Good morning friends! Brenda Smith here and I've got a fun pocket page to share with you using the adorable, the ever-versatile Love & Adore. 

I love the idea of the panorama-sized page protectors and was inspired by one of the 6x12 cut-aparts from one of the elements sheets.  I wanted to make a mirror image of the 6x12 so I took to Photoshop. I downloaded the digital version of the Elements sheet and mirrored it horizontally. Because I do not have a wide format printer, I scaled down (keeping the proportions) until I got to 11". After printing, I glued each piece to a 4x12 strip from the paper, Melt My Heart. 

I happen to love the configuration of the lower pockets as well. Three 4x6 cards and still space for some 3x4s? Perfection in my book! I always like to make sure the focus remains on my photos while making room for some fun embellishing and details. 

I added some hand-stitched crosses to the outer edge of each panorama sheet. It only takes a few extra minutes of work but I feel like it adds a lot extra visual interest. For this spread, I kept my machine-stitching in plain white so it doesn't stand out too much. It adds a lot of texture without being too in your face. 

I used my fringe stickers to trim some papers from the Love & Adore 6x6 pad  I layered them to make a stage for my photo. The "Hello" is from the 6x12 chipboard. 

In keeping with the spirit of the mirrored images at the top, I kept the rest of the pocket page spread mostly mirrored as well. I did the same placement of photos and cards on both sides to balance the visual weight of the spread. Mirroring is one of the easiest ways to accomplish this. 

I enjoyed layering elements from the chipboard and the Combo Sticker sheet. I used dimensional foam adhesive on the heart and "you're a keeper" to separate them a little better from the background. 

I usually finish my spreads by finding a few places that could benefit from some machine stitching. I particularly like to sew through letters or phrases. Don't be afraid to sew through chipboard--- just go slow! 

Hello friends! Today I'm excited to share two fun layouts with you using the Love & Adore collection! The colors and patterns are perfect for all your love-themed photos, but are also versatile enough to be used for a variety of themes. I love doing layouts about my husband, so this collection was just perfect for me!
 

Hello February! Violet here on the blog today to share how I used the Love & Adore collection.  February is one of my Favorite months because of Valentines and my Anniversary Month. Love & Adore was the perfect kit to keep track and creatively plan in my Ballerina Pink Carpe Diem planner. The pinks, yellow, blues, hearts and floral made for a beautiful planning session. 

As I open up my planner my eyes go straight to the dashboard and pockets. I make those two areas my focal point for planning. The Bits & Pieces and stickers were the best part of stuffing my pockets. What I really enjoyed is the SN@P! Pocket Pages that fit perfectly inside my planner. They also add that personal touch to my planner. Did you know the 6x6 paperpad page with squares fit perfectly in the pocket pages? This makes an awesome Dashboard!

I always look forward to getting my monthly view planner set up. Especially, for the Month of February. I used Love & Adore washi tape and stickers, 6x6 paper pad square pieces and enamel dots. The bright colors and black made the perfect color combination for February. Here are a few pictures before the pen.

Thank you every one for taking the time to stop by the blog.  This month I will be celebrating my 21 year anniversary along with my granddaughter's first birthday, my son's 3 year anniversary, my daughter-In-law's birthday and we can't forget Valentine's. I am so thankful that Simple Stories makes it easy for me to plan accordingly... till next time happy planning.

Hello everyone! It’s Leah again, here to show you how I have used the Love & Adore collection to set up my Carpe Diem planner for February. Wowza, January was one heck of a month for me! It was a month full of firsts and trial and error, as I worked really hard to pull together my very first online class (coming to Big Picture Classes in March!). I learned how to film and edit video tutorials too! Now that I’ve gotten the hang of filming, could this mean new adventures with YouTube? Only time will tell! Meanwhile, I am just so relieved to have completed  the class. There is something magical about seeing something come together that you have worked so hard on. After accomplishing such a big goal of mine, now I am feeling SUPER motivated to spend some time laying out my goals for 2017. February 1^st feels like January 1^st to me. I am kicking things off by setting up my planner for February!

I started by getting creative with making a February monthly divider. I tried something new with this project. I used graph paper from the Basic Inserts pack and got messy with my watercolor paints! Word of caution here: I have used watercolor on the Simple Stories planner inserts a lot and never have issues with the page warping too badly, but you have to be mindful to not use too much water. In this case, I disregarded that. I used more water to get that drippy effect you see. I basically puddled the watercolor toward the top of the paper and then stood the paper up to allow the paint drip down. As a result, I did end up with a pretty wrinkly page but I actually like how it looks, feels like a page out of my at journal. I also glued it down to the existing cardstock divider for February which helped weigh the warped paper down a bit.

This project actually started out as me playing with watercolor just for fun, but then I liked how it looked and decided to turn it into a monthly divider. Since February is “the month of love,” I focused on a love theme. I used three die cut hearts from the Love & Adore bits and pieces pack and I arranged them in the order of the paint colors – blue heart near the blue paint, yellow heart above the yellow paint, and the pink heart near the pink paint. The colored phrase stickers are from the 12x12 combo sticker sheet. I matched the color of the sticker to its corresponding heart. Then I used enamel dots in the same colors on each end of the phrase stickers.

I cut a white piece of cardstock into a small tag shape, punched a hole, and threaded the same three colors through the hole. On the tag, I used alphas from the Combo sticker sheet to indicate the month. Even around  my photo, I used paper scraps to layer in the same color pattern, blue on the left, pink on the right. I really love how matching up the three colors all throughout the layout made it come together so nicely and cohesively!

Every year, my February monthly layouts always end up being my favorite! This year is no exception. I used the Love & Adore collection to decorate.

I have always used my monthly view to write in things I need to schedule around. Since January was so chaotic for me, February does not have too many pre-planned obligations. Yay! So I went a little heavier on the decorating. Just a note in case you’ve ever wondered: occasionally, I cover up days with embellishments and because I tend to decorate first, I sometimes end up having to write in a little note and then add an arrow pointing to the date where it SHOULD go. For example, my dad’s birthday is on the 23^rd, but I have that day covered up with decor. So I wrote it in a close-ish spot and drew an arrow to where it should be written in.

For the February title, I used a pink doily chipboard piece and then used black alpha stickers to write out the month. I’ve got an Avery index tab on the side of the page with a word strip sticker. The “all of me loves all of you” is one of my favorite pieces from an element sheet in the 6x6 paper pad. I layered a pink piece from the same page behind to help it stand apart from the white background.

When decorating any monthly layout, I always use lots of stickers from the 4x6 sticker pack in whatever collection I am using. Same goes for this layout. All of the embellishments in this layout are from those stickers, the combo sticker sheet, the bits and pieces pack, and the Love and Adore washi tapes.

All the décor on the right side of the layout is using the same supplies, but that strip of paper covering the notes section, is cut from a sheet in the 6x6 paper pad.

I still feel like there is a decent amount of writing space left on my layout, should anything else come up that needs to be scheduled.

I always love adding larger embellishments in the bottom right corner. Love how this February calendar looks with that huge floral piece!

Last but not least, I put together an easy bookmark using a piece from a 12x12 elements sheet. When I cut the paper down to the size I wanted, I had to cut off the part that said “you will,” so I added the words back using yellow alpha stickers. This bookmark is quite simple to make, I just cut and glued down half a doily and then layered a couple of washi tapes and a floral sticker on top. The bits and pieces pack had a couple of ticket shapes that I used to create a tab for the bookmark and then I laminated it all.

I didn’t add any embellishments to the reverse side of the bookmark because that paper is pretty enough on its own! I like laminating bookmarks because I can stick sticky notes and page flags to them. For example, pictured below are some sticky notes that I have written a grocery list on.

I love how this bookmark tab looks peeking out of my planner!

I am absolutely in LOVE with the Love & Adore collection and cannot wait to keep using it throughout February and beyond. The florals, bright colors and all of the hearts are perfect for the Valentine’s Day season, but I could use this collection any time since I love the style of it so much! Check out the Carpe Diem Planners Instagram account for more inspiration using this collection. I will also be posting more projects using it over on my Instagram as well. I hope to see you there!

Hey everyone! It’s Lori here on the blog today sharing a bit of the behind-the-scenes fun from the CHA/Creativation show last month.

Some of you may have already seen the reveal of our new products here on the blog a couple of weeks ago.  We're gearing up to start shipping our new Faith and Domestic Bliss collections next week to retailers, so I thought I'd share some pics from the show along with some of the fun projects that were made using our Faith collection.  

When it comes to the show it's all about seeing, feeling and touching all of the new products; the booth is set up by collection so retailers can do just that!  

We opened one of the new 6x8 pads & hung the papers from the booth - isn't that fun?!

Then of course there's the much loved 'wall of goodness' displaying projects using products from the collection

Creating so many projects for each collection to display at the show is quite the undertaking!  Some of our staff, creative team members and friends of Simple Stories worked their hearts out creating some gorgeous things to display in our booth at the show. We were amazed at the stunning projects they made!

Next up behind-the-scenes is this striking home décor piece using our Faith line. Everyone at the show adored how we added clips and photos to the wood blocks on this display showcasing our owners', Amber & Kevin, cute kiddos, and we adore this family!

One of the repeated elements in our Faith collection is a light bulb. It represents light, and we hope it inspires people in lots of different ways. This sweet project featuring our papers reminds us to shine in everything we do and be who we are. It’s a great project and a great message!

One last Faith project I’d like to share from CHA/Creativation is this treasured tray featuring our Faith collection. There are so many inspiring cards, images, and sayings in this collection, so what better way to see those inspiring messages than to create a hanging display?

As you can see, there are lots of great ideas showcased at the show for everyone to enjoy. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing a peek into the show, and keep an eye out for more projects from our other new collections, because we’ve got lots more to share!

If you’d like more behind-the-scene peeks into the booth at CHA/Creativation, be sure to check out this fun live video showing more of the Faith collection!  

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Hello blogging friends!

I am sharing some fabulous Simple Stories Love & Adore layouts with you today. For this first one, featuring a photo of my niece and her boyfriend, I really wanted to play up the hearts. This awesome cut file is from JustNick Studios. I loved that it had this big "X" in the middle. I thought it was perfect to showcase the Love & Adore washi tape. This heart washi tape is a new favorite of mine. To make the hearts pop even more, I backed portions of the cut file with the beautiful ombre pink pattern paper from the collection.

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