Meet Our October 2020 Guest Designer: ASHLEY RODGERS

 

Hi there!

We are so excited and honored to welcome our October 2020 Guest Designer, ASHLEY RODGERS.   A  few months ago, we discovered Ashley's Instagram account and quickly fell in love with her soft and romantic sense of style.  Her layouts speak of her love of art and love for her craft, that we just had to invite her to work with our FLOURISH kit.  By the end of this post, you are going to love her, too.  So, I let Ashley take it from here....

Hello, everyone! My name is Ashley and I live in Virginia. I’m an artsy-craftsy girl obsessed with vellum and pretty florals, and I enjoy documenting the little things that make life grand.

 Q&A with Ashley

 ·  When did you start scrapbooking? I started scrapbooking special family trips around 2005, but it wasn’t until my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a few years ago that I realized the importance of documenting everyday life and getting my stories told. I discovered Ali Edwards’ pocket page style projects in 2017, and I have been enjoying it ever since.

 

·  What is something most people would not know about you? Most people would not know that I was born in Germany. My dad was in the Army and we moved to the US when I was still a baby, so it is a dream of mine to visit one day.

 

·  What are the 3 scrapbooking products you can’t live without? Three scrapbooking supplies that I can’t live without are patterned paper, acetate/transparencies, and my Canon Selphy printer.

 

·  What do you love about the October- FLOURISH Life Crafted Kit-? I love all of the floral-patterned papers, and the positive sentiments in the stamp set and the tiny word phrase stickers make me smile.

 

·  Finish this sentence “If you could see my scrapbooking space now . . .”  Everything is nicely tucked away. I have one rolling drawer unit that holds all my scrapbooking supplies and a storage bench that houses all my albums (finished and unfinished). I only keep one project out at a time, and right now this Goldenrod Life Crafted album is giving me all the Fall feels.

 

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 Hello! I am so excited to be a guest designer this month! The October Flourish Life Crafted Kit is so perfect for the season I am in right now. My one little word this year is “tend”, and the patterned papers and embellishments in the kit inspired me to create a mini book dedicated to it.

 

I love this patterned paper so much! It’s super sweet and subtle, so I immediately knew I wanted to use it for the cover. I feel like it sets the tone for the book and its contents – calm and full of grace.

 First, I cut the 6x8 patterned paper down to four 3x4 cards and used one for the cover. Then, I layered a few die-cuts with a little foam tape to add some dimension. The blue-green puffy alphabet stickers add the perfect pop of color for the title.

 

 I decided to document five things I’m learning from my word this year, and the 3x4 cards in the kit provided ample space for all my journaling. On the right, I used one of the journal cards and made sure to number it with a puffy sticker. I like to keep things simple with minimal embellishing.

 

 On the second page I added a 3x4 photo of some flowers around the house, and I used another journaling card on the right. When I begin a project, I always start with my photos, so I chose cards from the kit that I knew would coordinate well.

 

 I used a die-cut from the ephemera pack to number the page in the top right corner, and I used one of the word phrase stickers to emphasize my journaling above it.

On the next page, I had a little fun with the October 2020 This is Life “Ready for This” stamp set and created my own journal card. The repeated stamping technique is simple but effective, and I embellished it with a die-cut number three. On the right, I used another journal card accented with a tiny word sticker.

Here, I used a journal card on the left side of the page and added my photo on the right. I wanted the photos to be a resting place for the eye, so I let them be without any embellishing. I like how the puffy number sticker stands out on the page, but isn’t too distracting.

This mini came together fairly quickly because I repeated the same formula for each page. I love the color story and the cohesion.

 

On the last page I made another journal card using the tiny heart stamp from the 4x6 This is Life “Ready for This” stamp set, and I added the Flourish Life Crafted kit quote card on top as a final touch.

 I love making mini books, and this one is especially dear to my heart. I hope you are inspired to create your own now. Stay well!

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We are in love with this mini Ashley has created with the Flourish Kit.  Make sure you leave her some love and check her creations in her Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/sweetashleyann/

Ashley will be back with a few more projects throughout the next few weeks.  WE cannot wait to see what she creates next.  Thank you, Ashley!

 

 

Sparkle & Joy with Trina - Getting Started

Hi Everyone,

When the pandemic gives you the blues . . . grab your Christmas kit and craft!

I've been having loads of fun in my scrapbooking studio getting started with my 2020 Christmas album. With so many new and restocked colors of Life Crafted albums I finally settled on using the brand new color SEA GLASS for my 2020 Christmas stories. Gold mixes sublimely with the Sea Glass color.

My approach to scrapbooking - and my Christmas album - is to tell stories that happen without tying myself down to daily or weekly projects. I love to mix in old photos and stories of my family, too, because Christmas is so much about tradition in our family. Yes, I'm that kid that never let my parents or siblings sleep in on Christmas morning as I ran around the house in my nightgown shouting "It's Christmas, everyone. Wake up!"

In addition to our first-ever exclusive Sparkle & Joy Christmas kit I've also set aside an assortment of other goodies from our Shop to work with, including the Crate Paper Hey, Santa Pompom Frames and Metal Charms, Gold Chipboard Stars, Gold Weekender Puffy Alphabet Stickers, plus mint and white foam and alphabet stickers and tiny alphabet stickers. I'm also pulling from my vintage stash of old book pages, fabric lace, buttons and more. 

For today's post I'm sharing some of my basic starter pages. I haven't made my title page yet, but this is the first spread that will follow my title.

I used one of the adorable Hey, Santa pompom frames to frame a little journaling blurb. My daughter reminded me softly the other day that Christmas is coming soon. She and I LOVE all things Christmas so I thought this would be a good place to start. I just had to showcase the candy cane "joy" that comes in our Sparkle & Joy kit because I had so much fun creating it for the ephemera pack.

Here are some close-ups of these two pages:

The story behind my thread swirls: My dad loved to sew outdoor gear and after he passed away I found a giant spool of the heavy duty thread he sewed with. I like to include twisty swirls of the thread as a way to lace him into my storytelling. It's one of the ways I keep him close in my heart.

Turning the page in my album, I decided to use a photo of wrapping paper facing a simple base page using our brand new Instax-sized 3-pocket page protector. I also used one of our digital Instax-sized Sparkle & Joy tags plus an adorable ephemera die-cut heart from the Sparkle & Joy kit. The gold puffy stickers are from the Christmas kit, too. For those of you curious about punching holes for our Life Crafted albums, many punches on the market work with the album. I use the Open Industrial 6 Hold Punch (from Amazon). This punch is a sturdy little champ.

Here are some close-ups:

In the midst of our crazy pandemic-altered lifestyles, sitting down to start working on my Christmas album was just what I needed. I'm getting so excited. Are you?

Much love,

Trina

Hybrid Layout with Kira

 Hey there!  It's Kira and I am back with another layout in my Life Crafted album.  Today I am using a mix of the add-on kit and some digital elements, all of which you can find in the CTK shop!

If you missed my exciting news:  I'm getting a puppy!!  So of course I needed to start scrapping about him immediately!  We don't get to bring him home until the 15th, but we were able to visit and make our decision late last month.  Being around cute puppies demanded about a million photos, but choosing which ones to add to a scrapbook can be difficult.  Which led me to this fun idea:

I used the view finder die cut from the digital pack and resized it to be 8.25" tall.  I used the print and cut feature in Cricut design space, after "slicing" the die cut down the center.  I print and cut it two times, which left me with 4 halves of a view finder.  

Then I printed all of my photos at 1" tall, and adhered each photo in the view finder "slots".  Once all of my photos were in, I used an adhesive page strip on what would be the "inside" of the view finder.  Then I adhered the front and back of the view finder together.  Said simply, I made a view finder sandwich with a page strip as my meat! Ha!

Once I had all my photos in, it was time to add my journaling.  We don't know much about our puppy yet, but we did get to meet the parents and learn about them from the owners.  I added some journaling about them on the left page, along with their pictures from the website.  

On the right side page, I added photos of the three boys we had to choose between and what order we had considered them in.  I also added what the breeders predicted for their dispositions, since I thought this would be fun to look back on and see if our puppy ended up as predicted.  

I added the photos of the three puppies, and embellished with some digital die cuts and puffy stickers from the add-on kit and LC kit.  

Thanks for stopping by!

xo, Kira 

Simple Monochromatic Documenting with Nathalie

 

Hi there!

Nathalie back with you today with a few ideas using the new October kits.  I mean there are so many beautiful goodies included in the Flourish Life Crafted kit, Add-on kit and of course all those Digital files!  Well, when you do daily documenting, then you are always looking at ways to add variety to your pages in simple and quick way.  So, I decided to go simple and  monochromatic for a few of my entries.

Not all days are good, but there is good in every day... Which is the best way to describe this layout.  I started by enlarging the photo to fit the Life Crafted layout.   Since the picture has so much white space, and a hint of blue, I decided to play with the color and pull cards and elements that will complement the color.

I printed one of the digital TN patterned paper on vellum so that it adds transparency to the page and help conceal part of the story ( one mess is enough for show!!).  I wanted a bit more is the color, and decided to print one of thedigital PL cards smaller and cut a circle around the sentiment.

I just matched the circle with one of the cut apart elements and created the little flap from the vellum paper.    To finish the page, I used some of the cut apart elements and matched the color of the puffy alphas to the blue tone  on the page.

For the other side of the pocket page, I decided to follow the same design idea, but chose to focus on a major color amongst small pops of other complementing colors.  Once again, I enlarged the picture and printed my lines of journal on a PL Digital card.

I used the left over vellum to create my title card, and used a die to create the heart puzzle die cut from a paper in the Flourish kit.  I used the True Life Stamp set and October Traveler's Notebook to create the title by stamping the sentiments on white cardstock, fussy cutting them, and then gluing them onto the die cut.  A few enamel dots in just bring the little pops of the other colors.

To finish the page, I cut a few more puzzle pieces (using the same die  -Technique Tuesday) and used with some of the labels and cut apart elements to create a cluster at the bottom of the picture.   

I just love how easy this came together, in a such a small amount of time and with colorful (monochromatic) results!  Remember to check the kits, stamps, Digital files and all the exclusive embellishments available in the Citrus Twist Kits shop right now!

XO,

Pocket Page Challenge with Shannon

 

Hey there, friends! Shannon here with a pocket page challenge. I used the October 2020 FLOURISH Life Crafted Kit and the Ready for This add-on stamp to create this page. The rich shades of teal in this kit really caught my eye so I made them the focal point of this page. I added a bit of pink and yellow as accents to pull it all together.

If there is one thing that I love incorporating into my pages it's layering. I used a piece of the 6x8 patterned paper from the Life Crafted kit cut down to 3x4 to create the background for this card. I wanted something neutral and this pattern worked perfectly! I started with the "us" tag from the Life Crafted ephemera pack and then built from there. I pulled a pink striped ticket and a pink label and layered them up. I used a stamp from the Ready for This set to repeatedly stamp "today." I did it without re-inking to get the faded look. I still felt it was lacking, and I wanted to add some more yellow to the page, so I added a yellow puffy star and a yellow puffy heart. They made the perfect finishing touch! Plus, I always try to add things in groups of odd numbers because I find it more pleasing to the eye.

I added a sentiment from the Ready for This set to the "make this a priority" card. I love that the stamp has the same font - and the sentiment is perfect for something I'm trying to make a priority! I added a paragraph-style list as my journaling. It sums up some of the photos on this page, which are all made of little moments. To add a little more color, I added a couple enamel dots in that great pale yellow that matches the heart already on the card. They're added strategically to create a visual triangle and help guide the eye around the card.

Stamping on photos has become something I find myself doing more and more. I really enjoy adding stamps to white space. I know it sounds scary, but just go slow and try not to press too hard - that's when you run the risk of the stamp slipping. Good quality ink is also key. I like archival ink because it makes a good impression and dries quickly. I used the Flourish stamp set for this sentiment. On the card above it, I added some puffy alphas to add my own title. I knew that I wanted to use that arrow so I placed it first, without adhesive, and then I journaled around it.

Finally, we have the currently list card. I absolutely love currently lists. In fact, I keep a running note in my phone with a weekly currently list so I can look back at any given week and see what I had going on that week. And how cute are the illustrations that accompany each prompt? The pink writing on this card is what inspired me to add pink to this page. On the photo next to it, I added a label ephemera from the Life Crafted kit. I used the Flourish stamp set on the top and then filled in the next two rows. A pink enamel dot helped me ground the label and add a little more pink.

Thank you for spending some time with me today! I hope you're ready to dig into your kit and work your magic. I can't wait to see what you create! 

Sparkle & Joy Cover Page with Ashley Horton

 

Merry Christmas (in October), CTK friends!!  You're probably pulling out the Fall/Halloween decorations, but around here.  We're getting ready for Christmas with the gorgeous Sparkle & Joy Kit!  Over the next few months, you'll see tons of inspiration from some of the CTK Design team and special guests, that will help to give you some ideas for using your Sparkle & Joy Kit to document the holidays!

Today, I'm starting off by sharing the cover page of my album.  I'm using the Peacock Life Crafted album to hold the pages of my December album, because I love to use non-traditional colors for my Christmas memory keeping. 

There is so much wonderful product in the Sparkle & Joy Kit, so it can be hard to figure out what to start with.  I decided to go with a simple look on my front cover page, to keep from feeling overwhelmed at the start of my album.  I used one of the patterned papers included with the kit and placed the large "Joy" ephemera piece with one of the leaf ephemera pieces in the center of the page.  I added some sequins and a few more ephemera to get the look I wanted.

Once I had all of those pieces in place, I cut a piece of transparency paper to 5x8.  I wanted to use the Alpha Stickers for my title, but I wanted them to "float" over the embellishments I had placed on the under page.  I used my 6 hole punch to punch holes in the transparency paper and the patterned paper.  Then, I placed the Alpha Stickers around the ephemera pieces while I had the transparency paper layered over the patterned paper, to make sure I got the title in the right place.

I love that this created a fun, interactive look, immediately inside the album.  You could also try this idea with vellum, if you don't have transparency paper.  I think working on your cover page at the beginning of your December Album process helps to set the tone for what you want the rest of your album to look like.  I definitely want to continue my album with some interactive elements, but keep a clean and simple look to my pages.

Make sure you are keeping up with Citrus Twist Kits on social media!  I'll be sharing more this month of the CTK Instagram feed and also on my personal Instagram, ashleyhorton75.  You won't want to miss out over the next few months!

Hello October with Veronica

Hello my crafty friends! Happy happy October! 

Hope your October has started off with pumpkin everything! 😂 Mine sure has! We decorated around here a little early and trust me, our fall loving hearts are content!

I created this fall inspired layout for my October Daily! I love everything October and so I work on an October mini album full of our fall stories. Here I used the October Life crafted Flourish kit. These elements were perfect for my album:

It's still not cold enough for us Californians to bust out with boots and sweaters. I'm still in summer dresses and sandals. grr. Hurry sweater weather, hurry!

I absolutely love these puffy star stickers. So I made a tag set to dangle from my album.

I stamped a couple of stamp phases on this adorable digital tag. The Halloween tags are the cutest ever! I suggest you get some from the shop ASAP!

Hope you have a great fall full of fun fall activities and if not, decorate your home, and make it fall inside! :) Happy crafting!