another mushroom

This one is a bit brighter and includes a sentiment.  The sentiment is tied to the image, but in a subtle way.  Do you get it???

In the spirit of Gen Con

So, all of my geeky pals know that Gen Con is this weekend.  For those that don't know or have no clue what I'm talking about, Gen Con is THE major gaming convention.  Board games, role plays, video games, even LARPing.  Look that last one up if you don't know what it is, it's a riot - and no, I don't LARP.  Anyway, my husband spent yesterday at Gen Con, and I spent the day crafting at home with the kids.  We'll all go to family day at Gen Con just like we did last year and have a great time.  I'll wear my Super Mario fire flower T-Shirt and my new mushroom earrings for the occasion.  The kids will wear video game or Star Wars shirts too.  Walk around Gen Con for about two minutes, and you'll see tons and tons of geekwear T-shirts... which hopefully don't stink too much since some of those folks will sit around and play games at Gen Con for about 24 hours straight!  You'll also see some amazing costumes as well.  Last year, we saw Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, a variety of monsters, costumes that looked like they would fit in at a ren faire, and many others as well.

In the spirit of all that is geeky, I made a card that has a subtle geek theme.  It uses stamps from the Gnome Garden set that Close to My Heart has in its catalog.  The first time I saw this set, I immediately thought of Super Mario Bros!  The mushroom isn't as cartoony, but it is in the same spirit and evokes the same feel.  If you have ever played a Mario game, you'll know that they often trapse through grassy lands with flowers, which is represented at the bottom of this card.  This is also a more masculine card, which is always a little more challenging to make.  The autumn colors that I used in both the papers (kraft card base, several autumn colored cardstock colors, and one patterned paper from CTMH) and inks help to give it a more masculine feel.  I colored the mushroom image, grass, and flowers with a variety of CTMH autumn colored markers.  For a final whimsical touch, I selectively slightly swiped my paper directly against an olive ink pad.  It gives a grassy look to the areas with the mushroom and the trim along the bottom.  Some funky green yarn adds a final bit of texture to the card and makes it a special present for the receiver!

Card Recipe:
kraft cardstock
cardstock in Close to My Heart Autumn colors
Close to My Heart pattern paper for front panel
Gnome Garden stamp set
Staz-On inkpad (so when you color, it will not bleed)
olive inkpad
markers in Autumn colors
yarn

Simple is sometimes better!

Here is an example of a very simple card that uses several techniques.  This is a one layer card using kraft cardstock.  I used scrap paper from flowers a different project where I had cut out flowers with the Cricut.  That scrap paper became my stencil for the flowers on the front of this card!  I simply laid the scrap paper down and sponged the flowers with Tulip ink.  It was very simple.  Then, I took a marker and added faux stitching to the edges of the flowers.  I sponged the edges of the card with Olive ink and used a sentiment stamp from the TLC set in the corner with Olive ink as well.  A few brads that coordinate with the Tulip ink add another special touch to the card.  

I made this card as a part of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges over at Splitcoaststampers.  If you would like to participate or get details on challenges or see other people's entries, head over to their website and join the Fan Club.  It is a blast!

Yay for the new catalog!

The new catalog for Close to My Heart launched on the website today.  Check it out under the "products" section at http://ashleyanne.myctmh.com.  The new Cricut bundle should be a ton of fun if you have a Cricut.  If you don't have a Cricut, this is a great excuse to get one!  There are some great new stamp sets as well.  I also love this month's stamp of the month.  It is an absolutely divine Halloween set!  Enjoy checking out the catalog.  You can order directly from my website from the "shop online" section if you find some things you just can't live without.