The time has finally come! My crafty dreams have come true. Today is my debut as a designer for Brutus Monroe’s Inspiration Team. For our first project, we were asked to create something that represents our style. Brutus Monroe is definitely my style which just adds to the excitement of being part of their team. However, I had nothing. No thoughts or ideas. So how did I get inspired. This is how.

I made a mess. I grabbed my basket of Brutus Monroe goodies and laid it all out in front of me. All the good stuff. Glazes. Powders. Aqua Pigments. Sprays. Oh my. Then I started playing. Spraying. Dripping. Splattering. Getting my hands dirty. That’s how the creativity comes. Once I start seeing the colors and feeling the textures and smelling the smells. Yes, I said smelling. All of it. I get lost in a world of mixed media.

I chose my color palette based on some of my favorite colors. I wanted to combine inky and grungy with a contrast of class and elegance. Just like me. LOL! I started blending my background on my favorite blending paper. I used pinks and turquoise then finished off with a shade of my favorite color, purple. This grungy panel needed some shimmer so I splattered it with Shimmer Mist. Next I had to add the elegance to it. So I chose the Butterfly Heart stencil. To contrast the elegant and delicate butterflies, I used Purple Galaxy Glaze.

This glaze on top of the inked background created the exact contrast of grunge and beauty I was looking for. The amazing thing about Galaxy Glaze is how it shines and changes color in the light. You would never think that murky, grey paste would dry to something so stunning.

Next I wanted to add some fine, intricate details but still have that deep contrast. I used Judy’s Wreath Die set for the “hello” and the branches. I cut them out on toner paper and foiled them with Silver Holographic Speckle from Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Metallic & Holographic Variety Pack. I used Raven Embossing powder to heat emboss the “beautiful” sentiment from “Extra Sentimental” stamp set onto heat resistant vellum. Lastly, I needed to add a few finishing touches. To make the leaves stand out a little more, I added some Halo Fabulous Fibers. Do make a sprig of these, I took some of the fibers and folded then in half. Then I quickly heated the folded segment with my heat gun. They melted just enough to give me a base to adhere the glue to. To add a little more sparkle, I adhered sequins from the “Reach For The Stars” sequin assortment that came in May’s Inspiration Box.

So you can see why Brutus Monroe products fit my style. There is a huge variety of mediums, papers, embellishments, powders, etc. to fit any style crafter. I hope you’ll follow me in the upcoming months as I showcase more of these wonderful products in my upcoming projects. Don’t forget to check out my IG for more sweet inkspiration!