My Five Faves From Year 3 of Uniko

Hey!

Are you enjoying the Birthday Celebrations here at Uniko? I sure hope so and there is EVEN more to come as the February Release Sneak Peeks begin on Saturday - WhoooHoo! 

Yesterday, I shared a Digital FREEBIE download, if you missed it be sure to check out the post HERE.

Anyway, today I am back to share my FIVE favourite projects from Year 3 of Uniko. This was the year where the beans were still tiny babies and took A LOT of my time. I remember sneaking off to the studio one evening for a little creative time and only being there 5 minutes before being called back for mummy duties! Even with that I still took me a little while to narrow down my favourites ;)

Let's see what I chose...

This was the year Neons made a come back and were trending during the February 2014 Release. This card uses the Explosion! clear stamp set, a set perfect for your hard to make masculine cards. I have another reason for highlighting this card and clear stamp set, you will find out next week ;)

My second card I chose because I love the Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum clear stamp set, but also because of the technique I used on the card. I've used a technique called White Wash Watercoloring and you can see my original post HERE. 

I chose this next card because I simply LOVE it! The colours, layout and clear stamps I have used really show off this stamp set.

This was the year I introduced Background Builders: Vines and Background Builders: Vines Winter Additions clear stamp sets, another two popular sets which sold out on it's debut! Currently out of stock due to popular demand recently, but will be back in again soon. There are also plans for other follow up sets in this series ;)

Ah, Paradise Hummingbird. I chose this card as it reminds me of the most amazing time of my life, getting married in Hawaii! Again the card uses my 'go to' colour combo and I can't resist cards using it ;)

Lastly, I chose another technique card...

This card uses the baby wipe technique and you can read the original post HERE. On the card I have used Flower Power #5, but any clear stamp which has more of a solid appearance will work and is best for this technique.

Looking back through my creations has reminded me of some awesome techniques I had forgotten about and which would look just as good using newer stamps from Uniko. You might just see these techniques in the coming week ;)

To see more using the clear stamp sets I have highlighted today, check out the Pinterest pages for them via the links below...

Background Builders: Vines

Background Builders: Vines Winter Additions

Explosion!

Flower Power Series

Paradise Hummingbird

Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum

That's all I have to share today, but I will be back tomorrow with more. Design Team member Lindsey is also here on the blog with some more Design Team Inspiration for you. 

Until then, thank you for stopping by today.

Hugs

Muse Guest Designer

Hey & Happy Monday!

I'm super happy to kick off this week with the honour of being the muse over at Muse. I was beyond thrilled when Ardyth emailed me a while back to see if I would Guest Design and how could I refuse such an honour and opportunity?!

This is the card I came up with...

The idea of the challenge is as follows:

* Use the Muse card as inspiration, explain your interpretation and link back to the Muse challenge.

* Provide supportive comments to at least 3 of your fellow member's submissions

* Vote for 3 of your fellow member's submissions that you find inspiring.

I used the white wash watercolour technique that I used on THESE cards. I love this technique, though it can be time consuming, but overall relaxing too. 

I hope I've inspired you to create and I hope that you'll join in on the challenge over at Muse :)

As this card incorporates a watercolour technique I thought I would enter it into the current "Less is More" challenge HERE, which is all about watercolours this week.

That's all from me today, I will be back tomorrow with more to share & until then, thank you for stopping by :)

Supplies
Card Stock: PTI Kraft
Ink: VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black & White Pigment Ink
Stamps: Uniko Studio English Country Garden - Butterflies & A Gift For You
Accessories: White Embossing Powder & SU! Brights Markers

White Wash Watercolour Technique

Hey!

Today I thought I would share a few more cards which we made during the class at The Paperlane on Saturday, using a white wash technique that I came across. I made 3 cards using the technique...

This first card uses the Gerbera from Pure Florals: Gerbera which will be back in stock in the next couple of weeks.

We also used the Chrysanthemum from Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum...

There are only a few steps to achieving this look which are really simple which I have shown in picture format.

1. Stamp your chosen outline image in VersaMark or white pigment ink onto kraft card stock & emboss with white embossing powder. (You can use other colours of card stock as I will show you further down the post. I saw it done on the kraft & loved the look).

Stamping & embossing the image helps with the next couple of steps, keeping the white wash & colours inside! 

2. Next is applying the white wash. I used the lid of my white pigment ink as a pallet, but you could use a craft mat or piece of acetate. Smoosh some white pigment ink onto it and using fine watercolour brush and a small amount of water paint the image...

3. The next step is to start adding colour...

You want to choose fairly bright colours as over laying them over the white wash & blending them mutes them some what. For the pink Gerbera I used Melon Mambo & Regal Rose and for the Chrysanthemum I used Pumpkin Pie & Summer Sun. 

Using the same technique and supplies as applying the white wash I started adding the colours. In the picture above in the top right I have shown just the Pumpkin Pie added to areas of the petals and to the lower left I have used the Summer Sun & blended them to create a natural look. When I painted the original I did all the dark shaded areas with Pumpkin Pie first then I went over with the Summer Sun and if necessary went back adding more Pumpkin Pie if needed.

4. Once the whole image was painted, I went over with a dry baby wipe to remove any colour which had gone onto the white embossed lines.

It's quite a lengthy process, but it is relaxing and enjoyable and I think the results are beautiful! In this next photo I experimented & used black card stock. I used exactly the same colours as the Chrysanthemum on kraft card.

Both look stunning, but I do prefer the kraft version better. It is on my to do list to experiment with other colours of card stock! 

Along with the two floral cards I decided to use the technique on a one layer card using one of the doilies from Decorative Doilies - The Hands Of Time...

Again I started out by stamping the doily in VersaMark & embossing with white. I then applied the white wash. For the colours I kept it simple and I haven't done any blending...

I started with SU! Bermuda Bay which is a bright turquoise colour. I used a really fine watercolour brush to apply the colour to the spokes of the doily. I then used a retired SU! colour Baja Breeze which is a pale turquoise colour to fill in the other areas of the doily. Even with just applying flat watercolour a stunning result is achieved!

I hope that I have explained the technique to you all so that you can give it a try. If there is anything you are unsure of just leave me a comment to which I will reply or send me an email & I will reply by email.

Ok, that's all from me just now,  I will be back later to announce the WINNER of the March DT Blog Hope prize. Until then, thank you for stopping by :)

Supplies:

Card Stock: SU! Crumb Cake. PTI Autumn Rose & Melon Berry Black from stash

Ink: VersaMark. Memories White Pigment Ink. SU! Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun (retired) Bermuda Bay & Baja Breeze (retired).

Stamps: Uniko Studio Pure Florals: Gerbera, Pure Florals: Chrysanthemum, Decorative Doilies - The Hands Of Time & A Gift For You

Accessories: Water Colour Brush, Corner Rounder, Embroidery Floss, Foam Adhesive, Button & SU! Island Indigo Bakers Twine.