MEET OUR SEPTEMBER 2021 GUEST DESIGNER: NATHALIE LEONELLI

 

Hi there!

We are so excited to welcome our second guest designer for September.  She is one of the sweetest ladies ever, plus she has an amazing eye for design, and creates the most beautiful pocket mail packages.  She was also part of one of our first  design teams many years ago.   We are so excited to welcome Nathalie Leonelli to our team for this month.  You are going to love her, too!

Hello, my name is Nathalie Leonelli and I am thrilled to be back here as a guest designer (I was part of the very first CTK design team forever ago!). I am married and the mother of two boys in college. I love dark chocolate, visiting new places and playing with paper.

 

 

Q&A with Nathalie

 

·   When did you start scrapbooking? 

About twenty years ago! Shortly after my wedding, I didn’t know what to do with all my photos and I found a kit at a craft store. Shortly after, I found an online forum and then I was hooked.

 ·    What is something most people would not know about you? 

      In my before-kids life, I worked in Los Angeles doing product placement on TV shows and movies.

     What are the 3 scrapbooking products you can’t live without?

     Anything that brings dimension and texture such as foam dots, chipboard and puffy stickers, oh and I also love die-cuts, stamps and…. how can anybody stick to just three products?!

 ·    What do you love about the September release? 

The soft and warm colors, the Feels Like Home Ephemera which is perfect for everyday memories and the Merry & Bright Gold Puffy alphabet which is so stunning I’d love to have three more packs!

 

·    Finish this sentence “If you could see my scrapbooking space now . . . “

… it looks nothing like this photo but “creative minds are rarely tidy”, right?

 

Nathalie's project

Hello Citrus Twist fans,

It's Nathalie and I am honored to be here to share one of my projects with you. The September release inspired me to work on my 2020 pocket album and I found so many great elements to create a monthly "everyday life" spread. 

When I am sitting down to create, I get a lot of ideas from the products themselves. As soon as I received my box of goodies, I opened the "Feels Like Home" ephemera pack and I selected my favorite die-cuts that ended up being my starting points.

 I enjoyed layering them in several spots on my pages.

 

Because most of my photos were rather dark, I chose to use the light pink, peachy and yellow toned journaling cards from the "Everyday Life" pack and printed a sheet from the "Coming Home" Ledger digital papers (one sheet is perfect to create two 4x6 cards).

 

 

I absolutely love the look of the “Merry & Bright” gold alphabet puffy stickers on my photo!

I added stitching details and enamel dots here and there for texture and typed my journaling on a manual typewriter.

 

 

If you are short on words, like I usually am, try using bullet points organized in highs and lows. They give a good snapshot of your week or month and don't require a lot of thinking!

It's with this final tip that I leave you and I hope you have found a couple of ideas for your next project. Thank you for having me!

Oh wow!  We love what Nathalie has created with our latest release, and learning a bit more about her.  She is one of the sweetest ladies we know.    Remember to check for more of Nathalie's work on Instagram @anounceofcreativity  You are going to love her work!

Nathalie will be sharing more of her talent with us throughout the month.    We cannot wait to see what she creates next!

XO

3-To-Inspire With Aimee

 

Hi there CTK friends! It's Aimee here with you today bringing you this week's 3-to-inspire challenge. Here's this week's prompts: 

1. Use 2x2 pocket page protectors. 

2. Leave some of your 2x2's clear and instead of pictures fill them with die cuts, puffy stickers, ephemera or even sequins (get creative with this)!

3. Carve out some space for a long story or journaling that takes up a whole page.

Let's take a look at my project and I'll walk you through what I did: 

I used my Life Crafted album in turquoise to tell a story of home and showcase a couple details from the weekend.  Now, I did not have enough photos to fill up all 8 pockets so I decided to have a ton of fun embellishing the remaining pockets. I used the new Feels Like Home die cut pack and the Happy Heart puffy stickers for this— and can I just say how perfectly they help tell my story! 

Some of these pieces I actually adhered to the outside of the page protectors instead of putting them inside— like the puffy house and the, "home" die cut for example and I love the tactile experience this provides. I layered up phrases with the beautiful acorn florals and added machine stitching and nests of thread for plenty of texture. 

I just adore the subtle Fall mood the new CTK September Exclusives bring without being overdone. Next, I wanted to focus on my story. I used the 6x8 Coming Home Digital ledger paper to give me just the space I needed to write up my journaling. I resized and printed the pink lined ledger paper in the set to be 4.25 X 8.25 inches— just the perfect size to fit into the full pocket page protector. I typed out my story on my typewriter and adorned the top with a fun title and some jewel toned enamel dots. 

My journaling was quite heart-felt and I had a lot to say and in the end the busyness of the accompanying pockets next door lead to a well balanced page. 

The possibilities are endless with 2x2 pockets. They're so much fun to decorate and can really create a unique look when paired alongside a page full of words! I hope you enjoyed this week's prompts and I hope inspired you to create something beautiful! 

Affectionately, 

MEET OUR SEPTEMBER 2021 GUEST DESIGNER: JEN MCMURTREY

 

Hello there!

Today we are very excited to introduce our first guest designer for September.  She is an amazing designer with a great eye for color, story telling and always eye catching projects.  She is also a friend of ours, and we are so happy she is joining us for this month.   Here is Jen McMurtrey!

 My name is Jen McMurtrey, and I live in a small agricultural town in southeastern Washington State (the population is just over 6,000 people). My husband Dan and I have three kids: Phoebe, 26; Caleb, 21; and Abby, 17; as well as three dogs who make regular appearances in my projects. Currently, I work as a business education teacher at the local high school where I teach business communications, accounting, business management, and career exploration classes. Additionally, I am an adviser for two clubs that keep me very busy this time of year. Prior to teaching at the high school, I taught business classes for four years at a college 50 miles from here before moving into the associate dean position. With all of the craziness in my life, crafting is what keeps me sane. Currently, I work on the creative teams for Elle’s Studio, Simple Stories, and Studio Forty; and doing so is a dream come true. I am so excited and feel so honored to be guest designing for Citrus Twist Kits and can’t wait to share my projects.

Q&A with JEN

·         When did you start scrapbooking?

In 2001, I was taking courses at the local community college and befriended a group of classmates who took me to a crop one Friday night at the LSS. I had no idea what to expect other than them telling me to bring a few photos. From the moment I stepped into that store, I was absolutely hooked. Never had I ever seen so many stickers and fun papers! It has been in the last ten years that I have been scrapbooking consistently and that is due in large part to being on various creative teams. Scrapbooking is my therapy and truly brings me joy. If I were able to craft in some capacity, I don’t know what I would do.

·         What is something most people would not know about you?

In my early 20's, I had a pet pot-bellied pig named Lucy who lived in my apartment and went everywhere with me . . . rides in the car, walks in the park, and over to my parents' house to visit. Sadly, she passed due to an uncanny series of events that I won't go into. However, her story was published in the local newspaper and later picked up by the Paul Harvey Show . . . and, "now you know the rest of the story."  

·         What are the 3 scrapbooking products you can’t live without?

First and foremost would have to be white cardstock, which is a staple on the majority of my projects. Any and all floral die cuts would have to be next because I love flowers and put them on everything. The third and last item has to be enamel dots because they add that extra bit of color and texture to projects that makes them feel complete.

·         What do you love about the September – Scrapbooking Add-on Kit?

Seriously, I love everything about the kit; however, the CTK ephemera packs were my favorite. They have this cool vintage vibe about them that reminds me of graphics from when I was kid.

·         Finish this sentence “If you could see my scrapbooking space now . . . “

. . . you would think a bomb went off! It is a hot mess right now!!

This is Jen's first project using our September Add on kit, True Life V1 Stamp set,  and  HERE WE GO Die Cut ephemera ( CTK Exclusives).

We love how she has combined our exclusive ephemera in small clusters through the length of her page( and all the repeated photo of her youngest daughter)

Her focal point is accented with a color photo and a large cluster of ephemera from our Add on Kit and exclusive ephemera, too

Her title work is just gorgeous.   She created a stamped line of sentiments using our True Life V1 stamp set.  Then added a title combining our Puffy words and alphas to continue the look of the stamped border.    She then finished her page with a last cluster of embellishments, ink drops and our September enamel dots.

Thank you so much Jen for this gorgeous project, and letting us learn a bit more about you.   Jen will be back during the month to share more of her talent with us.  You can always find her on Instagram to check her latest projects and lots of inspiration @jencmc72  https://www.instagram.com/jenmc72/

XO

Sunday Sketch with Shannon

 

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Hello, Citrus Twist friends! Shannon here with a Sunday Sketch to share. So, let's get right to it and take a look at the sketch.

All of those layers make my scrappy heart so happy. I definitely love lots of layered paper on my layouts. Let's take a look at how I interpreted this sketch on my layout.

I stuck fairly close to the original design of the sketch. Good design is good design and I'm not going to mess with a good thing! I did modify the sketch from 8.5x11 to a Life Crafted album size. To bring the page together, I used lots of products from the September 2021 Add On kit. I also added some Citrus Twist exclusive ephemera from the September 2021 release. Everything works so well together!

The sketch does have just one photo, but I decided to use two on mine. I printed them at Instax size to mimic the framed look that the photo has in the sketch. I liked the soft, floral look of my papers so I decided to soften the edges of my photos by layering lots of ephemera behind them.

I like the stagged look of the paper in the sketch so I stuck with that same look on my layout. In order to make sure everything lined up on both pages, I first cut two pieces of white cardstock to 8.25x5. Then, I added the punched holes. I lined up the papers on my desk so it looked like they were just one piece of cardstock. You could add a piece of low-tack tape to the back if you want to make sure they stay together. I adhered the patterned paper strips so they laid across the seam. Once the papers were all adhered to the background, I just used a xacto knife along the seam to create a clean cut down the middle.

I couldn't leave out the embellishment in the lower corner! I added a Thickers phrase and enamel dot in place of the label that is on the sketch. I also added just a couple quick lines of journaling and the date. I've noticed that I'm terrible at dating my layouts so I'm trying to get better!

I hope that I've inspired you to use this great sketch and put your own spin on it! I can't wait to see what you create!

3-to-Inspire with Nathalie

 

Hello there!

Nathalie with you today with  this week's 3-to Inspire challenge.  Finally the weather is slowly changing here, that means that we are able to enjoy the outdoors a bit more.   So, today, I am using this week's three prompts and a mix of our complete September release to create my project.   Here are this week's prompts:

1. Go bold/large with your photos
2. Use a digital file
3. Create an insert

Here is what I have created:

I had fun with all the gorgeous September kits, exclusives and digital files, and created a compound spread.

I used two large photos (5"x8") for the background of my page.   All I had to do is perforate the holes for the binding and added the simple script words, from the September ephemera, and some of the new enamel dots.

For my insert, I  pulled a piece of the specialty acetate paper from the Add-on kit (Paige Evans) and cut it to 4"x7".  I layered one of the August journal cards, with some of the September ephemera with the photo.   The small tag and paper clip are from my stash but just bring texture to the page.

 I added a few more pieces of ephemera from the Add on kit to add a bit of interest to the back of the acetate piece. Then added the foam adhesive sentiment with it.

I did not want to hide the details of the photos. So, I created a small pocket behind the second large photo.   The new 6"x8" digital ledger papers are a great way to add lots of journaling in one place.   I simply added my story on the laptop, and print it all together.  I fussy cut the small element from the digital element cut apart to the top of the ledger and slid it in the pocket.

I love how this spread turned out.  The September release is gorgeous and filled with beautiful products that will help you document your days.   Remember to share any project you create for this week's challenge with us

XO

SUNDAY SKETCH with Nathalie

 

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today to share this week' sketch.   We love sketches, as they are one of the fastest and easiest ways to create  a page in no time.   Let me  show you the sketch for the week:

I have to say that this sketch looks so challenging on paper, but once you pull your photos, embellishments and papers it just works. Here is what I created using the August Add-on kit and the sketch as inspiration...

My first choice was to use the sketch in my April Life Crafted album.   For this, I literally zoomed in the sketch to the to just the area around the photos.   If you look closely -at the zoomed in version- the sketch forms a loose grid design.   

  

I started with Paige Evans'  Bungalow Lane collection -paper 15- for the base layer for my photos.   Once, I had the photo and paper on my layout.  I decided to go for a monochromatic look for the layout.   For this, I used tones of teal for all the embellishments in the Add-on kit as well as the Travelogue puffy and chipboard stickers.   I placed these following the sketch.

I took a bit more of freedom when it came to the other side of my layout.   I kept the location and general embellishing idea from the sketch for the second photo of this layout.  I decided to repeat the circular embellishments in this side of the spread, too.

I think one of the biggest freedoms I took with the sketch was in the title area of the layout.  I decided to bring the layered ephemera pieces from the top left corner of the sketch to the area below the title.  Then moved the small label from the right of the title to the bottom of the page.   I kept the small strip of  paper at the bottom of the layout as in the sketch, but decided to use the neutral paper  from the add-on kit -also used behind the photos-.

I love how this turned out, and how easy it came together using the new August Add-on kit.   Now it is your turn to create a new page inspired by the sketch and share with us your projects.  Remember to tag us @citrustwistktis #citrustwistkits #CTKSketch when you share your projects on social media.  We love to see what you create !

XO

3-TO-INSPIRE WITH NANCY

 

Nancy here today with a traveler's notebook page using some of the beautiful ephemera and stamps released in August. Perfect for all of your summer stories.

Today's three to inspire prompts are:

1). Create a collage out of ephemera

2). Use an oversized photo as a focal point

3). Create a photo frame with a stamp

I started this page by printing out a favorite photo so that it would become the base of my left page. Using an enlargement creates a bold focal point for any layout.

Next, on the right side I started creating a collage by using some of my favorite stamps from the Good Time Adventure Stamp Set. I started at the center of the layout and worked my way out from there.

A few pieces of ephemera and some journaling completed the colorful collage. I used a speech bubble stamp to frame out a favorite photo.

I hope you find using stamps to create collages and in unusual ways is a fun challenge. The August ephemera release is both colorful and versatile for all of your end of summer stories!