KIT LOVE

Hello everyone!

It is hard to believe that we are through half of this year already.   Time is passing by, and every day brings a new adventure, a new reason to celebrate.   That is the focus  of this month's Life Crafted kit,  BEST OF THIS LIFE.

We are sure you will love the kits and they will inspire to document your memories.   All the colors and designs of the Best Of This Life kit  are fresh and versatile and perfect to bring the joy of life to your projects.    Here is Trina with a quick look at the June Life Crafted kit:

This month we are also lucky to have Lisa Varshine as our guest designer.   She is a super talented designer, also one of our subscribers, who will  inspire you with her projects using this month's kits.  Today she is joining our kit release celebration with this new process video that features this month's Scrapbooking Add-on kit.  Enjoy!

Sunday Sketch with Nathalie

Hello everyone!
Nathalie here with the last sketch on June... Tomorrow a new kit will be revealed (and it is a beauty!), but before we get new goodies, let me show you how i made the most of my kits using this week's sketch as inspiration.  Here is this week's sketch:

It is a rather fun sketch, as soon as i saw it all i could think of was a grid  of some sort.   First i decided to use the sketch with the left over pieces from my Around Here  Life Crafted Kit in my Life Crafted album:

For this layout, i decided to divide the sketch in  half and follow it as close as i could.  Since the pictures are in color, i decided to chose rather neutral papers for the layers behind them.

The secret to balance the sketch was to keep everything at the same level/border.  So, once i had the limits marked, i used the typewriter to add my lines of journal, and then glued the layers in place.   I added the extra tag above the small strip of paper at the bottom of the picture to help balance the page.

I followed the sketch for the other side of the layout, but added a few things just so that it helped me tell the story of the pictures.   All the gorgeous ephemera pieces about "creatives" was perfect for this side, so i just added them to the clusters and then stamped some sentiments from some of this month's Stamp sets.   Love how easy it came together, but i tried the same sketch with the add-on kit for a 12x12 layout.

I wanted all those pastel colors in the Add on kit to create this page about my daughter's first horse-riding adventure. 

I started with creating the layers behind the picture using all the papers from the add on kit.  However the bottom layer of the pictures is one of the large Alpha pieces (Maggie Holmes Sunny Days collection) as they had a vibrant and solid look to them.

To bring the grid look of the sketch to the page, i decided to mount my layers on a piece of vellum.  This helped with limiting the space for the layout, and made layering the papers much easier (a little chipboard and foam adhesive help to create the soft shadow behind the layers).

I wanted to keep the soft look of the page, so instead of adding those paper strips to the corners of the page, my  choice was to create a small shaker pocket.  For this, i simply used a ruler and penciled the rectangles, then hand stitched the rectangles and fill them with sequins.

To finish the page, I used one of the ephemera pieces from the Around Here kit in combination with the stickers from the add on kit, added a few gold ink splatters, and then added my lines of journal with gold ink (and smudge a bit of it with my hand, too).

Just love how these turned out using the sketch as the starting point for the layouts.  Now it is your turn to get inspired by the sketch and create a project of your own.  Remember to share your projects with us over social media (use #citrustwistkits or @citrustwistkits), we love to be inspired by your work.   If you have questions on how these came together, please do not hesitate to contact me!

XO

3 To Inspire With Theresa

Hello Lovelies, Theresa here with a fun 3-To-Inspire for you! In this series we create a layout and give you three product challenges to inspire you to get creative with your kits! These are my three challenges for you today:

1. Use a cut file! I have used one of the Subscriber Exclusives called Own Your Magic.
2. Use mixed media and stamps to highlight your cut file! I have used both the Around Here stamp set and the Traveler's Notebook stamp set.
3. Incorporate a bold title! I have used the black foam word stickers from the Around Here kit.

Let's have a look at how I used these items in my layout!

1. Use a cut file!

I was inspired by the Own Your Magic cut file which is part of the Subscriber Exclusives. This one has some interesting angles plus a butterfly, which our daughter loves so I thought it would be perfect to document this photo. My photo is of Emberlynn at the Dixie Classic Fair in Winston Salem, NC, in fall of 2017, smashing it up in the bumper cars.

2. Use mixed media and stamps to highlight your cut file!

My layout began with a very simple and easy-going mixed media background. I used a few of my Dr. Ph Martin India Inks to add a bit of color to watercolor paper. I just lay down a bit of color, spray with a bit of water, and then lift some of the pigment back up with a paper towel or another sheet of watercolor paper.

Once the background was dry I adhered my cut file where I wanted it and then I added the stamped sentiment inside the angles of the cut file. I also added a few enamel dots inside and outside the cut file to add a bit more color and fun. 

3. Incorporate a bold title!

My layout needed a bit of pop! at this point, so I used the foam word stickers in the kit to add my title. I also added a few black hearts around the page. I have a go-to design tip about color, and that is that you can probably add just about any color to a layout as long as you repeat it in another place on your layout! The black is also repeated in the stamping and journaling.

Just a few other design notes: I used some punched hexagons to repeat the hexagon motif on the layout. Those were punched from the 3x8 card included in the kit, I simply punched from around that page. My goal was, again, contrast, and to give the embellishment clusters a sort of home base on my page. Speaking of clusters, there are three around the page that form the visual triangle. Each one is anchored by the orange hexagons, mint floral and butterfly from the cut file, and a bit of black.

This was such a fun layout to create and I am so happy to share it with you! I hope you are inspired to pick up your Around Here kit and get creative. We would love to see what you create, so be sure to share online and tag us! See you again soon!

Life Crafted with Laura Rahel Crosby

Hey friends, it's Laura Rahel Crosby here today and I'm so excited to share one of the layouts I made this month using the Life Crafted kit. My favorite thing about the Life Crafted kit is that it is designed to work with any kind of project you want to make. You can use it to make traveler's notebook pages, pocket pages, traditional scrapbooking pages- whatever you want! It's truly about crafting the memory keeping projects of your dreams. And I love that adaptability aspect of the kits. Today I'm sharing a fun 8.5x11 scrapbook layout I made this month.

I've been super into warm colors lately with a 70's vibes- all the yellows, reds, and oranges. So I made this layout as my first attempt in exploring this new style direction of mine. I also played around with mixed media and am loving the result! I created a fun border down the left side of the page using one of the floral stamps from this month and a strip of tissue paper I had in a gorgeous blush and gold color. I also created a fun, painted background using gold shimmer acrylic paint that was watered down. The end result looks like a gorgeous yellowish-blush shimmer mixed media background for my photos which I adore.

The black foam phrases and icons in the June Life Crafted kit were perfect for traditional scrapbooking so I made my title out of that and added some of the icons across my page. You know I had to add journaling too- as I like to do that with 95% of my layouts! I used patterned paper and ephemera from the kit to mat my photographs. And I finished the page off with a couple of black enamel dots and some hand drawn hearts. I hope you have enjoyed this projects. Make sure you're following me over on YouTube so you don't miss any of the projects I make with my Citrus Twist Kits each month! Happy crafting, Laura

Born to Stand Out with Patricia Roebuck

Hope everyone has gotten their June kit and had time to get creative with it!  I am so excited to be here to share a page I created in my new Blue Life Crafted album!  Don't you love all the new colors and protectors available now?!

For this spread, I used the Label It Subscriber cut file that is designed to fit your Life Crafted album and then I used the 'Shine' from the Smile Sparkle Shine Subscriber cut file as a stencil but with ink and a dauber this time.  I used another part of that same file for this project here using embellishment mousse.  

To use the Label It die cut, I first needed to line up the holes with one of the page protectors to punch my holes.

Then using scissors and/or a craft knife with liquid glue I backed several of the labels with papers from the Around Here kit.

I left a few of the labels so that when adhered to the digital June TN paper, it would show through.  After adhering, I re-punched my holes to go through the TN paper attached to the back.

Then I used the 'Shine' part of the Smile Sparkle Shine Subscriber cut file as a stencil to sponge over the Around Here card.

And lastly, I added stamping using the Travelers Notebook stamp set directly to my photo and adored a Puffy Sticker from the kit to it.

I created more layers to the Label It cut file page by adding die cuts and embellishments to the page.

And then used another one of my favorite cut files from the month, one of the bows in all white to add even more dimension.

I love the light layered effect of the ink over the Around Here card.

The Travelers Notebook stamp set and that puffy sticker were a great accent to a priceless photo of my daughter shopping ;)

Thank you so much for coming by today and please share your creations with us in the Citrus Twist Kits Facebook group!  Happy creating!!

Create your own filler cards and kill that kit!

Hi Guys! Diane here to share how I killed the last of my June kit with you!

I love this time of month, when my new Life Crafted kit arrives and I get to dive into all the new goodies to share with you. But I often still have a WHOLE lot of my last kit still to use up. This month, I decided to challenge myself and try to kill as much of my kit as possible. 

Even after ALL the projects I've made throughout June, I still had a few bits and pieces left. So I created a few different filler cards as part of my 100 Day Project so I thought I'd share a few ideas for making your own!

1. Create pockets and shapes

By adding a smaller piece of paper on top of your card and stitching or gluing around three sides, you can create a fun little pocket for adding hidden journalling, extra photos or popping a few extra tags or die cuts into. I also love to use my metal dies to create fun shapes like tags and circles to either layer onto cards or use in projects at a later date.

2. Layer die cuts

The Life Crafted kits always come with a tonne of die cuts, so why not use them in bulk! Create a cluster of die cuts with a similar theme or colour scheme and pop them onto a pattern paper background. Or add them to one of the beautifully designed cards in the kit to add a little extra dimension!

3. Add fabric or paper ruffles

By adding extra fabric or paper trims from your stash, you can really add a lot of dimension and texture to your projects. I love adding tulle layers, either with or without sequins! And with a hot glue gun and some crepe paper, you can create fun embellishments for your cards in no time.

4. Create stamped patterns

I'm a huge fan of creating your own stamped patterns and the Life Crafted kit stamp and add-on stamps are always filled with gorgeous sentiments to add to patterned papers or even plain card stock to create your own totally unique design. Try stacking your stamps like bricks, stamping on an angle or adding multiple stamps to one pattern.

5. Add texture by stitching things together

I love using my sewing machine for crafting (in fact, I can't remember the last time I used it for actually sewing fabric!) but you don't need a sewing machine to add a lovely stitched texture. Try hand stitching or even holding things together with paper clips. Fold and rough up the edges a little and you immediately have added texture and interest.

These are such fun ways to use up the last little bits of your kits. If you don't need them straight away, you can either keep a pile of ready-made filler cards waiting for your next pocket page, or why not create a pocket letter with them? Its the perfect little 10-minute activity when you are short on crafty time!

So do you fully finish one kit before diving into the next one? Or can you just not wait when that new Life Crafted kit hits your doorstep?!