Let's Get Digital with Tara

Happy Monday friends! I'm here today sharing some inspiration using the June Cypress cut aparts (can you say yes for free??) with this month's GraceBox kit.


I'm in Ecclesiastes 3 and encouraged by God making everything beautiful in it's own time. Right now I am experiencing a season of slowing down, inviting myself to live light and saying yes to space. Sometimes it's hard to recognize when you need to reign back from good things, but I find it necessary to grow and learn.

I printed out the cut aparts and made a little cluster at the top of my journaling page. I didn't re-size the circles, but used my 1" circle punch. It was a perfect landing spot for the large sticker, "God is working on me".

I love the label with "slow down & lighten up" but it was a bit too big for my page. I cut down the label and created another cluster with my favorite cut apart piece - the pink speech bubble. I see myself using that over and over again! I used my 1" punch again for the striped circle.

The stamps add so much to any journaling page. I don't think I have found a Citrus Twist Kits stamp I didn't like.

It's a bittersweet day for me today since this will be my last post being on the Citrus Twist Kits team. I've had a pleasure creating for them for three years and have enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you find encouragement to savor the season of life you are in now, as well as the seasons to come.

Blessings! Xxo - Tara

Sunday Sketch with Chantal

This week, our sketch is a 8.5x11 layout with an abundance of layers. Fellow creative team member Kelly Barron, is also joining me this week and sharing her take on our scrapbook sketch.

For my project, I opted for some neutral tones for my papers and added a pop of colour to it all, with the elements.

The elements used, are various items from the Scrapbook and Embellishment kits. I've always been a fan of mixing and matching various shades of green and yellow together.

I printed the speech bubble and whipped out my vintage typewriter to add a bit of text. I then adhered it to my page with some foam tape.

My favourite thing about this layout, is the globe. I really wanted to incorporate the rub-ons in the foreground instead of adding it somewhere behind everything else. To do that, I simply rubbed the globe onto a piece of scrap photo paper and fussy cut it out.

To complete it all, I added a little sewing to the arrows, stamped and dated my page.

Here is Kelly's take on today's scrapbook sketch;

I adapted this sketch to make it a full 12x12 layout. To create this page I used primarily the Happy Heart Add-On kit and bits and pieces from the Main and Pocket Life kits.

I fell in love with the colors in these papers and arranged them in rainbow order for a fun look. The stitching in black helps to bring the title and the black accents of the sticker together for a cohesive look on the layout.

I added a doily from my stash to add some softness to the photo. The texture and interest that doilies bring to a layout make them one of my favorite embellishments to use.

Now it's your turn! To play along with this weeks sketch and be eligible to win a $5 gift certificate to the Citrus Twist Kits store, create a project inspired by this week's sketch and upload it to the CTK gallery with today's date (06/17) in the title.

Happy creating!!!

3-to-inspire | Kristel

Hi all! So, today's post is sadly my last as a CTK DT member as I'm moving on.
I've had such a great time for the past 9 months, creating new projects each month, and I hope
you have been inspired by them.

For today's post I have been working with the Scrapbook kit for a change, instead of my regular Pocket Life kit.
The kit included a lovely paper with some 3x4 cards and tags on it, which I've both used.
I started by picking which 3x4 cards I wanted to use and then added some 12x12 papers into the mix, by cutting some 4x6 cards out of them :-)

As I only had 3x4 photos I didn't have any to fill up the 4x6 pockets, as I usually like to fill up these spaces with full size photos.
I didn't like the idea of using the middle row for photos and fill up the rest with paper, so I mixed some things up from my regular work flow.
I still wanted to have at least two photos fill up some 4x6 pockets, so I chose to add them to a 4x6 card in a way it looks like the pocket consists of two 3x4 instead of one 4x6 pocket.

I then still had two "blank" 4x6 cards which needed some decoration. The first one, on top, became a title card with a simple title and some enamel dots. The second one, on the bottom, became a filler card with a cute tag and pink (!) cockatoo; I love it!

Your prompts for today's 3-to-inspire are as followed:

- Create a Pocket Page with a scrapbook kit or scrapbook papers for a change :-)
- Try to stick with 2 colors which compliment each other
- Be creative with the layout and pocket sizes. Try creating an illusion of split pockets or combine two pockets to make them look larger, for example: Cut a 4x6 photo in two and place them into two 3x4 pockets next to each other.

- Extra prompt: Devote a page to yourself with some awesome selfies <3

I hope you are inspired by these prompts, and my project of course, and I wish you all a lovely weekend!

Love, Kristel

Pocket Life Challenge with Diane

Hi guys! Diane here with another Pocket Life Challenge for you!

I used both the Pocket Life kit and the Embellishment kit this week and I challenged myself to use those dreaded rub-ons in the Embellishment pack. I never have good luck with rub-ons, they never go where I want them to, or they go everywhere! Plus these ones were travel-themed and we did not go anywhere for this particular week. But I knew if I didn't use them now, I never would. So challenge accepted Diane! 

And I have to say, I quite like the result! Even though they are travel-themed, there were enough general ones that I could really make a statement on my spread. None of them are perfect, probably more to do with my application than the actual rub-ons, but I love how they add a little emphasis to my photos. Turns out, using something you don't love every once in a while can be a really good thing.

Here is the process video for how this weeks page came together (don't laugh at my rub-on application though!) ...



So my challenge for you this week is: Try using something you wouldn't normally reach for! It doesn't have to be rub-ons, but find something you would normally put straight in your "no" pile and use it with abandon! Let me know what you think of the results!

Product Highlight - Pom Pom Trim

Hello everyone!

Nathalie and Anna back with you today with this month's product highlight.   If you receive the main Scrapbook kit, then you will find a large piece of mini yellow pom pom trim in your Cypress Kit.  Love all these little details that Trina is always adding to the kits, makes them unique and fun.   Well, let's start with Nathalie's project, as she combined the pom pom trim with a few elements from the kits to create a fun and super colorful layout.

 Hi there!

To create the colorful background, I pulled the stencil in the mixed media kit (I love this new add on kit!), and used a few shades  of ink (Distress Oxides) to blend over the stencil thus creating the impression of the background.   I made sure the yellow strip sat in the middle of the page,

Once the pictures were aligned on the paper (before gluing them down), i chose to back them each with papers from the Add on kit, and the patterned paper kit, so that the papers matched the colors where the picture will be sitting on the page.  Then glued the pom pom trim around the one sitting in the middle of the page.

Once the pictures were set on the page, I used pieces from the add on kit, embellishment kit and cut apart digital sheet to color block the embellishments around the pictures.

To bring more detail and repetition to the clusters, i chose to use the TN stamp to add a few sentiments were the clusters were placed.

For the title, i chose a piece of ephemera from the add on kit that matched the yellow strip of ink.    Before gluing it down, i made a small cut in the center of the right edge of the page, and folded the corners in to create a small peek-a-boo detail. Here i glued a bit of the yellow pom pom trim, and then backed the space with one of the papers from the Add-on kit that match the color of the pompoms.

Love how this turned out.  First I used multiple pictures (YAY!!), the background is inky and colorful, and the pom pom trim is the perfect detail to complete this page.  Just love this month's Cypress kits!!!

Now let's have a look at Anna's gorgeous project...

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Hi dear friends!

Anna here to share my take on this month's Product Highlight. But first I want to say: Isn't Nathalie's page just amazingly beautiful? I love it! So much to love about it, that background, the colors, her use of the pom pom trim, everything - so good!

Well, here's what I came up with. Something much more "Clean & Simple" but yet colorful and fun, at least I think so, LOL! And I had a blast creating this TN-Spread.

At the very moment I got this lovely piece of yellow pom pom trim in my hands I knew that I wanted to use it like this on the edge of a paper sheet in my Travelers Notebook. You get one Travelers Notebook, as well as the pom pom trim, in the June Cypress Main Scrapbook Kit (along with lots and lots of other goodies of course).

And I've also used the absolutely awesome June CTK Spiral Notebook Edge Cut File on my piece of map patterned paper. It's so cool and I love it. So easy to use on your projects, not only in your TN's but on any other scrapbook project.

I did custom my "Broken Crayons Still Color - sticker" with one of the lovely epoxy stickers since the colors on the crayon sticker was'nt right. That's a great way of make left over stickers work.

I love these numbers by Elle's Studio. And who can resist these lovely "Here+There" black rub on words by Crate Paper from the June Embellishment Kit (unfortunately sold out). And as usual I've added a few stitches with my old trusty sewing machine.

Ohh! Look at this lovely piece of pom pom trim! I'm so happy how it turned out.

And also, I love this cute pic of my youngest son digging into some yummy cake, lol!

And don't forget these epoxy stickers by Elle's Studio, they are so shiny and delicious just like candy, YUM!

Can you spy the blue flower paper under my photo? That's one of the beautiful June Cypress Journaling Cards from the CTK store, love them all and you'll need them all, LOL!

Now it is your turn to put the pom pom trim to use.  We cannot wait to see what you create with this.  Remember to share your creations with us on the CTK Friends page on Facebook or on social media by tagging Citrus Twist Kits.

As always, let us know if you have questions on how these came together!

see you all soon!

Nathalie & Anna

52 Favorites Inspo

Hey friends!  Jordan here today bringing you a little 52 Favorites Inspiration...or so I hope.  :)

This year I decided to participate in a 52 Favorites album where I document a favorite memory each week.  I chose to do this project TN style.  These are my latest 3 entries using the June Kits from CTK.  In these I used a combination of the Scrapbook, PL, Embellishment, and Add on kits.

 I really love the ease and versatility of a TN.  You can use any kit or combination of kits to fill the pages.

They work well with scrapbook kits, PL kits, stamps, add ons...the possibilities are limitless!  

 You can add layers, use the blank white pages, stamp your own background, or cut any papers to fit the insert page.

I tend to keep mine fairly simple with journaling of some kind, either hand written on labels or typed on a PL card.

And one of my very favorite ways to cover the page is with a large photo!  It's just such a great way to bring attention and emphasis to your very favorite photos.

Hope you enjoyed these and that you'll give these sweet little notebooks a try!  Be sure to share your projects with us on our facebook page or on Instagram.  Don't forget to hashtag #citrustwistkits!

xo,

Jo

Tuesday Tutorial with Ashley

Hi friends, Ashley @magmagandme here. I am pulling out my watercolors & jumping right into my June GraceBox! Follow along as I show you a page out of my Journaling Bible.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the kit was the colors. GAH! They are beautiful & scream summer! My favorite pieces are the die cuts & the thicker heart stickers.

 

I dumped out the die cuts and found the perfect floral to jump start my page. Sometimes I have a paint tech or an image that I know I want to try next, or I just totally wing it. I love this floral and wanted to have more of it on the page. I decided to use it as inspiration for my background. I sketched out my flowers just like the die cut & used my prima watercolors to fill the background.

 

Since it is in the back ground I didn't need to worry about being neat or perfect.While I waited for the paint to dry (because if my craft room was clean I could have found my drying gun!) I looked at the other die cuts. I loved this fruit bunting but knew I needed to save it to go with the other fruit pieces. So I traced it on paper and tried to recreate it. 

 

Also during that time my mini me woke up & was excited that it was Bible journaling time. She quickly got out her paints & Bible. She is 5 and has a smaller journaling Bible with larger margins - perfect for kids. I helped her with the shapes of the flowers & walked through the colors with her. 

 She wanted hers to look JUST like mine.....

 

....and I would say she did a GREAT job!

Even at 5 she can appreciate using our talents to worship the Lord.

I outlined my flowers when they were dry, added more die cuts, a large sticker from the kit (luckily I had one in my personal collection she could use) and added alpha & heart stickers 

(all from the Grace Box Kit).

 You can tell I was supervising a wee one since my tutorial photos skip this part! 

 

The end result was beautiful & I got to spend artsy time with my little girl. 

It was a good, good day. 

 

I hope this inspires you to look for big background ideas from tiny ephemera pieces. 

Try using the colors or patterns or the image for your next background! 

 You'll find it ties everything in nicely! Happy creating!