Coffee addict ....

..... Hi again! I'm on a bit of a roll this week - cards almost everyday! I've got another coffee themed card for you this afternoon. It's clean, simple and funny:

Stamps: Bugaboo Digital - JJ Coffee; Altenew - Coffee Love, Coffee Talk, Coffee Ring
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Kaleidacolor - Cappuccino Delight
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Baked Brown Sugar; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear; Glossy Accents

I made this card for the Fall Coffee Lovers Bloghop and I used the colours from Colour Throwdown - CTD#412. I adore the JJ images from Bugaboo and I got this one at the recent mega sale. I printed it on white card, coloured with Copics, cut it out and added some sparkle with a clear Wink of Stella brush. I finished the image by adding glossy accents to her specs. I printed the coffee beans in ombre ink at the corners of the card. On the inside I cut a mat layer of brown card and on the white panel added a sentiment along with coffee pot, cup and beans!

I have to apologise for the photos - it's very dark here - still raining! I've had fun making coffee themed cards this week - I still have a few to make, but the Coffee challenge closes today - it's so popular with nearly 800 submissions!!! That's all for now. See you tomorrow.

Uniko - Christmas Sparkle ....

..... Hello! I'm here with my last introduction card for the new Uniko release. Today I've got a very clean and simple Christmas card:

Stamps: Uniko - Christmas Sparkle, All Occasion Sentiments #4, Wonderful Washi Christmas, Background Builder Vines Winter Additions, Rustic Christmas
Inks: Versamark; Stampin' Up! - Rose Red, Pink Pirouette; Memento - London Fog; Delicata - Silvery Shimmer
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Vellum; SU Card - Rose Red; Silver Embossing Powder; Wink of Stella - Silver

I still don't have the actual stamps, but I've been able to play with the digital images. I printed the outline ornament, in three different sizes, on plain white card. To create the pattern I used the tiny stamps from BB Vines Winter Addictions. I used a silver Wink of Stella brush to paint the ornament hanger. I stamped the snowflake washi image on vellum, heat embossed with silver powder, cut it out and adhered it direct to the card. I used my MIST to position and stamp the greeting. I finished by adhering the ornaments. On the inside I cut a mat layer of dark pink card and on the white panel I added a greeting and some more snowflakes. I've used light and dark pink, along with silver and grey so I'm playing along with this week's Merry Monday Challenge - MM#215.

Don't forget to visit the Uniko blog to see more inspiration from Bev and the rest of the Design Team. We've reached the end of our introductions and tomorrow is RELEASE DAY. We'll be providing more inspiration, show the sets in their entirety, we've got a Blog Hop and there's going to be a Giveaway too! See you tomorrow!

Coffee - Magical substance ...

.... Hi! It's been an awful day today with non-stop rain! I think we've almost caught up with the shortage - there's been at least 1", and I know that not a lot compared to some, but I hate it! The plus side is that I've been able to play in my craft room all day. You'll see most of the cards tomorrow and Saturday. However, I do have a fun coffee themed card to share:

Stamps: Bugaboo Digital - Stella Magical Substance; Altenew - Coffee Love, Coffee Talk, Coffee Ring
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango, Crumb Cake
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Early Espresso; Copic Markers; SU Punch - Tag

I got this image in the recent mega sale at Bugaboo Stamps. I adore Stella - she's such a happy character ;)) I printed the image on white card, coloured her with Copics, cut her out and adhered her to the card. I used a punch to cut out the message - I love this. Reminds me of me in the morning!! On the inside I added a white panel with more coffee themed words and images.  I used this week's colours from the Colour Q Challenge - cQc#361 as I think they are just perfect for a coffee theme challenge. I'm submitting to the Fall Coffee Lovers Challenge too.

I'm off to make myself a cup of coffee now and wait for Jonathan to get in. He's just phoned and said that the roads are awful, but at least the rain has eased off a bit. Bye for now!

Uniko - Marvellous Mehndi ....

... Morning! Today I'm introducing another set from the Uniko October release. This one is Marvellous Mehndi, and I think it's my favourite. I'm still waiting on my actual stamps to arrive here in the States, but Bev very kindly let me have the digital files. Oh my goodness I've had so much fun with them. I decided to create my own background paper using all the paisley images in the set. I used Publisher to create the paper. One of the things I really like about digital images is the ability to change the size of the image, which really worked well making this background. I actually made two cards today! Here's the first:

Stamps: Uniko - Marvellous Mehndi, All Occasion Sentiments #1, All Occasion Sentiments #2, Simply Said
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Basic Black; Gem; Wink of Stella - Clear

I cut the printed panel slightly smaller than the card, layered it on a black mat and adhered it flat to the card. I created the sentiment panel by stamping the greeting in black on white card, layering it on a black mat, adhering it to the front of the card and finishing off with a tiny gem. I add some sparkle to the areas of the paisley images with a clear Wink of Stella brush. On the inside I cut a mat layer of black card and on the white panel stamped a greeting and added a tiny paisley pattern that I fussy cut and adhered. I think black and white, with a touch of sparkle is very glamourous, very elegant, so I'm submitting this one to the current Inkspirational challenge - INK#118.

For my second card I used another sheet of the background paper. This time I used rainbow colours to selectively colour areas in the paisley pattern. I went for a lighter rainbow look:

Stamps: Uniko - Marvellous Mehndi, All Occasion Sentiments #3
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Pumpkin Pie; Vellum; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear; Clear Embossing Powder

I didn't want to hide the panel, so I stamped the sentiment on vellum and heat embossed it with clear powder. I attached the sentiment at an angle, and then layered the panel on some orange card. On the inside I cut another mat of orange card and on the white panel finished the greeting and added a tiny coloured paisley. As I've used rainbow colours on this card, I'm going to play along with Can You Case It? - CYCI#139.

Now, don't forget to visit the Uniko blog to see more from Bev and the rest of the team. This set is so versatile. Hopefully, I'll get my actual stamps soon! Before I go, here's a quick reminder of the release schedule:

Introducing: 28th - 30th September. Bev and the DT show off the sets.

RELEASE DAY: Saturday 1st October - your chance to see the full release and also to buy the stamps at the Uniko shop. There's also a Blog Hop with the Design Team and a Giveway too!

Bye for now!

TMR & Uniko - Originally Organic ...

.... Good morning all! It's time for our new challenge at The Male Room - TMR#45. For the next couple of weeks we want to see your masculine style projects featuring

LEAVES and/or TREES

I used some soon to be released stamps from Uniko as we are introducing the first of Bev's new release today. Originally Organic is just lovely with leaves and stylised flowers and works perfectly for a masculine style thanks card:

Stamps: Uniko - Originally Organic, All Occasion Sentiments #6, Simply Said
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Dies: Lil Inkers - Dual Stitched Rectangles #2
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Wild Wasabi; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear

I used this lovely flourish style image which reminds me of the seeds pods produced by the flower honesty. I don't have the actual stamps yet - still waiting on the post service to deliver them! So Bev kindly sent me the digital files so that I could join in the Blog Hop at Uniko. I printed the image on white card, cut it out with a die cut and coloured it with Copic markers. I used autumnal shades as they really work on a masculine card. I also printed one of the group of leaves which I fussy cut out. I used the large "thanks" sentiment and stamped it on white card, coloured with Copies and then fussy cut the letters. I edged each letter with a black marker to hide the white core of the card. I adhered the letters and panel with dimensional tape. I added some sparkle to the image with a clear Wink of Stella brush to suggest a dusting of frost - just like you see on autumnal mornings. On the inside of the card I cut a panel of green card. On the white panel I added another group of leaves and added a simple greeting. This one is for my stash! As I've used the shades of autumn on my card, I'm submitting this one to the new challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz - C4G#139 - they want autumn colours! Done!

Do visit The Male Room blog to see more inspiration projects from the rest of the team. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this challenge more than our Star Trek challenge! You've got plenty of time to play along - deadline for submission is midnight BST (7.00pm EDT) on Tuesday 11th October. Have fun!

Don't forget to check out the Uniko Blog to see more cards from the Uniko Design Team introducing this fabulous set! And before I go here's a reminder of Uniko release schedule:

Introducing: 28th - 30th September. Bev and the DT show off the sets.

RELEASE DAY: Saturday 1st October - your chance to see the full release and also to buy the stamps at the Uniko shop. There's also a Blog Hop with the Design Team and a Giveway too!

That's all for now! See you soon.

Coffee Love ....

.... Hello again! I do hope you're enjoying my sneak peeks of Uniko's October release. I'm here with my card for the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. I got some new stamps at the weekend with a coffee theme, so this was the perfect time to play with them:

Stamps: Altenew - Coffee Love, Coffee Talk
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Cappccino Delight; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Lil Inkers - Dual Stitched Rectangles #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Vellum; Stampin' Up! Card - Baked Brown Sugar; Clear Embossing Powder

I created a background using several of the stamps from Coffee Love. I used a Kaleidacolor pad, appropriately named Cappccino Delight - I really love the ombre effect of this pad. I die cut a panel of vellum to fit over the front of the card and stamped the sentiment in the middle. I heat embossed it with clear powder to give a nice shine to the sentiment. I adhered the vellum panel with small dots of glossy accents. On the inside I cut a mat layer of pale brown card and on the white panel added a greeting and heart shaped coffee ring - they go together so well!

I had lots of fun making this card. And now to spend some time checking out all the submission to the challenge - there are always so many inventive cards! That's all for now.

Uniko - Sneak Peeks 3 ...

.... Hello and welcome! It's day 3 of my Uniko sneak peeks and I've a couple more sets to show you:

I think you can guess the theme of this set. It's a mini-set that has endless possibilities.

Last, but by no means least, is a winter foliage set. This is so versatile - Christmas (obviously) but works so well for masculine cards too!

A reminder of the release schedule:

Sneak Peeks: 25th - 27th September - so we've finished with the peeks!

Introducing: 28th - 30th September - we get to introduce the new sets.

RELEASE DAY: Saturday 1st October - you get to see the whole release along with more examples of them in use. We have a Blog Hop and a Giveaway. Do join us!

See you soon!

Uniko - Sneak Peeks 2 ....

.... Morning! It's day two of our Uniko Sneak Peeks. Today I'm sharing a couple of peeks. I think you're going to love these sets.

This set is very on-trend. A modern spin on Mehndi images and it gives us the opportunity to get out our colouring sets be they pencils, pens, or paints!

You might recognise this clean, crisp font. Bev has created some more sentiments in the popular Simply Said series.

Before I go, a quick reminder of the release schedule:

Sneak Peeks: 25th - 27th September - a hint of things to come!

Introducing: 28th - 30th September. Bev and the DT show off the sets.

RELEASE DAY: Saturday 1st October - your chance to see the full release and also to buy the stamps at the Uniko shop. There's also a Blog Hop with the Design Team and a Giveway too!

That's all for now - see you tomorrow!

Uniko - Sneak Peek 1 ....

... Hello! So glad you stopped by. I'm sharing the first sneak peek of the September/October release from Uniko.

I think you're going to love this set. You may have seen these lovely digital stamps that Bev created and were free with the recent issue of Simply Cards and Papercraft. The stamps and digis will work perfectly together. You'll see more of this new set soon. Here are the details for the release schedule:

Sneak Peeks: 25th - 27th September. A hint of what's to come!

Introducing: 28th - 30th September. Bev and the DT will give you a closer look at the stamps sets being released, with a daily blog hop.

RELEASE DAY: Saturday 1st October - we'll show off the new release in its entirety. You will be able to purchase the stamps at the Uniko shop. And, as usual, there will be a Design Team Blog Hop with a giveaway!

Before I go, here's the card that I made with the free digi images - it gives you an idea of what's to come!!

Full details of this card can be found here.  See you soon.

52CCT - Technique .....

.... Hello! We've come to the last Saturday of the month, so that means it's time for our technique challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT38-16. Fabiola has picked a really fun technique for us to use this week - MASKING. This technique allows you to build depth into your card without adding too many layers - great for posting. Here's my card:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Candy Jar Christmas Fillers, 2011 Holiday Ornaments; Winnie & Walter - Party Hangover; Clearly Besotted - All Occasion Sentiments; Stampin' Up! - Watercolour Wishes
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; SU - Real Red, Hello Honey, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Black; SU DP - Real Red; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear

I've used the colours from this week's Colour Q Challenge - cQc#360 for my card. I'm also playing along with Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#212 where they want us to make our mark. I pulled out some much loved Waltzingmouse stamps to create the jar of gingerbread kids with pretty Christmas ornaments in front of them. I used scrap paper to work out the layout and to determine which order to stamp the images. The red ornament was stamped first as it is foremost in the picture. Using masks I continued to stamp the other ornaments and then the jar of cookies. I created the lid added another mask and then stamped the decorations. I coloured the cookies and decorations with Copic markers. I finished the front of the card by stamping the greeting and adding some sparkle with a clear Wink of Stella brush to the decoration. On the inside I cut a mat layer of red design paper. On the white panel I added a sentiment along with some more decorations and a little gingerbread kid.

Do visit our blog for some more inspiration with the masking technique. You've got plenty of time to join in with us - deadline for submission is midnight BST (7.00pm EDT) Friday 30th September. Have fun!