Tuesday Tutorial with Kira

Hello again, Citrus Twist fans!  It's Kira and I am back for Tuesday Tutorial.  Do any of you have pen pals?  I have a few crafty friends who I write to regularly and send crafty gifts to, but lately, I have been slacking a little.  So I thought I could use my Citrus Twist kits to create a sweet little gift for one of my friends!

I was inspired by the Mixed Media kit this month.  I am in love with this cute Fruitastic stamp set from Pinkfresh Studio.  And thought it would be fun to make my own berry basket.

I used a berry basket cut file from Cricut Design Space and cut it out of the "Sprinkled" paper.  I filled it with the crinkle paper that is included in my kits every month (I save it every month so I never run out!).  Then I added my strawberries!

Supplies you will need for your strawberries:
-paper
-glue
-strawberry cut file
-leaf cut file
-candy

I made the strawberries by first creating a cut file.  (You can download it here, to either cut on your die cut machine, or cut by hand).  I used the Maggie Holmes "Sweet One" paper, which was perfect for my strawberries.  Once you have your strawberries cut out, you will fold along the score lines and glue the sides together.  This should create a little "cup" that you can fill with candy!  I used M&Ms, but how cute would some gummy strawberry candies look in these?!

Next you'll glue together the top of the strawberry, layering each "tab" on top of the last with a dot of glue.  Another option for closing the strawberries would be to punch a hole in each tab and then closing it up with some string.

To finish off the strawberries, I attached a leaf die cut.  I used a cut file from The Cut Shoppe, but any leaf cut file would work fine, or even hand cut leaves would look cute!  I used one of the 6x8 papers included in the Pocket Life kit, for a light pink and mint color scheme.

The mint ribbon from the main kit was perfect to finish off my basket.  I just tied it around the top of the basket rim for an extra sweet touch!

Back to the stamp set that inspired my entire project:  I decided to make a card to attach to my berry basket.  I stamped in similar pink and mint colors for my strawberries on some white cardstock.  Then I stamped the sentiment "I picked the best friend" in black directly on top of the strawberry pattern.  I backed the white cardstock with a pink paper from the 6x8 paper pad.  I adhered the card to the basket with a mini clothespin from my stash.

And there it is!  The sweetest little gift!  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and thank you so much for stopping by!

xo, Kira

Product Highlight - PATTERNED PAPER

Hello CTK friends!

Anna and Nathalie with you today to shine the spotlight on Patterned Paper.  Let's be honest, we all have a stash of paper we are keeping to document that special memory, and this month's Skyland  Scrapbook, PL kit, Patterned Paper Play and Outside Stories kit are filled with beautiful papers. But before you put them away in your stash, let us show you how you can combine and use them in your projects.  First up is Nathalie.

Hi there!,  Nathalie here to bring you a bit of inspiration using a few of the patterned papers from this month's Skyland kits.  This month, the papers are gorgeous, filled with fun designs, and perfect to document all your memories.

For my layout, i wanted to create a very coastal mood for the page, as it documents a picture of my daughter after spending a day basking in the sun on the beach. For this i picked papers from the Skyland Scrapbook Kit, PL kit, Patterned Paper Play kit and also used a digital card to create a patterned paper for this page.  

What better way to use paper and mix patterns than to crate paper flowers. I used a combination of cut files (Silhouette Store) and some dies to create the centers and petals of the flowers.  I used a bone folder to add some movement to the petals. Some of the flowers were layered together, so that they add dimension to the page.

Along the way,  i added a few die cut leaves  (Maya Road die) cut from white cardstock (color a few with green paint, too), so that they will form clusters around the picture and the entire page.   A few of the Scrapbook kit embellishments and elements from the cut apart sheet also were added along the clusters to embellish the page. Finally a few sentiments using the Conversation Starter Stamp complete this page.

Really, the patterns and designs on this month's Skyland kits are gorgeous, and easy to combine in your projects, so do not put them away (not yet at least!).

Well that is all for me, now it is time for Anna to show you her gorgeous project and give you a new take on how to use all the beautiful papers in the Skyland kits.

xo

Hi dear CTK friends! Anna here bringing you some more patterned paper inspiration made with the July Skyland Kits. But first, don't you love Nathalie's beautiful layout!? So much to love about that, as always with Nathalie's work. Pure happiness:)

Anyway, my layout is made with a combo of Skyland  Scrapbook kit, PL kit, Mixed Media kit and one of the gorgeous July Cut Files.

And here's what I came up with.

I decided to let a part of the gorgeous Simple Stories paper be the focal point and "queen of the page" since backing this lovely "Celebrate" Cut file with it as my BIG title. I love how this turned out.

For my background I've been playing around with the two pink acrylic's from the Mixed Media kit and a few ordinary color mists from my stash. Just smooshing (or as Vicki Boutin said, "Kissing" lol!) my paper with a plastic bag prepped with color until I'm satisfied with the result.

Look at these lovely layers of pattened papers, yummy!

And here's another stack of layers, a combo of papers, cotton and die-cuts, beautiful! Also there's a good idea to tuck some epoxy stickers or other embellishments within/underneath your layers of paper.

The colors and design of the papers in this kit (and all of the past CTK kits as well, lol!) are perfectly unperfect matched with the stickers and other goodies in the kit. Trina is the queen of making kits, thats the way it is, can't help it.

Well that is all for me and us! Now it's your turn to dig into your kits, packed with gorgeous pattened papers, and play along with us here at CTK. Be sure to hang on with our weekly challenges and don't forget to share them with us at the CTK Fan Page. Also,please do hashtag us, #citrustwistkits, so we can see and enjoy all of your beautiul creations.

If you still haven't signed up for a kit (or more) by your own, don't wait to long they are tending to selling fast :) Just click here and you are home!

Thanks for stopping by! Take care! Anna xo

Documenting Summer Secrets

Hi there!

Nathalie back with you today bringing you a bit of Summer inspiration using the new and super beautiful Skyland scrapbook kits!  If you have yet to check them out, then head onto the Citrus Twist Kits page to see all the beautiful papers, add ons and exclusives these kits are packed with.  But what better way to show you the kit, than to share with you a  new creation featuring the new Skyland Scrapbook kit and mixed media kit

As soon as I opened my little box of goodies, i fell in love with the Echo Park alphas, and the old agenda page that is included in the Scrapbook kit.  Trina is always adding that special piece to each kit.

If you have seen my work before, then you know that i kinda love to create beautiful messes as a background for my pictures;  the Vicki Boutin Acrylic Pop Paints included in the Mixed Media kit are so easy to work with, and match the colors of the papers to a tee!

Well speaking of papers,  I had a hard time deciding what papers to use in this page, so I chose to layer pieces from pretty much all the papers in the Skyland kit.  I even used a left over piece from a paper (sneak peek time!) from a paper created with the digital PL cards from a project coming later in the month.  The cuts in the paper give a little window to the mixed media in the background!.

My idea with this page was to document a picture (one of many) of my teenage kids playing in the little kids playground.  It is a secret (well it was a secret) that they love to spend hours away playing in the swings, slide, etc., and always try to schedule our walks  around the lunch hours when small kids are usually eating lunch.  The best way to tell this story was to create  the little slit on the background, conceal that gorgeous black and white Pinkfresh Studio paper in the background, and use the folding parts of the cardstock to mark the time on the agenda sheet.   The large epoxy circle was just the perfect detail  to document this story.

Now to balance all the layers of paper, i chose to create a similar slit  on the opposite side of  the page, and add my title there.   I reached for the Conversation Starter Stamp to create the large title on this page.   These alphas -included in the Scrapbook kit- are to die for, and all the heart eyes go to the entire sheet of puffy hearts also included in the kit, so i just sprinkled a few around the clusters of ephemera and  cut apart pieces that frame the picture.  But let me show you a more  in depth look on how this page came together in the following video:

How fun are all the layers in this page!  I really hope this serves as inspiration to break into your Skyland kits as soon as they arrive at your doorstep.  I am not an enabler, but trust me you want to add a few of the add on kits to your order.   They are so worth it.

As always please contact me if you have questions on how this came together.  Remember to stop by the CTK Shop to check all this  month's goodies.

XO

Product Highlight - Pom Pom Trim

Hello everyone!

Nathalie and Anna back with you today with this month's product highlight.   If you receive the main Scrapbook kit, then you will find a large piece of mini yellow pom pom trim in your Cypress Kit.  Love all these little details that Trina is always adding to the kits, makes them unique and fun.   Well, let's start with Nathalie's project, as she combined the pom pom trim with a few elements from the kits to create a fun and super colorful layout.

 Hi there!

To create the colorful background, I pulled the stencil in the mixed media kit (I love this new add on kit!), and used a few shades  of ink (Distress Oxides) to blend over the stencil thus creating the impression of the background.   I made sure the yellow strip sat in the middle of the page,

Once the pictures were aligned on the paper (before gluing them down), i chose to back them each with papers from the Add on kit, and the patterned paper kit, so that the papers matched the colors where the picture will be sitting on the page.  Then glued the pom pom trim around the one sitting in the middle of the page.

Once the pictures were set on the page, I used pieces from the add on kit, embellishment kit and cut apart digital sheet to color block the embellishments around the pictures.

To bring more detail and repetition to the clusters, i chose to use the TN stamp to add a few sentiments were the clusters were placed.

For the title, i chose a piece of ephemera from the add on kit that matched the yellow strip of ink.    Before gluing it down, i made a small cut in the center of the right edge of the page, and folded the corners in to create a small peek-a-boo detail. Here i glued a bit of the yellow pom pom trim, and then backed the space with one of the papers from the Add-on kit that match the color of the pompoms.

Love how this turned out.  First I used multiple pictures (YAY!!), the background is inky and colorful, and the pom pom trim is the perfect detail to complete this page.  Just love this month's Cypress kits!!!

Now let's have a look at Anna's gorgeous project...

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Hi dear friends!

Anna here to share my take on this month's Product Highlight. But first I want to say: Isn't Nathalie's page just amazingly beautiful? I love it! So much to love about it, that background, the colors, her use of the pom pom trim, everything - so good!

Well, here's what I came up with. Something much more "Clean & Simple" but yet colorful and fun, at least I think so, LOL! And I had a blast creating this TN-Spread.

At the very moment I got this lovely piece of yellow pom pom trim in my hands I knew that I wanted to use it like this on the edge of a paper sheet in my Travelers Notebook. You get one Travelers Notebook, as well as the pom pom trim, in the June Cypress Main Scrapbook Kit (along with lots and lots of other goodies of course).

And I've also used the absolutely awesome June CTK Spiral Notebook Edge Cut File on my piece of map patterned paper. It's so cool and I love it. So easy to use on your projects, not only in your TN's but on any other scrapbook project.

I did custom my "Broken Crayons Still Color - sticker" with one of the lovely epoxy stickers since the colors on the crayon sticker was'nt right. That's a great way of make left over stickers work.

I love these numbers by Elle's Studio. And who can resist these lovely "Here+There" black rub on words by Crate Paper from the June Embellishment Kit (unfortunately sold out). And as usual I've added a few stitches with my old trusty sewing machine.

Ohh! Look at this lovely piece of pom pom trim! I'm so happy how it turned out.

And also, I love this cute pic of my youngest son digging into some yummy cake, lol!

And don't forget these epoxy stickers by Elle's Studio, they are so shiny and delicious just like candy, YUM!

Can you spy the blue flower paper under my photo? That's one of the beautiful June Cypress Journaling Cards from the CTK store, love them all and you'll need them all, LOL!

Now it is your turn to put the pom pom trim to use.  We cannot wait to see what you create with this.  Remember to share your creations with us on the CTK Friends page on Facebook or on social media by tagging Citrus Twist Kits.

As always, let us know if you have questions on how these came together!

see you all soon!

Nathalie & Anna

3-to-Inspire with Nathalie

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today with  the first challenge of the month.  The new "Cypress" kits are so gorgeous, that i was inspired to create two projects using the same prompts in different formats.  But before i show you what i created, let me share this week's challenge prompts:

• Use a limited color palette
• Add stitching (either hand, machine or faux stitching) to your project
• Use digital elements (cut files, cut apart sheets, etc)

 Here is the first of two projects created with these prompts:

This month's Cypress PL kit is packed with CTK exclusives, and totally sublime designs and colors, plus the Scrapbook kit includes a Traveler's Notebook Insert which is the one i am using for this page. My choice was to use all things pink (or that had pink) in this layout.

I chose to layer some of the  printable digital PL cards behind the picture.  I love having the option of sizing the cards to fit into my projects, plus I can easily print them on copy paper which helps to reduce the bulkiness of the pages.

To balance the picture, I created a large cluster of elements from the June 2018 cut apart sheet.  I added a bit of journaling to one of the pieces, and then just layered more cut outs around it.  I used very little tape on this page, as i chose to secure most of the layout using some sewing machine stitching.

Love how easy it was to put this together following this week's prompts.  But now, let me show you the second project created with the same prompts.

The inspiration for this page was the acrylic pieces that are included in the  Cypress Scrapbook kit,  the color of the acrylic was the inspiration for this layout's cooler palette.  The teal/ light blue color in the background (created using this month's Mixed Media add on) provides the perfect  canvas for the  picture and embellishments.

This month's digitals are  amazing, from cut files to the cut apart sheet,  so i took advantage of the Doodle Heart cut file to create this layering die cut, and then pulled all the pieces from the cut apart sheet that followed the color palette, and used them to embellish the page.

Once again, I chose to secure some of the pieces (cut out and map) to the page using a bit of machine stitching.   The texture it adds to the page is lovely, but also i chose to leave a large tail behind each stitching line, so that it adds to the movement of the page - think of it as water waves-.   

This page came together so nicely using this month's Cypress main, embelishment and mixed media kits.  The following video will show you a more in-depth look at how this page came together:

Now it is your turn to use this three prompts to create projects of your own.  Remember to tag Citrus Twist Kits (use the handle @citrustwistkits or hashtag #citrustwistkits) when sharing your projects on social media.   You can also share your finish projects in the Citrus Twist Kits Friends page on Facebook.  

I cannot wait to see how you use these prompts, and all the projects created with this month's Cypress kits.  Remember I am always a comment away of you have questions on how any of the projects came together.

XO

Nathalie