Retro Vibes with Andrea Gray

Hey there! today I am sharing a 6x8 layout using inspiration from one of the recent sketches! I always love a good starting point and then end up creating something within my own style.

I began by selecting papers that matched my photos and provided contrast. The foundation of the design would be patterned paper and since I would be layering them, I wanted a contrasting pattern. The blue floral and black with spots was perfect! Also, I pulled the yellow and coral colors from the patterned paper using two layered tabs to the right side.

Using 2 photos can be so fun, but I wanted just 1 to have a bit more focus than the two of them together so I layered a die cut card behind the left one so it popped off the background papers. Adding the stamped sentiment always provides that finishing touch!

To complete the typical design triangle, I added some fun elements to the top! A cool title using puffy alphas, a flag from the digital download, a button, a stapled heart, and a stamped date. These kinds of clusters are my jam!

There you have it, friends! A super easy layout that uses lots of product in a small space!

I hope you've found a little piece of inspiration today! Be sure to scroll around to find more amazing ideas from the rest of the Creative Team! 

Happy scrapping!

PL challenge with Alena

Alena here with  Pocket Life Challenge for you! Today I have a little idea to change  your Project Life. In my spread I used the wonderful November "Sunshine In My Soul" Pocket Life kit.

 In my first spreads of the Project Life I used layering. Later my style began to look like minimalism. I want to try again to make my cards detailed and interesting.

Use more  Die-Cuts, scraps of paper. My photos are very colorful, so it was difficult to pick up embellishment.  Also try not to use more than three colors.

 Add accents with double machine stitching.

So, my challenge for you:

 Use layering for your cards.

I hope you have a crafty  weekend!

Alena

Documenting the Good & the Bad with Kathleen

Hey there, it's Kathleen here again and first of all I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!!

When I unpacked my Citrus Twist Kits January "Sugarland" kits right after Christmas, I absolutely loved the bright, fresh colour scheme. I loved working on my December Daily album, which is filled with lots of greens, reds, but also blush, black and white, but I felt SO ready for a non-Christmassy colour palette!

All I knew when I started this layout was that I wanted to use one of those gorgeous pompom frames from the Crate Paper "Good Vibes" collection that were included in the Main kit, as well as lots of the patterned papers.

Now when I see pompom, mint/teal, pink and yellow, I immediately think of my scrapbooking heroine Suse Fish (who happens to be a guest designer this month - so keep your eyes peeled for the visual feast that awaits you!). If you've seen her work on IG or her blog (and I really can't believe you haven't), then you know that these are the typical Suse-colours. And she also happens to be the queen of layering which allows for lots of different patterns and papers on your layout.

So I quickly searched my Pinterest board where I keep my favourite layouts of all the talented ladies out there and found one by Suse that she had actually made with a Citrus Twist Kits kit in the past - how perfect is that? I absolutely love all the layers on the right side of the layouts with lots of little bits peeking out from below:

Now a lot of times when I have another layout as inspiration or starting point for mine, it starts off looking quite similar (in terms of placement and structure) but then often ends up taking a different turn. Sometimes you can still see the similarities, and sometimes it completely changes up to a point where there is (almost) no resemblance between the two.

This time, however, you can definitely see a lot of similarities and that is because it just worked and felt "right". I didn't feel the need to change a lot of things because the way Suse had laid out her page and what she chose to put on hers, actually worked really well for me!

I didn't plan on keeping almost everything like it was in Suse's layout, it just kind of happened - haha. I only looked at her layout a few times when I started mine and then closed it, but it seems it was really stuck in my head ;)

So as you can see, I also used some torn strips of some of the patterned papers from the kit and layered them on the right side of my layout. I also tucked in pieces of the vintage book page that is included (how cool is that?!) and some other bits and pieces like tags and labels.

I also used one of the cute exclusive phrase stickers (how fun are the phrases on them??) that reads "It's complicated" and stuck it in there. When you look at the photo of me in the pool with the blue sky and sunshine, you would think that this is a really happy, perfect memory - which in reality it isn't. I was actually sick a lot while we were on vacation and spent a lot of the time in bed, but one day decided I wanted to get into that pool at least once to have some nice photos to take away from this trip..

So to hint at the fact that there is more to this story than what you can see in the photo, I used this sticker. I included more journaling on one of those cards that was included in the Crate Paper "Good Vibes" ephemera pack which fitted perfectly behind my photo. I also used the "The Story" stamp from the exclusive stamp set to give another hint that there is this card tucked away behind the photo that you can pull out.

On the left side of my page I added another small(ish) cluster of embellishments. I used that cute die cut tag from the ephemera package, layered a piece of patterned paper behind it and sprinkled some more bits and pieces on/around it. I cut off the part of the tag that ran off the page, turned it around (the backside is white) and used it in the right corner of my layout as another layering piece.

The little "good vibes" phrase was part of one of the branding strips of the patterned papers and it fit perfectly onto that small tag. Now I said that the memory isn't just all good, so the "good vibes" and "chill out" phrases might seem a bit wrong - but the fact of the matter is that we ended up having a lot of fun taking these photos.

So even though the circumstances weren't perfect, it wasn't all bad and I wanted my layout to reflect that.

To finish off my page I added my title with the phrase thickers, splattered some yellow colour shine across my page and added some more embellishments like the wood veneer arrow* in the bottom left corner, and some stars in different shapes and textures*.

* I got the wood veneer arrow and the yellow acrylic stars in one of the "NSD 2016 Bits & Pieces Grab Bags" that you can get in the CTK shop for only $3!!

I am very pleased with how this page turned out (and I have Suse to thank for that because her layout was so inspiring!) and I am also very happy about how I documented the "not so great" part about this memory. I don't only want to scrap about the happy memories and I also don't want to just leave out the negative sides of certain events or memories, so finding a way to incorporate these as well (in a way that I still like the project) is important, I think.

I hope you like today's inspiration - whether it's the sketch, the colour scheme or the part about documenting the good and the bad!

Happy crafting, friends!
Kathleen

3 to Inspire | Gina Rodgers

Hi everyone, welcome to another 3 to Inspire challenge! Hopefully these simple prompts will help you kickstart your weekend crafting. As a bonus when you upload your project you're in with a chance to win a voucher for the CTK store!

Here are your prompts:

1. add a hand-cut embellishment from patterned paper

2. use some staples or tiny attachers

3. add a triangle of patterned paper to (any) corner of your page

Here's my take, created with the April 'Sophie' main kit 

My 'hand-cut' embellishment is the butterfly, I've also added some die cuts and puffy sticker. Tiny attachers/staples are a great way to add some texture to your page

Now it's your turn! Use the 3 prompts to create your project and upload to the CTK gallery and/or Facebook Fan page. I'm looking forward to seeing your creations, have fun!

Gina x
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Sunday Sketch | Gina Rodgers

Happy Sunday everyone! I'm here with this week's fun sketch and hoping you can play along too!

and here is my take on the sketch..I've changed it up just slightly, according with what I had to work with in the gorgeous Oliver Main + Sprinkles kits, such as using pattern paper rather than tags and reducing the banner at the top of the page. It's always fun to put your own spin on your creations.

To play along this week, create a layout inspired by the sketch and upload it to the CTK gallery, include today's date in the title (03/19) One lucky winner will receive a $5 gift certificate to spend in the CTK Store

Have fun!

Gina x

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Beauty | Gina Rodgers

Hi everyone, it's so great to be back after a few months off while travelling, and what a gorgeous couple of kits to be working with this month! I've been creating with the Emerson Main + Sprinkles kits and here's my first layout. I've layered some patterned paper pieces along with a section of glassine bag packaging as a matt for my photo.

The cork stickers are nice and flat, making them easy to layer also

Thanks for stopping by

Gina x

Double Recipe Challenge with Emma & Tara

Hi everyone, it's Tara and Emma here today! We have a couple layouts to share as well as a double challenge! I asked Emma if she would like to do a joint post with me and she had a great idea of giving each other a recipe challenge! One of my favorite challenges here at CTK is 3 To Inspire, so this was a fun one to do together. Join us and try out our recipe challenge!
Instead of using the same recipe, we surprised each other and both had some great ideas! Emma definitely pushed me beyond what I normally do in my Pocket Life pages. I was so excited to take the challenge. Emma's prompts were to:

1. use stitching,
2. hand-cut letters,
3. and circles.

Stitching has been something I want to incorporate on my layouts, I just don't make the time to do so and since I don't have a sewing machine, I have to do it by hand. I have added stitching to maybe one layout, so this was a fun one! Hand cut letters are a fave of Emma's - one of her most recent layouts is so beautiful and inspiring! I haven't done any hand cut letters since high school or helping my kiddos with their science fair projects. The circles sounded like a lot of fun - until I realized I only own a 1 inch circle punch (yikes!!). I knew one way or another I would make it work and thanks to Emma I think this is my new favorite layout:

I had a hard time committing to which style of pocket page I wanted to go with. In the end, I really am happy with the final layout!

I LOVE the exclusive CTK patterned paper in this month's Pocket Life Kit! I used it to create the "Dream" cut out. I had grand plans to add a lot more stitching but I felt just a few pops here and there were perfect! I also re-purposed one of the 4x6 jounaling cards in the kit and made it a 3x4 card for my title. The puffy sticker on the letter "a" ties into the challenge too.

Since I don't own many circle punches, I used a hole punch to create tiny circles to add here and there, adding a little more color and circles.

I punched out one large circle and added another tiny circle and a cork piece from the kit. I even used a white gel pen to create "xx faux-stitching" on the teal circle.

I wanted to tie in the circle theme and the heart patterned paper was the perfect touch to my photo! I had so much fun working with Emma and being challenged in new ways. It's so great to try other techniques or work outside of my comfort zone to create a fresh and new layout.

Here is Emma's layout and her take on my recipe challenge for her. She did a fantastic job!

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I was super excited when Tara asked if I'd like to do a joint post with her this month - it's always fun to work on a post with someone else from the Design Team! I was even more excited when we came up with the idea to give each other a 3-part recipe challenge - I would give Tara hers and she would give me mine! I'm a big fan of any type of recipe challenge (like our 3 To Inspire weekly challenge!). I don't mind admitting I was a litttttle nervous about what my recipe would be and Tara did not disappoint, she gave me some awesome challenges - my criteria were to:

1. use my own handwriting,
2. incorporate either 3x4 sized photos or paper on my layout,
3. and use a bold/bright patterned paper for my background

If you're familiar with any of the pages I've made in the past you'll know #1 and #3 are my weaknesses! I can only think of a few times I've used my own handwriting (because it's so messy!) and I'm constantly using white cardstock on all my pages. I panicked for a few minutes then jumped straight into it - and can I just say, it was FUN to step outside my "norm"!

Here's the page I finished up with:

And my first thought when I look back at this is - the background paper - so much yellow! Haha, Although you'll notice I couldn't help but add a white border around the outside...had to include a little bit of my "norm" into the mix. This paper was one of my favourites from the kit and I had intended to use it differently but I'm kinda loving this page - it's different to my usual style and that's what I find so fun! I used the February Main and Add-on kits for this page (plus I picked a label from my stash).

I even included one of the embellishment's I created for yesterday's tutorial post!

As I mentioned, I had so much fun with Tara's challenge! As nervous as I was, I had a ball working with things that I normally wouldn't - it was like a breath of fresh air! If you can, pair up with a buddy (or group of buddies) and give each other your own recipe challenge - I promise you'll love it!

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Don't you think this challenge was super fun and easy too? We definitely thought so - we had such a blast, Emma and I would do it again in a heartbeat! We would love to see your take on either recipe or even a mash up of the two! Please upload your layout to the Gallery and/or share it on the Facebook Fan Page.

Thank you for stopping by and have a fab day!

Xxo,

Em & Tara

Tuesday Tutorial with Emma

Hi everyone!  Emma here to share a super easy tutorial for making your own embellishments!

This month's kits come with some super cut die-cuts, stickers and papers that are perfect for grouping together to make your own dimensional embellishments.  Some times when I don't have alot of time to put a page together I'll sit down and make these - gives me my crafty fix without involving a heap of time :)

 The beauty about making these is there are no rules and you're really only limited by your imagination and the amount of goodies you have onhand to use ;)

1 - First up you'll need some tools - I grabbed my punches, scissors and mini attacher.  Plus you'll need some double-sided tape and foam dots (to add some dimension!).

2 - Then you need to get all those bits and pieces you want to use - I've used some goodies from both the Main and Add-on kits :)

3 - Then pick your favourite papers and start punching and cutting shapes.  I went with circles (used punches) and cut banner shapes with my scissors.

4 - Now this is the fun part - rifle through all your goodies to find things that you love.  I like to group things together at this point.

5 - Start layering!   I don't stick anything down at this point so if I end up not liking something I can  easily take it away.  The adhesive pieces are a little tricky but I tend to just stick those to a clear ruler then lay that on top to see how it looks.

6 - Stick it all together!  Use that tape, staplers, sewing machine or whatever else takes your fancy to keep it all grouped together :)

Super easy right?!

I like leave these sitting in a bowl on my desk so when I'm making a page and need something a little extra, they're ready to go!

And because I still have a few of these left - if you would like a little happy mail with a few embellishments ready to go, just leave a comment below and I'll pick a random winner on Friday and send some of these your way!


Thanks, Em xo

Recipe challenge with Emma & Aimee

Hi everyone!  It's Emma (and Aimee) here to share a couple layouts we have made using a little recipe challenge I set!  These kind of challenges are fun way to get a page done and similar to our weekly 3 To Inspire challenge.

 OK let's get straight into it - the recipe for our layouts was:

• Die-cuts (at least 5)
• layers
• stitching (machine or hand)
• 1 veneer 
• Cut file (and if you want to be extra tricky, try and use it as a digital stamp and your title)

First up I'll share my page - this is what I came up with!

 

My page started with the "#THATFACE" stamp which is actually something a little new from Kellie Winnell.  I'm incredibly fortune to be friends with Kellie so I was able to test out something new she's trying  - BONUS! ;)  

I repeated the stamp over a full page (6x8) and printed it onto vellum.   To do this I just opened the stamp up in Photoshop, set up my document size to 6x8 and stacked the stamp over and over until the page was full.  Printed as normal with my Canon printer onto a piece of vellum.  Easy one! 

The die-cut piece at the bottom is actually a piece of cardboard that came in the paper packs (to stop them from bending!) - I loved the colour so I ran it through the Cameo and used the negative of the  cut to make the title at the bottom of my page!

 

I'm a big fan of die-cuts/ephemera so I was super excited to see the Main kit this month came with a full pack from Crate Paper's new Wonder line!  Happy days!  I layered a few of the pieces at the top of my page, having only the top sections visible and the rest hiding under my vellum paper (which is backed up with white cardstock which explains why you cant see the bottom half of those pieces!).

This page came together rather quickly.  I love using digital files to create custom pattern paper - makes your page just that little bit unique :)

I'm so excited to show you Aimee's layout - I think she's absolutely smashed this challenge!

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Hi! I can’t tell you just how excited I am to be here with you today. I was completely over the moon when Emma offered to do a joint post with me! I love recipe challenges and I love Emma’s style, so how could it possible go wrong? 

I have absolute mad love for this layout. I had both the main kit and sprinkles kit to work with this month, but the main kit was just so jam packed, there was no need to breakout the sprinkles.

One of Emma’s first stipulations was 5 or more pieces of ephemera - sounds like a lot doesn’t it? Turns out if you take into account her layering rule this is actually an easy fix. I even included my own ephemera from the cafe we visited and a heart from the Wonder Ephemera pack. The hardest part was stopping at one veneer. The veneers in this month’s kit are SO pretty!

I die cut my title on the silhouette and used a prima chalk ink (colour: dry sand) to stencil it on to the layout. I tried my best to pick a similar font to the ‘Merci’ on the transparency to add extra continuity.

Finally there is the matter of sewing - A long time ago Emma paid me a visit and even helped me set up my sewing machine. I naively thought it would be easy. I mean, all I wanted to do was stitch on paper, right? Ha…yeah. Since then I had to change the bobbin thingy to fix a pair of my husbands jeans. I followed what the peeps on youtube said and still nothing. Now I can’t get either the navy or the white thread back in. So until Emma comes back to visit I am restricted to hand sewing. I played around with a couple of ideas on how to include it in the layout, but ultimately decided easiest (read: laziest) way was to hand stitch on a few cute buttons from the kit. 

TA -DA! Mission Accomplished. 

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It's just so awesome right?!  Thanks so much for joining in with me Aimee!  We will have to do this again ;)  I'd love to see YOUR take on this one too!!  Please upload to the gallery or link it up on the comments below so we can leave you some love :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Em & Aimee