Life Crafted with Anna

Hi dear friends! Anna here to share another spread in my  Life Crafted album using the May "Excursions" Life Crafted kit. This album is filling up fast, but luckily there are a couple more to find in the CTK shop so I'll be able to extend my album stash.

I like to pick up a few colors from my photo or if it's a B&W photo I also love to stick around using a few main colors to work with. As is with this spread, I picked up the blue and yellow shades from my pic.

Here I've used one of the PL-cards as a label layerd under my photo to write date and location on.

A few stitches and staples to give my pages some texture. Also I've been stamping the word "Local" using the May Life Crafted Travelers Notebook stamps from the shop.

And there you have it! Now it's your turn to dig into your kits and play around. Be sure to share with us on Instagram #citrustwistkits and CTK Fan Page on Facebook so we can give you all some love. Can't wait to see your lovely creations.


Thanks for stopping by! Anna xo

Traveler's Notebook Challenge with Suzanna

Hey crafty pals, Suzanna here! I'm back today with a traveler's notebook challenge for you! I'm still loving my Life Crafted album - it's TN size, but with the ease of pockets - so it's probably no surprise that I created a layout for my album!

First I'm going to share how I put the layout together, then I'll share the challenge items at the end of this post. As soon as I saw the blue adventure card in this month's kit, I knew I wanted to chop it up and use it across a TN sized layout. I cut the card right at the white line.

I placed the small half on a piece of white card stock that I cut down to size. The larger piece went on the right side of the layout, layered over a piece of patterned paper from the kit.

Behind the card, I scraped a bit of coral/peach colored acrylic gouache to add a bit of texture. On top of the blue card piece, I stamped a phrase from the stamp set in a light grey chalk ink over and over. I knew I would be adding my photo over this side, so I didn't worry about making it perfect.

I created embellishment clusters around the layout using puffy stickers, stamps, and die cut pieces from the kit. The flower cluster on the right page is actually one flower that I cut in half and layered, creating a floral bouquet look.

As with most of my layouts, I finished it all off with splatters of gold craft mist. I love when I open a kit and am immediately struck with ideas, based off a single item.

Okay, now for the challenge pieces! First, I challenge you to use your kit elements in new ways. If you want to get more specific, I challenge you to cut your kit elements to create new ways to use them! The second piece of today's challenge is using a bit of "mixed media" on your layout. This can be as simple as some craft mist and gouache, like I used here, or more intricate using your favorite mixed media techniques.

I hope this layout and challenge inspired you to use your Life Crafted kit in new ways. I cannot wait to see what y'all create!

"Currently" with Kira

Hey there!  It's Kira and I am back with a layout in my Life Crafted album.

I was inspired by the currently card in the LC kit this month, and decided to ask my four year old some questions and document his answers.  This is such a fun way to get your children's own words in your albums, so I like to do this a few times a year (and do questionnaires for father's day, mothers day, etc. as well).

I kept the left side of my layout pretty simple, focusing more on the journaling.  I chose the sun card since the photo I am using of my son is him eating outside on a sunny day.

The right side I made a layout with the photo of my son.  I embellished with the floral die cuts included in the kit, and added the taco chipboard from the add-on kit since he's eating in the photo.  I also used a puffy sticker, cork sticker, and word sticker all from the LC kit to finish off my page.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kira

Large Subscriber Cut Files in Life Crafted Album with Patricia

Hope you have received your May 'Excursions' Life Crafted kit and seen for yourself how versatile this kit is.  I have loved using it for documenting a neighborhood walk, my husband's motorcycle adventures, a favorite beach trip memory.  Today I am using the kit to document a second ballet competition my daughter was a part of using the large Subscriber Digital Floral Swag and Butterfly Heart cut files in my Life Crafted Album.

Step 1:  In the Silhouette Studio software, I did a Mirror:Flip Horizontally and resized the Butterfly Heart Cut file so that it would fit over my photo.

Step 2:  Tuck and adhere the May 'Excursions' die cut flowers under the cut file.  Use foam adhesive to adhere them on top of the cut file, trimming any excess.

 

Step 3:  Staple the heart 'Excursions' die cut to the ticket die cut, add stamping with the Travelers Notebook stamp set, add 'Excursions' numbers, then foam adhere to photo.

Step 4:  Pencil around Floral Swag cut file to add your typed journaling.  Then adhere cut file and trim excess.

Step 5:  Trim an 'Excursions' die cut then foam adhere to card.

For both of the cut files I used papers from the 'Excursions' kit.  For the 'Currently' card, I used more of a tone on tone.  And then that black 'Here & Now' die cut from the kit really pops against it and balances with the large black and white photo on the right.

For the Butterfly Heart cut file, I chose a darker pattern paper to pop against my black and white photo, pulling some of the blue in the left photo, and the pink flowers bring back the softness of that photo on the left as well.  Just creates a nice balance.

The embellishment cluster in the corner of the large photo creates more balance while also helping to document the memory.  That ticket gives me a perfect spot for a date using the puffy alphabet set from the kit.

Love seeing what everyone is creating!  Please continue to share in our Facebook group here, and tag @citrustwistkits on Instagram.  Happy creating!

Add On Kit Layout with Laura Rahel Crosby

Hey CTK fans, it's Laura Rahel Crosby here. Today I'm sharing a pretty 8.5x11 scrapbook layout that I made using the Citrus Twist Kits add on kit this month. This month's add on kit has lots of the All Heart Collection by Crate Paper. I cut out the pretty photo-realistic flowers and butterflies from one of the patterned papers and scattered them across the page.

I used the Heidi Swap gold phrase stickers for my title and to add some gorgeous hearts all around the page. Different patterned papers layered up to mat my photos. The cork pieces from the CTK this month are so pretty, so a couple of those made their way on the layout too. Then I finished the page off with some light pink paint splatters!

I love the details and all the gold and pink together. So pretty! The blue patterned paper around my photo made the photo pop with all those flowers and embellishments around. An unusual choice since there wasn't blue anywhere else on the page. Hope you're feeling inspired to grab your CTK and make something pretty with it today!

Happy crafting! xo, Laura

Sunday Sketch With Theresa | Getaway

Hello Lovelies! Theresa here today with a Sunday Sketch layout for you! Have you seen the wonderful sketches and layouts the design team has been creating with them this month? This is my sketch I will be working with today, along with the Life Crafted Excursions kit for May and the Excursions stamp set.

This sketch is so versatile and I was immediately drawn to the triangles above the photo. What a great way to use my triangle punches! I pulled out the lovely patterned papers in the May Excursions kit and got busy.

Here is my layout I created.

I began my layout with plain white card stock and a bit of color splashes using some Tim Holtz Distress Paints in Abandoned Coral and Cracked Pistachio. I pulled colors from the paper triangles, such as the mint greens, pinks, and turquoise. 

Once the paint splashes were dry I added the solid card stock and my paper triangles to the page. These elements on the page instantly lead your eye right to the photo and add such color and texture to the page. I also added sewing machine stitching to these elements.

My photo was taken on a recent trip to the Great Smokey Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN. The photo is housed on a stack of patterned papers and I added die cut leaves in between those layers. Those leaves are part of the Free Spirit Digital Stamps, and I brought them into my Silhouette to use them as cut files.

I also added a die cut and one of the cork stickers to this cluster. I then tucked more patterned paper strips into the bottom card stock strip, just to add a bit more color to the bottom of the layout. For the left side of the photo I added more turquoise leaves, plus a label and a puffy sticker where the sketch called for the title.

I added a bit of stamping to my background, using the Life Crafted Excursions stamp set and the kit stamp set as well. This layout came together so easily using the Sunday Sketch!

Thank you so much for joining me today! I hope you are inspired to use this gorgeous sketch along with us! Be sure to share with us and tag us so we can see what you create. See you again soon!

3 to Inspire | 3 Easy Things to Finally Get Those Old Photos in an Album

Don't judge too harshly friends, but I've had this unfinished album in the works since early 2016.  At this point, years later, I have plenty other things to document that take precedence, so what do you do when you need to finish up an old album?  You use 3 easy elements to finally get them in memory keeping order!

1.  Pocket Page Album or Life Crafted Album:  This is such an obvious choice for older memory-keeping, because it's so easy to slide in your photos and add minimal embellishments, while still looking fabulous!

2.  Fabulous Journaling Cards: Thankfully the CTK kit always comes with the best journaling cards and papers to add character to any pocket page spread.

3.  Typewriter or Printed Text:  The last thing you need to give your pocket page exactly what it needs is journaling.  I love using my typewriter, because it looks so lovely and whimsical.

This month's collection of journaling cards were the perfect addition to our California 2016 trip, because they were sunny and tropical!  It was so easy to pop them in and add a few personal touches.

These photos were so old that I still have time stamps on the printed images, so I had to cover those up with the amazing ephemera in this month's kit!  I loved layering on the amazing arrows in bright colors!

This 4x6 card that comes in the "Excursions" kit was perfect all by itself, but I had to add a little orange stitching to tie in the color scheme.

I finished up my spread by using another great 4x6 journaling card.  I stitched on my title with the amazing puffy alphas this month and a great geo tag.  Using my typewriter I added in my journaling for the double page spread of photos.  It was such a simple spread, but I feel so great that I'm finally getting around to finish this album!