Hello, again!   This is Amber, founder and creative director of Simple Stories.  I'm here for the last installment of my monthly Document IT blog feature for the year.  Today is New Year's Eve - the last day of 2015.  Do you believe it; where does the time go?!  Not sure about you, but this year has literally flown by for me!

Monday begins the reveal of our Winter release - 4 main new collections along with 3 new Simple Sets and a few other goodies as well!  Because we've been so busy this month with the release & getting ready for the CHA tradeshow next week, my post this month is short & sweet :)

We've created some pretty awesome free printables for you this month, focusing on the start of the new year!

You'll find 3x4 cards along with dashboards, a 2016 calendar glance and week on 2 page vertical inserts for your Carpe Diem A5 planner!

Click here to download December's Free Life Documented Printables.

TIP: The December free printables are on a single PDF document with 6 pages - print off what you want and the quantity you need.  We've added cut marks to each printable, so you can easily trim the images/inserts to size.  If you missed any of the free printables this year, you can find them here on the Project Downloads page!  

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support this past year, we owe all of our success to you!  Wishing you a very happy & safe New Year!

Hello, Simple Stories friends and Happy New Year's Wishes to you!  As a gift to myself, I prepped my Carpe Diem Planner so that I can greet the New Year prepared!
 

I will be honest and say that I was torn between choosing the Aqua Planner and the Coral Planner.  As you can see, I chose Coral, but after a little thought, I was able to add a pop of the aqua color too!
 

I added a trio of large, aqua eyelets to the leather closure strap of the planner.  To do so, I used a crop-a-dile punch, but a leather punch can be used as well. 
 

I also wanted to change the length of one of the ball chains for the charm, so a pair of wire snips were used to cut a piece from the strand.  The heart charm was embellished with a few light-colored coral enamel dots.
 

To keep all of my extra goodies and planner pages in one spot, I chose to use the handy clear box for the Daily Planner Insert pages.  It has a handle on the top so I was able to clip on the packages of Stickers and Clips by attaching them with a ring.
 

I had an extra charm leftover, so I added it to the inside pocket area of the binder!
 

I kept the inside pretty simple and basic.  I organized the front section with stickered tabs from the Basic Divider Pack. 
 

I dressed up one of the Pocket Pages with Bits & Pieces so that it can hold bills and coupon booklets.
 

For the monthly divider pages, I added some of my own hand-drawn sentiments to the all ready adorable designs provided.  Here is a look at some of the other decorated dividers:
 

Before each month's divider page, I added a Dashboard Insert just to give it more interest!  They were embellished with enamel dots, washi tapes, stickers and die-cuts for even more fun.
 

Dates, birthdays and events were added to the calendar area...I'm all set to go as I begin 2016 with new assignments, dates to remember and places to go!  I can't wait to plan it all with my beautiful Carpe Diem Planner from Simple Stories!

Holiday time is crazy busy...running here/there/everywhere, baking, shopping, wrapping...it can get out of hand pretty quickly. I am always a fan of a more simple look, but at this time of year I find myself buying into the 'less can be more' theory even more so than normal. For our family, it is a time to focus on a specific event or memory we want to remember...like the afternoon that our daughter sang at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens with her Madrigal Choir. They give me goosebumps when they all work together, and seeing them in their costumes in front of a room full of people wandering through the facility that afternoon was surreal. 

One photo + one piece of patterned paper paired with lots of fun embellishments from the Claus & Co. collection. The photo captured the moment just as I remember it, and the words fill in the rest of the story. 

I clustered stickers, die cuts, a chipboard frame piece and other embellishments around the top and bottom of the photo. I wanted to draw attention to the photo, without overwhelming it with too many patterned papers, etc...super simple, but just the right amount of cheer. :)

Wishing you and your families happy holidays and a safe New Year!

Click here to download the free Claus & Co. eBook.  To view more Claus & Co. inspiration, check out our Claus & Co. Pinterest board here!

Hi Everyone!  Marie here today to share my continued progress on the holiday planner I am making with the  Claus & Co. collection.  I am making this planner as a place I can refer back to year after year, full of gift lists, planning calendars, addresses, and so on.   Now that I have a lot of the basics set up, I am going back in and adding some extra decorative touches.

First up is my cover page.   I used a 2x2 Pocket Page and filled it will all sorts of little decorations, such as the wood veneers that are part of Claus & Co. They are a perfect way to add a little dimension and fun to your album.

I sealed up the open pockets with a fuse tool to keep everything contained.  I also added  some clear photo stickers to add to the see-through look of the pocket pages.

Next I wanted to add some pages to my planner that reminded me of places we can visit during the holidays.   I try to mix things up and do some different activities every year.  I first added a page of some of the fun things to do downtown.  We have one shopping center that makes it snow inside every night in December, and we even caught Santa taking it all in.

Once again, I used a smaller Pocket Page insert to add in some more wood veneers and sequins for a fun little divider.

And finally I included a page about store displays.  One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to stroll through downtown checking out all of the store windows.  Once again I add in some extra pockets of veneers and sequins for a festive touch.

If you are making a planner this year, I highly recommend that you don't make it all business.  Half the fun is adding some decorative touches throughout.  Thanks so much for letting me share my holiday planner with you today!