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

Growing in Faith | Tara

Good morning friends! Today I'm sharing a little bit of love for May's GraceBox kit. It's packed with so much color and goodness, I couldn't wait to dig in. I find myself enjoying time with God creating and crafting. I usually take a step back to first read and re-read the verse or chapter a few times before diving in!

I use the YouVersion bible app in conjunction with my NLT bible that I create in. Having different formats available make it really easy to read, go over, and research when diving into scripture. The app also provides a verse of the day. I focused on May 19th's verse (2 Corinthians 4:16), but took it deeper with focusing on the entire chapter, 2 Corinthians 4.


I loved the circle stamp with the hearts and stamped it a few times to create a background. I later added some watercolor throughout the page for more of a pop.

I kept it simple, making a little cluster with the fun gold vine trim and some die cuts. I added some of the word stickers and cut down the long "meet Him in the margins" to fit my journaling page better. I chose a few word stickers that helped highlight some key phrases and take away points from the chapter.


The new alpha stamp is so fun and is the perfect size for all types of projects. I left myself a little phrase of encouragement, "Don't lose heart." This entire chapter really helps bring His light into my life and is such a good reminder of how the best is to come.

I loved using the alphas from April's GraceBox kit with the word stickers. There are so many possibilities!

Here is a closer look at the bottom of my journaling page.

I am often reminding myself to dwell in him and be filled with His Spirit. It's so easy to get stuck in your own way instead of letting Him lead.

I hope you are encouraged to dig deep and find time in God's word along with creating and crafting. What are ways you grow in faith? We would love to see them shared on our Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page or Instagram.

Have a lovely day!

Xxo, Tara

Bible Journaling | Unfailing Love

Hello friends, it's Tara here on the blog today sharing a quick and easy bible journaling page today. I kept it simple and clean, focusing on the verse and my prayer.

I have been working on being more intentional with starting my day in God's word. Sometimes it's so overwhelming thinking of all the different studies or methods to choose from. I found a really simple, 3 minute routine thanks to Hello Mornings. I love how it's all about GodTime, PlanTime, and MoveTime.

Kat, the creator of Hello Mornings suggests starting with the verse Psalm 143:8.

I used a few bits and pieces from April's GraceBox kit. I wanted to keep this journaling page really simple and bold with the black and white. My favorite elements to use are the Twilight gold foil rub ons paired with the Illustrated Faith clear sticker alphas.

You can faintly see the smaller dot stamp up on the top of the journaling page using a pale seaglass ink and down below using a past GraceBox stamp with lines using a pale pink ink. I wanted to add a few hints of color here and there that was just barely noticeable.

How do you start your day with God? I would love to hear what you do in your daily or even weekly routine.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful week!

Blessings!

xxo, Tara

Tuesday Tutorial with Tara | Label Love

Hi friends, Tara here today for another installation of Tuesday Tutorial. I'm sharing an easy way to stretch your stash. I love little bits of ephemera and sometimes have a hard time finding the right phrase or the right size for a certain project. Here is an easy way to create your own labels and ephemera to fit your needs.

Grab some ink pads, clear blocks, and stamps!

I start by using this awesome label from the Detours stamp.

I then add phrase stamps from April's GraceBox kit, along with other stamps from past GraceBox kits. I prefer to go for mostly neutral shades but added in a bit of color too.

For a little bit of a fun twist - I also stamped on some vellum paper and loved how it turned out! Test out a few different types of ink. You can see the top left "Say Yes" circle smeared pretty badly. 
TIP - ink on vellum takes longer to dry so give it some time before cutting out your ephemera. I have to say the Illustrated Faith ink pad was my favorite to use!

When you have some down time (for me it's usually watching a show or listening to a podcast), I find it very relaxing to cut out the little ephemera labels and bits.

I didn't have a large enough circle punch, but made wonky circles by using the Rise and Shine stamp set circles and cutting it a bit off to the side. I love having a little pile of bits ready to add to projects.

I stacked up the circle, label, and and old phrase stamp to give this tab a layered look. I love how the layered ephemera looks using this month's GraceBox kit and some watercolor.

Here is a look at the entire journal entry.

I hope you find some inspiration to create some labels, tags, and/or ephemera. Please share your creations in the Citrus Twist Fan Page. Thank you for stopping by!

3 To Inspire with Ashley and Tara

Happy Saturday, it's time for another 3 to Inspire challenge and this week have two different takes on it! Ashley and Tara are teaming up to share what they created.


Here are this week's prompts:

1. hearts
2. enamel dots
3. hand stitching

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Here is a look at what Ashley created:

Then November GraceBox was full of unique pieces to create with. The first thing I did was pull out this sweet little harvest journaling card. It reads, "Everything that God does begins with a seed and ends with a Harvest". I added a hand-stitched heart and stitched x's. 

I love how thread brings texture to a piece. The stamper has several phrases that are perfect for bible journaling. I used the AMEN stamp, then added a few dots, pen stitches, journaling, and crosses for the win!

Now we challenge you! Take these three prompts and start creating!

Ashley aka @magmagandme

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Hi friends! I'm so happy to be sharing my creation using this week's 3 to Inspire challenge, which is  my absolute favorite one to do! I love teaming up with Ashley to create two different ideas with the same prompts.

Here is my take on today's challenge:

I wanted to make a little bookmark for a friend that was not only pretty, but inspirational. I loved working with this month's GraceBox kit! There were so many pretty colors and bits that the possibilities were endless.


I took the little Gratitude Tip ins, cut it down, and stuck it on some plain cardstock from my stash. I added a sentiment from the stamp included in the kit along with a heart rub on. Love all the variations of pink here!!

I added just a couple of hand-stitched crosses for a little bit more interest in the corner.

My friend loves coffee so I thought this sentiment was perfect not only for a bookmark, but for her too. Then I placed a couple of enamel dots and a fun black speckled splotch from the rub ons in the kit.

I wanted to add a bible verse that means so much to me to encourage her every day. I added a heart from the October GraceBox kit to cover up the back side of my hand-stitching and stapled it right in the middle.

I hope you feel inspired to create something using this recipe challenge!

Xxo, Tara

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Now it's your turn! Use the three prompts to create your project/s and share them with us here in the Gallery and/or our Facebook Forum. We look forward to seeing your beautiful projects!

GraceBox Kit with Dedra

Happy Friday Eve lovely friends!

The GraceBox Kit this month came with a double sided journaling card that really resonated with me. The front of the card says "Your praise will ever be on my lips." I immediately recognized it as one of the lyrics to one of my favorite songs.

On the back of the card is a verse from Psalms 100:2
Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful songs.

The song "Ever Be" is one I sing at church and often in the car. It is one of those songs that you can get stuck singing after the song is over. It was a wonderful to document and reflect on the verses of the song as well. When my daughters look through my journaling bible they will definitely know the power this song has over me and my relationship with the Lord.

I really loved the floral die cut cardstock piece that came in the kit but as the page came together I felt like I needed two floral pieces to make it feel cohesive. So, I cut the floral piece in half and that did the trick. It was a great way to stretch the embellishments.

Another piece of the kit that I really LOVED was the stamp set. It was SO fun to work with and will be one that I use over and over again. Finally, I used the stamp set to blend the journaling card into the page.

Thanks SO much for stopping by and I wish you a blessed weekend ahead! 

xoxoxo

Dedra

Gratitude Log with Tara

Hello friends! It's Tara here today sharing a little bit of something I've been working on. For months now I have been thinking of how to include writing out daily gratitude to welcome each day as it comes. When I start my day with a heart filled with love, my entire mood and attitude is different as I conquer the big and little challenges that come my way.

I decided to use a passport traveler's notebook undated weekly insert. I love how portable this size is! I'll be traveling this week so it will be easy to add this notebook with my small stash of supplies. The blank canvas of spaces wide open is just waiting for me to create something each week and record my gratitude.

I used this month's GraceBox kit and it's filled to the brim with bits and bobs of colorful goodness!

Here are the supplies I used:

I added in some washi tape, distress ink, and mini mister from my stash along with some past GraceBox stamps.

Here is my first week in August so far.

I love using the Illustrated Faith stamp pad - it doesn't bleed through the pages. I will remember to stamp before I use distress ink - the numbers (Traveler's Notebook class stamp set) smeared a bit. They don't bother me as this week's pages were meant to be a bit messy!

Thank you for stopping by today. I can't wait to see how you use your GraceBox kit or document your gratitude. 

Have a lovely week! Xo - Tara

Tuesday Tutorial with Tara

Good morning friends! I hope your week is starting off fantastic. It's Tara here today sharing a mini album tutorial I made with July's GraceBox kit. I wanted to make a mini album that was a little book of God's truths. It's easy to get caught up with the everyday busyness, that we forget God's grace and mercies. This mini album is going to a friend to help encourage her in the happy and tough days.

I'm making the exact style of accordion album as I did here. Thanks to the original creator, Stephanie Bryan, I recreated it once more. This is one of my favourite stash busters - I used a lot of papers, embellishments, stamps, and washi tape I already owned.

The first step is to pick a 12x12 piece of patterned paper and cut it into 3 4 inch high strips. Next, score your 4x12 piece of paper every 3 inches. I'm using one of the older exclusive Citrus Twist Kits paper from a main kit.

I decided to only use 2 strips of paper for this mini album. Finally, attach the ends together! Then comes the fun part - decorate to your heart's desire.

Here is the finished cover:

Here are a few of the accordion pages.

 

Some up close shots of each page:

 I wanted to make this mini album interactive. I tucked this bible verse into some layered papers.

Flip up the paper cluster to reveal two more verses.

I cut down one of the bible journaling cards down as a tip in.

I added a small little sentiment on the bottom.

Pull out the yellow piece of paper and find the "amen" sentiment from the Scripture Doodles stamp.

This was a cute die cut from a past GraceBox kit.

I added the small glassine bag from the kit layered on top of patterned paper. I'm going to add a special note inside.

Here is the back half of the accordion mini album.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope this mini album inspires you to make one for documenting life, writing down bible verses, or other fun things you would like to remember.

Xxo, Tara