December Album using December Kits with Emma!

Hello CTK friends!  Emma on the blog today to share a little look through my December album!  It's been a long time since I've had the chance to sit down and actually put some pages together but with the Christmas season upon us, I knew I had to try to put another album together - not just to record all the Christmasy things, but just the everyday chaos that is December for my family :)

My motto for this year is "keep it simple and get it done!".  I've a terrible habit of overthinking when putting albums together (which means they take forever to do..) but I just don't have the time for it this year.  Cue the Life Crafted Album and page protectors!  Teamed with the December Life Crafted Kit and December Add-on and I'm happy to report that I am managing to stay up-to-date, yay!  And after a few months break from scrapbooking, I can't tell you how exciting it is ;)

I am using the Black Life Crafted Album this year and I painted the gold plate on the outside white.

On my spine I've added one of the Crate Paper Snowflakes chipboard pieces (from this store this month) along with a "December" sticker (from the Christmas Stories Kit - sadly it sold out in record time!) and added a white tag from my stash with the year stamped on it (stamp from the store too, Heidi Swapp Winter Wonderland).

I was worried painting the gold plate might not work out (and I'd ruin my album, ha) but it's actually finished up looking rather nice I think!  Just taped up the cloth area around the plate using washi tape then spray-painted it with white paint.  Fiddly but easy enough!

And rather than blabber on I thought I'd just take a heap of photos sharing my album - here's a look through of what I've done so far (lots of photos to follow!):

For my cover page I created a wreath using craft wire and white twine.  I created a circle shape with the craft wire then knotted short lengths of twine around it - once it was full I just trimmed the twine down and fixed it in place on a clear page using a couple stitches.

No album of mine is ever complete without at least one sequin pocket!  I'm sure another will appear before the end ;)

Lots of changes around here with Zack finishing up Grade 6 and getting ready to start High School.  Meant he had to get his first suit for Graduation!  He looks so grown up, cry!  That chipboard piece from the Life Crafted Kit was a perfect match for that days story!

All of the chipboard and thickers used throughout my album are fixed on top of the protector pages - stops them looking too bulky inside the pocket.

As you can see - there's not much to my December album.  Lots of random moments, not all of it Christmas-related, but I'm getting those moments recorded.  And keeping it simple means that I get it done!

Sticking with the 3x4 Page Protectors and 4x6 Page Protectors also keeps things consistent and it's so easy to just run the photos off on the printer, pop them into a pocket, add a few little stickers here and there to suit and add some journaling on top.  All of my journaling is typed up on the computer then printed out on plain white copy paper (then I fix it in place using machine stitching or staples) - it's something I can do every couple days without stressing!

Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today - I hope you're having as much fun with your December/Christmas Album!

Take care, Emma xo

December Kit Play: Life Crafted & Scrapbooking Add-On Kit

Hello everyone,

Today we are sharing some of the projects that our creative team have made that focus on using these non-Christmas Life Crafted and Scrapbooking Add-on kits for documenting their December days. We are just loving the versatility of our two December kits, how they blend so well together and the simply amazing projects that some of our team have made.

Don't forget: When you subscribe to our Life Crafted kit you get some free digital cut files and cutaparts every month that you can download from our website. Some of these cut files were included on the following pages. Nathalie DeSousa does a superb job creating the cut files just for you.

Be sure to share your projects with us @citrustwistkits on Instagram. We always love to see what you've been doing with our kits and Life Crafted Albums.

Pssst! We have new Life Crafted Album colors and page protectors coming soon. Watch for our newsletter about this. Our Teal, Blue and Khaki albums will be discontinued once they sell through, so be sure to grab one before they're gone. We will restock our Goldenrod and Black Life Crafted Albums and add 4 brand new colors that we know you are going to love!

Are you ready? Here we go!

Happy December!

-Trina

Sunday Sketch with Marsha

Hey friends!  It's Marsha here today with this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge.  This is such a fun challenge and a really great way to jump-start your creativity.

Here's a look at the sketch:

Here's the layout I created using the Life Crafted "Hustle and Heart" Kit and the December Scrapbooking Add-on Kit:

For this project, I chose to add a layout to my 2019 December Daily album-  I am using the Life Crafted Album.  I LOVE the size of this album...so perfect for this project!

To begin the spread, I rotated the sketch so that the photo and number would be on the right side of the page.  I trimmed two pieces of white cardstock to use as the base for my pages.  Next, I enlarged one of the journaling cards from the December Days digital collection, and I used it along with a couple of the patterned papers from the LC kit to layer behind my photo and day number.   Using the This Is Life "Born For This" Stamp, I stamped a frame for my number.  I added another stamp from the Traveler's Notebook Stamp to a label and added it to the side of the number.  I  used ephemera, chipboard pieces, and stickers from the kits to embellish the page, also adding some machine stitching.

 

For the other side of the spread, I layered a few strips of patterned paper along the edge of the page.  I stamped a sentiment from the Christmas Stories Stamp onto a label and used some of the puffy alpha stickers from the Add-on kit for the title.

I stamped some stars, using a CTK TN Stamp from a previous month, around the page and used ephemera and enamel dots to embellish.  I also added some Crate Paper Snowflake Stickers (that can be found in the CTK shop).  To finish off the page, I added a bit more machine stitching to the edge of the page.

Here's a final look at the layout:

Thank you for stopping by today!  I hope you will join in on the challenge and share your creations with us on the Facebook Fan Page or on Instagram using #citrustwistkits.

Marsha

Christmas Album with the December 2019 Add-0n Kit

Hello friends!  Happy December!  Lorilei here today sharing some ideas for a Christmas Album using the December 2019 Scrapbook Add-On Kit!

For my chipboard cover, I used the Spencer stamps to create the "Merry" and added the Crate Paper alpha for the December part of my title.

This page has a card that flips open to add photos and stories.  The front has a band for tucking in tags or photos!

Next, I created two pocket pages.  One with a patterned paper pocket and the next uses white cardstock with an angled pocket.  I used lot's of the Crate Paper Snowflake ephemera and some Heidi Swapp stickers!

Close up detail!

My next pages hold photos and feature the gorgeous Honey & Spice papers from Heidi Swapp.  I created a little cluster of banners for the top of the left page!

Next up is another pocket page, paired with a photo pocket insert.  The snowman card flips up to add more photos and stories!

My next page is a flip page using strips from the Snowflake and Honey & Spice papers, I even made use of some of the branding strips to create a paper strip tree!

The last set of page is a tuck page with a flip page.  I love how they look together!

I hope you find some of these pages useful for ideas for your December album or scrapbook pages!  The December kit is so warm and lovely and perfect for winter and Christmas stories!!