MORE TRAVELOGUE INSPIRATION with Our Guest Designer Sarah Zayas

 

Hello there!

We are so happy to welcome our friend Sarah Zayas, our Guest Designer, to the blog today.  She has prepared a beautiful spread for you using our TRAVELOGUE kit.   I  leave you with Sarah...

 

Hi, everyone!  It's Sarah back today to share another project using the gorgeous TRAVELOGUE kit.  For this entry documenting a trip to Lake Tahoe, CA in my travel album I decided to put together a flip out page for one half of my spread.  This is one of my favorite ways to include more photos on a single layout.  Plus, it provides an interactive element, which is always fun to come across when you're flipping through an album.  

 

 

I started with a simple piece of grid paper and then folded it where I wanted my flipout to be.  I used pattern paper on both sides, being mindful in choosing colors that would work well together.  On the inside of the flipout I layered photos with some of the die cuts and also did some stamping.  

 

 

For the left side of my layout I used one of the three pocket inserts to house a couple more photos and another ephemera piece.

 

I hope you'll give flipouts a try if you haven't tried them already.  They are super quick to put together, but you get a nice expandandable layout to see all your photos.

 

Thanks for stopping by to check out this project!

This is just amazing!  Thank you so much Sarah for sharing your talent with us.  Remember you can check more of Sarah's work on Instagram. You are going to love her projects!

MEET OUR GUEST DESIGNER - SARAH ZAYAS

Hello there!

We are so excited to introduce our second Guest Designer, Sarah Hayas.   She is a past Creative Team member, and friend of CTK.  We adore her style, and are always in awe of what she creates.   We couldn't be happier to have her join us for the  next two months, and share some inspiration with our Travelogue kit!   

 Q & A with Sarah

·         What is something most people would not know about you?  I love to travel and took lots of road/camping trips as a young girl, but my first time in a plane didn't happen until I was 24 (which was for a work trip to Washington DC).  Since then I've been so fortunate to travel to many places (both near and far from where we live).  One of my favorite trips was to Canada where we got to snowboard in the Whistler Blackcomb mountains.
·         What are the 3 scrapbooking products you can’t live without? Stamps, a good adhesive, and my trusty Fiskars paper trimmer :)  
·         What do you love about the TRAVELOGUE kit?  Besides the vibrant color scheme, the die cut pieces are always my favorite from any CTK kit.  They are so versatile, and add that fun detail to any project.
·         Finish this sentence “My dream destination/vacation is . . . “Alaska! It's been on our travel bucket list for years!

 

 

Hello everyone!  I'm so happy to be back with Citrus Twist Kits as a guest designer for the Travelogue kit!  This kit immediately caught my attention with it's bright, fun colors, and since travel themed layouts are some of my favorite projects to include in my Life Crafted albums, this kit was right up my alley!

 

 

The life crafted albums are perfect for documenting one off trips, but I also like to use them for an all encompassing travel album (which is a big ongoing project I'm currently working on).  My goal is to create one or two pages per trip to give an overview of all the places we've visited over the years. For today's project I decided to document a trip I took with my husband to Seattle back in 2016.  

 

 

I used one of the 2x2 grid page protectors for the right page so I'd be able to include more photos, and then I kept one of the standard size page protectors on the left.  I loved creating little clusters with the die cut pieces, and even had them overlap with my larger photos.  It gives the page such a fun effect.  

 

For my 2x2 grid page I mixed the photos with the embellishments to keep a good balance on the page.  Since the photos are so small I decided to keep them as they are, but I added embellishments to all of the other pockets.

 

Finally, I printed my journaling onto some grid paper and added it under my large photo.  My goal with the journaling for my travel album project is to write up an overview and maybe add in a few details, but not to include everything (which would require much more space than one or two layouts.)

 

Thank you for stopping by to take a peek into my travel album!

XO,

Sarah

 

 

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 We love this new spread by our friend Sarah, and are excited to see more of her creations with our kit.  Be sure to stop by her Instagram feed to check more of her projects and be inspired. You are sure to love her work!

XO

Sunday Sketch with Sarah

Hello, everyone!

Today I'm here to share my take on our Sunday sketch!  Sketches can be a great jumping off point and not only can they quicken the overall process of putting a page together, they can also get you thinking about adding in things that you may not have originally considered. 

Here is our sketch:

I'll be using today's sketch for building a layout in my Traveler's Notebook.

I started my layout by backing the left page with some neutral pattern paper and then backing my square 3 inch photos with a different pattern.  I also added some ephemera to the left, using the sketch as my guide.  Having a guide definitely helped me not overthink where I was placing things, so I could use more of my energy deciding on what ephemera pieces I wanted to use!

I switched up the arrangement on the right side of my page (again, just making the sketch work for my project) by starting with my stamped title and then adding in my journaling and a few ephemera pieces.

If you'd like to see a more in depth look at my process feel free to check out the process video below!


Using a sketch definitely streamlined my process for this layout, making it so fun to put together.  I hope you'll play along and try out today's sketch too!

Happy Crafting!
Sarah

TN Challenge with Sarah

Hi, Everyone!

Today I'm sharing a new TN challenge with you that again utilizes stamps (you all know how much I love my stamps!) Our challenge for today is to make a border using phrase stamps.

If you're someone that sometimes finds it challenging to add journaling onto your page, then adding phrase stamps can be a great way to include some words and sentiments next to your photo.  Or, even if you do enjoy journaling, adding phrase stamps can add a fun pattern background, or in this case, a border, to your page.

For this spread I used a bunch of the phrase stamps from the Fresh Start Life Crafted kit stamp set as well as the "New Beginnings" stamp set.  I started with the largest phrase, stamping it randomly along the edge of my page and then followed with other phrases, mixing up my colors every now and again to match the colors on the left side of my page.

For the left side of my page I layered by photo on top of a 3x4, 4x6, and 6x8 journaling cards/paper to add some dimension, added in some die cuts and journaling, and called my layout done!

Sometimes it's great to just keep things simple.  It's amazing what a few little details can add to your page!

Hope you'll give this challenge a try!

Happy Crafting,
Sarah

3 to Inspire with Sarah

Hi, everyone!  Today we're going to be working with three fun elements to put a traveler's notebook page together:

- Labels
- Die Cut Shapes
- Stamps

One thing that's amazing about the Citrus Twist Kits is that you always get a big handful of both labels and die cut shapes.  Have you ever wondered how you can use them up in a fun way?  One way that I like to use my stash of something up is to use a bunch of one thing to create a background for my TN spreads.  The repetitive nature of different shapes and colors can create a really unique and fun pattern background!

For this layout I used two 3x4 photos and placed them toward the middle of my notebook.  From there, I slowly added in labels, placing them down in a somewhat random pattern, making sure that I was adding a similar amount of labels in each area of the page to balance things out.  To make sure my labels didn't look like they were floating around the page, I made sure to tuck some under my photo, layer labels on top of each other, and have some labels hang off the side of the page.

To add more color onto my page I layered some die cut shapes on top of my labels.  I loved the little houses and hearts that were in this month's Fresh Start Life Crafted kit!

To finish off my page I did some random stamping, keeping the stamps close to my labels, again to avoid that floating look.  I love how the stamping acts as both an embellishment and as journaling here!

There you have it!  A simple way to use up some pieces that you might have an abundance of in your crafty stash.  Hope you'll try this out!

Happy Crafting,
Sarah

December Daily with Sarah: Documenting Our Christmas Card

Hello, everyone!  Today I'm back to share how I added in the Christmas card we sent out this year to my December Daily album.  Last year was the first year that we started ordering photo cards and it's a tradition that I hope to continue for as long as I can.  I'd also like to make sure I document these cards every year in my December Daily album so I can look back on them and see how we've changed. 

There were so many beautiful papers and embellishments in this month's "Pleasant Valley" kits that went with the colors of our Christmas card so I got to play around with a lot of options!  However, I will admit that my main inspiration for embellishing this page was the "Postmarked" stamp set.  I just love all of the buildable pieces, and the sentiments and illustrations are so perfect for documenting or sending happy mail! 

For the left side of my page I used some pattern papers to back every other 2x2 inch square.  I used the Heidi Swapp letters from a pattern paper to spell out "Family" and I just love the nice bold look that made.  I wanted to have some see through pockets in between my pockets filled with pattern paper so for those I either used buttons (adhered to the outside of the pockets) or some labels that I stamped on.  I added a piece of transparency to each of the clear pockets so I could adhere whatever went inside to ensure that nothing would move around.  

I also adhered my Christmas card to a piece of transparency mainly because I didn't want to punch through the card itself, but also because I wanted to make sure the backside, which has a photo of my daughter on it, was visible.  I really enjoy the floating effect that that gave.

Thank you for letting me share this simple and fun page with you!  If you're working on a December Daily album this month I hope it's going well and that you're enjoying the process.

Happy Crafting!

Tuesday Tutorial with Sarah

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!  Today I'm here with a tutorial that has to do with using square photos in your pocket pages.  I think square photos are often overlooked in pocket pages, typically because most pockets are sized for 3x4 or 4x6 cards.  However, I wanted to show you how you can still use square photos in those pockets and have a lot of fun with it!

Let's talk about 3 different ways to use this type of photo.  My photos are sized to 2.5 x 2.5 inches, which always seems to be the perfect size because I can keep a small white border and still have the photo fit on a 3x4 card.

In this first example I used two of the 6x8 papers from the December "Pleasant Valley" CTK pocket life kit and cut them both in half to make 4- 4x6 cards.  Then I took one of the 4x6 cards and cut it diagonally.  To make a pocket out of it, I simply applied double sided adhesive to the edges and then layered it on top of a 4x6 card that had a different pattern.  This makes a great pocket to tuck tickets or any small papers inside of.  Finally, I adhered my square photo right on top of that triangle pocket and added a couple of embellishments.

In this next example I layered my square photos on top of 3x4 cards.  I love doing this because it allows me to get more use out of my filler cards, and I also have room to do some more embellishing!

My last example is to treat a 4x6 card as a mini layout.  I like to keep my mini layouts simple so it doesn't get too busy with the rest of the pockets on the page, but this again can be a great way to use up some embellishments and just have fun with your pockets!

I hope you'll give some of these examples a try on your next pocket page layout!  Its a really fun way to switch things up from time to time.

Happy Crafting!

TN Challenge with Sarah

Hi, everyone!  It's Sarah back today with another TN challenge.

Today's challenge is to use a rainbow or multi-colored color scheme.

The new "Sunshine in my Soul" kit has the most gorgeous colors in it, which makes it easy to create a rainbow color scheme in any of your projects.  I will admit that I typically stick with a 3 or 4 color palette, so this was a fun challenge for me too!  I love how this turned out, and this pop of color in my notebook makes me so happy.

If you're not used to using multiple colors in a layout, I recommend starting with a black and white photo.  Not only will your photo pop off the page since its the only neutral piece, it will also make it much easier to coordinate all of the other elements.

For the left side of my layout I used a paper from the Paige Taylor Evans "Whimsical" line as my background.  I cut the inside out of a couple of the frames using my exacto knife so I could bring a little pop of white to that size.  That white space also gave me some room to add my title.  I balanced this layout out by adding lots of color to the right side of my layout, while keeping the background white.  By keeping the background white, it allowed for the page to still be full without being overwhelmed.  To finish this layout off I added some embellishments here and there to make things even more fun and colorful.

I hope you have fun with today's TN challenge!  Don't be afraid to add a pop of color (or many pops of color in this case!) to your TN :)

Happy Crafting!

In My Studio - Desk space

Hello CTK friends!  This month the Pocket Life Team are sharing some photo's and details about the most important area when we create - our desk space! :)

My office area is definitely my happy place, and while it is rarely as clean as it is in these photos, I do try to stay as organized as possible so I can find everything I need when I'm working on projects.  The desk on the right is one that I've had for around 6 years and while it did a great job serving as my only crafting work surface for many years I did find myself shuffling everything around a lot, which was a bit frustrating at times. Earlier this year I took the plunge and got myself a second desk from Ikea, which is a bit larger than the first.  My favorite thing about this desk is that it can be adjusted in height.  While I prefer to craft while sitting, sometimes its easier to film videos while standing.  Now I can do both!

On my desk I like to keep some containers with my essential tools like scissors, tiny attacher, paper trimmer, adhesive, rulers, stamping blocks, pens and pencils, etc.  Keeping these things within reach is super helpful when I'm working on a project.  I also like to keep a small basket with kits that I'm currently working with on my desk so I use these products first.  I try to use up as much product as I can from these kits before moving the leftovers over to my stash.

I also have a little extension to my desk in this rolling cart that I picked up from Michaels.  This cart holds most of my embellishments, and I love that I can roll it from one desk to the other when I need to.  On top of this cart I keep other essentials that I'm constantly grabbing for, like my inks and project life cards.

I'm one of those people whose desk needs to be clean at all time, otherwise I can't seem to function! I have a lot of little cups, bowls and dishes so I can tidy everything away after I finish working on each project (although there is always an empty coffee cup or two lying around! I've got my computer, printer and Silhouette Cameo all set up and ready to go whenever the mood strikes me. The shelves above my desk store all my most used alphas and embellishments, my DIY camera set up for process videos, as well as all my notebooks, planners and finished Traveler's Notebooks!

As you can see, my Desk isn't very big. I love it when it's cleaned. I can't work if there's a lot of extra stuff on the table. All tools and embellishments are stored in the drawers of the table.

My family recently moved and this new space has been so fun to arrange! I make sure my desk has lots of available space to begin projects and so I can get messy and spread out when needed. 

Something that's super helpful in all of my desk spaces has been having my favorite supplies and embellishments out so I can see them. If things are tucked away, I just won't use them. I use a large muffin tin for small paper embellishments and it's so handy to be able to dig through to find what I need. 

I also recently began keeping a dish of my most used stamps on my desktop because I was constantly reaching for the same 4x6 stamp over and over but only using that one. I'm not sure if I will like the messiness of this forever but it sure is fun for now. 

Thanks for hanging out in my new space. I hope to create inspiring projects here!

Welcome to my desk space!  We recently moved so I am still organizing all my fun goodies, but I am already in love with the bright space.  I love the light grey walls and the bright light that comes through my window.  Having a clean, organized space helps me create stress free.  I love the huge vintage bankers desk with lots of drawers, pockets and storage compartments.  I like that everything is close at hand so I can create without even getting up.  I even have a Diet Coke close at hand, (a crafty must have)!

What does your desk space look like? We would love to see/hear (just share a post on the Facebook Fanpage!).

Is there anything you would like to see from our "In My Studio" posts? Please leave a comment below and we'll be sure to include it in the future!