2020 Project Life: Week 14

Hey everyone! I'm back with another week in my 2020 Project Life album - woohoo! I had a ton of product left in my April Citrus Twist Kits stash, so I decided to use it to create this layout. Follow along below to see how I put the whole thing together!

The kit didn't come with an alpha (it had those gorgeous gold puffy stickers instead), so I dipped back into my CTK stash and grabbed a puffy alpha that I had never used. It had several colors on the sheet, but I chose to stick with the gray letters and numbers, since I knew I'd be using those gray puffy leatherette stickers on my spread. They worked great with the purple paper from my kit on my title card!

Once again, I ended up with lots of 3x4 photos and zero 4x6 photos, so to make them work in my pockets I attached them to 4x6 index cards. Such a simple and cost-effective solution, since I get the cards at my local dollar store (but here are similar ones). 

I really wanted to use this gorgeous filler card on my spread, so I made sure to make room for it. So perfect for this quarantine life. 

There were so many die cuts in this kit, and when you add in the Digital Tags and all of the freebies recently offered on the CTK Facebook page, I had A LOT to choose from! I narrowed it down by sticking to a color scheme and being picky about sentiments that worked with my photos. Still, there were so many options that would have worked!

I really love this tag, so I made it a feature on my page. It worked perfectly with the photo of the book I was reading, since I have made sure to prioritize time to sit, relax, and read every day. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a quarantine spread without documenting what I'm drinking. Don't worry, I don't have a problem...yet. But seriously, making fancy cocktails has been a fun way to spend the evenings when there's not a lot else to do. How have you been spending your time?

As always, there's a video of my entire process if you'd like to see the whole thing in action.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you feel inspired to document your own stories. Until next time, happy crafting!

2020 Creativity Journal: Week 13

And I'm back with Week 13 in my Creativity Journal. For this spread, I used two digital collections from Humble and Create, Handmade Mess and Creative Mess. 

I took a bit of a different approach this week as well, sticking to more of a grid layout instead of slapping things down wherever I felt like sticking them.

I also dug out a super old alpha from Basic Grey that coordinated well with the kits. I used it for my title, which I added to my normal spot at the top of the left side of the page. 

I printed some of the elements from this kit on clear sticker paper, and created four embellishment clusters with the stitched circles and button elements. I used the labels from the kit to hold my journaling and added more journaling to a couple of the cards.

There are a lot of really cute elements in this kit as well, and I tried to include as many of them as I could. I also added a few of the phrase stickers here and there. 

The colors in this kit are really beautiful and so different from what I'm used to. I love using supplies that are a bit outside of the norm for me to stretch my creativity. 

I added clusters of the adorable buttons all over the page and then added some doodling around them to fill out the clusters. I just can't help but doodle on these pages. They're calling to me!

You can see all the details come together in the video below. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope to see you back here soon, and until then, happy crafting!

2020 Creativity Journal: Week 12

Life has been busier than usual lately, and I managed to get a bit behind in my Creativity Journal. So today I'll be sharing two weeks in order to get caught up, starting with Week 12. 

For Week 12, I used the My Happy Place collection designed by Kelly Bangs for The Reset Girl shop. I purchased this digital collection when it was released, and I'm so glad I finally got around to printing it out and using it. It's a gorgeous kit! And it worked so perfectly for this project!

I printed the digital sheets on several different paper types, including heavy cardstock, white sticker paper, and clear sticker paper, depending on how I thought I might use the elements on each sheet. There is so much in this collection! It's honestly a bit overwhelming, but so much fun to sort through it all!

I used mostly the decor elements for this spread. I used a bit of one of the patterned papers on the left side of the spread and a journal card on the right side, but mostly I used the cut apart decor. 

Once I had my photos, journaling, and elements in place, I grabbed the Head High stamp set from Feed Your Craft to add a few extra bits. 

For my title, I used some older Thickers from my stash. I have waayyy too many alpha stickers, and I'm trying to get a lot of them used up, so it was nice to find a set that coordinates with this collection in my stash. 

I had a bit of a hard time getting the two sides of this spread to feel balanced. The paper I used on the left side of the spread made that side feel so much more colorful than the right side. So to help balance the pages, I added some colorful words, some of the half-hexies, and more Thickers. 

Overall this spread was a lot of fun to create. I really love this collection, and I can't wait to make another layout using the remainder of this kit!

You can see the whole process in the video below.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you found some inspiration here, and I hope to see you back here soon! Until then, happy crafting, friends!

2020 Project Life: Week 13

Hi everyone! Today I'm sharing Week 13 in my 2020 Project Life album. For this week's page, I used the "Homebodies" digital kit from Brandi Kincaid. It's absolutely perfect for documenting these stay-at-home days!

For my title card, I used one of the paper from the kit, which I sized down to 4"x6" in Photoshop. I added a label from the kit and some gold Thickers from my stash to spell out the title. I love these sketched houses; they're so adorable!

I had two 4x6 pockets that needed to be filled with 3x4 cards/photos on this spread. To do that, I use a 4x6 index card and glue the cards/photos on top. That way they don't move around in the pockets and are sturdy enough not to fall out. 

Several of these circle embellishments are included in the kit, but I also made some of my own using the digital stamp set. In Photoshop, I drew a 1" circle, dropped the digital stamp on the canvas and resized it, then added color by selecting colors from other elements in the kit. Easy peasy!

I had a hard time deciding which of the cards and elements to use. So many of them were just perfect for these days of quarantine. I honestly can't wait to use the rest of them on another page!

To add a bit more embellishment, I dipped into my stash and grabbed a super old set of Studio Calico chipboard hearts. The pink matched this collection perfectly, and the gold flakes helped tie in the Thickers on my title.

I finished off the whole thing with some handwritten journaling and a few gold staples sprinkled here and there. I love how it turned out!

You can see all of the details in the video below. 

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you back here soon! Happy crafting, friends!

2020 Project Life: Week 12

I'm over on the Citrus Twist Kits blog today with a look at my Week 12 page. I have a process video as well, so be sure to hop over and check it out!

2020 Project Life: Week 11 and a GIVEAWAY!!!

Today on my YouTube channel I'm sharing this page in my 2020 Project Life album using the FREE printable I designed for all of you as a thank you for helping me reach 1500 subscribers!! You can find the link in the description box on YouTube.

2020 Creativity Journal: Week 10

Have you been following along with my Creativity Journal this year? I have to say that right now in all of the chaos and uncertainty, I am so glad I have this project to help me focus on the good, my art, and staying creative. 

I've also noticed that my 2020 journal is turning out quite different from my 2019 journal. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I've been sharing my pages publicly this year. There's definitely something to be said for a project that is meant to stay private.

Ultimately, however, I'm glad that I decided to share this year's journal with all of you. I'm in the business of inspiring...or at least that's what I tell myself when I have long, internal discussions about why I'm even doing any of this. So if sharing this project inspires any of you to document your own creative journeys, then I'm all in.

Anyway, back to the pages at hand. I was feeling a bit lazy when I created this spread, so even though I had planned to use the My Happy Place collection from Kelly Bangs for The Reset Girl, I hadn't printed it yet, and I couldn't be bothered to take the time to do so. Instead I dipped into my stash and grabbed the Color Fresh collection from Heidi Swapp. 

I think I got most of what I have from this collection in my Hip Kits when I was on their design team last year. I don't remember actually purchasing any individual pieces myself. I guess that's why I was so surprised to see how much of the collection I had. There was plenty to do this spread with lots left over still. 

I was also surprised by how much of the collection worked so perfectly for this project. Lots of inspiring quotes, phrases about creativity and having fun, and of course, the bright color scheme. It all worked really well with my photos/stories. 

There were a bunch of vellum and acetate pieces in the ephemera pack as well, which added a nice touch to the page. I like to include this like this to give these otherwise flat pages a bit more texture, and so that everything doesn't end up feeling to samey-same...if you know what I mean.

Of course, I went back to my doodly roots on this one and added some dots and flowers around the pages just to make it feel like my own. I don't know what it is about this project that makes me want to doodle on it, but I do. 

I recorded my process again this week, so be sure to watch if you want more details about whats and hows. There are also links to all of the products in the YouTube description box in case you're looking for a certain product in particular. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope to see you all back here soon, and until then, happy crafting!

Spring Magic

I'm over on the Citrus Twist Kits blog today sharing a spread in my Life Crafted Album using the brand new April "Night and Day" Life Crafted Kit. There's a process video as well, so be sure to stop by and check it out!

Citrus Twist Unboxing

I'm sharing an unboxing of the Citrus Twist Kits April Life Crafted Kit, stamp add-ons, and digitals today on my YouTube channel. See all of the beautiful new products in the shop today!