Tuesday Tutorial: Hand-Stitching, Shine Bright

Hello everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  Wendy here to share up some inspiration for you in a quick hand-stitching tutorial.

Stitching (by machine/hand) is an inexpensive way to add flair to your scrapbook projects with just simple needle and thread.  I used to love cross stitching (just not enough hours in the day for it now).  So, I have quite a stash of threads (all sorted in colors of the rainbow, of course).  DMC® thread is my preferred brand but you can make it work with any embroidery/cross stitch thread from your local craft store.

Since I really wanted to highlight the theme of my layout as "shine bright", I chose to go with stars as the focal embellishment.  I used various stars in different elements as puffy stickers, stamps, and my most favorite the hand-stitched stars.

1.  Choose and locate your preferred shape template (i.e. star) either online, cut out a shape from your metal dies and cutting machine (i.e. Sizzix Big Shot), or diecut machine (i.e. Silhouette).  For added interest to your layout, try different sizes of your shape of choice.  I used one large star and one medium star.

2.  Use a paper piercer (Tim Holtz Retractable Craft Pick) or needle along with your cut out shape to punch holes evenly around your shape.  Also, I like to use a mouse pad under my paper as a cushion as I pierce along the shape.

Maybe you were lucky to grab up one/both of those We R Memory Keepers (WRMK) Sew Easy Templates (when they were available, now sold out, over in the Citrus Twist Kits shop a while back). They are perfect for this type of project!

3.  Now the FUN part, to thread your needle and start stitching.  (Hint:  I like to tape the loose ends of thread - start and finish- on the back of my layout with a scrapbook adhesive tab/transparent tape/masking tape.)  Also, stitching of the shape(s) is the perfect activity to do while catching your fav series on Netflix or lounging on the sofa.

4.  That's it! Easy peasy.

Feel free to add some misting around the shapes (before stitching to avoid staining your thread) to add some pop to your stitched shapes.  The Heidi Swapp Color Shine Mists in the CTK shop work nicely with this technique!

I stamped some of the Pocket Life cards with CTK stamps and added matching accents from the kits to finish off my layout.

Hope you enjoyed my tutorial and go sew away on your next project!

Be sure to share up your take on this tutorial over in the Citrus Twist Kits Facebook Fan Page and/or Citrus Twist Kits Instagram to tag us @citrustwistkits. I would love to see what you create!

Wendy

Snapshots Mini Album

Hello everyone, it's Tara here sharing my DIY Snapshots mini album. I have been feeling the itch to create a few mini albums to give away and I finally decided to try one out. Since I will be mailing it out, I had a few criteria to meet: light weight, small enough to display or take/move around, and interactive. I found a great accordion mini album tutorial that Stephanie Bryan made here. It required no stitching and seemed easy enough, so I decided to give it a go!

I made this one to give to my mother in law:

I used the cute heart patterned paper from the July Driftwood Main Kit. The heart cork piece was from a past Citrus Twist Kit and worked so well with this month's Pocket Life Driftwood Kit Cocoa Vanilla snip its.


I ended used two strips of 4x12 pieces instead of three, mostly because I mis-cut the last piece, but I loved how it turned out!

Here are a few close ups:

I wanted to add some interactive parts and also hide the journaling. I did this with a tag cut down from my stash. I also re-used a glassine bag from the kit to create a pocket for my tag. I can't get enough of that black and gold dot paper!! It's such a nice compliment to all the bold and bright colors.

I used both stamp sets from July's Main and PL kits. I have a slight addiction to stamps and always find a place to add them. I added more hidden journaling with the "notes" snip it tucked behind the photo.

On the tag, the "Hello, I Love You" phrase is from the Maggie Holmes Shine roller stamp. It's one of my favorite roller stamps!

Here is an idea of how small it is! I love how my mini album fits in my hand so easily. It's a great size and I plan to make a few more to give to friends and family.


Thank you for joining us today! I hope you try making some of your own mini albums too.

Have a lovely day!

Xxo, Tara