Today I’m sharing my card for this week’s Freshly Made Sketches (FMS) challenge, but first I want to give a huge “THANK YOU!” to Narelle Farrugia, a very talented designer over at FMS who selected my Christmas Ornament card as last week’s FMS winner. Woo hoo! While I have been named “Perfect Prince” a couple of times, this is my first Freshly Made Sketches win! Thank you, Narelle!
Jen Mitchell, another very talented designer with FMS, provides the sketch for this week’s challenge. I’ll share my card and Jen’s sketch. Then, I’ll share some tips for creating a similar look. Here’s my card:
And here’s Jen’s sketch that inspired my card:
Tips, Tricks and Reminders
- Not what I set out to make. I often have a very clear vision in my mind when I sit down to create a card. I knew I wanted to make a bright, cheery card with bright, cheery flowers to step away from all the Fall and Holiday designs for a spell (just wanted to shake things up a bit). [insert sound of a scratching record – Eeeeeertttchh]. My plans changed when I decided Garden Green leaves and stems didn’t look too hot on this Pear Pizzazz paper – wasn’t as bold as I had hoped. “I wonder,” Bandit meowed in my ear, “what it would look like if the stem and leaves were but a shadow.” Suddenly, I was headed down a path of just black, green and white. No cheery colors, but I liked it! It was more interesting – and it allowed me to do some fun shading underneath the flowers.
- Creating dimension. You might not be able to tell from the front of the card, but the flower petals are popped up a bit, and there’s a delightful shadow beneath them. This darkness is “at one” with the black stem and leaves and allows the white flowers to really pop. Here’s a closer look:
To create this shadow, I stamped the image on the DSP: 
I then colored in the shape with my Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker (does it get any easier than that?)
- Balance. With all the layering of paper to create the background shape, I had to carefully balance the flower and banner. I ran this banner up and down the side of this front panel until I found a perfect place for it to hang out. To balance the chunk of black this banner creates on the base of the card, I added three candy dots on the opposite side of this panel. This helps to balance the weight of the black on this panel. If it were imbalanced, the entire panel might fall right off the other side of the card base – OK, that won’t happen, but it could. OK, it can’t.
Stamp sets: Fabulous Florets, Banner Greetings (Hostess) Inks: Basic Black (Stampin’ Spot), Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker Papers: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper Accessories: Stampin’ Dimensionals
Thanks for stopping by my blog today,
Brian
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This looks like another winner! It’s stunning! Congratulations on last week’s FMS.
King of Clean I love it! This is ..yes the word is stunning! It must be the black, white and a single handsome color of green. Love the black shading on the flower!
It is more like art than a card…love it!
WOW, Brian! I’m so impressed! You get better, and better,all the time!
Nice detail to the eye, and the colors combo are amazing!!!!
Beautiful job!!!!
Gorgeous card, Brian! Love all the layers and the DSP.
🙂 Marie
“Stunning” really IS the word for today’s card, Brian! Wow! What size is the card base, please? It gives you more space for your horizontal matting underneath your focal point as well as having more of your card base showing which all add to the “pop” you have going on with your very creative Fabulous Florets’ image! And I love the sentiment you chose with the solid black space resulting in the white wording. Another smaller but very effective “pop”!
Thank you, Suzie! The card base is 5-1/2″ x 5-1/2″. This card really designed itself. I don’t even feel like I was there for most of its creation. 🙂
Thanks, Brian! However, you definitely WERE there designing a GREAT card 😉
“Stunning” was the first word that came to my mind before I even read the other comments. This is definitely a winner! The sentiment was the crowning touch. The balance of the card created with the candy dots was perfection!
Wow the King of Clean does it again!!!! Congratulations Brian!!!! This has to be another winner here!!!! 🙂 Boldly crisp and that shading is such a simple yet striking look!!!!
Oh my goodness Brian, this card is really STUNNING!!!!! I know this word has been used several times today to describe your card, my dear but it fits perfectly. I am in total awe of it, every single aspect of it is truly inspiring, thank you so very much for sharing it with us.
Love the card Brian, especially how it came about! 🙂
Okay….Hallmark calling ! Boy oh boy ….if they are looking for a new designer I know where they can find one ! This is a design WOWIE…. You and that darned cat have done it again !!! Great card for a lot of events . Everybody has already said it but, it bears repeating ….Stunning !
This design and technique are fabulous! And yet again I laugh through your narrative. Who knew perusing blogs early in the morning could be so entertaining! Congrats on the win!
Ditto ditto ditto ditto etc ditto
Brian, you are truly remarkable!
This is the prettiest card I have seen in awhile!!! Absolutely gorgeous in every way.
Stunning card! Wow. Wow. Wow.
Brian – Love this card!!
Ooooh I like this a lot Brian! Great colors, layout, everything! The layers look great trimmed in black, as does your shadow.
Brian, I love the shadow effect! As well, I want to tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog. I feel like I’m sitting in your Fungeon with you as you describe how you put each of your cards together. It feels like we’re having a conversation! It makes for a great read! Thanks for all your efforts and hardwork! Great talent!
Melanie
Bandit’s sense of color and composition is amazing…..but wait….I thought he wasn’t allowed in the Fungeon?
I couldn’t agree more….. Stunning describes this perfectly.
First of all, Eeeeeertttchh is my most favorite sound effect. Secondly, I am finally motivated to mount this stamp set and use it. No longer flat, I can see myself using the images. Nailed the sketch, too, in my favorite direction. 90 degrees to the left makes it perfect. Lastly, if I had realized how much fun the DSP could be I would have purchased it. Thankfully, it’s not too late. I think I’ll make Thank You cards out of it for the post-Christmas haul that I’m sure to have as I shop for myself and even have it gift wrapped because I’m a little crazy at this time of year. Don’t judge! LOL
Dynamic and bold!
Beautiful!
Great card! LOVE the shadowing!!!
Smart kitty!!…..stunning card, will be casing 🙂
Classically gorgeous card! As always………
Thanks for your kind words Brian! Your Chrissy card was gorgeous and I’m going to have to say this card is totally stunning!!! Basic Black teamed with that DSP is such a striking combo – I’m sighing as I’m in love this card! Thanks for joining us at Freshly Made Sketches again this week1
I was expecting to see a broccoli card… this is much prettier than broccoli. =)
Ooh Brian , what a beauitful flower card , you did good , love it !!
Hugs Frenchie
Congratulations on your well-deserved win Brian! But let’s talk about this stunner. I LOVE this simple, yet dramatic color combo. The green DSP has just the right amount of yummy texture to it to make it jump off the front of this card! And the black shadow behind the floral images is genius! Thanks for joining us at Freshly Made Sketches!
G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!!! Definitely my all time favorite!!! Congrats on your FMS win!
First, let me also congratulate you on your win! I am not surprised though; that card, and all your others, are always winners! This card is no exception! One of the things I love about you Brian, is not only your funny sense of humor, how you write your posts, but how you always come up with things we don’t see anywhere else. Who would have thought to make this flower have a shadow? What a super great idea and it works so so well! That DSP is just the right amount of pop to pull out the shadow, and the fussy cut of those flowers adds sudh definition! What can I say? I am smitten with this card! And you are truly inspiration for all of us! Thanks for all you do!
Brian, this card is absolutely stunning! The texture, the shadows, the layout — all total perfection. I love it! You are a true artist.
Wow, what a day to return! My computer has been down along with a loss in the family. Your card is beautiful! Thank you for sharing, miss you and your entourage.
My Bandit has now been told that he is expected to help with crafting instead of just sleeping under the desk. 🙂 I saw this on Pinterest and was totally WOWed. I haven’t used this set in so long so it was great to see it showcased so beautifully. Congratulations again on your win last week. 🙂
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Stunning!!
Anne