Hey guys it’s Beth again! I was so blessed to be a part of the Brutus Monroe team this month and I have so much to show you. January is an exciting month for many reasons, new beginnings, new year, new you. But also because in January is Creativation! Creativation is fun for a lot of reasons too, new stamps, new tools, new techniques...unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go myself. Thankfully, I had plenty of friends who did, including Brutus Monroe’s own Christopher Alan! I got to see tons of videos and even facetimed a few friends from last years JunkieFest. I have to say the stuff coming out this year is incredible and my pocketbook is going to be on fire! The thing about new stuff, is you have to make room for it. Personally, I’m no Marie Kondo, in fact I’m a self proclaimed craft hoarder and I’m sure many of you can relate. Marie isn’t welcome here.
I may have gotten a little sidetracked there but the point is, when you have to make room, you have to say goodbye to some things. This can be sad, but the good news for us is great prices!
And like so many companies this year Brutus Monroe is having a spectacular retirement sale, found here.
I strongly suggest you get the I Love You More Than Tacos… that I talked about in my last blog but there is another stamp set in there that I got to work with this month so I want to tell you about it. Be Brave features sentiments such as Be Brave, Hello Sunshine etc. One of the reasons I’m a fan of this set is the uplifting sentiments (obviously) but they’re so big that it makes it really easy to make a beautiful simple card. I just had to work with it and you can’t beat the price it’s at right now at $6.00! You need this set
I used this set with Abstract Art, which is NOT retiring and some personal stencils I had to make several quick, easy, and gorgeous cards.
For my first project I used the Abstract Art pieces to create a funky rainbow background. I was going for a “clean” messy look that I feel I achieved using this stamp set that I could not have done if I was trying to do mixed media. I then embossed the sentiment Hello Sunshine from Be Brave on top in a gold. I finished up with a few dots of embellishment. I want to point out that I have a hard time leaving something alone and simple. Don’t be afraid to stop!
My next card I embossed a piece of watercolor paper I had with a dots embossing folder. I didn’t want something to take over but I also wanted something a little more than a flat piece of paper. I’ll be honest, I thought I was going for a debossed type look but it didn’t work out. I’m still happy with the result though, and that’s important! I used watercolors to make a splashy fun background and then layered my sentiment with some fun rainbow paper I had laying around. New New Years resolution...use the paper!
The sentiment I stamped in a pink, you can use Rouge from the spring collection available here.
For my last two cards I had fun with some stencils I had laying around. Stencils are great because you can put a great card together really really fast. I think this is my new favorite way to add interest to a card.
For my first card I noticed that my stencil was a little more narrow than my card. I chose to ink it up using a single color AND to use that to create a border on the sides of my cards. I finished up with the Life is Art sentiment and will likely send this one off to a crafty friend.
With my last card, I used the Life is Art sentiment again but did a double stencil. If I were to change anything about this in the future, I think I may try again and foil my dreamcatcher. I’m not 100% sure. I love both of these cards but my favorite part is how easy it was to put it all together.
That’s it for me this month! I hope you enjoyed all my projects! Go check out the sale and find your perfect Brutus Monroe product AND make sure to keep in touch because I know the products coming out these year are going to blow your mind!
Love,
Beth
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