December Album using December Kits with Emma!

Hello CTK friends!  Emma on the blog today to share a little look through my December album!  It's been a long time since I've had the chance to sit down and actually put some pages together but with the Christmas season upon us, I knew I had to try to put another album together - not just to record all the Christmasy things, but just the everyday chaos that is December for my family :)

My motto for this year is "keep it simple and get it done!".  I've a terrible habit of overthinking when putting albums together (which means they take forever to do..) but I just don't have the time for it this year.  Cue the Life Crafted Album and page protectors!  Teamed with the December Life Crafted Kit and December Add-on and I'm happy to report that I am managing to stay up-to-date, yay!  And after a few months break from scrapbooking, I can't tell you how exciting it is ;)

I am using the Black Life Crafted Album this year and I painted the gold plate on the outside white.

On my spine I've added one of the Crate Paper Snowflakes chipboard pieces (from this store this month) along with a "December" sticker (from the Christmas Stories Kit - sadly it sold out in record time!) and added a white tag from my stash with the year stamped on it (stamp from the store too, Heidi Swapp Winter Wonderland).

I was worried painting the gold plate might not work out (and I'd ruin my album, ha) but it's actually finished up looking rather nice I think!  Just taped up the cloth area around the plate using washi tape then spray-painted it with white paint.  Fiddly but easy enough!

And rather than blabber on I thought I'd just take a heap of photos sharing my album - here's a look through of what I've done so far (lots of photos to follow!):

For my cover page I created a wreath using craft wire and white twine.  I created a circle shape with the craft wire then knotted short lengths of twine around it - once it was full I just trimmed the twine down and fixed it in place on a clear page using a couple stitches.

No album of mine is ever complete without at least one sequin pocket!  I'm sure another will appear before the end ;)

Lots of changes around here with Zack finishing up Grade 6 and getting ready to start High School.  Meant he had to get his first suit for Graduation!  He looks so grown up, cry!  That chipboard piece from the Life Crafted Kit was a perfect match for that days story!

All of the chipboard and thickers used throughout my album are fixed on top of the protector pages - stops them looking too bulky inside the pocket.

As you can see - there's not much to my December album.  Lots of random moments, not all of it Christmas-related, but I'm getting those moments recorded.  And keeping it simple means that I get it done!

Sticking with the 3x4 Page Protectors and 4x6 Page Protectors also keeps things consistent and it's so easy to just run the photos off on the printer, pop them into a pocket, add a few little stickers here and there to suit and add some journaling on top.  All of my journaling is typed up on the computer then printed out on plain white copy paper (then I fix it in place using machine stitching or staples) - it's something I can do every couple days without stressing!

Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today - I hope you're having as much fun with your December/Christmas Album!

Take care, Emma xo

Sunday Sketch with Emma

Hello friends!  Emma on the blog today with this weeks Sunday Sketch (my favourite!).  First up lets have a look at the fun sketch I had to work with this month:

As always my page is downsized to fit in my Life Crafted album (it's the only size I work with these days!) and here's what I came up with:

I loved the original sketch but I thought it might be fun to deconstruct it a little and put my own spin on it.  Instead of having clusters of papers under my photo I've made the whole layout a big cluster using 3 layers (white on pattern paper on white again!).  I also mixed up the designated title area by adding in a few paints, rainbow pattern of course, and used one of the layered stickers as a title instead.

I absolutely adore the lemon pattern paper included in the Life Crafted kit this month (I mean is is not a perfect paper for Citrus Twist?!) - the yellow is the prettiest and makes such a lovely backdrop for my rainbow themed layout.

I've been trying to break out of my norm and add something different to my pages lately - the paints are that.  It's nothing ground breaking but paints are not something I usually use but it was such a simple way to tie in with the rainbow pattern in my photo.  And double-bonus that the Rainbow Roux Epoxy Stickers (JilliBean) from this month's Scrapbook Add-on kit could match with it!

Super happy how it finished up and although it's not a copy of the sketch - it was fun taking parts of it and changing it for my page!

Thanks for joining me on the blog today - I hope you have fun working with this weeks sketch and I can't wait to see your take on it.  Be sure to share in our Facebook Fanpage or tag us on Instagram!

Take care, Emma xo

"Happy Moment", simple grid layout with Emma

Hi CTK friends!  Emma on the blog today with the a super simple little grid layout!  I am a big fan of grids when creating layouts; they're so easy to work with and help speed up the creative process for me.  And I have to confess that this would be the most basic little grid layout ever - because it's just one single grid line all the way down your page!  How easy right?! ;) 

Here's a look at my page:

I just adore all the Die-Cut Cardstock Ephemera included in the Life Crafted "Best of This Life" kit this month and I wanted to use so many of the fun pieces in my layout so lining them up in a single grid down the middle of my page meant I could include them all!

I used one of the 6x8 cardstock papers for my base (went with the neutral grid paper!) and I started by centering my photo on the page - then picked some of the bigger ephemera pieces and positioned them above/below the photo.  Once I had the placements set I added in few of the smaller pieces to fill in some of the "white space" left on my page.

I fixed all the ephemera pieces using double-sided tape but I added a bit of machine stitching to a few pieces for a bit of added texture (in coordinating cotton of course!).

This is just a fun little page about some of the paper pages I've created recently (I've been having a bit of with paints) so I used a few of the stamp sentiments as my journaling.  I used the This Is Life "Chasing Curiosities" Stamp and Life Crafted Travelers Notebook Stamp (and Life Crafted kit stamp of course!).

Then I popped a few of the Puffy Stickers with Cardstock Topping around my page (I love, love, love these exclusive puffy stickers) on top of the ephemera and finished my page off with a few of the Enamel Shape Stickers (are these not the cutest little stickers? Perfect size!).

I'm super happy how this page finished up and it was such a quick, easy one to put together - which is such a huge win with me at the moment (never seem to be enough hours in the day!). 

Although I think I love it mostly because of the fun colours included in this month's kit - it will be no surprise to anyone that knows me, that this is hands-down my most favourite Life Crafted kit yet. 

Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today - I hope you are loving the July Life Crafted kit as much as I am.  I (and all of our Creative Team) truly love seeing your works on our Facebook Fanpage so please remember to share your pages there!

Take care, Em xo

"Oh, No" with Emma

Hi CTK friends!  Emma on the blog today to share my first project using the gorgeous Life Craft kit. 

This month's kit is absolutely gorgeous (it's the top of my all-time-favourite-kit list for sure!) - there are so many pretty colours to work with but I have to confess that this woodgrain chipboard alpha's included in this months kit are my favourite. They are so gorgeous!  With that in mind I thought I'd create my first layout using them.

Here's a full look at the page I put together:

For my base I used one of the 6x8 pattern papers in the Life Crafted kit and added white cardstock on top (love the pattern but I thought it was just too much to used without the white to break it up!).  I added machine stitching all the way around (in black to match my pattern paper!) for extra texture and because I can't seem to not include machine stitching on my layouts.

I positioned my photo at the top and added the fun dog ephemera piece on top.  This page is about our dog, BJ, really disliking the winter weather and one of the 3x4 cards in the Life Crafted kit has a sentiment that was just perfect for my page so I cut it up (which seems so wrong I know, ha!).  I added it on top of the ephemera piece and loved the colour difference so decided to make that (the green) the contrasting colour for my page.  I went through the kit and picked a few of the coordinating green pieces to match (chipboard and enamel stickers!) and placed them at the top/bottom and sides of photo to help draw the eyes in.

I typed my journaling up on the computer and printed it on plain printer paper (used used a typewriter font) and added it underneath my photo. 

My title is the gorgeous chipboard woodgrain alpha's that feature at the bottom of my page.  I kept one of the centre pieces in for something a little different and just cut the tip of "Q" off to act as my comma!  I think they really pop against the black/white/green of the page.  Love 'em!

To finish off my page I added a couple of the pink heart shapes on top of the dog ephemera piece and and blue one to the end of my title just to match things up!

I do love how this page finished up and I can't wait to use more of the gorgeous woodgrain alpha's (I managed to get 2 packs this month because I knew I'd need them!).   What's been your favourite exclusive in this month's Life Crafted kit?  It's the woodgrain alphas, right? ;) 

Take care, Em
xo

Sunday Sketch with Anna, Emma and Nathalie!

Hello friends!  On the blog today we're sharing our Sunday Sketch and have three (3) of our CT members joining in to share their take on it! :)

First up let's have a look at our sketch:

Hi CTK friends!  I love sketches, they make putting layouts together so much quicker for me, but I have to admit that I struggled with this one.  Not that I don't love the sketch (because I do, otherwise I wouldn't have picked it, ha!) but I went back and forth for ages trying to put my layout together before deciding to chop it up completely! And that's one of the great things about using a sketch - you don't have to follow it completely - you can mix it up to suit your style (or mood in my case ;) ).

My layout is set to fit in my Life Crafted album so it's roughly 5" x 8.25" - which meant the sketch was a little too wide for me to set out.  So instead of having the cut file on left and title/photo on the right of page - I just made that entire left side (where the cut file is) the base of my page and layered everything on top of that.  

I flipped the photo/title sections so they are the top/left side of my page and and instead of having layered papers underneath my photo, I went with word strips/chipboard pieces underneath to give it that layered look!

I also went with a patterned paper background, which isn't something I do often, but I adore the colours of this paper from the Life Crafted, Make It a Venti, kit that I just had to use it!  I actually created this page when I was having one of "those" days (where all.the.things just seem to go wrong, lol) so the stamps in this month Travelers Notebook stamp set were absolutely perfect in reminding myself to just keep going!   

Then I just added a border of machine stitching all the way around my page, popped the chipboard piece and a couple heart stickers (from the Add-on kit) on my page and called it done :)  The end result looks a little different than the original sketch but that's the great thing about sketches, you don't have to follow them - you can just take bits and pieces from it to inspire you in creating something all together different!

Hi dear ones! Anna here today sharing my take on this week's gorgeous Sunday Sketch.   This one is extra fun since I'm teaming up with Emma & Nathalie

Here's what I came up with using the fabulous April Life Crafted "Make it a Venti" kit.  Also I have been playing with one of the gorgeous Subscribers exclusive cut files (designed by our own super talented Nathalie).

I started up my page being a little bit messy using a few color mists with the "plastic bag technique".

That gives my page a more vivid and fun look and also make the cut file pop.  Then I cut a few of the lovely papers from the kit for my layers underneath my photo.   To get an even more layered feeling I add a few labels from the cutaparts.

I made my title using the two different alphas from the kit and to get more texture I made a few stitches using my sewing machine.  Now to to finish my page of I add a few puffy stickers and some stamping.  The stamps I used are from the Life Crafted" Make it a Venti" kit as well as the Life Crafted "Travelers Notebook" stamp set.

That's all from me.  I hope you got some inspiration here.  We can't wait to see what magic you will create using this sketch.

Anna xo

Hi there!

This week i get to team up with Anna and Emma to show you how versatile the sketch can be.   I love working with sketches as they help to start my layouts, and usually make them come together in a short amount of time.

For my take, i decided to work with this month's Scrapbook Add-on kit and a few goodies from the CTK shop.  It all started  with a bit of the new Maggie Holmes paint set that is available in the shop as a canvas for my background.   Once it dried, i followed the sketch to add the layers behind the picture of my daughter using papers and pieces of ephemera from the add-on kit.

Once i had everything down, i decided to decorate the page by fussy cutting flowers from the Sunny Days paper collection that are included in the kit, and create a cascade around the picture.   

To complete this page, i added embellishments from the kit and the Sunny Days Sticker book -also available at the CTK shop-  as well as some stamping using this month's Add-on stamp set.  

And now is your turn to use the sketch to create a project of your own!   We love seeing what you create with our kits and stamps, remember to tag us (@citrustwistkits or #citrustwistkits) when sharing your work on social media, or share your work on our Facebook Fans and Friends page.

Thank you all so much for joining us today!

Emma, Anna & Nathalie