhesive. The sentiment is also from Spring Botanicals Daffodil and heat embossed.

Next I thought I would try my hand at some more no line colouring…

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This time I used Spring Botanicals Snowdrop. I’ve stamped the snowdrops on to Crumb Cake card using VersaMark ink. I then used my Prismacolor Pencils to colour the image in. Stamping on the kraft card base made it easier to colour the white flowers 😉

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The sentiment is from Spring Botanicals Daffodil and again is heat embossed.

Lastly I was inspired to use the Stencil Bright Butterflies

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Earlier in the week I’d seen the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch! seen HERE and blelow, and thought it would be perfect for some stencilling!

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I used my ink daubers to selectively ink the butterflies and flowers and I simply chose some bright Altenew ink colours (Fresh Lemon, Orange Cream, Aqualicious and Rubellite). I then went over the top with Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste – love this stuff! I finished the card off with a sentiment from Simply Said Blocks II.

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That’s all I have to share with you today, but be sure to hop along with the DT and comment for your chance to win 😉

What an inspirational hop, so many new ideas, I hope you all enjoyed it too 🙂

Thanks for joining in on the fun.

Hugs

Uniko Challenge #49 – Wonderful World with Optional Twist THANKS

Hey!

The current Uniko Challenge is in full swing and today The Design Team and Guest Designer are here to remind you that there is still time to join in on the fun.

We have another fun and easy challenge at the moment and we hope the Wonderful World around us will inspire you to play along. If you’d like even more of a challenge then please twist with us and create a card to say THANKS.

Challenge Guidelines:

* You can use any products/stamps to enter the challenge, but we do LOVE to see you use your Uniko products. Plus, there is an extra chance to win a prize if you do 😉

* Email entries welcome, just email a photo of your card to bev@uniko.co.uk and I will add it to the Uniko Flickr gallery and link up!

* Share the challenge graphic in your post and link back to the challenge if possible 😉

We have the very talented Hannelie joining us again as our Guest Designer for this challenge. Her card is an absolute delight and so very creative. It’s sure to inspire you to play along.

And here’s what I made a while back but never shared…

I made this for the last Uniko Stamping Retreat back in the Summer. The technique station was all about playing with Brusho’s and I created this fun background using the Natures Treasures II Mask.

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I’d normal avoid all this messy, as I like clean and simple! However, sometimes messy can be kept clean & simple by not adding too much fuss and layers to a design. I have done this by letting the leaves & ink take the limelight and just added a simple sentiment from Simply Said Blocks.

That’s all I have to inspire you, but some of The Design Team have more inspiration to share with you…

 Now, if you need more incentive to play along with the challenge here are the details of the prizes.  

THE PRIZES

  • Main Winner Chosen By the DT – £25 eGift Certificate
  • Random Twist Winner – £4 In Stock Clear Stamp Set of Winners Choosing
  • Random Uniko Stamps Winner – £4 In Stock Clear Stamp Set of Winners Choosing
  • Top 3 Chosen By DT – 150 Loyalty Reward Points

You’ve got plenty of time to play along with this month’s challenge. The deadline for submission is midnight (GMT) on Friday 26th October 2018 (7.00pm EDT).

Introducing… BIG & BOLD Hello and Framed Florals

Hey!

Welcome back to day three of the August 2018 Release product introductions. Thank you for all the lovely comments and support around social media for yesterdays introductions, I do love reading them all 🙂

Today we are introducing another 2 new clear stamp sets, BIG & BOLD Hello and Framed Florals. Hopefully you have hopped on by from the Uniko Blogspot blog HERE, where I have shared cards using the new stamps.

Here are a couple more I have made. First up, BIG & BOLD Hello…

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This was another one of the card designs I created for the Uniko Summer Stamping Retreat, however, this is a different colour way from the original as I actually mailed that card out!!

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The bold sentiments in the BIG & BOLD series are so fun to create ombre shadow effects like I have on this card. Plus, the beauty of having a stamping tool like the MISTI makes it a breeze! Again, I have used Altenew inks as they really do take the thinking out of matching colours 😉 I’ve used the Sweet Dreams collection on this card.

Next up is a card using Framed Florals…

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This time I have used the ‘no line’ colouring technique using Prismacolor Pencils and I was a little unsure as to how it would turn out when I started, but I am rather pleased with the result.

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I started out by stamping the image onto white card using Altenew Limestone ink. I then simply coloured over the stamped image with my pencils.

The layout of my card is inspired by the current sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch! seen HERE and below. I had to turn the orientation of my card for the image to fit with the sketch.

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Ok, that’s all I have to share with you today using these new sets, but why not grab a cup of your favourite beverage and hop along with myself and the team…?

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that hop and I am all inspired to get inky! I’d love to know your thoughts on these clear stamp sets and which is your favourite of the two, that is if you can decide?!

That’s all from myself and the Design Team today and all 5 of the new clear stamp sets have been introduced, which means…. TOMORROW is RELEASE DAY!!

Hope to see you then for the full reveal, release, Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!!

Hugs

 

Introducing… Background Builders: Happy Hexagons & Beautiful

Hey!

Welcome back to day 2 of the August 2018 Release product introductions.

This is the fun part, you now get to see all the sneak peeks in action. The Design Team have worked their socks off and created an abundance of inspiration to share with you over the coming days 🙂

Yesterday myself and the Design Team re-introduced the ‘So Much’ mini clear stamp set HERE, be sure to check out all the inspiration and comment along the hop 😉

Today we are introducing 2 new clear stamp sets, Background Builders: Happy Hexagons & Beautiful. Hopefully you have hopped on from the start HERE, where I have shared a couple of projects using the new stamps.

Now I have some more inspiration to share using Background Builders: Happy Hexagons…

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Have you noticed the stamp design in the Background Builders Geometric collection that appears in each set? I’ve used it on this first card, if not! I love the garland style of this stamp and as I want all the sets to work as a collection, apart from the correlation of them being geometrics I wanted something to flow between them and this stamp design works perfectly.

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On this first card I started by die cutting a square window mask to stamp the hexagon garland. It is such a fun stamp and with it being long and thin, it can be easily manipulated on a stamping block or in a stamping tool to be curved or made into a wavy design. Again, I used Altenew inks and paired it with a sentiment from Birthday Sentiments.

Next, I was inspired by the current challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches seen HERE and below.

FMS Final 350-001

I used the open hexagon strip stamp across my base card, stamping it in VersaFine Onyx Black ink. I then used my Diamond Press Hexagon Dies (purchased from Crafters Companion) to die cut 2 hexagons, one from Lemon Lime Twist and one from Berry Burst, I just love this colour pairing!

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I stamped one of the larger hexagons onto the Lemon Lime Twist die cut and layered it slightly onto the Berry Burst die cut. The sentiment is one of my faves from Simply Said Blocks.

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Lastly, but by no means least I have a card to share with you using Beautiful…

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This is another card from the Uniko Summer Stamping Retreat and I think my favourite! I love the juicy bright colours and added little leaf sprig from a clear stamp set being introduced tomorrow 😉 The sentiment is another of the mix and match options in the set and I have added some Bakers Twine & Nuvo Drops to embellish the sentiment strip.

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That’s all I have to share with you today using these new clear stamp sets, but I know the Design Team have created even more fabulous inspiration to showcase them, be sure to hop along!

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that hop and I am all inspired to get inky! I’d love to know your thoughts on these clear stamp sets and which is your favourite of the two, that is if you can decide?! That’s all from myself and the Design Team today, but be sure to come by tomorrow for even more product introductions 🙂

Hugs

 

Introducing… So Much

Hey!

Welcome to the first day of the August 2018 Release product introductions.

This is the fun part, you now get to see all the sneak peeks in action. The Design Team have worked their socks off and created an abundance of inspiration to share with you over the coming days 🙂

Today we are introducing So Much a mini clear stamp set, which was the limited edition December 2017 Release Freebie. From Sunday 19th August, it will officially be available to purchase for those that didn’t get their inky mitts on the limited supply back then!

Hopefully you have hopped on over from the Uniko Blogspot Blog HERE, I’ve shared a previous card using this set over there.

Here is a couple of new cards using this little set…

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This little set features a lovely floral bouquet and you will recognise the flowers as a version from Flower Power #6 and the leaves & foliage are from Originally Organic. Along with the main floral image there are a couple of mix & match sentiments.

For this first card I decided to create a fun ink blended colour block section. I was inspired by Pantone’s colour of 2018, Ultraviolet and I opted for a sentiment from another new clear stamp set being introduced tomorrow 😉

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I used Post-it Notes to mask off the bottom section of my one layer card and to keep it interesting I angled the section too. I then randomly sectioned off each block, also at an angle and simply applied each of the Altenew Purple ink colours.

The floral bouquet and sentiment are stamped in VersaFine Onyx Black ink and I added some Altenew enamel dots to finish the design off.

Next, I decided on a little colouring and fussy cutting…

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I started out by stamping the floral bouquet onto Stampin’ Up! Whisper White card in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I then used some Copic Markers to colour the image in. I then decided to fussy cut the image out, it is a fussy cut, but it is something I find quite therapeutic on a night once The Beans are asleep in bed!

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The sentiment is one of the mix and match options from the set and I still prefer to stamp my sentiments in VersaFine Onyx Black ink as I think it gives such a nice crisp finish. The floral bouquet is adhered to the card using foam adhesive and I trimmed the left hand side edge that overhung the card base.

Ok, that’s all from me, but how about some more inspiration, why not grab a cup of your favourite beverage and hop along with the team…?

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that hop and I am all inspired to give the set even more inky love! I’d love to know your thoughts on this clear stamp set AND if you own it already I’d love you to share some of your projects with me using it!

That’s all from myself and the Design Team today, but be sure to come by tomorrow for even more product introductions 🙂

Hugs