It’s time for another Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop – what fun! The Be Inspired Design Team is a group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators from all over the world who are excited to share our themed projects with you. I’m so honored to be a part of this group of talented stampers!
For today’s Be Inspired Blog Hop, we are sharing projects with “black and bling.” I created a sophisticated wedding/anniversary card with lots of black and a blingy shine. If you aren’t starting the hop here, then you probably just popped over from the amazing project shared by my talented friend Carolynn Sander.
You might think my camera was set to “black-and-white photo” when I snapped this card, but this is exactly how it looks in person. Here’s my “black and bling” card for this Be Inspired Blog Hop:
Tips, Tricks and Reminders
- Christmas Rose. On Friday, customers can purchase items from Stampin’ Up!’s new, limited-time-only Christmastime is Here Suite. You can buy the entire bundle or the individual items in the suite, and I couldn’t be happier! While you might not initially think of red roses as a “Christmasy” thing, a quick Google search will prove that it’s far more popular than you imagined. What a gorgeous set with some great Christmas sentiments. Here’s a look at the Christmas Rose Bundle (which includes the Christmas Rose stamp set and coordinating Rose Dies):
And here’s a look at the entire suite bundle that includes the stamp set, dies, papers, embellishments, ribbon and charm bracelet: 
- Beautiful Blending. To keep with the hop’s black theme, I colored my roses with a mix of Dark and Light Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blends. I colored the insides of each petal with the darker ink before blending it outward with the lighter ink. I randomly colored with the Color Lifter around the edges of the petals. Here’s a closer look at the colored flowers:
- Blingy Shine. You might be asking where all the “bling” is. I didn’t add any embellishments to my card – I didn’t want to distract from the gorgeous flower. Instead, I heat embossed the image with Shimmer Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder before cropping it and coloring it. There’s lots of shine in that embossing powder that doesn’t show up in the original picture, so here are some closer looks:
Just look at all the blingy shine in those pines: 
Bundles: Christmas Rose Stamp Sets: Christmas Rose, Tropical Chic Papers: Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Thick Whisper White Inks: VersaMark, Tuxedo Black Memento, Stampin’ Blends (Smoky Slate, Color Lifter) Accessories: Rose Dies, Shimmer Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Subtle 3D Embossing Folder, Stampin’ Dimensionals
I’m so glad you stopped by and hope you like my project. I also hope you’ll continue the Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop to see more projects that I’m sure you’ll love. The next stop is my friend Emma Goddard. Click on the banner below to continue through the hop:
Thanks for stopping by today!
Brian
In case you get off-track at any point during the hop, here’s a listing of all the participants in this hop:
- Tanya Rees
- Janneke de Jong
- Jackie Aitken
- Cathy Caines
- Manuela Geiswinkler
- Carolynn Sander
- Brian King
- Emma Goddard
Here are links to the products showcased in my post today (including all items in the Christmastime is Here Bundle Suite):
Stunning! Of course! 🙂
♥ Thanks, Lucy! I had fun with this one. ♥
Without question . . . one of the most stunning cards made with this suite of products. Brilliant use of neutrals!
Awww…thanks so much, Mary! That means a lot to me coming from anyone but especially coming from you. ♥
Beautiful…just beautiful!
♥ Thank you so much, Windy!
Well this card is simply put…….BEAUTIFUL.
Thank you so much, Kadie! ♥
Beautiful card, Brian. Love the embossed image as your bling and your awesome coloring. Have a great Halloween Eve day!
Thank you so much, Hilda! I hope your day was wonderful! ♥
Gorgeous card Brian, the contrast of the shades of gray and the black embossed image is amazing and so elegant too. The added bling is a beautiful detail.
Thanks for sharing.
XO
Thank you so much, Maria! I couldn’t believe how beautiful this flower looked in black and gray. So glad you like it, too! ♥
Spectacular photos of the “bling”~would never have believed how dramatic that embossing could be. (Amazing card, of course. Love how your creative mind works. Always such an original viewpoint)
Thank you so much, Linda! That means the world to me. I’m so happy to play with this stuff and then share it with my readers. I appreciate you. ♥
Brian, hello my STAMPIN friend, I’m not sure I would have come up with a black color for those GORGEOUS Christmas ROSES but Brian I do like them very much!! Like I have told everyone before your cards are creative and should hang in a ART PICTURE show !! You go and you might find them in a frame on someone’s wall…
Creative ART DESIGHNS. CMT
A PALS COMMUNITY MEMBER CINDY
Thank you so much for your incredible feedback, Cindy! I’m so glad you like the card. I likely wouldn’t have gone black-and-gray without this blog hop inspiration, so I’m grateful for it. Thanks! ♥
What a amazing card Brian ;O)
Great card in grey and black, and the embossing is so cool
Thanks so much, Janneke! I wish I could have captured in photos the shine of this embossed image. Glad you like it. Fun hop!
Stunning Brian. I love the subtle addition of bling with the Shimmer Black embossing.
Thanks so much, Tanya! ♥
I sure agree with Mary! You mesmerize me with your “eye” and talent! You should apply to be an Artisan! Nancy in Colorado