Happy Thursday! I have a fun one-layer card to share with you today that is featured on the MarkerPOP blog.

I started out with a piece of Neenah Solar White cardstock, and used a stencil, Hero Arts Charcoal Shadow Ink, and Foam Ink blenders to apply a subtle texture on the entire card base. Then, I also applied Ranger Distress Inks in this order, starting from the top left corner: Abandoned Coral, Spun Sugar, Shaded Lilac, and Cracked Pistachio. I took my time and only applied a little ink at a time so that the colors were soft. The more ink you have on the foam pad, and the more you apply it to the card stock, the brighter and bolder the color is.

Using the same Hero Arts Charcoal ink, I created an angled pattern with various stamps in the Hero Arts Garden Flowers stamp set.

Lastly, I die cut the Avery Elle Sentimental "congratulations" sentiment from silver glitter card stock and a dark grey card stock. Layering them together, with the grey one slightly offset, makes the sentiment "Pop" more.

I hope you've enjoyed my card today. Thank you so much for stopping by! :D  Have a great day!

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Uniko Background Builders Christmas Revisited Blog Hop!

It's a great day to stop by because it's the Uniko December 2015 Design Team Blog Hop (and giveaway)!!

So, this month we are taking a look back at a previously released product, dusting it off and giving it some love! Here is an image of the whole stamp set, Background Builders: Christmas.

I was in need of a House Warming card, so I decided to combine the stars in the BB set with the Home Sweet Home set. I'm really LOVING the look of those stars all lined up at the bottom! You can definitely get a lot of use out of them all year long. Can be used for baby cards, graduation cards, Independence Day, Memorial Day, and so on!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!! Simply comment on each blog along the hop by midnight Thurs, Dec 31st (GMT) for your chance to win the featured set or an eGift Certificate code to the same value if you already own it.

Beverley - Uniko Studio

Deborah

Jane

Nicki ----> That's Me!

Sarah P

Supplies:

Stamps: Uniko Studio - Background Builders: Christmas, Home Sweet Home, Essentially Christmas (Bow)
Cardstock: PTI - Rustic White

Specialty Paper: Gold Glitter

Ink: Ranger Archival Black, SU Real Red, PTI Kraft

Other: Mama Elephant Die - Borderlines Trio; Top Dog Dies Tag; Spellbinders Circle Dies

Top Dog Dies Shaker Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Top Dog Dies Shaker Blog Hop! If you are hopping in order, then you should have arrived here from Kymona's blog. If you'd like to start at the beginning, see the full hop list below.

I used one of my favorite TDD dies, Cross Die Set. I just had to include the beautiful intricate cross too, so I layered a gold foiled die cut over a silver foiled die cut. I included gold and silver sequins, and some pearly white seed beads for the "Shake, Shake, Shake" part ;)

It's pretty difficult to photograph foil cardstock, so I think this flat shot is closest to the true colors. Very clean, elegant, and the cross really pops through that window! I sure wish you could all see it IRL!!

I hope you enjoyed my Shaker Card. Your next stop on the hop is the super cool and talented, Jeanne Jachna! Make sure to visit her and leave her some love ;) 

To add extra fun to our blog hop…TDD is offering up a prize! Three winners will receive the New Top Dog Dies Hot Air Balloon Die Set. For your chance to win, enter your email address below by 5/20/15. Winners will be posted on the Top Dog Dies blog after 5/20/15.

Here’s how it works…
Visit each blog on the hop in order, check out the shaker projects and leave your comments. Don’t forget to enter to win.

Piali Biswas

Natalie Dever

Marcia Dehn-Nix

Kymona Tracey

Nicki Scheck -----> That's Me!

Jeanne Jachna

Vickie Zimmer

Kelly Griglione

ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO ENTER TO WIN!

If you are looking for even more inspiration, make sure to check out the Idea Gallery on the TDD website!

Supplies:
Stamps: Altenew - Hennah Elements
Dies: Top Dog Dies - Cross Die Set, Banners #1 Die Set
Paper/Card stock: DCWV - Foiled Stack; PTI - White

Other: Sequins, Seed Beads, Silver Embossing Powder

World Card Making Day!

Hey there! Happy World Card Making Day! I hope you were able to squeeze some time in to create for this very fun day ;) I think this is the first time in a few years I was free to craft on WCMD!!

I have a card to share with you, but I must tell you that I didn't actually make it today. Is that wrong?! I worked on creating cards for the WCMD contest being held by Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking Magazine. Therefore, I cannot share those cards with you here on the blog. Instead, I'm FINALLY posting another card that I made for the Stamping Royalty 2014 contest earlier in the year (I was a winner in the Thank You category!). It's not my winning card, but one of seven entries I sent in. I really love this one! It's very different from my usual CAS style. Hope you enjoy!

If you're curious and want to see another card I submitted to the Stamping Royalty contest, check out this post ;)

Supplies: 
Stamps: PTI - Doodlie Do, Background Basics: Super Stripes; Uniko Studio - All Occasion Sentiments #1
Cardstock: PTI - White; DCWV - Gold glitter cardstock
Ink: PTI - True Black
Other: Prisma Color pencils

Uniko Studio Revisited Blog Hop - Chrysanthemums

I apologize for my post being late. But hey, I'm here now, right?! ;)

Welcome to your next stop on the Uniko Studio Revisited Blog Hop! This month, we are revisiting Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum clear stamp set and matching Designer Dies.

Here's my creation! The large Chrysanthemum was heat embossed with white EP on watercolor paper. Using a Ranger Distress Ink pad, a Distress Marker, a craft sheet, some water, and a watercolor brush, I got the effect below. Very easy and I think it came out nice. It was then die-cut.

The card base was stamped with a stamp from the Natures Treasures I set. A full layer of vellum was adhered to the card base, making the background very subtle and soft. The sentiment was stamped directly on the vellum. The flower was adhered using foam tape, and one corner punched with the corner rounder ;)

Be sure to hop along and simply comment on each blog for the chance to win the featured set PLUS the coordinating Designer Dies Collection or a Gift Certificate to the same value if you already own them. You have until Midnight Wednesday, July 16th to comment and the winner will be announced on the Uniko Studio blog on Thursday, July 17th.

Beverley - Uniko Studio

Amber

Erika

Gillian

N@ Ali

Nicki  ---- That's Me!

Taheerah

Supplies: 
Stamps: Uniko Studio - Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum; Natures Treasures I
Cardstock: PTI - Soft Stone; Strathmore Watercolor Paper
Ink: PTI - Smokey Shadow; Ranger Distress Inks (Picked Raspberry)
Marker: Ranger Distress - Worn Lipstick
Other: SU - Corner Rounder Punch, Foam Tape,Watercolor Brush

Uniko Studio - Introducing Classic Alphabet

Good morning! I'm excited that today I can finally share with you my first project using Uniko Studio's new stamp set called "Classic Alphabet". Beginning June 11th, 2014, you will be able to purchase this set HERE along with all the other new sets being released this month!!

In case you missed it a couple days ago, here is the Sneak Peek photo of the stamp set.

Now....here's my creation! I used the letters to spell out "CONGRATS!" in gender neutral colors since this is a card I'm sending to a friend who is expecting! I used the same colors to stamp the circles in random groups around the card. I used one of the teeny tiny dot stamps from Background Builder: Vines to add some random dots too! Those, along with a few enamel dots, remind me of confetti....because this is quite the thing to celebrate, isn't it?!

Make sure to visit the other design team members & Beverley's blog to see more gorgeous creations using this awesome set! Head on over to the Uniko blog to see the links to all the designers' blogs!


Supplies: 
Stamps: Classic Alphabet, Background Builders: Vines
Cardstock: PTI - Rustic Cream
Ink: PTI - Lemon Tart, Classic Kraft; SU - Groovy Guava, Pretty in Pink, Cool Caribbean, Certainly Celery, Pale Plum, Sage Shadow, Bashful Blue
Other: MME Enamel Dots

Uniko Studio March Revisited Blog Hop

Hi and welcome to the Uniko Studio Revisited blog hop using Beautiful Blooms I. See the image below for the full stamp set.

One new product being released this month is Designer Dies to match this awesome stamp set!! See the image below. The dies are NOW available to purchase on the Uniko Studio website.

Ok, on to my card! I decided to use watercolor since it's such a hot trend right now, and I'm really loving the look!

The background is painted onto watercolor paper and mounted to the Rustic White card base. The flower and leaf are stamped onto a Rustic White card stock piece.

I did a lot of experimenting to get the flower to look right. Basically, I got the stamp a little wet with water, then applied some watercolor ink directly to the stamp with a brush, then stamped it on the card stock.

I'm very new to watercoloring, so I don't even know if I was going about it the right way. I know I'll never get a flower to look like that again! I think it turned out nice :)

I am entering this into the NEW Virginia's View Challenge #1 - Watercoloring! It's still open for awhile, so break out those watercolors and create something fun!

Some sad news to share....Stacey & Gayatri will be stepping down from the team after this hop. They have been wonderful inspiration, and I'm sure you will miss seeing their Uniko creations. I sure will!! That said, there is a NEW design team member joining us today for the first time....Gillian!!! I love seeing what Gillian does with the Uniko products, and I know you'll love visiting her blog too!

I hope I inspired you in some way today! Enjoy hopping along! Be sure to comment on each stop because one lucky winner will receive the Beautiful Blooms I stamp set AND matching dies!! You have until midnight Fri, March 14th to enter for a chance to win. The winner will be announced on the Uniko Studio blog on Sat, March 15th.

BLOG HOP LIST:

Beverley (Uniko Studio)
Amber

Erika

Gayatri
Gillian
Nicki - THAT'S ME!!
Ren-Yi

Stacey

Taheerah

Supplies: 
Stamps: Uniko Studio - Beautiful Blooms I, Flower Power #3 (sentiment)
Cardstock: PTI - Rustic White; SU - Watercolor paper
Ink: PTI - Smokey Shadow
Other: Watercolor paints, PTI - Ribbon

Uniko Studio Challenge #7

Welcome to the next challenge over at Uniko Studio! We are trying something new for our challenges from now on, so we would love feedback about it either here on my blog, or over at the Uniko Studio blog!

There will be a color palette to use, as well as a theme. So for this month, you can see the color scheme below, and the theme is Distressed or Vintage.

To be honest, I was really dreading making a card for this challenge. As you may know, my style is pretty much clean and simple. So, the thought of having to tackle a distressed project was making me sweat a little, LOL. PLUS, the color combo is really NOT something I would ever choose to work with, but I ended up LOVING it!

I started by cutting a diagonal piece of card stock for the main layer. I inked up the background first with the Cool Caribbean ink, then with the Tea Dye distress ink, then the Fired Brick distress ink. The flowers are stamped with Smokey Shadow. I love the look of them against that background!

For the card base, again I applied Cool Caribbean ink in a few areas, then Old Paper distressed ink in the remaining visible spots. Congratulations is stamped with Smokey Shadow.

To give the card a bit more feel of texture, I added some circles randomly on both the card base and the top layer. Pearl stickers are carefully placed for a final finishing touch!

You've got plenty of time to enter your project. March 14th, 9:00 UK time is the deadline.

The Prizes:

• A £10 Gift Certificate to the Winner and a Guest Design Team spot on the blog for the next challenge
• Top Three Spotlight
•  

What do you think?! I would love to hear your thoughts and any suggestions for the next time I tackle a distress project, LOL. I actually had a LOT of fun with it and am so happy with how it turned out!!

Supplies: 
Stamps: Uniko Studio - Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum, Background Basics: Round in Circles
Cardstock: PTI - Rustic Cream, Soft Stone
Ink: PTI - Smokey Shadow; SU - Cool Caribbean; Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tea Dye, Old Paper, Fired Brick
Other: Pearl Stickers

Uniko Studio June Release Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to another FUN blog hop to celebrate Uniko Studio's June Product Release!! In case you're wondering, the full June product release was on June 11th, and the blog hop was postponed until now to give the design team some time to work on their projects since many were having some much deserved vacation time with family!! If you'd like to see Beverley's blog post with all the new products, check it out here!

I'll keep this short and sweet so you can continue on to the rest of the DT blogs! Enjoy the creations! All supplies are listed at the end of the post.

I'm entering both birthday cards into the CAS-ual Fridays CFC:107 challenge - Hunger Games (projects with arrows).
The orange, yellow, and green flower bday card is being entered into the Moxie Fab World: Tuesday Trigger: Scene in Tangerine! I was inspired by the colors of the inspiration photo :)

Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger: Scene in Tangerine

Are you ready to see what the other Design Team members have cooked up?! Be sure to join along in the FABULOUS Blog Hop! You have until midnight Monday July 1st to leave a comment on each blog below to be entered for a chance to win the ENTIRE June Release and a few extras!!

Today also happens to be a Super FREE Saturday. To get your free downloadable digital stamp, check out the Uniko website!

Be sure to come visit me again this week as I'll have another project or two to share with you using Uniko's new stamps!!!

Uniko Studio
Aimes
Amber
Erika
Gayatri
Nicki --------THAT'S ME!
Ren-Yi
Stacey
Taheerah
Jen Nelson (June Guest Designer)

Supplies - Happy Birthday:

Stamps: Uniko Studio - Accent Essentials: Arrows, All Occasion Sentiments #2, Background Builders: Chevrons

Cardstock: PTI - Rustic Cream
Ink: SU - Real Red, Taken with Teal; Staz-On - Black
Other: Rhinestones

Supplies - Congratulations:

Stamps: Uniko Studio - Beautiful Blooms I, Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum (sentiment)

Cardstock: PTI White
Patterned Paper: MME
Ink: SU - So Saffron, Night of Navy, Baja Breeze
Other: Dimensionals

Supplies - Happy Birthday:
Stamps: Uniko Studio - Flower Power #2, Accent Essentials: Arrows
Ink: PTI - Orange; SU - So Saffron
Other: Dimensionals, Rhinestones

Uniko Studio April Full Product Release and DT Blog Hop!!

So, have you enjoyed seeing all the Uniko Studio New Product Introductions & Sneak Peeks over the last few days?!?! Which has been your favorite? Well, today is the big day! I'm here to show you the full product release for April, along with some more projects showcasing these wonderful stamps and dies! It's all now available for purchase on the Uniko Studio website. Oh, and another bonus - they now offer FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING on orders over £50 (USD $76, CAD 78, EUR 59)!!

Designer Dies: Bright Butterflies

All Occasion Sentiments #1

Background Builders: Round in Circles

Flower Power #1

Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum

Digital Paper: Round in Circles

Digital Paper: Basics On The Grid

Digital Paper: Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum

Ok, now it's time to show you my creations!

This is one of my favorites. Can you believe I incorporated FOUR different products in this card?! That's pretty incredible considering it's a CAS card :) The flowers on the Bright Butterfly die cuts are stamped in black and are from Flower Power #1. The edges are inked in black, then popped up for dimension. The horizontal lines with the circles is from the Background Builders: Round in Circles set, stamped on Soft Stone cardstock, and then a layer of vellum is placed on top of it. Some grey rhinestones finish it off.

I used a Watercolor Technique I've never done before. It was very easy, and I'm pleased with the results. If I had more distress inks, I would have added more color to the flowers, but hopefully you can see the orangy color in the center of each flower, and then of course the pink.

Using a stamp from the Background Basics: Round in Circles set, I curved it on the acrylic block and stamped on angles to create kind of a party decoration look. Then, from the Label Love: Birthday set, I added a few polka dotted balloons to create a super festive Birthday card! The sentiment is taken from the Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum set.

Are you ready to see what the other Design Team members have cooked up?! Be sure to join along in the FABULOUS Blog Hop! You have until Sunday, April 14th to leave a comment on each blog below to be entered for a chance to win the ENTIRE April Release!!

Uniko Studio
Aimes
Amber
Erika
Gayatri
Kerry
Nicki -------THAT'S ME!
Ren-Yi
Stacey
Taheerah (April Guest Designer)

Supplies - Card 1:

Stamps: Uniko Studio - Background Builder: Round in Circles, All Occasions Sentiments #1, Flower Power #1

Cardstock: PTI - Soft Stone; SU - Going Grey, Orchid Opulence
Ink: Staz-On - Black
Other: Uniko Studio - Bright Butterfly Dies; Vellum; Rhinestones; Dimensionals

Supplies - Card 2:

Stamps: Uniko Studio - Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum

Cardstock: SU - Creamy Caramel, Watercolor Paper
Ink: TH Distress Ink - Fired Brick, Tea Dye; Versamark; Tsukineko - Jumbo Java
Other: White Embossing Powder, Water Spritzer, Dimensionals, Rhinestone Stickers - Recollections

Supplies - Card 3:

Stamps: Uniko Studio - Background Builder: Round in Circles, Label Love: Birthday, Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum (sentiment)

Cardstock: PTI - Rustic Cream
Ink: SU - Rose Red, Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Groovy Guava, Lavendar Lace, Sage Shadow,  Tsukineko - Jumbo Java
Other: Dimensionals

PTI Makie it Monday #62 - Step it Up: Layering

I'm thrilled to have had some time to participate in this week's PTI Make it Monday! I sure learned some great tips from Betsy Veldman's video over on Nichole Heady's blog, so if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you check it out!

I used the Mat Stack 5 Collection stamp set...one of my Favorite. Stamp. Sets. Of. All. Time! :) I don't think I will EVER get tired of using it!

So, the first one is a one layer card. It's actually very simple. I used the large label stamp, and stamped it 3 times so it bleeds off the bottom edge.

Do you recognize the Congrats stamp? Well, it's from the Signature Greetings set, but it says "Congrats You Did It!". I didn't want the "you did it!" part, so I masked off those words with a post-it note, and then finished off the "g" with a black marker!

For the second card, I found some great black and white striped paper in my stash that I thought was perfect! On top of that, I layered a smaller panel of cardstock with the main design and sentiment. For the label images, I diecut all three, and popped up the middle one with foam dimensionals. For an added touch, black pearl stickers were added to the top corners.

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear your feedback on this MIM! Have a great week!

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Mat Stack 5 Collection, Signature Greetings
Cardstock: PTI -White
Patterned Paper: Be & My Big Ideas

Ink: SU - Purely Pomegranate, So Saffron; StazOn - Black

Other: PTI - Mat Stack 5 Die; Pearl Stickers; Dimensionals

Operation Julie's Smile Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the next stop on the hop! I am so glad you joined us on this amazing blog hop for Operation Julie's Smile. If you came here from Joycelyn Turner's blog, then you are in the right spot. If not, you many want to start from the beginning at the Sweet Stamp Shop's Blog (where a complete list of participants is) and take your time. You have ALL WEEKEND to hop with us and win prizes! Prizes will be drawn from: 1) Blog Comments - 2) PayPal Donation List - 3) Blog Hop Hosts

If you are unfamiliar with Julie's story, please read on.

The creative blogging community is coming together this weekend to help one of our friends, Julie Ranae. You may know her as the design team coordinator for many wonderful companies from Bakers Twine, die cuts, rubber stamps, and more. What many people don't know about Julie is that she has had some pretty major dental surgeries in her lifetime due to medication she had to take as a child.

Unfortunately, about a month ago, she chipped her front teeth. The dentist told her there was no way to save them, and that it was his recommendation that she give in and have all her teeth removed soon, but for that day, they needed to get her front teeth done so her gums could begin to heal. He said he would "work out payments with her to have ALL this work done", but when she called to make her appt for the 1st step of impressions, they told her the amount of money that was needed and that the "payments applied only to the two teeth that were extracted that day."

Her husband Paul was with her and that was his understanding as well. So this is how she found herself in this situation - needing at least $4,000 to get started and another $3,000 to finish the process. A total of $7,000!

If there is anything you can do to help with a financial donation, there is a Paypal donation button in my sidebar, ready for you to click >>>> Any amount is appreciated and ALL donations will be eligible for prizes from our sponsor pool of over $2,500!

Ok, now on to the CRAFTY stuff! Here's the card I created for this hop, and for a special couple who is getting married today! The picture doesn't do it justice...there are dots of Liquid Pearls throughout the stamped flowers...just beautiful when the light hits it the right way!

I hope you enjoyed your stop here! The next stop is JenMarie Taylor's blog. Make sure you leave a comment here before you go so that you can have a chance at the amazing prizes up for grabs and if you can, please make a donation so we can help bring back a new smile for our friend.

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Gracious Vases; DeNami - Congratulations Script

Cardstock: PTI -Rustic Cream

Ink: SU - Elegant Eggplant; Tsukineko - Starlite Silver

Other: PTI Silk Ribbon; Pearl Stickers - Recollections; Liquid Pearls - Platinum Pearl

DeNami Product Spotlight - Solid Polka Dot Border

Good morning! It's time for the next Product Spotlight over at the DeNami Design blog! This is my last post as a Guest Designer. It's been a fun month being a part of all the fun, and now I'll show you my project featuring the Solid Polka Dot Border stamp.

This is a very simple card to make, and you can change up the color scheme in a heartbeat. The background pattern was created using the Mini Starlet. The dark purple cardstock was embossed using a Tim Holtz Texture Fades folder. I stamped the Solid Polka Dot Border twice on white cardstock, and cut them out. A hole was poked near the end on each one, and I threaded Baker's Twine through to create the bow. Lastly, the congrats tag from the Thoughtful Greetings Petit Fours set is the finishing touch!

I hope you enjoyed my card, and thanks for stopping by!
My blog candy giveaway ends in one week, so make sure to check it out --------> HERE