Today's the day ........

Happy Sunday ......

Today is definitely the day if you're a Uniko fan.  It's New Release Day ..... whoo hoo!!
The brand new August release is available NOW on the Uniko website and ....... we're having a Blog Hop to celebrate.

First, here's a look at all five brand new stamp sets ........ there's something for everyone I think.  You've got background stamps, pretty florals, bold sentiments and of course lots of extras to suit any occasion. 

Which is your favourite?

Now ...... some inspiration for you. 
If you've started Blog hopping you'll have already seen a whole bunch of fabulous designs, and will have arrived here from the lovely Julie's Blog ..... don't worry if you haven't, just go back to the start  on the Uniko Blog and follow the list from there.

OK .... let's go!  You might want to grab a cuppa first, this post is a little photo heavy!
First up ....... So Much.  A pretty floral set with fab bold sentiments

I've simply stamped the sentiment in the centre of my card using a gold ink

Then stamped the florals top and bottom in black, and coloured with ZIG Markers

A few splatters of co-ordinating ink on the background and I couldn't resist using the tiny single flower that comes in the set, on the inside of my card ..... how cute is that!

Next up ..... those Background Builders - Happy Hexagons used along with the BIG & Bold Hello

 So simple to do ..... repeat stamp the border using various shades of Distress Oxides

I also used the outline version to randomly over stamp some of the hexagons, and then heat embossed in gold

I do love this Big Bold Hello stamp ..... it looks fab in the black! I did use the MISTI though,  to make sure I got great ink coverage

What about making a whole bunch of colourful gift tags .......

On to  ...... Beautiful.  Another pretty floral design .....

I've used the flowers here along with Distress Oxides and one of my favourite techniques ..... faux bleaching. 

I stamped and heat embossed the flowers in white around the edge of piece of watercolour card.
I then blended the Oxides over the top ..... I used Salty Ocean first followed by Blueprint Sketch (love this combination)

Once I was happy with the depth of colour, I used a clean paper towel to buff of any excess ink left on the white embossing and voila! the flowers just pop!
Now for the 'bleaching' ...... obviously you could use bleach to take the colour out but there's no need.  The oxides react with water so all you need to do is simply paint over the petals with clean water and mop up with a paper towel to remove the ink and give this faux bleached effect .....

You can get the same results using ordinary Distress inks too.

I added my sentiment to the centre and splattered a little more water onto the background

Still with me?  ...... last one.
The pretty Framed Florals .....

Used here with the brand new Alcohol Lift Ink ....... have you tried it yet?  It's a whole new way of using your Alcohol inks ..... I love it!!!

I've used YUPO card as my base, applied the Alcohol inks on top, using a little blending solution to move the inks around, and then left it to dry (it doesn't take long)

I then inked up my stamp with the Alcohol Lift Ink and stamped the image onto my coloured piece of YUPO.  Let the stamp sit for a couple of seconds before lifting it off.

Once you've lifted the stamp use a clean paper towel to blot any excess ink left behind on the YUPO card, using a clean spot on the towel each time you blot ..... don't rub straight away.
Once you're happy that there's no wet ink left, then buff over the design and watch the magic happen

You get this sort of ghosting effect, which is gorgeous

But .... that's not all.  Don't clean the alcohol ink that you've lifted off your stamp ..... take a plain piece of white card and stamp your image on to it .........

How pretty is that! And ...... you're not wasting your alcohol ink ..... clever or what!
Two cards in one .......

Well, that's it from me. I hope I've given you some ideas.
 
The whole of the new release is available for you now on the Uniko website, and your next stop on the Blog Hop is the lovely Lindsey.  Pop over and see more fabulous designs using this gorgeous new release.
Oooh ...... and don't forget to leave comments on your way through ..... there's a fantastic prize up for grabs.  You could win the ENTIRE new release!!!!
You have until midnight (BST) on 2nd September to leave your comments, and the winner will be announced shortly after.

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy hopping!

Cheerio until next time .....