August 2017 Blog Posts

08.11.17

Inside my Home Management Planner

Hi everyone! I’m back today to show you how I did my set up for my Aqua Carpe Diem planner using the Domestic Bliss collection and Home A5 Planner Insert Set.

I wanted to try out the Home A5 Planner Insert Set to keep house-related things more organized and to dedicate a whole binder to it. I made myself a dashboard to make it more colorful and fun and filled the pockets with 3x4 cards from the Domestic Bliss collection. I also made a simple pocket folder with the “I Can’t Adult” cardstock to store extra sticker sheets.

I don’t keep weekly planner pages in here, but I did want a monthly calendar to write down when bills are due, pay days, etc. The Domestic Bliss Roller Stamp is great to use on the calendar for stamping in laundry, to-dos, and pay days, and more. I also added some pieces of washi for a pop of color and used stickers from the Home Sticker Tablet to highlight chores and things I do weekly.

In the Routine section, I keep my daily schedule that is usually the same routine and I only write home related tasks.

In the Projects section, I created a page where I wrote down craft projects I would like to do. I tend to forget scrapbook or craft projects that I would like to do, so writing them down helps me remember to get it done in the near future.

In the To Do section, I keep a Master To Do List in this section and these are things that I don’t necessarily need to finish all at once, but things I want to finish that I know will require more time.

In the last section, I keep a Menu Plan that I recently started doing weekly and so far it has helped me plan dinners at home and use what I already have in my cupboards.

I hope you enjoyed having a look inside of my Home Management planner and I hope it inspires you to try out the Home Planner inserts to keep your home organized.

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08.10.17

Summer Days Traveler's Notebook

Hey everyone! Traci back here again with a new traveler's notebook to show off! I made this traveler's notebook from scratch using the Summer Days collection I designed for Simple Stories to document our vacation to Pensacola Beach, Florida.

And when I say from scratch, I mean from scratch! I designed this Traveler's Notebook template that is available in the Simple Stories Silhouette store here, then cut down a few non-fancy-edged 8x8 squares papers to incorporate into the book as well. Then I folded each paper in half, and used regular old sewing thread to bind the notebook.

I also designed a bunch of exclusive word art cut files that are beach-related and match the fonts used in the Summer Days Collection perfectly - you can pick those up in the Simple Stories Silhouette store as well here.

Here are some of my favorite spreads in the book, but check out my youtube video at the bottom of the post for a full walk through!

You can catch the YouTube video here -

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08.09.17

Summer Days Bicycle Shadowbox

Hello friends! Linsey here today sharing my latest altered project featuring the Summer Days collection! With summer flying by so fast, I wanted to capture this delightful season by creating a fun 3-D project that embodies the spirit of summer and all the good things that come with it. The Summer Days collection does just that! Without further ado, I present my summer days bicycle shadowbox!

What a fun time it was altering this cute wood bicycle shadowbox! The wood bike was first painted with a coat of white gesso, then a coat of pink acrylic paint. Next, the bike was covered with different patterned papers--the pink side of Summer Snapshot for the tires and both sides of Soak Up The Sun for the bike, seat and inside tire walls. The back of the shadowbox walls were covered with the stripes side of Hello Sunshine. All the edges were lightly sanded to give the bike a bit of a worn look. Who wants a bike that isn't broken in just a little, right?!

A variety of adorable elements from the Combo Stickers, 6x12 Chipboard, Bits & Pieces, Decorative Brads and 4x6 Stickers were used to embellish the inside of the shadowbox wheels as well as adorn the outside of the bike. The back wheel is filled with yummy summer eats and treats that leave me itching to fire up the grill. Even a couple of Emoji Love enamel dots came in handy for reflective lights on the backside of the bike. 100% Happiness!

Every summer bicycle needs a basket and this one is filled to the brim with summer fun! I love all the sweet and happy elements that come with this collection--from the little pinwheels to the beach balls and bomb pops, Summer Days has it all! Ice cold drink, anyone?

The front wheel is filled with more summertime essentials like the pink sunglasses, aqua camera, a sand bucket and shovel and don't forget the sunscreen! Hello sunshine, we're beach-ready!

Thanks so much for visiting today! I hope you enjoyed my bicycle shadowbox! Here's to endless summer days and happy crafting!

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08.08.17

Emoji Love in my Carpe Diem Planner

The Emoji Love collection is by far one of my favorite collections! We all love using emoji’s when messaging our family and friends so when playing with all this amazing product it felt like they were closer to being real. I love all the emotions emoji’s project and how much character they can not only give a conversation but also our planners.

Not only am I in love with this collection but so are my kids! Who doesn’t love cute faces, unicorns, yummy food ad yogurt! Not only are the stickers the best but the ephemera in this collection is so fun and versatile.

The washi tape is the perfect color with so many emoji faces and sayings that tie this collection all together.

The page flags are perfect for not only marking our pages but to right small notes on them as remembers.

The traveler’s notebook inserter can be put in your favorite Travelers notebook or in your planner of choice. It is perfect for note taking and those emoji’s made it so fun to track my feelings of the day.

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08.07.17

Simplicity is Key!

p>Hello everyone! It's Lisa Dickinson here today to share some layouts with you! Since I'm currently in the middle of a few home renovation projects, including refinishing our hardwood floors, the majority of my scrap room is packed up in boxes in our basement. So when it came time to do this blog assignment, I had very few of my usual scrap arsenal available, but I decided it would be a great time to challenge myself to make something interesting with a minimum of tools and products. After all, Simple Stories is all about making creativity simple and easy! Here are the layouts that I created - and a few tips that helped me create simple pages that still have eye-catching appeal!

1. Add lots of color and pattern to take a basic design to the next level. Just because a design is simple doesn't mean it has to be boring. Color and pattern add interest and movement to a page, so the more, the merrier! On this layout, I selected coordinated papers from the Hello Lovely line (and a few from the Domestic Bliss collection as well!) and used them to matte my 5"x5" photo. Each paper was cut slightly larger than the previous one for a layered look that allows lots of pretty papers to be showcased.

2. Add dimension and texture to make the design pop. When you're using limited supplies, it can be hard to incorporate a lot of visual interest on a page. Dimensional adhesive is an easy way to help page elements pop. Here I adhered each paper layer with foam squares to create a dimensional frame. I also added stitching to the edge of every other paper, which is another great way to add tactile interest to a design. No sewing machine? Use a pen to create hand-drawn stitching for the same effect.

3. Use pre-made elements for a title. Since I didn't have any alphabet stickers or my trusty Silhouette available to create a die-cut title, I opted to use a sticker from the Hello Lovely collection pack instead, placing it directly on the photo in the white space. Be sure to look through your stickers before creating your page - you just might find one with the perfect sentiment for your layout and save yourself lots of time!

On my second page, I used the same tips & techniques to add elements to a basic design. I started with a bold striped patterned paper from the Emoji Love line as my background:

The colors were perfect for my photos, which included lots of pink and yellow, but I wanted to some additional pattern in the design. Instead of using the paper as is, I cut some 2-inch paper strips (the pink dot, yellow crosshatch, and aqua dot) and layered them over the solid stripes.

In between each of the strips, I sewed a zig-zag seam. Stitching is a great way to add texture and a handmade feel to your design!

For this page title, I selected a 3x4 journal card and layered speech bubbles atop it. These are part of a Simple Stories decorative brad set, but you could also fussy-cut small elements from patterned papers or use die cuts + brads to achieve the same look.

While I'm excited to get my scrap products unpacked again, I enjoyed the challenge of creating simply and it was surprisingly easy with these fun Simple Stories products. (And bonus - this was way less messier than my usual scrap method!) I hope you're inspired to create something quick and easy as well - happy scrapping!

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08.05.17

I (heart) Summer

Hi everyone! It's Traci, and I'm back to share a new Sn@p album with you. This one is for my family's 2013 trip to Hawaii. I love the bright colors in the Summer Days collection and it worked perfectly for these photos. As you can see, like many of you, I am a bit behind on my scrapbooking!

If you like pocket scrapbooking, but never know what to do with the full 6x8 sleeve, check out a few of these ideas ...

Add a fold out card to the front of the page. Not only is it a fun place to use the 4x6 vertical cards (as I did below), but it also allows you to get 2-3 full 4x6 photos on a 6x8 page!

Here are a few more examples of how I use the 6x8 pages ...

I like adding different sized pages in my albums. I think it adds interest and a different element as you flip through the book. Below, I cut one of the 6x8 pages (included in the Sn@p album) in half vertically, and then added some stickers and photos. These 1/2 pages are also great places for journaling!

One of my favorite embellishments is chipboard. In the photo below, I added the arrow and burger to the outside of the plastic. This works great if you want to overlap two of the pockets!

While in Hawaii, we took a helicopter tour. I highly recommend it for beautiful photos of the island. If you have two 3x4 pockets side-by-side (below), don't be afraid to cut your photo in half and insert 1/2 into each pocket. Again, I think this adds some fun interest to the book.

I guess I need to fill out my summer bucket list ... especially since summer will be over before I know it!

Here are the products I used for this album:

Until next time, happy scrapping!!

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08.04.17

Hello Sunshine

Hi it's Lisa today with a fun and hopefully inspiring post for you.

I have a question for you. Where do you find most of your inspiration from? Do you love to use a sketch as a starting point? Do you let your photos inspire you? For me, it's color. I'm so driven by color. I love bright colors when it comes to scrapbooking and creating. I find them so uplifting. One of my tricks to get me started is to set myself a color combo. I decide of 2-3 main colors and usually a couple of accent colors too.

This was the first layout that I created.

I started off by deciding on an orange and aqua combo with hints of red.

When I do this I pick out papers and embellishments that all match this combo.

Today I am working with the 'Summer Day's' collection.

I removed some of the papers and bits and pieces. The papers with the element cards to cut out make wonderful titles. I rounded off the corners with a punch here.

I also took some paints, chalks and mists to place on my desk that would also team up with these colors. Working this way also saves so much time as you spend less time procrastinating.

I've teamed up the chipboard stickers and the Bits and Pieces here. They just all work so well together.

To pull the whole design together I took one of the 12x12 papers and used a circle cutter. I love how that frames my photo.

I finished off this page using the pack of 6x4 stickers. I used this to replace my journaling. I was going to journal more, but then felt that I didn't really need to. The stickers had done the hard work for me.

I really enjoyed making this.

I then went on to create a second layout, using the same 'Summer Days' collection and using the same color combo method.

This time I was driven by my photos. When I first looked at this collection I was really drawn to the burgers. There's some really cute stickers, chip board and pieces in the Bits and Pieces pack. My daughter is a little burger queen. I thought it would be fun to document this. It was her red T shirt that got me started here.

As before I looked through the collection, decided on my color combo and then started pulling out pieces as I did with my first layout. This time I chose red and aqua as my main colors.

I started off with one of the 12x12 pieces with the 4x6 elements. I cut out the 'Ice Cold Drinks' from this particular piece and stuck it down with 3d foam tape to really make it POP on my page.

I used more of these elements to layer up on my page. I used another 4x6 and also a 4x4.

I really enjoy altering these to fit my design. I love the cloud paper and really wanted to add some red so I took some red embroidery floss to sew around the outside of one of the clouds. It really stands out now. I also took a black journal pen to doodle on my page. I added some dots around the outside of this heart.

I used 4 pieces from the Bits and Pieces pack to embellish at the bottom of the page. I ran out of journal space so added another flag to continue the journaling. I then continued with the doodling like on the rest of the page.

For me working with a color combo works every time.

If you haven't tried it, go it a go. Pick out a few colors and choose your supplies accordingly. Lay them out on your craft desk and scrapbook.

It's so much fun.

I hope you've enjoyed this.

I also have a video where you can watch me creating these layouts here.

Thank you.

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08.03.17

Summer Lovin' Planner Set Up

Hello Everyone! Jomelle here today and I would like to share with you my Summer Planner Set up using the Summer Days Collection. I chose to use the Robin's Egg Carpe Diem Planner.

July is a very busy month for me. So I decided to make a simple but still cute dashboard for my Summer Set up. I used the Summer Days 12x12 cardstock. I then cut up the Vertical Element and glued in the middle. I used the A5 punch to add the dashboard in my planner.