Simple Stories

Hello Friends!

It's Kristine here today to share a layout! Are you in a festive mood yet?! Well I haven't started decorating but when I created this layout it certainly got me inspired. I used the Merry & Bright Collection and mostly used the 3x4" cards and the 6"x8" paper pad. 

I have always loved a grid layout. It's easy and great to use with those 3x4 element cards.  This collection is filled with beautiful festive images including Santa, snowmen, poinsettias, and so much more. I used 2 photos measuring 3x4" of my nieces. This picture was taken a few years ago. I think it's time for another photo shoot if they would just cooperate... Teenagers!

I layered pieces of 3x4 papers and some are overlapping at an angle and others are just there for layers. I really like how so many patterns of paper can all work together to create a layout. 

If you have any element cards laying around why not try this format? It's great for multi photo layouts, even double pages. Try it with this beautiful Christmas Collection. You'll enjoy it .. I'm sure!

Happy Holidays to you and your family !

Hello Simple Stories friends!

Marcia here today with a festive Christmas layout I created with the Simple Stories Merry & Bright Christmas collection. Does your family do a photo shoot for your annual Christmas card? I don't know about you, but I love receiving photo Christmas cards! I like to see how much kids have grown and seeing how other family members have changed. I scrapped my sister-in-law's family for todays layout. I love how her Christmas card photo turned out! I am still hoping to get some family photos done myself, but with adult kids that work odd hours, it might not happen until Christmas! Anyway, every year for Christmas my Mother-in-law asks for the same thing ... a scrapbook album full of family photos. This layout is going into my Mother-in-law's album. The Merry & Bright collection is perfect for documenting all of those holiday family photos!

Is there anyone besides me crushing on all these plaid papers? That black and white buffalo plaid is the perfect background for this poinsettia wreath cut file by Paige Taylor Evans. The wreath frames my family photo nicely.

With such an ornate cut file, I kept my other embellishments to a minimum. I just wanted to add a few things around my photo like this fabulous JOY banner and the Peace Love Joy tree from the Tags and Frames pack. That cute candy cane is one of the puffy stickers ... and don't forget to add a date so you'll remember years from now what year that was. The 4x6 sticker packs have the perfect round stickers to do just that.

I wish you the happiest of Holidays.Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have an awesome week.

I absolutely love the NEW Kissing Booth line!!! The colors and patterns are adorable!!!  Once your Christmas shopping is done relax and make some Valentines Cards!! 

It’s never to early to start thinking about loved ones.... 

I love this cute cupcake chipboard!!! 

These cards were made using the Kissing Booth Chipboard and the collection kit! 

Pick some up today and get started on some darling cards!!! We will be making all of these cards at our Scrapbook Retreat in Salt Lake City in January. Follow our Facebook page Mom and Me Scrapbooking for more information. 
 

Hello creatives! Leah here with you on the blog today. I’ve started setting up my December TN using a blend of the Freezin’ Season and Merry & Bright collections. In my previous December Daily projects (learn more about this memory-keeping project started by Ali Edwards here), I have typically stuck to a more traditional Christmas color scheme. This year, I wanted to blend in some less conventional colors like those in the Freezin’ Season collection. This collection is designed to have more of a general winter theme, which fits the wintry season but doesn’t have as many holiday sentiments as the Merry & Bright collection, so I’ve decided to blend both collections for my December setup. Both collections have softer blues, greens, and reds which makes it easier to mix and match pieces from each.

I’m using the Typewriter Circles Traveler’s Notebook to house a couple of inserts this year. One will function as my December Daily album and the other is where I’m keeping all my notes and plans throughout the holiday season. I like keeping these two notebooks in one place because I often find that the planning and lists I make during December can often be easily incorporated into the story I’m telling that day from a memory-keeping perspective in the December Daily.

I’ve prettied up my TN pockets and December Daily cover using primarily the Freezin’ Season collection. I used some of the cards from the 3x4 Elements 12x12 paper, lots of die cuts from the Bits and Pieces pack, and a few chipboard stickers.

I learned last year that trying to do a December Daily album in a TN introduces a fun challenge in trying to be mindful not to add too much dimension. Otherwise it can get very difficult to close the notebook before the end of the month. One of the tricks I like to use when I want to add the illusion of dimension without adding extra bulk is adding hand drawn borders around some of the décor pieces. In particular, if you are layering a light colored element over another light colored element, you can establish some contrast by drawing a black border around the front piece. This gives an effect that the front piece is popping up away from the background slightly and therefore adding more dimension. I have also found that adding borders to loose or “floating” layers can really help anchor them and make the finished project feel more finished – but then again, that could just be part of my style and preference. I love the handmade look of doodled borders.
 

Bonus clip (literally)… I used a few scraps leftover from pocket pieces I had trimmed down to make this adorable clip!

On the front cover of my December Daily insert, I had so much fun adding lots of layers and texture because the cover is one of the few pages of my December Daily where I don’t have to worry about the bulk preventing the album from closing. I used the black and white side of the “Snowed In” 12x12 Paper from the Freezin’ Season collection as my background. I added some watercolor paint to my background and then went over it with a layer of white gesso to soften the colors so they blended into the background more instead of competing with the décor I planned to add on top.

For the next few layers, I added a doily and a tag I made using some of the Freezin’ Season patterned papers. I then started layering in die cuts, chipboard stickers, and several stickers from the Freezin’ Season Combo Sticker Sheet. I made sure to tuck the smaller pieces over, under, and in between the doily and tag layers to give more texture and visual interest.

Inside my December Daily insert, I’ve used one of the free December printables available this month on the Simple Stories website. The countdown one is perfect to kick off my December Daily. The chipboard wreath I’m using to count down is a sticker but I left the sticker backing on it and then added repositionable double-sided tape so I can move it around. I’ve used items mostly from the Merry & Bright collection to decorate the inside cover of the insert. You can see how the Merry & Bright collection has a lot of those softer green and red hues that I also love in the Freezin’ Season collection. I am planning to type up my “Reason Why” and add it to this page.

What is your favorite seasonal collection from Simple Stories this year? Are you using it in your planner or to document memories, or both? Tag me on Instagram if you’re participating in December Daily this year. I truly love seeing how others plan and document the holiday season. Stay tuned on all the Simple Stories and Carpe Diem Planners social media channels for lots more creative inspiration to inspire your holiday season!

Hello everyone!!  Jackie G here today on the blog to share a couple fun, yet simple winter cards with you using the Freezin’ Season collection!!  Living in southern Arizona, we don’t get to see frost or snow (except for those “very” rare occasions) so this collection is lots of fun to work with.  I get to be festive without being cold!!

I decided to create a couple winter themed cards so I could use them for an occasion.  Whether they be for Christmas, to celebrate a birthday, a friendly hello or whatever I need.  Starting off with the first card I wanted to do something a little “off center” so chose to adhered my burlap background a little wonky.  Using lots of foam adhesive to pop up my sentiment and penguins, they made this little winter scene pop!!

It’s a chilly wonderland…can’t you feel it with this collection??  Again, using the chipboard stickers and bits and pieces to create this mountain scene for my little polar bear friend. 

Brrrr….my favorite out of the bunch, yet so simple!!  There is really nothing to this card except more chipboard stickers, bits and pieces and LOTS of dimension!!  The pink “Hello Winter” paper really makes this card so soft and elegant.

Last, but not least a fun little winter scene.  I used the long chipboard village piece to set the scene.  It wasn’t quite enough for me and I really wanted some added interest so I used an additional winter house to pop up in the front. 

I hope you have enjoyed these winter themed cards.  They are so incredibly easy…you can make them too!!!!

Hey planner friends! It’s Rachel again and I am back on the blog to share a little “plan with me” using my favorite basic essentials on the Carpe Diem Planner website.

Ah…nothing more satisfying than a fresh new week! First up, I use the clear number stickers to add my dates in my weekly planner insert. If you are like me and are a planner opportunist (hee hee, planner peace?! Try all the planners for me, please!) then having undated pages is great because you can not only change up the type of inserts, but the size of inserts, too. With so many beautiful types and sizes of planners, it seems a shame to be tied to just one! I always have a set of clear number stickers stashed in the pockets of all my planners so I jump into that particular planner any time I want.

A quick tip: I use a pair of tweezers to help with the placement of these stickers.

Once the week is dated, it is time to add my plans! This is where the FUNtioncal planning comes in. I like to use a mix of icons, boxes and headers to add my plans and these three stamps set help me do that.

I’ve mentioned my love of stamping before (see this post!) and for this week, I loved getting to use a color palette that matches the fun decorative elements.

Some planner girls make awesome “before the pen” spreads, but I tend to write in my plans right away. If plans move or change, you can just cover it with washi or put a sticker over it!

After the plans are all laid out and penned it, I spend some time decorating! This part has no function, but certainly helps me scratch the creative itch with no pressure to make it “perfect”.

Since my Aztec Black and White traveler’s notebook is all decked out for Christmas,

I decided to use washi and stickers from the Merry and Bright Collection, along with few stickers from the awesome Planners Basics sticker tablet. If I could only have one sticker tablet, it would definitely be this one. All the different colors gives the option to decorate with so many different color palettes.

Once I’m done planning, it’s time put my insert back inside my decorated insert cover. I love making insert covers because it allows to switch up my setup without having to change my inserts.

Now, everything goes back in my travelers notebook. I can’t help but take a moment and admire all of the delicious, decorative goodies in my pockets and on my travelers notebook covers. This set-up is gives me all the heart eyes, and motivates me to open my planner and get things done!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my walking through how I plan my week in my travelers notebook. Do you have a process for planning out your week? Leave a comment here on my instagram and tell me about it!

Hello! Jana Eubank here. Traditions are an integral part of our Christmas celebrations each year and definitely deserve a spot in your family album. The Simple Vintage Christmas collection has that classic Christmas vibe that allows these memories to shine.

I love the images of Santa in this collection! Look how cute this die cut is ... he is definitely keeping an eye out to see who is being naughty or nice!

I also really love the greenery images from this collection ... especially the holly and berries. I made sure each embellishment cluster on this page had holly, tying them all together and adding a cohesive look to the design.

The chipboard Layered Frames for this collection are a must-have! The layered look will effortlessly make your main photo the star of the show!

Hello friends, it’s Kylie here with you all today. Do you like making lists? Better yet do you like checking them off? I am a huge list maker and today I thought I would share with you how I have been making lists for December in my Typewriter Circles TN, as well as how I have set it up using the ‘Freezin Season’ collection by Simple Stories.

I have been using the ‘Daily’ Traveler’s Notebook Inserts as well as the ‘Lined’ Traveler’s Notebook inserts.The ‘Freezin Season’ collection is a cute Wintery themed range but for my TN, I love how I was able to use it for Christmas as well.

I love this open view on my desk.The colours are SO pretty and really ‘Pop’ against the soft aqua of my TN.

I love to cut apart the 4 x 4 and 3 x 4 element sheets to add into my pockets.These pockets are also great for storing stickers, washi card or anything else you need for planning on the go.

I also created some covers to wrap around my TN inserts. I added some cute die cuts and stickers with foam tape for extra dimension. The pom pom trim was in my ribbon stash and I thought it looked like little Snowballs!

Here is a closer look at the covers I made laying flat.

I love how they look inside my TN wrapped around the inserts.I’ve added some detailed outlining to my covers using a black felt tip pen. Its nice to add a border or to highlight a quote.

How cute are these 4 x 6 cut apart sheets??

Here is a look at one of my list pages in the ‘Lined’ TN insert.I have created it for keeping track of my Christmas cards. The washi tape I have added down the center is purely for adding colour.

Another page created for keeping track of Christmas gifts. I’ve cut apart the ‘Snowed In’ paper and added a small border to either side of my page.

I don’t know about you but I always forget what I am shopping for unless I write a list of everything I need. I’ve added a shopping list page as well, using my Letter Punch board to create my page titles.

And finally, I wanted to share my ‘Daily’ TN inserts. These are my go-to when life is so busy. It is set up one day on two pages with a timed column. I love to jot down everything for my day on these!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my Traveler’s Notebook set up today!

Until next time,

Kylie.

It doesn't stay cold in Georgia for very long, but given the weather here over the last few days,  it seems like we went from summer to winter and skipped fall all together!  So with chilly temperatures on my mind, I decided to create some pocket pages from recent years using Freezin Season.

December is upon us and so also comes all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season! Hello friends, Linsey here today sharing my latest altered project using the super fun holiday collection by Simple Stories, Merry & Bright! I loved every minute of creating this project! I hope you'll grab a warm cuppa your favorite drink and come along with me as I share my festive holiday house!

This collection is brimming with delightful holiday sweetness and I wanted to capture it all! Each little "room" within my holiday house is decorated with elements from Merry & Bright, like the puffy stickers, chipboard, bits & pieces and more!

Creating a tiny scene for a few of the boxes was so enjoyable! I love the little presents tied with ribbons, the rustic floral arrangements and the charming sleigh, to name a few. Everything fits just right into each of the rooms and makes for the cutest Christmas house!

The Washi Tape was a perfect fit wrapped around the outside of the house. I love the how easy it is to add washi tape to my altered projects!

A Santa is standing in the main box as snowflakes and hearts silently fall, wishing a Merry Christmas to one and all! I adore his rosy cheeks and vintage-style attire. There's so much to love in this darling holiday collection and I do so love it all!

And that's my Merry & Bright Christmas House! Thank you so much for stopping by and allowing me to share a bit of holiday inspiration today! I hope you've enjoyed it and until next time, happy holiday crafting!

Hello!  It's Jennifer here today to share a layout I created with the beautiful Merry and Bright collection!  I'm a big fan of the whimsical prints with the traditional red, green, and white Christmas colors! And I  love that there is a black and white buffalo plaid print!

  I scrapped a photo of our sweet pug, Max, from last Christmas.  We lost him this past fall so it goes to show that taking photos is so important! I  started with kraft cardstock followed by adhering a 11x11 inch piece of the B side of the 4x6 Horizontal Elements. I place strips of the beautiful plaid of Celebrate the Season as well as Holiday Memories across the bottom.  

I  affixed my photo to a white piece of cardstock fashioning it to look like a Polaroid frame.  For my title, I  used the cute "have yourself a merry little christmas" sentiment from the 6x12 Chipboard.  You can also spy some of the coordinating Washi Tape underneath that comes with the collection! 

Just under the corner of my photo, I  adhered one of the journaling spots from the Bits and Pieces pack.  I  then affixed this cute red truck chipboard circle. to accent. 

Across the middle of my layout, I  wanted to create a "clothesline" of sorts to tie in some of the die cut embellishments  as well as a couple of the Tags and Frames.  Using pop dots, I  affixed my embellishments to the page while running bakers twine along the tops. From my stash, I  added mini clothespins to give extra dimension. 

Here is one of the tags from the Tags and Frames pack along with a red flower I  attached to the top with my clothespin.  I  also layered the cute "peace love joy" tree which is also found in the Tags and Frames.  At the bottom of my Santa tag, you can also see some stamping with the Classic Christmas Roller Stamp!  

At the top of my page, I  utilized a cut file to create a border with different patterns (Snowflake Border #69597). Some of the pieces, I  layered two different papers, while others are a single pattern. I   affixed smaller die cuts from the Combo Sticker Sheet as well as  6x12 Chipboard. 

Thank you for reading the blog today! Visit the Products page to see this collection in its entirety as well as the rest of the awesome Simple Stories lines! Have a great day!  

Hi everyone! It’s Tara from Secretbees Studio! Now that Thanksgiving is over the Christmas countdown has begun! For little children (and probably most adults) the season is full of magic and excitement and a Christmas Countdown Calendar is a fun and easy way to way to build suspense and anticipation until the big day!

The Simple Stories 'Merry & Bright' paper collection is full of bright traditional reds and greens along with the most adorably festive holiday icons and beautiful floral images! People young and old alike will love flipping the sections of this cheerful and jolly Christmas Countdown Calendar!

The idea for this countdown calendar was inspired by the 'Number Pocket Pieces' that are a part of this collection! They are in coordinating colors and designs and in varying sizes so they add a lot of interesting dimension to the pages! The other designs are the charming 3x4 and 4x6 journaling cards along with patterned papers cut to 1/4 inch larger. 

I wanted to really showcase all of the gorgeous papers, so I used two of each for the numbered pages and then one pattern for all of the journal cards. Decorating and embellishing was so easy with the huge selection of festive stickers and chipboard along with a few pearls, gems and glitter! Once I had all of my sections complete, I attached them to the base with metal rings 1/2 inch from the top so there would be plenty of room to flip.

This calendar was made with a base of chipboard that I cut to 11 3/4 inches by 7 inches. This left plenty of room for all of the journaling cards that I used as the pages of the calendar, plus it worked well with the 12x12 sheets of lovely patterned paper. I attached two triangular 'legs' to the back to hold it up and give it good stability. 

The first section has two journal card pages and then numbers from one to three. You could add more if you want to start your countdown super early! The second section also has two decorative journal card pages and numbers from zero to nine so there are tons of number combinations to be made! I included the decorative pages for when the days are in the single digits. My very talented daughter wrote 'days until' on a strip of the woodgrain paper that is part of the collection as well!

Pull out those beautiful Christmas paper collections and make a countdown calendar of your own! There is still plenty of time to get in on the holiday spirit! Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! For a closer look at this wonderful calendar, be sure and check out my video on YouTube!

Hello again, as promised I’m back with a little look at my Christmas set up, all ready for December. If you remember last time I showed you how I’d made some pockets & insert covers using the Simple Vintage Christmas collection. Well I’ve now finished decorating and setting up my Aztec Black & White TN by Carpe Diem Planners.

So, shall we take a look? You know by now that I love to stuff my pockets nice and full, well, I’ve been quite restrained this time! I know! Not like me at all!!

I haven’t held back on any of the other areas though, just look at those pom poms!! I’m often asked how I fix my pom pom trim to my insert covers, it’s dead easy, I just use double sided sticky tape and it works a treat!! I’ll let you into a secret, I used to add a little dollop of super glue to the ends to stop the edges fraying or lifting, but I don’t do that anymore since getting the trim stuck fast to my finger!!!

You’ve seen me use snap pockets on my inserts before, making them into shaker pockets, this time I’ve cut down some of the 4x4 pockets. I used some of the little cards out of the snap pack and a few cute snowflake sequins. You guessed it, I used double sided sticky tape to attach it to the back of my insert cover. I do love double sided sticky tape, it’s so useful! 

I think I’ve said this before, but since Carpe Diem planners brought out the monthly, daily, weekly inserts, it’s completely changed the way I use my TN’s!! I used to be an A5 girl all the way, but now, it’s all about my love for TN’s! I would say that an absolute must buy is the Numbers Sticker Tablet!! It’s bursting full of every size and colour numbers, there’s enough in there for a good year!! I choose to use the red circle numbers for December but there is also a sheet of number stickers that come in the sticker pack for this collection. 

I’ve decorated my monthly spread in a very similar style to my October Halloween spread, lots of washi tape all around the edges and then some of the fabulous stickers that are on the 12x12 sheets! I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again, don’t ever be afraid to cut your stickers to make them fit where you want! 

I like to draw around the edge of the stickers & washi, but also I draw around each box too!...don’t ask me why, I haven’t a clue what started me off doing it, but it’s  just something I do! 

So there we have it, my set up for December. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed a little peek inside my TN and possibly taken a few ideas, if nothing else, you’ve learned not to stick pom pom trim to your finger with super glue!! If you would like to see more pictures using Simple Stories products then checkout my IG account  Heartsbyemma (@heartsbyemma) • Instagram photos and videos

I've also included a little process video here as well

Hi Simple Stories friends!

Nathalie with you today with a  festive page that is sure to bring the Christmas Cheer to your holiday season.  The new Simple Vintage Christmas collection from Simple Stories is a beautiful combination of vintage elegance with classical colors and layered details, and the perfect collection to create a sweet keepsake of last year's Christmas memories.

I started by creating the Holy frame using a cut file (Citrus Twist Kits) and backing it with papers from the 6x8 paper pad, having the same patterns as the papers but in a smaller scale makes it ideal to back the leaves of the frame.

The frame was then handstitched to the Be Merry paper - i added a few stamped images so that faint script of the paper shows through the background-, and then trimmed to size.  This was then glued to the Believe paper.

Once it was all set up, i used the layered frames to add my pictures to the bottom of the page ( i cut one of the double frames, so that they both can fit at the corner of the frame).

There are so many beautiful stickers, tags, and pieces of ephemera to chose from that it makes it so simple to add details in clusters around the layout

To finish this page, I followed the layered look of the collection design to create the title for this layout at the top left corner of the frame.  To finish a few drops of gold and white ink, lines of journal will be added to the back of the page later on.

The beautiful Simple Vintage Christmas from Simple Stories is not just gorgeous, but also versatile and packed with so many details you will fall in love with each piece.   Remember to check it all out! 

See you all soon!

XO

Hello friends, Iris here.  It’s the most wonderful time of the year, the time to do some Christmas scrapping!  

I’m delving into documenting our tree picking traditions with the Merry & Bright collection. I wanted to play with the smaller scale patterns of the 6x8 paper pad and some of those cute frames from the Tags & Frames pack, so I made those the focus of my layout with a layered design.

I started by picking my photos and printing them at 2x3 inches and 2x2 inches to fit my two favorite frames from the pack.  To add a little bit of texture and whimsy, I added a border of tiny pompoms to the smaller frame.  

For my background I picked the green plaid side of the Joy & Happiness paper.  I cut the papers into 2x2 squares and overlapped them randomly along with the framed photos until I reached a point where they looked balanced.  The rectangular die-cut of the truck carrying a tree from the Bits & Pieces pack was a great addition to the layers.  I cut the scalloped buffalo plaid border sticker from the Combo Sticker sheet, tucking a bit under the truck and another bit above the right photo frame. These little bits echo the left frame, providing a visual triangle.  

I added chipboard, flat stickers, and puffy stickers along many of the seams of the layers, with an emphasis on the Christmas trees.

I typed my journaling on vellum because I didn’t want a bunch of white strips taking too much visual weight away from the layers. Before sticking the journaling on, I splattered white mist up and down in line with the larger photo.  Directly at the bottom of the column of splatters, I used one of the die-cuts as my title at the very edge of the page, cutting off the bottom.  The final touch was to stitch a double line of machine stitching along the entire edge of the page.

The Merry & Bright collection has the loveliest mix of traditional and modern.  I love all the plaid, the brush script, and the cute icons in this collection, and I know you will too.

Are you starting to count the days until Christmas?  If you’re like me you still need to get lots done!  I like to make my own Christmas cards for family and friends.  They’re especially important if I’m giving a gift card to add a personal touch.

The Simple Stories Merry & Bright Collection features traditional red and green with a fun contemporary twist.    The papers include plaids, confetti dots, florals,  and woodgrain perfectly coordinated for mixing and matching. 

I love the hand drawn look of the florals and mixed font sentiments.

This collection includes everything you need to make loads of cards, tags and more including journaling cards, die cut bits and pieces, chipboard stickers, washi and more.  

All the embellishments make creating a snap.  This simple card was created with a 4x6 journaling card and some chipboard stickers.

Wishing your days be as Merry and Bright as this beautiful collection.

Happy Cyber Monday!  The last day of our Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale is today - your entire purchase from our digital store is 50% off!

WIth ALL of your favorite Simple Stories collections in digital format, you're sure to find just what you need for all of your digital crafting needs!  Visit our digital store here and enter code BFCM2018 during checkout!!