Uniko March 2024 Non-Release Brand Ambassador Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hi there

It's time for another Non-Release Brand Ambassador Blog Hop and Giveaway at Uniko.  On non-release months the team revisit previously released products and give them some well-deserved love.  For this month, we are revisiting the gorgeous stamp sets in the Spring Botanicals series.

I have two cards for you today, both were made for Mother's Day, which was yesterday in the UK.  They are both very similar in design but I've used different techniques on each.

First up I've used the beautiful Spring Botanicals Daffodil stamp set...

I stamped the daffodil directly on the card base and then stamped and cut out a mask.  As well as covering up the daffodil, I also masked off the bottom right corner with low tack tape.  I then ink blended the background in three shades of Distress Oxide Ink and then sprinkled some water drops and blotted to remove the colour.  The sentiments were heat embossed in white on some black cardstock and these were adhered on 3D foam.  To finish I added some scattered clear gems.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Spring Botanicals Daffodil
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Distress Oxide - Rustic Wilderness, Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opague Bright White
• Clear gems from stash

For my second card I used emboss resist with Spring Botanicals Snowdrop and the sentiment is from the Simply Said stamp set...

On a die cut panel I stamped the snowdrops in VersaMark ink and heat embossed in white.  I then blended up from the bottom corner using two shades of Distress Oxide.  I then "painted" the snowdrops with water and blotted with kitchen paper to remove the ink.  I stamped the sentiment in black and adhered the panel flat to the card base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Spring Botanicals Snowdrop, Simply Said
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Oxide - Speckled Egg, Shabby Shutters; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opague Bright White
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Scalloped Rectangles

Here are all the Spring Botanicals stamp sets in their entirety...

Bev is offering  a prize to one lucky comment left along the hop. Simply leave comments along the hop before midnight GMT on Monday 18 March 2024 and the winner will receive a £15 eGift Code to spend in the store!

Don't forget to take a look at the main Uniko post, here, where the rest of the team are sharing their projects.  For ease you can hop along to all the Brand Ambassadors as follows:

Anita (that's me!)

Bev

Izzy

Julie

Steph

Vinita

Uniko also has some March Madness for you...

Check out the store, here, to pick up some bargains.  Thanks for taking the time to visit today :)

 

Guest Designer for Honey Doo Crafts - Selection Two

Good morning

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I'm excited to be joining Honey Doo Crafts for the second time as a Guest Designer, showcasing their fabulous new stamps and dies for the upcoming shows on Hochanda.

Today I'm sharing more of my samples, using some of the new products.


First up is a die set called Feathered Flourishes.  I'm really pleased with how this first card turned out.  I chose to use a faux laser cut technique I first saw in a Jennifer McGuire video a few years ago, and have used a couple of times...

I began by masking my card base and creating an ink blended and water splattered background using Distress Oxide Inks.  Next I die cut a frame using some stitched rectangle dies.  To create the faux laser cut effect all you need to do is adhere various die cuts and adhere them to the edge of your aperture or frame and trim off the excess.  This is a fairly easy technique, the only fiddly part is ensuring you add enough 3D foam pieces to the reverse of your die cuts so that they have enough support and don't sag when added to your card front.  The photo below shows this more clearly.

I finished by stamping a small sentiment panel and backing this with a vellum panel, which was then also popped up on 3D foam to support it.

Materials used:

• Dies: Honey Doo Crafts - Feathered Flourishes; Create a Smile - Double Stitched Rectangles
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamp: Honey Doo Crafts - Just in Case
• Vellum from stash

Challenge entry:

Happy Little Stampers - February Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Next up I've used the Feathered Flourishes dies once again, with the new Daisy stamp set...

I started by creating the daisies.  I stamped them in VersaMark on pale yellow vellum and heat embossed in white.  These were then fussy cut and the petals curled slightly using the rod of a paint brush.  I then die cut some of the flourishes from green textured cardstock.  On a panel of white cardstock I added some graduated score lines for some background interest and then arranged and adhered the flourishes and daisies, adding some enamel dots for the flower centres.

To finish I stamped the sentiment between two score lines and the popped the panel onto the card base using fun foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Daisy, Just in Case
• Dies: Honey Doo Crafts - Feathered Flourishes
• Ink: VersaMark; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Altenew - Pure White
• Vellum from stash
• Accents: Doodlebug Sprinkles - Bumblebee Assortment

Challenge entry:

The Flower Challenge - Challenge #29 - Use Your Latest Stamps or Dies

Next up I've used the Daisy set again, but this time just the leaves...

I die cut a stitched panel and then, using my MISTI for alignment, stamped a row of the same leaves in rainbow order.  I simply stamped the sentiment above in black and adhered the panel to the card base on fun foam.  To finish, I added some co-ordinating enamel dots.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Daisy, Cheers
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Canary, Fresh Green, Cyan, Violet, Magenta
• Die: Create a Smile - Double Stitched Rectangles
• Accents: Doodlebug Sprinkles

The next stamp set is called Budding Flourishes and I kept this one really simple...

After die cutting the rectangular panel I then used a piece of cardstock die cut with an oval die as a template to blend the sunset background.  I shifted the oval down very slightly, only 1-2mm, to ensure the stamped image met the edge of the oval mask, this was simply stamped in black ink, as was the sentiment alongside.  The panel was then popped up for dimension.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Budding Flourishes, Hopeful & Happy Quotes
• Dies: Create a Smile - Double Stitched Rectangle; Lil Inker Designs - Stitched Ovals (used to create mask)
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral; Versafine - Onyx Black

And finally, this card uses the gorgeous new Floral Sketch stamp and the watercolour lifting technique...

I stamped the image in black pigment ink and heat embossed it using clear embossing powder.  I then masked the two sides of the panel vertically and blended Distress Inks down the centre.  I then 'painted' the image with water, section by section, waited a few seconds and blotted away the colour with a paper towel.  So the sections within the image appear lighter than the background.  I stamped the sentiment at the bottom right before adhering the panel on fun foam.

I then added some Nuvo drops in co-ordinating shades around the design, although with hindsight I think I preferred it without the drops.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Floral Sketch, Just in Case
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Oxide - Shaded Lilac, Cracked Pistachio
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Accents: Nuvo Drops

Don't forget to tune in to Hochanda tomorrow if you can (Freeview 85 / Sky 673) at 12pm and 4pm to see these great new products in more detail.

Thanks so much for popping by.  I'll be back tomorrow with my final batch of samples ahead of Thursday's shows.

AAA Cards Game #112 - Guest Designer!

Hi guys

I was super excited to win Challenge #109 at AAA Cards and today I'm thrilled to be once again joining the lovely team for their new challenge, you can find the main post here.

The challenge is...

I decided to combine two of my favourite techniques when creating my card, ink blending and the watercolour lifting technique.

On a small piece of cardstock I stamped and heat embossed the leaves in white.  There's actually a third technique here too that I love, emboss resist, where the image is revealed when ink blending over the top.  Here I used three green shades of Distress Ink.  I then 'painted' the leaves with water and lifted away the colour using a paper towel.  I filled in the berries using a white pigment pen before die cutting the image out with a pierced square die.  Using a larger die from the same set I embossed a larger square into the card base and adhered the blended panel on 3D foam.  The sentiment was then stamped with co-ordinating ink.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Lovely Leaves
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Crushed Olive; Versa Color - Green Tea
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Pierced Square Stax

Challenge entry:

Just Us Girls - Challenge #434 - CAS

The challenge is running for two weeks so plenty of time to play along using your favourite techniques.

Thanks so much for visiting today.

Less is More Week #334

Good morning

Wow, what a hot week it's been here in the UK!  I love the sun but this heat has been taking it out of me.  Thankfully, since Thursday it's been a little cooler so it's much more bearable now.

So, let's get to the reason for today's post.  At Less is More this week we have a Sketch challenge for you.  It's been a while since we've had a sketch challenge so here it is...

We continue to have STAMPlorations as our fab sponsor this month so please do play along for a chance to win the monthly prize.

I find sketch challenges the most difficult but I've managed three cards for you this week (it might have something to do with the fact that I designed this week's sketch! haha Hope you like it!)

So let's get to it with my first card...

I used a curved die to create some masks and then blended in between with Distress Inks in sunset colours.  After removing the masks I stamped the flowers in waterproof black ink.  I then 'painted' the petals with clean water and blotted with a paper towel to remove the colour.  I went over the petals a couple of times to achieve the faded look a little more.  I finished by stamping the flourishes and sentiment.

Materials used:

• Die: Avery Elle - Dotted Borders Dies (to create the masks)
• Ink: Distress Ink - Squeezed Lemonade, Carved Pumpkin, Candied Apple; Archival - Jet Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Flowers for Design; Clearly Besotted - Message Me

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #247 - Make Your Mark (sponge blending)

Penny Black and More - June Challenge - Anything Goes

The Flower Challenge - Challenge #9 - Anything Goes

I chose a kraft and lace theme for my second card...

On a panel of kraft cardstock slightly smaller than my card base I used some thin paper cut from a curved die to mask the wavy section.  I then stamped the lace design in VersaMark and heat embossed in white.  I chose thin paper for my masks as I wanted to achieve the best impression from my stamp.  With thicker masks you usually get a narrow margin that doesn't stamp properly.  I also heat embossed the sentiment and die cut around it with a stitched heart die.  The main panel was mounted on fun foam to the card base, and then I adhered the heart and added a single white pearl.

Materials used:

• Kraft cardstock: Neenah - Desert Storm
• Dies: Mama Elephant - Landscape Trio Dies; MFT Die-namics - Stitched Heart Stax
• Stamps: Wow! - Lace; Clearly Besotted - On Your Day
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Accents: Hobbycraft - 3mm white pearl

Challenge entries:

CAS(E) this Sketch - Challenge #227

Alphabet Challenge - 'H' for Hearts

I reached for some patterned paper for card three...

This patterned paper pack has been in my stash for about ten years!!!  So it was nice to create with it again.  I adhered a strip to my card base and then cut a panel of white cardstock, split using a curved die.  I stamped the sentiment in grey before adhering both white panels on 3D foam.  I used a die which co-ordinated well with the design of the paper and used this to cut a flower from some bright pink cardstock, adhered over the panels to finish.

Materials used:

• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Snowdrifts; Tim Holtz - Wildflowers
• Patterned Paper: Dovecraft - A Hint of Pink
• Stamp: Wplus9 - Fresh Cut Florals
• Ink: Versa Color - Sky Gray

Challenge entries:

Happy Little Stampers - June Challenge - Anything Goes with Dies

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Use Patterned Paper

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Please do pop over to the LIM challenge blog and check out my teamies' creations this week, they've really shown how versatile this sketch is, and no doubt will have more inspiration for you over on their personal blogs too.

Have a lovely weekend :)

Happy Little Stampers February 2017 CAS Challenge

Hi guys

Today I'm here to introduce the next CAS challenge over at Happy Little Stampers.  This month we have a colour challenge for you which is...

As with all the HLS challenges there's a prize up for grabs so why not play along with us.

I'll get straight to my card and for this one I've used three sets by Happy Little Stampers...

I created an emboss resist panel by stamping the images and heat embossing in white before ink blending with shades of blue in an ombre effect.  I then used the watercolour lift technique by painting the images with clean water and blotting away the colour.  I then used a stitched border die to cut my panel and adhered it to the card base.  The Thanks sentiment was once again heat embossed in white onto some black cardstock, cut with a die and popped up on 3D foam with the remainder of the sentiment stamped in black below.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Doodled Flowers, Simply Said, Thinking of You
• Ink: VersaMark; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Distress Ink - Blueprint Sketch, Mermaid Lagoon, Salty Ocean and Broken China
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangles; Mama Elephant - Landscape Trio

Thanks so much for stopping by.  My teamies have made some lovely blue creations so please do follow the link above and visit the main challenge blog.

This challenge, along with the rest of the HLS challenges, some of which will be starting in the next few days, will run until the end of the month so plenty of time for you to play along :)

Twelve Days of Christmas Cards Challenge with Kylie and Friends!

Hi there

Today I'm excited to be sharing a card as part of Kylie's Twelve Days of Christmas Cards Challenge.  

For twelve days Kylie is sharing a different handcrafted Christmas card and has some friends from blogland joining her each day along the way.  I'm delighted to have been asked to join her today, which is Day 11.  So please do click back through Kylie's posts if you've missed the previous posts with some wonderful inspiration.

Kylie is my 'boss lady' at Happy Little Stampers (and also at Addicted to Stamps and More where I was previously a DT member).  I also had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful lady back in July at the Happy Little Stampers Craft Retreat, she's an absolute star.

Ok, back to the challenge, you can enter as many times as you like and there are prizes up for grabs too! The linky tool will be open until 12pm on the 17th of December (AEST).

$20 Gift Certificate

$20 Gift Certificate

20€ Gift Certificate

So, onto my card, and I've used one of the new sets from the latest Happy Little Stampers release, Christmas Joy...

On a panel of white cardstock I masked off the top half and firstly stamped my holly images in VersaMark before heat embossing in white.  I then used the emboss resist technique to blend over three different green shades of Distress Ink before removing the mask.  I then used the watercolour lift technique by adding water to the leaves and lifting the colour away with a paper towel.  I stamped the sentiment in black and adhered the panel onto the card base using 3D foam.  I then added some Stickles in pink....after looking for red Stickles which I don't actually own! lol

Materials used:

• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Christmas Joy
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Forest Moss, Pine Needles, Lucky Clover; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Accents: Stickles - Pink

Challenge entries:

A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #184 - Anything Christmas Goes
Dream Valley - Challenge #146 - Christmas
Fantasy Stampers - Challenge #77 - CAS Christmas
AAA Cards - Game #79 - Christmas
Inkspirational - Challenge #123 - CAS with Sparkle

Thanks so much for joining me today.  I hope you'll play along by linking up your Christmas creations.  We would love to see them and you might even win one of the fantastic prizes up for grabs.

Bye for now