SUNDAY SKETCH with Patricia

 

Hello and welcome to another Sunday sketch.   I usually take inspiration and make it my own, but for this project, I was inspired to recreate the sketch.

The description of the sketch, says to use the Heart Background from Winter Magic December Digital  paper, and that is exactly what I did.  I did the majority of the work on the computer in Photoshop. 

I inserted my photos, altered some of the hearts to add the journaling, and the gingerbread cut file.  The cut files come in PNG files, so I was able to change the color and add color behind it to add to an altered heart square.  Once everything was finished I printed this on matte photo paper.

All that was left to do was add the physical product.  I used a combination of the new Winter Magic die cuts, enamels from Parasol kit (they are sold separately here), and a sticker from the Jingle All the Way kit (sold separately as well here).  The photo frae is from the Gather die cut ephemera pack.

Because of the sketch, the grid of the paper, this came together quickly.  If you don't have Photoshop to layer photos and PNG images on top, you could always print the digital paper, then measure and cut the pieces you need to go on top.  

Either way, this is a great start to put together a quick and easy layout!  

3-to-Inspire with Patricia

 

Hello CTK Friends!  Hope you are enjoying some crafting time.  If you need a jumpstart, I have a 3-to-Inspire for you that I think will be fun!

1. Create your own die cuts
2. Use a long title
3. Create a digital page

For the first 3-to-Inspire, I got inspiration from the cloud from the die cuts in the August kit.  I don't draw, but I can draw a cloud!  So keeping with the die cut cloud inspiration, I chose green, yellow, pink, and one more blue card to stamp with matching colors using the Tiny Words Explore stamp set. I just inked, and pressed each card into the inked stamp.

Next, I used a fine point pen and drew clouds, then detailed cut those out leaving a small border just like the cloud die cut from the kit.

Once that was done, I adhered on a 4x8.5 white yardstick background, pulled CTK alphas in matching colors to create my long title.  

I filled in with the hearts and other stickers from the August Kit.  Now that die cut cola from the kit for this was so perfect!!

I wanted to use some of the new digital TN papers, but I wanted room for journaling and my photo without being too busy.  So I used Photoshop to layer the August digital element of the clipboard on top, added my journaling, and then added my photo and one more digital element at the bottom.  For that clipboard, I was able to line up the lines to make it look like just the clipboard is on top.  You could also print each item individual for the same effect.  All I added to this page was a die cut flower and sticker from the kit to finish!

Pick a die cut from the kit and duplicate like I did with the cloud.  Pick a fun, long title and graphics your stash of CTK alphas, and then hop on your computer to create a digital page or print each item to bring together.  Have fun!

3-to-Inspire with Shannon

 

Hello, crafty friends! Shannon here with a 3-to-Inspire post to get your ideas flowing this weekend. I had a ton of fun pulling together this Life Crafted spread. Coming up with 3 product/idea/technique prompts to share with you always leaves me feeling inspired! Here are my prompts for you this week:

1. Mix and match your title

2. Use a digital file

3. Journal in a timeline

1. Mix and match your title: The script "life" in the Summertime Florals Ephemera pack is perfect for a title! I used some older Citrus Twist alpha stickers for add the word "work" before it. A sans serif font (one without anything "hanging off" the ends of letters) is a perfect match for a script font. I also enjoy how it looks to mix a smaller font with a larger font. You could mix different alpha stickers, die cut words, or word/phase stickers or ephemera.

2. Use a digital file: When I saw this paper with the assortment of notecards on it in the May 2021 Digital TN Basics & Patterns I knew it needed to be in my album. It reminded me of office supplies, which are one of my favorite things (right after scrapbooking supplies, of course). Plus, the colors are fantastic. If you didn't know, Citrus Twist has a huge variety of digital supplies to choose from with new releases each month!

3. Journal in a timeline: You could take this very literally and make a timeline on your page. Or you could do what I did and add the journaling all over your page with years as headings to show the passage of time. Your timeline could cover years or it could cover days. It could track milestones or vacation activities or progress toward a goal. The possibilities are endless! I chose to journal about all the jobs I've had since my very first jobs as a babysitter. It was so fun to take a walk through memory lane! 

Even though my journaling is a walk through the past, I chose to use a photo from today. This is a picture of me working in my home office so it still fits the theme of the page. I used a whole bunch of ephemera from the Florals, Hearts, and Tags ephemera pack and the One of a Kind Cardstock Tiny Words stickers to layer behind the photo.

I hope that I've inspired you to try something different on your next page! I can't wait to see what you create!

Using Your Words with Shannon

 

Hey there, Citrus Twist friends! We are just days from Christmas (if you celebrate) so I wanted to share a story from my December Details album. I opted to use a Life Crafted album to house my project. Actually, if I'm being honest, my project has grown into two albums. And that's just fine with me! Whatever it takes to get my stories told. As a matter of fact, that's what I want to talk to you about today. Stories.

We all scrapbook for different reasons. Some like making pretty things. Some like playing with mixed media. Some like writing all the words. Some are a mix. I find myself leaning more toward writing all the words more often than not. I like a good balance of creative play and writing. I enjoy finding fun ways to write my journaling. Otherwise, it can just feel like a chore, and who wants that?

If you read my journaling above you'll see how I turned it into a fun story. I infused some of my sarcastic personality into the writing and made sure to make it something that would be fun for the kids to read. Since I have a 6-year-old who is an avid reader and a lover of my scrapbooks I have to be mindful of what I write and keep the magic of Christmas alive. Plus, I think you'll agree that journaling in this way is much more engaging to the reader! When I have a lot to say, like I did here, I love using the TN Basics from Citrus Twist. The one I used here is from the December TN Basics pack. I bring it into Photoshop to type out my journaling. Since I enjoy the typewriter look I use Remington Noiseless (8 point size) for my font.

Looking for other ways to vary your journaling? Here are a few ideas:

• Write out a list (kind of like I'm doing right now!)
• Format it as a letter. It doesn't need to be to a person. I've seen people address their letters to a favorite store, drink, ornament, etc.
• Write it as a "breaking news" story. How fun would this be for Santa's arrival?!
• Write it out interview-style.

And now, since I enjoy the creative part of scrapbooking as much as I enjoy the writing part, let's take a quick look at the rest of this layout.

I used a mix of the Sparkle & Joy kit, Comfort & Joy Digital Journaling Cards, December TN Basics, and Comfort & Joy Digital Elements to bring everything together. That card in the lower left corner? That's a TN Basics page shrunk down to size. And the card in the upper right is a 4x3 card from Sparkle & Joy kit that I cut down to fit the Instax-size page protectors. In fact, I used the back of that card for the opposite side of the layout. Double-sided cards for the win!

See that ruler card? That's the B side of the "25" card. And the "holiday cheer" card? That's a December TN Basics. The beauty of using digital/hybrid items is that you can repurpose them in so many different ways! Also - if you're looking to add the Instax look to your photos without an Instax camera, you can download a free Photoshop template in the Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page group on Facebook.

Finally, the title page. If you could call it that. I had a few scraps from the paper pack in the Sparkle & Joy kit that I wanted to use but none were long enough to be a full page. I didn't love the look of the seam so I added a line of labels to cover it up. I used the Sparkle & Joy Christmas Stamp to add a sentiment to each label (and then accidentally punched a hole through part of a sentiment - whoops!). I used the candy apple red puffy alpha for a monotone look of my "she's here." Then I decided that the page still needed a little something, which is where the large "this" die cut came in. After that, I had to make myself stop!

I hope that I've given you some new ideas for ways to breathe new life into your journaling. What one are you going to try first? I hope you'll share when you're done!

Pocket Page Challenge with Shannon

 

Hello there, crafty friends! Shannon here with a pocket page to share. I used the November 2020 LEGENDARY Life Crafted Kit and the Legends stamp set to bring this page together. I made use of the digital journaling cards to type up my journaling because I clearly had a lot to say about these photos! I love digital journaling cards for making sure I can get a lot of thoughts into a small space.

When I first pull a page together I like to decide what my primary colors and accent colors will be. You can see that I have a lot of teal and that golden yellow throughout the page. I added a few peeks of pink as an accent. This prevents a page from becoming too overwhelming. I wanted a card that incorporated all of those color so I just made my own. I took a piece of patterned paper from the 6x8 paper pack and cut it down to size. Then I chose some stamps from the Life Crafted stamp set to add to labels. The whole stamp phrase actually reads "little moments that make life big" on one full line. I inked small parts at a time to split it up between the labels. To ink the words in the middle I simply covered the rest with a post it to prevent them from getting inked up. I opted to use a different stamp that had "big" in a different font for the repeated stamping on the last label. A few accents of plus signs and enamel dots and this card was finished!

I always seek to find a balance between busy cards and those with more simplicity on my page. I did exactly that with this journaling card about my daughter and her best friend. I added a vellum phrase sticker for a bit of color and let the focus be on the story of their friendship and my feelings about it.

I wanted a little more of that golden yellow in my page so I opted to print my photo in an Instax size (grab the Photoshop template in the files section of the Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page on Facebook). I printed it in black and white to let it really pop against the golden background.

The teal card with the large white space in the middle just begged to be stamped! I used the Legends stamp set to create this sentiment. Did you know that when you buy the large add on stamps they come with ideas to combine the stamps for different looks? Flip over your packaging and take a look! This idea was too good to pass up.

I appreciate cards with individual spaces for journaling. I find these are the perfect spots for a few quick words about multiple photos on my page. I used numbers from the foam alpha that's included in the Life Crafted Kit to number my photos that correspond with the number for their journaling block. This is a super simple way to let the people flipping through your albums know exactly what photo you're talking about.

And that's it! Pick your primary color(s), pick your accent color(s), and seek a good balance of busy and simple. I can't wait to see your projects with the November 2020 LEGENDARY Life Crafted Kit. Happy creating!

Life Crafted with Nathalie

 

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today to bring you a bit of inspiration to kick off the weekend!   I am sure many of you are still waiting for your physical True Stories kit to arrive.  The Pandemia has created a large delay when it comes to shipping goodies around the world.  Well, how about using this month's Digital Files to get your stories documented!  Let me show you ...

Today, i want to show you how digital files can transform plain vellum into a beautiful transluscent layer for your layouts!

For the one side of the page, i used one of this month's Basic Documenter TN page. I simply printed it, added the funny picture of the before and after and a few stickers.  I printed my journal on vellum so that i can tie the two sides of the pages together.

The beauty of working with vellum is that it serves as a beautiful divider for your album, which lets you tell  totally unrelated stories in one spread.   This time, i used one of the PL Digital journal cards, and enlarged it to fit my page, and printed it making sure to leave about a half an inch on the right edge so i can folded and attached it to the page.

After stamping the title on the vellum heart ( Archival Ink), once again, i used one of the basic Digital TN papers to create my single page layout. I added my picture ( backed it with a Digital Patterned paper) then used the This is Life Stamp set to add some details.   

Here is another layout that uses mostly this month's digital files.  This time, i used vellum to create soft layers and hide my journal .

I enlarged the 4x6 PL and printed it on vellum.  I ripped the edges of the vellum a bit to add texture before attaching it to the background( TN Digital Patterned paper). I used the Digital Ephemera to create the "Choose Happy" embellishments from vellum.  I combined both Bailey stamp sets to create the title.

To hide my journal lines, i used one of the Digital PL cards as the base, then added one of the Digital ephemera pieces on top and printed them together on vellum making sure to leave about half inch at the top to create the flap.

I added my lines of journal to one of the PL cards and just folded the vellum piece to create the flap that conceals it.

I love how this turned out, and how easy they came together using a few of this month's Digital files and vellum..   Hopefully, the kits arrive at your doorstep soon, but while you wait, stop by the Digital CTK shop to check the new matching files!

XO

Life Crafted with Marsha

Hey friends!  Marsha here today, and I'm excited to share my first project using the NEW July Life Crafted "Wild at Heart" Kit that just released!  It is so bright and gorgeous!  I also used the Bailey Stamp, this month's Add On stamps, and a variety of digital files.

Here's a look at my Life Crafted layout:

I began my spread by choosing two recent photos of my youngest son.  He loves all things outdoors, and I thought this kit would be perfect for documenting this memory.  I printed one of the TN Basics Digital Papers, recoloring the labels at the top of the page so that they would coordinate with the other elements I planned to use on the spread.  I layered my photo over a dark blue journaling card and used some labels, chipboard stickers, and enamel dots to embellish.  Next,  I added some stamping to the printed labels at the top of the page with the Life Crafted Stamp and the Traveler's Notebook Stamp.

I stamped the date using the Bailey Stamp onto a label from the Printable Cut Apart Elements and stapled it to the bottom of the page.  This alphabet stamp is my new FAVORITE!  I absolutely love the font, and it is the perfect size for using on Life Crafted layouts!

For the right side of the spread, I used a Life Crafted Page Protector #2.  I added a tab from this month's Printable Digital Tags, along with an ephemera label and heart, to add a bit more interest to the top of the photo.  Then, I created a flip-up by layering the photo over a journaling card from the LC Kit.  I stamped a sentiment with the LC kit stamp and a leaf from the This Is Life "Wild at Heart" Stamp.  I typed my journaling onto a piece of white cardstock and embellished with an ephemera piece.  Finally, I used a piece of cardstock to attach the photo and journaling cards, creating the flip-up.  I love using interactive elements on my LC layouts!

I chose another journaling card from the kit and used the black puffy alphabet stickers and the Bailey Stamp to create the title.  To complete the page, I added a chipboard sticker and a few of the bright enamel dots- another favorite from this month's kit!

I hope I have inspired you to document some of your memories using this month's amazing Life Crafted Kit, stamps, and digitals!  I'm excited to see what you create!

xo,