Surprise stencil release from Uniko .....

Happy weekend folks .....

If you love your stencils, and you're a fan of Uniko then you're in for a treat, because today sees a mini release of three new gorgeous stencil designs all available now on the Uniko website.

There's the pretty Mehndi Mandala ..... love this!

Bright Butterflies ...... again a really pretty all over design,

and the Scattered Polka Hexagons ..... perfect for creating quick backgrounds.

As with all Uniko new releases, we're having a bit of a Blog Hop to celebrate. and hopefully give you some inspiration using these new designs.
Hop along and check in with the rest of the Design Team and also our fabulous Guest Designer .... Ruth, who's joining in the fun too.

First up from me though is that pretty Mehndi Mandala ....... this is one of those designs that depending on the colours you use will look totally different each time.

Here I've used a couple of Distress Oxide colours through the stencil to give this lovely crisp image   

 

I've gone for pretty sunshine shades to go with the sentiment, which is from the Uniko stamp set Spring Botanicals Daffodil

I added a few highlights here and there using a mixture of Jewel and Crystal Nuvo Drops

And then finished off by outlining some of the stencil design with a Stardust Gel Pen.  This gives a pretty shimmer when the light catches it ....... not always easy to photograph though!

Here's the same stencil but a totally different look I think .....

The background is actually a piece of what I call mop up card ...... I don't like wasting ink so if I've used my craft mat as a palette and there's ink left over, I spritz with water and smoosh a piece of card through ....... instant backgrounds and no wasted ink!

I then used the Mandala stencil, along with white paste, off the edge of the piece of card

I sprinkled white glitter over the paste and left it to dry.

A sentiment on the bottom finishes off ...... Uniko's All Occasions Sentiments #6

Up next, the pretty Bright Butterflies ..... perfect for all over designs

A simple Distress ink background, spritzed with water, then more colours used through the stencil over the top

A simple die cut sentiment as the focal point, and a few dots of white gel pen ....... easy

Another way of using the whole design in a more subtle way is to run the stencil through your die cutting machine and create a pretty embossed look to the background

Then placing the stencil back on to the card, single out just one or two of the butterflies and add colour, to create a focal point.

A simple strip across the bottom to add a sentiment ..... this also hides the edge of the embossing from the stencil and gives a more finished look, and means that you don't have to stick to the actual size of the stencil, you can go bigger!

Finally, the cute Scattered Hexagons ...... works so well with the Bee Happy stamp set from the last Uniko release

I've masked off part of my card front and used the stencil to create a simple background, moving the stencil slightly to create a shadowed look

I then stamped the cute little bee from the Bee Happy stamp set and coloured him using one of the ZIG Markers and the Stardust gel pen for the wings

He was also stamped and fussy cut from a scrap of white card, and attached just above the sentiment for a touch of dimension

I framed the stenciled panel by simply adding embossed lines top and bottom.  If it wasn't for the fussy cut bee, this would be a simple one layer card .... great for posting!

As with all the Uniko Blog Hops there's a fabulous GIVEAWAY.  Simply comment along the hop for your chance to win one of the three new stencil designs from the release and ..... as there are three new designs there'll be three randomly chosen winners!!

Thanks for popping by .... have a great weekend and happy hopping!
We arrived back from our trip to the Cotswolds last night so the house looks like a bombs hit it this morning, there's suitcases and bags everywhere. 
We had a great time though, the cottage was just perfect, Bourton was beautiful as always, and it was lovely spending time with all the family. 
Now there's all the unpacking to do ...... guess that's my weekend sorted!

Cheerio until next time .....