Two Cards for Keep It Clean and Simple

I have two cards today for the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:  Keep It Clean and Simple. Most of my cards would fit this challenge, but these latest two—one for a friend’s birthday and the other for a friend whose husband entered hospice are definitely CAS.

First the birthday card. I bought a new stamp set by Penny Black , “Blooming Garden,” while we were away. When I first started stamping years ago, I owned a few wooden stamps by Penny Black, but this is my first acrylic set. It’s all florals. I’m taking a watercolor card class that starts next week, and I think the images will be perfect for watercoloring.

I love these poppies, and this time I colored them using Copic markers. I added a little Wink of Stella glitter to them as well, but try as I might, I could not get it to show up in a photograph. The sentiment is also from a new stamp set I found in Chicago by Avery Elle called “Oh, Happy Day.”  The font for these sentiments if very different from anything else I have.

The next card was inspired by this one Cristina created for last August’s Papertrey Ink release of “Mum’s the Word. “I started with an embossed flat card by Paper Source, and masked the border to stamp inside.

The mum was stamped once, and then again without reinking. The sentiment which seemed perfect for this sad occasion is combined from “Boutique Borders: Sympathy” and “Winter Hills.” All three sets are by Papertrey Ink.

When I heard about our friend entering hospice, it occured to me that we always seem to have at least one friend or acquaintance with serious health concerns. It’s probably a function of our age, but too many of them are younger than we are. I count my blessings every day, and continued good health is top on the list.