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 :)

Product Highlight - PATTERNED PAPER

Hello CTK friends!

Anna and Nathalie with you today to shine the spotlight on Patterned Paper.  Let's be honest, we all have a stash of paper we are keeping to document that special memory, and this month's Skyland  Scrapbook, PL kit, Patterned Paper Play and Outside Stories kit are filled with beautiful papers. But before you put them away in your stash, let us show you how you can combine and use them in your projects.  First up is Nathalie.

Hi there!,  Nathalie here to bring you a bit of inspiration using a few of the patterned papers from this month's Skyland kits.  This month, the papers are gorgeous, filled with fun designs, and perfect to document all your memories.

For my layout, i wanted to create a very coastal mood for the page, as it documents a picture of my daughter after spending a day basking in the sun on the beach. For this i picked papers from the Skyland Scrapbook Kit, PL kit, Patterned Paper Play kit and also used a digital card to create a patterned paper for this page.  

What better way to use paper and mix patterns than to crate paper flowers. I used a combination of cut files (Silhouette Store) and some dies to create the centers and petals of the flowers.  I used a bone folder to add some movement to the petals. Some of the flowers were layered together, so that they add dimension to the page.

Along the way,  i added a few die cut leaves  (Maya Road die) cut from white cardstock (color a few with green paint, too), so that they will form clusters around the picture and the entire page.   A few of the Scrapbook kit embellishments and elements from the cut apart sheet also were added along the clusters to embellish the page. Finally a few sentiments using the Conversation Starter Stamp complete this page.

Really, the patterns and designs on this month's Skyland kits are gorgeous, and easy to combine in your projects, so do not put them away (not yet at least!).

Well that is all for me, now it is time for Anna to show you her gorgeous project and give you a new take on how to use all the beautiful papers in the Skyland kits.

xo

Hi dear CTK friends! Anna here bringing you some more patterned paper inspiration made with the July Skyland Kits. But first, don't you love Nathalie's beautiful layout!? So much to love about that, as always with Nathalie's work. Pure happiness:)

Anyway, my layout is made with a combo of Skyland  Scrapbook kit, PL kit, Mixed Media kit and one of the gorgeous July Cut Files.

And here's what I came up with.

I decided to let a part of the gorgeous Simple Stories paper be the focal point and "queen of the page" since backing this lovely "Celebrate" Cut file with it as my BIG title. I love how this turned out.

For my background I've been playing around with the two pink acrylic's from the Mixed Media kit and a few ordinary color mists from my stash. Just smooshing (or as Vicki Boutin said, "Kissing" lol!) my paper with a plastic bag prepped with color until I'm satisfied with the result.

Look at these lovely layers of pattened papers, yummy!

And here's another stack of layers, a combo of papers, cotton and die-cuts, beautiful! Also there's a good idea to tuck some epoxy stickers or other embellishments within/underneath your layers of paper.

The colors and design of the papers in this kit (and all of the past CTK kits as well, lol!) are perfectly unperfect matched with the stickers and other goodies in the kit. Trina is the queen of making kits, thats the way it is, can't help it.

Well that is all for me and us! Now it's your turn to dig into your kits, packed with gorgeous pattened papers, and play along with us here at CTK. Be sure to hang on with our weekly challenges and don't forget to share them with us at the CTK Fan Page. Also,please do hashtag us, #citrustwistkits, so we can see and enjoy all of your beautiul creations.

If you still haven't signed up for a kit (or more) by your own, don't wait to long they are tending to selling fast :) Just click here and you are home!

Thanks for stopping by! Take care! Anna xo

Skyland Scrapbooking with Amanda!

Hi Citrus Twist Friends & Fans! 

Amanda here, & I am super-dee-duper excited to be posting my first official layouts with our gorgeous kits! For today's post I'm sharing the Skyland Scrapbook Kit love!
This kit is just magical! So many beautiful papers and embellishments, with sooooo many creative possibilities!

I have created two very clean & fresh designs - here's the first,
"Present & in Awe"

Sigh! Isn't this divine?!! 

I just LOVE our printable Digital Files, and am determined to feature them each month - they're SO good! I've combined the Skyland Journaling Cards & free Cut Aparts with the white cardstock and Pinkfresh Studio: Simple & Sweet Die Cuts with Golf Foil, Epoxy Stickers and Fabric Die Cuts. Did I mention that I love me some Pinkfresh Studio?! The Simple & Sweet line is so soft and dreamy, and the pastel tones partner perfectly with our Skyland Digital Files. 

I love layering patterns and colors, and with our awesome Digital Files, you can print and cut as many layers, tabs and die cuts as you need! 

I matte my photo onto an array of Skyland Journaling Cards, and Cut Aparts, and then embellish my photograph with all those pretty blooms! For added impact, I mount my title onto foam, and position it over the base of my sweet girl's picture. 

Both the top and base of my layout are embellished with Skyland Cut Aparts and Die Cut Ephemera tags, and tabs. 

The Pinkfresh Studio Fabric Die Cuts are SO cool, that I just have to include one on my layout, as well as a couple of the Epoxy Stickers for good measure! Love it! 

Simple & Sweet indeed! 

Next up is an 8.5 x 11" masculine layout, 

"Seek Out The Joy"

Let's hear it for the boys!!!

What a crisp, clean and super fun page for the special guys in my life! I should add that I have included the Webster's Pages: Pretty Plaid paper from this month's Pattern Paper Play kit.

That plaid woodgrain paper is just divine, and I could easily use another 10 sheets of it!

Vintage book paper, on the other hand,  isn't something I feature in my creating that often. So I set myself a challenge to use it in my layouts this month. I am so glad I did! The 'raw' and somewhat edgy look of this ledger paper is just awesome for embellishing a masculine layout with! And yes, I may have to get back on the vintage band wagon - I totally loved this!

To maintain the masculinity of this page, I drew on the black embellishments from the Pinkfresh Studio Die Cuts & Epoxy Stickers, as well as the chambray Fabric Die Cuts. Bold, strong and striking adornments for my two boys!

I also embellish with gold foil accents throughout my page, including those Chipboard Alpha Stickers from Echo Park's Imagine That collection.

Yes, this! Seek Out The Joy!!! 

Such a wonderful everyday moment to document. 

And there you have it! Two very different layouts from our July Skyland Scrapbook Kit. 

I hope I have inspired you to get creating with yours! 

Be sure to share your kit creations with us in the Citrus Twist Fans Page HERE

Thanks so much for visiting today! 

Happy Arty Days, 

Amanda xo 

Tuesday Tutorial with Melanie

Hello friends! Mel B here today to share a fun TN tutorial. I love working with TNs and will usually use small pictures to create a spread, but what about using a standard size such as 4x6? Can one still create a TN spread with a large picture, of course they can! So if you aren’t able to print small size picture I will give you some tips on working with a 4x6 picture. To create this spread I used the Skyland Pocket Kit along with the One of those Days stamp set. 

Today I am using a vertical 4x6 picture (for my next blog post I’ll use a horizontal 4x6 picture). I did want to use the full size, I didn’t have much editing to do for this picture, the only thing I did to modify it is cut off a ¼ inch from the left size, as I wanted to leave some white space to the right of this picture.

The beauty of working with large picture is that they can be used as is or trimmed down, a 4x6 picture could easily be converted to a 4x4 picture or even smaller, especially if you have a lot of white space in the picture.

Since my picture is rather large and dark in color, I wanted to keep the rest of the design light and airy. I opted for a grid design (my go to!) and kept the focus on a light color palette.

I hope you are inspired to use 4x6 pictures in your TN spread, maybe this is even an opportunity to go back and use older pictures that might not have been documented!! Happy crafting friends!