Friday, February 22, 2019

Inkspirational Challenge #181~Designer's Choice (Escape the Ordinary, Pinkfresh Studio)

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #181~Designer's Choice where I, as the 'choosing designer,' have selected a very wide open theme: Use Your Stash! You got it...bring on whatever you want!! Woo hoooo...easy peasy!


 Once again, we have our talented Guest Designer, Lindsey from Bashful Blogging, joining us. Please be sure to drop by her place to see her fabulous card and, if you have time, leave her some love! I know she'd be thrilled!

I used a newcomer from my stash for today's card...and enjoyed it so much that three cards happened. Pinkfresh Studio's Escape the Ordinary is a wonderfully whimsical stamp/die combination. The die cuts the aperture which, in turn, you stamp with the images. Everything in one pass of die-cutting and, if your alignment is spot on (thank heavens for the misti!) one bout of stamping. A bit of fussy cutting for the mountains + distress ink backgrounds + a  small amount of copic colouring = a trio of cards done in no time.



My wonderful teammates have interpreted the prompt in beautiful ways; please visit and leave them some love, which I know will be deeply appreciated:


Looking forward to visiting you in the gallery!

Thank you for dropping by!


February Birthday...Just Us Girls Challenge #476~Photo Week

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #476~Photo Week, where our lovely Lisa has selected this gorgeous amethyst image so spark(le) our creativity! Swooning over the shades of purple and shimmer!

This is our final week with the incredibly talented Lisa Elton; I'm sure you'll agree that her cards have been wonderfully inspiring! Lisa, thank you for playing along with us this month; you'll be missed! Please visit her, as well as my teammates - Sue, Angie, Vicki, Ina, Bobby, Nancy, Lisa and Maria - who would love to know you dropped by.

I've fused colour and month in my card design...Concord & 9th all the way (although I think the All Year Long set may be discontinued. So glad it's in my collection...).


Over to you...

Looking forward to a gallery filled with shades of purple, or gems, or shimmer or...whatever the photo leads you to create!

Thank you for dropping by!


Sunday, February 17, 2019

Uniko Studio DT Showcase...Distress Ink Backgrounds (aka: Colouring Made Simple)

Hello,

Carol here, with a burning question:  Are you, at times, daunted by colouring, especially 'big' floral images? If so, welcome to my world! While I do enjoy (usually...) dabbling with copics, Tombow/Zig markers (provided water is 'not' involved!) and pencils, reality is that oftentimes, my efforts aren't successful (which makes for a happy, well-fed recycle bin *grin*) or I don't have time/inclination to colour. 

Today, my Uniko Studio DT Showcase features a 'round about' colouring technique that  most of you are familiar with but...it's nice to have reminders now and again, right? Right!

Have you been following Kristina Werner's Distress Oxide blends series? Swoon! I selected a trio of her combinations - inks I had no idea would work so well together -  to pair with various Uniko Studio images. NOTE: I mixed-and-matched oxides with regular distress inks, depending what I had in my collection.

My goals: to create cards with colour, minus the stress/time of full-fledged colouring and to highlight just how pretty outline stamps can be, left more or less, as is.

How about I let the photos do the talking...you'll see what I mean.

Card 1
Background panel: Spun Sugar, Abandoned Coral, Aged Mahogany
Sentiment:  Simply Said
Because the image looked a bit 'flat', I went in with a couple of prisma pencils, just a bit darker than the actual distress inks to add some shading/depth to the rose petals.


Card 2
Background panel: Festive Berries, Worn Lipstick, Scattered Straw
Sentiment:  Simply Said
Again, I used pencils to add depth/shading.

Card 3
Background panel: Chipped Sapphire, Pine Needles, Twisted Citron
Sentiment:  Simply Said
Yes...more pencil...

Hopefully, you'll come away with some new ink blending techniques to 'breathe life' into your Uniko Studio stamps. Easy to do...with results that can be both pretty and time-saving!

Thank you for dropping by!


Friday, February 15, 2019

You're Tic-Tac-Toe-ally Awesome...Just Us Girls Challenge #475~Colour Week

Hello,

Hope you're having a wonderful Saturday. Lily and I are having our own "just us girls' week, as my husband is at Canada Winter Games, as the Chief of Timing for biathlon competitions. We'll bide our time playing, snuggling, crafting (when Miss Puppy naps....otherwise, she insists on helping. My paper collection is becoming dog-eared *grin*), training (lots required!)...repeat for the next seven days!

Speaking of a week with the girls...Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #475~Colour Week, where our lovely Maria invites us to use red, pink and white on our cards/projects.  I do believe I'm hearing wild cheering this combination!

Once again, we're delighted to have Lisa Elton joining us as our guest designer. Please visit her, as well as my teammates - Sue, Angie, Vicki, Ina, Bobby, Nancy, Lisa and Maria - who would love to know you dropped by.

I bought the MFT Tic-Tac-Toe kit after Valentine's Day last year, and finally brought it out for a play.  So much fun...and so easy with the shaker pouches and plastic elements. You already know who will be on the receiving end of these. Yep...my niece and nephew (Lily sent them her puppy love cards, so they'll have two cards coming their way)!


Over to you...

Looking forward to a gallery filled with red, pink and white!

Thank you for dropping by!


STAMPlorations February 2019 Challenges CAS and CUTplorations Reminder Post

Hello,

Popping in with a couple of extra projects as part of the STAMPlorations February 2019 Challenges Reminder Post.

For the STAMPlorations CUTplorations February 2019 Challenge


my 'second' card that uses the die-cut from my first card showcased when the challenge launched. Gotta love when one die cut can serve double duty!



Next, a trio of ATCs for the STAMPlorations February 2019 Anything CAS Goes Card Challenge, with the optional colour twist: CERULEAN BLUE


I'm smitten with the butterfly from the It's A Girl Thing: Kindness set. I'll give these to my sister-in-law as lunch-box notes for my niece and nephew! Little messages to buoy their spirits on those days when they're feeling a bit down...






Looking forward to seeing your CAS and CUTplorations creations in the galleries!

Thank you for dropping by!


Tag, You're It Challenge #81...Oceans of Joy

Hello,

Yayyy...so excited to be back, playing 'Tag, You're IT' with my awesome design team gals and you, our wonderful audience! Welcome to Challenge #81, where we're drawing inspiration from the 2019 Pantone Colour of the Year: Coral. Feel free to use the colour/image to spark your tags...

Credit: Vanessa Peka

For my tag, I was 'caught up' with the 'word' coral, and images I associate it with...ocean creatures!  Hero Arts layered seahorse (in coral...abandoned coral, to be precise *grin*), starfish and shell (both in tumbled glass/faded jeans...to pay homage to the image). The background waves were inked with stormy sky....not sure why they appear grey in the photo; in real life, they're blue...


That's it from me; looking forward to seeing how you feature CORAL on your tags!

Thank you for dropping by!


Monday, February 11, 2019

UNIKO STUDIO February 2019 Release (February 11th)~RELEASE DAY, Blog Hop and Icon Treasure Hunt

Hello...

A warm Welcome to the 


All the fabulous products you've seen over the past few days - 

6 new Clear Stamp Set designs
2 coordinating Designer Die collections
1 Stencil Design 

will be available HERE at 9pm GMT.

Want to see what you'll be ordering...or perhaps, winning? Of course you do!
 
 


 
 

and a FREEBIE!! See Uniko Blog for details!

Next...a few more cards using the new goodies...
  • sparkly purple Happy, stamps +dies
  • rainbow Abstract Triangles + Birthday Wishes
  • rainbow Graffiti Texture (You Rock sticker from stash)
  • bold Passiflora stamps/dies + Birthday Wishes
Oh, this release just captures my heart...and I know it will yours!

Oodles of fun planned for this release:

1. First, for a chance to win ALL SIX clear stamp sets, comment along the hop. (open until midnight GMT,
2. Second, as it's Uniko's 7th Birthday, Bev has incorporated a TREASURE HUNT! Details on the Uniko Blog!  The prize: the ENTIRE 7th Birthday February Release!  Well worth playing along!

Here's the hop list...ENJOY!!

Carol  you are here

Thank you for dropping by!




Sunday, February 10, 2019

UNIKO STUDIO February 2019 Release (February 10th)~Introducing Background Blocks Pinstripe and Yes, You Release Freebie

Hello,

Welcome to the final day of UNIKO STUDIO February 2019 Release Introductions! Today, two wonderful sets on the stage: a new Background Blocks Pinstripe & Yes, You  clear stamps, which is the Release Day FREEBIE!  Yes! this sweet set will be automatically added to release day orders of £25 or more up until Sunday 17th Feb 9pm GMT or while stock lasts. After 9pm GMT Sunday 17th February, if there is stock remaining, it will be made available for purchase at £5. Awesome, right? Right!

I fell into a mad crush with the sweet little flower...so much so that I 'had' to make four cards with it, using a variety of the accompanying sentiments. A bit of framing with the pinstripe background and...ta dahhh...a set of cards to remind special people just how amazing, fabulous, wonderful and loved they are!!





So delighted you dropped in today...and please come back tomorrow for the full REVEAL!!

Thank you for dropping by!


Saturday, February 9, 2019

UNIKO STUDIO February 2019 Release (February 9th)~Introducing Passiflora

Hello,

Wonderful to see you return for Day 4 of the UNIKO STUDIO February 2019 Release.  Today, we're introducing the Passiflora, or Passion Flower, stamp AND die set! Do I hear cheers and applause for the dies...yes, I believe I do!

As with the Graffiti Texture stamp, Bev has a fascinating 'how-this-came-to-be' story on her blog; please do visit. I especially love that she refers to the Fibonacci Curve that occurs with this flower, in nature. My dad taught me about Fibonacci Numbers...so this set will now have an even extra special place in my heart.

If Bev's going to offer us dies, then you can bet I'm going to use them! Pretty much all the stamps/dies seen on my clean-and-layered card. The sentiment is from Simply Said I. Inking and die-cutting these floral elements is just plain wonderful; a set that covers the spectrum from 'must make quickly' to 'want to add layers upon layers'.  Once again, versatility galore!


Warmly inviting you to head to the Uniko Studio blog to see what Bev and the rest of the gals have designed. A whole lot of beauty to behold!

I'll be back tomorrow with the final day of introductions before the big reveal on the 11th! Hope you'll drop by....

Thank you for dropping by!