You Are Awesome!

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Hello friends! I'm really excited to share this colorful card today that is featured on the MarkerPOP blog. I was inspired by Jennifer McGuire's recent video about pattern stamping.


I started by creating a pattern using multiple stamps from the Hero Arts set Just for You by Lia Griffith. I stamped the whole watercolor card stock panel using VersaMark ink, and then heat embossed it with black embossing powder. You can see in the first pic below.
Then, using Distress Markers in rainbow colors (Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade, Pine Needles, Tumbled Glass, Dusty Concord, and Wilted Violet), I quickly colored in the flowers and around some leaves. You really don't have to worry about coloring each one perfectly, just work quickly and you'll be glad you did ;) You can see what I did in the second pic below.


Now comes the fun part! Place the panel onto a water resistant surface such as a craft mat or countertop. Using a Ranger Mini Mister filled with water, hold it about 6" above the panel and spray away! I LOVE watching the water react with the distress inks! The third pic below was taken right after I sprayed it. You can see that the colors are just starting to spread, and in the fourth pic, taken a minute or two later, they have spread even more and have blended with nearby colors!



After that, I just let it sit and dry for a half hour or so. I really love the results of this technique!
The panel is adhered to Neenah Solar White card stock. The Altenew sentiment is stamped with black ink on Neenah card stock and fussy cut. It was adhered to the panel with Foam tape, and some silver cord was looped around and placed behind it.

If you haven't tried this technique before, I hope I've inspired you to try it! Thanks so much for stopping by! :D  Have a great day!

Nicki ~ Find me on Instagram

Congratulations!

Thursday, July 21, 2016

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!

Find me on Instagram

Uniko Challenge #34

Friday, July 15, 2016

Hello! Welcome to the July Uniko Challenge #34. We have another fun challenge this month to spark your creativity...




FLOWERS!! Who doesn't love creating cards with flowers?!?! If you haven't participated in a Uniko challenge yet, this is the perfect opportunity for you to do so! You can use any products/stamps to enter the challenge, but we do LOVE to see you use your Uniko products. If you do use Uniko, there's an extra chance to win a prize.

Email entries welcome, just email a photo of your card to bev@uniko.co.uk and she will add it to the Uniko Flickr gallery and link up!

This month we have another Guest Designer joining us, Carol from Justme: c. Be sure to check out her blog!

So here is my card using one of my favorite Uniko flowers. It's been a while since I inked it up, so I thought, now is the time!

All the flowers and leaves are stamped and fussy cut, then arranged to make a large bouquet. The background splatters were achieved by inking up my craft mat with the dark blue ink, then dipping a wet paintbrush in it and carefully tapping it over the card base. Love the look of the Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Sequins scattered around the card for some shine!! Hope I've inspired you today!


For more inspiration, visit the Uniko blog to see the other designer's projects!!

THE PRIZES
  • The DT will choose a winner who will get a £15 gift voucher.
  • The DT will choose a Top 3 who will each get 100 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 200 Loyalty Reward Points added to their Uniko customer account.

You've got plenty of time to play along with this month's challenge. The deadline for submission is midnight (GMT) on Friday 12th August (7:00pm EDT).

Supplies:
Stamps: Uniko Studio - Flower Power #6, Flower Power #5 (sentiment)
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White
Ink: Altenew - Desert Night; Hero Arts - Soft Cantaloupe, Tide Pool, Wet Cement
Other: Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Sequins

Hello! with MarkerPOP

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Good morning! I'm here for MarkerPOP to share another floral card with you. It features the Funky Flowers clear stamp set from MFT, and the sentiment is from the Spring Hello by Lia Griffith stamp set from Hero Arts.


First, I used the embossing magic pad to rub over the whole piece of Tim Holtz Watercolor Card Stock. Then, I inked up the flowers and leaves with VersaMark Ink, and stamped onto the watercolor card stock. Using a fine, white embossing powder, I heat embossed it. Using the following Distress Markers, I colored in the flowers and leaves quickly (Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry, Broken China, Bundled Sage, & Peeled Paint). The coloring didn't need to be perfect because then I took a waterbrush and brushed it over each petal and leaf to achieve a watercolor look.


The dark grey card stock was diecut using Lawn Fawn STAX Small Stitched Rectangle Die. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and then mounted the panel to the card base with Foam Tape.


Thank you so much for stopping by today. :D  Have a great day!

Nicki ~ Find me on Instagram
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Don't forget that there is still time to enter the giveaway for your chance to win one of five $20 gift certificates to the MarkerPOP store!! Check out this blog post for all the details! You have until Friday July 20th to enter.

Uniko July Revisit and Blog Hop!

Monday, July 11, 2016

Hello everyone! I'm really happy that you stopped by today because it's the Uniko July 2016 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! Below is the Paradise Hummingbird set we are revisiting this month.


I started by heat embossing the hummingbird with Princess Gold EP on TH watercolor cardstock. Then, I partially die cut a circle around the bird. Using 3 different Tim Holtz distress inks, I watercolored the body and wing. I just love those colors together....they blend sooo nicely!!


On a piece of black card stock, I also heat embossed the hibiscus flowers, leaves, and sentiment with the gold powder. A narrow strip of gold foil card stock and black and white striped patterned paper were attached alongside the black card stock. I wanted to add a touch more color to the card, so I inked up my craft sheet with the 3 distress inks that I used to color the hummingbird, and took a wet paintbrush, dipped it into the inks and then tapped the paintbrush over the card stock base to get paint splatters. The black panel was attached to the card base, then the circle was adhered using foam tape.


GIVEAWAY ALERT!! Simply comment along the hop to be in the chance of winning the Paradise Hummingbird clear stamp set and an eGift Certificate for £5 (or £10 if you already own the set). You have until midnight (GMT) Sunday 17th July 2016 to comment.

Nicki ----> That's Me!

Supplies:
Stamps: Uniko Studio - Paradise Hummingbird, Paradise
Cardstock: Tim Holtz Watercolor, Neenah Solar White, Basic Black - SU, DCWV - Foiled Card stock
Ink: Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers
Other: Embossing Powder - Ranger: Princess Gold; Spellbinders Circle Die, Striped paper - Lawn Fawn; Foam tape

My first post for MarkerPOP!

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Hello there! I'm here today sharing my first project as a new DT member for MarkerPOP! I'm very excited to be a part of MarkerPOP and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to share my projects with you and work alongside amazing artists! My first card features the Botanical Garden stamp set from Altenew, and the Hero Arts stamp set, Just For You by Lia Griffith.


I started off by ink blending Citrus Twist Distress Ink with a Tim Holtz Mini Stencil at the bottom of the Neenah Solar White card base. Then the sentiment and grey dots were stamped right along the edge of the stenciled pattern using Fawndamentals Ink Pad-Hippo. Next, a Pretty Pink Posh tag (Stitched Essentials 1) was die cut with Tim Holtz Watercolor Card Stock and Black Card Stock. I heat embossed a black flower from the Botanical Garden set. Then the fun part! Using a Wilted Violet Distress Marker, I colored the flower slightly at the base of the petals, then used a water brush to move the ink and color the rest of the petal. The leaves were colored using Citrus Twist Distress Ink. Some twine was added to the tags, and then mounted to the card base with Foam Tape.


The top right corner of the card base was punched using a corner rounder punch. To finish it all off, a few Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Sequins add some sparkle and shine!


Thank you so much for checking out my post today. :D  I look forward to sharing more with you!

Nicki ~ Find me on Instagram
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We have a fun giveaway all this week in celebration of the new Design Team. Each day the Design Team will be giving away a $20 Gift Certificate to the MarkerPop Store. Enter for a chance to win by Subscribing to our Newsletter and leaving a comment on each post (on the MarkerPOP Blog) welcoming each Designer and let us know what type of projects you are looking forward to seeing from them. The Giveaway will be open until Friday July 15th at 11:59pm EST and we’ll announce the Winners* on Sunday July 17th. *International Winners will need to pay postage.

My new Design Team is...

Friday, July 1, 2016

Happy July! I've been waiting awhile to share some AWESOME news!! I am now part of the MarkerPOP Design Team! WOOT WOOT! I am soooo honored to be a part of this team and work along side some INCREDIBLY AMAZING designers!!! This is going to be a fun ride! ;) The rest of the DT is posted on the MarkerPOP Blog today. Go see!!


If you are not familiar with MarkerPOP, it is an online craft supply store with a large selection of markers, pens, inks, stamps, dies, card stock, embellishments, tools, and so much more! The selection really is amazing.

Make sure to check out my weekly post with some awesome projects (I post every Thursday...most of the time!). Next week there will be a special giveaway to celebrate the new DT so stay tuned for that! You won't want to miss it ;)

They also have a new challenge happening over on the blog every other Monday. Something to check out if you love challenges!
 
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