Sunday Sketch

Hi all and welcome to this week's edition of our Sunday Sketch Challenge!  This week our sketch is perfect for layering all those pretty papers in our kits--even those bits and pieces that we just can't part with!

For my take on the sketch, I used the October Pocket Life Kit along with a tiny bit of the Scrapbook Kit:

When working on my layout, I had my photo and paper cluster all set and ready to go in the center of my background just as the sketch suggested. However, I just wasn't feeling it. As soon as I moved the cluster over to the side I knew that was the spot!

Moving everything over to the side left a lot of blank space on that side, so I placed a small triangle of patterned paper in the left corner and positioned two of the cute puffy butterflies to look as if they were fluttering in that direction. 

Now it's your turn! To play along with this week's sketch challenge, create a layout based off of today's sketch, upload it to our gallery with today's date (10/01) in the title, and you will be eligible to win a $5 gift certificate to the CTK Store! Can't wait to see what you all make.

Michelle

Sweet Fun

Hello! I don't know about you, but I am so excited that we have made it to September!  In my neck of the woods, Southern California, the temps have been in the high nineties and a new month means we are a bit closer to having some cooler weather. Yay!  September is certainly a transitional month as we head into a new season and I think the September "Twin Falls" Scrapbook kit really reflects this sense of change that is happening and I am happy to share to my first layout that I made with it:

What I really love about this kit, is that it works for documenting my summer stories while giving me that taste of fall that I am craving. The orangey red in the diecuts from Pink Fresh Studio and the bright yellow exclusive patterned paper is just what I wanted. 

The white foam Thickers are pretty great also and the fun, gold foiled butterfly (also from Pink Fresh) is a new fave. 

Now how about you? What kind of crafting products are you dreaming of right now?  I know that for many, thoughts of Christmas crafting seems to be trending right now and a little part of me is right there with them. However, fall is most on my mind and this kit is certainly making me even more excited!

Michelle

Hey Adventure

For the last few four years I have routinely used pocket pages as a supplement to my traditional scrapbooking. With three kids and numerous photo opportunities, I have too many photos to scrap them all in a traditional way. I could try, but I would probably still be deep in 2014! 

My solution for "keeping up" with my cameral roll is to use pocket pages, like this one that I did using a mix of the August Kits:

If you were to flip through any of my recent albums you would see that I alternate between traditional and pocket pages. This lets me do what I love (traditional scrapping) while staying up on my albums.  This particular page documents a morning my girls and I spent hiking with our Girl Scout Troop, but not every pocket page is devoted to one event or story. Often my pages take on the look of a classic Project Life album with the everyday details filling my pockets. 

One of the things I really love about memory keeping, is that we are able to tailor it to our needs and wants. I used to keep two different sets of albums--one for traditional pages and one for Project Life--and I was miserable trying to keep up with the both of them. By combining both approaches I came up with a system that worked for me. 

Michelle

3 to Inspire

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of our 3 to Inspire Challenge! Each Saturday Citrus Twist provides three prompts to get those creative juices flowing. To play along and be eligible for a fun prize, make sure and post your project in the CTK Gallery with today's date in the title. Now lets get to those prompts!

1.  Use three or more words in your title.

2.  Number it.

3.  Incorporate paper strips.

This is my take on today's challenge:

 For my title, I went ahead and used a journaling card that I cut from one of the papers included in the August Scrapbook Kit. I really felt like the title was quite perfect for these photos from our June trip to the Sierras. I also really liked how the black and white journaling card contrasted with the colors in the photos and paper.  I decided to go ahead and simply number my photos using the ephemera from the kit. Another way to incorporate numbers would be to include a list in your journaling or even add a number into the title.  The final prompt inspired my page design as I cut down strips of paper to layer vertically. 

Now it's your turn! Can't wait to see what you all create!

Michelle

Tuesday Tutorial: Layering Texture

Hello and welcome to this week's Tuesday Tutorial.  Today I am going to focus on one of my favorite scrapbooking subjects: texture! Yes, it seems like a slight detail, but texture can make a big impact on any kind of paper project. When referring to texture, I am thinking about the characteristics of a material. Is it smooth and flat like paper or is it rough and bumpy like glitter? My general rule of thumb when working on a project is to use a variety of textures because the more texture I use, the less "flat" my project looks. Lucky for us, the scrapbooking industry provides quite the variety of textured products from foiled embellishments and epoxy stickers to an assortment of mixed media products.  The possibilities are essentially endless and today I am going to give you several examples of how to incorporate texture into any paper project using the fun August Kits.

For this 9x12 layout, I knew I wanted to layer on the texture and to do that I had to start from the very bottom layer--my base paper.  To create the very first layer of texture, I reached for my Color Shine sprays from Heidi Swapp. These are my go to sprays because the colors are glittery as opposed to being a flat color and I like that extra sparkle. As you can see in the photo, I already had my patterned papers stacked and stapled because I like to know ahead of time where my papers and general design is going to go, so that I know where I want to drop the color on the page. For this instance I was going for a diagonal direction-from the top right corner down to the left corner.

My second application of texture was the addition of a colored paste that I applied using a mask. This particular paste is a flat color which I picked because it contrasts with the glittery mist that I first applied. Contrast is always at the top of my mind when I am choosing products because I want variety. Variety makes it interesting!

                                     

Now that my background is prepared, it I can move on to the paper layers. As mentioned earlier, the average patterned paper is flat and smooth, but there are ways to add texture and rough up the surface. The most simple of adjustments is to tear the edges of a paper. This creates instant texture and interest. Second, look for specialty papers. I chose to use a simple piece of vellum (which I also tore!) and a piece of patterned paper that had some gold foil. You can also consider adding stitching to paper or even adding in another layer of mixed media. And since I mentioned stitching, don't forget to consider thread! Thread is soft and airy and bunching up a bit of it and tucking it under a photo or embellishment is a great way to introduce a new texture to your project.

You can also consider texture when you're picking out embellishments. For example, after having chosen to use a few pieces of chipboard which has a matte finish, I wan\ted something different so I went for the plastic puffy hearts. To add a final piece of texture I pulled out a few pieces of the ephemera that had a glittery gold finish and tucked it in under my layers. Here's a look at the final project:

Here are some additional tips for adding texture to your projects:

• Not into mixed media, consider using a textured cardstock or paper for your background. 
• Mix it up--variety is always good.
• Vary the amounts of each type of texture--you don't want a lot of everything.
• Think outside the papercrafting box--things like fabric and ribbon are good options!

Thanks for stopping by today and if you create a project that features some texture, share it with us! You can post t here in our gallery or on our Facebook Fan Page! We love seeing what you all create!

Michelle

Sunday Sketch Challenge

Happy Sunday! Michelle here with you today to share this week's sketch challenge! Just to recap, each Sunday Citrus Twist hosts a scrappy sketch challenge designed to give you a jumpstart on a new layout. You can create with any products you have and if you choose to, you can upload your layout to the CTK Gallery to earn a chance to win a $5 gift certificate to the CTK Store! Sounds pretty fun to me!

Here is today's sketch:

This particular sketch was right up my alley! It calls for lots of layers and little bit of stitching--both of which are two of my favorite techniques. Here is what I did using the July "Mermaid" Add On Kit:

Creating with sketches should always be a "comfortable" experience. What I mean by this, is that you have to remember that a sketch is just that-a sketch. A sketch is a basic blueprint, something that sends you off in a general direction. A sketch is flexible and you can make that sketch work for you. For a long time, I felt compelled to follow a sketch 100% and sometimes this worked, but other times I would struggle with making my products/photos/ideas fit the sketch when I should have been making the sketch fit me.

Take for example today's sketch, even though I loved every bit of it I struggled a bit with the large patterned paper that fits the length of the page. Since I was working with the July Add On Kit, I had to take into consideration the patterned paper that was available. This particular kit comes with a 12x6 piece of specialtypaper (which is beautiful!) and a stack of 6x6 papers. I started out by cutting that larger piece of paper down and layering into under the other patterned papers, but I did not like how it made my color scheme more orange. I wanted a mostly pink and yellow color scheme and I was only okay with using a minimal amount of orange. My solution--forget the long strip of paper on the side and use the smaller patterned paper.

By treating a sketch as a flexible set of guidelines you can keep your creative time stress free and fun!

Remember, if you want to play along with this week's sketch challenge and be eligible to win a prize, create a layout based off of today's sketch and upload it to the CTK Gallery with today's date (7/16) in the title. Good luck!

Michelle

3 to Inspire

Hi all and welcome to this week's edition of our 3 to Inspire Challenge!

Each Saturday, a member of our team prepares three prompts to serve as starting points for a project. In order to play along with us AND be eligible for a prize, you must complete a project that includes all three prompts. This is what I have for you this week:

1. Include copper.

2. Use at least three different pattern papers.

3. Create a one word title.

This is what I came up with using May's "Brighton" Scrapbook Kit along with this month's Sprinkles Add-On Kit:

I don't know about you guys, but I love copper! I was a pretty solid "gold" girl, but my heart now belongs to this new metallic. The copper alphas from Pinkfresh Studio are absolutely perfect and I can imagine myself using them on everything. The copper sequins also included in this month's Sprinkles Kit were pretty great too.

Now it's your turn! To play along, simple create a project using this week's prompts, upload it to the CTK Gallery with today's date (3/13) in the title, and you will be eligible to win a small prize from the CTK Store. Can't wait to see what you all create!

Michelle

3 to Inspire

Hello and welcome to today's 3 to Inspire Challenge!  Here are this week's prompts:

1. Layer in a piece of packaging.
2. Tear some paper.
3. Add some thread.

Here's my take on the challenge using both the April "Sophie" Scrapbook and Embellishment Kits:

I absolutely adore this month's kit and was so happy that the colors in the kit went really well with a recent batch of photos that I took during a field trip to a horse rescue ranch. 

To stay on task with the challenge prompts, I tore the edges of two patterned papers and layered them on top of each. When I did this I made sure and flipped the paper over to the backside and tore towards myself this way the side that I wanted to use didn't have the white edge that appears after tearing. For my piece of packaging I chose to cut up the backing from the Pinkfresh word stickers and layer it under the photo. I really liked how this light polka dot pattern contrasted against the bright colors I had already used. Finally, I layered in two bunched up pieces of yellow thread.

Now it's your turn! To play along with this week's 3 to Inspire Challenge, create a project incorporating all three of the prompts, post it to our gallery with today's date (4/8) in the title, and you will be eligible to win a small prize from the CTK Store!

Mini-Album

Hello! Michelle here with you today to share some mini-album inspiration with you! This month the Scrapbook Kit came with a set of 6x4 chipboard and two O-rings to serve as a foundation for a potential mini-album.  Myself, along with four other designers created albums in place of our usual projects and have been sharing them both here on the blog as well as on our Facebook Fan Page and Instagram.

When I accepted this assignment I did a little jump for joy, because mini-albums are probably my favorite thing to create. They are so much fun to put together and they give me a break from creating traditional layouts. Today I want to give you  a little insight into how I put together my own album.

In contrast to creating layouts, I am very organized when it comes to approaching a mini-album. I brainstorm, look for ideas, and will set up a list of elements that I want to include in my album. I also rely a lot upon repetition-repetition of page design, embellishments, texture, and color.

For this album, I decided to go with a single ring, flip album with loads of layers. I like the look of seeing photos, papers, and embellishments peaking out from behind one another. Along with the March Scrapbook and Pocket Life Kits, I pulled out yellow tags, sequins, paper clips, and 4x4 page protectors to create my album. Mini-albums are also great stash busters!

The yellow tags that I pulled out from my stash served as a background for my journaling. It was super easy to slip them in and out of the typewriter and ensured that my writing stood out from the layered album.

I went ahead and limited myself to three basic page designs, this first one being the most complicated. By repeating them throughout the album I save a lot of time in putting it together. I can also work on my on my album in a sort of assembly line. By keeping the designs simple I free my creativity up for my favorite part-the embellishing.

One of the things I like to do for mini-albums, is to have my photos printed by a printing company. I use my Selphie pretty exclusively, but have found that I prefer the option of having my photos printed on a thicker, nicer photo paper for little albums. One of the reasons is that they are sturdier and hold up better to the embellishing that I like to do. I also like the finish of the photos and since a mini-album is meant to be picked up and thumbed through I think this extra step adds a bit of nice texture.

Even though I rely on repetition for my page designs, I also give myself the freedom to make minor changes. For example, I moved this photo to the right because it suited the orientation of the photo better. I also feel free to move the embellishments around.

My biggest goal for this particular album, was to let the photos shine. This particular batch of photos documented a beautiful trip to the beach and I loved how the photos all turned out. I had planned in advance to have some the photos stand alone and embellished them simply with some machine stitching.

Thanks for letting me share my album with you and I look forward to seeing what you all create with this month's kits :).

Michelle

February KIts

Hello! Michelle here with you today to share a few of my projects using this month's kits! February's kits are packed with brand new releases from my favorite manufacturers and I had loads of fun creating my projects.

My first project that I am sharing is a 9x12 layout that I created using the Main Scrapbook Kit only:

Underneath my usual paper layers, I placed a die cut that I cut using my Silhouette. This was a simple way to add more interest without overwhelming the colorful photo of my daughter. The blues, greens, and pinks were a fave color combo this month and I used it throughout all of my projects.

For my second layout, I jumped outside my comfort zone and chose to use the cool black and white exclusive patterned paper as my background:

As  I was finishing up this smaller 6x8 layout, I found that I wanted to add a little bit more blue to the page. My solution was to cut a little bit of the top of the layout off and layer a piece of white cardstock underneath it. I then tucked a blue die cut from the Pocket Life Kit underneath the patterned paper and stitched everything down.

Working with these kits this month has been a lot fun and I want to invite you to stop by the Gallery to see what the rest of the Design Team made with the February's Kits!

Michelle

3 to Inspire

Happy Saturday and welcome to this week's edition of our 3 to Inspire Challenge!  This week I am challenging you to include the following three elements on a project:

1. Use blue.

2. Journal on a label or tag.

3. Make a title with a die cut.

This is what I came up with using the January "Jameson" Scrapbook Kit:

Blue is such a fun color and I was able to include two shades of it on this layout documenting my nephew's happy smile. I recently purchased a used manual typewriter and am loving having the option to do my journaling on labels. (Here's a tip: adhere your tags and labels to a larger sheet of paper with washi tape--this will make it super easy to roll them through the typewriter!).  To make my title I chose the "I Like You" bubble from the package of exclusive diecuts that are included in the kit this month.

Now it's your turn! To play along with this week's 3 to Inspire Challenge and to be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a small prize from the CTK Store, create a project incorporating the three elements and upload it to our gallery. Make sure to include today's date (1/14) in the title of your project!  Good luck :).

Michelle

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

Sunday Sketch Challenge

Hello! Michelle here with you on this lovely Sunday morning to share my take on this week's edition of our sketch challenge!  This is the sketch we are working with:

And here is my take on it:

As you can see, I stuck pretty close to the sketch with my layout. I really liked the how the tags were used and instead of going to my stash to grab a few basic white tags, I cut them out of patterned paper from the November Kit. I also decided to add an extra layer of color to the page by applying some Heidi Swap Color Shine with a piece of packaging. I continued with my "messy" mood and included some loose threads.

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 (11/27) in the title, and you will be eligible to win a $5 gift certificate to the CTK Store! Can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Michelle