As we start 2016, I am still busy trying to get my 2015 album finished and I bet I'm not alone! (I'm not alone, right?) I think one of the best ways to get it done is to keep it simple. And using the coordinating kits from Citrus Twist Kits is a great way to do that.
This spread came together really quickly using minimal stamping, embellishing and cards. The page is kept cohesively using pops of pink throughout. Pink sequins, pink tiny stickers and pink patterns. I haven't added any journalling but it would be a simple addition if needed.
Here is the process video of how this layout came together...
Happy New Year to everyone. We want to share a few Pocket Life tips from some of our designers to help get you off to a great year of PL. Everyone here is sharing a "title page" PL card to title their pocket page.
Karen Baker
I love a New Year, it's a chance to start fresh, an empty album full of creative possibilities! For 2016 I decided to create a full page layout in my pocket pages album, keeping it as simple as I could. That would be my 1st tip: keep it simple. This way you're more likely to stay up to date. My 2nd tip is: take one photo every day. You might not use it in your weekly layout but you've got seven options at the end of the week. 3rd tip: if you're camera shy like me, take a photo of your hands doing the work or what ever you're doing, take photos of things you want to remember one day, it can be as simple as what's in your handbag! Documenting your life doesn't mean you have to 'stage or create the memories' if you spent the day cleaning, take a before and after shot. Remember it's YOUR real life you're documenting, not one that looks good just for the cameras and albums.
keep it simple
take one photo every day
If you're camera shy like me, take a photo of your hands doing the work or what ever you're doing.
Here are some pictures of my Title Card layout page with a little flip book treatment:
Marie-Pierre Capistran
My tip for 2016 would be to get a blank note book and to write, each day, the date, one story and maybe a picture you want to include in your PL. At the end of the week you'll get at least 7 stories to tell. You don't have to include them all, of course. But if you get a little behind on your album, you'll have all this material to get started with.
Trina Craig
Happy New Year! I started my first PL in January of 2012 and quickly became overwhelmed (and got behind) with my 12x12 album. By mid 2012 I made the switch to a more manageable 6x8 size. I am not a weekly (or a daily) pocket page scrapbooker. I have melded my scrapbooking into my PL and make pages of anything that strikes my fancy.
My tips for you in 2016 are:
Take lots of photos. If one of those photos (or a series of photos) move you, make a page. I only print the photos I love. (Gone are the days where I printed them all!)
Don't get caught up in guilt if you get behind. The best place to start is today.
Don't have any current photos to use? Include favorite photos from past events/years as "flashback" pages in your pocket life. Remember to date the flashbacks. (I love the 1980s-2000s October Afternoon date stamps for this.) It is fun to see the old photos mixed in with the new.
We had our first snow of 2016 this week. Our little, crazy cat (a kitten at heart) went crazy in a good way in the snow. We were laughing so hard at her antics, that I grabbed the camera and sat right down to create a PL page. Here is the title card for that page:
Elizabeth Gardner
Set yourself up for success: have your supplies organized and ready to go in one accessible place.
Decide what you want from this project. Do you want it to be very quick & basic, just photos and cards? Do you want to embellish and make more room for incorporating creative elements?
Do what works for you. Working weekly on Project Life is not realistic for me. Instead I take photos regularly throughout the month and jot down notes on things I may want to include in my planner. That way I can remember the details later. At the end of each month I go through my camera roll and print photos. I grab my kit and set to work on the past 4 weeks. I can usually piece together the month in one sitting. Maybe for you it will be easier to stick with a weekly approach. It’s your project, you dictate the best way to move forward.
Cut yourself a break. I think the key to success with this is going with the flow. I don't really believe in “being behind.” If you miss a week, or even a month here and there, no biggie! Seriously! It doesn’t have to be this big thing hanging over your head that you keep "falling behind" on. Just pick up with the week you’re in and go from there. No pressure makes this process a lot more enjoyable.
Mira Jurecka
The most important thing that I can share about my PL approach that would be useful is how I plan my spreads design. What I find really practical is printing pictures very often - almost on a regular basis. For example - I have a moment of free time during the weekend, so I sit down in front of my computer, develop the most recent photos, choose some of my favorites and print them immediately. Then I fit them into the pockets. Obviously I leave some of the pockets empty for cards and other memorabilia. All of this allows me to think of what I want to accomplish in the end. It allows me to imagine the general design of each spread. This way, when my Pocket Life Kit arrives I am ready to create right away! I simply play with papers and embellishments and my pages are finished in a blink of an eye. For those of you who print your pictures in a lab, I think developing pictures regularly and putting them in a specific folder (or envelopes or files by your crafting space) on your computer could do a similar job!
One more thing: since I write our family stories on the computer I have a similar process of printing my journaling. I really hope that some of You will find this planning concept useful in Your PL approach!
Print your pictures often.
Fit the pictures into your pockets, leaving some empty pockets for journaling and other memorabilia.
Store photos by date/event in files on your computer or in an envelope or file system in your creative space.
Tara Rice
Hi there! Since we are expecting our fifth family member any day now, I wanted to capture it on my title page for 2016. This will be my second year doing PL.
I'm keeping it simple! It's so easy to overwhelm myself with ideas but i'm committed to doing what works for me.
Have a routine. Last year I fell behind (I still am!) because I didn't establish a good routine. I'll be printing photos weekly and creating often. That way I won't have to choose from tons of photos and doing spreads on a regular basis makes them more manageable.
If something isn't working, try something different! I won't be afraid to mix it up if one routine isn't working. Remember we all have our own way of doing things! Don't compare yourself to others and most importantly have fun.
Xxo,
Tara
Diane Williams
Progress not perfection. You can spend forever trying to make a page feel right but sometimes it is better to call it done and move on.
Don't worry about what everyone else is doing, make it work for you and your life.
Even if you think your life is ordinary or boring, it is 100% worth documenting.
Here are your free cut file designs:
To download these cut file designs (designed by the lovely Mira Jurecka), join the Facebook Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page where we post digital files every month, free for our fans.
Hello everyone.
It's Mira here today and in this Tuesday Tutorial post I'll be sharing a process video presenting how I created one of my Christmas Pocket Life spreads using the newest - January PL kit together with January Embellishment Kit.
At the beginning of my video You will be able to see everything that I found this month in my happy box from Citrus Twist Kits. I am sure You're gonna love every single piece of Your kit just the way I did!
Here's my spread:
And a few details:
Here's my process.
It is very simple and always looks similar. First I pick what I am going to work with, I don't really need to arrange my photos but I did this for this video purposes. Then I simply play with goodies.
I hope You will enjoy my video!
Does Your pocket scrapbooking creating process look similar? I am really curious how do You work with Your kits! Share Your thoughts with me if You like!
Hey there! Missy here with my very first post as a Design Team Member! I'm so excited to be here and working with these beautiful kits! Today I'm sharing a video sharing all the awesome goodies in the January Main "Verona" Kit and the Sprinkles Kit. I'm also sharing my first layout I created using just the Main Kit.
Here is what is included in the Main Kit and the Sprinkles Kit. You can also see the layout I created at the end of the video.
Here is a layout I created using only the Main Kit. I love adding paints and gelatos to my projects, and I used some aqua acrylic paints and a few shades of aqua gelatos to create a fun background. I used a palette knife to smudge the acrylic paint on and then used a water brush to color on the gelatos. I did use a bit of white gesso first to create a layer for the paint.
I love the fun summer colors of these papers, and I used a few different sized circle punches to create the circles. My favorite part of this layout is the fun wood veneer "adventure."
I punched this piece from the Maggie Holmes cut apart sheet and then machine stitched through it. I used some yellow paint to color that little wood veneer heart. That is part of the exclusive wood veneer package this month.
Here's another exclusive wood veneer. I used some pink paint and a pink gelato to give it some color. You can really see the texture created here from the gesso. It also serves as a whitening agent and acts as a barrier. The blue gelato stayed true to its color against the yellow paper because of the gesso.
This piece here is from the exclusive cut apart sheet this month. The colors are so pretty, and they matched perfectly with my summer page. I added in some yellow thread from my stash.
This gorgeous sherbet colored paper is a Citrus Twist exclusive this month, and it's gorgeous. I added a stamped sentiment here (also an CTK exclusive), some machine stitching and a Heidi Swapp puffy arrow sticker. That cute yellow and white label is from the cut apart sheet.
Finally, here is a look at the Heidi Swapp wood veneer. I used gelatos, acrylic paint and watercolors to give it this look. I just love how it turned out! I paired it with some of the Studio Calico Seven Paper puffy alpha stickers and one of the cut apart sentiments. Altering wood veneer is so fun!
I hope this inspires you create something fun and unique with your January Kits! I can't wait to see what you all come up with!
Good Morning! I am so excited to be here sharing today's Sunday Sketch with you. This is also my very first post for Citrus Twist. (eeeeeeek!!!!!) Yes, I am really that excited. haha This months kits are just divine. I could swear the colors were picked just for me. I have a love affair going on with yellow, blue green, pink with black and white accents. This sketch was just right for me too. I got to do a lot of layering and splattering. Perfection.
Here is the sketch first. Isn't it lovely?
I stayed pretty true to the design. The only real difference was the extra layers of pretty paper and doilies. Those doilies made my day when I saw them in my box. They were perfect for this girly page.
My splatters came out a little weird this time but that's ok. Oh and I left out the journaling. I stink at that. Maybe I should make that a goal this year. Journal on more layouts. Sounds like a plan! Anyone want to join me?
Now it is your turn. Grab the sketch and use it to make a page. Don't forget to add your page to the CTK Gallery to be eligible for a $5 coupon to the CTK store! Also, add "Sketch 1/3" to the title line. Cannot wait to see what y'all make!
Hi guys! Fancy a little creative challenge this sunny Saturday? Go on: get your favourite tunes on, grab those materials and enjoy a lovely bit of me-time at your craft table.
You could make a layout or a pocket page spread to join with this challenge: just remember that you need to include all 3 prompts on your project.
So here are my prompts for you:
1. Chalkboard-style black
2. Painted wood veneer
3. The theme of your hopes for 2016
So here's my take on the challenge... I may have swooned when I spotted the package of Heidi Swapp wood veneer words in our kit: they are just scrumptious! This 'adventure' one felt perfect for my layout which is all about my hopes for the coming year. I'm in the mood for excitement!
I rather fancied the idea of having a chalkboard-style element to my layout, as there's something very 'new year' about the idea of getting organised and chalking up lists and plans. I painted mine with a tester tube of black paint.
And I'm so happy with the way the stamping turned out! That was one of those nice surprises that sometimes result from a bit of an experiment.
So now it’s over to you! Use my three prompts to create your own project then share it with us in the CTK Gallery and/or on our Facebook Fan Page by Saturday, January 9th, for a chance to win a little something rather lovely. You can also upload to Instagram and tag us @citrustwistkits. Hope you have loads of fun!
Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2016 already. I'm catching up on some December layouts and wanted to share the sketches with you. Don't forget there is a giveaway associated with the sketches; read the end of the post to see how to enter!
The first spread shows how much Bella loves to cuddle! I have never met a dog who loves cuddling as much as she does.
I love the little word sticker paired with the puffy stickers and enamel dots!
This next spread shares baking adventures with the boys. I love using busy patterned paper and adding plain cardstock to include
journaling. I accidentally cut the music sheet patterned paper in the
wrong direction but decided to make it work.
I wanted to add a pop of color to this black and white spread. Plus a cut out phrase from the exclusive sheet in the Pocket life kit was perfect. I used a Maggie Holmes roller stamp from my stash and more puffy stickers to give the spread more dimension.
Now here are the sketches.
For your chance to win some happy mail, create a layout based on these sketches. Remember you can use these sketches to brainstorm ideas for Pocket Life and/or traditional scrapbooking. Then post your layout to our Gallery and on our Facebook Fan Page by Friday, January 8th and title it PL 01/06. The winner will be announced here on the blog later this month.
