Black and White Sketch

I’m inspired by the Paper Players again this week. They have a beautiful sketch for their current challenge, PP447, and it helped me solidify the plans I had for a black and white card. I’m still using that 8.5×11″ stamped Whisper White cardstock. This time, I left the images plain.

The Paper Players Sketch

This sketch has great balance and can be kept simple or embellished quite easily with the addition of die cuts or layered sentiments. With just three elements, the background, the panel, and the sentiment, it is easy to create a gorgeous card in a matter of minutes. Because the elements are simple, the measurements can be kept standard too. By offsetting the panel to the right third of the card, it automatically makes the card more interesting to the eye and it’s more forgiving if the placement isn’t perfect as would be required with a symmetrical design. Let me show you what I whipped up for this sketch challenge.

My Card

I used a black and white theme for this card. I started with a base of Whisper White and added on a 4×5-1/4″ layer of black and white gingham DSP. This is from the last Sale-a-Bration catalog. Any small graphic pattern would work, such as dots or any of the Background stamps in the current catalog.

Next I cut a 2″ strip of my hand-stamped DSP that I made last week using a stamp from a recent Paper Pumpkin and Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I mounted it on a 2-1/4″ strip of basic black. Both pieces are 5-1/2″ long. I used white and black bakers twine to tie a bow around the bottom third of the panel. The assembly is mounted to the card with Dimensionals.

Lastly, I used a sentiment from the Butterfly Gala stamp set. This is heat embossed in white on a scrap strip of Basic Black about 1/2″ wide. I mounted that with Dimensional as well.

Thanks to the Paper Players for a fantastic sketch. I hope you’re inspired to make a card using this layout.