A blog devoted to the cards I make in my tiny upstairs space. When my sister stays there, she calls it an "artist's garret". I'm not an artist, but am an enthusiastic cardmaker - hence the title "Cardmaker's Garret".
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Saturday 21 January 2017

NBUS Flowers

Darnell over at djkardkreations hosts an occasional NBUS (never before used stuff) challenge.  I love it as it gets me to dig out some of the things I've bought and finally put them to use.  This time, Darnell is offering optional themes.  The theme for the first week is "use coloured pencils on kraft".  I haven't done that technique in ages so a good chance to pull out the pencils.

I went on a bit of a Penny Black spending spree about a year ago and ended up with some of their lovely floral stamps so pulled those out for their first ever inking.

I couldn't decide whether I prefered the look of white ink or black ink for stamping the image so did one in each.  First up, a white heat embossed image:


I couldn't decide where to put a sentiment so decided to just put one on the inside.  I bordered with dark red cs and used a white cardbase.

The second one is stamped in black ink with no heat embossing:


I used the same colour palette for each as I wanted a fair comparison of which ink I preferred for the stamping.

For this one, I bordered with black cs, and used a cream linen cs for the sentiment and card base.  I really like the look of the hemp twine for attached the sentiment tag - it seems to go well with kraft cs.

Now over to you - which do you prefer in terms of whether to stamp the image in white or in black?

Thanks!




Supplies for card one:
Stamps - Penny Black
Ink - ColorBox white
Paper - kraft, dark red, and white cs
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - white embossing powder, coloured pencils, fun foam

Supplies for card two:
Stamps - Penny Black flowers, SU sentiment
Ink - Ranger Archival Jet Black
Paper - kraft and black cs, cream linen cs
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, Spellbinders sentiment tag, hemp twine, fun foam





18 comments:

  1. Well I sure love the bright colored flowers in your 1st card. It's really pretty! My eyes are really drawn to your second card. I think it is so pretty stamped in black as it seems to focus more attention on your beautifully colored flowers. Your sentiment on a tag with the twine tops it off!! So pretty!!

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  2. Lovely cards Susan, beautifully coloured - really like both the white and black outlines.

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  3. Wow this is awesome colouring! Your bouquets are simply gorgeous.
    These cards are beauties xx

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  4. Wow the coloring on your card is stunning!One with white outline is gorgeous!

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  5. Both of these are gorgeous, Susan! I think the white embossing makes the blooms more brilliant! And I love the white colored vase!

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  6. gorgeous Susan, my favorite is the second i think mostly because of the style of the flowers. I love the variation in colour on each of the flowers. Now having said that I do like the pop of the white embossing on Kraft.

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  7. Beautiful cards with gorgeous coloring...so pretty!!

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  8. Wow...they are very different effects! I like them both.

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  9. I'm glad you gave this a go after not doing it for a while, Susan, because you REALLY have a knack for the cp/k technique! These are both stunning! It's also cool that you did the experiment and shared it with us. I do have to say that my eye sees the white embossed beauty as "brighter" and more pleasing from that aspect; on the other hand, I think the black allows the nuances and shading to show more, which gives it more depth. I enjoyed seeing the comparison. Thank you so much for playing in my NBUS Challenge #8 and joining in the optional theme!! Hugs, Darnell

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  10. I like both your floral cards Susan, but I think the 1st card with the white eb makes your colors on your pretty flowers pop more. I also really like your red border and pretty white vase. TFS my friend. Hugs.

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  11. P.S. I think if you had heat embossed your flowers in black your cards would equally pop.

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  12. Well, I'm, just saying, 'WOW' to both. Beautifully colored and so glad you were challenged to do both!

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  13. Can't really pick a favorite as they're both beautiful! I really love the white embossed image, but it's really neat what a different look you can get with the same stamp!

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  14. Two beautiful cards Susan. Love the shading with the pencils --- Awesome! I like both cards. I think the white embossing lightens the look and makes the colours of the pencil seem brighter. xx

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  15. Yes I agree with Loll but of course love both of your cards x I am definitely going to try this technique as it looks fabulous x Thanks for your kind comments on my blog, very much appreciated x

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  16. I like them both...the white sets off the more intricate one...and the black seems right for the simpler one. Good to see both to compare. Love the coloring.

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  17. Oh boy, that's a difficult question! The looks and the feel are different but they are both so pretty! Your shading is fabulous! Isn't it amazing how vibrant colored pencils are on kraft? I would have never thought! Love the hemp twine! I think not every card needs a sentiment. Your card looks perfect without it!

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