Sunday Sketch with Shannon

 

Hello there, friends! Shannon here with your Sunday Sketch for this weekend. What I love most about sketches is that you can interpret them in many different ways. You could make quite a few different layouts using just one sketch - and they may not even look the same! I took some creative liberty with the sketch this week. Let's look at the sketch and how I interpreted it.

So different, right? Yes! But let's look at how I translated the sketch into this page.

1. Shrink It Down: I took this sketch, which is designed for an 8.5x11 or 9x12 page, and shrunk it down to fit 5x8.5. This definitely cost me some real estate, but I made it work.

2. Flip It: In the sketch, the design flows horizontally across the page. Because of my smaller page design, it didn't make sense for me to have a horizontal design. So I simply rotated it to a verticle design. I used papers from the Peachy Keen 6x8 Paper Pad (which actually coordinates well with the August 2021 Ephemera!).

3. Swap Out Items: Sometimes there will be parts of a sketch that just don't work for you. In my case, it was a tag with journaling. I wanted my journaling on a 3x4 card in a pocket so I omitted this from the sketch. But I did like the larger pieces of patterned paper so I still kept mine long and wide like in the sketch (just flipped 90 degrees). Instead of adding the title below my photo, I used a great piece of word art from the August Ephemera Pack as my title above the photo.

4. Squish It: In the sketch, there is a lot of white space. Since I worked with a larger photo, my white space was at a minimum. To make it work, I squished everything in a little closer together.

5. Keep What Works: There were a lot of things that I kept about this sketch - the top border with an embellishment, the labels at the bottom of the photo, the layering, lots of embellishments with only 2 sheets of patterned paper, and the embellishments moving around the page (though I did swap out the butterflies and used plus signs instead). I even used a chipboard sticker on top of the labels like in the sketch.

I hope I've inspired you to look at sketches a little differently. They are such a great tool to have in your scrapbooking tool kit!

3-to-Inspire with Shannon

 

Hello there, crafty friends! Shannon here with a 3-to-Inspire to get your creativity flowing. I primarily used the Butterflies & Tags ephemera to bring this page together in my Life Crafted album. Let's get to my list of 3 prompts:

1. Make a list

2. Use butterflies

3. Design on the diagonal 

[supplies used: Navy Life Crafted album, Butterflies & Tags ephemera, June 2021 Sunkissed add-on kit, Loved This Day puffy stickers, White Puffy Alphabet]

1. Make a list

Lists are kind of my thing both inside and outside of my scrapbooking. I'm a lister by nature so it's fitting that lists show up often in my scrapbooking. The Butterflies & Tags ephemera has these great numbers with arrows. I used the colors of the numbers to lead the color scheme for my whole layout. When I noticed that the arrows alternate which direction they pointed, I knew that I wanted my blocks of journaling to follow that same alternating path. My list isn't quite a true "list" but each block of journaling lists out my favorite things about each of my daughters. 

2. Use butterflies

You know that a product called Butterflies & Tags ephemera is going to have beautiful butterflies! I went through all of them and chose 3 different ones that matched the colors on my page. Quick tip: don't let your ephemera overpower your photo! Originally, this photo was zoomed out more and my daughters didn't quite fill the frame. But, when I placed my butterflies on my page, the proportion was all wrong. So, I reprinted the photo with my girls filling more of the frame and the proportion was just right. This can happen with any embellishments!

3. Design on the diagonal 

This is a go-to design style of mine. I absolutely love the movement across the page and how it inherently allows for white space. This allows my page to flow and my eyes to rest! The way I designed on the diagonal here is a little more subtle. You could make it more obvious by adding a diagonal line of patterned paper, stamping in a diagonal pattern, scattering small puffy stickers or enamel dots diagonally across the page, or arranging your photos in a diagonal pattern. Here, I kept my photo in the middle and added plenty of layers. But even with all of those layers, my layout felt like it was lacking something. When I added in a few pieces of ephemera at opposite corners, it instantly tied my page together. Take a look below at what I mean about the diagonal design.

I hope my 3 prompts have given you some ideas on how you can get started on your next page. I can't wait to see what you create!

3-to-Inspire with Shannon

 

Hello, crafty friends! Shannon here with a 3-to-Inspire post to get your ideas flowing this weekend. I had a ton of fun pulling together this Life Crafted spread. Coming up with 3 product/idea/technique prompts to share with you always leaves me feeling inspired! Here are my prompts for you this week:

1. Mix and match your title

2. Use a digital file

3. Journal in a timeline

1. Mix and match your title: The script "life" in the Summertime Florals Ephemera pack is perfect for a title! I used some older Citrus Twist alpha stickers for add the word "work" before it. A sans serif font (one without anything "hanging off" the ends of letters) is a perfect match for a script font. I also enjoy how it looks to mix a smaller font with a larger font. You could mix different alpha stickers, die cut words, or word/phase stickers or ephemera.

2. Use a digital file: When I saw this paper with the assortment of notecards on it in the May 2021 Digital TN Basics & Patterns I knew it needed to be in my album. It reminded me of office supplies, which are one of my favorite things (right after scrapbooking supplies, of course). Plus, the colors are fantastic. If you didn't know, Citrus Twist has a huge variety of digital supplies to choose from with new releases each month!

3. Journal in a timeline: You could take this very literally and make a timeline on your page. Or you could do what I did and add the journaling all over your page with years as headings to show the passage of time. Your timeline could cover years or it could cover days. It could track milestones or vacation activities or progress toward a goal. The possibilities are endless! I chose to journal about all the jobs I've had since my very first jobs as a babysitter. It was so fun to take a walk through memory lane! 

Even though my journaling is a walk through the past, I chose to use a photo from today. This is a picture of me working in my home office so it still fits the theme of the page. I used a whole bunch of ephemera from the Florals, Hearts, and Tags ephemera pack and the One of a Kind Cardstock Tiny Words stickers to layer behind the photo.

I hope that I've inspired you to try something different on your next page! I can't wait to see what you create!

3 to Inspire with Shannon

 

Hello crafty friends! Shannon here with another 3 to Inspire to kickstart your memory keeping. For this post, I'm focusing on a travel layout using the new Travelogue products available now at Citrus Twist. My husband and I took a trip to Hawaii back in July 2014 and I never got around to scrapbooking it. These products inspired me to get some photos ordered and finally document our trip!

Let's look at my list of 3 things to inspire your layout...

1. Make your own title card

2. Use a cluster of embellishments

3. Bring in some history

1. Make your own title card. -- Since the Travelogue Mini Kit doesn't come with printed cards (you can get them digitally though!) I decided to challenge myself to use only the mini kit and some cardstock to make my own pocket page cards. I started this title card by stamping a background using the 6x8 Travelogue Stamp. I love stamping backgrounds in a pattern. I tested out a few light colors to see what would match the kit best. This yellow is bold enough to catch attention but suble enough to be a background. Next, I chose the word "explore" from the Travelogue Puffy Phrase and Icon Stickers. Finally, I pulled the large "go" from the Travelogue Ephemera and used foam adhesive to give it a little pop. I chose to work with bold colors (yellow and orange) so I didn't feel the need to add any additional embellishments. I really wanted the title to stick out.

2. Use a cluster of embellishments. -- The colors that I chose to use on this card dictated the rest of the page. I had free rein of color choice since my photos are all fairly neutral in color. Since the photos are outside and depict a WWII bunker, I wanted to go with a more muted palette to fit the mood of the page. I decided on chartreuse and forest green with a pop of coral. Then, I went into the Travelogue Ephemera pack and Travelogue Puffy Stickers to find embellishments to match my theme. I didn't like that I could see the bottom corner of the ticket through the hole in the location icon, so I backed the hole with the same cardstock that I used as the background of my card. Once I had my cluster arranged, I felt it was missing something at the bottom. I grabbed my 6x8 Travelogue Stamp and split the "full of wonder" phrase into 2 lines. This a really great trick to make your stamp fit if it's too long to be in a single line! Just cover the word(s) you aren't stamping with washi (after inking the stamp!).

3. Bring in some history. -- Hawaii is so rich in history that it would feel like a disservice to leave that out of my album. Of course, I can't remember every fact about everything we saw nearly 7 years ago. Hello, Google! I knew what this WWII pillbox on the North Shore of Oahu was called, but I couldn't remember the information that was on the historical marker nearby. These days I would take a photo of that marker to have the facts right at hand. Live and learn! A quick Google search brought up the historic marker and some additional information. I used that to fill in some of my journaling. To top off my card, I used a phrase from the Travelogue Ephemera pack.

Putting this page together and stretching my creativity to make my own pocket cards really revitalized my energy to dig into this travel album. Do you have a vacation that needs to be documented? Don't let it weigh on your mind for 7 years like I did - take the opportunity to dive in now! I can't wait to see what you create!

3-to-Inspire with Shannon

 

Hey there, crafty friends! Shannon here with a fun 3-to-Inspire to share with you. I tried to think of something I could do differently with this page and I kind of love the result. Let's get to my three things!

1. Write your journaling different than usual

2. Use florals

3. Stamp your title

Now let's look at how I brought that all together on this layout in my Life Crafted album.

I started with the Documenter Travelers Notebook Basics, Version 1, Digital Papers as the base for my journaling. I knew I wanted my journaling to be a full page so I used a paper with a faint patterned background. To make my journaling different than usual, I wrote it as if I was writing a book. There are a lot of quotes and inner monologues in my journaling. I've never journaled like this before but I can assure you that it won't be the last time. It was really fun!

Need some inspiration to switch up your journaling? I shared a few ideas in this post from December 2020.

Next, I pulled out the florals. When I decided to use florals I really went all in on the idea! Thankfully, the Florals Ephemera Pack gave me plenty of options. Since the opposing page is full of journaling and my photo contains neutral colors, I was able to use all sorts of colors for my florals. I just made sure to space them well around the photo.

To layer them, I held the photo in place and tucked everything behind it. I started with the largest pieces as the base and then built up from there. I then carefully lifted my photos. Underneath was a wreath of sorts. I applied adhesive to the outer edges on the back of my photo and carefully stuck it back down. When I lifted it up again my ephemera "wreath" was stuck to it. I carefully moved around the wreath with my adhesive to stick down anything that needed to be stuck down. Then, I used stronger adhesive to attach the whole stack of ephemera to my page with the photo on top.

Finally, I stamped my title at the top of my journaling page. The Chloe stamp complemented my typewriter-style journaling perfectly! Lining my title up along the top line of the page helped me keep everything straight. This is especially helpful if you have to stamp a word using only a few letters at a time, as I did here since the "u" appears twice. If you're not stamping along an existing line you can use the lines on your acrylic block or draw a faint line with a pencil. 

I hope I've inspired you to try something new this week! If you follow these prompts, be sure to share on social media and tag Citrus Twist. Happy crafting!

Using Your Words with Shannon

 

Hey there, Citrus Twist friends! We are just days from Christmas (if you celebrate) so I wanted to share a story from my December Details album. I opted to use a Life Crafted album to house my project. Actually, if I'm being honest, my project has grown into two albums. And that's just fine with me! Whatever it takes to get my stories told. As a matter of fact, that's what I want to talk to you about today. Stories.

We all scrapbook for different reasons. Some like making pretty things. Some like playing with mixed media. Some like writing all the words. Some are a mix. I find myself leaning more toward writing all the words more often than not. I like a good balance of creative play and writing. I enjoy finding fun ways to write my journaling. Otherwise, it can just feel like a chore, and who wants that?

If you read my journaling above you'll see how I turned it into a fun story. I infused some of my sarcastic personality into the writing and made sure to make it something that would be fun for the kids to read. Since I have a 6-year-old who is an avid reader and a lover of my scrapbooks I have to be mindful of what I write and keep the magic of Christmas alive. Plus, I think you'll agree that journaling in this way is much more engaging to the reader! When I have a lot to say, like I did here, I love using the TN Basics from Citrus Twist. The one I used here is from the December TN Basics pack. I bring it into Photoshop to type out my journaling. Since I enjoy the typewriter look I use Remington Noiseless (8 point size) for my font.

Looking for other ways to vary your journaling? Here are a few ideas:

• Write out a list (kind of like I'm doing right now!)
• Format it as a letter. It doesn't need to be to a person. I've seen people address their letters to a favorite store, drink, ornament, etc.
• Write it as a "breaking news" story. How fun would this be for Santa's arrival?!
• Write it out interview-style.

And now, since I enjoy the creative part of scrapbooking as much as I enjoy the writing part, let's take a quick look at the rest of this layout.

I used a mix of the Sparkle & Joy kit, Comfort & Joy Digital Journaling Cards, December TN Basics, and Comfort & Joy Digital Elements to bring everything together. That card in the lower left corner? That's a TN Basics page shrunk down to size. And the card in the upper right is a 4x3 card from Sparkle & Joy kit that I cut down to fit the Instax-size page protectors. In fact, I used the back of that card for the opposite side of the layout. Double-sided cards for the win!

See that ruler card? That's the B side of the "25" card. And the "holiday cheer" card? That's a December TN Basics. The beauty of using digital/hybrid items is that you can repurpose them in so many different ways! Also - if you're looking to add the Instax look to your photos without an Instax camera, you can download a free Photoshop template in the Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page group on Facebook.

Finally, the title page. If you could call it that. I had a few scraps from the paper pack in the Sparkle & Joy kit that I wanted to use but none were long enough to be a full page. I didn't love the look of the seam so I added a line of labels to cover it up. I used the Sparkle & Joy Christmas Stamp to add a sentiment to each label (and then accidentally punched a hole through part of a sentiment - whoops!). I used the candy apple red puffy alpha for a monotone look of my "she's here." Then I decided that the page still needed a little something, which is where the large "this" die cut came in. After that, I had to make myself stop!

I hope that I've given you some new ideas for ways to breathe new life into your journaling. What one are you going to try first? I hope you'll share when you're done!

Pocket Page Challenge with Shannon

 

Hey there, Citrus Twist fans! Shannon here with a fun pocket page to share using the new December 2020 kit release along with some new stamps. The kit release is products that are typically used for traditional scrapbooking but I'm going to show you how you can use it in your pocket pages too. 

Since I was using such a variety of products on the page, I decided to focus on visual triangles and repeated elements throughout my page. This helps bring some cohesiveness to the page. If you look at the photo above, you can see that I used the heart label outline from the Get Messy stamp set along with phrases from that set and the Currently stamp set repeatedly. I used a bold black ink and placed them in a triangle on my page to guide the eye. Let's take a closer look at a few others. 

I used gold accents repeatedly throughout my page. In the top middle of my page, I arranged them in a triangle spanning two journaling cards. That definitely pulls the eye up. But I also tucked two more delicate gold accents into my 4x6 journaling card at the bottom. The purpose of this was to both break up the black and white accents on that card and to carry the gold throughout more of the page.

Next, I had some fun incorporating tags into the page. Since this is on the front side of my pocket page I had the freedom to let items stick up out of the pockets. I used traditional tabs on the top and bottom cards. Then, on the striped journaling card, I made my own tab by letting the top circle stick up over the top of the card. And those circle? You guessed it - repeated elements. 

Finally, I used two subtle accents to create visual triangles - enamel dots and word stickers. My page was feeling very...pink. I needed to add some color and these enamel dots were the perfect way to do just that! I'm also a sucker for word stickers so I had to add a few. Those create a triangle as well. Although both of these are subtle, they still do their job of guiding the eye around the page.

I hope I've inspired you to try using the December kit in your pockets by creating your own journaling cards. I can't wait to see what you create!

Pocket Page Challenge with Shannon

 

Hello there, crafty friends! Shannon here with a pocket page to share. I used the November 2020 LEGENDARY Life Crafted Kit and the Legends stamp set to bring this page together. I made use of the digital journaling cards to type up my journaling because I clearly had a lot to say about these photos! I love digital journaling cards for making sure I can get a lot of thoughts into a small space.

When I first pull a page together I like to decide what my primary colors and accent colors will be. You can see that I have a lot of teal and that golden yellow throughout the page. I added a few peeks of pink as an accent. This prevents a page from becoming too overwhelming. I wanted a card that incorporated all of those color so I just made my own. I took a piece of patterned paper from the 6x8 paper pack and cut it down to size. Then I chose some stamps from the Life Crafted stamp set to add to labels. The whole stamp phrase actually reads "little moments that make life big" on one full line. I inked small parts at a time to split it up between the labels. To ink the words in the middle I simply covered the rest with a post it to prevent them from getting inked up. I opted to use a different stamp that had "big" in a different font for the repeated stamping on the last label. A few accents of plus signs and enamel dots and this card was finished!

I always seek to find a balance between busy cards and those with more simplicity on my page. I did exactly that with this journaling card about my daughter and her best friend. I added a vellum phrase sticker for a bit of color and let the focus be on the story of their friendship and my feelings about it.

I wanted a little more of that golden yellow in my page so I opted to print my photo in an Instax size (grab the Photoshop template in the files section of the Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page on Facebook). I printed it in black and white to let it really pop against the golden background.

The teal card with the large white space in the middle just begged to be stamped! I used the Legends stamp set to create this sentiment. Did you know that when you buy the large add on stamps they come with ideas to combine the stamps for different looks? Flip over your packaging and take a look! This idea was too good to pass up.

I appreciate cards with individual spaces for journaling. I find these are the perfect spots for a few quick words about multiple photos on my page. I used numbers from the foam alpha that's included in the Life Crafted Kit to number my photos that correspond with the number for their journaling block. This is a super simple way to let the people flipping through your albums know exactly what photo you're talking about.

And that's it! Pick your primary color(s), pick your accent color(s), and seek a good balance of busy and simple. I can't wait to see your projects with the November 2020 LEGENDARY Life Crafted Kit. Happy creating!