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

In My Studio with the GraceBox Team

Welcome back for another installment of "In My Studio" and this month the GraceBox Team are sharing how they share their die-cuts/ephemera in their creative spaces!

Hello everyone! It's so good to be back to share a little tip on how I store my die-cuts. Each month after going through at the GraceBox kit I received, I will try to arrange all the products in one corner so I can keep grabbing them when I'm doing my projects. I enjoy having all the products I will be working for that particular month right in front of me. 

It is true that when I look at them, not only inspiration will pour but I'll actually use them on my project. Once that month is done, I'll put all aside and prepare for the new kit to arrive.

I love die cuts so much - I even have some collections I have been hoarding that I'm finally putting to use! I interchange using the word "ephemera" and "die cuts" since they fall into the same category for me. I like to have all of my die cuts in one place so they are easily accessible. I use a small container to house plastic CD sleeves I purchased online. To keep them organized, I cut off the back part of the packaging and place it in the sleeve to help me quickly see what pieces are in the collection. 

I love this system because it limits how many die cuts I can store at a time (although I do have one more of these containers but it doesn't have anything in it yet!). I also love that I can grab one or even a few of the CD sleeves to pack up with me if I want to craft on the go.

Xxo, Tara

Hey This is Jennie! My Die Cut Storage system is pretty simple. For my Citrus Twist Kits Die Cuts I use a plastic organizer I got at Dollar Tree. Every month I get my kit and divide the die cuts into labels, words and phrases, little sprinkle shapes like hearts or stars, tags and other not so common shapes. This way I can find the die cut I want easily! 

Once I am done with my kit that month I move my leftovers to a bigger organizer. In that box, I have more specific categories. I have 3 spaces for words: fancier words, single words or small phrases and regular size phrases. I also have 3 spaces for labels: CTK style label, small labels and long labels. In that bigger box I have tags, script words, circles, stars and other shapes. For collection die cuts I use CD plastic sleeves. I have some random die cuts that go into my embellishments drawers that are divided by colors. I hope this helps you get organized! 

When it comes to die cut or ephemera storage my approach is a bit scattered! Typically I like to keep sets together—not organize them by design, theme or color.  Most time die cuts come in nice resealable baggies that I can just label, if not, I just put them in one. 

I tend to have a paper kit or collection that I am working with for the week. I leave that out on my desk so I can find everything easily. I love putting the ephemera in trays so I can see what I have. For example, the Grace Box kit for June is bursting with bright colors, florals and the cutest flamingos! 

I have a few ceramic containers in different sizes. I love using the colored trays as props for photos too. The pink tray is a cupcake pan  that I found at a garage sale for .25 cents and spray painted it pink!  The heart tin is vintage from my antique kitchen collection. Finding fun pieces at thrift stores & auctions is one of my things to do!  

Many times I have one or two pieces left from a collection or set and they don’t have a home—they end up in here. A little box that I can quickly pull something out random and use. If I write a little thank you note or need to make a card quick– I look here. You never know what treasures are still hiding. My crafty five year old also loves to dig through it. She knows not to touch any other supplies, but the box is fair game! 

I used to keep the sets of ephemera in a binder but it was too full and hard to pull out. I have recently switched to putting them in this 2 foot tall organizer from Hobby Lobby. It has 12 sections that I can stack packets of die cuts and have some loose too. I love it. I just spin it around and find what I need. It is helpful to have the pieces out so you don’t forget what you have. I do need to purge it soon, I have tooooo many!

I recently saw a sign that said, “I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies.”  I love that! My goal this summer should be to be better organized and start using more of my beautiful papers & pieces. I hope this has given you an idea or two that you could use. Try different things and find the perfect thing for you space & your style of crafting!

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It's always so fun setting how the Design Team stores all their goodies!  How do your store your die-cuts? We would love to see/hear (leave a post on the Facebook Fanpage!).

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

Product Highlight : Ephemera

Hi CTK Friends!  It's Emma and Nathalie on the blog today to share a couple layouts featuring some of the ephemera in the April Kits.

I loooooooove die-cuts (easier for me to say than ephemera, lol, I'm always typing ephemera wrong!).  They are without a doubt my favourite and the very first thing I'll look for in any collection or kit.  They are so easy to add onto a page or if you're anything like me - use all over your layout ;)

I absolutely love the die-cuts included in the Add-on kit this month - the colours are so bright and I couldn't wait to use them on my layout.  They are also perfect for using on their own!  Although I love the  papers included in the kit, for this page I've let the die-cuts steal all the glory and just used white cardstock for my background.

To frame my page I machine stitched a border around three sides of my page in white, red, yellow and blue (to keep the bright colour theme going!).  At the top I used a section the crayon die-cut because it's got all the colours and is a perfect match to balance out the die-cuts at the bottom of my page.

The bottom of my page features layers of the brightest die-cuts I could find that fit with my page theme - although those iceream and lollipops might be a bit of a stretch ;)  My title is a combination of the die-cut "hello" and the smaller alphas included with this month's Main Scrapbooking Kit.

To finish off my page I added a one of the veneer pieces under my journaling and few groupings of the enamel dots to fill in some of the white space I had on my page.  They really finish it off perfectly!

And there you go - a fun little page without any patterned paper and a whole bunch of die-cuts!  I'm so happy how it finished up.  Die-cuts really are my favourite embellishment - you can use them here and there or you can use them to fill your page and leave out everything else :)

Take care, Em xo

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Hello everyone!

Don't you  just love the colorful and fun cluster of die cuts in Emma's page.  That large cluster of images draws your eye to the page.  A beauty, so into my scraplift file it goes!!.

Now let me show you what i created using the Savannah Main and Embellishment kits.  This month kits are gorgeous (but i think there hasn't been a kit we have not loved!!).  But just like Emma, i always look for the pack of ephemera to see what inspires me to create.

I am not a cat person, but all the mer-cats/cat-mermaids in the ephemera pack were just too cute to pass up.   So i used them all up to create this page about my daughter and niece's love for the swimming pool.

To bring the water color to the background, a bit of Distress Oxide inks were blended together.  A few drops of water created the bleach/splash  look in the water.   While the color set in the page,  I create the cut file for the title/main focus of the page.

I backed all the letters  but the "O" with papers from the main kit and some foam adhesive, and then added my picture to the inside of the letter O.  Then used the Dear Lizzy ephemera pieces -included in this month's Savannah main kit - to create clusters around the letters of the title (so that they form a visual triangle).  Then just added a few extra embellishments from the cut apart sheet, the cardstock stickers, and to finish a few sparkling elements from the Embellishment kit.

To finish the page, the cardstock was trimmed, and then a large strip of one of the Flourish collection papers -included in the kit- was glued in its place.   A bit of distressing just created the perfect spot for another cluster of ephemera (more mer-cat/cat-mermaid goodness!!!).   After a few stamped images, and some gold splatters (i was hoping they looked like bubbles!)  the page was done!

Love how this turned out!!!  All those cat mermaid/mer-cat pieces in the ephemera pack of the Savannah kit just add the right amount of cuteness to this page.

Now it is your turn to put your ephemera packs to work.  Regardless of the kit you are receiving, check your ephemera packs, you will be surprise at what those little pieces will inspire you to create.

That is all for me!

XOXO

Nathalie

Layout with Citrus Twist Kits exclusive die-cuts

Hi, it's Veera here today to share a layout that features a lot of those beautiful Citrus Twist Kits exclusive die-cuts from November main scrapbook kit! I love die-cuts and ephemera, those are my go-to embellishments for any project that I make!

Majority of the embellishments on this layout are from the exclusive die-cut pack. I added all the embellishments vertically on the edge of the pattern paper. In addition to the die-cuts I user the ribbon bow and heart stickers.

With die-cuts I was easily able to add a variety of shapes and colors. As the die-cuts were on the smaller size I wanted to use a bigger picture (instead of my normal 3x3 inches square photo) to balance all those small elements.

What is your go-to embellishment? I hope you are enjoying your November Citrus Twist Kits!

-Veera

3 to Inspire | Gina

Happy Saturday everyone and welcome to another fun challenge! Just play along with the 3 prompts for a chance to win

Here are your prompts!

1. use a stamp for part of your title

2. incorporate 3 love hearts

3. add a floral element

Here is my take on the prompts

I created this page with the October main kit and loved the pretty mix of bright patterns, florals, stickers and those tickets! They are so great to layer and make a perfect border for your design

my mixed title was created with the main kit word stamp, which I stamped onto a cut out journal tab, adding a heart sticker and finishing with these bright alpha stickers

I hope you will also play along with this one, I can't wait to see what you create!

Don't forget to upload your entry to the CTK gallery and/or Facebook Fan Page by Saturday November 4th for your chance to win.

Happy Saturday,

Gina x

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Sweet Fun

Hello! I don't know about you, but I am so excited that we have made it to September!  In my neck of the woods, Southern California, the temps have been in the high nineties and a new month means we are a bit closer to having some cooler weather. Yay!  September is certainly a transitional month as we head into a new season and I think the September "Twin Falls" Scrapbook kit really reflects this sense of change that is happening and I am happy to share to my first layout that I made with it:

What I really love about this kit, is that it works for documenting my summer stories while giving me that taste of fall that I am craving. The orangey red in the diecuts from Pink Fresh Studio and the bright yellow exclusive patterned paper is just what I wanted. 

The white foam Thickers are pretty great also and the fun, gold foiled butterfly (also from Pink Fresh) is a new fave. 

Now how about you? What kind of crafting products are you dreaming of right now?  I know that for many, thoughts of Christmas crafting seems to be trending right now and a little part of me is right there with them. However, fall is most on my mind and this kit is certainly making me even more excited!

Michelle

3 to Inspire | Gina Rodgers

Happy Saturday all..it's time for another 3 to Inspire challenge!

Each Saturday, a member of our team prepares 3 prompts to serve as starting points for a project. In order to play along with us AND be eligible for a prize, you must create a project that includes all three prompts. Here are this weeks prompts:

1. use 2 journal tags

2. use some foam tape or tabs to create dimension

3. include 2 or more wood veneer embellishments

For this page, I used the May Hello Beautiful and Pattern Paper Play kits

I've used some foam squares under the flower die cut and also under a couple of the stickers in the title below. This is a great way to make something 'pop' and add dimension to your page

The wood veneer shapes and phrases are always a favourite of mine and being neutral, will go with any colours and patterns you chose to use

Now it's your turn! Simply create a project using the 3 prompts and upload to the CTK gallery with today's date [5/27] in the title for your chance to win a small prize from the CTK store. Have fun!

Gina x

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Journal - Sea Life

Hi friends!  Emma here to share my first attempt at creating a mini-album using a journal (or think travelers notebook type book)!  This month's Grace Box kit came with the cutest journal and I thought it would be fun to try making a little journal/mini about a trip we made to Sea Life earlier this year.

I have to say that making this little book was so much fun!  I was actually a little intimidated to begin with but once I stopped getting hung up on "perfection" (and limiting the embellishing...which is hard for me) - I really enjoyed the process of putting this together.  It's far from perfect, but for my first attempt at using a journal book; I'm pretty happy with the end result.  And more importantly - I've got the photo's and stories recorded :)

The journal included in the Grace Box has 24 pages but that was far too many for me to fill so so I simply stitched a few pages together (I think I went with 2 or 3 pages, I wasn't exact every time, I just grabbed a few and ran the pages through my sewing machine to join them together).

I included things like the train timetable/ticket stubs and the map.

I kept my layouts fairly plain and had to continually remind myself not to go overboard with the embellishing.  Embellishments are my favourite part when putting layouts together so it was tricky!  I used a little from all the May kits in this book and I love how it all coordinates together so easily.  Those copper alpha's from the main kit are absolutely gorgeous (the photo's do not do them justice!) and I had to stop myself from using them on every page...but they do pop up on a few ;)

All my journaling was typed up on the computer and printed out on plain copy paper (I cheat and use a typewriter font).

To add a bit of colour through the album I used patterned paper on one side of the page.  Love the blue of this exclusive paper from the Main kit and the matching die-cuts (from the PL kit).

I even managed to work a sequin pocket page into it!  I'm forever using sequins/veneer pockets in my albums; I love the movement they create.  I used a piece of vellum in this journal though and just machine stitched around the outside.   It's hard to see in the photo's but I also cut a jelly fish shape from white cardstock and popped that inside with the green/blue sequins.

Originally I was not going to have anything on the outside of my journal but I have this annoying habit of adding "titles" to the spines/fronts of my mini-albums so I had to follow suit here.  I went with plain black alphas (from an older kit, Jan 2017 Add-on) and just stuck them onto a plastic divider I had sitting around (that I trimmed down to fit my journal).

And here's a quick little flip through the full journal!

I actually created this as the NSD challenges were being posted and I originally I thought I'd create a page per challenge, but as you can see, I failed miserably, haha.  I did get one sketch into it though!  The LHS page is based on the sketch shared by Michelle on Day 1 of the challenges ;)

So all up I got ONE challenge from NSD finished...which = a big fail for me haha.  I had the best intentions...  But on the plus side, I was so happy to see so many of you joined in on alot of challenges and that is AWESOME!  Did you have fun on NSD?  How many challenges did you manage to finish up doing?!  And for those of you that won; have you got your goodies yet?!  SO LUCKY!

Thanks for joining me on the blog today!  I hope you'll be inspired to try these journal books for yourself; they're not as intimidating as I thought they would be and I'm planning my next one already :)

Take care, Em xo