3-TO-INSPIRE WITH MARINA

Hi, crafty friends!

It's Marina with you today with a new 3-to-Inspire challenge. 
I end December with a simply spread and our cool winter collection OH WHAT FUN and here are three things that inspired me to create this beauty:

1. Stamps to create a title;
2. Journaling on vellum;
3. Dots and tiny stamps for accents.

So, here we are! :)

To create the title, I used our amazing stamps sets: Ginger Upper/Ginger Lower Alhpabet and Christmas Tag - and I just adore it, because it's just countless options! (By the way, you can also find the ink that I used in the СTK shop: it's a Detail Black and Indian Summer by Pinkfresh Studio!)

I love big photos, but I love adding journaling and embellishments to them even more, and vellum does the job perfectly!

I used our incredible die cuts from OH WHAT FUN kit and a few accents from last year's JINGLE ALL THE WAY to create the vellum cluster and I lllove these tiny stars stamps here!  

The star with the number was too bulky, so I cut its thickness almost in half with my craft knife - perfect!

Here I used our physical journaling card from the kit, but you can also find a digital version of it in our store, welcome! ;)

Ta-daaa! How do you like it? :)

Thanks for stopping by! I hope I was able to inspire your paper crafting feats, friends!

See you in the New Year! ;))

XO

Marina

3-to-Inspire with Desiree Lamar

Happy holidays scrappy friends! I am sharing this week's 3-to-Inspire challenge using the Oh What Fun Christmas Kit. 

 For this challenge, I used ribbon, floral die-cuts, and phrase die-cuts or stickers. Here's my layout.

 I kept it pretty simple with two large clusters. I started with white cardstock on a simple patterned base. My goal was to incorporate the ribbon into the page. I decided to wrap it around each corner like a gift. I chose this blue, velvet ribbon from the Oh What Fun Kit that has sticker backing. 

The light, pastel color of the ribbon inspired me to keep my whole page light. So I reached for soft-colored florals from the Winter Florals Ephemera pack. The florals were perfect to layer on my clusters. I added doilies and 6x8.5 papers from the Oh What Fun Kit to complete my clusters. 

There were so many gorgeous titles to choose from in the Oh What Fun Icon Ephemera pack. I decided to do a double phrase with "love" and "good cheer" I love how the colors echoed the colors in the layout. 

My layout felt very light and airy. To ground it and give it contrast, I splattered black paint throughout the page. 

This layout left me feeling all the good cheer. I think my favorite part is the ribbon. Thank you so much for following along with me today! Happy Holidays!

3-TO-INSPIRE WITH LORY

 

Hello everyone!

It's Lory here today with a little recipe to inspire you to catch up with your past December memories before this December comes;)

I have played with the adorable and super cute Jingle All the way kit mixing it with the old embellishments I have from the past December citrus twist kit.

So let's start:)

1. Use Journaling cards, not just to write your story but also to create your own embellishments with stickers, ephemera and a stapler;
2. use a little tag on a picture to create your journaling with stamps;
3. mix the following colors: white, gold, green and red ;

Are you ready?

It's my turn to show you what I have created:)

I adore the effect of the phrase stamps on the tag together a little subtitle "cozy" in gold. I have played with many tiny elements here and there to create my own composition.

Our stories matter for sure and every time I create using Citrus twist products I feel so happy and relaxed, they are so easy to use and let you have the right inspiration.

Have a wonderful weekend

Love, Lory

Life Crafted Inspiration With Shu-Wen

 

Hey everyone!

It's Shu-Wen here, sharing some Christmas inspiration for a 6x8 Life Crafted Album (I'm using the color "Midnight" here)! This layout is documenting the origins of my ChouxPuffCreations "small business" account, including my Instagram and Facebook business pages, and I'm going to be using mostly elements from the Merry Making Christmas 12x12 Add-On Kit! 

To start off, I created a large library pocket using two of the 12x12 patterned papers in this Add-On kit. I love the 12x12 papers because it is so easy to use them to create large interactive elements like pockets for extra photos and journaling! Then, I used the postcard ephemera pieces from the Add-On Kit to include some journaling about the story of starting my small business and what prompted me to start using my ChouxPuffCreations "brand" to reach a wider audience online. I decided to include a copy of my business card in the pocket, and I included some extra photos on the backs of these journaling postcard ephemera pieces as well! To finish decorating this page, I used the "Love" die cut ephemera piece from the Jingle All the Way Die Cut Ephemera Pack to decorate the left side of my library pocket, as well as some Gold Alphabet Puffy Stickers to spell out my title on top of the pocket. Then, I decorated the bottom of my page with an assortment of die-cut ephemera pieces and enamel dots from the Add-On Kit. I especially love the cute little hedgehog in the center of my embellishment arrangement!

For the right page of my layout, I decided to keep things a bit simpler and make a photo grid collage using the die cut frame ephemera pieces from the Add-On Kit. Then, I decorated my grid collage with some puffy stickers and more of the enamel dots from the Add-On Kit. Lastly, I matted my photo collage onto another piece of patterned paper from the kit. I also love that these 12x12 papers are large enough that I can cut out pages that match the outside-the-page-protector size of these 6x8 albums! 

Here's a look at my finished layout! I love how the colors of the new Citrus Twist Kits Jingle All the Way Kit match the colors in this Add-On kit perfectly! I look forward to mixing and matching all these products together to make my December Daily pages this year! As for this layout, I'm planning on either including it in my "Before Your Story" 6x8 album, or starting a "Stories of Christmas Past" album. 

I hope this inspires you to get creating with these gorgeous Christmas kits! If you're creating a layout inspired by this page, be sure to tag me over on Instagram @ChouxPuffCreations so that I can see what you've created, and make sure to share you layouts over on the Citrus Twist Kits Facebook Page as well! Thanks for stopping by!

MERRY & BRIGHT with Our Guest Designer LAURA ALBERTS

 

Hello everyone!

we are so excited to welcome  our next Merry & Bright Guest Designer Laura Alberts to our blog.  You are going to love what she has created!

Hey friends, Laura Alberts here with the stunning Merry & Bright Christmas 2021 kit to document my childhood Christmas stories! My personal favorite parts of the holiday season are spending time with family and enjoying the beautiful lights! Christmas is my favorite holiday and while catching up, I try to get photos of our family and friends in casual conversation rather than posed photos. It’s so easy to get caught up in getting the perfect holiday photos and forget to make the memories!

 

I’m working in a green Citrus Twist Life Crafted album for this project and loving the flexibility of the rings. For my layout, I’ve focused on a large TN page on the left and a pocket page shaker on the right. On the left side, I’ve used the Crate Paper Busy Sidewalks paper pad for a cheerful red background with branding strip banners down the one side as an anchor for my photo. I fussy cut these gorgeous poinsettia style flowers from the 6x8 paper pad to group on the top left. Then, below the photo I used the small pale blue alphas (that match my dress!) and one of the stamps from the Merry & Bright stamp set for my title.

 

The tag was fussy cut from the 6x8 paper pad as well and tucks into the side of the photo for hidden journaling. This photo is from when I was around two years old and I don’t remember much from that time, so instead of giving the who, what, when, and where of the photo, I share my love for the Christmas season instead! I decorated the front of this tag with a simple ephemera piece and word phrase sticker to give it a custom look.

 

The right side of my Life Crafted spread is a really fun shaker pocket style page. This uses the eight-pocket page protector from Citrus Twist and the little packet of sequins included in the Merry & Bright kit. I tipped the sequins into two of the pockets and then filled the rest with a variety of chipboard shapes, ephemera pieces, and puffy stickers for a purely decorative touch. This fun little shaker page really captures the excitement and energy of the photo too!

 

I can’t wait to see how you use the Merry & Bright Christmas kit in your holiday documenting! I hope you find inspiration in either using hidden journaling or a shaker element on your page too.

 

Always,

Sparkle & Joy with Ashley Horton

 

Hey there, friends!!  It's Ashley, and I'm back today to share a few more pages with you, in my December album, using the Sparkle & Joy Kit!  I've had so much fun documenting a trip we took in December 2018 to Helen, Georgia!  If you've missed any of the pages in my album, you can find my first Blog post here and see my other pages on the Citrus Twist Instagram feed.

For these pages, I had to use the back side of one of the 2x2 page protectors and thought it would be fun to fill it with a photo instead of embellishments.  I sized my photo to 4x6 and once I had it printed, cut it into 2x2 squares to fit in the page protector.  I did add some embellishments to fill in the two spaces at the top.  I like that they add something a little different to the page.

On the right hand side, I printed a full sized photo and slipped it one of the 4x8 page protectors.  Since I used page protectors for both of these pages, I decided to place some of my embellishments outside of the page protectors.  I like being able to layer them directly on my photos or on the outside!

On these next two pages, I cut one of the patterned papers from the Sparkle & Joy Kit to place in the page protector.  I didn't want to use another full sized photo, and I thought the patterned paper would create a fun background for my journaling card.  I taped the journaling card to a piece of 8.5x11 copy paper with washi tape and then ran it through my typewriter.  I finished off the left hand side of the page with one of the tab stickers and the cute little deer from the ephemera pack.

I wanted to use some of the Sparkle & Joy Digitals on the right hand side of the page.  I printed three of them on matte photo paper and trimmed them out.  Then I sized my photo to the same dimensions and printed it out in black and white.  Once I had all of them cut out, I arranged them on a white background in a grid pattern.  Then, I thought it would be fun to create a little shaker pocket with the FaLaLa Digital tag.  I sewed the bottom and one side closed, using a piece of vellum.  Then I placed my "confetti" on the inside and stitched the remaining sides closed.

My last layout, focuses on a favorite photo of the kids, that was taken on the trip.  I had them pose in front of one of the huge Christmas trees that were in the town.  I wanted to go big with this one, so I spread it across both pages in my album.  I used two different patterned papers from the Kit as the base of my layout.  I didn't want to cut anybody in half or down the middle of anyone's face on my photo, so I sized it first in Adobe Illustrator to make sure it would fit the page without doing either one of those.  Once I had the correct size, I placed it to the far right and then cut off the left hand side of the photo and lined it up on the opposite page.

I also loved the placement of the photo this way, because it left room for me to add my title on the left.  I used one of the words from the Gold Puffy Sticker sheet, placed vertically next to my photo.  Since I wanted the photo to be the focal point of this page, I kept my embellishments very simple.  I added two embellishment clusters at the top and bottom of the photo on the right hand side.  This placement also worked to create a visual triangle with the clusters and title.

I hope you are having a blast creating with your Sparkle & Joy Kit!!  I know I am!!  Make sure you keep an eye out on Instagram for a couple of other projects I'll be sharing between now and December.  And, don't forget to check out the fun digitals that coordinate with the Kit!

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!

Photo Time with Marsha

Hey friends!  Marsha here today sharing another layout in my December Daily (using a Life Crafted Album).  For my project, I used mainly the December "Hustle and Heart" Kit and the Scrapbooking Add-on kit.

Here's a look at the layout I created:

I have really enjoyed using the non-Christmas themed items for my December documenting!  To begin my page, I trimmed a striped paper from the add-on kit to fit in the LC album.  I printed my photo and added it to the page, using a cut apart element and ephemera from the Life Crafted kit and add-on kit to embellish.  I recently purchased a mini tag punch and was excited to use it on the page.  I punched out the tag using one of the elements from the cut apart sheet from this month.  Next, I added some stamping to the tag using the 2x3 Stamp Add-on.  I added a bit of repeat stamping under the photo using the Life Crafted Kit Stamp.

For the other side of the layout, I used one of the 3x4 pocket pages for the LC album.  Using Photoshop, I opened the heart digital journaling card.  Because I needed more space than the journaling lines would allow, I deleted them from the card.  I typed my journaling, following the heart shape.  It's not perfect, but I am really happy with the results!  I trimmed the card slightly and layered a patterned paper behind.

For the other pocket, I opened one of the cards from the December Days digital journaling cards in Photoshop.  I deleted the highlighted "25," because I knew I wanted to include today's number in that spot.  I printed out the card and added a white puffy number sticker from a previous LC kit.  I also used the same alpha stickers for part of the title.  I stamped the word "PHOTO" using the Typewriter Alpha Stamp onto vellum and added it to the card.  To finish off the layout, I added some machine stitching to several areas on the page.

Thank you for stopping by today!  Be sure to check out the amazing kits this month in the Citrus Twist Kits shop!

Marsha