C24C - Add Some Glitter ....

.... Morning! It's 1 May today and that means, as well as the year flying by, it's time for our new challenge at Christmas 24 Challenge - C24C#33. For the next couple of weeks we want to see you add some glitter to your Christmas cards. I have to admit that I don't often use glitter, but I do love the effect. This is my card - ultra clean, simple and sparkly!!

Stamps: Uniko - Simply Said II

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Memory Box - Sparkling Tree Tile

Accessories: White Card; Green Glitter Paper; Stick It Adhesive

I'm submitting this card to The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - H&ICC#93 where it's always Anything Christmas Goes, and also to Merry Little Christmas Challenge - MLCCB#34 also Anything Christmas Goes.

This card is so clean and simple. I've had the die for a long time and don't often use it - I don't know why, it's so pretty! I found some green glitter paper in my stash. I applied some Stick It adhesive to the back of the glitter paper, ran the die and paper through my machine and that's it. However, this die is a tile - it does not cut out the tree, so while the die was attached to the glitter paper I used my scissors to cut out the tree. I simply added a tiny border all the way round the tree. I peeled off the adhesive backing paper, placed the cut out tree on the front of an A2 card and rubbed it into place. I finished the front of stamping a simple greeting in black ink. I've not done the inside of the card yet.

I am very pleased how this turned out. It is simple, but the sparkle makes it so festive. That's all from me today. Don't forget to visit our Christmas 24 Challenge blog to see more inspiration cards from the rest of the team.

Christmas Ornaments ...

.... We had quite a bit of snow last night, in fact, Kat was hoping for a snow day. But no! I took her to school this morning at 6.30am and the roads were mostly okay, but I did have a bit of slip near the school. Fortunately, I don't have to go out again for a while and the roads should be better later!! So I've spent the morning making more Christmas cards:

Stamps: Altenew - Bells and Bows, Beautiful Inside; Uniko - Simply Said II
Inks: Gina K - Powder Blue, Blue Raspberry, Blue Denim, In the Navy; Delicata - Silvery Shimmer; Versamark
Dies: Pink & Main - Small Bow
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Gina K Card - Blue Raspberry; SU Punch - Ornament (discontinued); Nuvo Aqua Shimmer Clear; Washi Tape; Kaleidoscope Embossing Powder

I stamped these cute bows over the Thanksgiving weekend, punched them out and then left them on my desk! When I saw today's challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#253 to use a previous 2017 sketch, I knew they'd found a home! I used sketch #210 as I hadn't managed to play that week.

I pressed the ornaments into Versamark ink and heat embossed them with iridescent powder - I just love all that sparkle. I die cut some tiny bows and adhered them to each ornament. I cut a strip of blue card, attached that to the base and then added a strip of silver washi tape. I attached the ornaments flat to the card as I want to be able to mail it. I finished the front with a simple greeting. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of blue card and added a greeting to the white panel.

I'm also submitting this card to AAA Cards - AAA#105 where they want to see sparkle - and you can certainly see the sparkle in the photos!! That's all for now - see you again soon.

CCT - Colours ....

..... Good afternoon! I'm a bit late with my post for our new colour challenge over at Christmas Card Throwdown - CCT14. We've gone just a bit mad with our colours this time - we want to see a

RAINBOW

You have to use at least 5 colours, but you can go crazy and use all seven if you want. I've kept mine very clean and simple and gone for five colours. I actually made two cards:

Stamps: Uniko - Stunning Snowflakes, Simply Said II, Most Wonderful
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Oxide: Candied Apple, Spiced Marmalade, Lucky Clover, Salty Ocean, Wilted Violet, Fired Brick, Fossilized Amber, Peeled Paint, Faded Jeans, Seedless Preserves
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up Card - Basic Black; Gems

I decided to keep these cards ultra clean and simple and just allow the rainbow colours to be the star of the show. The top card is the brights and the bottom is the more muted colours. In order to make sure the snowflakes all lined up accurately I used my MISTI. I layered the finished panels on black card and then adhered them to the card base. I finished the front with a very simple Christmas sentiment. I decided to add some sparkle with tiny little gems in the centre of each snowflake. On the inside of each card I cut a mat layer of black card, and on the white panels I stamped a greeting in black and added some more colourful snowflakes around the words.

There are a couple of Christmas in July challenges around at the moment, so I'm submitting these cards to them. The first is Merry Monday where we can catch up with any previous challenge and I've based the cards on MM#233 where we had to use 5 of somethings. The second is CAS-ual Friday Challenge - CFC#178.

Do visit Christmas Card Throwdown to see more inspirational cards from the rest of the Design Team - we have all gone for totally different looks! You've got slightly longer than usual to join in with this challenge. You have until midnight (BST) Friday 4th August (that's 7.00pm EDT) to play along. That's all for now, see you soon.

CCT - Stash .....

..... Good evening! I don't quite know where today has gone. It's a glorious day here in Northville with bright blue skies, brilliant sunshine and it's hot, and getting humid too!

I really do have to apologise to my team mates as I've been missing in action for a while - I've got my mum visiting from the UK and we tend to be busy doing stuff!! Anyway, I've finally made a card for our stash challenge - CCT12. We want you to use GEMS/PEARLS/SEQUINS on your Christmas cards. I've used a mixture of gems and pearls on my card:

Stamps: Dimension Stamps - Funky Tree; Uniko - Simply Said II, Most Wonderful, Happy Succulents
Inks: Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Emerald Envy
Dies: Lil Inkers - Dual Dotted Rectangles #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Emerald Envy; Gems; Copics; Green Tinsel Embossing Powder

I die cut a panel of white card, stamped the tree in Versamark and heat embossed with Green Tinsel powder - the tree has such a pretty shimmer! I adhered the panel to some green card just a bit bigger than the white panel. I added a mixture of gems and pearls to the tree. I finished the panel with a simple sentiment. I used dimensional tape to adhere the panel to the card base. I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - HLSXMAS06. On the inside I cut a mat layer of green card and added a simple greeting to the white panel.

Do visit our blog to see more inspiration cards from the rest of the Design Team. You've got plenty of time to join in. The deadline for submission is midnight (BST) on Friday 16th June, that's 7.00pm EDT. Have fun!!

Uniko - Pure Florals Lily ....

.... Morning! It's the last day of our Uniko Introductions today. This is going to be a very popular set - Bev has added another wonderful flower to the Pure Florals range - the Lily. I have to say right up front that the Stargazer lily is one of my all time favourite flowers - so much so, that I had them in my wedding bouquet. So I'm absolutely thrilled to have this set to play with. Here's the card I made:

Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals Lily (Digi), All Occasion Sentiments #1, Simply Said II, Fontiments Birthday
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Cherry Cobbler; Copic Markers; Spectrum Noir Sparkle - Clear

Once again, this is a digital image and I've approximated the size of the flower. I printed the large lily on white card, coloured it with Copic markers and then carefully cut it out. I based the colours on Stargazer lilies - the petals on these flowers range from almost totally white with just a hint of pink down the centre, through to totally pink petals with very dark centres of the petals. I cut a mat layer of dark red card on to which I layered a panel of white card. I stamped the large congrats across the centre and added the little words in matching ink. Before attaching the lily, I added some glitter to the flower and then used dimensional gel to adhere it. On the inside I cut a mat layer of dark red card and on the white panel I stamped a simple sentiment. I also printed a smaller lily which I coloured pale pink and attached that to the the white panel. I'm submitting this card to the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge where thye want a hint of pink. I'm also playing along with a challenge that's new to me - Creative with Stamps - CWS#14 where they want to see flowers.

There are some wonderful sentiments in this set, but I mixed the image with some older sentiments to make a wedding card. Do visit the Uniko blog to see more inspiration projects from the rest of the team.

Remember I said that I had this flower in my wedding bouquet - well, here's a picture of me taken just over 16 years ago! Where has all that time gone?

Me and my gorgeous bouquet in the back garden before our wedding.

Jonathan and me in the grounds of the hotel where we had our wedding. It was a wonderful day!

Now - just a quick reminder that tomorrow is RELEASE DAY!! You will be able to get all the new stamps sets from the Uniko store from 9.00am BST. And, as usual, there will be a DESIGN TEAM BLOG HOP AND GIVEAWAY. See you soon!

Colour of 2017 ....

.... Morning! It's really cold and crisp here today. And that's okay as I've been in my craft room making more Christmas cards! I made today's card in honour of the Pantone colour of 2017 - Greenery. I love all shades of green and this one makes me very happy! Here's my card - you might recognise this snowflake:

Stamps: Uniko - Simply Said II, Most Wonderful; Stampin' Up! - Twinkle Trees
Inks: SU - Emerald Envy, Mint Macaron, Gable Green, Green Galore, Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Pistachio Pudding
Dies: Waltzingmouse - Folk Art Snowflake
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Pistachio Pudding; Green Glitter Paper

To make this card I die cut the snowflake from some white card. I removed the snowflake and used the negative space as a mask. I created a bokeh background using many shades of green, some of them sadly discontinued. I removed the mask, cut the panel to size and then adhered the white die cut snowflake over the green background. I added a simple greeting in one corner and then layered the panel on some pale green glitter paper and attached the whole lot to the card base. On the inside I cut a mat layer of pale green card and on the white panel stamped a greeting and added more bokeh greenery!

I'm submitting this card to Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#223 where the theme is HOLIDAY. I'm also playing along with AAA Cards - AAA#79 where they would like to see a CAS Christmas card. Finally, I'm submitting this to CAS-ual Fridays Challenge - CFC#162 where they want to see SNOWFLAKES and GLITTER. I think this card brings the number of cards in my Christmas stash to 108 which is good, as I need to write the cards this weekend and get them in the post. Some have many miles to travel before they reach their destination! That's all for today. Keep warm and be safe.

25 Tags of Christmas ....

... Hi, good morning! We're on Day 8 of Tracey McNeeley's 25 Days of Christmas Tags challenge. Today Uniko is the sponsoring the challenge. I was going to make one tag, but ended up making six!!!  I should warn you all that there are lots of photos. I'll start with the first set I made:

Stamps: Uniko - Simply Said Christmas, Simply Said, Simply Said II, Essentially Christmas
Inks: Versamark; Kaleidacolor - Blue Breeze, Fresh Greens, Desert Heat; Delicata - Silvery Shimmer
Dies: Waltzingmouse - Stitched Tag
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Ribbons; Silver Embossing Powder; Zig Brush Pens; Wink of Stella - Clear

I used my favourite tag die set to cut the tags. The dies were made by Waltzingmouse Stamps and are now discontinued, but I do like that you can cut three different size tags. Here's a close up of each of the tags:

On each tag I stamped the sentiment, tree and some stars with Versamark and heat embossed with silver powder. I added extra stars using Kaleidacolor and silver inks. I finished the tags by adding some ribbon.

I was having such fun making the tags, that I decided to make another set. This time I created layered tags with watercolour card as the bottom layer and vellum for the top:

Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals Poinsettia, Simply Said Christmas
Inks: Versamark
Dies: Waltzingmouse - Stitched Tags
Accessories: Tim Holtz Watercolour Card; Vellum; White & Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder; Zig Brush Pens; Wink of Stella - Clear; Ribbons

I used the dies to cut the watercolour card and vellum. I laid out the cut tags in my MISTI stamper and stamped the large poinsettia in Versamark and heat embossed it with white powder. Then I put the vellum tags in the same layout and stamped the image again and this time embossed with Gold Tinsel powder. I embossed sentiments on each tag using gold powder. I used my Zig brush pens to water colour the flowers - I love the effect you get with this technique. I put the layers together, added ribbon and finished off each flowers with some clear Wink of Stella on the vellum to give some shimmer.

The 25 Days of Christmas Tags goes on throughout November and there are lots of opportunities to win prizes by commenting along the way and/or by participating and creating a tag and linking up - full details at Tracey's Blog.

Don't forget to visit Tracey's blog and see what the rest of my Uniko team mates have created - they are all just fabulous! Have fun!