GraceBox Creating with Ashley

 Hey everyone! Ashley @magmagandme here. Happy Thursday. Today I am pulling out my July GraceBox Kit & grabbing some old paints to have a gooey, creative time! The GraceBox included a 12x6 sticker sheet from IF - All people, All Nations - the colors and patterns are amazing - I primarily used them for this page in Isaiah. 

First, I started with some coordinating acrylic paints that I picked up for 50 cents at Walmart years ago. I used the super sophisticated painting technique of using my fingers. I find that it makes for a lighter touch and more natural paint smears than using a brush. A little here and a little there - perfect background for the fun stickers! TIP: If you find your page getting too crazy - just add a little white on top to tone it all down again.

 There is no right or wrong way to apply it - have fun.  

Then I added a layer of stamping from the GraceBox Stamp. It comes with 2 patterns this month - crosses and polka dots. PERFECT! I added them sporadically around the page. 

Then comes the stickers! Layer them, cluster them, throw in a strip of washi to make the sticker color pop. Again, there is no right or wrong way to do - whatever look good to the eye. Sometimes I want to hoard the cute stickers and not use them but my new years crafting resolution was to USE ALL THE THINGS ALL THE TIME - no holding back. If you have the subscription you can rest assured that another great box of supplies is coming net month - so use it! 

After I stickered, I outlined a few of them to help them pop against my busy background. The July Stamp has so many great one liners! Even though they don't all go with my featured verses - I just had to use them to show you how versatile they will be in your Bible Journaling. Sometimes I think my handwriting just doesn't cut it, so it's nice to have a stamp that can quickly give me that type look to enhance my page. 

Final step for this page was to hunt through my collection of clips. I love finding coordinating clippies that will top it off! I leave my Bible open on a counter and look at it for a few days until I can create again. It's a work of art and should be shown off! So add that accessory and make it beautiful! 

Thanks for reading & happy creating! Be sure to share your creations with us on the Citrus Twist Fans Page  and don't forget to tag with @citrustwistkits on any social media:)

Mixed Media with Nathalie & Amanda

Hello, hello!

It is time for some Mixed Media!! Nathalie and Amanda with you today bringing you a few ideas on how to incorporate this month's Mixed Media kit into your projects.  So get ready to get inky fingers! First up is Nathalie.

Hello friends!    It is one of my favorite posts of the month, as i get to show you how to mix some beautiful paper and embellishments with a bit of colorful mess, i mean Mixed Media!

The Vicki Boutin Acrylic Pop Paints that are included in the Mixed media kit are silky, highly pigmented and so easy to work with, plus they can easily be mixed with other mediums ( in this case the June 2018 Mixed Media kit).   The following video will show you how to create the background and the stars in this page, enjoy:

How about those stars?!  The soft watercolor look of the background (created by watering down the acrylic paint) forms the perfect setting for the cascade of stars (also created using the mixed media kit and a stamp) Don't worry if you don't have the same stamp i used in the video.  All you need is a simple stamp and black ink.  This will help you break the patterned in color when layering the stars on the page.

Did you catch all the gold foiled elements in this page?! I am working with the Outside Stories Add On kit for this layout, and the ephemera pack that is included (from Heidi Swapp's Hawthorne collection) can be customized with foil.  All the foil pieces are the perfect embellishment in this oh so colorful page.

Mixing all the wood veneer and kraft in the papers and embellishments of the Outside Stories kit into the colorful background tones down the paint, and sort of grounds the colors in the stars.  To finish this page, i added a few stamped sentiments from the Daily Routine stamp set, as well as a few lines of journal..

Totally in love with this page! the colors and textures created with the four paints is amazing, add to that the Outside Stories kit, and it is just perfection.  Remember to check this month's Add On kits,  they are truly amazing this month.

thank you so much for visiting.
xo

And now let's see how Amanda incorporated the Mixed Media kit in her beautiful page, love how she combined the mixed media kit with some fun layers... BEAUTIFUL!!

_____________________________________________________________

Hi Friends! 

Wow! What a sensational mixed media layout from Nathalie! 

It's clear the paints in this month's mixed media kit are perfect for bright, messy pages - but what about those pages where you don't want the mixed media to be the focal point?

Never fear! For my layout today I am using the Vicki Boutin paints with a softened approach.  

Here's my layout, "BOY"

Isn't this fun! 

I have mixed the Skyland Scrapbook, Pocket Life & Mixed Media Kits to create this super cool boy page. As you'll see, I simply paint a light base of the Blue Hawaiian color through my vertical panel, as well as highlight a few spots of interest on my layout too! To soften the look, I also add a tiny amount of water to this acrylic paint. Once happy, I add a lot more water and splatter away! 

To balance all that aqua, I also add a few splatters of watered down Coral Macaroon. And that's all folks! It's that simple and easy! 

Here's a couple close ups for you.....

That Blue Hawaiian color is just divine!!! 

Love how the watery paint draws you into my subtitle, XOX! So cool! 

I hope my layout has inspired you to try adding a little paint or medium to your layouts - even if you're not mixed media inclined! It's always good fun! 

Thanks so much for visiting today, 

Happy Arty Days, 

Amanda xo 

Well that is all for us today, remember to share all your creations using the Skyland kits in the Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page on Facebook, and don't forget to tag us (@citrustwistkits   #citrustwistkits) when sharing your projects on social media.  We  cannot wait to see what you create!!!

Tuesday tutorial with Anna

Hi dear CTK friends! Anna here with you sharing this week's edition of Tuesday Tutorial. I'll share a process video with you on how this happy page came up. Also you'll see how I use color mist's with a plastic bag to build up my background. This specific technique, I call it smooshing, are my way to go most often when I want some kind of colored background. I just adjust the amount and choose of color(s).

I've been playing with the July Skyland Kits as Scrapbook kit, PL-kit, Conversation Starters stamp and One of Those Days stamp. You find them all here (and you'll need them ALL, LOL!)

As you can see I've also been playing with one of the absolutely gorgeous July digital cut files as well. I love the texture you get while using cut files on your projects.

Anyway here's my process video. Hope you'll enjoy it :)

And don't hesitate on asking me anything if something isn't clear enough, I'll try to get you an answer as quick as possible.

These lines are made with the Conversations Starter stamps, so versatile and useful.

Love all these gorgeous die cut pieces, yum! And don't forget those beautifully glossy epoxy stickers, aahh!!

Another favorite, this puffy stickers "happy word" from the PL-kit, to die for. 

Here I've used the Pause Button stamp from the One of Those Days stamps. I love love LOVE labels and I also love to use my stamps on them, lol!

And there you have it! One layout and a process video out of our July Skyland Kits. 

I hope I have inspired you to get creating with yours! Can't wait to see :)

Be sure to share your creations with us on the Citrus Twist Fans Page  and don't forget to tag with @citrustwistkits on any social media:)

Thank you for joining in with me today! Take care! Anna xo

Life is better on a bike

Hi crafty friends, Melanie here today! I am so excited to be sharing my first layout here on the CTK Blog with you today. When I first opened the gorgeous July kits one thing that caught my eye immediately, were these cute Chipboard Alphabets in the Skyland Scrapbook Kit. I knew I wanted to use as many as I could on a page and decided to make a layout with a long title.

I printed a picture of me on a bike which is almost black and white so that I could to use any color I'd like.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love bike trips. To me it's such a great way to recharge, enjoy nature and remain fit. I started by matting the photo with some of my favorite papers and cards from the Pocket Life Kit.  I also used some bits and pieces from the July Cut Aparts, which are free on the website and perfect to use  with any of the July Kits, to add some layers to my photo.

After that I added some of the embellishments form the Pocket Life and Scrapbook Kit to add more texture and interest.

Then I arranged my title around my photo, trimmed the white cardstock down and glued it on the fun striped paper which is included in the main kit. To make it stand out a little more I also added some stripes of a darker paper from the kit. I added my journaling next to my photo and used the July Travelers Notebook Stamp to stamp out the cute little box with the stars and the 'rated', I love the 3D effect on this! To finish my layout off, I used some black ink to make some splatters on my page and stamped some phrases from the Conversation Starters stamps which I love! These small phrases are perfect to add some interest on your pages or to use them a starting off point for journaling.

I can't wait to see how you all are going to use the Alphas. Be sure to share your projects in our Facebook Group and on Instagram so we can see what you have created.

Happy crafting,

Melanie

Sunday Sketch with Neftali

Welcome to today’s Sunday’s Sketch post CTK fans! It is Neftali here today for the first time sharing some crafty inspiration with you all, and it is truly an honor. I am so excited to be here! Today’s sketch is fun and I tried my best to follow in to a T, let’s take a look.

HERE IS THE SKETCH:

So, as you can see, there are a lot of paper piecing details that stand out right away. I decided I wanted to give it a try and make my entire page exactly like the sketch. Take a look at my page:

I started off by picking out my 8 1/2x11 white card-stock and then picking out my papers and start trimming them to size little by little. I didn’t measure anything, but simply trimmed as I went.

The papers I used for the center cluster were all from the PL Kit and the top and bottom paper was from the Main Scrapbooking Kit. The colors in this month’s “Skyland” Kit are so beautiful, some  pastel and bright. I loved mixing them and their patterns.

So once I had my papers cut to size I stuck them down in place and then ran them all through my sewing machine to give them all some fun texture. One thing I will tell you, friends, is that I LOVE my sewing machine and just adding stitching around your pages gives such a special handmade feel to each page.

Once my papers were stitched through, it was time to add my photo and embellishments. I chose a photo of my feet about to meet the fresh Pacific waters. I also over exposed the photo quite a bit so that it would give more of a pastel and bright hue to match the pastel colors of the papers. I didn’t want a dark photo to take away from the pops of pastel.

Then to embellish, I used the lemon ephemera piece included in the Main Kit’s Pink fresh Studio ephemera pack. It was the perfect piece that also accurately fit the sketch’s design, woohoo!

I added a few puffy hearts and chipboard pieces in the center cluster as well to match the sketch.

Finally, I added my title, “Present, & In Awe” using another Pink Fresh ephemera pieces. This and  few splatters finished off my project!

So friends, that is a for today's Sunday Sketch. I cannot wait to see your own projects and don't forget to tag us on Instagram and share on our Facebook Group!

3 to Inspire with Alena

Hello friends! I am so excited and thrilled to be joining the CTK DT!! I hope you will enjoy seeing my projects every month! Today I am bringing to you my  3 To Inspire challenge!
This week's 3 to Inspire prompts are:

1. Include hand-cut items on your layout/spread.
2. Use the Puffy Alphabet.
3. Stitch (machine, hand).

I have used the July "Skyland" Pocket Life and July "Skyland"Scrapbook kits + July 2018 Travelers Notebook "Not My Best Moment" Stamp.

I like all the kits this month - perfect for summer photos. This spread is  pretty simple, but it's all about bright accents.

The main elements are hand-cut flowers from patterned paper, which were sewn to the card. I added words of Puffy Alphabet to make my spread look harmonious. And also added a few phrases, using a stamp.

 Use the three (3) prompts to create your own project and share it with us on our Facebook Fanpage! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you have a great day!

PL Challenge with Adele

Hello lovelies!

I am up with a Project Life Challenge today and I'm stepping outside my comfort zone to tackle the square page protector...eeeeek!!

There's just something about this square pocket page format that I really struggle with! So today, I challenge you to play along and try a different format that your usual PL pages.

I decided to use the fab July PL kit to create this double sided PL page using a cut down 9x12 square page protector. Each of the pockets is 3x3" big. 

I repeated the same colours (coral, blue and yellow) across the page as well as a motif (heart) to make the spread look cohesive and flow together. 

I also continue this onto the second page, as all these photos were from the same weekend trip away. The roadtrip themed ephemera pieces were perfect to document our weekend!

Although it was out of my comfort zone, I love the final look of this double sided spread and am glad I took the plunge to use the square page protector! I have also created a process video showing my whole process - I hope you like it!

Adele :)