Introducing... Background Blocks Halftone

YAY!

I'm SO happy that you have stopped by today, as here at Uniko preparations for the February & 5th Birthday product release are well underway. Yesterday the Design Team and I introduced Originally Organic Additions and on Monday Block Party Birthday. If you missed them you can catch up HERE and HERE.

Today we are back to introduce you to another new style clear stamp series called Background Blocks. They are what they say, simply a block of yummy pattern!

The first in this series is due to my LOVE of Pop Art and Roy Litchenstien, plus the modern pop art trend is making a come back this year! This stamp along with tomorrows clear stamp set pairs wonderfully with the previously released Explosion! clear stamp set. However, I have a few samples that show its possibilities with florals too over on my blog ;)

So I introduce you too Background Blocks Halftone...

This card shows the stamp in its entirety, paired with Explosion! Yesterday I treated myself to some Lawn Fawn inks and I couldn't resist using the Plastic Flamingo colour on this card paired with black and Pool Party.

Now, be sure to hop along all the Design Team blogs and leave a comment along the way, as you never know you might just win a random prize! I know for sure that you won't be disappointed the Design Team have created a bountiful wealth of inspiration :)

CLICK HERE to see more from Beverley

CLICK HERE to see more from Deborah

CLICK HERE to see more from Jane

CLICK HERE to see more from Lindsey

CLICK HERE to see more from Rahmat

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah G

CLICK HERE to see more from Sarah P

I do hope you have enjoyed the hop and seeing the possibilities this clear stamp set has? This set along with the four others we are introducing this week will be available HERE for you to purchase on Saturday 25th February at 9am GMT.

Release Schedule...

Sneak Peeks 18th - 19th Feb, these little teasers give you hints at what is in store!

Introducing 20th - 24th Feb, here you will see a closer look at the clear stamp sets being released with a daily blog hop with the Uniko DT.

Release Day! Saturday 25th February 9am BST you will get to see the products in their entirety and purchase them HERE on the website! As usual there will be a Design Team Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY!

Thank you for stopping by today and I'd LOVE to hear your initial thoughts on this new clear stamp set :)

Hugs

Runway Inspired

Hey!

It's been a while since I last joined in with a Runway Inspired Challenge, but when I saw the current inspiration photo I was instantly inspired to make this little card...

I was inspired by the 'splashes' of colour on the inspiration photo seen HERE over on the challenge blog and below. They instantly reminded me of yesterdays Watercolour LOVE card HERE and my desire to explore the trend more.

For my card I decided to stamp my flowers & leaves onto some watercolour paper and I used a previous technique seen HERE to achieve the solid water coloured effect and heat embossed the line image of the flower in white over the top to define the flowers a little more. 

I decided to leave the card sentiment free and mounted it onto a soft lemon card stock base to enhance the pastel shades of the flowers. That's all from me today, I'll be back tomorrow with more to share, until then, thank you for stopping by today :)

Supplies

Card Stock: PTI Lemon Zest

Ink: VersaMark

Stamps: Uniko Studio Flower Power #2 and Natures Treasures I

Accessories: SU! Markers, Water Spritzer, White Embossing Powder & Watercolour Paper

Bokeh...

Happy Wednesday!

Nope, I haven't made up a new language with the title of my post, I'm jumping on the band wagon & trending here again on the blog today, this time having a go at the Bokeh trend that's been popping up in the paper crafting community.

The term Bokeh pronounce BOH-KE comes from the Japanese word boke, which means the blur or haze. Bokeh has been around & can be seen a lot in photography. By definition bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out of focus areas of an image. The way the lens renders out of focus points of light. 

Source Wikipedia

Below are a couple of examples of bokeh in photography...

Source: umla.tumblr.com via Tammie on Pinterest

Source: thebedlamofbeefy.blogspot.com via ChelseaBrooke on Pinterest

Ok, so now you know a bit more about bokeh, how does this relate to paper crafting, I hear you ask..? Well, obviously it's about translating the concept of the 'blur' or 'haze' into a project and this is my first interpretation...

I started this card out on a piece of scrap paper sketching out my layout before stamping onto my crisp white card base! 

I then used the 3 solid individual stamps from Background Builders: Lattice, I  inked each of the stamps and stamped them off onto scrap paper before stamping onto the card two times before re-inking & repeating the process with each of the three colours. Stamping the ink off before stamping onto your card base creates a 'blurred' or 'hazed' type effect which is what we want! 

Below is a close up of the detail...

Now comes the fussy stage of this card, the stamping, paper piecing & glittering of the 2 linear individual stamps contained in the set! Some are adhered to the card flat & some using foam adhesive for extra dimension & ease of layering.

This card has some serious sparkle in real life! I enjoyed having a go at this technique and will deco be revisiting it at some point! 

I used the current The Play Date Cafe challenge colours again for my card seen HERE and below.

There's still time to join in on the Uniko Studio DT Blog Hop HERE & be in the chance of winning the featured set, be sure to comment by midnight tonight! (GMT Time). I'll announce the winner on the blog & FB on Friday! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

TTFN!

Supplies:
Card Stock: WPlus9. PTI Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz. SU! Lucky Limeade
Ink: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz. SU! Lucky Limeade
Stamps: Uniko Studio Background Builders: Lattice, Label Love: Birthday
Accessories: Foam Adhesive. Hero Arts Prisma Glitter.

Word on the street is ...

Some trends are simply timeless!

Well thats what I've heard over on Moxie Fab World & if there is one person who knows about trends in the crafting world it would be Cath Edvalson! 

So, it looks like Uniko Studio is on trend with Decorative Doilies - The Hands of Time! There are a few challenges over on Moxie Fab World and one of them is a Doilies & Lace challenge HERE. So I just had to ink up my set! 

Heres what I came up with ...

I paired the doilies on this one layer card with a sentiment from FONTiments - Birthday. To make the card I stamped a variety of the doilies contained in the set using Memento Black ink. I then used my Raspberry Copic marker to colour in various areas of the doilies. I added a few gems and adhered it to a Raspberry Fizz CS base. 

It was time consuming but therapeutic to colour the doilies in and I will definitely be making a few more of these in other colours! 

That's all from me today! Be sure to pop over to Moxie Fab World and check out & have a go at the challenges over there - they're good fun! Plus you can incorporate your Uniko Studio stamps in the challenges too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs