Brutus Monroe - Spring Fling April 2025

 In my journey to try out as many virtual events in the card making industry, Brutus Monroe Spring Fling was my second event. But it was my first weekend event. This event did have a small amount of people that attended in person as the same time.

The kit arrived in plenty of time before the event. The only major thing you would need to purchase if you didn’t already have it would be inks. One main thing on all these events is trying to match the colors with inks you have in your possession. The staff in charge of the event did create a couple of chart comparisons to different inks that could be substituted for example distress oxides to Gina K inks. 

Instructions were provided after the classes that could be downloaded or reviewed online at Brutus Monroe website. For these classes you watched / participated and followed along with each instructor. There was no homework that was needed to be completed before the event.

The Facebook group was very nice. I have now seen some groups that get a little “complaining” at times. This one was very kind and sincere. If any one had a question, the attendees would help. Also Gina K would also answer questions before the events. Links were posted to the YouTube classes.

Classes

Christopher Alan did the 1st and 3rd class. This was on Saturday morning and Sunday evening. He used Brutus Monroe product and created two cards per class. These classes we used a mixture of the 6x6 paper packs, card stock, stamps, stencils, and dies. Some of the color combinations were a little a way from my liking. However, the structure of the cards were very insightful. I did end up having to go back and create one of the cards later. This was one of the last cards on Sunday and I didn’t line it up properly.

One thing that Christopher Alan does is make you touch the artist side of your brain. You are piecing together different patterns, colors to create a cohesive card front. But his cards also build to the inside. A lot of card making stops after the outside. And the inside is up to you to figure out how to fill the blank space. 

Here are the cards I created in Christopher Alan’s classes:

Gina K did the second class and you can tell she has been doing this for a while. She comes very prepared for her class. We ended up creating what I have come to learn is the “classic” Gina K cards. The product that was used for her class, was designed by Gina K for this class. She did three cards during her class. Her cards used a stencil, stamping, die cutting and creating “black” frames. I have started to really appreciate a good frame on a card. 

Her use of silhouette and frames puts a card to being a master piece. I did finish all three cards during class. I might have made some minor errors but practice makes for better!

Here are the cards I created in Gina K class:

Shopping

After event discount code was offered along with “raffle” tickets to participate in a giveaway event. They created packages of extras that you could purchase from the class supplies. 

Impression

I had just started my “hobby” in card making when I took this class. I had been introduced to the community two months prior and the details of making cards was still new. These classes taught by these two people was a great introduction. And since, there was no homework and everything was done in class the pace was very good for a newbie.

The chat was very active during the class. And both instructors participated in the chat. 

The Details

Event Cost: $250

Class: 3 - 2 hours each

Cards: 7 cards

Teachers: Christopher Alan (2 classes), Gina K (1 class)

Presentations: Live on YouTube

Access: Brutus Monroe Events Course web page (Includes Printable Instructions and Videos)

Community: Private Facebook Group

Kit Included: Stamp set and die, 2 stamp sets with dies and stencils, stand alone stencil, 2 sets of 6x6 paper packs, Embossing powder and 9 pieces of card stock [All Brutus Monroe Product]

Exclusive: All Kit items will be available for general public 

Extra’s Needed: Ink, die cutting machine, score board, glue, blending brushes, stamp positioning (helpful not necessary)

Homework: None

Brutus Monroe Events

Camp Firefly - June Creative Crate S'mores Edition 2025

 

This virtual event is slightly different than others I have attended so far. This is an event that is presented by a paper craft store, Firefly Farms, in Minnesota. There is an option to do the card making or scrapbooking classes. Once you pay for your spot you are able to add classes from the one you didn’t pick. For example, I picked card making and I could have added any of the three classes from scrapbooking. I did not add on this event, and only stuck with the card making. 

When I got the kit it was different then others kits I have received so far. This one included other items besides card making materials. Since this is done through a paper craft store that also sells home / personal goods you got a little bit of goodies. 

In the event kit, you receive some of that month’s release or previous month release from the companies that are used in each class. Before the kit is shipped you fill out a survey and have options to add to the kit for a cost additional dies, stencils at a slight discount that will be part of the items that are provided in the kit. 

Because this isn’t being done by one company, some of the items are prepared card kits and don’t include the stamps and dies you would expect. I have never used a prepared kit before so it was interesting that I didn’t have to do die cutting or card base making. 

This event has one class during the weekday in the evening, and then the remainder of the classes are on Saturday. Firefly is moving to do YouTube lives but at this time the scrapbooking classes were done on FaceBook Live. You are able to watch all classes no matter what group you sign up to be part of. However if you don’t pay for the extra classes in the group you didn’t sign up in then you don’t get the product. 

Description of Classes

In the class with Jen Shurkus, she was using Lawn Fawn products. Jen uses copic markers and gives a very detailed guide on how to use markers to color on the cards. Her class was interactive on YouTube, and she is very helpful in answering questions, and giving details on specific coloring techniques. 

We used product from Lawn Fawns’ new June release and old product. Most of the older product was still available to purchase from Lawn Fawns. I do find this helpful when attending the class because it allows for you to try some of what the products can produce before buying them. 

The part of the event kit that you received was the drink stamps seen below (this was the bonus item), you could add on the new taco cart add ons and the die cuts. I did add these on, as I am a sucker for die cuts. I think it makes the experience of making cards to a level that gives you a good finish.

Below are the cards that I created for this class. 

In Mindy Eggen’s class, we used Pretty Pink Posh card kit. It appears Pretty Pink Posh creates card kits for this purpose, either virtual events or in person classes. It comes in a plastic zipper with a cover photo and all the items you need to create the three cards. Well at least the material items, you still need to have markers or ink pads. This classed used the new releases from Pretty Pink Posh. We used pattern paper, stencils and created a sand shaker card. 

Mindy is very good at teaching the classes online. And the three cards since already prepared for you, came together in the two hours without feeling rushed. 

The event kit included the summer stencil, shell stamps and die cuts. At this point I had never used Pretty Pink Posh items and I was not disappointed in their product. 

Here are the cards I created in this class:

The final full class was done by Lea Lawson, featuring Waffle Flower products. I do participate in the monthly subscription to Waffle Flower and for this month I didn’t skip it. So it was an extra bonus that I had other parts of this theme for later use. 

If you didn’t know Waffle Flower is the main leader in postage collages. They have created a lot of them over the last couple of years. This one we used the coastal collage and Lea showed three different ways to use the collage. Her use of colors made each card slightly different. 

Here is what I made during her class:

On the Make & Take part, this was done by a quick FaceBook live by Melissa Miller. I mean quick because it was about 20 minutes. And we used the PinkFresh stencil to create a card. This is offered for both the scrapbooking and card making participants. 

Here is the card I created:

Shopping

At the start, you are given a discount code to shop at Firefly if you need to purchase any extra suppliers. They will add these to your kit box before it ships out.

During the event, I was introduced to the virtual shopping event. Now this is different than any of the other events I have experienced. And it was fun, maybe a little expensive but that is up to you how much stuff you ask for!! This is a live FaceBook event, and Trisha from Firefly has created shopping bundles. Some go with the items we used, some are other items from those shops. And then there are items that they sell at their store. It was a fun way to end the event.

The last bit is there is a final discount code for the weekend to shop at Firefly Farms. 

Impression

Since this is one of the smaller events, I believe in total around 100 people attend, it has a very intimate feeling. Even though you don’t see any one but the instructors and Trisha, the names start to be familiar. The shopping event is fun and different. Yes, the cost is on the higher end for one of these events. It is understandable since they are not working with just one store. And have to put the items together themselves and pay the instructors. 

They have three of these events during the year and also some in person events. If you are interested on getting a small variety of different stores items, then this is a good experience. It gets you the ability to dip into card making without having to purchase all the product. 

The Details

Event Cost: $279

Class: 3 - 2 hours each, and 30 minute make & take class

Cards: 10 Cards

Instructors: Jen Shurkus featuring Lawn fawn, Mindy Eggen featuring Pretty Pink Posh, Lea Lawson featuring Waffle Flower, and Melissa Miller featuring Pinkfresh Studio.

Presentations: Live on YouTube and Facebook

Access: Private Paylist on YouTube and saved on Facebook

Community: Private Facebook Group

Kit Included: S’mores DIY display, Natural balm, candies, bonus Lawn Fawn Summer Stamps, washi and pattern paper; Pretty Pink Posh Seashells stamp & die, and the summer words stencil; Waffle Flower Postal Collage Stencil, Just a Note word die, and Hello Sunshine sub-sentiments. Pinkfresh stamp and stencil

Exclusive: All Kit items will be available for general public 

Extra’s Needed: Ink, glue, blending brushes, alcohol markers

Homework: None

Events & Classes | Firefly Farms & Catching Fireflies | Pine Island MN

Celebration: Stencil Techniques with Altenew

 Today I tackled using a stencil to make it the background but at the same time to make it the star of the card! This is another class towards my level 1 for AECP.

I wanted to play with paste instead of ink on this card. I grabbed an old stencil from Altenew to go with the theme of the company. Mixing old with new, the Diamond Snowflake, I believe is from 2 years ago. 

I use a paste to build up the snowflakes on the card front on the beautiful Caribbean cardstock. It is kind of funny to add snow the Caribbean, but the classic blue and white always comes together.  

Then I pick the Zero-Waste: Oval Serenity die set from this year to create the center piece. But I don't want to cover up the snowflakes. I use vellum from the oval cut out to be able to still see the majority of the card front.

I glued the sentiment on the middle of the vellum and then added glue to the back of the vellum where the sentiment was placed. This way you are not able to see the glue through the vellum.

I die cut out the flowers and leaves with three different colors. Before I put them down with glue, I play the puzzle game. Putting different flowers/leaves down in areas until I find were I want them to be. I did take a picture to use as a guide once I got to the step of glueing.   

As I add the flowers and leaves to the card, it additional helps to secure the vellum on the bottom of the oval.  I picked the dark blue color to add to the mat on the card. It connects the colors together from the middle to the outer edge of the card.

The top of the vellum was still loose, so I figured I would add three glue dots on the paste section at the top. Once the glue dried it faded into the paste, and you can't see it through the vellum.

If the glue is visible, you could add other embellishments to the top of the vellum to hide it. On this card I was trying to make the background stencil be the star. Which meant having it show through as much as I can on the card front.

In the end, I love how this card turned out. The Altenew class taught me so many ways to use a stencil and I look forward trying out the different techniques on many more cards.

 

All About Layering 3 with Altenew

 Hello All! 

All About Layering 3 at Altenew is part of my AECP Level 1 classes. In this project, I wanted to create a minimalist card that highlighted cool color tones.

To start, I used the Dainty Blooms cover die to create an intricate background. I kept it white on white which helped not take away from the purples and blue that are on the flowers. 

Layering stamps can be frustrating. As the tools in stamping have become better engineered, I found using the stamp wheel very helpful. Sometimes the color does not saturate enough on the first imprint. This is why it helps to have the stamp wheel and be able to apply a second time. 

Even though I ended up not using the stems or leaves on the stamp set, I did ink them up. And used the stamp wheel to create numerous ones by just rotating the plate. Another benefit to the stamp wheel.

Altenew’s Columbine Layering Flower is a simple flower with the right touch of layering that gives the stamped flower dimension. I picked a muted purple family, Sugarplums, because I wanted the blues to be center stage on the card. It brings a calmness to the card with the layering of the Sea Glass, Ocean Waves and Dusk from Cool Summer Nights Fresh Dye family. 

Both the purple and blue section required three colors, or at least at the option to use three different colors. I decided to stay in the color families created by Altenew. You could do the same color on a couple of the layers for different effects.

Altenew inks are good for ink blending but they also saturate the page over time. One thing to note if you think the coverage isn’t complete wait a couple of minutes for the ink to be absorbed into the paper. I mentioned above the use of the stamp wheel to stamp a second time. I only do this when I see big missing spots. If the spots are small, I take into consideration how the ink will react on the paper.

To create the coloring on the sentiment, I used white cardstock and covered it with Dusk ink. You can use this technique if you don’t have the matching card stock. The sentiment pulls from the Dusk color on both flowers. I used Altenew Brushed Silver Metallic cardstock for the background cut out. 

I glued the Dainty Bloom outline directly to the card base. Then added Instant Dimension Foam to the flowers. To add a little more dimension, I put a little thicker foam tape to the “thank you” sentiment. This gives it a little more pop when you have the card in your hand.

I hope you enjoyed my details of making this card. Part of my love of this craft is the different emotions color can give a person. Just think of what colors you could use to elicit different feelings!

Materials Used:

Altenew Products:

Build-A-Flower: Columbine

Timeless Sentiments Die Set

Dainty Blooms Cover Die

Fresh Dye Ink: Pale Mauve, Amethyst, Grape Agate, Sea Glass, Ocean Waves, Dusk, Espresso, and Maple Yellow

Brushed Silver Metallic Card Stock

Stamp Wheel (Original)

Instant Dimension Foam Tape

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Neenah Classic Crest 80 lb. and 110 lb. Card Stock

Barely Art Glue

Anna Griffin Empress Elite