Wednesday Wreath & NEWS

Happy Wonderful Wednesday.

Today I decided to dust off Rustic Wreath while I waited for some Uniko clear stamp and stencil restocks to arrive to create another Christmas card to add to the stash to send. This weekend will be a write the Christmas card one and get them out in the mail.

Here's how I used the wreath today...

I started by stamping the wreath. I tried to measure roughly 1.5cm in from the 3 sides it was close to, as I knew I wanted to draw a frame following on and around from stamping the sentiment.

I used the smaller stamps in the set, the pinecone, two little branches and the berries to add details to the wreath and finished with a bow from Mid Century Modern Baubles. 

Just as I finished the restocks arrived!

The restocks include, Anniversaire Arts Décoratifs, Stencil - Mid Century Modern, Background Blocks Pinstripe, Framed Fairy Lights, Christmas Wishes, Christmas Pop, Simply Said Blocks Christmas, Ink & Flip Layering Geometric Christmas Tree Stencil & Christmas Sentiments. 

Our Black Friday SALE is still on HERE...

I've added a few more items to the sale and I have also been through and added a few items to the retiring section on the website. It's always hard for me to make these decisions, but I really need to make some room for the newness coming in 2025!

Be sure to get them while you can HERE, once they are gone I will not be restocking them.

In other news. 

You might have seen some announcements across social media from small business about GSPR which stands for General Product Safety Regulations. I didn't know about this until last week, until a business I follow in Northern Ireland announced they were closing their doors because of this. 

Basically from the 13th December 2024 there are regulations coming into force across the EU and Northern Ireland (because it borders the Republic of Ireland) that any manufactured goods have to meet safety guidelines. Which doesn't sound too bad, other than a lot of work to ensure my products have this information on them. 

However, the BIGGIE is, companies are required to have a 'responsible person' in the EU to represent their company. This costs a LOT of money and the starting costs are unfortunately out of my budget. Though I am looking into it more to see if there are other options.

Until I find a cost effective option I am unfortunately going to have to stop selling to customers in the EU and Northern Ireland.

**** 5pm GMT Monday 9th December 2024. This will be the final day you will be able to place an order to ensure I can get it mailed out by Royal Mail before 13th December 2024***

PLEASE NOTE. THIS ONLY AFFECTS EU AND NORTHERN IRELAND. 

I'm sorry I am ending on a sad note for my lovely friends and customers across Europe and NI. I truly appreciate all your custom and support over the years. I hope you will still follow Uniko as we have lots of fun and giveaways planned for December. 

I have been told that these regulations do not affect people sending gifts, which is how I send giveaway items. Unfortunately, I am unable to do this for orders as it is illegal and my accountants would come down on me like a ton of bricks! 

That's all from me today.

Crafty Hugs

Throwback Thursday and Last Chance!

 Hello & Happy Thursday! 

Today I am doing a little reminiscing with a throwback Thursday. 

Unfortunately, the time has come to say farewell to a couple of clear stamp sets. I never find this easy and it really does take me a while to let them go. BUT, as much as I do love these sets, trends change, just like the seasons AND there is always so much newness around the corner.

So what are we saying farewell to? 

Decorative Doilies - The Hands Of Time

Firstly it is with a heavy heart we are saying farewell to Decorative Doilies - The Hands Of Time. This stamp set holds a special place in my heart. I originally designed elements of this set at college while studying for my degree in Textiles and Surface Design. 

This set is closely connected to the two clear stamps I launched Uniko with back in February 2012, Today, Tomorrow and Always Time and Today, Tomorrow and Always Extra Time. These sets were designed for my final major project and I poured hours of research, drawing and designing into them as I learned Adobe Illustrator. 

Here are a couple of my favourite cards made using this set. You can see more on Pinterest HERE.

And for old times sake, I have a fresh card to share with you using this set...

Yep, I am still on that slimline card band wagon! However, I was inspired by the new sketch over at CAS Colours & Sketches seen HERE and below for the layout of my card. They have also requested it to be slimline.

The sketch was perfect for using lots of the doilies from the set. The hardest part was selecting which largest doily to showcase as the main feature. 

I knew I wanted this card to be super colourful, so I opted for this one as I love colouring it in rainbow! I love how it turned out. I used a selection of Stampin' Up! markers to colour the doily and then I used some of the coordinating inks to stamp the backdrop of doilies. I used all but two doilies for this card. 

The sentiment is from Simply Said Blocks III and I added some enamel gems to add the final touches. I know this won't be the last time I ink up these stamps. They will forever remain a firm favourite. Especially when it comes to quick sparkling Christmas cards. However, it will probably be the last card I make and share here on the blog using it.

The next stamp set we are bidding farewell to is...

Background Builders - Vines 

This is another stamp set from the early years of Uniko, April 2014 to be exact! Here are a few of my favourites using this set. And you can see more HERE on Pinterest.

And a close up of a different card 

And again, for old times sake, a new one...

It's funny how you don't use a stamp set or product for a long time, but when you finally ink it up and start creating a whole host of ideas come to mind! 

For this card I selected one of the long leafy stamps to create this garland across my card. I then stamped a variety of the tiny flowers in a selection of inks. I tried to choose colours with an autumn feel, but it came out pretty summery.

You might recognise some of the flower designs from the Flower Power series. Don't worry those aren't retiring just yet, they'll be about for a while longer. The sentiment I have used is from Floral Vines.

So that's it, my Throwback Thursday and a farewell to these two stamp sets. It's been lovely looking back and I know for sure these early stamp sets will always have a special place in my heart and crafting stash. 

There are still some available on the website HERE at bargain prices, waiting for a loving inky home.  Once they are gone the product will be removed from the website 😢 

That's all from me today.

Crafty Hugs