Product Highlight - THIS IS LIFE: GOOD VIBES Digital Stamp

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today with a few projects created with the new POSSIBILITIES Life Crafted kit.  I love this month's kit, but every month one of the first products i reach for are the Digital files.  So, today i want to share with you a few layouts created using my hybrid approach:

The new This is Life "Good Vibes" Digital Stamp set ( just like its physical format) is filled with possibilities that can help you create one of a kind projects in  a short amount of time.

I started with this layout all about our youngest Goddaughter's 1st birthday.   I love seeing all the yellow on the pictures i received throughout the day, so  i chose three of them that tell the story of the day and printed them in a photo strip design.

I chose a large title so it balances the photo strip.  This was  easily created by using Photoshop to print two of the sunburst designs on white cardstock. I made sure to leave a space between them so i can add my title. Once i printed the design, i used a paper piercing tool to create a holes at the ends of each of the lines and used yellow embroidery thread to stitch over the design.

I then used the Spencer Solid 6x8 stamp set to add the word one in between the stitched lines.  Then used  purple ink to stamp the "Awesome" word image and the butterfly outline from the This is Life Stamp set on white cardstock and fussy cut it.  I just glued these on the page to complete the title work.

On the other side of the layout, i used the Digital TN Papers to create the base for the page and then added my picture.   Once again, i used the This is Life "Good Vibes" stamp set to create the butterfly images and small circle sunburst that embellish the pictures.

For my next page, i once again reached for the This  Is Life: Good Vibes Digital Stamp set and used Photoshop to create the large butterfly images and stars you see on the page.  I size them so that they create the illusion of movement and dimension on the page.

To bring color to the page, i diluted  ink to resemble watercolor and added a splatter of it on each butterfly followed by smaller splatters around it. Since i used very little water, the paper did not warp, and the ink from the printer did not run either.

To finish this page, I chose to type my journal and added one of the large foam words as the title for the layout.   I then enlarged the picture of my other Goddaughter and their new pet to fit the page and added pieces from the cut apart elements page ( free for subscribers) and more stamped images to complete the page.

I hope you stop by the Citrus Twist Kits Digital shop to check all the new digital files especially the new This is Life:  Good Vibes Digital Stamp set.   Having the option of creating your background and printing them at home surely stretch your kits and create one of a kind pages!

Cannot wait to see how you use this ideas  on your pages.

XO

3 Relaxing Days | 12x12 Mixed Media Layout

I know I'm not the first person to be totally and utterly infatuated with the many shades of blue.  When I saw this amazing striped sheet in this month's kit, I knew it would need to be the foundation of a layout, filled with all the shades of blue that make me dreamy-eyed.

I pulled out a few goodies from this month's Add-On Kit to match up with that gorgeous sheet of paper!  The ephemera and puffy stickers in the Add-On Kit are the perfect addition to the shades of blue in the monthly kit.

I began my layout on a white sheet of 12x12 paper; I then added 3 stripes of mixed media to solidify the love of dreamy blues.  I swiped on some mint, ocean blue, and a little cornflower blue.  I knew I wanted to align the great cork numbers that came in this month's kit with the swipes of blues.

I decided on a whim to cut apart the sheet of stripes to spread across my layout.  I really love how it created little slots to tuck in ephemera and cardstock phrases.  I adhered them to my layout, over the slightly buckled mixed media areas, by stitching them on.  I decided to leave the extra thread because I love the way it adds even more dimension and color.

I chose to place my photo in the lower right corner, backed with another great paper in this month's kit.  I really wanted to hide my journaling on this layout, because I wanted the colors to do all the talking!  I included some hidden journaling, using the glassine bag that the cork numbers came in.  I trimmed down a 3x4 card to slide in for my journaling.  I then stitched on some mint tulle, so it would be easy to pull out from behind my photo, and isn't it so pretty?!

The last step was to add all kinds of pretty pieces of ephemera, and I had a bounty at my hands between the main and Add-On kit this month.

Thanks so much for joining me today!  I hope you fell just as hard as I did this month with the beautiful blues that splatter both amazing kits!

Tuesday Tutorial with Tara | Label Love

Hi friends, Tara here today for another installation of Tuesday Tutorial. I'm sharing an easy way to stretch your stash. I love little bits of ephemera and sometimes have a hard time finding the right phrase or the right size for a certain project. Here is an easy way to create your own labels and ephemera to fit your needs.

Grab some ink pads, clear blocks, and stamps!

I start by using this awesome label from the Detours stamp.

I then add phrase stamps from April's GraceBox kit, along with other stamps from past GraceBox kits. I prefer to go for mostly neutral shades but added in a bit of color too.

For a little bit of a fun twist - I also stamped on some vellum paper and loved how it turned out! Test out a few different types of ink. You can see the top left "Say Yes" circle smeared pretty badly. 
TIP - ink on vellum takes longer to dry so give it some time before cutting out your ephemera. I have to say the Illustrated Faith ink pad was my favorite to use!

When you have some down time (for me it's usually watching a show or listening to a podcast), I find it very relaxing to cut out the little ephemera labels and bits.

I didn't have a large enough circle punch, but made wonky circles by using the Rise and Shine stamp set circles and cutting it a bit off to the side. I love having a little pile of bits ready to add to projects.

I stacked up the circle, label, and and old phrase stamp to give this tab a layered look. I love how the layered ephemera looks using this month's GraceBox kit and some watercolor.

Here is a look at the entire journal entry.

I hope you find some inspiration to create some labels, tags, and/or ephemera. Please share your creations in the Citrus Twist Fan Page. Thank you for stopping by!

Things Above - April GraceBox

Hi friends, Ashley here. I should be washing the loads of Easter dishes I made, but instead I'm busting out the craft supplies. (I think it will really motivate me to work hard in the kitchen later. wink, wink! ) The April GraceBox is here & bursting with color and possibilities. The rub on stickers, the stamp set, the colorful alphas, the die cuts - a girl struggles to know where to start!

Typically, I lay it all out on my desk and the first things that says USE ME, USE ME is where I start. This month it was the All People All Nations Paper Ephemera (Illustrated Faith). I loved the continent pieces! Oh the places I could go with them. Then i decided the rainbow card illustrating Col. 3:2 needed to be a part of it. I found my verse page empty in my Bible, so it's time to get started.

Here is a peek at the components this month.  Click HERE for the full descriptions & photos.

After 10 minutes of driving myself crazy with trying to make my earth geographically correct - I decided to just get artsy with it. So I cut my own shapes and created an earth that fit. :)

A little watercolor base, squiggly outlines, splatter and polka dot stamps completed the look.

 I loved how the verse card had the rainbow coming out of the earth. It inspired the stacking of the alpha stickers. The Booklet of colors were begging to be used all together. But boy are those buggers hard to get straight. They are a thin, almost opaque-y sticker - you've be warned!

 I topped by page in Colossians with a tab & doily from the kit and a few coordinating washi from my stash. No page is complete without a bouquet of clips & bows. 

 This was a awesome kit to dig into and I can't wait to use the next pieces. Head over to the shop to sign up for your kit subscription or try one to start!

Happy Crafting,
Ashley Haake
aka
@magmagandme

February GraceBox - LOVE

 Hi everyone, Ashley @magmagandme here! 

The February GraceBox is full of stickers, colors, stamps, a date stamper, 3D pieces, journal prompts and more! I tend to want to use everything and the kitchen sink. It is hard to choose the first pieces to give attention to. This month I decided to control myself! I narrowed right into these beautiful watercolored die cuts. They are BEAUTIFUL!  

 How fun is this original stamp set from Citrus Twist!? I punched out the tab for my page from the backing of the die cut package. Then I used the LOVELOVELOVE stamp. Perfect.

 I used my watercolors to add some splatter to match the die cut pieces.

 The Love with action is actually cut out from one of the journaling cards. I love the sentiment and had to add it into my Bible.  I finished off this page with a few of the enamel dots.

I loved this kit and loved the pieces that inspired another page in Ephesians! 

 Get yours in the shop while they last. 

I hope you get a chance to put a little love in your work this week! 

Ashley

@magmagandme

Love You

Hey everyone, it's Bea Valint here today, and I am so delighted to be this month's guest designer for Citrus Twist Kits! There are so many gorgeous products in this month kit that it was hard to choose what to use first! I love the colorful patterns, the feminine details, and the shiny ephemera pieces…

Here is the layout I created:

The first thing that caught my eyes was the colorful Pink Paislee- Summer Lights "08" patterned paper. The pretty colors reminded me of colorful butterflies, so I cut some of them with my cameo and dived into my stash to find some similar colored card stock. I cut some butterflies from the different colored card stock too, layered the butterflies with color on color, and machine-stitched them.

I love the pretty black and white die cut flowers from the Maggie Holmes ephemera pack and tried to find the best way to use them on my layout. I decided to copy the flower to a piece of vellum with embossing pen, thorn around the pattern, and layer it behind my photo.

To add more interest to my page I painted some pink stripe in the background, and dropped watercolor around the page. The colorful background added more contrast to the white embossed flower.

I cut some stripes from the Pink Paislee- Summer Lights 06 paper and adhered them to the vellum. I arranged the butterflies diagonally and spiced up the layout with the pretty CTK exclusive heart stickers.  

I also have a process video! If you have free time, check it out!

I really hope you like my project and I could inspire you to use your pretty Photobooth Kit! Thanks for stopping by and have a nice day!

Bea

GraceBox Kit with Dedra

Hi there sweet friends and happy Wednesday! Today I wanted to share a bible journaling page I created using the latest Citrus Twist GraceBox Kit and the most common process I use when I'm bible journaling, especially when using watercolors.

First, I always prep the page with clear gesso. My two favorite tubes of gesso are from Dina Wakely and Prima. Both will give you very nice, smooth coverage and will prevent the watercolors from transferring to the opposite page. 

To apply the gesso I have a bowl of old gift cards I use to "scrape" it across the page. When I first started using gesso I was struggling with how to scrape it on the page without ripping it. Since the pages of a bible are usually super thin, the best way to apply it is to turn the bible sideways with the page turned closest to you. Put your bible mat, cardboard or a piece of cardstock under the page so you don't transfer the gesso onto the pages below. Grab your bottle of gesso and squirt it directly onto the page. Take your scraping tool or old gift card and spread the gesso from the center of the bible toward you until you have covered the entire page or the area where you will be using watercolors, stamps or any medium that you do not want to be seen on the opposite page.
Since I'm really impatient I use a heat tool to dry the gesso. Your page will be a little wrinkled and feel limp, but that is totally normal.

Next, I grab my watercolor tins. I use a spray bottle to mist the watercolor pans I would like to use. This gets them wet and ready for my watercolor brush. You can get your watercolor and wet with your watercolor brush as well, but I just prefer to use the spray bottle so I'm not refilling my watercolor brush constantly. Just my personal preference. :) :)

There are many ways and different techniques that can be used to create a watercolor effect. For this particular page I used some plastic packaging I had laying around. I added watercolor directly to the packaging and "smooshed" it onto the page in the areas I wanted color. Through a lot of trial and error I found one of the most important things to remember when using watercolor is to let each layer dry before adding another and that each time water is added the layers of color will react. So, have fun experimenting and if you're feeling nervous try experimenting in an art journal or notebook, etc. something that is not important if you mess up. 

One of my favorite things to do in my journaling bible is to stamp. Whether it's florals, patterns or in this case, hearts, phrases and arrows. 

When stamping and using watercolors or any form of mixed media the archival ink from Ranger is my go to. The awesome thing about archival ink is, once it's dry it's permanent. You can use any form of mixed media and it will not effect your stamped image. It's truly magic and hands down the best option.

I like to add stickers, washi tape, die cut cardstock pieces, tabs, etc. anything that will add that "finishing touch."

Lastly, and most importantly, I make sure to leave room in the design for journaling. Sometimes I have a long message, whether it's a prayer that I have for my girls, husband, mother or talking directly to our heavenly father. Sometimes I'm thanking Him for all of the gifts he has bestowed upon us. Whatever he is putting on my heart is what I want to document. For journaling my favorite "go to" pen is the Micron .03 or .05. Once dry it never smears. 

One of the things I love most about the Citrus Twist GraceBox Kit is the exclusive, wonderfully designed, stamp sets and journaling cards and the amount of embellishments that seem endless!

Wishing you a blessed week! 

xoxo

Dedra

Tuesday Tutorial | Pinspired Watercolor Layout - Color Me Happy.

Good morning my beautiful readers! Today I have a super fun layout tutorial for you.

It was inspired by this amazing watercolor photo backdrop I stumbled across on Pinterest.

The photo and brilliant idea comes from Amy and Naomi over at the Oh Happy Day blog. They have written a really good tutorial using tube watercolours and rulers. My methods are significantly less precise, but it gets the job done. You can obviously choose which one works best for you.

Okay so to start you'll have to get yourself 2 sheets of white cardstock. One will be the background that you mount everything too, The other your going to cut in to many, many 2 inch squares (36).

Next comes the painting of the squares. There were 7 colors in my paint pallet that I wanted to use, so having done the math, I divided my squares in to piles of 5 plus 1 extra that I painted purple. I lay each set of 5, Painted the middle square the straight up pallet colour and then worked to create a slight gradient by mixing in the follow on paint color for the 2 squares either side. So if I was doing the yellow squares - the centre square would just be straight up yellow, the 2 squares to the left would have yellow with progressively more orange paint added. The 2 right squares would have progressively more green added. My gradient was fairly small, but you can make yours as large as you like. Oh and a note on painting - I found the more haphazard the better. I didn't even bother wetting my cardstock first.

Once done, you can lay them out to dry.

A smart person at this point might consider weighing the dry squares down under their craft mat stacked with cookbooks to make them a little more flat, but I wouldn't know anything about that. I just moved straight on to the next step.

Once dry, I lay the pieces out on my background to decide the order in which I wanted to stick them down.

Once happy with your order, take your squares off one by one, numbering the back as you go. This will make life so much easier when it comes to putting them back on.

Glueing the squares down is another personal preference. I choose to use backed tape. I covered the entire background in stripes about an inch apart. Then only peeled off the backing as I was working on that row (following your numbers of course). This make the process very clean and easy. I did however have to use my fine line craft glue to stick down a few corners when finished. Once again, a more patient and intelligent person might choose to give the layout a couple of hours under weights. I didn't.

As far as placement is concerned, I chiefly concentrated on making the intersections line up more than the edges. Once all the squares were down I cleaned up the edges with the paper trimmer. Here is the final product:

 I know all you creative souls out there don't really need any further instruction on how to turn it in to a layout. So I'll just give you the briefest account of how it came together for me. I found a photo with a lot of white works best. This one of Eva in her favourite loud print PJ's was perfect, but a black and white photo would do just as well. I didn't feel the need to mat the photo as I didn't really want to add more patterns. I did however embellish fairly heavenly from the Main and Embellishment Kits. I tried to keep the coloured embellishments close to their matching background quarter for uniformity, but that's a personal choice thing as well. So here's the final product.

Now I'm going to put it under some cookbooks for a couple of days ;)

Aimee Xx