Sunday Sketch with Marsha

Hey, friends!  Marsha here today with this week's Sunday Sketch Challenge.  I love using Citrus Twist Kits sketches because they always include such fun layers and details!

Here's a look at the sketch:  

Here's my take on the sketch:

The sketch was designed for a 12x12 page, but I chose to create a layout in my Life Crafted Travel album.  I used the new Food Love Stamp, Travelogue Kit, From the Heart Add-on Kit, and the Real Life Puffy Stickers.  

I chose to flip the sketch 90 degrees counterclockwise, so the photos were on the left side of the layout. I layered a diagonal striped patterned paper behind my photos and used some digital patterned papers to create a tag and banner behind the photos.  Ephemera pieces and a puffy sticker from the Travelogue kit were perfect embellishments for the page.

I added some stamping using the Food Love stamp.  This is such a fun stamp set- perfect for all of your food documenting!  I also added a puffy heart sticker from the Real Life Puffy Stickers.

For the right side of the layout, I followed the sketch and added a thin strip of patterned paper to the edge of the page.  I created the title by stamping the words "Yes to" using the Food Love stamp and black ink.  To complete the title, I used the Explore Chipboard Alphabet Stickers.  I added an ephemera die-cut arrow from the Travelogue kit above the title and added my journaling in strips below the title.  To finish the layout, I stamped another phrase using the Food Love stamp onto a digital patterned paper, trimmed it out, and added it below the journaling.  

I love how this layout turned out using the sketch!

I hope you are inspired to create a layout based on this week's sketch!  Be sure to share your pages with us on Instagram using the hashtag #citrustwistkits.  I can't wait to see what you create!

xo,

  

3 to Inspire with Shannon

 

Hello crafty friends! Shannon here with another 3 to Inspire to kickstart your memory keeping. For this post, I'm focusing on a travel layout using the new Travelogue products available now at Citrus Twist. My husband and I took a trip to Hawaii back in July 2014 and I never got around to scrapbooking it. These products inspired me to get some photos ordered and finally document our trip!

Let's look at my list of 3 things to inspire your layout...

1. Make your own title card

2. Use a cluster of embellishments

3. Bring in some history

1. Make your own title card. -- Since the Travelogue Mini Kit doesn't come with printed cards (you can get them digitally though!) I decided to challenge myself to use only the mini kit and some cardstock to make my own pocket page cards. I started this title card by stamping a background using the 6x8 Travelogue Stamp. I love stamping backgrounds in a pattern. I tested out a few light colors to see what would match the kit best. This yellow is bold enough to catch attention but suble enough to be a background. Next, I chose the word "explore" from the Travelogue Puffy Phrase and Icon Stickers. Finally, I pulled the large "go" from the Travelogue Ephemera and used foam adhesive to give it a little pop. I chose to work with bold colors (yellow and orange) so I didn't feel the need to add any additional embellishments. I really wanted the title to stick out.

2. Use a cluster of embellishments. -- The colors that I chose to use on this card dictated the rest of the page. I had free rein of color choice since my photos are all fairly neutral in color. Since the photos are outside and depict a WWII bunker, I wanted to go with a more muted palette to fit the mood of the page. I decided on chartreuse and forest green with a pop of coral. Then, I went into the Travelogue Ephemera pack and Travelogue Puffy Stickers to find embellishments to match my theme. I didn't like that I could see the bottom corner of the ticket through the hole in the location icon, so I backed the hole with the same cardstock that I used as the background of my card. Once I had my cluster arranged, I felt it was missing something at the bottom. I grabbed my 6x8 Travelogue Stamp and split the "full of wonder" phrase into 2 lines. This a really great trick to make your stamp fit if it's too long to be in a single line! Just cover the word(s) you aren't stamping with washi (after inking the stamp!).

3. Bring in some history. -- Hawaii is so rich in history that it would feel like a disservice to leave that out of my album. Of course, I can't remember every fact about everything we saw nearly 7 years ago. Hello, Google! I knew what this WWII pillbox on the North Shore of Oahu was called, but I couldn't remember the information that was on the historical marker nearby. These days I would take a photo of that marker to have the facts right at hand. Live and learn! A quick Google search brought up the historic marker and some additional information. I used that to fill in some of my journaling. To top off my card, I used a phrase from the Travelogue Ephemera pack.

Putting this page together and stretching my creativity to make my own pocket cards really revitalized my energy to dig into this travel album. Do you have a vacation that needs to be documented? Don't let it weigh on your mind for 7 years like I did - take the opportunity to dive in now! I can't wait to see what you create!

Life Crafted Inspiration with Shannon

Hello, crafty friends! Shannon here with some Life Crafted inspiration for you. I just love these albums. I mostly use them for spreads about me but I recently started one for family stories as well. My ideas for this album is that it'll be filled with stories that deserve more of a spotlight than I give on my pocket pages. This just happens to be the first story! It was our first family "outing" during the quarantine and it just so happened to mesh perfectly with the May 2020 Journeys Life Crafted kit.

I had a lot of photos from this outing so I opted for a 2x2 square grid pocket page. This is such a great option for lots of photos! I chose my favorites and alternated them down the page. Then I cut up some patterned papers and journaling cards from the Life Crafted kit. [note: the May 2020 Life Crafted kit and many of the components are sold out. I will link to the digital product where I can.] This was a great way to get break up the photos on the page.

I used two tags from the May 2020 Cut Apart Elements to add to my drone photos. Those sayings were meant for these pictures! I also used the Journeys 3x4 Kit Stamp to add sentiments to my patterned paper. Since my journaling cards had such large phrases (and one was pretty colorful), I opted to keep the embellishing to a minimum so I didn't overwhelm the page. A label, a stamp, and a geotag on the bottom square of patterned paper was all that was necessary to complete this side of the spread.

Since the left page was packed with color, I wanted to keep the right side fairly clean and neutral. I used the Journeys Traveler's Notebook Basics Digital Papers as my base for the right side. I simply opened the file in Photoshop to add the date, weather, and my journaling. This could also easily be done by hand as well!

I chose a photo with a lot of "white space" (the sky) to add to the lighter feel to this side of the spread. It's important to have balance in your pages! I mentioned that I didn't want a lot of color on this side, so it must have been meant to be that there was a chipboard embellishment in the same color as the compass - and it fit perfectly into the open spot!

The May 2020 Journeys Life Crafted Kit ephemera pack came with some fantastic die cut words. They're delicate and modern at the same time. They definitely make a big impact! That's exactly what I was looking for at the bottom of this page. My journaling didn't quite fill up the whole spot but this die cut "travel" filled in the blank space perfectly. I added one last touch - a Tiny Word Sticker - over a swatch of pink that was already at the bottom of the page. I did this to pull in the colors from the other side of the spread in a little way. You'll notice that I also made sure to have a little bit of peach on my left side to connect the two pages and add a cohesive look to the overall spread.

I hope I've inspired you to try a Life Crafted album or break out that May 2020 Journeys Life Crafted Kit to document your travels - even if they're just local travels around town. I can't wait to see what you create!

Hybrid Life Crafted Layout with Marsha

Hey friends!  Marsha here today sharing a hybrid layout in my Life Crafted Album.  I used the Life Crafted Journeys Kit, This Is Life Daytripping Stamp, and lots of digital files from the shop.

Here's a look at the layout:

To begin the spread, I enlarged a map patterned paper from the Journeys Digital TN Pattern Papers to 5"x8.25" so that it would fit as a full page in the album.  I created another canvas (sized to 4.25"x8.25") and added several of the arrow stamps from the Daytripping Digital Stamp Set.  I was careful to leave space in the center for the geotag cut file that I planned to add later.  I printed the papers, trimmed them to size, and adhered them so that the arrow paper was on top.  Next, using Silhouette Studio, I sized a geotag from the Journeys Titles Cut File to fit in the area I had left on the page and cut it out using a blue patterned paper from the kit.  I added some hand-stitching to the cut file for added texture and interest.  I always love the results when I take the time to add stitching to a layout!

I stamped the word "travel" and the trees icon stamp from the Daytripping Stamp to the map patterned paper and used a circle die to cut it out.  I added it to the center of the geotag to serve as the title.  To complete this page, I stamped some sentiments from the Daytripping Stamp and also added a camera icon stamp to the bottom of the page.

For the right side of the layout, I opened a digital paper from the Journeys TN Basics Digital Papers and typed my journaling onto the page.  I printed it out on white cardstock, added my photos, and used an ephemera piece and chipboard stickers from the kit to embellish it.  I also did a bit more stamping using the Daytripping Stamp and the LC Kit Stamp.  To complete the title, I used the aqua puffy alphabet stickers from the kit.  I also added a "19" to the top of the spread, because my husband and I were celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary on this trip!

Be sure to check out all of the amazing digital files that are available in the Citrus Twist Kits shop!  I will see you again soon!

xo,

Let's Get Digital with Marsha

Hey friends! Marsha here today, and I am sharing a layout in my Life Crafted Album focusing on some digitals from the Citrus Twist Kits shop.  I used one of the subscriber bonus journaling cards from this month as a background paper for my layout.  I loved this card and thought it would be perfect enlarged on a page.

Here's a look at my layout:

  

To begin the spread, I opened the journaling card file in Photoshop and enlarged it to approximately 4" wide.  Next, I printed it out on some white cardstock and trimmed it to the size of my TN page.

Since the background of the page was done, I began creating the layout using the Life Crafted Gratitude kit.  I added my photo to the page and used a stamp from the This Is Life "Grateful" Stamp to stamp a floral piece at the edge of my photo.  I stamped the date onto a printable cutapart label from this month and tucked it behind the photo.  A vellum leaf and puffy heart sticker completed the simple embellishing around the photo.

For the title, I stamped the word "hello" from the November Traveler's Notebook Stamp.  To complete the title, I used some tile alpha stickers (from a previous LC kit) and the glitter foam stickers from this month's kit.  I did not have enough Ls, so I trimmed two of the lowercase Fs to make the Ls.  I added more of the vellum leaves and stamped another floral from the TN Stamp.  To complete this side of the spread, I added some machine stitching to the edge of the page and to the stems of the leaves.

For the other side of the spread, I decided to focus on the vellum leaves from the Life Crafted kit.  I placed them randomly on the white cardstock base and added a bit more stamping with the Grateful Stamp.  To finish off the spread, I added some machine stitching to the stem of each leaf.

Here's one final look at the layout:

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope this has inspired you to use some digital elements on your next project.  I will see you again soon!

Marsha