Tuesday Tutorail

Hi Everyone!  It’s Melissa Renkawitz, your Guest DT member for May.  I’m back today sharing a fun tutorial on a Project Life layout, for which I used the May "Brighton" Scrapbook kit.  I’ll be sharing how I made this fun little confetti pocket…

 

First, here is a the overall layout.  This is a page protector with 3”x3” pockets that will be an insert in my overall layout for that week.

 

And a few details of some of the pockets…

 

Above, I added a bit of white acrylic paint and ink splatter to soften the black & white paper, before adding the labels and puffy sticker.  Below, I strategically cut a 3”x3” piece of this paper to highlight some of the phrases I liked and added a cluster of puffy sticker and enamel dots from the kit.

 

Here is the back side of the layout, with many of the same concepts repeated.

 

Now, onto the tutorial for that fun little confetti pocket!!!!

 

I began with a 3” square of patterned paper and a 3” piece of vellum.

 

I stitched (using a copper thread) down each side and along the bottom, to attach the 2 pieces, thus creating a “pocket”  with an opening at the top.  You can see I used a small piece of washi tape along the top to help hold the 2 pieces together while stitching.  Once I was done stitching, I removed the tape.  I actually don’t own a sewing machine, so I do my stitching by hand.  I use a Cutter Bee Bug tool to provide evenly spaced dimples and then pierce the holes.

 

Next, I gathered up some pieces of patterned paper, including that great blue floral that is a Citrus Twist exclusive in the Main kit, and punched a handful of small circles and hearts.

 

And then I just slipped them into the pocket, and stitched up the top edge.

 

I decided to use this little confetti pocket as a “title card” for this layout.  In addition to the great copper puffy letters in the kit, I wanted to add a smaller label to add the word “Easter.”  To do this, I typed and printed the word on my computer and then stamped the frame/label around it using the stamp set from the kit.

 

And here’s the final product.  Adorable, right???  Now go grab some supplies and make your own stitched confetti pocket, I’d love to see them!

Tuesday Tutorial

Hello! Super happy to be here today to share my little trick for adding journaling on the occasions I don't have the space on my layout to do so. 

Seventy-five percent of the time I journal directly on my layout. If I don't it's because I either have already written enough on an adjacent page or, like on this layout, I have a busy background and know that my writing will be too hard to see. If the latter is the case, my solution is pretty simple: Make a hidden pocket and add a tag! Using the beautiful October "Waverly" Scrapbook and Embellishment Kits, I am going to show you just how easy this is!

I knew right away after picking the really great woodgrain patterned paper as my background that my journaling, which I do with a fine pen, would get lost on the busy pattern. With this thought in mind, I worked on my layout keeping an eye out for a good hiding spot for my tag. The design of my layout actually came from one of our Sunday Sketch Challenges from last month; I had seen the sketch and layout done by fellow designer Emma, and I just had to give it a go myself. With that being said, the obvious place for the tag was under the polka dot patterned paper and to do this I glued down three edges of the paper, leaving the right side open. To finish off the pocket and add a little bit of extra detail I stitched around the opening. This also helped to make the pocket more snug, so the tag would not fall out.

My final step in the process was to "lock" down my stitching. I very rarely will do this with the actual sewing machine since the back stitching would not look as neat as I would like. Instead, I placed some of the washi tape from the kit over the ends of my stitching lines. This will keep my stitching from unraveling. Here's the final project:

Wishing you all a fantastic day!

Michelle

Tuesday Tutorial: Hand-Stitching, Shine Bright

Hello everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  Wendy here to share up some inspiration for you in a quick hand-stitching tutorial.

Stitching (by machine/hand) is an inexpensive way to add flair to your scrapbook projects with just simple needle and thread.  I used to love cross stitching (just not enough hours in the day for it now).  So, I have quite a stash of threads (all sorted in colors of the rainbow, of course).  DMC® thread is my preferred brand but you can make it work with any embroidery/cross stitch thread from your local craft store.

Since I really wanted to highlight the theme of my layout as "shine bright", I chose to go with stars as the focal embellishment.  I used various stars in different elements as puffy stickers, stamps, and my most favorite the hand-stitched stars.

1.  Choose and locate your preferred shape template (i.e. star) either online, cut out a shape from your metal dies and cutting machine (i.e. Sizzix Big Shot), or diecut machine (i.e. Silhouette).  For added interest to your layout, try different sizes of your shape of choice.  I used one large star and one medium star.

2.  Use a paper piercer (Tim Holtz Retractable Craft Pick) or needle along with your cut out shape to punch holes evenly around your shape.  Also, I like to use a mouse pad under my paper as a cushion as I pierce along the shape.

Maybe you were lucky to grab up one/both of those We R Memory Keepers (WRMK) Sew Easy Templates (when they were available, now sold out, over in the Citrus Twist Kits shop a while back). They are perfect for this type of project!

3.  Now the FUN part, to thread your needle and start stitching.  (Hint:  I like to tape the loose ends of thread - start and finish- on the back of my layout with a scrapbook adhesive tab/transparent tape/masking tape.)  Also, stitching of the shape(s) is the perfect activity to do while catching your fav series on Netflix or lounging on the sofa.

4.  That's it! Easy peasy.

Feel free to add some misting around the shapes (before stitching to avoid staining your thread) to add some pop to your stitched shapes.  The Heidi Swapp Color Shine Mists in the CTK shop work nicely with this technique!

I stamped some of the Pocket Life cards with CTK stamps and added matching accents from the kits to finish off my layout.

Hope you enjoyed my tutorial and go sew away on your next project!

Be sure to share up your take on this tutorial over in the Citrus Twist Kits Facebook Fan Page and/or Citrus Twist Kits Instagram to tag us @citrustwistkits. I would love to see what you create!

Wendy