CLEAN AND SIMPLE HELLO

I have never taken part in a challenge over at CAS(E) THIS SKETCH. But, when I saw their cute challenge #17, I was inspired to finally take the plunge into new territory.

Since the 3" x 4" portion of my card -- the grid-like background and the three colored "house" shapes along the right edge -- is a Project Life card, I really did not add just too much to the card.

Taking the Project Life card as my cue, I built upon that in choosing my colors. Since I was trying to keep this "clean and simple" according to the rules of the challenge, and the grid piece was not quite the white of Whisper White cardstock, I was forced to add a thin border of Bermuda Bay to serve as a buffer between the Project Life card and the Whisper White base.

As per the sketch, I added some grungy speckles to the two corners with a stamp from the Gorgeous Grunge set. I punched a flower with the Pansy Punch and the center for it using the Botanical Builders Framelits Dies.

Instead of stamping the sentiment, I thought I could further add to the "clean and simple" aspect of the card by die cutting my "hello" from Bermuda Bay cardstock. 

To echo the center of the flower, I added a few 1/4" punches to the grungy splotches.

Once I had the card completed, I was pleased -- with one exception: I hated the way the right edges of the flower blended in waaaaay too much with the preprinted shape of the same color. 

After searching a few options, none of which thrilled me, I finally hit upon the winner! I simply punched another of the flowers, but this time in Whisper White. I cut off only the two petals I needed, and placed them behind their pink counterparts, extending the edges just a bit. I am so happy with the way this simple gesture does exactly what was needed. 

This is the sketch upon which my card is based:

CAS(E) This Sketch #17

Simple

Smiles.