A site for my handmade cards, accompanied by my photos and written meanderings which are occasionally witty, often tongue-in-cheek, and rarely profound. Beginning in June 2013, you'll also see lots of NBUS, which is an acronym I coined for Never-Before-Used-Schtuff. Note: my Privacy Policy can be found at a tab below and you can find my NBUS Challenge online. I hope you'll join in the fun there! Thanks for coming by! Have a beverage and enjoy!

June 28, 2024

Group of Seven Goes Monochromatic!

Hello Stamplings!

The Group of Seven Cardmakers are showcasing the monochromatic design element this month. You use just one color on your design and by using different shades of that one color you can make some very striking cards.

Onefer
I chose red as my color choice. Wait. What? Just seeing if you were paying attention. With this heat, it's easy to nod off in class. This card is pretty self-exploratory. The flowers from SSS are called, "Bouquet of Thanks."

The only thing you can't see clearly above is that the chevron background is actually an emboss-resist paper. This shows the shine better:
And now you can see the lads' brilliant winking, too!

Twofer
This is a one-layer design, which stencils make easy. This NBUS stencil from A Colorful Life Designs is called, "Elegant Snowflake." Just to be different, I decided to color it as a stylized poinsettia. 

I have to say, don't do what I did. I wish I had taken a photo of the millions of pieces of masking tape I had to use to cover the various bits as I changed colors of ink. And then, when it was all done, I was disappointed to see the blending wasn't even even, but I wasn't about to try and fix it! 😰

We would love to have you show us your monochromatic designs if you have a play! There is a link provided over on the Group of Seven Cardmakers blog. 
~~~

Enjoy your weekend! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse 
and special thanks to you, if you take the time to join as a follower!
*Life is too short!
Challenges:
Just Us Girls: A/G Stencils.
Peace on Earth: A/G Christmas.
Rudolph Days: A/G Christmas.


37 comments:

Christine Alexander said...

I'm loving this technique ♥ your pink Christmas card is a stunner - I always love non traditional colours. The blue card is so pretty with your shimmery background xx

Di said...

Darnell!! WOW, oh WOW! I adore these cards - the red (strike out but don't know how) blue one is stunning! Absolutely beautifully done. Love the real red one too but I do have a favourite!

Love and hugs

Email coming ASAP and your BD card was posted earlier today, apologies!

Di xxx

Julia Aston said...

Two beauties Sis! Wonderful shimmer on the light blues floral birthday - what a lovely stamp/die - it really stands off the emboss resist background - and what a beautiful flower/snowflaky stencil used with your shades of red! Julia xx

Lisa Elton said...

Loving all of the shimmer and shine on the first one, Darnell, pretty layers too! Your pinky red Christmas card is extra pretty. It has wonderful depth!

brandco2450@gmail.com said...

Two gorgeous cards! Love the tone on tone!
I don't think we use it enough!

Liz said...

Two fabulous Monochromatic cards, Darnell. I love them both, but I think the blue one just edges it as my favourite.
Liz xx

Diane said...

These are downright gorgeous, I think the red one is just fine as is, both turned out perfect!!

Vicky Hayes said...

Two lovely monochromatic cards here Darnell but the snowsietta/poinseflake has my heart beating faster - what a stunner! I am so inspired, thank you :) Vicky x

TK said...

Two beautiful cards -- the first in gorgeous color(s) and the striking emboss resist, but your "poinsettia" is pretty brilliant too! I have been in your shoes, sometimes the number of stickies used to mask are a royal pain in the...

My Paper Epiphany said...

Hi Darnell! I thought it was about time I paid you a visit1 I've been a very slack blog friend to everyone over the last year, due to many reasons (good and not so good). Anyway I just wanted to say how much I love your Monochrome cards. I think the sponging looks perfect!
x Jenny

Cheryl W. said...

Your card that features shades of aqua is really eye-catching. I love it! The Christmas card is pretty, too. I like that the inking isn't perfectly even on all the snowflake parts. I think it looks more natural, just the way you did it! Have a great Independence Day holiday. Hope you get to spend it with all your favorite people.

Lia said...

Beautiful monochrome cards!
Lia DT POE

baileyrosy.com said...

Hi Darnell,
Two fabulous cards the first is a perfect match for our aqua theme at Colorful Options thank you for sharing this beauty with us I can see very clearly those lovely chevrons which are a fabulous backdrop for those beautiful blooms. Your second card is glorious and the colors on the stenciling are perfect don't know what you're talking about. It's beautiful.

Marie

Aquarius said...

I'm partial to a bit of monochrome - two lovely examples here. Love to see what technique or idea the G of 7 come up with each time.

kiwimeskreations said...

Oh Darnell these are fabulous - the blue is so schparkly, and the boys must have had so much fun with the winking - I hope you gave them a treat for all their hard work!
Never mind the uneven sponging of the red - it simply adds interest! A great use of the stencil, but I can well imaging all the wee pieces of tape... hope the boys helped you pick it all off the stencil when you were finished
Blessings
Maxine

Sandra H said...

Two absolutely stunning cards Darnell the colours alone are beautiful and the technique well just amazing, l did have to re-read and yes l was paying attention enjoy your day x

Carole said...

Two fabulous cards Darnell but the blue has my vote (rather a topic in this country right now..voting I mean) xx

Julie B said...

Two fun monochrome designs. Love the sparkle on the first and the snowflake/poinsettia on the second, I can't see where the inking is uneven, was worth all the masking! :)

Jeanne said...

Beautiful monochromatic cards. The first one with all the sparkle is especially fun. You did a great job. I'm surprised you didn't give the taping job to your helpers! ;) I hope you have a fabulous weekend.

Carol L said...

What an absolutely gorgeous twofer of monochromatic cards! I absolutely love that chevron background paper with all of it's glorious shimmer and shine. Wishing you a fantastic weekend too!

Bonnie said...

You and the lads did a fantastic job with the shimmer and shine with those beautiful flowers, Dolly! Wow! I think the way you blended with the poinsettia adds more dimension and works perfectly! A happy accident!

Brenda in IN said...

The blue (that turned from red) card is wonderful. Anytime I see blue I'm in love. Oh my, the patience you had to mask off all those areas to make the red card. It came out lovely.

Carol said...

Darnell, I love this Elegant Snowflake so much, especially in pink and red! what a great stencil and pretty card!!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at Just Us Girls!!!

Bobby said...

Your blue bouquet is lovely on the shiny Chevron, Darnell, and the snowflake turned poinsettia is stunning. I can just imagine the masking that had to be done. Well worth it though.

Faith A at Daffodil Cards said...

Great patience pays off with your cards Darnell, both have a wonderful and beautiful quality about them. x

cuilliesocks said...

What beautiful cards Darnell, such lovely designs and gorgeous colours.
Meant to say, thank you so much for my beautiful birthday card, you're so very thoughtful, Kate x

Loll said...

Two AMAZING monochromatic cards, Dolly! LOVE the shades of blue ... I LOVE that flower stamp and use it A LOT. So glad you showed the close-up with the emboss resist background ... it's gorgeous and so is the winking on those flowers! Beautiful Christmas card. So clever to make it a poinsettia. Love the different shades of red. I understand about all the masking. It can take a long time, but so worth it when you end up with a beauty like this. Love, Lolly

HilaryJane said...

Using tiny pieces of masking tape shows dedication to your craft. It really doesn't matter that the inking isn't even. I didn't even notice until you pointed it out. Both cards are beautiful. I do love monochromatic cards. When you struggle with colour like I do they make life so much easier and look good too xx

I Card Everyone said...

D, they are both so pretty! Blue is never my favorite color but when it's RED it's a-okay by me! [just kidding]
Speaking of red, however, Poinsettias are my favorite - colored in shades of red even better - your taping/masking was worth it!
=]

Donna said...

Gorgeous cards, the birthday card is stunning with all the blues and shimmer and your poinsettia is great with the two stencils!

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

Monochromatic is always difficult to me as love too much mixing colours, but love seeing it on other people's cards. Love especially your aqua birthday card and the shining looks great!
The stencilled snowflake/poinsettia is fabulous too! All your fatigue has had a brilliant result!
Thanks for your kind comment on my blog
Hugs

Vickie Y said...

Beautiful! Thank you for sharing with us at Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge.

Gerrina said...

Both cards are beautiful, but tja, blue is my favorite colour so that first one is my favorite! I know about that masking tape sticking on a stencil everywhere to try to get what you have as an idea in your head... Nut I think it is beautiful! Enjoy your weekend too! Hugs, Gerrina

Sarah said...

Two monochromatic beauts here Darnell, the embossed resist background on the blue looks terrific and your painstakingly inked Christmas card really was worth the effort xx

Cat Craig said...

Darnell, these are gorgeous mono chormatic cards. Nicely chosen colors.

Leslie Miller said...

Two WOW cards today in all their monochromatic glory! They both look absolutely gorgeous! I saw poinsettia immediately in your red card. Never even thought about a snowflake, but now that you mention it... nope, still looks like a beautiful and very cool poinsettia.

Linda W. (ScrappinBari) said...

Two fab monochromatic cards, Darnell - the ink/resist on card one is stunning behind the flowers & I love the stylized snowflake poinsettia!! Thanks for the inspiration!!