Sunday Sketch with Elsie

Hey CTK fans, it's Sunday Sketch time again! I have a 12x12 layout to share with you all today inspired by this weeks awesome sketch. I'm using the new and seriously delightful 'Photobooth' Main & Add-On kits.

I was immediately drawn to the Maggie Holmes Carousel 'Magical' paper in the Add-On kit. I thought it could make a really interesting background for a page, but I wasn't sure how best I could use it.

Once I saw the sketch I knew I had to try and make the paper work because there are embellishment clusters in the bottom right of the sketch, and the Carousel roof design on the paper is also in the same corner.

I love my white space, so using a patterned paper background is a really daunting task for me, so I'm happy I stepped out of my comfort zone!

I decided to add a frame around the entire paper, and I loved how it looked. It contained the paper's design and helped make it make a little more sense in my head!

I added a lot of the embellishments to the bottom of the page. I used three of these adorable ticket and food stands from both the Carousel ephemera pack and chipboard, and clustered them on top of the frame.

This gives the layout some more perspective as it looks like the stands are in the "foreground", the frame is the "middle ground" and the patterned paper is the "background". It's obviously not "to scale", but this idea helps all of these larger pieces work together and make sense when you're looking at the page.

I placed my photo in the same position as in the sketch. It looked a bit random without any embellishments around it, so I fussy-cut some kites from the Carousel collection 'Summertime' paper.

I jazzed up these kites by stitching around them with some thread of the same colour... I can never stray too far away from a needle and thread!

And how cute are the CTK exclusive puffy stickers in the Main kit? Those birds are so adorable, I couldn't resist having them perch on top of the ice cream stand!

And now it's your turn! To play along with this week's challenge, create a layout inspired by the sketch, upload it to the Citrus Twist Kits Gallery with the sketch date (8/06) in the title, and you might win a $5 gift certificate to the CTK store - yay!

I can't wait to see your creations!
- Elsie x

3 to Inspire Challenge with Trina

Good morning everyone! Our weekly 3-to-Inspire Challenge is here. You can play along with the prompts to earn a chance to win. Whether you do traditional scrapbooking, pocket pages or faith art, we'd love to see what you do with this week's challenge.

Are you ready for your prompts? Here we go!

1. Create layers behind a photo(s) using patterned paper & use at least 3 layers.
2. Use something "found" on your page.
3. Use a painting medium (like mist, acrylic or watercolors).

Here is my take on the challenge:

This layout was made with a mix of the August 2017 Photobooth Scrapbooking and Pocket Life kits, available here. This page was very playful to create, my layers aren't neatly stacked and I let the embellishments dance on the page. I started off with a splattering of different colors of Heidi Mist Colorshine. I think my new favorite Colorshine is Sweet Mint.

Between the new Maggie Holmes Carousel line and the pairings of lots of Citrus Twist exclusives, there was so much to select from.

I'm loving the new alphabet Thickers in the scrapbooking kit. The chipboard is quite thin and very easy to stitch on, so out came my sewing machine. Yes, there is a little bit of frayed fabric peeking out as one of my layers. (My mom loved to sew and had a traveling quilt booth so I grew up surrounded by fabrics.)

My bottom layer was tissue. I simply folder up some tissue paper, cut it with my roller blade and glued multiple layers of it at the base of my layering. I finished my layered photo off with random placement of paper ephemera  (from the Citrus Twist Photobooth ephemera pack), chipboard stickers and puffy stickers. The embroidery floss is from my embroidery basket.

Well, I hope this challenge inspires you today. Now, it's your turn! Use the three prompts to create your own projects and share them with us in the CTK Gallery and/or on our Facebook Fan Page by Saturday, August 12th, for a chance to win. You can also upload to Instagram and tag us @citrustwistkits.

xo, Trina

Pocket Life Challenge Friday with Diane

Hi guys! I'm back with another Pocket Life Challenge for you!

I'm using the brand new August Citrus Twist Pocket Life kit this week and I immediately had to use my FAVOURITE card. Which posed a bit of a challenge to me. Red isn't a colour I normally use a lot of, obviously I sway more to the pink side of the spectrum. So I had to find a way to make that red card work with this week's spread.

My solution was to add little pops of red throughout my page, just enough to make it feel cohesive but not so much that it stuck out. And actually I love the result. The red is so vibrant and all those little hints really draw your eye towards that journalling card!

So my challenge for you this week is: Use a colour you would usually try to avoid!

Here is the process video if you are interested in how this page came together... 

Pocket Life August Kit Unboxing with Jen

Hi everyone! Today I have a video for you sharing an unboxing of the August Pocket Life and add on kits. Take a look here:

I hope you've enjoyed this video and seeing a little bit closer what's included in the kit! Have a great day :)

Gratitude Log with Tara

Hello friends! It's Tara here today sharing a little bit of something I've been working on. For months now I have been thinking of how to include writing out daily gratitude to welcome each day as it comes. When I start my day with a heart filled with love, my entire mood and attitude is different as I conquer the big and little challenges that come my way.

I decided to use a passport traveler's notebook undated weekly insert. I love how portable this size is! I'll be traveling this week so it will be easy to add this notebook with my small stash of supplies. The blank canvas of spaces wide open is just waiting for me to create something each week and record my gratitude.

I used this month's GraceBox kit and it's filled to the brim with bits and bobs of colorful goodness!

Here are the supplies I used:

I added in some washi tape, distress ink, and mini mister from my stash along with some past GraceBox stamps.

Here is my first week in August so far.

I love using the Illustrated Faith stamp pad - it doesn't bleed through the pages. I will remember to stamp before I use distress ink - the numbers (Traveler's Notebook class stamp set) smeared a bit. They don't bother me as this week's pages were meant to be a bit messy!

Thank you for stopping by today. I can't wait to see how you use your GraceBox kit or document your gratitude. 

Have a lovely week! Xo - Tara

Challenge Winners: June 2017

Today we are happy to announce the winners of our June Challenges!

Each week our Design Team provides you with three challenges to help you get your creative juices flowing. Pocket Life Friday gives you inspiration to use in your pocket style scrapbooking. Saturday's 3 to Inspire challenge brings you three creative prompts to incorporate on a project of your choice. On Sunday, our Sunday Sketch challenge goes live.

To participate in either or all challenges, all you need to do is upload your project to the gallery within a week of the challenge date, noting the date of the challenge in the title of your project. One winner is picked for each challenge and announced here on the blog.

Thanks to all that participated during the month of June! Here are the winners:

Sunday Sketch: $5 Gift Certificate to the CTK Store

     6/4: malocupz  6/11: sandr r  6/18: mamakven  6/25: janetsuzuki

 
3 to Inspire: A small prize from the CTK Store

     6/17: malocupz

Pocket Life Friday: Fun Mail

     6/23: mamakven

**Winners: To claim your prize, please email Trina at citrustwistkits@yahoo.com and include the date and name of the challenge that you have won in the subject line.

Meet Our August Guest Designers, Melissa Morrelli & Bea Valint

This month we have two guest designers! Melissa Morrelli is playing with our This Is Life stamp series subscription (and some August "Photobooth" Pocket Life bits and pieces). Bea Valint is diving into our August "Photo Booth" Scrapbooking kit, available here beginning at 10 p.m. PST tonight.

Meet Melissa Morrelli

Hi! My name is Melissa. I'm a 30 something coming to you to from sunny, hot & beautiful California. I have been memory keeping since I was 16 years old. From hiking to biking, I'm always up for a good adventure. I love to plan a good party. Spending my free time with my family makes me happiest. I currently work from home and that gives me flexibility to play with stamps and paper. My current crafty obsession is creating in my travelers notebook. I also love to create mini albums for special events such as birthday's and holidays. I'll even create a full scrapbook layout every once in a while. I just love stamps and paper.

My crafty/work space is small. It's in an open room in the front of my house so it's normally pretty tidy. It's also a shared space with my kids desks, so during the school year it is a place where they do their homework.

I really don't have a lot of supplies so keeping it organized is pretty easy for me. The supplies I do have I really (and I mean, really) like them. Everything has a home within my work/craft station. My station is pretty big and offers a lot of space for me to store my supplies.

I always have my typewriter, paper cutter and stamps handy. Those are my go to supplies for almost every layout I do.

I like to pick a few supplies i.e.; stamps, embellishments, washi and make a kit before starting a project. If I keep a few supplies at hand, it keeps me from feeling overwhelmed and wanting to put everything I own and love onto one layout.

One way I try to stay organized is to keep all like items together. My main categories are; stamps, paper, journal cards, thickers, and ephemera packs. I may separate/organize by brand, but I really have no big master plan.

Here are a few sneaks of the projects I have going on. Stay tuned for me. 
Thanks for having me.

Q&A

1. How long have you been scrapbooking and why do you love it? I have been creating in my Travelers Notebook obsessively for the last 8 months. I started late in 2016 and crammed two months worth of stories in one notebook. I immediately fell in love with this format. I believe his format works best for me because of the size. I usually document 1 day per half page (so 2 stores per full spread, if that makes sense?) My method is to tell one story everyday. 
2. How would you describe your creative style? My creative style is minimal and repetitive. I love for my pictures to tell their stories. Keeping my entries simple and repeating a style that works for me helps me stay current in my process and keeps me from feeling overwhelmed.
3. What scrapbookers have influenced you most? I have come across SO MANY nice, encouraging and inspirational friends in the paper world. The first crafty person that I came across and was in awe of was Stephanie Bryan.
4. What is something that no one knows about you? Something nobody knows about me...I have a fear of color. As you may see, in my layouts most of my work is black and white. 
5. What are your favorite can't-live-without-these scrapbooking supplies? My can't live without crafty supplies are stamps. A good versatile stamp can go a long way.
6. Why will people love the Citrus Twist This Is Life stamp subscription? The Citrus Twist This is Life stamp(s) are so versatile. These stamps are classic and are perfect to build a solid stamp collection. They can be used on everyday crafty projects over and over again, and the selection of stamps in each pack can't be beat. 

You can follow me at:
IG : https://www.instagram.com/melissamorrelli/ 

Meet Bea Valint

My name is BEA Valint, I’m from Hungary, a little country in middle Europe… we have pretty hot summers, spicy foods, and a difficult history. I was a former economist but now I’m a stay-at-home-working-mum to three sporty boys and a spunky little girl. I always have been a creative person never stop with making paper crafts, home decorations and DIY projects. I enjoy so much working in several design teams, try to do something scrappy related every day, and I just love it dearly.

I’m so happy to share a little tour of my scrap area! My crafty space feels a lot like me…not super organized and always “in progress”. I’ve got a corner in the room where my craft tables are set up, overlooking the rest of my children play area. To be honest, there are more space for LEGO than for scrap supplies… 

My computer, printer, stitching machine and my Silhouette Cameo are at the top of my list of “must have” items for my projects. I print all my photos at home and can’t imagine a layout without some die cut letters or shapes. I have a memo boards behind me that I fill with my favorite layouts. On the shelf next to me are my “in progress” or “it will soon in progress” photos, quotes and inspiring pictures. It always reminds me that I have so many things yet to do!

I love decorating my little corner with my DIY projects, creates a personalized space perfectly embracing who I am.

I keep my kits and mixed media stuff in square plastic storage boxes with divided trays. I like to take everything out of its packaging and trim everything out before I get started. This way I can see at all of my stuff and find the perfect elements.

My craft room is always open… I create things together with my kids, sometimes friends, but never with my husband... he just enjoy the results :)

Q&A

1. How long have you been scrapbooking and why did you start? I started off with learning photography and creating PL albums for my Family. I wanted to document our memories and tell our stories for the kids when they will be little bit older. Finally fell in love with creating 12x12 layouts in 2013. What I love the most about scrapbooking is the freedom to express myself. There are no boundaries, I can do whatever I want on my layout... and making mini books or scrapbook pages is also really fun, don't you think? 
2. How would you describe your scrapbooking style? I am versatile in my creations. Love working on little details, using my Cameo, my stitching-machine and sometimes playing mixed media elements on my layout. In my work, you'll mostly see dimensions, clustering, unique cut files, balance and fun color combos.
3. What scrapbookers have influenced you most? There are so many talented scrapbookers who inspire me every day, not enough place to list them! The bright, happy, and fun color combos are always catch my eyes. I keep following the work of my current and past fellow DT members and love scrolling on IG for exploring new talents and ideas. 
4. What are your favorite can't-live-without-these scrapbooking supplies?  I used to dream of scrapbooking! My best ideas had come while I was sleeping! Double sided foam tape!!!! I love building dimensions on my layouts, how could I do without it?
5. Why will people love the Citrus Twist August "Photobooth" kit? All the heart eyes!!! The August Main kit is so fun! The Carousel collection is so sweet and colorful with touches of black and gold, fits to many themes! I love the whimsical mixture of goodies..they make putting pages together so simple. Of course, the exclusive puffy stickers and acrylic shapes are to die for!

Here is a sneak of the August "Photo Booth" scrapbooking kit.

You can follow me at:
Blog: http://myshinystudio.blogspot.hu/IG : https://www.instagram.com/beavalint/ 
YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt38xqGojWm4zyW1nBZbswA