Hello friends! Happy Friday to you all, I hope you are doing well.
Today I have the honour of being asked to Guest Design for the current Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge. The theme is “Black and White with a Splash of Colour”. The challenge runs for two weeks and there are prizes up for grabs so make sure you enter! I have linked to the challenge and rules above.
Now you would think this would be an easy theme wouldn’t you? But boy was this hard! It resulted in a 30 minute discussion (in two stages… pre and post card) with my other half as to what constitutes a “splash” of colour. His view was that it should be like the little girl in “Schindler’s List” that wears the red coat against the black and white background. Well I am not sure I quite achieved that as my splashes grew a bit, but hey, it’s all about interpretation!
Here is my first card.
I won’t go into lengthy details on how I made the card as this post will be very long and you won’t thank me for that. It involved a lot of stamping, some masking and a bit of courage when it came to the spatters of black and green. You know how it is, you always think you are going to totally ruin the card at this point! I love this bright citrus green and I thought it would pop perfectly against black and white.
My second card is a Christmas card – and why not, it’s July!
I used the extra large dots stencil to heat emboss clear ink onto black cardstock for some interest to the overall card panel. I then die-cut the circle, traced the circular opening onto the base and stamped the image in the center. Again, there was masking, which I don’t like doing much, particularly when I realised that I wouldn’t even be colouring the leaves in as it would have been an extra colour which I am not allowed!
I coloured the image with Copics, added a healthy dose of Wink of Stella to the petals and some sequins to add a little more sparkle as it’s Christmas after all. Lastly I stamped the sentiment onto a thin strip of white card and adhered it to the panel. It’s very sparkly in real life but hard to photograph, and you get a lovely shine on the embossed dots.
So, that finishes my two cards. I would love to see what you come up with if you play along. I link again to the challenge – you need a Flickr account to participate and your creations must contain a Simon Says Stamp Die, Stamp or Stencil, but please read all the rules fully via the link.
Thank you so much for stopping by to see my cards. As always, I welcome any comments and feedback on my cards. I wish you all a happy weekend and hopefully a little crafting time to yourselves.
Supplies
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Artful Flowers, Simon Says Stamp Poinsettia, Simon Says Stamp An Arctic Christmas
Stencils: Simon Says Stamp Extra Large Dots Stencil
Dies: Simon Says Stamp Stitched Circles
Inks: Ranger Adirondack Brights (Citrus), Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Versamark
Colouring: Copic Sketch Markers, R89, R29, R24, R22
Other: Inkadinkadoo Masking Paper, MISTI, White Gelly Roll Pen, Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Sequins, Hero Arts Clear Embossing Powder
Izzy Scrap says
Congratulations Lisa for your GD post over at Simon Says Stamps on Flickr ! WOW ! These two cards are gorgeous ! Love the “splash” of colours you used for both of them. The first one is ideal for a man ( I know how you LOVE to do masculine cards ! ) But I must admit that I’m totally in awe at your Christmas card ! It is just striking with this black dotted background and this absolutely marvellous poinsettia ! It is so beautifully coloured ! Splendid ! Sorry for my belated comment, a little bit busy with the holidays coming (end of the week), the cards to prepare for the future posts and above all the great lazyness which has seized me during this heat wave! Have a fabulous end of the week ! Hugs !
Darnell J Knauss says
Congratulations on the guest designing, Lisa! You did a brilliant job! I don’t think anyone has ever defined what constitutes a “splash” in those b/w challenges, so it’s all a free-for-all IMO! I love your generous use of the beautiful lime greens! And the Christmas card? It simply took my breath away in every detail!! Hugs, Darnell
merryf says
These are both lovely — thanks for the inspiration! This will be my first SSS Flickr challenge and I’m ready to get inky!
Steph says
Well done on guesting!! Xx I love this poinsettia stamp and the large dots stencil! (I need one lol) the idea of embossing the large dots is brilliant and really nice colouring of the poinsettia!
Xx
Aileen says
congrats on your being Guest Designer at Simon Says on Flickr brilliant. Love both your cards and reckon they both meet the criteria. Love that big dot embossed background on the black cardstock and beautiful Christmas flower, never too early for Christmas cards I mean we are into the 7th month no less. Black and white with green my favourite colour well that says it all, my favourite card, love those flowers.
Ruth says
So exciting to see you guest designing for this challenge! I think your other half is entirely right about the splash of colour AND you nailed it. My favourite by far is that citrus green on the first card – such a bright and vibrant colour and the splatter is amazingly well distributed. I’d have half of it on the wall and half on me – I need an apron like Michelle has hanging in her craft room! Brilliant job! xx