Thinking of You, Clean & Simple Tuesday

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Hello there everybody. I have not kept up with my Clean & Simple Tuesday series at all, or anything else for that matter.

Today I saw Melanie Muenchinger make this card and I knew I had to do something like it. I changed several things so that it wasn't a direct CASE, but the sketch is the same. I would have never thought to put the gorgeous Watercolor Garden Patterned Paper Pack – I absolutely love anything that has the water-colored look – with Red Hot card stock, Stately Flowers 4 and Beyond Baskets 2. I mean that one box changes everything. I also like the image panel that is not completely matted. The technique Melanie demonstrated is something that you would think is just basic, but I think with all of the stuff that's flooded the market, the basics are forgotten that still lends itself to making lovely cards. That is what Gina K Designs is all about. No fuss. That's one thing I really like and appreciate about Gina is that she doesn't use any fancy machines or fancy anything. She used Bic markers for her alcohol markers until the very affordable Spectrum Noir markers came out. Gina keeps stamping simple, fun and affordable, not to mention having awesome illustrators! Her card stock and ink are of supreme quality too. Plus, she's really super sweet in person and is totally sincere in every aspect.

So today, I decided to make this card on a spring day where the temperature is all over the place and I've already changed my clothes 4 times by 3:30 pm and there will be one more time into the jammies, which has also forced me into doing laundry. I already have a huge iron pile. I think I'm just going to put it all on hangers and take it to the ironing lady. My cousin uses a woman who charges 25 cents per item. I am so all about that. After I put all that together, it will make me want to organize my closet into rainbow colors. Laundry is complicated these days. You have the items that you can't dry that go on a rack to air dry. Then you have items that you don't want to shrink that need to dry but if you don't dry them, they don't regain their shape so they're in the dryer on fluff for hours. Then you have the items that you want to shrink, such as your stretch denim, that have to be on high heat in the dryer. It will drive you batty.

I already need to finish putting this craft room together, but even though it's not all the way together, it's together enough to where I don't have to look for anything and it's great. I love it! I've decided to have a few baskets of items that generous manufacturers send me to put in so that I use them.

I really had planting flowers on the agenda today. The weather didn't cooperate. Since I'm on a lava cap, I can't put anything into the ground, which I'm totally fine with because my Martha Stewart days are over with and I'm into the Living part now. I was going to wash out several pots and planters that I had, plant flowers and hang up some plants on my shepherd hooks. I will have to spend some time getting just the right flowers as my front yard gets pounded with sun all day long.

Back to my card…If you click on the link above, it will take you directly to Melanie's blog post and video on how she made this card. I didn't do any shading to my carnation until after I took the pictures and I think it looks much better. All I did was add some Spectrum Noir DR3 around the edges of the lines of the flower as that is how carnations are naturally, which is darker at the end of the petal. This card is being sent to my BFF. I completed the inside and even managed to stamp one of the sentiments crooked, of course, even with a MISTI. Don't ask me how. Only I could do that. The inside sentiments are from a Hero Arts stamp set of Operation Write Home. This is a clean and simple card without any fuss of adding sequins, ribbon or other embellishments and I love it just the way it is and I know my BFF will too!

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit me today and God bless.

And I'm still waiting for my mouse to get off steroids. Oh so frustrating! And I better get to my laundry 🙂

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All supplies used are by Gina K Designs with the exception of the pinking shears, Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and the inside panel was die-cut with My Favorite Things Blueprints 2.