'Dream a Little Dream of me' with Karen

Hi, It’s Karen here today. I hope that you had a lovely Christmas and enjoyed spending time with family & friends. Today I want to share a layout I created with the December Kinsley scrapbook kit and Embellishment Add-On.

I feel as though I haven't scrapbooked in a while, & I've been itching to create, so once Christmas was over I could really concentrate on my craft, it felt so good! This kit has some beautiful papers in it, really dreamy colors & embellishments. When I saw the 'Pink Paislee' Moonstruck Cork Stickers with 'Dream' on it, my inspiration hit overload. Does that happen to you? I sometimes have no idea of what I want to create & use to design a layout, so I take my time to really look at the papers & embellishments & with luck, I usually am inspired. Fail that I use Pinterest, ha ha.

I loved stitching around my hand-cut 'speech' cloud using plain white embroidery thread & couldn't resist adding some more stitching on my layout elsewhere.

The kit also comes with 'We R Memory Keepers' Layered Tags, they are gorgeous & I had a hard time choosing which ones to use on my layout, in the end I went for the 'eyes' tag & my fave - black & white stripes. I love adding more layers to my photos & deciding what papers to add underneath is my fave part. My final embellishment to any layout is paint splatters, I love this part. I use colors that will accentuate my layout, I add water to my palette, get my brush full of paint & then splatter until I am satisfied. I never over do it, I glance over my layout after each splatter & ask myself is it enough? If not, I keep going!

I hope I've inspired you to create a layout today using your December Kits. Thanks for joining me, see you in January 2017! Can you believe that? Wow time certainly goes by too fast.

Karen xx

Daydreamers & Stargazers | Elsie Robinson

Hey everyone, it's Elsie popping back on the blog today, and one of my New Year's resolutions is to be brave and incorporate some mixed media into my scrapbooking - haha! 

So this is definitely not a life-changing New Year's resolution by any means, but I always like to make sure that I am pushing and challenging myself creatively. And boy, does painting challenge me...!

I've always found it difficult to incorporate mixed media into my style of scrapbooking, and if I'm being honest a lot of previous mixed media layouts have ended up in the bin - eek!

But this layout was so much fun to make; I feel like I've finally figured out a way I can make mixed media work for me. Let me talk you through what I did...

I was really inspired by this month's Kinsley Embellishment kit, I loved the glitter, gold foiling and the galactic colour tones in the kit, and that combo was my starting point.

In the Pink Paislee Moonstruck collection there are some embellishments with script on them, so I decided to use a script stencil from my stash and start my mixed media process using that with some modelling paste.

Once that was dry I used watercolours in dark blues, pinks and purples with a very wet brush so the colours could blend and mix together, to get that Galaxy look I was after. I then splattered some white acrylic ink with a small brush to make it look like some tiny stars.

And honestly, I was left with a 12x12 piece of paper that looked like a mess!! Albeit a very pretty mess, but a mess I felt very daunted to make a layout with.

I decided to grab another piece of white paper, draw and cut a half-moon and star design, hand-stitch around them and back it with the mixed media page. 

And I loved the way that looked! Being able to control what parts of the background you could see and getting my beloved white space back, made the mixed media so much easier to work with.

I went to town clustering the embellishments around my photo. Also by firstly placing the translucent Pink Paislee Moonstruck stickers onto white paper and then fussy-cutting them out, meant that I was able to place them wherever I wanted and use them like die-cuts.

The wooden stars from the Main kit are so pretty and such a fun shape, but to make them work with this layout, I painted them with some white gesso and sprayed them with some gold ink. I love their distressed look, it really complemented and echoed the gold flecks in the cork title 'dream'.

Thanks for joining me today, and I hope you're inspired to try and work some mixed media into your projects!

Have a wonderful New Years everyone, and I'll see you again in 2017!

- Elsie x

Happy Mail Layout with Veera

Hi, It’s Veera here today. I hope that you are enjoying the holidays and spending quality time with your loved ones (and maybe even with your favorite craft supplies)! Today I want to share a layout I created with December Kinsley scrapbook kit and Embellishment Add-On.

Recently I have enjoyed creating layouts with a diagonal design and that was my choice for this layout too. The design creates certain kind of flow to the layout. I placed my title on a diagonal line too and added embellishments to emphasize the design.

I used the exclusive die-cuts as my embellishments too. The beautiful flowers matched the photo and paper perfectly!

I hope you are enjoying your December kits!

-Veera

Sunday Sketch Challenge with Aimee Dow

Hi there! Merry Christmas! I am SO very honoured that you've come to visit little old me on such an auspicious day. In fact, I kind of feel like I need to deliver in a big way just to make it worth your while. Good thing, I've got a cracker of a sketch and page for you then, huh? Let's get started.

I scored first pick of the sketches this month, so I like to think I got you the best one for your Christmas long weekend. I had a lot of fun putting it together so that's always a good sign. Here's how it turned out:

I used this months Main and Embellishment kits to create this page. I've got to say, I'm really not one for pattern paper background, but this exclusive grid paper from Citrus twist is to die for. A girl can always do with a shake up now and again.

I did try to stick as closely to the sketch as possible, but I did have to get a little creative when it came to title placement. I really struggle with titles so the fact that I managed to come up with such a good looking one with the Crate Letters and thinkers - well it was going on the page even it killed me. Fortunately it never came to that. Just 20 minutes of pushing things round, much like a cat nudges a ball of wool and I managed to figure it out. 

The layout itself is rather thin on embellishments. I really loved using the Moonlight clear stickers from Pink Paislee. I don't know that I ever really decided to make it monochrome it just looked best that way with the black and white photos. You certainly don't have to make yours that way. Remember if you are playing along, create a layout inspired by the sketch and upload it to the CTK gallery with today's date (12/25) in the title and you will be in with a chance to win a $5 gift certificate to spend in the CTK store.

I'll be seeing you again real soon.

Aimee Xx.

3 to Inspire with Tara

Hello lovelies, Tara here. It's that time again and YAY! I'm so excited to be hosting it this week (it's my absolute favorite challenge ever).

So let's get down to it! I know you're busy with the holiday festivities but who doesn't want a bit of inspiration to get some crafty time in?

Here is your challenge:

1. Create your own pattern mix (background or PL card)

2. Use vellum letters or ephemera.

3. Use stamping as repetition.

Here is the pocket page I came up with using these prompts:

I really wanted to incorporate the vellum "LIFE" letters that were included in the December "Kinsley" PL kit. Instead of attaching it directly to the pocket, I used a leftover clear acetate piece I had and stapled it with my tiny attacher. I did want to add some dimension, so I used a cut apart and stapled it to the outside of the pocket.

I also added a cork piece from a past Citrus Twist main kit. If you can't already tell, I love using my tiny attacher all the time! If you don't have one, you can find it in the shop.


For the journaling card, I took the pink wood grain journaling card and chopped it in half. Then I used a really cool turquoise 6x6 patterned paper cut down to 3x4, then attached the pink half triangle on top.

I wanted to add another photo to this spread by using some washi tape from my stash to make a flip up card.

I thought about making the flip up card one of the prompts but kept it pretty simple. I loved this view over Ireland as were were getting ready to land!

Here is the stamp repetition element:

This was the view from our hotel room. I cut down the "WEDNESDAY" ephemera found in the Project 52 Fresh ephemera (I love Liz Tamanaha!!) to fit the photo better. I then took the stamp set (the ephemera pack and stamp set are also a part of the Kinsley kit) words "love" and "this" to stamp right on my photo.

I had so much fun creating this pocket page and cannot wait to see what you come up with! Use the three prompts to create your own project and share them with us in our Gallery and/or Facebook Forum. If you're a huge Instagram fan like me, tag @citrustwistkits and don't forget to use the hashtags: #citrustwistkits #ctk3toinspire.

Happy Christmas and Best Wishes!

Xxo, Tara

Going Small with the December Scrapbook Kit

Hi all and happy Thursday! We are in the final stretch to the holidays and if you are at all like me, you're feeling a little strapped for a time and a bit anxious to find a bit of time to play with your kits. For me, my creative time relaxes me and finding time to do even a small project goes a long way in helping me manage the stress that often accompanies this busy time of year.

The projects that I am sharing today are examples of how I pounced on a little bit of down time and quickly made a layout. My secret to getting them completed in a short amount of time--I downsized them! Instead of making my usual full size 9x12 layout, I made 6x8's! With less space to fill I am able to get in and get out and I am left with the happy feeling of had made something! Mission accomplished!

Having a kit ready to go is also a big time saver. The fun December "Kinsley" Scrapbook Kit had all that I needed to quickly document a few memories from the summer. I also really appreciated how the kit wasn't too specific in theme and I was easily able to scrap vacation pictures.

Wishing you all a very happy holiday weekend! 

Michelle

3-To-Inspire with Emma

Hi everyone!  Emma here with this weeks 3-To-Inspire challenge!

We offer this new challenge every Saturday for those who need a little extra push to get scrapbooking, to keep scrapbooking, or those of you just looking for a challenge (and the chance to win a little something is an added bonus!).

I hope you'll join in with me this week using the following prompts:

1. Create a banner using die-cuts (be they your own or those in the kits).  Bonus points if you are able to include layers in your banner!
2. Use word stickers
3. Include the colour BLUE

 And here's a look at the page I created:

I absolutely love the die-cuts included in this month's main kit!  I mean the colours are spot-on but the actual die-cuts themselves are adorable.  I'll be honest in saying I set the rules of this challenge just so I could make good use of them!

The banner was so easy to make, I just layered my die-cuts over the width of my page and stitched straight over the top to keep them in place.   To help create a border on my page (and reduce having all that white background) I used one of the 6x6 papers from the Pocket Life kit and added it to the top/bottom of my page. 

I actually picked my photo based on the colours of the die-cuts for this page ;)  The pink in M's dress and blue in Z's t-shirt were a perfect match!

Now it's your turn! Use the three prompts to create your own projects and share them with us here in the gallery and/or our Facebook Forum.  I really can't wait to see your pages!

Thanks, Em xo

Let's get digital with Marie-Pierre

Hey everyone!
How is your December going?
I'd like to share a digital file with you today. I created it with the month of December in mind. You can download it int he file section of our Facebook Fan Page.

There are many ways you could use this file. If you have an electronic die cutting system, you could cut it out and use it as a title. You could also use it on a card on even as word art in a frame. If you don't have a die cutting machine, you could print it on a layout or directly on a photo. If you open it in Photoshop, you can change the color as well.  Here's how I used it on a layout:

I've cut it twice, once in white cardstock and once in a blue patterned paper and I layered them. The die cut is very thin but it's pretty sturdy. If you die cut it in cardstock, you will want to make it a double cut. I didn't and I had to cut some small parts with my scissors. If you cut it in patterned paper, you don't need a double cut.

I adhered both layers with a little bit of hot glue. I like hot glue because it gives dimension to my embellishments.

Here are some more detail shots of my layout.

I hope you'll put this cut file to good use. I think it would be a good one to use in a December Daily. Just saying. ;) If you use the file, post it on our Facebook fan page or on Instagram and tag me please!! @mpcapistran I'd love to see what you do with it!! 

Have fun crafting!!

Marie-Pierre

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Sunday Sketch

Hello, I am excited to be back to share my second creation using the December "Kinsley" Scrapbook Kit. Today I am sharing a 12x12 layout based on this week's new sketch. Now I have to say I did struggle as I don’t use sketches often, but I made it work even though I didn’t have 2 photos like the sketch calls for.

Here is my creation. Since I didn’t have two photos I decided to use a piece of the patterned paper instead. I also changed the little element that was behind the photos at the bottom to a triangle. 

I choose my title “Forever Friends” because it is a photo of myself and my best friend. I love how the Pinkfresh Studio hears fitted in with the layout so well. I did add some Heidi Swapp Color Shine from my stash.

I also did a little stamping with the stamp set that was included in the kit, which I love because of the typewriter font.  I added some twine to one of the exclusive die cuts to layer behind my main focus point.

Now it's your turn! To play along with this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge, create a layout based off of today's sketch, upload it to the CTK Gallery with today's date (12/11) in the title, and you will be eligible to win a $5 gift certificate to the CTK Store!

Lydia