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 .....

Introducing ....... Big Bold Hello and Framed Florals

Happy weekend folks .......

What have you all got planned this weekend ..... anything nice?
It's going to be a quiet one here I think, what with hubby away.  I believe he was at a rugby match last night (Friday) and today he's off to see an Australian football game I think.
Nothing quiet so energetic for me ..... something much more fun.  A day in the craft with a friend and lots of new stash!!!  Possibly cake too!

Before all that though, I have the final two stamp sets to show you, from Uniko's brand new August Release.  Today we've got BIG BOLD Hello ...... and Framed Florals

BIG BOLD Hello speaks for itself really .......
I love the little extras that come in the set too ...... so cute!

Here's a really simple design ..... I've gone with bright citrus colours but you could use rainbow colours, favourite football team colours, different shades of just one colour, the possibilities are endless.

I did use my MISTI to stamp each word, making sure I got a nice even ink coverage ..... I used the Versafine Clair inks which are fab, great coverage

I added in a few of the little extras here and there .... with a dot of glitter glue to the centre of the flowers

And finished off with a sentiment,stamped and heat embossed in gold, on a snippet of black card

Last, but definitely not least ....... Framed Florals ...... so many possibilities.

Using a black ink, and my MISTI, I simply stamped the image onto a piece of coloured cardstock from my bits box.  I think it's actually a mop up piece, you know me, I don't like to waste ink so whenever there's any left on my craft mat I use pieces of card to mop it up, and then use them on future projects.

I heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder ...... if you look closely though it's clear embossing with tiny specks of white?!!!!  Who picked up the wrong pot?  Oh well ..... it sort of adds to the design!

I added a touch more colour to the flowers using my ZIG markers

And a few dots of glitter glue here and there for a touch of sparkle.

Add a nice simple sentiment and you're done

Well .... that's it.  Over the past few days you've seen lots of ideas using the new release ..... what do you think?  Have you got a favourite?  Have you got a shopping list?  Well, there's not long to wait now, they'll all be available on the Uniko website tomorrow ..... yeah!
Why not check out what the rest of the DT have been creating using these gorgeous new designs, you'll find links to all their blogs HERE

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your weekend.
I'll be back tomorrow for the traditional Full Reveal, Release, Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!!!! .... ooooh! yes I said Giveaway!

Cheerio until then ......

Introducing ........ Background Builders Happy Hexagons and Beautiful

Happy Friday .......

It's Day 2 of introductions for the new August Release from Uniko Studio.  We've got two new stamp sets for you today ......... Happy Hexagons from the Background Builders range .......

and another pretty floral design with some added sentiments called ...... Beautiful

Let's start with the Background Builders - Happy Hexagons ....... this is so on-trend at the moment, and another useful set to have in your stash.

Here I've teamed it up with the gorgeous little set introduced yesterday ......

I've used two of the border stamps to create the background for my aperture ..... the solid hexagons and the outline .......

I die cut the aperture, and stamped and heat embossed my sentiment in the centre 

I added a stitched frame around the aperture and embellished it using the pretty floral spray from the So Much stamp set

I also gave a few of the hexagons a touch of shimmer .....

Next up is ..... Beautiful

Another mini set with two gorgeous little blooms and a whole bunch of words and phrases

I've used both of the flower heads here to create a pretty wreath ......

Each flower was stamped and heat embossed using a gold, fine detail, embossing powder. and then coloured using ZIG markers.  They look quite blue in the photo above, but they are actually shades of lilac, purple ..... and blue. You can see the colours a little better here .....

Each flower was fussy cut and then arranged in a circle to create the wreath .....

And I finished off with a banner across the centre using one of the words from the stamp set, and I added a few spatters of ink in the background

I hope your enjoying the new Uniko release .... there's still more to come.  

There's still one more day to go before the official release, and two more stamp sets to introduce.  See you tomorrow!

Cheerio until then .......

Introducing ....... So Much

Happy Thursday .......

Welcome to the the first day of introductions for the brand new release from Uniko Studio.
Today we're taking a closer look at just one of the brand new stamp sets which will be available very shortly on the Uniko Website.

Some of you may already be familiar with this gorgeous mini stamp set ......

It's called ....... So Much, and it was the Limited Edition Freebie with the December Release, back in 2017.
For all those that didn't get their hands on this set back then, it officially becomes available to purchase on Sunday August 19th ...... not long to wait!

I love this little set, the floral spray is so pretty and the words are really useful too.
Here's a simple design for you ...... classic black and white with just a hint of colour

I've stamped the floral spray repeatedly over a piece of white cardstock using a Black Versafine ink

I stamped the image again onto a snippet of card, added colour using ZIG Markers and then fussy cut around it, leaving just a tiny white border around the edge.
If you don't like to fussy cut you can always just add colour to one of the stamped images to get the same effect.  My tip would be ....... just choose where you want your coloured one to be and stamp that first

I stamped my greeting onto a piece of black cardstock and heat embossed with a pretty sparkly pink embossing powder from the WOW range

I added foam pads to the back of the fussy cut flowers and attached it directly over the top of one of the stamped images on my card.  I like the way it overhangs the sentiment banner

I can see this little stamp set becoming a firm favourite.
Check out the Uniko Blog today for more inspiration using these pretty stamps from the rest of the Design Team, and I'll be back tomorrow with more from the new release.

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.

Cheerio until next time ....