Introducing Solid Alphabet Stamps and Background Block Waves

Good morning and welcome to another post for the Uniko February release. Today we have a couple of new stamp sets to introduce. My first example uses the new Background Blocks Wave and the older Nautical Treasures.

When I first saw the new block, it reminded me of the sea so that's why I hunted out this boat image to use with it. I wanted to stamp it onto a coloured background to suggest the sea, so rooted through my box of inky backgrounds and found a very old panel made with Brusho and some silver wax. I didn't want too much of the silver so trimmed down my panel before stamping the block with Blueprint Sketch DI and over stamping with Versamark and heat embossing with clear EP.

Once my panel was trimmed, I stamped the yacht onto a scrap of white and fussy cut it out. I cut away most of the rigging, drawing it back with a black fine liner once it was glued to my panel. 

On a strip of white I stamped the sentiment from Simply Said Sentiments, all panels were popped up on pads to complete.

Next up is the Solid Alphabet Stamp set, where I've used most of the set!

For this card, I started by inking a panel of white card with a rainbow of DI ink and when complete stamped the alphabet with Versamark and heat embossed with clear EP, except the HI which I stamped in black and then embossed with clear EP. The beautiful from Beautiful, was stamped on black and heat embossed with white EP before fussy cutting, I chopped off the trailing lines for this example. A trio of daisy flowers were stamped and fussy cut, using Copic to colour the centers and added. The beautiful word was popped up on foam pads before the completed panel was added to a 5 x 7 white base card with foam pads.

That's it from me for today but be sure to come back tomorrow for more introductions. In the meantime, check out what the rest of the girls have been up to with these stamps.

  Anita

Bev

Izzy

Julie - me

Steph

Vinita

Introducing - Tropical Leaf #2 Stencil

Good morning. It's the second day of introducing the new mini release from Uniko.

Today we are showing the second of the Tropical Leaf stencil series, a huge Monstera leaf. Here's how I used it, combing it with the hibiscus flowers from the Paradise set.

I first taped the stencil down over a panel of white card and stamped the solid flowers through it, adding the stigma and leaves after. I washed and dried the stencil then replaced it and added Versamark with a sponge applicator before heat embossing with clear gloss EP. I was now able to add the background colour without it effecting the stamped elements. For a belt and braces approach I also used the mask which comes with the stencil. If you are very careful, I suppose you could get away with just using the mask.

I wanted to have tropical greenery background so used as election of DOx and DI inks to avoid a flat, solid background.

To make the card, I simply cut down the panel, added it to an A6 white note card, added a pre stamped sentiment from my stash (Beautiful and Bee Happy), with a couple of slivers of gold linen effect card.

So that's all for today, but there's lots more over on the BA's and Uniko blogs.

I'll be back tomorrow with the final introduction.

Uniko June Release Full Reveal and Blog Hop

Good morning. Have we whetted your appetites with the latest Uniko release? Well just to show you how fab the sets are here are a few more ideas.

Here is one card using the large lemon stamp from Organically Zesty.

As with my orange in the introducing post here, I watercoloured this large stamp and fussy cut it out. On another panel of MM paper, I stamped the BB Grid a couple of times diagonally, with Versamark, not being too careful about full coverage. In fact after I added the EP but before heat setting it, I removed patches of the EP with a fine brush. Once heat embossed, I added a wash of Mermaid Lagoon DI and left it to dry. The panel was trimmed to leave a border when added to my base card and the the lemon was placed in the top right. On matching card, I cut a banner and stamped the sentiment.

My second card uses the Zesty stencil but instead of using the whole panel, I die cut the larger segments. I found that an old Spellbinders die (Standard Circles Large, next to smallest) embossed a line in exactly the right place on the slice to leave a gap that suggested pith and peel.

Once the slices were cut out, I inked the outside edge and blended out the colour to soften the whiteness left buy cutting them out. On some scrap card, I stamped the BB Diagonal Stripes twice in Altenew's Obsidian and stamped the sentiment on another strip of white card. The stripes were added to one side of the A6 base card and the sentiment strip added before layering on the die cut slices.

Next is a gift card featuring Background Builders - Hearts.

I initially intended to make a standard A6 card but after I'd done the stamping I thought it wasn't quite working so I tried it as a gift card and I think it works better.

The dotty hearts were stamped and embossed with silver EP and the central outline heart stamped in black and embossed in clear glossy EP. The congratulations from the Everyday Sentiments set was stamped and embossed with silver EP. The stamped panel was then cut to create the rectangle and matted onto silver card.

This next card card was a result of an experiment. I wondered what sort of rainbow the wrong side of the rainbow stamps would make. It worked pretty well until the last section which is solid, so I fussy cut a mask and stamped the final arc, then removed the mask, I quite like the look.

A few stamped and fussy cut clouds were added and the same cloud die was used to create the bottom panel as on this card, was stamped with the sentiment from Beautiful.

Finally I've combined the rainbow stamp with the raindrop stencil to create this slimline card.

I die cut a scalloped panel and inked it in Stormy Sky DI, fading it out towards the place where the rainbow was going. I then stamped the wrong side of the rainbow stamps as before but overlapping each layer a little bit for a more seamless blend. 

Using the stencil, I added some raindrops with the Stormy Sky for a tone on tone effect and three die cut and coloured rainbow brollies (Memory Box). Finally I added the sentiment with Versamark, white EP and heat embossed. The finished panel was then added to my base card.

So that's it, what do you think of the release? Something for everyone I think.

As always we are having the regular BA blog hop and giveaway.

Simply leave a comment on all of the stops along the hop for your chance to win a £20 eGift Code to spend in store.

All the details are on the Uniko blog but here are the links to the other BA's posts for this hop, so you can check out more ideas on how to use the new release. So don't forget to leave a comment before you hop along to the other BAs for your chance to win.

All Ts and Cs and further details can also be found on the Uniko blog.

Anita 

 Bev 

Hannelie

Izzy

Jane

Julie -that's me

Steph

Joining in over at:-

 

Introducing - Stencils, Flower Power #8, Rainbow & Clouds, Squared & Tropical Leaf I

Today sees the Uniko girls introduce the brand new stencils that Bev has designed. This first card uses the Rainbow and Clouds stencil.

I used the large rainbow from the stencil and using some masking paper, I blocked out each arch in turn so that I could use a different colour for each one. I used Distress Inks in, Picked Raspberry, Dried Marigold, Twisted Citron , Salty Ocean and Wilted Violet to create the rainbow on a panel of white card. When the rainbow was finished, I added a sentiment from the Beautiful stamp set in Altenew's Pure Graphite, then used an MFT die to cut the scalloped edges.

On a scrap of white card, I traced 3 of the clouds and fussy cut them out. The left hand and smallest I popped up on pads, the other I glued flat over the rainbow. The finished panel was then popped up on pads over a white A6 base card.

My second card features the Squared stencil.

To start I stamped an A6 panel of card with Versamark and the BB Halftone a couple of times. When the stencil is inked with DI, the subtle stamping will show through.

After I was sure that the Versamark was completely dry, I inked through the stencil in Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean DI onto the stamped panel, adding extra squares where appropriate.

Using the HAPPY die from Big and Bold Happy stamp and die set, I cut into the panel, then again with some fun foam, stacked up the die cuts and replaced them into the opening to create this camouflage effect. The small bits from the A and Ps were added carefully too. The birthday from the same set was stamped on black and heat embossed with white EP, trimmed and added. The finished panel was trimmed down and added to a white linen effect base card. 

I'm playing with the same technique on this card. Instead of the BB Halftone stamp I used BB Scattered Polka Dots and the new Flower Power #8 stencil.

       

After stamping the BB in Versamark onto white card and leaving to dry, I added a soft covering of Picked Raspberry DI over the whole panel. I then placed the stencil so that half of the bloom filled one half of the card and inked using more Picked Raspberry and some Wilted Violet DI over the central area of the bloom. I repeated the stencilling at the other end of the panel, trimmed it down and added my sentiment, from my stash and a couple of strips of holographic card and some silver gems. The completed panel was then added to a white base card.

My final card features the Tropical Leaf stencil.

This has two parts to it, the stencil and the cut out mask.

For the background panel I got inky with my Gelli plate and both the stencil and mask and some green DIs and DOxs. 

I made lots of backgrounds whilst playing, more of them later, but I chose this one to sit behind a die cut frame onto which I added a fussy cut image of the mask, which I used to draw around. The sentiment is from the new Simply Said Blocks III stamped with Bundled Sage DOx.

So that's it for today, I'm sure you'll agree that these stencils are going to be a very useful addition to anyone's stash.

Check out what the rest of the team have been up to with these fab ne stencils and leave a comment for a chance to win some Uniko goodies.

Bev
Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane 
Julie -that's me

Rahmat

Steph

We'll be back tomorrow with another new stamp set introduction, see you then.

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                                                          H is for HAPPY

Uniko Challenge

 Morning all, it's time for a brand new challenge over at Uniko. Here's my take on the theme.

For my design I used the fab Pure Florals Gerbera daisy outline stamp in Altenew's Industrial Diamond ink, to create an all over background and then die cut 3 circles to create a spotlight effect. The Copic coloured sections were popped up on matching white fun foam circles. 

Using Copic alcohol markers for colouring is my go to method, love the variety of bright colours and the way they blend together. I have tried other alcohol markers, Promarkers and the Altenew ones but always revert back to my Copics. 

A sentiment strip from my stash, made up of a couple of sentiments from two different sets, Beautiful and Bee Happy that I used here was added to complete. As it takes a bit of time to get the layout of the words right, I stamped a few in different inks and embossing colours on both black and white strips for use later, this one is Platinum WOW on black.

The finished panel was trimmed to reveal a border when added to an A6 note card.

Please check out the rest of the team on the Uniko blog, as well as our fab GD Elaine.

You'll also find all the Ts and Cs there as well.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Favourite colouring medium

Uniko challenge

Morning peeps.
The year is whizzing by and it's time for a brand new challenge over at Uniko.
This time we have a really simple theme with a little twist. Here's my take.

Can you guess the theme? It's -

For my inspiration, I was drawn to the colour of the leaves in this glorious pic.
After such a hot summer the leaves are just turning crispy and missing out on the glorious colour changes we normally see, though there are plenty of berries in the hedgerows. The rowans, hollies and hawthorns are laden with bright red berries so from a distance you get a shimmer of red over the whole hedge. The fieldfares, thrushes, blackbirds and others will have a feast! Conkers were raining down on Wednesday with the very strong winds courtesy of Storm Ali and so was the beech mast. In fact some landed on my windscreen as I drove to Sainsbugs and an acorn or some such landed with a fair old ping on the card roof too!

Anyway back to the card. I started by dripping some Copic refill ink onto Yupo paper and left it to dry. Think I was a little too generous with the ink as it left ridges on the panel as it dried.
When dry, I used the Nature's Treasures II stencil with Dreamweaver gold embossing paste to create my  pattern. It took awhile as I had to leave each leaf stalk time to dry, if the stencil comes into contact with the paste when even damp it lifts it off. It did happen to me but I managed to hide the offending boo boo under the sentiment strip! I even quite liked how the texture showed through from the background panel in the end.

As I said earlier my gold embossed sentiment strip, using So Much, was laid across the completed panel, carefully masking my 'tiny' error!

My second card uses the same stencil but this time I used DOx ink in Spiced Marmalade, Fossilized Amber and Abandoned Coral, to colour a white panel. The Camouflaged HELLO was cut from the inked panel and again from brown fun foam before replacing all the bits back into the spaces on the panel after the Beautiful script was stamped. A few sequins complete the card. Very simple to do.

OK, that's it from me but please check out the team here as well as our GD for the month, the wonderfully talented Hannelie at Desert Diva

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You have until midnight GMT on Friday 26th October to enter and the winner will be announced on Friday 2nd November, 8.00am GMT

Check out the Uniko blog for all the Ts and Cs.

I'd like to join in over at:-

  
Hope stencils apply too!

It's Release Day @Uniko

It's the big day, from today you'll be able to buy the August release from the Uniko shop.

So just to tempt you all a little more here is some more inspiration.

This first card uses the Beautiful set.

Gold embossed fussy cut blooms were coloured with Zig watercolour pens and mounted on a strip of green card under a die cut white panel. The panel was stamped with the greeting before popping it up on pads over the blooms. A few translucent sequins add an extra touch of sparkle.

My second card for you uses two stamps from the Happy Hexagons, the Framed Flowers stamp and one of the phrases from Big n Bold Hello.

All the panels were stamped with their various elements with Versafine before heat embossing with white EP. When dry they were inked with DI in Weathered Wood, Dried Marigold and Broken China DOx. I trimmed and popped my Framed Flowers up on pads over the background panels. 

My third uses the same large hexagon but this time it was stamped using a homemade wreath builder stamp. You can use the Gina K version if you have it or look at this DIY tutorial!

I used bold and bright Copic colours to colour certain areas in a repeat pattern. The greeting from So Much, was stamped in black on the panel and also on a separate die cut circle before placing it over the center of the pattern, doing it twice allows you to place the circle centrally and if it's not quite large enough for all of the text to be visible!

This just goes to show how versatile these stamps are! One stamp used as the main feature then again in a background role!

Hope we have tempted you with these last few posts but just to remind you, here are all the sets available at the Uniko shop from today.

So what do you think? We'd love to hear what you do, so leave a comment here and as you hop around the rest of the DT.

Bev

Carol

Deborah 

Izzy 

Jane 

Julie - that's me

Linda

Lindsey

Sarah G

Be sure to comment along the hop for your chance to win the ENTIRE Release!! You have until Midnight (BST) 2nd September 2018 to comment and the winner will be announced soon after.

Happy Hopping!

Joining in over at:-