Uniko - September Release, DT Blog Hop and Giveaway ....

.... Good morning! Today's the day! The new stamps from Uniko are available to buy today over at the Uniko shop. I've got a few cards to share with you this morning. I'm going to start with a clean, simple and bright card:

Stamps: Uniko - Background Blocks Stars, Reach for the Stars
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx , Red Velvet; Versamark
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Stars #1, #2 and #3
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Copics; Silver Tinsel Embossing Powder; Wink of Stella - Clear; Vellum

I got the inspiration for this card from the graphic on the Colour Throwdown Challenge - CTD#459 - the stripes on the vase reminded me of the striped stars on the Background Blocks Stars stamps. The layout is based on the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#304. As I coloured the stars with my markers, I'm submitting this one to CAS on Friday - CASOF#116. I stamped the image using my MISTI, then coloured it with Copic markers. Once coloured I stamped the image again in Versamark and heat embossed with silver tinsel embossing powder - I do think stars need to sparkle!! I layered the image on some black card and adhered it to a 4 bar card - it's a bit smaller than an A2 card, but it fits the background block size perfectly. I die cut three stars from white card and coloured two of them to match the stars on the panel and then I added sparkle with a clear Wink of Stella brush. I layered the stars with dimensional pads. I stamped the word "stars" on white card, cut it out and then layered it onto some vellum. On the inside I cut a mat layer of black card and on the white panel added some stars down the side. There's plenty of space for a message.

My next card features lots and lots and lots of little stars:

Stamps: Uniko - Background Builders Seeing Stars; Beautiful Blooms I; Simply Said Blocks; Happy Succulents
Inks: Gina K - Onyx Black, Cherry Red, Red Hot, Sweet Mango, Wild Dandelion, Jelly Bean Green, Blue Lagoon, Blue Raspberry, Wild Lilac, Lovely Lavender; Versamark
Dies: Uniko - Beautiful Blooms
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! - Basic Black; Clear Embossing Powder; Simon Says - Moonshine Confetti

The current challenge at TIME OUT Challenge - TOC#91 is to CASE our very own Beverley Brown - and I had to play along with that challenge. Bev's card has a lovely rainbow of solid colours with the pretty lily outline flower, so I played on that. On my card I've stamped a somewhat larger rainbow of stars and my flower is solid black, as is my greeting. I stamped the flower on white card, cut it out with the matching die and then "enamelled" it using Versamark mark and clear embossing powder. It has a lovely shine. I layered the rainbow panel on black card and finished the front with some clear sequins. On the inside I cut a mat layer of black card and kept the white panel fairly simple with a fun greeting and lots of rainbow stars!

My last card today has dots and flowers:

Stamps: Uniko - Background Blocks Polka Dots, Simply Said Blocks, Beautiful Blooms II, Reach for the Stars
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx, Jelly Bean Green, Sweet Mango, Cherry Red
Dies: Die-namics - Pierced Circle Frames #2
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Black; Vellum; Wink of Stella - Clear

I've used the sketch from FUSION - FUSION#81 for the layout of this card, and the colours are from CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#239. I created the dotty panel by stamping the polka dots in all three colours, trimming the panel to size and then covered it with some shimmery vellum to soften the colours. I used the ink direct to paper to colour some card green and then die cut the circle frame. I stamped the flowers and added a touch of colour to the insides. I finished the front with a simple sentiment. On the inside I cut a mat layer of black card and added a greeting and some stars to the white panel.

It's traditional when we have a new release to have a Design Team Blog Hop - so follow along and leave some comments for your chance to win! You have until midnight BST Saturday 16th September to leave your comments. The winner will be announced on Sunday 17th September. Here's the Blog Hop list:

Bev

Deborah (that's me)

Izzy

Jane

Lindsey

Rahmat

Sarah P

Before I go - here's a look at each of the sets being released today:

Background Blocks Scattered Polka Dots

Background Builders Seeing Stars

Reach for the Stars

Background Blocks Stars

Simply Said Blocks

It's been a long post - thanks for staying with me to the end! I hope you've enjoyed my projects. I think this is one of my favourite releases - I just adore all those stars! There really is endless possibilities with these stamps.

That's all for now - see you soon.

Uniko - Stars and More Stars ....

.... Morning! It's the last day of our introductions for Uniko's September release. Today we have another addition to the Background Blocks series - BACKGROUND BLOCKS STARS, and another in the set in the Background Builders series - BACKGROUND BUILDERS SEEING STARS. You might have noticed a distinct, and very on trend, theme with this release. I absolutely love this release.

Stamps: Uniko - Background Builders Seeing Stars, All Occasion Sentiments #2
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Lemon Lime Twist, Brocade Blue; Gina K - Onyx Black; Memento - London Fog
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear; Glossy Accents

I've combined a couple of challenges in this card. I've used the colours of royal blue and lime green from the current Less is More - LIM#344 and the layout is based on the sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch! - CTS#237, sadly the challenge has closed, so I can't play along!

I stamped the stars on white card and coloured the striped one with Copic markers, adding a touch of sparkle to the stripes. I carefully cut them all out. I knew that I wanted to pair these stars with the word "AWESOME" from All Occasion Sentiments #2 - it has a star in the middle! I cut a panel of white card slightly smaller than the base and stamped the word in black towards the top. I added some sparkle to the inside of the star. The longest part of this card was planning the layout of the stars! Once I had them laid out, I took a photo on my phone and used that to help me position them properly. I attached the green stars flat to the card, then used one layer of dimension tape on the blue circle one and the grey (by the dotty green). The last two stars were attached with two layers of dimensional tape. Then I added the smaller stars. I edged the white panel with blue and green and used dimensional tape to attach it to the base. Finally, I added some glossy accents to the black star. On the inside I stamped some star borders on the top and bottom of the panel and finished by edging with blue and green copics.

My next card showcases Background Block Stars - and I'm so pleased I had the actual stamps as I was able to emboss the image:

Stamps: Uniko - Background Block Stars, Simply Said Blocks, Reach for the Stars
Inks: Versamark; Gina K - Onyx Black; SU - Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Rectangles #2
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear; Silver Tinsel Embossing Powder

I stamped the block image in pale grey on white card and coloured it with Copics then, as I used my MISTI, I put the card back in and restamped it with Versamark and then heat embossed with silver tinsel powder for a subtle powder. I made the mat panels by die cutting two panels of white card and then colouring them with Copics so they match the stars. I added lots of sparkle to the open stars with a clear Wink of Stella brush. I finished the front by stamping Happy Birthday with the new Simply Said Blocks - I really like the contrast of the clean, fresh image and the bold sentiments. On the inside I cut a panel of white card, edged it with Copic markers and added some more stars and a greeting. I've used the colours from this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge - CIC#421.

Don't forget to visit the main Uniko blog to see lots more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

RELEASE DAY: Tomorrow - Saturday 9th September at 9.00am BST. There will be a DT Blog Hop and a Giveaway. Do leave comments as you go along - we all like them.

That's all for now - see you tomorrow!