Sunday Sketch with Nathalie

Hello everyone!
Nathalie with you today with this week's Sunday Sketch.   At this time, when we all are living in a state of caution, crafting seems to be a perfect escape for all the news that are bombarding our lives.   Today, i want to share with you all, how i used this week's sketch to document snapshots of our lives using the March kits.  Let me show you the sketch:

I love the versatility of the sketch, and how it helps to kick start your creative process.  Well, i wanted to show you how it can easily transform the sketch from a scrapbook layout to a Life Crafted entry.

For my Scrapbook layout, i chose to work with the March 2020 Add On Kit.   All the Stamp Market papers were the perfect background for the picture of my little guy.  I stayed pretty close to the original sketch with a few minor changes.

The sketch asks for pieces of paper as picture corners, i chose to change them for small floral clusters and labels ( these both are ephemera pieces from the Add On kit), and even switch the position of one of them so that it doesn't cover an important part of the picture.

Another change was the title placement.  The sketch calls for a small place mat (available for free to subscribers, or for sale at the CTK Digital shop) cut out, instead, i supersize one of the PL cards and used the space add my journal lines.  I created a pocket from vellum and placed it in between the pictures, so i can slide the journal card easily.

puffy

I move the title to the top of the page, and chose to add a large cluster of flowers to balance the page. A small piece of ephemera from the WEEKENDER kit was stitched on top of the flowers as the title for the page.  A few stamped sentiments in the labels and under the title ( Life Crafted and TN stamp), a few enamel dots and the puffy butterfly complete the page.

Now, let me show you how i used the sketch as inspiration for this Life Crafted layout:

It was so easy to convert the sketch to a Life Crafted layout by just rotating it 90 degrees.  This time, i use the Weekender  kit to complete this page...

I chose to size down the pictures to squares, and pretty much follow the sketch to create the layers behind the picture.  I cut some of the paper, and the 4x6 cards to create the layers.   The  title card comes from the PL digital cards.   I chose to add bits of hand stitching around the page to add texture on the layout.

I followed the sketch as to where to place the journal ( i used Photoshop to create a journal box  that will hold my writing).  Once i printed the paper, i glued a large strip of paper to the right of the page, than hand stitched a cluster of elements to it just as the sketch shows.  A few more stamped sentiments complete this page.

I hope this has inspire you to check the March Kits and use this week's sketch to create a project of your own.  Remember to share with us your finished projects,  we love to see what you create, too!

'Til next time!

Sunday Sketch with Marsha

Hey friends!  It's Marsha here with you today sharing this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge.  My project came together so quickly using the sketch and the gorgeous Scrapbooking Add-on Kit and This Is Life "Weekend Life" Stamp!

Here's a look at the sketch:

Here's the layout I created:

For my project today, I chose to create a spread in my Life Crafted Album, instead of doing a traditional 12x12 or 8.5x11 page.  To begin, I trimmed some white cardstock to 5x8.25 inches to serve as base pages for my project.  Following the sketch, I trimmed two patterned papers to span across both sides of the album.  I typed my journaling on a piece of white cardstock and used the This Is Life "Weekend Life" Stamp to add a bit of stamping above and below the journaling. Next, I used the Magical Forest Copper Alphabet Stickers to add the word "good."  I used a black and white striped paper from this month's Life Crafted kit to add a hand-cut pennant banner above the journaling block.  This little detail was found in the sketch and I love the extra interest and texture it adds to the page!

For the other side of the layout, I fussy cut a large floral piece from a patterned paper in the Add-on kit.  Then, I layered my photo over a "remember" card I trimmed from a cut apart sheet in the kit.  To embellish, I added some gold polka dot washi tape, a puffy butterfly sticker, and an ephemera tab and label.

For the top portion of the spread, I followed the sketch and added a strip of patterned paper across the top of the layout.  I tucked another fussy cut floral behind the strip.

For the title, I stamped the word "weekend" using the Weekend Life stamp and black ink.  I used the copper alpha stickers to complete the title and added an ephemera tab to the edge of the page.  As a final finishing touch, I added some machine stitching to several areas of the layout.

Thank you for stopping by today!  I hope you will join in on this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge and share your project with us on the CTK Facebook Fan Page or on Instagram using #citrustwistkits.  I will see you again soon!

xo,

Hello Life with Marsha

Hey friends!  Marsha here today sharing a layout in my Life Crafted Album.  I used the gorgeous NEW March Life Crafted "Weekender" Kit and Scrapbooking Add-on Kit.  They are SO good this month!  I am also using my new Life Crafted Album in charcoal gray and it is beautiful! 

Here's a look at the layout I created:

To begin the spread, I trimmed a piece of white cardstock to 5" x 8.25" to fit as a full page in the album.  I printed a photo I took on a recent errand day and added it to the page.  I am determined to get more of these little everyday stories documented this year!  For the title, I backed a tag from The Stamp Market Miss Modern collection (from the Add-on kit) with a fun striped patterned paper from the LC kit.  I let the tag hang off of the edge of the page.  I love the bit of extra interest and fun this adds to the spread.  Next, I added the "Life" die cut over my photo to complete the title.  To embellish the page, I added some tab ephemera pieces from the LC kit and some beautiful black and white floral die cuts from the Pinkfresh Studio My Favorite Story collection, found in the Add-on kit.  I also added a heart and butterfly puffy sticker.

For the other side of the spread, I used a LC Page Protector #2 that has 2- 3x4 pockets. To begin, I trimmed one of the 4x6 LC journaling cards to 3x4 so that it would fit in the pocket.  I added another floral die cut and a ticket ephemera piece.  Then, I added a staple for extra texture and stamped the date using a roller date stamp.

For the other 3x4 pocket, I used a 3x4 journaling card from the LC kit.  I stamped a sentiment onto an ephemera label and added it to the top of the card.  I typed my journaling onto a piece of cardstock, trimmed it out, and attached it to the page using mini staples.  To finish off the card, I added a bit more stamping using the LC kit stamp and added a puffy butterfly sticker from the Add-on kit.

I've enjoyed sharing my project with you today!  Be sure to stop by the CTK shop and check out the new March kits, stamps, and Life Crafted Albums.  They are perfect for helping you document your stories in a beautiful way.

xo,

3-TO-INSPIRE WITH ERICA

Hey Guys! It's Erica here with your last 3-to-Inspire challenge for the month.

This week's prompts are:

1. Use multiple photos
2. Stamp on your background
3. Use the leftover bits from your puffy sticker sheet creatively


Here's my take on the challenge using this month's Life Crafted Possibilities kit and the Good Vibes add on Stamp





Your first challenge is to use multiple photos on your spread. I used a full TN page on the right side, and on the left I used one of the 4x6 + Journal Spot Page Protectors to highlight my favourite photo.





Your second challenge is stamp on your background. I used this prompt to create texture on my background with the rays of sunshine from the Good Vibes add on Stamp.





I also used the sunburst from the same stamp set to highlight this cute sign on the hot dog cart. I took a photograph of the sign and then cut it out to use as a sentiment sticker.




Your third prompt is to use all the leftover bits on your puffy sticker sheet that you normally wouldn't even consider! That's all the insides of your stars and even the middle of your puffy alphas. I used the triangle shapes to mimic the sunbursts on all my circle embellishments, and the centers of your stars as enamel dots to sprinkle around.





I hope I've inspired you to try out these prompts in your projects. Have a crafty week!

February 2020 Life Crafted with Nathalie & Trina

Good morning everyone! Nathalie DeSousa and I are here today to share some of the projects we've been working on with the February kits.

Nathalie DeSousa

Hi there!  Cannot believe that March is around the corner.   Before we move onto our new kit, I want to share with you a few of the daily entries i have created using the POSSIBILITIES kit and some of the new goodies at the shop in my Life Crafted album.

The starting point of this page was the lovely 4x6" card.  I just loved the framed space in the card, and used it to add my lines of journal.  The new Insert Adhesive Strips are so perfect to add pages, ephemera, etc to the album without having to create the perforations to the page.  I simply trimmed a bit of the strip to fit the card ( i saved the pieces for a later use) and slipped the typed card in the album.

I used the soft orange paper from the kit to create my layout.  I simply backed the picture of our Saturday night dessert with vellum and add it to the page.  I wanted to keep the page simple but festive, so i decided to create a banner/bunting with all the small flags and ephemera pieces from the POSSIBILITIES kit... so i stitched them to the top of the page.

I just added a few extra stamping sentiments from the Traveler's Notebook Stamp set and then completed the page with enamel dots.  Now, i had the blank space of the card to work with, so i set to create a second spread in my Life Crafted album.

I cut the 3x8" card to back the picture of my Book-loving daughter and then glued it to the back of the card.   I added a few embellishments around the picture (literally tied the small tag around the picture!).

Since i wanted to make the word "read" the focus of the page, i chose the new 2x2" inserts.  This time, i used the Digital PL Cards to print enlargements of two of the floral cards -same as the one behind the picture-.  I sized the white card -originally a 3x4"card- so that i could cut two 2x2" squares from it.

I stamped the word using the Spencer Alpha stamp set in black ink on the color background and set it on the center squares.  This time i hand wrote my lines of journal in the lower right card, and embellish the pockets just with a few stickers, enamel dots and  ephemera. 

Just loved how easy these came together.  I hope you are also using the POSSIBILITIES kit to document your days! 

XO

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Trina Craig

I'm finally starting a mini in my new Fir Green Life Crafted album for a recent girls' road trip along the central California coast. It was so much fun to drive the coast, hang out with my best friend and all along the way we took lots of breaks and photo opportunities PLUS I collected a lot of ephemera on the trip. (The gold metallic alphabet is from our soon-to-be revealed March WEEKENDER Life Crafted kit.)

Here is one spread made with the February 2020 POSSIBILITIES Life Crafted kit.

I tucked a postcard of an old color reproduction photo postcard between the page with the big photo and the page that is a mini scrapbook layout. I'm placing pages loose inside my album and the trim size for these pages is 5" x 8.25" - the perfect size/way to showcase 5" x 7" photos and to whip out fast mini layouts.

Here is a close-up of the back side of the postcard. Typically when I go on vacations I like to pick up postcards along the way to add journaling and help tell the story. The brand new Adhesive Page Strips couldn't be more perfect for adding ephemera like this postcard. I curved the foam phrase sticker to fit on the page so it didn't hang off the edge. The photo is a little 2"-wide pic that I set up sized and printed using the Print to Size app on my iPhone. (With this app you can size your photos up or down and arrange them on your photo paper however you want. It's a hand app!)

Here is a real close-up of the Adhesive Page Strip . . . they tuck in just perfect and allow me to free float inserts like this postcard. Your barely see the strip when it's in your Life Crafted album and adds so much versatility that I know you are going to love using them. (I trimmed the adhesive strip down and saved the bits I trimmed off to use on other small inserts.)

Here is one more layout I made with the February POSSIBILITIES Life Crafted kit. I used an old photo of me when I was about 5 years old.

I hope you enjoyed our shares today. We can't wait to see what you create with our February kits.

Nathalie & Trina

Life Crafted with Elizabeth

Hello friends.  Happy Monday.  To start off your week, I'd like to SHARE a spread I created in my Life Crafted Album with the February "POSSIBILITIES" kit.  As you can see, I chose to FLIP the layout on its side.  I've ADMIRED but haven't done many HORIZONTAL pages.  It's DIFFERENT, and definitely adds some INTEREST.

I can't seem to get enough of photo strips.  Since I had some SIMILAR photos of my son and his girlfriend on Valentine's Day, I opted to continue my OBSESSION.

Next, I used the stamp set and blue ink to add some color and random patterns peeking out throughout the spread.

I wasn't done stamping yet.  (Stamps are ABSOLUTELY among my FAVORITE, GO-TO products).  I found several word phrases and STACKED them along the side of my strip.  Then I added a puffy white title sticker and a few colorful die-cuts.

To finish, I added a few more FUN die-cuts and stamped the date.

I hope this provides some INSPIRATION.  If you have a random, empty page, try the HORIZONTAL option.  I will do it again.  

I'm taking a break from several of my creative team assignments.  My son is graduating from high school and we're selling our house.  Thank you for your SUPPORT, and allowing me to share my projects with you.  HAPPY crafting.

XO, Elizabeth