April 2016 Blog Posts
Hello friends! Allie here today, sharing two layouts using the brand new Sunshine & Happiness and Bloom & Grow collections! They are both absolutely gorgeous, but very different. I couldn't wait to play with them! My first layout uses the beautiful colors of Sunshine & Happiness.
Hey, planner friends!
Meka here today to welcome you to Sunshine & Happiness! It’s one of Simple Stories’ newest scrapbook collections, and it’s just perfect for color-loving planner decorators like us! I’m still very much in spring mode, so I’m thrilled that this collection has tons of goodies to keep my "team pink" Carpe Diem planner looking good for the rest of spring and into summer.
I started my setup by spreading out the entire collection in front of me, and then picking out my favs. I love the Chipboard Stickers and Decorative Bradz because they’re so versatile. I’ve used them as stickers, planner charms, page embellishments, page toppers, paper clips, and more.
And since I love them so much, I only adhere them with strong washi tape on the back, instead of committing to glue.
The adhesive behind the Bradz is pretty strong, so they always stay put on my planner charms. But whenever I’m ready to change them out, a little prying apart makes them pop right off.
The pretty floral Shine Bright 12x12 paper adds a simple but super cute accent behind my “It’s a Brand New Day” dashboard.
Another quick décor idea is to cover the cardboard backing of the Carpe Diem Planner Bookmark Tablet with pretty paper. I kept it simple by just gluing on a slice of a 6x12 Element, but you could add stickers or word labels for more interest.
I finished my set up by decorating my May calendar inserts from the Life in Color collection. I admittedly went overboard on my “May – Yay!” front cover. But this journaling card got me excited thinking about all the good times I’ll be able to list here, and the Happy Day 12x12 floral paper is really the perfect name, isn’t it?
On the May spread, the Sunday to Monday labels were covered with a thin stripe sticker from the Fundamentals Cardstock Sticker sheet. Then I relabeled the days to start with Monday using alphas from the Expressions Cardstock Stickers sheet.
The daily boxes on these inserts are a bit wider than on the standard Carpe Diem inserts, so the 4x6 sticker sheet date boxes don't quite fill the space. That’s not a huge problem at all, but sometimes I like to punch them into circle shapes to add a curvy element to the straight lined-pages.
Various stickers, word labels, Bits & Pieces, Enamel Dots, and paper fussy cuts make this monthly layout bright and festive.
Thanks for walking with me through Sunshine & Happiness in my Carpe Diem planner. I can’t wait to see how you use your kit in your planner and scrapbook pages!
Hello Scrapbook Friends, It’s Kristine Davidson with you today. It’s a beautiful day here on the East Coast of Canada and as you can tell by my bright layouts it’s a great time to use those vibrant colors from the Carpe Diem Scrapbook Collection.
I have literally used up almost every single piece and inch of this collection. I LOVE IT! One of my all time favourite collections. Today I will be sharing 2 layouts with you that were created with this kit and I’ll be showing you how you can add some fun elements, clusters, and layers to your pages.
This first layout is called “ Dream Big” . I added Bits & Pieces close to the photo and one of them is a cloud with Dream Big on it. I decided to use that as the title for my page. Sometimes you don’t need a huge title or something that stands out too much to make your title. On this layout I wanted to focus more on the patterns on the papers, the colors and of course the great background diecut.
If you find yourself with just scraps of a collection and really want to use it but unsure for what... try a background file or piece together bits of scraps to create a background. It’s super easy to piece together and you can use up that great paper collection you’ve been hoarding!
I added clusters of elements on my page without overshadowing my photo. I didn’t want to add a coloured photo because I thought it would be too busy. A black and white picture was a great choice for this page and paper collection.
Adding clusters can be done by simply grouping a few pieces of chipboard, stickers, diecuts and so much more “ stuff “ to create that focal point. I also added a few twine details to add more texture to my page.
You can see from this photo that by adding popdots underneath the sticker it creates a dimensional look . This is a great way to use up extra stickers and adding more fun details. I think I say this with every single layout I create! I cannot do a page without adding dimensional adhesive.
************
The Second Layout I have for you today was really created in about an hour. My husband was fast asleep, it was about 11o’clock at night and I had a burst of energy after the bowl of ice cream! This layout is called Best Day Ever.
I created this layout by adding pieces of 6x6 papers cut into 4x6" and placed behind my photo. My photo was glued with dimensional adhesive ( again!) and I was able to place several layers behind it and on top of it.
The picture was really my inspiration and this paper collection was perfect for that purple sweatshirt and fun sunglasses. The girls were in Boston for a Taylor Swift concert last summer. So lots of fun was had and the little piece of paper with BEST DAY EVER was a great title! Again nothing fancy just a piece of paper adhered to my page created a great title.
I made this little tag out of 1” of yellow pattern paper. I rounded the corners, punched a hole and added a sticker from the Hole Reinforcer Stickers.
Another close up photo of the layers I created and clusters of embellishments to add focus towards my photo
I hope you enjoyed my layouts today and enjoy creating your own pages with Simple Stories products ! Interested in seeing more of my work? please come visit me on Instagram @KristineDavidson. Thank you so much for reading and being a fan of Simple Stories!
Hello! Stacy here today with 2 layouts using the ‘Heart’ Simple Set. I love this collection. It is especially so because of the colors and the theme inspired – Family.
Family to me is a very important aspect in my heart. I shared some close moments with my paternal relatives, and I was lucky to spend some great times with both my grandparents. This collection inspired me to create some layouts with my old but greatly treasured family photos! Hence, I started with restoring the photos. Most of the old photos I had were taken by a film camera, hence the colors on the photographs had faded over time.
For the first layout, I used a photo when I was probably 3 years old. It was a huge family joke about this photo, since I was holding hands with my cousin who was 2 months older. I spent part of my childhood with him and this was one of those cute photos which I hold dearly to my heart!
The first layout is titled “Childhood”.
I started with punching out numerous circles on different pattern papers in the ‘Heart’ collection. I am in love with the designs of this collection pack. So I thought, why not display the pattern papers as a background? I added kraft cardstock circles behind the pattern papers and sewed them to the background.
The folded edges remind me of the diamond pieces which I have seen on the fundamental sticker sheet. I decided to add them to the edges so as to fill up some empty spaces. I also paired it with some wood embellishments from the ‘Life in Color’ Collection.
I added some embellishments in between the background to break the regular shape at the background. It is easy to do it with the sticker sheets!
Next, I decided that I would do some hidden journaling on my thoughts about this photo. Hence, I did some fussy cutting to add some hearts on the corner of my layout. Since the photo is raised slightly, it allows some space for my tag to slide in and hang onto the photo mat with a heart embellishment.
The next layout, “Love” is a very special layout for me. These photos were taken during an outing to the Botanical garden with my grandparents. My aunt used to tell me how much my grandfather used to dote on me, and always carrying me around all the time. How treasured are these photos of my grandparents’ love for us?
I wanted to keep this simple with just key words/phrases and star-themed. I chose the star element because I was told that my grandparents had gone to a better place and the brightest stars in the skies are them looking out for me. Although I know that it may be scientifically untrue, I still find solace looking out for them in the skies.
I also added some stitching to the star die-cuts in order to highlight them. It is especially helpful with the pattern papers from the ‘Heart’ collection because they blend nicely with the pattern papers. I also used the chipboard frames from ‘Life in Color’ Collection. These were tilted and hung from below the photos, each containing a simple sentiment and embellished. I love how easily I could mix the embellishments from different collections!
In addition, I used a border punch for a strip below the photos, as well as tags and wooden embellishment in order to create emphasis on the photos.
Creating these layouts have taken me on a memory recap and I loved all the emotions accompanying these layouts. Stop today for a while and reminisce on the old times! These can really bring back a big smile to your face! Thanks for stopping by today!
Violet here, I want to share how I created planner inserts for my Carpe Diem Planner. I used the Carpe diem basic dividers as a base for my inserts.
I began with cutting up rectangular shapes from the Carpe Diem collection kit paper. I then taped it down by using the washi paper tape. What I used to embellish the inserts was the Carpe Diem dashboard inserts.
Here is what the finished results look like. I absolutely love the vibrant colors and all the variety of layering different items.
The reason I love creating new planner inserts is that it brings a new freshness to my planner and gives me that extra motivation to get things done. Thank you once again for everyone who took time to stop by the blog.