Sunday Sketch

 

Hey there!  It's Kira and I am back with this week's Sunday Sketch.  Here's a look at the sketch we will be using today:

And here's my, slightly unconventional, take on the sketch:

I am currently working on some foundation pages for my December Daily.  So, when I saw the cute wreath die cuts in the Warm Wishes add on kit, I knew they had to be featured in my album somehow.  I have been loving all things interactive in my Life Crafted albums lately and I thought a door, with a wreath hanging from it, would make the cutest flip out.  

 

I started by creating my door in Cricut Design space.  I sized a rectangle to 5"x8.25" and cut out "windows" near the top.  I added two vertical rectangles below the window to look like door panels.  And created a doorknob and key hole with cardstock.  I backed the window with vellum and some light patterned paper.  The left side of the door is scored at about 1/2" in to create the fold out. 

The "inside" of the door I tried to stick closely to the sketch.  I chose a grid paper for future journaling and added my title at the bottom. 

 

On the reverse page I added a chipboard frame.  I removed the adhesive from the top so a picture can slide right in.  

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are able to find some crafty time to play along this week!

xo, Kira 

3-to-Inspire with Shu-Wen Tham

Hi everyone!

It's Shu-Wen here, sharing another interactive spread that I created for my Life Crafted Album! I couldn't resist one last spread using the September "Bungalow Lane" Add-On Kit from the Citrus Twist Kits shop (it's still available in the Citrus Twist Kits store, so it's not too late to snag a kit for yourself!) I had one last idea featuring one of my favorite patterned papers from that kit that I just had to try out!

This week's 3-to-Inspire prompts are:
1. Triangles
2. Interactive element
3. Foam Thickers

Here's a photo of the layout that I created!

I wanted to document some photos of a recent boat tour that we took to visit Spirit Island, and the patterned paper #3 from Paige Evans' Bungalow Lane collection that was included in this Add-On Kit reminded me of the beautiful mountains around Spirit Island, both in terms of the shapes of the triangles and the blues/greens in the paper.

I decided to cut out some triangles of varying sizes from the patterned paper, as well as print out some triangle-shaped photos of the same sizes, to create a background of triangle shapes on my page and imitate a mountain range going across my spread. To create these triangle shaped photos, I used Microsoft Word. That's right, no Photoshop required! I'll leave a link to my process video on YouTube at the end of this post if you're interested in checking it out!

After I had all my triangle pieces, I decided to create an interactive pull-out to allow me to fit even more photos onto this layout! I created a hidden pocket beneath the right side of my layout with some white cardstock and the patterned paper #17 from the Bungalow Lane collection. I printed out a strip of 3 landscape photos and mounted them onto the piece of transparency from the Bungalow Lane Add-On Kit for added stability. Then, I cut out another triangle shape from patterned paper #11 and folded over the bottom edge to create a hinge to attach to the back of my transparency, and this triangle became an oversized tab to allow me to pull out the hidden photo strip! I also printed out some journaling in a triangle shape and adhered that to the top of my triangle pull-out tab. You can see the hidden pull-out in action in the next two photos. The picture below shows what the tab looks like before the photo mat is pulled out. I adhered a triangle shape of the same size to the white cardstock just beneath the triangle with the journaling attached onto it; both these triangles have a hidden magnet in place to ensure the oversized tab lies flat when it's not in use. 

When you flip the triangle down and pull down, that's when the magic happens, and the hidden photo mat on the transparency appears!

And here's a picture of the photo mat itself below. Because the triangle shaped photos on the page itself weren't very big, I liked the fact that I could still include these larger photos without ruining the esthetic of my triangle page. 

I finished off the spread by adding some alphabet stickers from the Add-On Kit to spell the words Spirit Island, as well as some foam Thickers that came in the kit as well! I love the fact that these foam Thickers provide some more interest and dimension to the otherwise flat page, and I love how the yellow of the alphabet stickers matches the yellow on the back of my triangle pull-out tab!

You can check out the full process video for this spread on my YouTube channel.

I love how this spread turned out! If you'd like to give this challenge a shot, feel free to tag me on Instagram or on the Citrus Twist Kits Facebook Fan Page so that I can check it out! And make sure to check out the Citrus Twist Kits shop for all the new goodies this month! Thanks for stopping by! 

3-to-Inspire with Shu-Wen

 

Hi Everyone!

It's Shu-Wen here, sharing a spread that I created in my Life Crafted Album with the August 2021 release and the Fancy Pants "Peachy Keen" 6x8 paper pad! I love how the cardstock ephemera, chipboard stickers, and journaling cards from this month's release work so well with the colors in the "Peachy Keen" line!

This week's 3-to-Inspire prompts are:
1. Interactive element

2. Stamping

3. Multiple photos

Here is a photo of the layout that I created for my Marigold Life Crafted Album!

For the left side of my spread, I included a full-page photo measuring 5" x 8 3/8". To frame the top of this photo, I added the "hike" word and an orange heart puffy sticker from the "Hello Sunshine" Puffy Phrase & Icon Stickers from July's release. I specifically wanted to include a green word phrase sticker to match the green in the trees and grass around the other edges of my photo. 

For the right side of my spread, I made a waterfall flip-up page for the rest of my waterfall photos, making this a waterfall waterfall! Get it? ;) To do that, I cut 8 pieces of white cardstock into 3 1/4" x 4 3/4", scored on the 4 3/4" side at 1/2", applied double-sided tape to the 1/2" hinge, and adhered all the flaps down onto my base page so that they all aligned in a waterfall pattern. I matted the flaps of my waterfall with patterned papers from the "Peachy Keen" 6x8 Paper Pad from Fancy Pants that I had cut down to 3" x 4". To fill out the panel to the right of the waterfall, I stamped the name of our hike (Beauty Creek to Stanley Falls) using the new "Sophie" Alphabet Stamp Set. I LOVE how this stamp set includes the bold AND the un-bolded alphabets in the same stamp set so they can be used together! I also stamped an arrow stamp from the new "Good Time Adventure" Stamp Set to indicate that Stanley Falls was our destination for the hike. 

Next, I added some clusters to the patterned papers in my waterfall using pieces from the "Here We Go" Die Cut Ephemera Pack. I love that some of the die-cut ephemera pieces, such as the "Smile" ticket and these cute blank labels, had spots for me to do some more stamping, again using the Good Times Adventure Stamp Set. I even did a bit of stamping on my photo to fill in some of the empty space! While I was decorating, I made sure not to add too much bulk on the insides of my waterfall flaps by only using the cardstock ephemera and stamping. 

For my last two flaps, I included two journaling cards from the new "Everyday Life" Double-Sided Journaling Cards. For the first one, I typed up some journaling onto clear sticker paper and adhered it to the center of the journaling card. For the second journaling card, I used a couple of Citrus Twist Kits' older stamp sets ("It's Weathering" Stamp Set and "Let's Wander" Stamp Set) to document the extremely hot weather we were hiking in. I love how the circle stamp lined up perfectly with the circles on this journaling card! Then, I decorated both journaling cards with more ephemera pieces from the "Here We Go" pack. 

To finish off my spread, I added a couple of "The Good Life" Chipboard Stickers to the very first flap in my waterfall; one to decorate the center of the flap, and another to hide a magnet that I've attached to some ribbon to keep my waterfall closed. 

You can check out the process video that I made for this spread on my YouTube channel.

I love how this spread turned out! If you'd like to give this challenge a shot, feel free to tag me on Instagram or on the Citrus Twist Kits Facebook Fan page so that I can check it out! Make sure to check out the Citrus Twist Kits shop for all the new goodies this month! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Life Crafted with Angela

Hello friend! It’s Angela and I have a new spread of my Life Crafted album to share with you. Cravings June kit is so inspiring and seams to be designed on me and my everyday routine. For example, let's talk about Pizza die cuts and stamps! You have to know that we, my family and I, eat pizza every Friday! I used to make pizza myself when my sons were small. Later, when I started working on night shifts, I stopped making it. Recently, during the lockdown, despite it was very difficult to find flour and yeast, I started again and since mid March, I've been making pizza every single Friday. Sometimes, I’m also able to engage every family member in making it.

So, the protagonist of my spread today is pizza!

To document those hilarious days of making mess rather than making pizza together, I wanted to create something fun. So, I made an interactive page and a shaker pocket. I stamped a big photo of a pizza and I cut it round, following its shape. To make it fit inside the album, I cut a portion on one side. This way, I've been able also to make four holes. Then, I cut a triangle of the photo in the shape of pizza slice and I glued it on acetate. 

On the acetate, I stamped the phrases 'I want some more' from June Life Crafted Travelers Notebook stamp and 'get in my belly' from Cravings Kit Stamp. The photo of the pizza is interactive. In fact, the triangle of the photo slides up and dow. To make it, I backed the photo with white card stock, without gluing the triangle so to allow it to move.

The first page of the spread is actually the one with the two photos of my youngest son Filippo while is kneading pizza dough. The photos are 3x4 inches and I put them in page protector #2. 

Beside, I used another page protector #2 with a journaling card in the lower pocket. With the top pocket I created a shaker, to remind the fun of cooking together. The confetti inside the shakers are red sequins and slices of pizza that I stamped and fussy cut using Yes This Is Life stamp.

Moreover, I used the same pizza slices to create a background on the journaling card, simply stamping with light grey ink.

On the opposite side side, I placed the photo of my men preparing pizza with their favorite ingredients. Beside is the photo of the big pizza with the slice portion 'closed'.

To decorate, I used just a few pieces here and there, like a chipboard, a die cut, a puffy sticker heart, all from Cravings kit.

On the back of the photo, I wrote another bit of journaling. I adhered a title using the die cut Pizza Night! and a label where I stamped Food Is Culture using  Cravings Kit Stamp.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you liked my fun page and hopefully feel inspired to create with June Cravings kits!

Interactive Life Crafted Spread with Shannon

Hey there, scrappy friends! Shannon here and I'm back with another interactive scrapbook layout. This time, I am working outside of the pockets to make my entire page flip open. I love the extra space that it gives me to add even more photos and journaling cards! [Note: The June 2020 CRAVINGS Life Crafted Kit is now sold out. You can find some of the product digitally here and/or start a subscription for July here. Where possible, I will link to the digital version of the sold out product.]

I started with a sheet of 8.5x11 white cardstock. I cut that down to about 8.75x8.5. I folded it so that the top flap was just over 4" wide, using a bone folder to make sure I had a good crease. I used another sheet of white cardstock to cut the butterflies from the Become the Change cut file. In my Silhouette software, I resized the butterflies a bit so they would fit perfectly on my top flap. After cutting the outline, I backed each with a sheet of grey cardstock in the middle and a mix of patterned papers from the June 2020 CRAVINGS Life Crafted Kit and June 2020 scrapbooking add-on. I finished off the page with some alphas and embellishments from the June Life Crafted Kit and scrapbooking add-on.

I lined the inside of the flap with woodgrain patterned paper from the June 2020 scrapbooking add-on. I punched holes with my 6-hole punch to add it to my album. I then used a mix of photos, a journaling card, and some ephemera to create a grid. On the inside of the flip-out page, I kept my embellishments flat so that the page would lay mostly closed. You'll also notice that I left a small white space between each page of woodgrain paper. That's the crease. I left the space so the page would fold and stay closed easier.

I love using digital journaling cards when I have a lot to say. Typing it out is much easier than writing it. I know I'd run out of space with my handwriting and typing gives me the option to edit. I used the bottom space on the journaling card to add some embellishments that worked with my color scheme, which also works well with the colors in my photos. This would also be the perfect place to add a stamp if you can't find embellishments that work!

On the right side of my spread, I went with a full-sized photo of my family. I didn't want this side to be too busy since I have the butterflies with so many different patterns on the left side. I kept the embellishments to a minimum. I used a few phrase stickers and ephemera pieces from the June 2020 Life Crafted Kit that worked well together to create a sentiment. It just so happened that my photo had the perfect white space for this!

I love that the flip-out page allowed me more space to add to my memories - double the space, in fact! I was able to fit much more on my spread while still keeping a smaller footprint with a smaller album. I hope I've inspired you to give interactive scrapbooking a try. I can't wait to see what you create!

Creating a Flip Up with Shannon

Hello, scrappy friends! Last month, I shared a video tutorial on creating a flip-up on your pocket pages on the Citrus Twist YouTube channel. I know that YouTube videos aren't for everyone so I decided to make a written tutorial this month using the June 2020 CRAVINGS Life Crafted Kit and the scrapbooking add-on. Interactive scrapbooking is quickly becoming one of my go-to tricks when I scrapbook and it's so easy to learn!

Flip-ups can be used for hidden journaling or as a way to add more photos to your page. You'll see that I did both here! Most of the time I hide my journaling because I enjoy decorating my pages and then before I know it I've lost the room for journaling. If you want to give this a try (and you totally should), here are the six easy steps:

Step 1: Cut a piece of cardstock. I like mine to take up most of the width of the top of my card so I cut it 2.5" wide. The length is up to you, but I suggest at least 2" long so you have enough on each side to adhere to the cards/photos well.

Step 2: Fold your cardstock in half. Use a bone folder to make a good crease because you'll want it to stay mostly closed. If you don't have a bone folder you can use the side of a pen or something else that won't leave a marking on your fold.

Step 3: Test out your crease. Make sure it can stay closed pretty well.

Step 4: With your cardstock creased, adhere one side to the back of your top card. This is the card that will be the flap on top of the pocket. Make sure the crease is at the top of the card. You'll want to leave the top of the crease sticking up over the card just a hair. You'll see why in a minute!

Step 5: Open the flap and adhere your hidden photo or journaling to the inside of the flap. This is the card that will actually go into the pocket. When you adhere it, you'll want to make sure it's down just a bit from the crease. If it's too close to the crease then the flap won't stay closed well. You'll also want to make sure the sides are aligned with the flap card on the top. Otherwise, the flap won't cover the pocket completely.

Step 6: With the flap still open, adhere whatever you choose to put on the underside of the card that flips up. In this example, it's where I've placed my journaling. You might also put a photo or a journaling card there. I always adhere it with my flap partially opened so I can make sure the orientation is right when the card is flipped up. Otherwise, you risk upside down journaling! Make sure you're not adhering it right against the crease. You'll want to leave some room for the flap to open and close easily.

You'll notice that I added a little tab on the side of my top card. This is just to indicate that the card can be flipped up. Sometimes I add that, sometimes I don't. It all relates to page design. This journaling card is from the June 2020 CRAVINGS Life Crafted Kit and the "yes" is from the Yes Digital Stamp Set. I used the Digital Journaling Cards so I could add my journaling in Photoshop.

Enough about flip-ups! Let's take a look at the rest of this Life Crafted spread. I love food so I knew when I saw this journaling card with all the words like needing, wanting, craving, etc. that it would be perfect for a spread about some of my current favorite foods (and coffee, of course). That card made the perfect flip-up. Then I used the alphas from the June 2020 Life Crafted kit to write out a phrase on my picture.

On the left side of my spread I did lots of layering. I mixed pieces from the June 2020 CRAVINGS Life Crafted Kit and the scrapbooking add-on. They play so well together! I started with the photo placement and then just kept tucking things behind and on top of it until I was happy with the end result. At the top of the page, I used the physical Yes Stamp Set. I love that the back of these larger stamp sets has tons of ideas for mixing and matching the various stamps! I'm also a sucker for any stamps with ampersands and/or coffee. I kept my stamping in a neutral grey so it would blend with the ink splatters that are already a part of the Digital TN Papers. Plus, the bottom of this page is pretty busy and I didn't want to overwhelm it.

Combining a full size traveler's notebook page with the page protector that holds 2-3x4 cards/photos is one of my favorite ways to use the Life Crafted albums. It allows me some extra creativity on the TN side of the spread and lets me use the wonderful journaling cards that come in the Citrus Twist monthly kits on the pocket side!

I hope I've inspired you to try creating a flip-up on a pocket page. If you do, please share it with us on Instagram or the Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page on Facebook. I can't wait to see what you create!