Happy Birthday in Black and White

Another day, another dawn, another card done! Hello, Blogging Lovelies, I hope this finds you well and happy.

I spied a Black and White Only challenge at Moving Along with the Times and thought, well I've never done that, so Game On. Plus, my friends at Country View Challenges has an Opposites theme going on, and what is more opposite than Black and White?

I used the current sketch at Sketch Saturday, but turned it sideways as my focal element fits better. And I must credit my friend Donna Ellis as I was inspired by her Black and White cards, which you can see HERE. Hers are so gorgeous and she did more techniques. Mine is the simple version but it was looking at her cards that helped me to try it out.

I have had the See-D's flower stamp forever. As I was perusing my Floral stamps (I broke up my stamp sets years ago and store most of my stamps by theme, so I have 39 CD cases and 2 VHS cases full of flowers, trees, leaves), my eye kept going back to this stamp of -- Roses? Camelias? Don't really know what kind of flower it is, but the beauty of this challenge is that I don't have to color it and do it injustice.

It's a pretty big stamp, which is why I turned the sketch to accommodate it. I used Ranger Archival on Recollections heavy card stock, then die cut it with my Spellbinders Scalloped Circles die and matted that with the next larger die cut from a snippet scrap of glossy junk mail I'd saved in my scraps drawer.  My dotty patterned paper is from a 12x12 pad I got for $5 on Amazon - Colorbok Bright Ideas.

I kid you not - see? Online gambling never looked better ha! The rest of the black card stock on this card is a shimmery Bazzill 12 x 12 (do not remember the exact name, but I have loads of it in black and white and a few other colors from years back). My card base is Chatterbox textured white card stock, also older than dirt, and it comes in handy when I need a bright white.

I really had no room left on the card for a separate sentiment, so I put an itsy-bitsy Happy Birthday stamp from Sweet Shop Stamps right on my flowers and heat-embossed it with clear powder. Added some sheer polka-dot ribbon underneath on a black flagged piece to finish the front.

Here's the inside and back of my card. I stamped sentiments inside from Crafty Secrets, Clear Dollar and Avery Elle, and Technique Tuesday and Sweet Stamp Shop siggie stamps on back.

Playing around with these challenges was fun. I ended up making 2 Black and White cards and will share the other one next time.

CHALLENGES:
1.  Sketch Saturday Week 563 (shown above)
2.  Moving Along with the Times #97: Black and White Only
3.  Country View Challenges May: Opposites
4.  Brown Sugar #290: Flowers
5.  Try It on Tuesday 10th Birthday Celebration Share: AG

6.  Crazy4Challenges C4C483: Flowers
7.  Outlawz Monday Greetings May 13-26: Greetings + Birthday
8.  Creative Craft Cottage #118: Use Ink (As much or as little as you like)
9.  Outlawz Festive Friday May 17-30: Birthday

That's it for me. Until next time, xoxoxox