Friday sketch - pocket scrapbooking in 2017!

How is your memory keeping in 2017 going so far? Did you make any changes in your albums this year?

For me the biggest change was picking the album - after years of doing my pocket scrapbooking in 6x8 and 9x12 format I decided to upgrade my album to 12x12 and I love it!



Bigger album gives me more room to play with photos and beautiful papers, I have space to use some of the bigger embellishments (like the pink camera from February Citrus Twist Kit!) and my compostition still looks airy and light!



In album like these I love especially the page protectors that allow me to use 6x4 cards. It's so easy to fill album with them! Also cropping 6x6 paper from small paper pads allows me to make matching compositions on my pages in few little moments.



As you can see photos in my album are also a real mix - I use some of the pictures taken with my DSLR camera, throw here and there photos from Instagram and make mini collages of images downloaded from my Insta Story. I love that this mix of different pictures makes my album look real and eclectic.


In 2017 I also decided to take on more relaxed approach to memory keeping. I don't fill my album weekly, instead I document in here important moments and little. everyday joys. In January we moved our home, settled down in new place and enjoyed some fun days out - it all has space in the album.



I made two above pages using papers and embellishments from February Citrus Twist Kits - I loved the pop of yellow in them, it just screams spring to me and although it's still winter in Poland it definitely makes me smile when I look at these pages :)

Of course there are also sketches for you to follow if you would like to play with any of my compostions :)



Have fun documenting memories in 2017! As always we are looking forward to seeing your beautiful creations made with Citrus Twist Kits!

Pocket Life Friday sketch with Kasia

Hello on Friday in another Pocket Life inspiration post! It's Kasia here with some fresh pages for you :)

We are about to finish November and I have to admit that with very busy few weeks I decided to take my life documenting a bit easy.

In 2016 I was trying to capture memories in my album week by week, but in November I changed things up and documented only snippets, little highlights and everyday moments of the month.


I created 5 pages for November in total and here you can have a look at 2 of them - there are also sketches attached at the end of this post if you feel inspired by my spreads :)

As you can see I focused on little details and things that made my November - there are lots of photos of at home activities (actually all middle row is about them!), some family pictures and a little bit of journaling and embellishments. 

I like the free look and feel of this pages. I think sometimes when it comes to documenting memories we put so much unnecessary pressure on ourselves rather than focusing on enjoying the process itself. With December approaching I wanted to have some time to prepare for my christmas album, so changing things up in the main Pocket Life album was a sensible choice!





I really enjoyed mixing and matching here cards, papers, stickers and embellishments from November kits - they all aligned perfectly, don't you think so?

Also I mixed some photos - there is random stuff from my iPhone and camera and honestly - I love this happy mix of captured memories!



Below you can grab the sketches if you also want to try this simple, yet pleasing composition in your album! I think that mix of sketch and working with already matching, kit products is a great way for stress free documenting memories!

Here is sketch for page 1



and a close up for my results using it!



And page 2 for you guys ....



... plus some inspiration from me!




I hope you will have a fun weekend, maybe you can even find some time to play with those! Let us know! And also remember about all Black Friday offers in Citrus Twist Kits shop - there are some great deals still waiting for you!

Pocket Life Sketch Friday with Kasia

Hello on Friday! It's Kasia here with another Pocket Life post!

You might have noticed by now that I love to keep my pocket scrapbooking spreads simple and rather minimalistic. Of course I love beautiful embellishments and colorful bits and pieces which decorate my album but the base of my pages is usually white and bright.

This month though... as soon as I opened the Pocket Life kit I knew that I'll have to bend my own rules regarding the color scheme of the album. You know this new Dear Lizzy 6x6 paper pad from August kits - well I fell in love with it and immediatley made it foundation of my pages!

I created my own cards by trimming some papers from paper pad and from the main Scrapbook kit from August. I also used here few of the Citrus Twist Kits exclusive cards.

To brighten up the pages and calm some of the busy designs on patterned papers I decided to make my own journaling blocks - again I grabbed the Pocket Life cards, trimmed them and layered on my base cards. This little trick helped me a lot and my composition became much more pulled together.

The tiny bits and pieces and cute embellishments are my favorite! I couldn't hold myself and decorated my pages with pieces from various August kits - it always amazes me that they mix so nicely together!

What are your favourite embellishments? I definitely like the puffy stickers and word stickers the most! Can't stop hoarding them :)

I wish you fun and creative weekend! If you need some extra inspirations here are the sketches that I hope will help your creative jucices flow!

Make sure to share with us the things that you made with August kits on Instagram or Facebook! It's always fun to see your creations! :)

Pocket Life Friday - Use some numbers as your composition base!

Hello on Friday! It's Kasia here with another pocket pages inspiration (and a sketch of course!) made with the gorgeous June Capri PL kit and some bits and pieces from sprinkles and embellishments kits!

Probably you know by now that I love when my pocket pages are light, happy and cheerful - I always start with building a base of whatever white elements I can find - luckily there were plenty of them inside Capri Pocket Life kit! Wohoa!

When I looked through my photographs from that week I noticed I only have pictures taken with my iPhone camera - it's ok though, I don't strive to use only camera taken photos for my albums. All the pictures I picked have been already edited for instagram with A Color Story app - it's my go to editing app these days! 

When I started working on my pages layout I got totally inspired by a 3x4 card from the PL kit  which says "5 favorites" - I decided to build my composition around this card's theme. 

I numbered my photos from 1 to 5 and wrote the corresponding journaling on the card. It's a fun way to change things a bit and higlight some favorites from here and now! I'll definitely repeat this trick some time soon!

I prepared a simple sketch for you showing the bones of my spread. It's made with 9x12 album in mind but you can easily recreate it for another format. The sketch will allow you to create a well balanced and airy entry to your album - just follow it, especially if you also love to use your square, instagram pictures!

Below are some juicy details for you for further inspiration how to play with this month's kits.

And here you can see once again my list inspired pages. Using the numbers helps to guide the eye through the page and keeps everything nice and organized. I challenge you to try this technique in summer!

I hope you enjoyed today's post! Have a wonderful and creative weekend!

Pocket Life Sketch Friday | neutral spread with pops of color

Hello and welcome in another Pocket Life Sketch post! It's Kasia here with some pockets inspiration!

I love bright and airy spreads and try to keep my 2016 album in this style. I focus a lot on neutral, cool colors through all my pages - I pick white, grey and shades of blue and love building the base of my pages on them - so as you can imagine April kit was perfect for me! I love the double sided cards and possibility to choose more neutral color scheme.

But I also know that neutral spreads can be a bit boring - both to look at and to make. We all love some color, don't we? So every week I try to add different splash of color to the pages I make. This time I picked green - my tiny herb garden was an inspiration for this move!

Just two green elements - the week number and big, transparent title helped my pages come to life and look much more interesting. I used other bits and pieces from "Santorini" Pocket Life kit and April Sprinkles kit to finish off my pages. Below you can see more photos!

I also have some fun sketches for you this week. Most of the time I stick to same pockets, but sometimes, to change things off a bit I pull out my fuse tool and create a custom pocket. It's so much fun!

Don't worry if you don't have a Fuse Tool - you can also use a sewing machine or just create a layout following the sketch and slip it into full size page protector. Experiment! And have fun!:)

Show us which side of April kit you felt inspire to use - did you go for neutrals or for bold colors this month?

Tips for capturing everyday moments with photographs

Hello! It's Kasia here today in another installment of Tuesday Tutorial!

Taking photos is such a big part of capturing everyday memories - honestly, documenting life has never been so easy. Most of us keep our cameras around all the time - thanks to technology development using the phone build in cameras is easy and brings great results!

I love grabbing my DSLR to take photos, play with light and different settings, but the truth is that most of the pictures which I use in my albums come from my iPhone camera. No shame in that!

In today's tutorial I'd like to share with you some tips and ideas to make the most of camera built in your phone and snap wonderful photos in any time and place!

1. KEEP YOUR LENS CLEAN!

You can find the perfect light and amazing subject of your photograph (we will talk about it in a second!) but even the most yummy cupcake won't present itself great in the picture if your camera lens is dirty! I have a habit of wiping the camera's lens on my phone before snapping a picture and it helped to improve the quality of my photos a lot! So, keep your lens clean and you will see a big change in your pictures!

2. FIND A GOOD SOURSE OF LIGHT

And yes, daylight is best! Try to avoid harsh sun, look for places with some shade or if you shoot at home try to diffuse sharp sunlight with a light colored curtain.

Daylight helps to create natural look and the effects are very pleasing on the photo but we are talking about documenting life and life happens 24 hours a day - what to do when you need to shoot photo after dark? Still - search for a bright place at home, put the lights on and shot your picture. Most probably it will come out too yellow - you can help it with editing app, or... turn it to black and white! It's a great trick to cover up some color problems in the pictures!

3. WATCH AND EXPERIMENT

We are so lucky to live in time when the knowledge is within easy reach. You can find great tutorials online and learn more about composition in photography, discover how to shoot your pictures against the light, watch the great photographers, search for everyday photography inspiration on pinterest and instagram.

Experiment with new stuff, new positions and angles when you shoot, try to come closer to your subject or shoot a photo from new perspective. Explore your phone camera and it's possibilities and it will most likely surprise you!

You can also invest in small extras that will change your phone photography - there is a selection of fun, attachable lenses that will help you extend the angle of your camera lens or even take a fish-eye like pictures!

4. FIND YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECTS

Photographing everyday might be fascinating but to be honest, we all have days which feel like there is nothing to capture. To avoid long gaps in your photography (but also to practice your creativity!) don't give up on days like that. Try to develop some routine, find the subjects you love to photograph, capture in pictures even simple things- your outfit, crafty supplies, changing seasons, morning cup of coffee or lunch you pack to work.

Documenting small moments like that feels great and is a fun way to stay on track and see your progress and changes you make!

5. FIND YOUR FAVORITE APPS TO FOLLOW

Even if you decide to use only your phone to photograph and print photos don't forget that apps leave you a lot of creative room to experiment with different editing options!

My favorite app recently has been the Color Story- it has all my favorite features in it! I usually pick a filter which helps me to brighten up the picture a bit and if I want to apply more changes I play with curves, saturation and contrast. Editing picture allows me to make the colors pop and keep the white color really white.

Thanks to editing all my pictures same way I can create a unified and cohesive look inside the album.


I hope you enjoyed these 5 tricks and with spring days ahead you will feel brave enough to experiment more with cameras in your phone! Let us know in the comment which app is your favorite the photos and share any phone photography tips and experiences you have!