Living an Inspired Life: March 2019

Mar 26, 2019

SPRING HAPPY - Scrapbook Nerd

Hi there!

Spring is finally here, or so i hope! So what better way to start celebrating it than to bring color and lightness to your pages. For this, i pulled the new Pinkfresh Studio Everyday Musings collection to create a new project for Scrapbook Nerd.

I love large bold titles, so this be cut file from Handipaper was the perfect starting point for this page. It was all backed with papers from the collection and set on foam adhesive so that it stands out on the page.

To have all the details in the title and picture stand out, i chose to add a bit of mixed media to the background. So a bit of white paint and VIcki Boutin art crayon was added to one of the collection papers before the title and picture were glued onto it.

To balance the title, i chose to create a large cluster of floral die cuts at the bottom right corner of the layout. The combination of die cuts, ephemera pieces and stickers balances the page. IN addition, small pops of red were added around the page to create visual triangles. Here is the final layout:

Love how this turned out, having a single collection to work with makes it all a so much easier to create a cohesive layout in a small amount of time. Here is a video that shows how it all came together:

You can check all the materials used at Scrapbook Nerd, there are so many new products arriving at the store, Be Sure to stop by and check them all out!
Remember you can always contact me if you have a question on how this all came together.

XO

Mar 20, 2019

FULL OF JOY - Scrapbook Nerd

Hi there!

Spring is finally here, and that means lots of color starting to pop around my part of the world. I love having colorful papers to work with, so i pulled the Spring Farmhouse collection from Simple Stories to create a new project for Scrapbook Nerd.

It all started with some mixed media to the sides of a gessoed Bazzil Marshmallow cardstock. A bit of black art Crayon and gold glaze from VIcki Boutin create the perfect background for the soft lines of the cut file from Handipaper (which was backed with some vellum).

Once the background dried, two strips of paper from the collection were machine stitched to the page, and the cut out was also glued to the background so that it looks as peeking from behind the paper strips.

All the floral pieces from the Spring Farmhouse ephemera pack were fussy cut to reduce the white edge on them. These were combined with stickers from the same collection to create clusters around the picture and form a diagonal design on the page.

For the title, a phrase was chosen from the Simple and Sweet gold puffy stickers from Pinkfresh Studio. This sits next to a small cluster of fussy cut florals. A few lines of journal and some gold ink complete this page.

I love the contrast of the mixed media, vellum and the colors of the collection. Remember to stop by Scrapbook Nerd to check this collection and lots of new lines arriving to the store. If you have questions about how this was put together, please contact me!

Now i am off to enjoy Spring!

XO

Mar 19, 2019

Hello Happy Day

Scrapbook layout created for Simple Stories - Hello Happy Day -

Hello friends!

It looks like Spring is slowly coming our way, so I want to get started on those happy and colorful feelings using the new Spring Farmhouse collection from Simple Stories to document a recent picture of my family.

This new collection is packed with beautiful sentiments, designs and colors, so, what better way to showcase them all than to back a cut file with it. For this page, i used a cut file from Handipaper and backed each of the flowers with papers from the 6x8 paper pad and papers from the collection.

To take advantage of the angles of the cut file, i chose to back the center frame with the Cream paper from the Spring Farmhouse collection, and then glue it to the B side of the Well Said paper on an angle.

The new position of the cut out on the page created the perfect placing for the picture, so once i layered it with some papers from the 4x6 elements paper i glued it in place and added embellishments around it in clusters. So many embellishments to chose from, so easy to combine them in this page.

To enhance the florals in the cut file, i used the Floral Bits and Pieces to add to floral clusters. I simply fussy cut a bit of the white edge of each floral image, and added them with foam adhesive. For the title of this page, i used a combination of stickers and placed it at the bottom of the large floral cluster.

I love how this page turned out, and how colorful it is, perfect for Spring -even when the picture is not a colorful one-. The new Spring Farmhouse collection from Simple Stories is perfect to document all types of memories and put you in a Spring-kind-a-feeling. Remember to check it out, you are going to love it, too

XO

Mar 18, 2019

SWEET GIRL - JustNick Studio

Hello everyone!
Nathalie with you today with a new sweet and darling project that uses a few of the JustNick Studio cut files to start a new scrapbook album for a new member of our family.

One of the perks of cut files is that you can mix and match them to create a cut file that is truly one-of-a-kind, so it's the case of the large heart in the background of this page.

To create the large background heart, i used the outline of one of the Patterned Hearts cut file and welded to the Pretty Paisley Floral Background ( i copy a few of this together so that they could fill the heart shape before welding them together). While this cut in my Cameo, i added a bit of mixed media to the background -Vicki Boutin Art Crayons and Prima Pastel Metallic watercolors-

I backed the heart with vellum and some foam adhesive, and set it on top of the mixed media. Then added the picture of my new baby cousin/goddaughter with a few embellishments all from Echo Park's Welcome Baby Girl collection around it.

To create the title for this page, i used the Girl Power cut file, and set the words, "Sweet" and "Girl" 3 times from white cardstock. I glued the die cuts together -so that they resembled chipboard diecuts- and added a coat of shimmer watercolor to each of them. A bit of foam adhesive and glue keeps them in place.

I love how easy this came together by creating my own one-of-a-kind background using the beautiful Just Nick Studio cut files. All the cut files in the store are just the starting point for a new project, so make sure to check all the new designs arriving weekly. AS always let me know if you have questions on how this came together.

XO

Mar 17, 2019

Her Story - CITRUS TWIST KITS

Hi there!
Nathalie here with this week's sketch challenge, and i am in love with all the layers that it showcases. Having a sketch always makes a project come together easily in a short amount of time. So, before i show you what i created using the Life Chapters kit and a few pieces from the add-on kit, let me share the sketch with you all.

I was inspired by the layers and positioning of the elements to create this page about my youngest sister and her lovely story (trust me she herself is an adventure for us!)

I tried an stayed true to the sketch, but as you can see there are a few minor changes that make it more my style. Firstly, i switched the location of the label and the small paper strip from the bottom to the top of the page, and added a bit of mixed media to the background, hence adding texture to this page.

While the texture paste dried, i used the Notebook Edge cut file to cut one of the Pinkfresh Studio papers with it, at the same time a few of the floral images from the Sunny Days papers (Maggie Holmes) from the add-on kit were fussy cut.

I pulled all the blue elements i could find in the cut apart elements, ephemera and labels to bring the pops of color to this page. Once i had everything ready, i followed the sketch to create the layers behind the picture using papers from both the Life Chapters and Add on Kits.

The ripped layer of paper was replaced with the fussy cut florals, and all the blue elements were used to create the small clusters that create the visual triangle on this page. Gotta love the small alphas included in the Life Chapters kit, as they are the perfect font to combine with all die cuts, and so on, just like featured in the title of this page. The following video will show you how it all came together:

As you can see this page is a reflection of my sister's story and it came together rather easily with the inspiration the sketch provides.

Now it is your turn to put the sketch to use in a project of your own. Remember to share with us what you create, tag @citrustwistkits or #citrustwistkits when sharing it on social media or just upload your picture to the CTK Friends page on Facebook. We love seeing your creations.

XO

Mar 16, 2019

This Photo - VICKI BOUTIN DT

Hi there!
Nathalie with you today wrapping up this week with another project inspired on this month's mood board. I love VIcki's new release, everything is just so versatile, and since we are on school break for March Break, time has been spent with my daughter, niece and nephew, having those new pre made mixed media backgrounds was amazing!, so let me show you what i created:

This layout was totally inspired on this month's mood board (available here and at the Vicki Boutin Mixed Media community on Facebook )

The images of the mood board gave me so many ideas, but i was in love with those glitter stars that i had to make them the focus of this post. For that I used the new Iridiscent Glitter Glaze and some of the fine silver glitter from Vicki's Mixology collection, and played with a few ideas on how to add the mix to a foundation paper. Below is a picture of the results of the different ideas i had in mind for the stars.

The glaze and glitter mixture brings lots of shine to play foundation paper; whenever added on top of a watercolored paper, it lightens the application area,thus creating a bleached-like effect on the page; and when the watercolor is mixed in the glaze, the results are a glittery paste of uniform color, but with a very luminescent finish on the color, thus making it a few shades lighter.

The clear glaze mixture was added to a foundation paper and set aside to dry, the drying process is a long one due to the application and formulation of the glaze. Once it was completely dried, i used a set of star dies (Maya Road) to cut the paper. Once again the glitter glaze makes it a bit harder to cut the paper, so i had run the paper and die a few times through my die cutting machine.

To bring the dark edges to the stars, i used a stencil brush and a bit of art crayon around the edges. Now for the mat of this page, i pulled the new Pre-made Mixed Media backgrounds, and chose the large circle (as it reminded me of the rainbow in the mood board), and layered the glitter stars and paper stars to form a crescent moon on the right of the page where i could nestle my picture.

For the title of the this page, I took advantage of the puffy word stickers and a few of the glitter stars to create a cluster where i can add my title and balance the layout. A few embellishments were added - i kept to a black and white scheme for these- and then to finish i added a few splatters of black art crayon. Just love how this turned out, and have prepared a video that shows you how it all came together:

I wished that you all could appreciate how shiny the stars really are, though i tried a few different angles, it is hard to capture it all in the camera.

And now it is your time to be inspired by the mood board to create a project of your own. Remember to share with us your finished projects and do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions on how our projects come together.

XO

Mar 13, 2019

Altenew March 2019 Stamp/Die/Stencil/Ink Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hi there!

Welcome to the ALTENEW March 2019 Stamp/Die/Stencil/Ink Release Blog Hop and Giveaway. You should be arriving from Lilith's blog.

Today, I am so excited to be joining the blog hop as I love Altenew's products, and this month's releases are probably high on my list of favorites. It was so hard and easy at the same time to pick the products i wanted to work with, but I think that i better show you what i created with them.

The new Book Club stamp and die set was one of the first products added to my list. I love the image of the circle framed with the lovely florals, and put it to use in this spread on my Family Album (Life Crafted Album from Citrus Twist Kits). I used Blush and Coral Bliss Crisp Inks to create the background of the page using the Leaf Canopy stamp set. The Book Club stamp set was then used to create the florals around the picture and the die cut on the right side of the spread. I have created a small video that will show you how this page came together:

I love the simplicity and elegance of the page, the Book Club stamp set is such a versatile set that it can easily be used outside of the covers of your book.

For my next project, I pulled the new Bold Bunch Stamp set to create a cheery card.

I created masks for each of the Bold Bunch stamp images and the center of the card, then used a series of Altenew Crisp Inks to add the florals around the center of the card, sort of framing the sentiment.

To complete the card, i gold embossed the sentiment, and framed it with some of the Fine Frames die cuts. Sweet and simple card, and perfect for the upcoming Spring season.

For the next project, I used the Rennie Rose stamp and Masking Stencil set to create a new entry in my Life Crafted album (Citrus Twist Kits).

My idea was to create my custom-made patterned paper using the stamps and masking stencil set. Once the background was stamped, then i used the Altenew watercolor pan set to add some detailing to the flowers. The Altenew Classic Alpha Die was also used to create the title of this spread. I love how this turned out, and i have created a small video for you all to see how it came together:

I am sure by now you are all loving all the new Altenew releases, trust me there is so much to chose from. So let me show you a few more options...

The next project features the Prettiest Pomander stamp set. This time i used the stamp to create a simple card. For this, i created a mask and used it to stamp a series of images at the top left corner of the card using Altenew Black crisp ink.

I added a few accents of white by coloring the centers of some of the flowers. The sentiments comes from the Handpicked Bouquet stamp set, and i chose to embossed it in white on a small tag. I added a bit of foam adhesive behind it and used some metallic thread to bring the eye to the sentiment. LOVE how this turned out.

And now for my final project, i chose to use the new Wallpaper Art stamp and die set, this is a new favorite of mine, to create this layout about my family,

The florals stamped images are the focus of this page, so i decide to pair them up with some watercolor and a cut file from Citrus Twist Kits. The kraft background just makes the flowers the centerpiece of this page. Here is video that will showcase how it all came together:

As you can see i had fun with this month's Altenew releases, it is hard to chose a favorite, hence why it was hard and easy to pick from the catalogue.

Now it has come to the fun part of this blog hop:

GIVEAWAY

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog by 3/13/2019 for a chance to win. 6 winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 3/17/2019.

Altenw will also be drawing for a lucky comment for a $20 Gift Certificate. I will be announcing the winner on 3/13/2019.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Now it is time to continue the hop, remember you can always come back here or go to the Altenew Scrapbook and Altenew Card blogs to start the blog hop. Here is a list of all the participants for your convenience:

Nathalie DeSousa <<< you are here

Ashlea Cornell

Pooja