Introducing ..Background Blocks Mid Century Modern Linear

Good morning, I'm back with day 1 of the Uniko January release. Today we are focusing on another fab addition to the Background Blocks stable- Mid Century Linear. As with the other Background Blocks, it's extremely versatile, use it on it's own or in the background like I have in my first card.

On a panel of midnight blue card, I stamped the BB three times down the center of the panel with Versamark and then embossed with a mix of WOW Oceanic EP and WOW Changers Glisten.

On a separate piece of Copic friendly card, I stamped the large spray from Hello Lovely and coloured it with Copics. After fussy cutting it out, I laid it across the top 2/3rds of the blue panel on pads. The sentiment from Birthday wishes was stamped on a white panel and added flat. The completed panel was then glued flat onto a DL card base.

This second card was the result of an experiment, but I turned it into a masculine card with the simple addition of a fussy cut sentiment.

I started by stamping three of the stamp in a row on white card with Versamark, then embossed with Primary red EP, then added another set of the stamp just slightly off to one side and embossed with clear EP. Finally I inked over the top with Black Soot DOx.  The result was a bit patchy, I really needed to add more clear EP but that wasn't possible as the patchiness only showed up after the ink was added! 

I found a frame in my stash and moved it over the stamped panel until I found the best look and mounted the panel behind it and trimmed off the overhang. A simple red embossed sentiment from Birthday Sentiments, fussy cut and added on pads completes. 

The result a masculine card, perfect for a Man U or Sheff U fan!

The rest of the team have been playing with the new stamps too, why not check them out for some more fab inspiration. I'll be back again tomorrow with another new release.

More Uniko BA Inspiration For The June Release

Morning all. 

Today I'm over on the Uniko blog with some more Brand Ambassador inspiration using some of the recent new release. I had so many ideas that I just had to share a few more of my makes. All the details can be found over on the Uniko blog.

See you over at Uniko!!

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration - English Country Garden Stencil Bundle

Morning all, I'm up at the Uniko blog with a little bit more inspiration using the English Country Garden stencil bundle.

It's a bit like this card I made for the reveal day. By the way there's still time for you to join in our release day blog hop, check out here for more details.

All the details of the make can be found here.

I'd like to join in over at:-

Happy 9th Birthday!

Uniko Stencil Release Day and Blog Hop

So it's time for the full release at Uniko. 

Hope you've enjoyed the new stencil release so far so why not grab a cuppa and join in our 9th Birthday Blog Hop. Here are a few more cards I made with the brand new stencils.

The first one is made using the fab Rose stencil. 

I was trying to find different ways to use this fab large rose and came across a card by the talented TaeEun Yoo on Pinterest. Her gorgeous card uses a different stencil but I used the same technique, I think. 

On a panel of dark pink card, I inked through with some white pigment ink, removed the stencil then left it to dry. When fully dry, I went in with my Polychromo pencil crayons to give definition to the petals. I don't use them quite as often as I should so I hope the effect looks OK.  I am ashamed to say that after colouring the flower I was left staring at it for a couple of days trying to decide how to make a card. In the end I gave in and CASEd TaeEun's card layout. 

I trimmed down the panel, added it at a jaunty angle and trimmed off the excess before adding a sentiment strip that I had in my stash, made by putting a couple of small sentiments from Pure Florals-Peony together. When I do something like that I make quite a few using different colours and EP and save them for later use as getting the elements lined up is time consuming. To lift the strip I added a bit of gold glitter paper from the stash, a few PPP gold sequins complete.

My second card took inspiration from the rainbow wall in the latest Time Out challenge.

After inking my rainbow through the mini Mix Geometrics stencil with DI, I die cut the large English Country Garden butterfly die and popped it up with a second one cut from fun foam. The sentiment strip from Pure Florals - Cosmos was stamped on a die cut banner and embossed with white EP, before adding it across the middle of the butterfly. With all the hot weather we had last week there have been lots of butterflies fluttering around the garden, so I thought it would work well.

Finally, this card also features a butterfly but this time it's the stencil variety. The colours chosen being the latest ones over at JUGS.

To begin, I placed the open butterfly stencil over a piece of white card and inked through with Dried Marigold DI. Removing the stencil revealed a soft, solid, orange image. Carefully laying the detailed stencil over this, I added Picked Raspberry to the outer edges and Candied Apple DI to the center.  Before removing the stencil, I added some Black Soot DI to the body and antennae ends. I love the way the soft orange shows in the fine lines of the butterfly's wings and the way the wings appear to almost shimmer. The body didn't look dark enough, so I added some Zig watercolour pen detail in black as well as the antennae ends.

I decided to have my butterfly flying out of the panel, so I laid my rectangle die over the image and marked where it crossed the wings, then fussy cut towards the center of the image, just enough to allow the die to slip under, then secured with tape and die cut as normal. Once cut, I removed the die and fussy cut the rest of the wings. The sentiment, from Birthday Wishes was stamped in black then embossed with clear EP.

I thought a thin frame of gold glitter paper hi-lighted the orange shimmer of the wings so added it under my butterfly panel, before finally adding it to a black 5 x 7 card base with pads. I was going to add some sequins but in the end left them off.

So for a chance to win some Uniko goodies, leave a comment here then hop along following the links below. If you loose your way just head back to the Uniko blog where you'll also find all the links and the Ts and Cs.

Don't forget to comment along the way, as there will be one lucky winner from those comments left, selected to win ALL the stencils released today. You have until 10pm BST Sunday 27th June 2021 to leave a comment. Winner will be announced on the blog on or around the 28th June 2021.

Bev
Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane 
Julie -that's me

Rahmat

Steph

Happy hopping

I'd like to join in over at:-

 

Introducing -Stencil, Mini Mix Geometrics

Good morning, it's day 2 of the June stencil release from Uniko. This time we are introducing the Mini Mix Geometrics stencil.

For this design, I used some glossy white Dreamweaver embossing paste through the stencil onto black card. It was left to dry overnight and then each shape was coloured in a different colour, except the hexagons, with a Copic marker and trimmed down to be 1/2cm smaller than A6 on all sides. I haven't found a better way of adding bright, intense colour to a dark background than this, so long as you don't mind the odd bit of white showing! I've tried using Versamark and EP but sometimes the EP is not opaque and the colour is dulled, sometimes almost indistinguishable!

On a die cut rectangle of white card, the sentiment from Birthday Wishes was stamped in black ink, then glued over the stencilled panel. The finished panel was then added to a white A6 base card. The colours I've used suggest a masculine card but change the colours and the background and it would work for a female.

Why not head over to the Uniko blog for more ways to use this fab new stencil, or check out the links below.

Bev
Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane 
Julie -that's me

Rahmat

Steph

I'd like to join in over at:-

Favourite Tip -

Colouring Embossing Paste with Copics to add colour to dark backgrounds

I haven't found a better way of adding bright, intense colour to a dark background than this, so long as you don't mind the odd bit of white showing! I've tried using Versamark and EP but sometimes the EP is not opaque and the colour is dulled, sometimes almost indistinguishable!

Introducing - Stencil Pure Florals Rose

Good morning peeps. It's time to visit one of the brand new stencil designs from Uniko's June release. First off the blocks is this fab mega rose stencil to go with the equally fab Gerbera and Chrysanthemum ones. Here's my take on it.

As it's such a massive bloom, it really doesn't need much else to make a card.

This example was started by inking lightly through the stencil onto white card with Picked Raspberry DI. Once complete, I removed the stencil and went in with matching Zig watercolour brushes to create some dimension. The panel was then cropped when dry and added to an A6 note card, adding a strip of DP from the bits box along with a sliver of embossed silver card from another project that was lurking by the cutter!

My sentiment from Birthday Wishes was stamped in black and heat embossed with clear gloss EP. I find this much better than using black EP as you don't get the little specs of black EP on your project, even with using an anti-static pad!

Why not head over to the Uniko blog for more ways to use this fab new stencil, or check out the links below.

Bev
Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane 
Julie -that's me

Rahmat

Steph

I'd like to join in over at:-

Uniko challenge, reminder

 Good morning folks, time to remind you that there is still time to join in over at Uniko for our Anything Goes, optional twist of dies, challenge. Here's my take using a few Uniko Goodies.

I took inspiration from a card I made at the start of my time at Uniko here,  I love the contrast of the black oval with the white embossed sentiment with the soft hint of green in the stencilling. I think it has a definite air of sunny days, just like we had for the Bank Holiday when I made it, and how unusual is that here in the UK?

For this take, I started by stencilling over the front of my white base card with Twisted Citron DI with the Mid Century Modern Squares stencil, letting the colour fade out towards the edges. Then, on a die cut black oval, I stamped and embossed with white EP, the fab sentiment from Birthday Wishes. The die cut elements come from Originally Organic Additions stamps and dies and I used the mirror stamping technique to get the foliage element to face the opposite way, just like my original card. I tend to die cut the shapes then use a homemade jig in my MISTI to stamp them before colouring with Copics.

Arranging the blooms into a pleasing form I added them to my black oval and the adhered it all over the stencilling.

So for more fab inspiration from the rest of the team and our GD Elaine, Please check out the Uniko blog here. You'll also find all the Ts and Cs there too.

Happy crafting!

Joining in over at:-

  

Uniko New Release Blog Hop and Giveaway

 Good morning folks. Its time for a little blog hop featuring the latest release from Uniko. So grab yourself a cuppa and get hopping!

First off the block is a Twofer featuring Floral Vines.

This first card uses the bleaching technique and heat embossing.

I made a frame with the Floral Vines stamping it onto a panel of smooth white card with Versamark, then heat embossing with white EP. I then added DOx in Picked Raspberry and Seedless Preserve over the top, keeping the center paler and the edges darker, buffing of the excess from the embossing when dry. Using a fine brush I used water to remove the colour where I wanted and blotted with a dry paper towel to lift the colour. If it doesn't work first time, just go back in again until you get the result you want.

To complete, I added a white, heat embossed sentiment from the same set.

The second card featuring Floral Vines, uses fussy cutting and Copic colouring.

On a panel of linen effect card, I stamped the Floral Vines in green, removing the ink from the solid line at the bottom. On a separate piece of scrap white card, I stamped it again in black.

Using more Copic markers, I coloured the leaves and added more dots of colour both freehand and with the small stamp from the Floral Vines set.

My sentiment, again from the same set was stamped in matching green on an ancient Spellbinders die cut ribbon tag. Some matching pink grosgrain ribbon was threaded through the tag and the fussy cut blooms added so that they hung over the edge of the tag, the whole lot was then popped up on pads over the outline on the card.

This third card uses the Framed - Floral Vines stamp, which I stamped onto a white base card, masking off the top right corner.

I extended the frame and leaf with a black fine liner, coloured the leaves and flowers with Copic markers and added the large sentiment from Birthday Wishes. A simple OLC!

My final card uses the fab large gerbera stencil and Background Blocks Solid Wonky Stripes.

On a panel of white card I inked through the stencil with Picked Raspberry DI and Black Soot for the center. Once I removed the stencil I went back in to give the petals some definition with a matching Zig watercolour marker brush. The stencil is so large that it is easy to add extra details like this. To create the detail in the center, I added some Hickory Smoke DI to the stencil details.

On a scrap of white card, I stamped Background Blocks Solid Wonky Stripes in black to create the end panel. To finish I added a sentiment from Pure Florals Peony of white heat embossed on black.

So what do you think of the new release? There's lots more inspiration on the Uniko blog from the rest of the BAs as well as all the details about the hop.

So for a chance to win the whole release leave a comment here and then check out the rest of the team and leave some love there as well!

 Bev

Hannelie

Izzy

Jane 

Julie - that's me

Rahmat

For all the details and to get back on track if you get lost along the way, check out the Uniko blog here.

Happy hopping!

I'd like to join in over at:-

 

BA Inspiration - A Masculine CAS card

Morning all.

I'm up over on the Uniko blog with some more Brand Ambassador inspiration based on a new to me technique, layered stenciling, inspired by the challenge over at CAS Stencil.

I decided to show you how I made this CAS masculine card.

For the details check out the Uniko blog here.

Joining over at:-

    

Uniko Brand Ambassador Inspiration

Morning all.

As you may know, we're celebrating Uniko's 8th Birthday.  We've had the Birthday Linky Party .....

...and there's the amazing Birthday Giveaway where one lucky winner will receive a fantastic prize.

Today I have a couple of birthday cards over at Uniko to share, one feminine and one more unisex.

Here's my first card using the recently released Hello Lovely and a sentiment made up from elements from both Birthday Sentiments and Festive Sentiments stamp sets. Yes I said Festive, Happy is not just for Christmas!

My second card is interactive and I was inspired to make it after watching this video on You Tube.

For all the instructions on how I made them pop over to the Uniko blog. 

I'm off later this morning for a little crafty fun with a friend I made at the Altenew class I attended in November. Its our second get together after the first had to be postponed from early December to last month due to the 'flu. 

Looking forward to some crafty chat with a fellow Julie!

Introducing Happy Days and Background Block Pinstripe II

Well it's the final day of introducing the Birthday release at Uniko.

What do you think of it so far? Lots of Art Deco inspired stamp sets but also some floral ones as well.

Today we are looking at two new stamps, Happy Days, a silhouette foliage set and another background block, Pinstripe II.

Here is my card using both stamp sets using both together in a kissing technique.

I don't know what made me try this technique but I'm certainly glad that I did, as I think it adds interest to the foliage spray. 

I used my MISTI for this technique but you don't need to but it certainly makes things a lot easier!

.

 The spray was stamped first with the solid colour then I inked up the Pinstripe Background Block on an Acrylic block in a slightly darker colour and tapped onto the spray whilst it was still in the MISTI. As the card panel was still in the same place as was the leaf spray, the lines only stamped onto the original stamped image. You only have one go at this technique as there is no chance of a second inking. I didn't get 100% coverage but the overal effect works I think.

I decided on a rainbow of colours as I couldn't decide on which colours to use, moving the spray each time and re positioning it before stamping each time.

The space left after all this cried out for a large bold sentiment, so I used the largest one from Birthday Wishes stamped in black.

For more release inspiration check out the rest of the team below.

Bev
Carol 
Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane 
Julie - That's me
Linda

Rahmat

Wiebke 


Joining in over at:-

   
                                                           AG

Revisiting Big n Bold Wish, Blog Hop and Giveaway at Uniko

Good morning Uniko fans, its time to give a little love to a previously released stamp set.

This month the set we are revisiting is the Big and Bold stamp set and matching dies.

Here's my inspiration for you.

I've used the candles, 'Make a' and 'wish' stamps together with both the matching wish dies.

It's another idea sparked by too much You Tube watching earlier in the year!

Always on the look out for a different card idea I stumbled on this idea by the very creative Jennifer McGuire, a double Z fold card. 

So apologies for the next few paragraphs, hope you can follow all the instructions!

To start I cut a panel of bright blue card measuring 5"x 10" and scored it at 21/2" and 5", followed by

a second piece of white card cut at 4" x 9", scored at 4" and 61/2".

The blue panel was then stencilled using the Confetti stencil and a contrasting blue ink then put to one side to dry.

On the white panel a line of candles was stamped along the bottom of the large square section in Versamark and embossed with white EP, before colouring with my Zig water brush pens.

When dry, I stamped this greeting from Birthday Wishes in black on the middle panel, the last panel was kept blank for a handwritten greeting.

From a scrap of vellum I cut the largest of the wish dies and from a scrap the same blue card as the background, I cut out the second size wish. Placing the leftover outer from the blue in my MISTI, I positioned the 'wish' stamp in the space and then closed the MISTI door. The blue wish die cut was then placed back into the outer and stamped with Versamark and embossed with white EP. I find this the best way to ensure that the stamping is centred on the die cut. 

After gluing the two layers together I attached them above the candles and stamped the 'Make a' in black.

To complete, 2 panels of silver mirror card were cut measuring 41/4" by 21/8" and 4/1/4" square.

The small panel was glued to the top small blue section and the larger to the large blue square section.

The white section was attached, large square section to small silver one and small white to large silver.

If you struggled to follow this and you would prefer more visual instructions, check out the video here.

So for the chance to win the complete Big and Bold Wishes stamp set and matching dies, just leave a comment here then hop along leaving comments as you go. You have until Saturday 24th August at midnight BST to leave your comments

Bev

Carol 

Izzy 

Jane 

Julie - that'll be me

Linda

Lindsey

Sarah G

Wiebke 

I'm joining in over at:-