Introducing - Background Blocks Rays

Seconds out, round two!

After yesterday's sneak peeks, I'm back with the first of the introducing posts for the mini July release from Uniko. Today I'm sharing  cards using the new Background Blocks Rays stamp.

My first card is a bonus one. I played around with the BB Rays stamp when I first got it, the stamping or more probably my Versamark pad was a bit off, but I didn't mind the faded texture effect I got, after all it was just a trial piece! Anyway I thought I would turn it into another card as after a few days lieing on my desk it looked fine to use! The die, STAMPlorations I had out for an earlier make and thought I would use up my practice piece, placing  the house in the center of the sunburst rays for a new home card.

My second card, but the first card I made, uses Versamark and clear EP on yellow card again.

This time, I used an old Memory Box die called Calm Countryside for my stamped panel to sit behind. The yellow panel was stamped with Versamark and embossed with clear glossy EP. The image again didn't stamp fully first time, always tricky to see Versamark on coloured card and I really should have stamped again to get a better coverage, however the slightly distressed effect was fine in this context! I've now bought a reinker for my Versamark pad and it's stamping much better!!

My simple greeting is from last month's Sunshine and Rainbows set.

That's all from me today but I'll be back tomorrow with some more of Uniko's July release.

Uniko's July release in review

Today the Uniko Brand Ambassadors are revisiting the July release to share a few more ideas using some of those stamps and stencils, as well as showing how to incorporate other Uniko sets. There's also a chance to win by commenting along the way.

So this is my first card to inspire you.

For this card I've used Block Party Summer as a background combined with elements from the Paradise stamp set and a sentiment from Simply Said Blocks III.

I played around with a new technique when I first got hold of the stamp that I saw Jennifer McGuire using. I stamped the background with Versamark and heat embossed with white EP on MM paper.

Using some DI inks in Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean and Mermaid Lagoon, I added colour straight from the pad randomly over the embossing. I then spritzed it with water containing some perfect pearls and set it aside to dry. Once it was really dry, I sandwiched it between a couple of pieces of typing paper and ironed over a towel to remove the embossing. Only use the paper once or you may transfer embossing where you don't want!

The end result left a soft, shimmery panel that is completely flat. I didn't use this panel for the release day as I wasn't sure how to use it but I then picked up on the tropical bloom in the background stamp and used the toucan and foliage from the Paradise set and the tropical flower from Block Party Summer to create the design. These elements I coloured with Copics, fussy cut them and added to a die cut aperture in my now trimmed down panel. A sentiment was stamped in black, trimmed and added to complete the coloured elements. The finished panel was added to a white linen effect base card on pads.

My second card focuses on the BB Grid stamp which I used to create a subtle background for the peonies from Hello Lovely.

To start, I stamped the large spray from Hello Lovely onto a panel of white card and them made a mask for it which I fussy cut. After placing the mask over the stamped image, I stamped the grid over the panel with Versamark ink. I wasn't too bothered about completely covering the stamp with ink as I was aiming for a shabby chic look on the finished panel. I then added white EP, removing where not required with a soft paint brush, and heat embossed. I got slightly carried away with this section and forgot to remove the grid pattern from around where I was going to stamp the greeting!

I then removed the mask and coloured the flowers using coral coloured Zig Markers. Using the plain acetate backing of the BB Grid stamp, I added some Zig marker and added some clean water, then used the acetate to stamp colour over the panel, adding more when required and also to deepen the colour in  certain areas. When satisfied with the coverage I added some splatter in the green and coral over the whole panel. Finally I stamped the greeting, from Wonderful Day.

I used an ancient peach coloured base card which I trimmed to size and added Abandoned Coral DI around the edge before adding my trimmed down panel, leaving a border all around.

My final card features BB Layered Floral and a sentiment from Simply Said III.

Instead of stamping a solid image, I tried a faux layered effect by adding a partial inked flower over the original stamped image and blended it out with a damp paint brush. I rather like the subtle effect this gives you.

I used the reds from Altenew's Red Cosmos and the greens were from Tropical Forest.

Over at The Flower Challenge they want us to use dies along with flowers, so as we don't have a matching die cut, I used a stacked pierced rectangle set from Avery Elle to die cut my finished panel.

I also cut some pink fun foam and mounted two of the layers before adding them back onto a white note card. A sentiment strip stamped in a matching coral pink completes.

To see the full July release, check out the Uniko blog

To see what the other Brand Ambassadors have come up with check out the links below.

Bev
Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane 
Julie -that's me

Rahmat

Steph

Don't forget to leave a comment on all the stops along the hop. Bev will be randomly selecting one lucky comment winner to win a £20 eGift Certificate. Commenting to be able to win will close at Midnight BST my Sunday 22nd August 2021. The winner will be announced on the blog before the end of August.

I'd like to join 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.

Joining in over at:-

  

                                                          H is for HAPPY

Introducing - Block Party Summer

Morning all, I'm back with more from Uniko's July release. Summer, is the latest addition to the Uniko Block Party collection, it's a large stamp made up of text and images just like the others.

 

For my card I used some white EP to heat emboss the panel onto white card, then added colour with my Gelli plate.

I added Picked Raspberry and Abandoned Coral DI to my plate and blended with the roller before laying the embossed panel, face down onto it, pressing firmly. When you lift the card away the colour is subtly blended, much easier than using blending brushes. To add some more interest, I used a water brush to remove areas of the stamp. Simply paint some water over the areas you want, leave for a minute or two, then pat carefully with a paper towel to lift the ink away. The panel was then trimmed to leave a small border when added to an A6 base card.

A very simple design and quick to create.

For more inspiration on how to use this detailed stamp, check out the rest of the team. 

Leave a comment for a chance to win some Uniko goodies too!

Bev
Hannelie

Izzy 

Jane 
Julie -that's me

Rahmat

Steph

 I'm back tomorrow for some more July release inspiration.

July release at Uniko - Sneak Peeks

Good morning. 

It's time for a sneaky peek at the new July release from Uniko. 

Bev has come up with a whole raft of new stamps and stencils that will fit perfectly with the previously released sets.

Here are the SIX brand new stamp sets:-

   

                          

As well as these six stamp sets, there are FOUR brand new stencils in this release.

                              

                       

So what do you think? 

I know I couldn't wait to get started when they landed in my letterbox!

Come back tomorrow as the BAs will be revealing the first of the new stamps, along with some fab inspiration.

Introducing- Large Tropical Background

Good morning.

It's day 2 of the July release at Uniko and today we introduce the large tropical background stamp.

I think this will be a very useful addition to anyone's stash, complementing the previously released Paradise and Paradise Leaves sets, as well as a fab background. In my example I've only used a small portion of the panel I made and I made a few others with this stamp too!

The panel under the frame was made by creating an alcohol background on Yupo paper and the Tim Holtz Alcohol lift pad and refill. There is also a little bit of gold from some foil I added for a little extra glamour, but I think I left the ink too long and it wasn't wet enough to get good coverage.

It was my second attempt at using the ink lift pad and I'm still not completely happy with my technique. To get more definition on the foliage, I went back to the outlined fronds and removed more ink with a fine brush and a spot of the re-inker. 

My Hibiscus flower was stamped alongside a couple of leaves from the Paradise set and coloured with Copics before fussy cutting and arranging them in the corner of my die cut frame. Aloha was stamped in black on a scrap of matching card and slipped under the flower. 

I cut my alcohol panel in half and framed it with the die cut. I'll still have the other half to use later!

We are joined for this release by the talented Karen Baker  as well as the rest of the DT.

Bev

Carol

Izzy

Jane

Julie - that'll be me

Linda

Sarah G

Sarah P

Wiebke

Check out what great ideas they've come up with and come back tomorrow for some more fab new release inspiration.

Joining in over at:-

My choice Die cut frame, Copic colouring and fussy cutting