0

Bark the Halls

|

It’s never too early to start your Christmas cards! For this design, I used Sparkle Blends in a different way besides making a shaker. I thought this die cut wreath was the perfect base to use the Holly Berry mix to create a Christmas wreathe. There are so many different pieces, it really brought the wreathe to life.

I used the holly leaves and then built on top of that with all the different reds to make berry clusters. The rhinestones and beads added even more interest.

The wreathe die is from Tim Holtz’s “Wreath & Die” Thinlets by Sizzix. The banner is from Kindred Stamps. The dog stamp, die and plaid paper are from one of my favorite Collections by Photoplay titled “Muttcracker.

Creating designs with Sparkle Blends is a great way to add pop to a card. Visit the store to get inspired!

Advertisement
1

Just a bunch of hocus pocus

|

Halloween is definitely a treat with these “Spooky Kids” from Brutus Monroe. This set is part of the amazing new Fall Release.

I used two of the adorable trick or treaters from this set. This set is packed with Halloween fun with 6 different dressed up kids and four sentiments. I chose the witch and ghost for this fun, wobbly card. I colored them both with Copics. The witch is adhered with foam adhesive and the ghost is secured on a wobbler. The background that each is mounted on was created with Chroma Mists. If you want to read more about how I create Chroma Mist backgrounds check out this post.

The candy background paper is from Doodlebug’s Ghost Town Line. You can see all these products at Brutus Monroe.

0

How Sweet It Is

|

So sweet it makes my tooth hurt! How adorable are these two cuties sitting at the ice cream parlor? Looks like they are waiting for some sweet treats, maybe some Neopolitan Ice Cream. If you take a close look in the window, that’s exactly what you’ll see. Neopolitan Sparkle Blends from Doodles Paper Playground make this card a giant scoop of fabulous.

Look close and you will see all the deliciousness this blend has to offer. From sprinkles, clay pieces, shimmers and sparkles to gold outlined ice cream cones and sundaes, this blend hits all the sweet spots. The color pallet of pinks, browns and white are reminiscent of the strawberry, chocolate and vanilla of Neapolitan ice cream. So many shapes and sizes make this blend delicious!

This cute couple is from the “Sweet Valentine” stamp set from Brutus Monroe. I stamped it in Raven Detail ink and colored with Copics. The sentiment is from Brutus Monroe’s Conversation Clippings. This set was the perfect match for Neapolitan Sparkle Blends. This blend is a previous release so supplies are limited. Head to the shop to grab yours before the sweetness runs out!
1

Fall is in the (Summer) air

|

Are you ready for all the new Fall sneak peaks from Brutus Monroe?!? There are so many exciting, new Fall and Halloween products, it makes me crave a pumpkin latte! Check out all the fall fun.

First up is this adorable guy from the Autumn Bundles stamp set. There were so many great options with this set, the possibilities are endless. I had to make something with the cute little squirrel. I could not resist his chubby, little cheeks.

First I made the background which was really easy to do using Brutus Monroe Chroma Mists. I wanted different tones so I sprayed Bumblebee Yellow and Candy Apple Red onto a gel plate.
I spritzed a little water onto it to get the colors flowing, then dabbed a piece of smooth watercolor paper onto the plate. If you don’t have a gel plate, a craft mat or smooth surface will work just as well.
Once dry, I sprayed more Chroma Mist onto my mat and used a fan brush to splatter the background.
I stamped the squirrel on Brutus Monroe Pebble cardstock and the leaves on Brown Butter cardstock. I used pastel chalk pencils to color them becuase the colors show up on dark paper. These are a hard medium so if you look close you can see pencil marks. I felt this added to the rustic, autumn feel of the card.
Next up is a Brand New set from Brutus Monroe’s new fall line. The Fall Prairie set is a 6″ X 8″ set that is loaded with all kinds of images. There are various different leaves and tree that are perfect for building a background. Several clouds and houses that make building a scene very simple, which is what I chose to do here.
Again, I created the background for the scene, sun and hills using the same Chroma Mist technique as above. The orange background was another piece I had left over from the Autumn Bundles card. The sun was made layering only Bumblebee Yellow Chroma Mist. And the hills were made leftover pieces of the orange background that I dabbed in Seaweed Green Mermaid Mist. The clouds, trees and houses were all stamped and then colored with the chalk pastel pencils. And the sentiment was stamped in Crackling Campfire Distress Oxide ink. I used various layers of chipboard to give the scene dimension.

Fall Prairie is just one of several new releases from Brutus Monroe’s fall line. Hurry over to Brutus Monroe and see all the awesome Fall and Halloween releases. There are a ton of new 6X6 paper pads, specialty seasonal Chroma Mist, Halloween die cuts and more!

0

A Flamazing Pig

|

I’m tickled pink over this new Sparkle Blend from Doodles Paper Playground. “You’re Flamazing” is a bright pink blend that can be used in many ways.


For this project, I wanted to a pink pig so I removed the flamingos from the blend. But, as you can see I was still able to use one as a lawn ornament. I also created a flower cluster with different elements from the blend.

To create this scene, I used the Penny the Pig Roundimal stamp and die set from Brutus Monroe. I used the die to cut the pig shape out of a piece of cardstock. Then I stamped the pig on a piece of acetate using Staz-On. The shaker is backed with pink paper. I created the scene repeating a fence stamp from “Hog Heaven” by MFT. That’s also where the stencil came from. I colored the fence and grass with Copics. For the sky I used the cloud stencil from MFT with Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink and blending brush.

So the moral of this story – don’t shy away from a blend just becuase it may have an element that you don’t think you will use. You can always pick apart blends and tailor them to your needs. Head over to the shop to see all the amazing possibilities.

0

Let’s Hang On

|

Who wouldn’t want to hang on to this adorable guy? This wild guy will put a smile on anyone’s face.

This card features a few of my favorite Brutus Monroe products. For the wild background, I used the Abstract Flower stencil with Obsidian Chroma Glaze to give it the feel of being in a tree, surrounded by leaves. On the white, vertical strip, first I stamped the leaves from the “Let’s Hang” stamp and heat embossed them in Raven embossing powder. Then I used some of my favorite shades of green Aqua Pigments to paint them. On the green circle, I used Raven ink to stamp the vines from the same stamp set. The sloth from “Let’s Hang” is stamped in Raven ink and colored with Copics. I stamped him twice and fussy cut his head so I could pop it and give the card dimension. Lastly, I used Alabaster embossing powder on the sentiment.
From Aqua Pigments to glazes, from stamps to stencils, Brutus Monroe has everything you need to make you projects come to life and create your own ending. Check out the website today. New items are being added daily. Below are links to some of my favorite Brutus Monroe products.

Aqua Pigments Stay tuned! New Aqua Pigments coming soon!

Chroma Glaze

Stencils

Inspiration Box

0

The Epic 80’s

|

The 80’s were epic and this blend proves it. “I Love the 80’s” has all that retro neon flare we all knew and loved growing up. It makes any design timeless.

This trend is back and there’s no better way to make a project pop you back in time than with “I Love the 80’s” Sparkle Blends from Doodles Paper Playground. The colors buzz like neon lights and all the different elements make you think of everything you loved back then from big hair to bright colored high tops.

There are neon discs, sprinkles, stars, and even blue neon gems. So if you want to take a totally tubular trip back in time, grab this blend before they are a distant memory just like the eighties.

0

To Dive For

|

This blue haired mermaid is swimming along in a sea of beautiful shells, pearls, sequins and so much more.

The underwater scene came to life with the “Mermaid Kisses” stamp and die set from Brutus Monroe. Everything was colored with Copics and mounted atop a background from Catherine Pooler’s 6X6 Seaside patterned paper pack. The sentiment was stamped in the coordinating Sea Glass ink.

But the real stars under this sea are all the thingamabobs in the the “Just Keep Swimming” Sparkle Blends from Doodles Paper Playground. This underwater mix is just to dive for. It’s got gadgets and gizmos aplenty.

Look close and you will find all sorts of under water creatures including various types of fish, seashells, sparkle discs, bubbles…the list goes on. And the color palette leaves so many options for coordinating patterned papers. I used pieces from Just Keep Swimming to decorate the outside of the card as well.

The pink starfish in the mermaid’s hair are one of the many different clay pieces that include 3 different types of fish. I used various discs and sequins to create bubbles. And of course, the clear colored bubbles to complete this scene. If you love this blend as much as I do, swim on over to the shop and grab yours!
0

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out

|

Said the late, great Dr. Seuss. That’s what this card is all about. Being bold. Being different. In this case, it was all about the Aqua Pigments. This was a different medium for me and I loved it right away. After heat embossing the bubbles from the Narwahl in Alabaster embossing powder, I created the the shimmery water color background using Aqua Pigments from Brutus Monroe. They worked perfectly on the Aqua Pigment Paper. There are so many colors and finishes to choose from, the possibilities are endless.

The sentiment was heat embossed with Mermaid Tale embossing powder. I used glitter paper with the Shell Background Die. The narwhal was also embossed with Alabaster Embossing powder.

Aqua Pigments are an easy and fun way to create colorful backgrounds or paint your stamped images. You can even use them on a gel press. They are on sale so grab yours before they’re gone! The colors I used for this background are Cactus, Delphine, Purple and Dahlia.

2

Have a Kindred Summer

|

The entire Kindred Stamps May release will be available Friday, June 25 at 8am PST/11am EST. Be sure to subscribe to the Kindred Stamps blog to see a daily line up of sneak peeks from our amazing Design Team and see the full product release on Friday! Come join the Fan Club and release event to be part of the release fun, and you may just win some Kindred Stamps credit!!

I was really excited to play with some bright bold colors to bring out the fun in the new “Soak Up the Sun” stamp set. My first card has a lot of dimension. I created a shaker element as the sun. The pier was created with Sentiment Strip Dies. I used Comic Dots stencil and Mermaid Scales stencil with the new Simon Hurley Lunar Paste. The shimmering paste was perfect for this bright sunny scene.

Nothing screams Summer like 4th of July. I had to create a red, white and blue themed card to celebrate. I had fun making this lady shine. I used the Card Basics Die for the stars and the ticket.

Another thing I love about summer is tie dye. I watched a few you tube videos and learned how to create this tie dye look for the background of the card. I used it on the shirt also. I used the Card Basics Die for the tie dye panel and the big circle.