Love Bugs with Jennifer!

Hello Again! It is Jennifer for another guest design at Brutus Monroe for April 2019. I am very excited to show you a shaker card I created with the Love Bug stamp set from Brutus Monroe.

 
To begin this card, I used Bristol Smooth 100lb paper for the card base. I placed a hexagon stencil on the paper and blended distress oxides in fossilized amber and spiced marmalade. I removed the stencil and blended fossilized amber over the entire area. I then cut the card to size and die cut out the hexagon shape. On the back of this I taped on a piece of acetate. This will be the top of the shaker card. Next, I cut a brown piece of cardstock slightly larger than the top piece of the shaker card. I then glued on the die cut hexagon shape. I stamped the sentiment in the middle of the hexagon shape. This will be the background base of the shaker card.

 
To create the shape around the window opening I created another stenciled background. This time slightly darker than the first by using more spiced marmalade distress oxide than previously used to make it slightly darker. I then used the same hexagon die and a slightly larger one to cut out the shape around the window. I adhered this to the front of the card using 1/8 inch double sided tape.

 
To elevate the background base from the top base of the shaker card I used white sticky back craft foam. I cut two pieces of the craft foam slightly smaller than the top of the card. I die cut out the hexagon shape from both pieces. I removed the sticky back from both pieces and adhered them on top of each other and then to the background base of the card. I added several clear and yellow sequins to the inside of the hexagon area of the background base. I then taped down the top base of the card.
 
The final step of the card was to color the stamped the image of the bugs. I used the coordinating digital cut file with my Cricut to cut the shape, and then stamped the image with StazOn Jet Black ink onto Canson XL 140lb watercolor paper. For details on my process for using digital cut files with traditional stamps check out my previous Brutus Monroe blog post. And, if you don’t own a cutting machine, these bugs are easy enough to fussy cut.

 
As I was writing this post, I apparently was not paying enough attention to our 9 month old puppy, Milo. He took the card off the table in the other room and brought it to me while I was on my laptop. Wasn’t that super nice of him? He didn’t chew it to pieces, he just brought it to me all soggy with a few bite marks.
 
I hope you enjoyed this card as much as I enjoyed making it and as much as Milo enjoyed destroying it. Special thanks to Brutus Monroe for letting me guest design this month. Glad you stopped by. Please visit me at my Instagram @createorgocrazy or my blog createorgocrazy.wordpress.com.