Black and White and....

I remember one of the first jokes my Dad told me, many, many years ago. It was something like : What do a newspaper and a sunburned zebra have in common? They are both black and white and Red/Read all over!  I thought it was the funniest thing. And after all these years, I still chuckle. But more because it is a fond memory of my Dad, who has now been gone for almost 22 years. My son never had a chance to know him and his sense of humor. My daughter was 6 when he passed so she has only a slight recollection of him. But I will never forget him, even though he was on this earth for too brief a time. I think of him often and smile  - and sometimes cry. For our loss. For what we have missed. Happy Father's Day, Dad - you forever have a very special place in my heart.

Wow, I bet you weren't expecting that this morning! Just be sure you give your Dad a big hug today ok?

On to today's card and this week's Corrosive Challenge! We were challenged to make a Black and White card that has just one additional color. I based my card on this week's sketch at Unscripted Sketches and used one of the new toys I just got from PaperTrey Ink's latest release - the In Bloom impression plate. Take a look:

I hope you can see the detail from the impression plate on the black background cause it is really awesome in person! LOVE! I then added the MME patterned paper and stamped my focal piece with the In Bloom set that matches the impression plate. The 'with sympathy' sentiment is from the PTI anniversary set, Round & Round. ** I dabbed over the focal piece with a Linen ink pad and a tiny touch of Chai ink (also from PTI) - this helped soften the bright whiteness of the cardstock so the piece would blend better with the DP. ** The small trails of pink crystals (my added color) were simply dotted on with a glue pen and adhered.

I also made a 2nd card using the same stamp set and another PTI impression plate - Canvas/Linen.

This was going to be my challenge card for the week but I decided there was too much pink and not enough Black & White. Actually there is no black - the image and sentiment were stamped in gray. ** I love that alternative to black ink as it is strong enough to hold it's own but a little softer than black.
** The In Bloom flower was colored with 2 shades of Copic marker and then I went over the entire flower with a third, lighter color to soften the entire image. The background was run through my C'bug using the Canvas/Linen impression plate to create that fabulous texture. I can see these plates becoming habit forming!!

Want to play along with us at Corrosive Challenges this week? Create your B&W card and add a punch of color too, Then post to your blog or other online gallery and head over to the challenge blog and leave us a link. I can't wait to see what you create!

** All items indicated above are Big Ideas for the week. I hope you will try them in your future creative process.