We are so excited to welcome one of our newest partners to the blog today, Brutus Monroe! This company, founded in 2014 by Christopher Alan, brings together a mix of masculine and feminine stamp designs as well as a variety of products with the modern crafter in mind. Their products are carefully engineered to work in tandem with one another and create a simplistic creative experience—and we all need things to be streamlined, right!? Plus, they have a storefront, too! So, if you’re ever in the Pittsburgh area, be sure to pay them a visit to pick up some must-have supplies! Today, our friends at Brutus Monroe are sharing inspiration using a JUST released new stamp that is sure to have you feeling those cool, fall breezes! Let’s take a look!

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Hello, fellow crafters! It’s Kathy, from Brutus Monroe, and today, I’m so excited to share our new Fall Prairie stamp set with you! There is no season I love more than fall, with the cool crisp days and beautiful foliage changes. These stamps set the mood with all the elements you need to create beautiful fall scenescapes. Follow along with me to create this card, featuring a colorful fall wreath!

To get started, I coated a piece of cardstock with Copper Metallic Chroma Glaze. Don’t let the initial color of the glaze fool you, it will dry to a beautiful copper shine! Keep in mind the glaze layer doesn’t have to be perfect and smooth, the goal is to cover the card front. You will be using an embossing folder in the finishing steps, so any unevenness now will add more texture later. Set the card front aside to dry.

While the glaze is drying, it is time to have fun making some fall-colored backgrounds with Distress inks. Pick a variety of colors, some of my favorites are Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy and Bundled Sage. The larger the variety of colors you use, the more character your wreath elements will have. You can also splatter with water or darker ink for accents.

Using an acrylic block or stamping platform and black ink, stamp an assortment of leaves and foliage on the inky backgrounds. I always stamp more than I need, giving me lots of options when I am ready to assemble the wreath.

Fussy cut everything you have stamped, cutting the general outline for each leaf or stem. Since you have a beautiful background, there is no need to trim it all off. To add a little sparkle, lay all the leaves out in a splatter box and give them a quick spray with a pearl mist.

Pick a color for your card base and sentiment circle. I used cream since it works well with the warm fall hues. For the wreath base and sentiment, you will need to die cut or punch a circle approximately 3 inches in diameter. Stamp the sentiment in the center and emboss with Penny embossing powder to give it some shine. This embossing color is a perfect match for the Copper Chroma glaze used on the background.

It’s time to build your wreath! There will be several layers, so rather than trying to lay it all out initially, I just started by gluing one piece in place and then built it up in layers around the circle. Using tweezers can be helpful for the final placement of the small pieces. Mix the colors up and add pieces to cover where stems join on the front as well as the underside to fill out the circle. There is no right or wrong way, just keep building until the circle is full and you are satisfied with the overall look. 

To create the card background, I used the Sizzix 3-D Texture Fades Embossing Folder – Brickwork by Tim Holtz. If you like the distressed look, you can add dark ink in between the bricks after running the folder through your machine. Cut the background down to fit an A2 card base using a frayed edge die. You can use a deckle trimmer or even hand tear the edge if you want a more distressed look. 

Put it all together by gluing the brick background to the card base and adhere the wreath using foam tape to pop it off the page.

I hope this inspires you to embrace the beauty of fall since it will be here soon! Thanks for stopping by, and don’t miss out on the brand new Fall Prairie stamp set, just released today in our shop! 

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What a gorgeous fall wreath card! Don’t miss out on this new stamp set, as well as inspiration from Brutus Monroe at the links below, and follow Kathy for more card designs, too! Have a great day, friends! 

Find more from Brutus Monroe at these links: Shop | Blog | Instagram | Facebook

Find Kathy Burress here: Instagram