Happy Halloween!!! ***GIVEAWAY!*** We wanted to have a little fun with our blog hop this week, and give away ONE $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE to the Brutus Monroe store! Just leave a comment on each blog post along the hop to be entered! Winner will be announced on next Wednesday’s blog hop post, November 7th, on the Brutus Monroe blog. Please remember to check back next week to see if you are the winner! ***BONUS ENTRY- Post ANY project you have created in the Brutus Monroe Fan Club group on Facebook with the hashtag,#TrickOrTreatGiveaway! Good luck! The Team has had a ball creating spooky Halloween cards and I’m excited to share mine! The Pumpkin Faces and Scare Crows sets have so many great images that I had to use them both! To begin, I inked up Hit The Brick background with black embossing ink then stamped it onto a panel of Bristol Smooth card stock. I sprinkled on not just black embossing powder but Brutus Monroe’s cool Glow In The Dark powder too! I set it with the heat tool and the Glow In The Dark looks amazing in a dark room!
The next think I did was to heavily sponge on several shades of distress oxide ink (Walnut Stain/Gathered Twigs/Carved Pumpkin and Fired Brick) to create my brick wall, then I trimmed the panel down with Stitched Rectangle dies and cut out a doorway! I inked up a piece of string with Raven Detail ink then made a handle with it and wrote the words on the door with a Sharpie marker. Setting that aside, I started on my inside images!Here’s what the outside looks like in the dark! I took this photo at 6:30 am in my kitchen!To create my inside scene, I stamped out the scarecrow image from Scare Crows set, embossed in brown and then colored with Zig markers. Look at that cute kitty on the left! I also stamped out the cornstalk and then two pumpkins from Pumpkin Faces and colored them as well. After fussy-cutting all the pieces, I attached them to a panel of black card stock on which I’d stamped and embossed more cornstalks with Glow In The Dark powder.Oooooo!!! Spooky!!! 😀To construct my card, I adhered the inside panel to the backside of the brick wall panel, then layered that onto a panel of green card stock. I attached it to a black card base and glued on my cornstalk and two pumpkins to the outside. This card was a little involved, but so worth the extra effort because I think one of my grandsons will love it! Especially when Nanna shows him how it glows in the dark!I want to thank you all for your support and encouraging comments these past four months while I’ve been a part of the fabulous Brutus Monroe Inspiration Team. It’s been a real joy and a wonderful experience to be part of a group of such inspiring and creative people! I’m going to bow out with this card as my last official post for Brutus Monroe although I look forward to guest designing in the future! Now, let’s see what those amazing people have created for this weeks blog hop! You’re sure to be inspired! MARIE JESS HEATHER BERINA LAUREN DANIEL WALESKA
It’s blog-hopping time!! Yippee!! You probably know by now that Brutus Monroe has come out with a set of watercolor inks called Aqua Pigments! They’re non-toxic, come in a large 1 fluid ounce bottle with dropper (child proof!) lid and blend beautifully!! Sadly, I don’t have the full set of twelve but I did buy the primary colors plus black and brown. For now I can mix them to get more colors and I’ll certainly be adding to my collection soon! I recently purchased this floral set from Altenew called Best Mom and couldn’t wait to paint it with my Aqua Pigment watercolors!!I started with a piece of watercolor paper and heat-embossed my floral spray using Brutus Monroe’s Coffee Grounds embossing powder. Then the fun began! In my Tim Holtz ink palette, I mixed the inks to get the varying shades of red, orange and yellow by just combining Red and Yellow pigments. I filled in the blossoms first, letting them dry before adding another layer of color.Then I mixed drops of Blue and Yellow, varying the amounts to achieve the different shades of green for my leaves! Easy-peasy! Next, I created the aqua background by filling in the white space around the image with a watery paintbrush first, then made my aqua by mixing mostly Blue pigment and just a touch of Yellow. I painted on the color with a wet brush, let it dry and then added more or less Blue and Yellow to get the light and dark shades of aqua. I tapped an inky paintbrush with Yellow around the flowers for a little added texture and then spattered on some black craft paint! Now I wish I’d added a few white spatters!I trimmed my panel down with Stitched Rectangle dies then mounted it to a panel of white upon which I’d stamped the floral spray in Wagon Surface ink. Finally, a base card of red compliments the water-colored panel as do a few aqua jewels!So, what’s with the folded paper?! After I finished this card, I decided to add the sentiment but I’d already mounted the panel with three strips of foam tape and there wasn’t full support in that section of the card! So, I folded a piece of paper, stuck it in between two of the foam strips and voila!! Support! 😀 This very old stamp by Hero Arts is one of my favorites and it was perfect for my card, don’t you think? Now, here’s the blog hop list so you can see how the others used their Aqua Pigments! MARIE BERINA JESS HEATHER LAUREN WALESKA
Did you know that Brutus Monroe has a Stamp of the Month Club? It’s a sweet little deal and if you’re interested in the details, click HERE! So, how freaking cute is this vampire candy corn?? He’s this month’s image for the Club and we all loved playing with him! My card involved some masking and stamping but was worth the extra effort! I began with a piece of Bristol Smooth card stock and stamped my first little vampire then heat-embossed with black. I created a mask so I could cover him up in order to stamp the second one. Heat-embossed in black again and so on till I had filled my panel with scary little vampire’s! In the process, I got a few inky fingerprints on my panel, but knew I’d be covering it with a layer of black ink, so didn’t sweat it!Next I pulled out my new Aqua Pigments and did a little color mixing since I don’t have the complete collection. Mixing colors was easy and I can lighten or deepen my shades by the addition of water or extra ink! I added shading to the white parts by watering down the tiniest drop of black pigment!To fill in my background, I had to cover the top layer of vampire’s with the masks, then using upward strokes with my sponge tool, I added Zest Surface ink to the panel. I covered most of that with a heavy layer of Black Soot distress oxide ink, then a final layer of Raven Detail ink!Next I moved the masks to the bottom row of vampire’s and filled in the space below, again with Black Soot then Raven. I used a black Zig to deepen the color below the candy corn. BITE ME was heat-embossed in white over the black. I enhanced the eyes and teeth with a white gel pen.I trimmed down my panel with Stitched Rectangle dies, then mounted it to another panel upon which I’d stamped Dance With Denim in Carved Pumpkin oxide ink! I like the textured look of it framing my card on a black base card! Lastly, the Trick or Treat sentiment is from an old CTMH stamp set called Thriller. This card was pretty fun to make and I loved seeing it emerge! Now, let’s see what the Inspiration Team has made with their Stamp of The Month! HEATHER LAURENMARIEJESS
Can I just say I’m in love??!! I’ve been playing with my spankin’ new Unity/Brutus Monroe Hit The Brick background stamp and having SO MUCH FUN!! I have so many ideas of ways to use this one! Yesterday I laid out three panels of watercolor card stock, then covered my Brick stamp with a heavy layer of Ranger’s Distress Resist Spray and stamped it onto the stock. The card above is the first one I did, and the spray was so saturated on the stamp that it lost some of it’s detail. The second one was a better image and the third one was perfect! BUT! There was no way I was going to waste this one and here’s what I made!So, here are my three panels after stamping out the Hit The Brick background, as mentioned above. Not a great picture but you get the idea!I sponged on these colors: Suede Surface ink, Terracotta Surface ink and Walnut Stain Distress Oxide. The Resist Spray is VERY resistant so the shiny parts didn’t take the ink very well.My finished panel; I didn’t love it but was hopeful I could make something beautiful with it!I decided to cut out the center of my panel with Oval Stitched dies and create a “window”~ but what to place in my window? After trying out several stamps, I settled on this one by Stampendous called Cozy Cottage which I stamped on a separate piece of Bristol Smooth watercolor paper using Gathered Twigs Distress ink. I then “painted” over the lines with a watery brush to create the soft sepia look and added a little color using Distress Markers.Then I realized that this would make a great shaker card! I’ve only made a few with much angst and frustration, but this one came together beautifully! I attached a piece of acetate to the backside of the window, then built a wall of foam tape going all around the back of the sponged panel to hold in the “snow” which is actually Ultra Thick Clear Embossing powder!! I added a few sequins and micro beads as well! Can you see them? Anyway, I got all the pieces and parts in the correct order and voila! A shaker panel!I found the perfect patterned paper to attach the panel to, then mounted it to a card base of Brutus Monroe’s Lunchbag card stock! The final touch was a few sprigs of Tim Holtz’ Holiday Greens holly touched up with a bit of Gathered Twigs distress oxide ink and three little “berries”! Now, isn’t this a lovely scene framed by that amazing Brick background?!Unity is still holding their awesome giveaway! You have until October 1st to comment on any of the blogs which participated in the blog hop for a chance to win! Here’s the link to their blog with the lineup! On October 2nd, they’ll choose the lucky winners! I hope it’s you!!
Happy Saturday, friends! It’s my day to share on the Brutus Monroe blog and we’ve had an exciting week with our recent reveal of the Unity Stamps and Brutus Monroe collaboration! I received the Hit The Brick background stamp and paired it today with Unity Stamps Hollyhocks! Above are pictured three panels which I created using the Brick background and Ranger’s Distress Resist Spray on watercolor card stock. The first panel had the most spray so left a smudgy impression but I kept stamping it out onto the next two panels and got a better impression with each one. You can be sure I’ll use them all, though! On the second panel, I sponged a layer of Zest Surface ink onto the center and then surrounded it with a layer of Sea Surface ink. Isn’t that textured brick background gorgeous?! Next I inked up Hollyhocks with black embossing ink, stamped it onto my panel then heat-embossed with black powder. I over-stamped another layer of the Hollyhocks with Iced Spruce distress oxide ink. My sentiment is from Unity Stamps Tess Girl set and I heat-embossed it in black directly to my card front. When I added the black embossing powder, bits of it stuck to my Iced Spruce Hollyhocks but I decided to leave the residue as it gave another cool textured element! I decided to trim down my panel with Stitched Oval dies, making a slightly larger black oval to frame my main panel, and then stamped the Hollyhocks again onto a white base card with the Iced Spruce oxide ink. I adhered all the pieces together and this is my finished card! I love how the two stamps, Hit The Brick and Hollyhocks paired so beautifully and the pop of Zest is so striking! There are four new background stamps made for Unity/Brutus Monroe so be sure to check them out! Here are the links: Hit The BrickDance With DenimBarn WallSpilled Paint
Welcome friends! I’m sharing a non-traditional autumn card made with only blue and black inks and my new Simple Blends Circle stencil by Brutus Monroe! To begin, I placed the frame part of the stencil onto a piece of Bristol Smooth watercolor paper and lightly sponged Faded Jeans distress oxide ink around the edges of the circle cut-out to outline my moon, then added a little Black Soot as well. Using a cool texture stamp (pictured below) I added the “moon shadows” with the same colors of ink. I stamped the line of geese with Raven Detail ink.Next, I placed the circle stencil over the moon to cover it up, and heavily sponged Black Soot and Faded Jeans oxide around it to create a night sky. It’s barely noticeable but I also lightly sponged a teeny bit of Zest just above the horizon line! This wonderful tree is made by Stampendous from their Nature set and I heat-embossed it in black right over the panel. I then added fine spatters of white craft paint to depict stars.Once my tree was in place, I got really excited for how awesome it looked!! But it needed to be grounded, so I used a paper mask to create the hillside with Raven Detail ink then stamped the line of geese, also from the Stampendous set. After cutting the panel with Stitched Rectangle dies, I mounted it to a piece of fun foam to lift it up and then onto an off-white base card.I LOVE how this card turned out! I’m not sure if I’ll add a sentiment, but in the meantime, I’ll just enjoy it’s striking simplicity! Now, I’m off to find yet another way to use my cool new stencil! See Ya! ***I added photos below of the texture stamp I used to create the shading on the moon. I’ve had it for many, many years so am not sure it can still be purchased. Made by Magenta.
I’ve created this tutorial to help show you how I created this beautiful card. Be warned! I am super comfortable in the world of stamping. Video Creation and editing? Well, that remains to be seen!
CopyCatCards 