Simple Stories

Hi everyone! Wendy here with you today, welcome to Day 1 of the Simple Stories & Perfect Paper Crafting Blog Hop Week!  We’re so excited to team up with Perfect Paper Crafting to share some inspiring projects with you this week.

We’ll be giving away a great Perfect Paper Crafting prize package at the end of the week, so be sure to play along and check back on Sunday the 20^th to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Here are the different ways you can play along –

1. Like Simple Stories on Facebook
2. Share this blog post on your Facebook wall and tell us you did on our Facebook wall
3. Follow Simple Stories on Pinterest
4. Follow Simple Stories on Instagram at simplestories_
5. Comment here on our blog or on Facebook

Perfect Paper Crafting is also posting projects and giving away prizes, so be sure to check out their blog and Facebook page, too!

I'm here today to give a little mixed media inspiration using both the DIY Boutique collection and Summer SN@P! Set.  I chose the Perfect Airbrush from Perfect Paper Crafting to play with for today's hop, having never used an airbrush I thought that this would be a ton of fun!  When I first received the product I pulled out all of the markers I could find and began to play...  I found that when you airbrush you have to cover your area because a fine mist goes everywhere!  I found that my Faber-Castell big brush markers were too big to fit in the holder.  I found that Crayola markers work nicely, but the skinny ones didn't achieve much spray.  I really liked using highlighters, Expo markers, and my copic markers that I had, they achieved a nice amount of spray.

I began my layout Bring It On, with the idea of using frames - the photo frames and the paper Freeze Frame, as I was cutting out the frames I realized that my picture nestled perfectly in the empty spots.  

I grabbed SN@P! Cuts from various collections looking for the right touch and fit in my frames.  After I laid out the basic page, I removed everything (remember the tip that the mist goes everywhere!) and taped my SN@P! Cut down on my cardstock and began to spray with the Perfect Airbrush.  

Once my spraying was finished, I adhered the photo frames and pictures, popped up a few of the frames that I had removed from the paper, added a few stickers, chipboard pieces, and some penwork and my layout was complete.

My next layout, Soak Up the Sun, began with the idea of using the airbrush to give a water feel.  

I began this layout by using a stencil (Heidi Swapp) and forming a diagonal of bubbles using my airbrush.  

I loved what my scrap paper looked like with the overspray so I decided to put some overspray on my edges furthering the idea of a watery page.  

After my messy fun was done, I grabbed my little wallet photos and a few Insta Squares from the Summer SN@P! Set to form the focal point of my page.  I loved the look of the black sunglasses from the 4x6 cards which I added in as something to ground my layout.  A few die cut pieces, stickers, and enamel dots were the finishing touches to my layout.

Thanks for joining me today for some mixed media fun!

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 of the Simple Stories & Perfect Paper Crafting Blog Hop!

Hi Simple Stories friends. It's Heather  and I gotta shout from the roof tops just how much I LOVE the DIY Boutique collection. The colors are just so bright and fun and it has such a great mix of patterns, from stripes, to polka dots, chevrons, flowers, basics, you name it, it's there. And if you haven't learned yet...I love mixing patterns.

Let me walk you through this layout I created to document a day at the park with my littlest girl.

I wanted to pull out the yellow color in the tire swing so I chose to use the yellow and white polka dot paper as my background. And, I knew I wanted to use the floral paper because it matches my daughter's shirt perfectly. Third, I knew I wanted to use all those fabulous sticker, brads and enamel dots in a big way. First, though, I had to create a foundation for them so I stitched a strip of the red paper across the page and then folded the edges up, allowing them to tear here and there.

See? See how perfectly that floral paper matched my daughter's shirt. I couldn't have planned it any better. LOL. I added a multi-colored black polka dot frame over a section of vellum to help soften the floral pattern just a bit. I offset the photo to the left of my page. I used foam dots to adhere a couple of sentiment stickers.

To create this cluster of embellishments, I knew I needed to use at least 3 different shapes. I chose hearts, flowers and butterflies. I started by placing the largest shapes first and then the medium pieces. I tucked a few under my photo mats and let some hang off the left and right side of the page. Then the little bits filled in the gaps perfectly. If you look closely, you can see that I added 3 yellow sentiment stickers on the yellow paper. I like the subtly of it scattered here and there.

So, that's my layout today. I hope this inspired you to grab all your embellishments packs you've been hoarding and put them to use to create a fun little clustered embellishment page. I think that would make a great weekend project.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hello Everyone! It's Kristine Davidson here today with a Life Documented post using the NEW DIY and DIY Boutique Collections.  In my previous post I shared with you that I would document 2012 and today I'm sharing the month of MAY 2012.

I used the 6x8" album but included different pocket pages. You'll see in this post that with so many varieties of the 6x8 pocket pages you can mix and match to create a uniform album for your LIFE Documented projects.

Page 3 includes 2 4x4" pockets and 4 2x2" pockets. I thought this was perfect to add 2 large photos and a few small ones on the sides.  Once I started decorating this page I realized I wanted to add more but didn't want to add another page so instead, I added a 4x4" Photo Flip. You can add these in different ways but I adhered mine to the left of the pocket page. This allows a great Flip to view journaling and another photo.  I love this format, it's like a little secret pocket!

I added a confetti pocket to this page, they add such fun details to a spread and you can add anything you like. In my Mini Confetti pocket I added some enamel dots, stickers, word phrases, and some small punched out pieces of patterned paper.  My technique for creating this pocket is simple : you can add your items and sew them to the page protector or you can make a small sized pocket with the items, sew them together and then add them to your pocket.   

As you flip the page, I again used a monthly calendar showing the days of the month and a few pictures of what happened that day. Some aren't exact dates but I'm ok with that.

This following page is OH HAPPY DAY, a Simple Stories Silhouette Cut File. I added pop dots under the die cut to add a bit of dimension.

The last page for May 2012 has a few photos and journaling about misc days in the month.

I am using the 6x8 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all of my Life Documented pages for 2012. It's sturdiness, metal corner accents, and stitch details are fantastic and durable. The album will be handled often so durability is a must - this SN@P! album is so far the best I've been using.

I used a variety of inserts for this monthly spread - a 6x8" size featuring 2x2" to 4x6 and also a full 6x8. The Sn@p pocket pages come in a variety that you can add to your album. PERFECTO!

I hope you enjoyed my LIFE DOCUMENTED post today - and don't forget to share your pages or projects on the Simple Stories Facebook page and Instagram.

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here with a Life Documented layout using the Dog SN@P! Set & along with it I have another sketch that mixes the Sn@p! Pocket Pages with traditional scrapbooking.

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here - Simple Stories Life Documented Sketch #10.

The left side of the sketch uses a combination of SN@P! cards and photos to create a traditional 12x12 scrapbook page,  while the right side of the sketch uses a combination of SN@P! cards and photos in the SN@P! Pocket Page, Design 6.

Here's my layout based on the sketch above:

I adore our chocolate lab, Chewy, and I have a ton of pictures of him but, I'm really bad about scrapbooking with them. He's such an important part of our family and I want to make sure that I document his sweet relationship with our boys. I immediately loved the cute Dog SN@P! Set and couldn't wait to use it. One of my favorite things is that the set includes so many adorable types and colors of dogs and I immediately saw one that reminded me of our lovable Chewy.

On the left page I have a large block design made up of a 4x6 card and photo and 2x2 squares and photos. If you aren't a fan of using 2x2 photos you could always just use a 4x4 photo or card in place of those areas on the sketch.

I love adding hand stitched elements where I can on my layouts. I was immediately drawn to the 2x2 squares with the different shapes on them and knew that stitching around them would be a great way to add some texture and dimension.

I love finding fun ways to play around with the theme and design of my layouts. I wanted to find a way to make it kind of look like a dog had walked across my layout. I created a wavy line,

I used the "Life is Better With a Dog" card for my title and added two small photos above it.

On the right page I used a Sn@p! Pocket Page. This design of Pocket Page, design 6, is one of my favorites. Since it just has the standard 4x6 and 3x4 pockets, it really makes putting a page together a breeze.

I kept everything pretty simple with the right page. Each 4x6 pocket has a photo and each 3x4 pocket has a card.

I had an extra photo I wanted to include and it just so happened that one of my photos had a lot of empty space. It was the perfect space to add that smaller photo and a few embellishments.

I added stitching to outline the paw print and then added a heart to the center. On the dog card I added a small punched heart and then added glitter to it.

I added some stitching to the top and bottom of the "bow, wow, wow" card along with a washi tape sticker and a small punched heart. I added my journaling in strips on the journaling card and then added our dog's name with letter stickers.

I'm using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all my LIfe Documented pages; I love the details like the metal accents and stitching.  I used the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 6 from the Variety Pack. You get so many different options and great designs with the Variety Pack!

Good morning Simple fans. Nancy here with a look at the bright and bold DIY Boutique collection. I love the pops of color and fun in this line. It reminds me of the colorful parade photos I have from our trip to Disney World.

I paired this graphic check print with white cardstock to highlight the colors and provide a place for my photos and journaling.

The pack of letter alphas were perfect for a colorful title that mimics the patterned paper and gives it a fun, party feel.

The polaroid frames are perfect for bringing a smaller photo front and center. I printed the journaling on vellum before placing in the frame to add a soft, see-through look to the area.

The die cut vellum stars add movement to layout without overpowering the page. A simple white dot was placed in the center to add dimension.Enamel dots were used to reinforce the Disney theme. Placing the symbol in a circle sticker with some stamping, gives it a ground spot.

Pretty pops of color and bold design are what DIY and DIY Boutique are all about. I love that it fits any theme, event or everyday scrapbooking moment. It’s the perfect collection to have on hand!

Hi everyone! Andrea here with you today, welcome to Day 6 of the Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions Blog Hop Week!  We’re so excited to team up with Taylored Expressions to share some inspiring projects with you this week.

We’ll be giving away a great Taylored Expressions prize package at the end of the week, so be sure to play along and check back on Sunday the 30^th to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Here are the different ways you can play along –

1. Like Simple Stories on Facebook
2. Share this blog post on your Facebook wall and tell us you did on our Facebook wall
3. Follow Simple Stories on Pinterest
4. Follow Simple Stories on Instagram at simplestories_
5. Comment here on our blog or on Facebook

Taylored Expressions is also posting projects and giving away prizes, so be sure to check out their blog and Facebook page, too!

Today I'm excited to share with you a mini book I made using the DIY Collection along with Pockets and Pages stamps from Taylored Expressions.  It was fun to team up with Taylored Expressions and use their cool line of stamps in my scrapbooking - a first for me!

I worked with the “What A Day” stamp set, which consisted of day of the week stamps as well as banners to stamp on.  I struggled for a bit wondering how I could incorporate those into a mini book, but then I thought about how I spend my days.  It seems as if I live in my car, and I always end up at the same places over and over.  Viola!  That was it - seven days in a week and the seven places that I’m at most in those days; and the concept for the album fell into place.

At first I thought it might be silly to make an album of “places”, but these seven places take up a lot of my time and really do make up the bits and pieces of my life.

So here it is:

The album is based on cardstock and is held together by o-rings.

The front cover is paper from the DIY Boutique Collection and is matted on black cardstock.  I used a Simple Stories Silhouette cut file for the album title.  The banner stickers are from the collection as well, and I stamped those with the stamps from Taylored Expressions.  I embellished with enamel dots (think “candy buttons” from when we were kids!) and pop dotted a brad and a sticker to give the cover some depth.

I used ID Badge Holders from my local office supply store as the photo pockets for the book, and built the book around those.

They were great because the smaller Card Foundations from the collection fit in them perfectly.

The pages of the book are filled with photos of my seven places and a little write up about each place.

I incorporated the Taylored Expressions stamps throughout the book.

I used tags to title each of my places with sticker letters and a sticker number; those let you know where one place ends and the next one begins.

I’ve got to tell you…this was my first time working with the DIY collection, and there are SO many items to choose from as far as embellishments go!

This book was a lot of fun to make, and it documents how I spend the majority of my time in a week.  It was fun to team up with Taylored Expressions and do something that was new to me - adding stamping into my scrapbooking.  Thanks for joining me today!  As always, I hope this project inspires you to try something new and exciting in your scrapbooking projects.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how you can easily pair any of the Simple Stories collections with Taylored Expressions fabulous stamp sets! 

Head on over to the Taylored Expressions blog and check out what their Design Team has created using their stamps & dies and our Simple Stories products! They’re also hosting giveaways as well, so what are you waiting for – head on over! 

Thanks so much for joining us this week!

Hi everyone! Lisa here with you today, welcome to Day 5 of the Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions Blog Hop Week!  We’re so excited to team up with Taylored Expressions to share some inspiring projects with you this week.

We’ll be giving away a great Taylored Expressions prize package at the end of the week, so be sure to play along and check back on Sunday the 30^th to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Here are the different ways you can play along –

1. Like Simple Stories on Facebook
2. Share this blog post on your Facebook wall and tell us you did on our Facebook wall
3. Follow Simple Stories on Pinterest
4. Follow Simple Stories on Instagram at simplestories_
5. Comment here on our blog or on Facebook

Taylored Expressions is also posting projects and giving away prizes, so be sure to check out their blog and Facebook page, too!

Today I'm excited to share some fun layouts I made with Simple Stories new DIY Boutique and Fresh Air collections. I paired these collections with some fabulous stamp sets from Taylored Expressions: Pockets & Pages {Documented} and Pockets & Pages {InstaFun}.

This first page features the DIY Boutique collection (with embellishments from the DIY collection added in). This is such a fun collection, full of fabulous bright colors. I embellished the circles already printed on the paper with enamel dots, stickers, chipboard and some of the Taylored Expressions {InstaFun} stamps. This stamp set worked perfectly with this selfie of my daughter. I love the style of the font and all of the hash tags.

Here's a detail shot of the top right corner of the page:

Here's a look at the area to the left of the photo, showing some of the Taylored Expressions stamps in action:

The Fresh Air Simple Set worked so well for this page about my daughter's love of Starbucks. She likes trying things from what she calls the "secret" menu — items that are not listed in the store, but are drink combos people have tried and posted online. I think I'll stick with my favorite, a tall chai tea latte with skim milk :)  On this page, I used the Taylored Expressions {Documented} set to stamp a journaling card (inside of the text frame) and used some of the word stamps around the page.

Here's a look at the stamped journaling card inside of the frame:

This is a detail shot of the bottom right corner of the page where I included the product packaging from my daughter's drink:

This last shot shows the detail to the left of the photo, including a sentiment I stamped onto cardstock and used on top of the bitty bag that holds the journaling:

I hope you enjoyed seeing how you can easily pair any of the Simple Stories collections with Taylored Expressions fabulous stamp sets!

Head on over to the Taylored Expressions blog and check out what their Design Team has created using their stamps & dies and our Simple Stories products! They’re also hosting giveaways as well, so what are you waiting for – head on over! 

Check in again with us tomorrow for more inspiring projects from Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions!

Hello friends! Kim here, welcome to Day 4 of the Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions Blog Hop Week!  We’re so excited to team up with Taylored Expressions to share some inspiring projects with you this week.

We’ll be giving away a great Taylored Expressions prize package at the end of the week, so be sure to play along and check back on Sunday the 30^th to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Here are the different ways you can play along –

1. Like Simple Stories on Facebook
2. Share this blog post on your Facebook wall and tell us you did on our Facebook wall
3. Follow Simple Stories on Pinterest
4. Follow Simple Stories on Instagram at simplestories_
5. Comment here on our blog or on Facebook

Taylored Expressions is also posting projects and giving away prizes, so be sure to check out their blog and Facebook page, too!

I was super pumped to pick the Taylored Expressions Bars of the Week die set to use on my project. I had originally planned on using it for my pocket pages album (which I am sure I still will), but something else popped into my head.

My husband and I have agreed that planning the week’s menu ahead of time is such a stress reliever. I’ve been wanting to make our boring weekly list a little more inspiring. So, here’s what I came up with.

I used the top half of our magnet/message board as a weekly recipe card holder. (I use the bottom half for shopping and To Do lists).

First, I created tags with the adorable Taylored Expressions die. Of course, the set includes all seven days, but we mainly plan for Monday through Friday, then kind of “wing it” on the weekends with grilling, leftovers, etc. I was really impressed with how well the dies cut so cleanly, even with these dainty letters. I layered them up with bits and pieces of our Homespun Collection. 

Naturally, I couldn’t resist adding a cute little header to my board. I don’t know about you, but “I’m hungry” is like our family theme song! Ha, ha.

Here’s a closer view of the Friday banner. I used little clothespins to clip my recipe cards to the board. (I also just love the SN@P! Recipe Cards in the homespun collection).

Head on over to the Taylored Expressions blog and check out what their Design Team has created using their stamps & dies and our Simple Stories products! They’re also hosting giveaways as well, so what are you waiting for – head on over! 

Check in again with us tomorrow for more inspiring projects from Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions!

Hey there!  Melissa here, welcome to Day 3 of the Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions Blog Hop Week!  We’re so excited to team up with Taylored Expressions to share some inspiring projects with you this week.

We’ll be giving away a great Taylored Expressions prize package at the end of the week, so be sure to play along and check back on Sunday the 30^th to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Here are the different ways you can play along –

1. Like Simple Stories on Facebook
2. Share this blog post on your Facebook wall and tell us you did on our Facebook wall
3. Follow Simple Stories on Pinterest
4. Follow Simple Stories on Instagram at simplestories_
5. Comment here on our blog or on Facebook

Taylored Expressions is also posting projects and giving away prizes, so be sure to check out their blog and Facebook page, too!

I've been steadily working through a backlog of photos that I need to edit from the end of 2013, which makes now the perfect time to finish up the remaining half dozen or so weeks in my 2011 album. I love skipping around while scrapping my weeks since it gives me lots of freedom when matching products to photos, and for this particular week I went with the A Charmed Life collection- along with some fantastic Taylored Expressions dies, of course!

My birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, so of course my first inclination is to use A Charmed Life to scrapbook photos from that event (and, honestly, I probably will be using it for that, too!), but I'm also a big fan of using collections for something other than their theme suggests. During this particular week in 2011 I was participating in Ali Edwards' Week in the Life project, so I had lots of great photos that reminded me of everything I love about my life and our home. "A Charmed Life" seemed to be the perfect sentiment to go along with them!

The two sets of Taylored Expressions dies that I used on this page were the inspiration for my title card for this week. The 3x4 Photo Frame from their Pockets and Pages collection was the exact size that I needed to frame up a 3x3 Insta-Square card, and the Label It die cuts make adorable banner strips (and a perfect parking spot for my dates!).

I used the Label It dies in several places on my layout as a grounding element for stickers and embellishments, helping to bring a bit more color and remove the "floating" aspect that can sometimes happen on my mages.

I've also put together a short video showing how this layout came together from start to finish!

Simple Stories' 12x12 SN@P faux leather albums in aqua are the perfect place to hold my layouts when they're finished, and for 2011-2013 I've stuck to Design 3 Pocket Pages to make things easy. I've pretty much got making layouts in them down to a science now!

Head on over to the Taylored Expressions blog and check out what their Design Team has created using their stamps & dies and our Simple Stories products! They’re also hosting giveaways as well, so what are you waiting for – head on over! 

Check in again with us tomorrow for more inspiring projects from Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions!

Hey there!  Vicki here, welcome to Day 2 of the Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions Blog Hop Week!  We’re so excited to team up with Taylored Expressions to share some inspiring projects with you this week.

We’ll be giving away a great Taylored Expressions prize package at the end of the week, so be sure to play along and check back on Sunday the 30^th to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Here are the different ways you can play along –

1. Like Simple Stories on Facebook
2. Share this blog post on your Facebook wall and tell us you did on our Facebook wall
3. Follow Simple Stories on Pinterest
4. Follow Simple Stories on Instagram at simplestories_
5. Comment here on our blog or on Facebook

Taylored Expressions is also posting projects and giving away prizes, so be sure to check out their blog and Facebook page, too!

I am over the moon with the Taylored Expressions Dies I used for my layout today!!  I chose the Pockets & Pages Circle Words thin steel dies from Taylored Expressions for my project.  I paired these fun words with the Simple Stories DIY Boutique and DIY stickers.  Take a peek...

The Circle Word Dies are perfect for the DIY Boutique collection!!  Take a look at the layout I created...

I used the solid sides of the patterned paper from DIY Boutique to cut the die words out.  I found the words much easier to read with the solid patterns.  I have to say these dies work like magic!!  The cuts were super clean and detailed.  They released easily from the dies even though they are delicate.

I hope you can see how clean the cuts are in this image!!  To finish off the words, I simple punched 2" circles from solids again and layered them.  The DIY stickers were the perfect compliment to the dies.

Here's another look...

I have always been a fan of die cuts and I love that many of the Taylored Expressions dies also come with matching stamps!  I will be checking out more of their products...these circles have me hooked!!!

Head on over to the Taylored Expressions blog and check out what their Design Team has created using their stamps & dies and our Simple Stories products! They’re also hosting giveaways as well, so what are you waiting for – head on over! 

Check in again with us tomorrow for more inspiring projects from Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions!

Hi all! Teri here, welcome to Day 1of the Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions Blog Hop Week!  We’re so excited to team up with Taylored Expressions to share some inspiring projects with you this week.

We’ll be giving away a great Taylored Expressions prize package at the end of the week, so be sure to play along and check back on Sunday the 30^th to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Here are the different ways you can play along –

1. Like Simple Stories on Facebook
2. Share this blog post on your Facebook wall and tell us you did on our Facebook wall
3. Follow Simple Stories on Pinterest
4. Follow Simple Stories on Instagram at simplestories_
5. Comment here on our blog or on Facebook

Taylored Expressions is also posting projects and giving away prizes, so be sure to check out their blog and Facebook page, too!

Today I'm excited to share with you a couple pages I made with the A Charmed Life collection and some fabulous steel dies from Taylored Expressions.

My approach to my Life Documented pages is fairly liberal. While many of my friends follow a strict schedule and put together pages every week, I tend to focus on events and only document things when I feel like it. Sometimes I have lots to document and sometimes I don't.  So this spread really focuses on two fun things that happened this month. First, I took part in a St. Patrick's Day run/walk.  Second, a couple of my neighbors created some fantastic chalk drawings and just had to share them with me! 

The first page is all about the run/walk. 

Let's be honest: I am the slowest runner ever. The cellar position in the final standings whenever I take part in a race is usually occupied by me. That's OK. I still totally love taking part in these runs. And this one, especially, was fun because it had a St. Patrick's Day theme. Almost everyone wore green or something Irish-inspired for it! 

With lots of green, a few clovers and an abundance of words like "lucky" and "happy" showing up in the A Charmed Life collection, I felt it was perfect for this project.  Two of my favorite elements on this page are the Super Happy and It Was cards.

The Super Happy card started out as a regular old SN@P! Cut card. I added the decorative Chevron elements over the Happy word with a die from Taylored Expressions' Pockets & Pages Essentials - 2x2 dies. I love the look!  

I created the card next it by die-cutting a piece of vellum with Taylored Expressions' Pockets & Pages - 3x4 Bubble In die and then layering it over some A Charmed Life paper. I sure dig how they look together.

I got daring with the picture of my race medal and die-cut it with a square die from the 2x2 dies from Taylored Expressions. I mounted a SN@P! Card in the open space and then slapped some letters onto it, as well as some additional stickers onto the picture.

This page focuses on my young neighbors and their artwork!  They were so excited to show their chalk art to me that I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures. Believe it or not, they spent two whole days sketching planets, moons and stars onto our street. They were so proud of the results!

For the left side of this page, I sliced up a 6x12 A Charmed Life Element into three 4x6 panels. I love how orderly it looks when you do that and then slide the pieces into a Pocket Page.  I embellished the bottom panel by adding some additional patterned paper and some die-cut squares. I mounted the star (from A Charmed Life's Bits & Pieces) with foam tape and then added a few brads.

By the way, I'm using a 12x12 SN@P! faux leather album in red to document all of my adventures in 2014. I am a huge fan of the album's ring binding because it lets me scrapbook out of order.  I used the SN@P! 12x12 Pocket Pages Design 3 and Design 10 for these pages. I love the variety of different page styles of Pocket Pages Simple Stories offers. It's nice to have creative options. 

Taylored Expressions Products Used:

Pockets & Pages Essentials - 2x2 dies

Pocket & Pages - 3x4 Bubble In die

Head on over to the Taylored Expressions blog and check out what their Design Team has created using their stamps & dies and our Simple Stories products! They’re also hosting giveaways as well, so what are you waiting for – head on over! 

Check in again with us tomorrow for more inspiring projects from Simple Stories & Taylored Expressions!

Hey everyone!

Nichol here today showcasing the A Charmed Life Collection with a new layout and card featuring combining the Simple Stories Silhouette Cut Files for one-of-a-kind titles and greetings.

The Simple Stories Silhouette Cut Files are fabulous "as is" however they can make an even bolder statement when grouped together and manipulated a bit to create all new looks!

For my layout today, I combined the following nine cut files to create a big, bold title for this summer-themed page:

After manipulating and resizing the files in the Silhouette Software, I cut all the text from a single sheet of A Charmed Life 12x12 patterned paper. Then I trimmed and mounted that sheet on another piece of 12x12 paper and "filled in" all the open text by die cutting the words from 6x6 patterned papers from A Charmed Life and I Heart Summer.

The assortment of colors and patterns gives the title much more interest and adds lots of color to the page! I used a glue pen adhere the letters without a mess.

I layered some of the phrase stickers from A Charmed Life and I Heart Summer on top of the photo strips and "secured" the photo strips to my page with "washi tape" stickers from the Sn@p! Icons Stickers.

I printed my journaling directly on the DIY Office Journal Layers and popped it up with a bit of foam adhesive, tucking the cute cloud and sunshine die cut from the Summer Sn@p! Insta-Squares & Pieces. 

I created a coordinating card from the same 6x6 patterned papers using the following cut files:

I manipulated the 4 cut files to create my own title. (I used only the letter "I" from the "Can You Believe This?" arrow). 

I popped up the "Love You" greeting on top of the card and layered a contrasting color of paper underneath the die cut "Always Remember I". By layering papers this way it addds visual interest and dimension to a relatively simple design!

I completed the card by adding detail with a white opaque pen, gemstones and adding some sparkle with a clear glitter marker to some of the hearts and adding Glossy Accents to a couple of them as well.

Hi everyone, Marie here today to share a Life Documented project using the new DIY Boutique collection.  I've couldn't wait to work with this collection. By adding stickers, stamps, and embellishments to foundation cards you can custom make your own elements to put in Pocket Pages.  The possibilities are endless!

We have been pretty busy with home improvements projects and medical issues the last couple of months, so I didn't have a lot of photos to add to my album.  I decided to just use a single page for each month and add in some postcards and ephemera to round things out.  If you look at my pages you can see I used more reds and pinks for February and more greens and blues for March.  I thought it was a nice way to distinguish between the months, while still using the same collection and keeping the overall look cohesive.

In some cases I would add stickers and embellishments right over my photos, and in others I would add them on top of one of the foundation cards.  My favorite card to customize was this one full of colorful circles. I added brads, chipboard and circle-punched photos to it.

I also customized one of the new Insta-Frames.  I slipped a photo of some Valentine presents into the frame, and then stitched around the outside with red thread using my sewing machine.  I can see so many options for these frames, such as using them to make little pockets for sequins and other small items.

After using the DIY Boutique collection for these pages I can see I've barely scratched the surface of the different ways to use everything.  I'll be back next month with even more ways to use this kit.
 
I used 12x12 Pocket Pages in Design 3 | #4050.
 
I've been using a 12x12 Faux Leather Album in teal for all of my pages.  I've been using this album for quite awhile now and it still looks brand new.  The durability is fantastic!
 
DIY Boutique Products Used:
Insta-Frames | #5145
Chipboard | #5128
Brads | #5127
Card Foundations | #5126
Stickers - Boutique | #5141

Spring is LITERALLY right around the corner, it’s so close we can taste it! With that said, I could not wait to get crafty with the new “Fresh Air” Simple set!

I loved this card from the Elements sheet so much that I wanted to base a home décor project around it. After this crazy winter, we all really need something bright & cheery to hang in our homes, right?

I made this wall hanging out of some leftover pieces from an acrylic mini album. These are really fun to ink up and then embellish with fun papers & stickers, that’s why the Simple Sets are a must have! They are perfect for any project that you would want to create. I used some of the Fundamentals stickers to add some extra elements to this project.

Here’s a look at this lovely décor hanging on my wall. You can really see the difference the acrylic makes here.

I had so much fun creating this project to share today. I hope I was able to inspire you to go out and grab some of the new Simple Sets and get creative this Spring!

Products Used:
Simple Stories- “Fresh Air” Simple Sets  Collection Kit
Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko- Baby Blue StazOn Ink, Memento Luxe Angel Pink Ink, Monterey Pine Butterflies
The Crafters Workshop- 6x6 “Flutterby” Stencil
May Arts- Light Blue Solid/Plaid Ribbon
Clear Scraps- Acrylic All Mixed Up Album
Petaloo- Flowers

Hello, everyone!  Shellye here with a trio of cards featuring just a few of the fun Simple Stories cut files that you can find at  Silhouette.  My intention was to show varying ideas on how to attach the die cuts, the types of paper to cut them from and fun ways to embellish them!  By the way, all files are 50% off at the Silhouette Online Store through the 23rd; now's a great time to pick up these and other Simple Stories designs!!

Let's get started with the first card entitled "So Awesome."  This is a Father's Day card using the Hey Pop Simple Set

I started with the "awesome" welded word and cut it from both a light grey piece of cardstock and one of the red papers from the 6X6 DIY Boutique Paper Pad.  I cut away all but the "so" portion of the red paper and adhered it over the grey wording with foam adhesive. 

To embellish, I covered a couple of chipboard stars from mystash with papers from the Simple Set.  I added the burlap stars and enamel dots from the DIY Do-It-Yourself Collection.

Supplies: Hey Pop Simple Set- Limited Edition Paper #6013; #1 Dad Paper #6014; Elements #1 Paper #6016; DIY- Enamel Dots- Red, Teal, yellow #5129; Burlap Stickers Arrows #5148; DIY Boutique- 6X6 Paper Pad

So, we have a Father's Day card completed...how about a Mother's Day card? 

This card features the Hey Mom Simple Set and the "Love You" welded word.  After cutting the word from textured cardstock, I backed the opening of the "you" banner with a scrap of paper from the collection.  When attaching to the base paper, I placed foam adhesive on the banner part of the die-cut only and then attached the top portion with a quick dry glue.

I went on to embellish with pretty trims from May Arts Ribbon and some buttons from my stash.  Raspberry colored adhesive pearls hightlight the small hearts at the top of the journal card.

Supplies: Hey Mom Simple Set- Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers #6001; Lovely Paper #6004; Beautiful Paper #6005; Elements #2 Paper #6008

Lastly is a play-on-words card that would make a fun belated birthday or forgotten occasion card!

This card is all things cute from the DIY Boutique Collection and this trendy camera cutting file. I cut the shape from the woodgrain paper found in the 6X6 Paper Pad.  Turquoise sequins were glued around the opening...I love how they tie in with the background paper!

Before adhering to the cardfront, I stitched on a flash using baker's twine.

Supplies: DIY Boutique Collection- 6X6 Paper Pad #5122; Brads #5127; Stickers $5141 SN@P! Collection- Stickers-Typeset #4021

Check out all of the cool Simple Stories Cutting Files at Silhoutte online store! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hello there to all you amazing Simple Stories fans! 

Cari here with you sharing this layout that I created for today in honour of St. Patrick's Day. As you will notice my photos have nothing to do with St. Patty's Day. However, the theme and embellishments of the A Charmed Life collection make this layout still fit so perfectly with today's fun holiday! The colour green, shamrocks and the word 'lucky' is clearly evident everywhere in this collection.

I did a fair bit of layering with the patterned papers -

This really is a fun collection and I just love how everything matches so wonderfully.

I used the 12x12 Expression Cardstock Stickers & Fundamental Cardstock Stickers to create my title and various phrases/words in other places on my layout. You will notice that the 3x4 journal card has a small pennant design along  the top edge. I took an x-acto knife and cut out the bottom section of the pennant so that it would overlap onto the 12x 2 title strip.

By adding small pieces of foam tape behind some of the stickers which helps to give my layouts some dimension rather than being so 'flat'-looking.

I also used some of the DIY Collection. The DIY Clear Stickers (black), DIY Enamel Dots (yellow & green), and DIY Journal Layers (in Kraft).   I printed my journaling off on the kraft colored DIY journal tag and adhered a brad from the same collection (A Charmed Life) to give it a final touch.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that I've inspired you to create with this fabulous Simple Stories collection!

Products Used:

A Charmed Life

• Fundamental Cardstock Stickers
• Expression Cardstock Stickers
• Patterned Papers: Happy Go Lucky, 4x6 Horizontal Journaling Cards Elements, 4x6 Vertical Journaling Card Elements
• 2x12 Border & 4x12 Title Strip Elements
• 6 x 12 Page Elements
• Brads

DIY Collection

• Journaling Layers (Kraft)
• Enamel Dots (Teal, Red & Yellow)
• Clear Stickers (Black)