Two for one ....

Good morning everyone! It's the start of another week of lockdown, although here in Wales we are now allowed to go out for exercise more than once a day. And there's the possibility of some garden centres opening. Anyway, I'm here this morning to play along with Darnell's Twofer Card Challenge - TCC#27 where she wants us to use Flowers. Here are my cards:

I really enjoy this challenge, but I struggle to play along. However, this time it was easy. One of my favourite flowers is this large chrysanthemum from Uniko and I'm pleased to be able to play along this month. Full details of each card can be found below.

Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals - Chrysanthemum; Altenew - Bad Days Happen
Inks: Gina K - Ocean Mist, Soft Stone; Delicata - Golden Glitz
Dies: Spellbinders - A2 Matting Basics A (S5-131) #1, A2 Matting Basics B (S5-132) #1
Accessories: White Card; Gina K Card - Blue Lagoon; Gold Linen Effect Foil Card

I'm submitting this card to Colour Throwdown - CTD#592 and Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#434.

I stamped the large chrysanthemum in pale aqua ink in opposite corners of the card. I cut a strip of dark turquoise card and adhered them to the card. I stamped the sentiment in soft grey on white card and used a die to cut it out, and layered it on some gold linen effect foil card which had also been die cut. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of dark aqua card and on the white panel added a greeting and a smaller, gold, chrysanthemum. I think this card is perfect for the very strange times we find ourselves in - and it's going in the post today.

My next card is very clean and simple and is a birthday card:

Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals - Chrysanthemum; Gina K - Birthday Greetings
Inks: Gina K - Dark Chocolate; Delicata - Golden Glitz; Versamark
Dies: Uniko - Chrysanthemum
Accessories: White and Cream Card; Gold Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to Less is More - LIM#419 where they want us to use White and Cream, and to CAS on Friday - CASoF#179 where they want us to use our favourite flower.

I stamped the large chrysanthemum on cream card in Versamark ink and heat embossed with gold power, and die cut with the matching die. I made the card from cream stock and cut a panel of white card slightly smaller onto which I stamped a birthday greeting in dark brown and gold. I adhered the panel to the card base and used dimensional pads to attach the large flower. On the inside, I cut a panel of white card onto which I stamped a birthday verse in dark brown and added a small gold chrysanthemum.

I'm so glad that I finally got to play along with Twofer. That's all from me today. See you again soon.

Uniko - Seeing Stars and Chrysanthemum Stencils ....

Hello! I hope you've been enjoying our introductions; today is the midpoint of Uniko February Introductions and we're showcasing two new stencils - one if a huge flower and the other lots of stars. Here's my card made with the Chrysanthemum stencil:

Stamps: Uniko - All Occasion Sentiments #3, Pure Florals Chrysanthemum
Inks: Distress - Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry; Distress Oxide - Worn Lipstick; Memento - Grey Flannel
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Strawberry Slush

I kept this card super simple as I wanted to showcase the beauty of the chrysanthemum. I taped the stencil to a large card and inked up the image with three shades of pink distress ink. I added a very simple sentiment across the centre of the flower in a coordinating pink distress oxide ink. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of pink card and on the white panel added the small solid flower from Pure Florals Chrysanthemum and the word 'friend'. I used the colours from this month's House of Cards challenge - HOC#02.

I went for another clean, simple card to showcase the Seeing Stars stencil:

Stamps: Uniko - Reach for the Stars. Simply Said
Inks: Distress - Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot; Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Pacific Point; Kaleidoscope Embossing Powder

I masked off a one-inch border all the way around the card, taped on the Seeing Stars stencil, and inked through the stencil with Versamark. After removing the stencil, I applied iridescent embossing powder, heat set it and then applied several shades of blue to create a starry sky. I removed the masking tape and added a greeting. Ont he inside, I cut a mat layer of blue card and on the white panel added a simple greeting and some more stars.

That's all from me for today - do visit the Uniko blog to see lots more inspiration projects from the rest of the Design Team. Here's a quick reminder of the release schedule:

Introductions: 24th - 27th February

RELEASE DAY: Wednesday 28th February, 9.00am GMT (that's 4.00am EDT). Join us for our Design Team Blog Hop and Giveaway!

See you soon!

UC - Metallics ....

.... Morning! I'm here this morning with my card for our new Uniko Challenge - USC#31. We want you to use metallics on your card. I've made an ultra clean and simple card:

Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals Chrysanthemum, Simply Said Birthday
Inks: Versamark; Brilliance - Galaxy Gold
Dies: Uniko - Chrysanthemum Collection
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Gold Mirri Card; Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder; Wink of Stella - Clear; Stampin' Up! Card - So Saffron

I've made an ultra clean and simple card this time as I really wanted to let the metallics shine! I cut a panel of gold metallic card as a mat layer. I cut the white panel slightly smaller then the mat and then die cut the large chrysanthemum in the middle. I used my MISTI to stamp the open flower in Versamark and heat embossed it with gold tinsel embossing powder. I used tape to inlay the finished die cut image. I stamped a simple sentiment in gold on the front of the card. I then added some sparkle to the flower with a clear Wink of Stella brush. On the inside I cut a mat layer of pale yellow (gold) card and on the white panel stamped the small solid flower in gold.

I'm submitting this to the current challenges at Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#189 - CAS and also to Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#85 - Inlaid Dies. I took a close up photo of the large chyrsanthem to show off all the shimmer and sparkle:

Do visit our blog to see more inspiration from the rest of the design team.  In my haste to get this post up, I completely forgot to mention that there are prizes, here are the details:

THE PRIZES

• The DT will choose a winner who will get a £20 gift voucher.
• The DT choose a Top 3 who will each get 50 Loyalty Rewards Points added to their customer account.
• We will do a random draw for all those who use A UNIKO stamp, and this winner will get 150 Loyalty Reward Points added to their customer account

You've got plenty of time to play along with this month's challenge.  The deadline for submission is midnight (BST) on Friday 13th May (7.00pm EDT).

Have fun!