Black and White, Plus a fun new class!!

...has always been one of my favorite color combinations to create with.  I like it alone and also love to use black and white with a 'pop' of color.   And today, all three of my cards include some black and white, but each one is also different.

   My first card was created for my son, Alex who will be turning 20 next week.  I can hardly believe that my 'baby' is now going to be 20 years old and that I no longer have any 'children' or teens in my house.  Everyone is an adult and all grown up!!  WOW!  How did that happen so fast and where did those twenty years go?   Yikes...sometimes it seems almost impossible...!    And speaking of impossible, that's how it is for me to try and buy gifts for Alex and I have NO clue what to get him, but I do have his card done and early too!!  

  My inspiration for his card, comes from two things, the colors he has in room and also this week's Sketch Challenge from the Stars and Stamps Blog, which I totally forgot all about yesterday.   I love that challenge and typically I play every Sunday, but this week...it never crossed my mind...(Fibro Fog)...I think?    This is a copy of this week's Sketch, which is #116 and a new favorite --

  And this is the card I created for Alex, based on the sketch.  I think it's a great sketch for a Masculine card and that's why I decide to use it for his card.  I'm also planning to make some more cards specifically for OWH and will be sure to use this sketch for that too!

 
    My next card was also created with a Black and White theme, which I also added in some Kraft/Tan.  It's also my project for this week's Greeting Card Challenge, being hosted over at The Outlawz.  Our Challenge this week was really fun and different.   The DT Girlz call if the Name Yourself Challenge and you'll need to use the first letter of your first name, in some way on your card.   For me, it's "L" for "Lisa" and my very first thought was to create a card with the color "Lavender" (purple), but after working on Alex's card, I wanted to use the "L" for my Sentiment and make it the focal point and that's when I went searching through my digi sentiment and found this one -- Live, Laugh, Love -- which was perfect.    I also added black "Lace" as my embellishment, which added another "L".

   I have one more card to share and this one was created for basically for fun and also to continue my love of Copic coloring.   This was the image that I had thought I might use for my "L" Lavender color, which is the color I used for these gorgeous tulips from "Wax Fruit Company".

  And now I am heading back to my desk and see what else I can accomplish today.  Next Monday, will be the very first day in my newest class - "A Cut Above" and I am very much looking forward to it.  If you love to use Die Cuts on your projects and/or you want to learn how to use a Big Shot, Cuttlebug, Vagabond or a Silhouette Cameo -- this is a class you won't want to miss!!     If you want to join the fun or read more about it on Jennifer's Blog HERE!