Hi everyone! Cari 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 tomorrow 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 received the Perfect Layers - set of 3 different 'rulers' each with 4 different measurements - I was thrilled to be able to play with this fabulous tool. The possibilities are endless and definitely make creating mats so easy!

I decided that I would mat my photo with a few layers and then mat the papers on my layout as well, so I began layering my photo. I first printed it with a white border and then matted it onto some turquoise card stock. I adhered the photo to the card stock first and then used the 1/4" measurement to trim around the photo.

I then matted the turquoise card stock onto some orange card stock using the 1/8" measurement.

I matted a piece of black card stock onto a piece of the diagonal striped patterned paper using the 1/4" measurement. I then matted that entire piece onto some orange card stock using the 1/16" measurement.

Adding layers is a great way to add dimension to your work.  After matting your pictures you could also adhere them to your layout using foam squares for even more dimension. I decided to just adhere my main photo flat because I wanted to pop up my title instead.

I used a Simple Stories Silhoutte cut file for the 'Sweet & Sassy' title.

Here's my finished layout.  

I like this tool because it allows you to create such straight lines with so many different widths!

Here's a few close-up shots.

Thanks so much for joining us this week for the Simple Stories & Perfect Paper Crafting Blog Hop.  We'll announce the winner tomorrow, so if you've entered, make sure and check back with us here tomorrow!

Hello! Donna here with you today, welcome to Day 4 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 have a layout to share with you today that I made using the Perfect Ruler. I have completely fallen in love with this tool! While I do use a paper trimmer when scrapbooking, I also heavily rely on my metal ruler and craft knife for making finer cuts and trimming photos. What makes this ruler different? It is double-sided with a clear plastic edge on one side and a metal ruler on the other. It also has the coolest feature called a grip strip. You simply press down on the center button

and the strip holds your paper or photo in place. I used my ruler to trim my photos and the paper strips on my layout.

This feature also helps keep your fingers safe and away from your knife blade. Pretty smart!

Here is the layout I created:

I cannot seem to get enough of Daily Grind. With three little boys, our lives are very colorful indeed and this line has been the perfect fit for so many of our stories. One of my favorite parts of this collection are the die cut Bits & Pieces -

There are so many fun little bits and pieces, and they add just the right accent to your layouts.

I also love adding a little detail to my titles:

A simple thing like using a brad to dot your i’s makes it more dynamic and interesting.

Thank you for stopping by! Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more awesome projects from Simple Stories and Perfect Paper Crafting!

Hi Simple Stories fans, Rebecca Keppel here; welcome to Day 3 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 got to work with the Perfect Paper Crafting marker spritzer called the Perfect Airbrush. I was going to do a little mini video showing how to use this ingenious tool, but you know what? It is so easy to use, it doesn't even need a video! I paired the Perfect Airbrush with Simple Stories DIY collection and came up with this layout:

I knew I wanted to create a rainbow background using the colors from DIY so, I pulled out some stickers from DIY and found Copic markers to match.

I unscrewed the pen barrel since my markers were too wide, inserted the marker and screwed it tight. This is how you want the tip of the marker placed:

Then you just squeeze! You can play with how dark or light the spray is by moving it closer or further away from your paper.

 I sprayed an entire background with a ROYGBV of the bright colors found in DIY.

I loved being able to create my own background with perfectly coordinating colors!

And the playfulness of the DIY collection makes it a perfect compliment to a spritzed rainbow background.

Thanks for joining us!  Check back in tomorrow for day 4 of the Simple Stories & Perfect Paper Crafting Blog Hop.

Hi everyone! Mindi here with you today, welcome to Day 2 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 am so excited to be apart of the Simple Stories/Perfect Paper Crafting Blog Hop. I received the Perfect Tears tool  - a set of 3 rulers with 6 different tearing edges.  It was so easy to use and there are lots of different possibilities.   Along with the Perfect Paper Crafting tool I used the Travel SN@P Set. 

All throughout my Pocket Page layout I used the Perfect Tears tool to tear my journaling cards and papers. For this card I used 3 different shapes for a great layered look. I used 4 different SN@P cards and layered them on top of each other before adding the sign.

Here is a close up of what the card looks like all put together.  

This is another journaling card that I used the Perfect Tears Tool on. 

I had a blast using the Travel SN@P set. I took this photo of the hotel stationery during our stay. I knew the moment I took the photo that I was going to use it as my title card for this weekends spread. It was the perfect starting point for all my embellishments. 

I love all the different SN@P cards that come with this set. They are all so versatile. Instead of using this one for a journaling spot, I put a photo at the bottom and added just a bit of journaling and some embellishments. 

Here is one more close up. I used this fun SN@P card and cut out the middle. I thought that it would make the perfect frame for a photo. 

Thanks for joining me today; check back tomorrow for Day 3 of the Simple Stories & Perfect Paper Crafting Blog Hop!

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!