Simple Stories

Hi everyone, it is Kelly here today on the Carpe Diem blog. I get asked quite often how I set up a new planner and what basic supplies I use. In this blog I will show how I have setup my new planner for 2019.

Step 1: choose a planner and monthly insert set

I love to use the A5 planner size, because this gives me enough room to have functional and creative spreads. The planners come in different colors and floral prints and you just have to choose which one you like the most. Or like me, buy multiple planners and switch them often. Carpe Diem released three new beautiful monthly insert sets, but I decided to go for the floral ‘Hello’ set for my main 2019 planner setup.

Step 2: choose weekly pages

There are different kind of insert sets available; weekly, daily and hourly sets. I love to use the horizontal and vertical weekly pages, so every other month I switch them out.

Step 3: basic supplies

In my opinion, there are a few basic supplies that you need when you are setting up a new planner: the A5 planner punch, a bookmark notepad that you can out in the back pocket of your planner and sticker tablets. Of course, you need lots of stickers! I recommend to buy at least the ‘planner basics’ and ‘numbers’ tablet, because they are useful in every spread.

Step 4: personalize your planner

The fun part of setting up a new planner is that you can create your own dashboards and extra dividers. The A5 planner punch makes it really easy to punch and add your own dashboards in your planner.

I made a fun little washitape card with some samples of my favorite washitapes. I made the card by laminating a piece of acetate and punched three holes on the left side. You can also use a piece of paper instead of the acetate.

Step 5: make a future log

For this basic planner setup, I also made a future log. A future log is a place in my planner where I can write down future appointments and to-do’s. For the basis of this future log, I used the grid pages of the basic inserts pack and the mini monthly calendar stickers. I decorated the pages with some stamps, flowers and stickers.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog, you can find more inspiration on my planner instagram. Have a nice day!

Hello Simple Stories friends!

Marcia here today with a festive December layout I created with the Simple Stories Vintage Christmas collection. I wanted to use this collection, not for Christmas photos, but for one of my daughter's Senior photos. Being from Minnesota where we get lots of snow, it was fun to do a photo shoot of her with a toboggan and a winter hat and scarf. I wanted to show you that even though there are lots of adorable vintage Santas in this collection, it also works to document some everyday December moments. Here is my layout ...

Is there anyone besides me that is crushing on these plaid papers? That red buffalo plaid is the perfect background and really set off the chipboard frames which I adore! I chose two of the smaller single frames and printed my photo to fit inside one. In the other frame I used one of the 3x4 journaling cards. These frames are beautiful just the way they are or you can layer up other embellishments on top like I did. A woodgrain banner, stickers, washi tape, and snowflakes tucked underneath add even more layers.

To set off my title Snow Cute, I added a strip of the reindeer pattern paper across the bottom of the page. The die cut letters backed with the black buffalo plaid pattern paper really pop on the lighter background. I substituted a snowflake for the O in the title and layered another reindeer over the top. He is so cute!

I know December is so hectic with Holiday gatherings but try to take a little time to slow down and capture the everyday winter activites too. Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have an awesome weekend.

Odessa here with some more December Documenting inspiration! This time I am using Simple Stories Freezin’ Season to document some of the bold and cold stories in my album. If you missed my other posts I’m using Freezin’ Season, Vintage Christmas and Merry & Bright to document last Christmas with each collection being perfect for different stories in my album. This one is perfect for winter fun!

This page ended up being about coffee. I used some letter stickers along with some simple embellishment stickers from the collection on these pages to keep it simple but add some fun. I love the super cute toque and eyelashes card on the left side!

This page combines a regular 6x8 pocket page on the left with one of the 4x6 vertical pocket pages on the right. I love those smaller pocket pages to add in a focal square picture.

The playful palette and graphics in Freezin’ Season go great with bold titles. One of my favourite things is to use larger alpha stickers to make a bold title and then layer a small phrase sticker over it like I did here. I added in a chipboard tree sticker to fill in some negative space.

I used the vertical 4x6 pocket page to highlight a photo for that day in my album. Underneath the 4x4 pocket are two small 2x2 pockets. I filled them with some cut down paper from the collection with embellishments on top. I didn’t really have more story-wise to tell so I decided to make it cute! And that penguin really is the cutest. As with most of the tags in my album, I folded down some of the Freezin’ Season washi to thread through the hole in the tag to add a little more to it.

This page is all about bold colour! I love colour and the saturated fun colours Freezin Season make me so happy. On the left is a pocket page with some journal cards from the collection that go well together and with my photos on the page. My photos are pretty neutral so they’re balanced perfectly with the red and blue cards. On the left is a 6x8 layout with a bright photo on one of the quieter papers in the collection. It’s a great contrast to the pocket page.

I used some of the great stickers from the collection to fancy up  my pocket pages but overall kept it pretty simple to maintain contrast with the right side where I embellished quite a bit more. The phrase stickers in the 4x6 sticker pack are winter perfection!

On the right side I used a circular photo (which was easy to cut with the photo crop circles) on top of a cute tree print from the collection. I added a layer of vellum in the middle to make the photo pop a bit more. I added in a tab and some phrase stickers and some song lyrics that always get in my head when I am Christmas baking!

Here’s the last page I am sharing today. On the left instead of journal cards I cut down some papers from the collection and used them in a couple of different ways. I added a big chipboard snow globe (ADORABLE) to the paper with all of the snowy houses. I left the all over print paper plain because I really like how it looks cut down. I added some stickers to my photos to quickly finish off this page, I really like how quickly this page came together while still looking super fun. On the right I used some journal cards from the collection with a bunch of stickers. I even got some journalling in. I couldn’t resist another snow globe!

There are some really great stickers in the 4x6 sticker pack. I really like the one I used on this photo, it’s the perfect size! And I bet you’re humming jingle bells now!

The way the pocket with the paper full of houses with the chipboard snow globe on it might be my favourite in all of my pages using Freezin’ Season. I added a phrase sticker for a final touch.

The penguins in Freezin’ Season are the cutest ever and I need a million. Or at least one per page. Hope you enjoyed this peek into my December album!

Hello! Maria here, to decorate a new month in my bullet journal, now it's December and Christmas is coming. I can not wait for it!

I fell in love with the "Merry & Bright" Collection the since I first saw it, I knew that I needed to use it to decorate my month of December. The "Bits & Pieces", "Chipboard" and "Puffy Stickers" are perfect for decorating the exterior cover.

The inside cover I have adorned with "washi tapes" and "Combo Sticker". I have made a pocket with a "4x6 Vertical Elements" card to store the "4x6 Stickers". Also I added lettering for the month.

Here are the collections I use every month, gratitude, habit tracker, menu (with a special page to write Christmas recipes) and night off to record series and movies.

I added a list of my favorite films to see at Christmas, so I did not miss seeing any of them.

Month view and week view to help me with the organization. I also want to use the rest of the notebook to make my Christmas diary, I think it can be very nice, you can see it on my instagram account.

Hello Friends!

It's Kristine here today. I am sitting in my scrapbook room freezing! It's 18F with a winter storm warning for the east coast of Canada and I'm so not looking forward to winter. Wanna know what I like best about winter? Seeing someone playing in the snow!

This picture is of my cousin enjoying some time outside on a snow day! So much fun was had just jumping around, making snowmen, and throwing snow balls! I love watching kids enjoy the beauty of winter. I used the gorgeous winter collection called Freezin' Season. It is filled with beautiful colors such as blues and pinks that make white snow look so lovely!

I wanted to add some fun to my page so I used the chipboard with the Bits and Pieces diecuts. I rarely put pictures on my page sideways but I wanted to try something different. I added tons of layers with dimensional adhesive and lots of fun colors.

I did something different with my title on this page. I used the Let It Snow diecuts and placed them on a pink piece of paper. That gave my title some 3D effect. I really like  the look of it.

I placed some small stickers and enamel dots around my embellishments to add some " snowy " details.  Using the multi colors trees and houses on tis page really added some fun to a wintry page! Come Find Simple Stories on social media @SimpleStories_ and myself @KristineDavidson

We have many amazing projects from our design team and friends!

Hi, it’s Cara here today, for my very first post on the gorgeous new Carpe Diem website!

I’m completely addicted to setting myself goals and going after my dreams, so as we get closer to 2019, I’ve been thinking a lot about my year to come. I love setting myself goals and challenges for the year, to make it better than the year before. I wanted a place to keep track of all my dreams and ideas so then I could turn them into goals and projects. 

Traveller’s notebooks are so very versatile, they can be a lot more than just a planner, so I chose this gorgeous turquoise one to use for my dream and goals journal. I’m starting with just two inserts, but I can add many more as the year (years!) goes on and I can even remove the specific insert I’m using so that I can curl up in bed with a cup of tea and write, slipping it back in it’s elastics when I’m done.

What’s better than a pretty journal? A pretty, decorated, journal! I pulled out the Hello sticker tablet. This has to be my favourite collection with all those butterflies and flowers, all in my happy colours! It’s the perfect choice for my goal journal.

I divided the inserts up using tabs and covering them with the clear tabs. I’m expecting this book to get a lot of use. So it needs as much protection from getting dog-eared as possible. 

Each insert got a title page and each section did as well. I chose box stickers that reflected the theme of each section and decorated the pages using that one sticker as a starting point. 

Layering up smaller stickers and arranging things in clusters, along with good amounts of white space, allowed me to get a lot on a page without it looking cluttered or too busy. I’m hoping this will help my busy, cluttered brain sift through my ideas and dreams and get them down on paper in a way that will help them come true.

I loved lining up the flag stickers to add bunting across the tops of my pages.

I also created a section for books in the second insert, I used a 20 and a 19 from the Numbers sticker tablet to write 2019. 

I read a lot and I find that after finishing one on-fiction book, I race on to the next, not taking time to reflect or learn. I’m going to jot down ideas and lessons learned from non-fiction in one section of this insert.

I also LOVE a good story, so I plan to track the novels that I read in this insert as well.

You can follow along in my process video on my YouTube channel, and don’t forget that the new Carpe Diem shop has everything 20% off until the end of the month if you use the code CARA20 at the checkout. Grab yourself a nice pretty traveller's notebook and make your own Dreams and Goals journal.

I’m having so much fun with the Merry and Bright Line!!! This paper is darling for home decor!!! I covered the wood Car from Foundations Decor to make this adorable project!!! 

And you can’t have a car with out a Glamper..... because I’m crazy for trailers..... 

These papers are absolutely adorable and make into the cutest cards and tags!!! 

Using the papers and stickers from the collection kit I created many projects!!!! 

This paper makes it so cute and easy to make your own Christmas Tags!!! 

Pick up your Merry and Bright Collection Kit today and start creating your own projects!!!

FEELING MERRY & BRIGHT.

Hello friends! It’s Kylie with you all today. I’m going to share how I have been setting up my planner for December. Yes I know it’s November but I’m totally going to be ready to enjoy the festive season. I can never get enough of Christmas and a Christmas theme for my planning too. I decided to use my Clover A5 planner because…’Hello festive green!’ It was a perfect companion for the new Merry & Bright collection. These colours together make me feel happy just looking at them!!

So by now you must of figured out I am by no means a minimalist. I like lots and lots of goodies tucked into every corner of my planner.

As my planner stays open on my desk each month, I love having that ‘visual’ of my month’s theme.A lot of the die cuts added into my pockets are purely there to sit decoratively. However, I do add items into my pockets that serve a practical purpose too.

This month I have added some cute shaker post cards.I thought these turned out so cute! I cut apart some of the 4 x 6 elements and slotted them into a 4 x 6 pocket page. Then I added some confetti from my stash and sealed each open side carefully with my heat seal tool. All that was left to do was cut them carefully apart.

I also added a washi tag to my pockets.This is great if you ever are planning on the go. It saves packing all of your washi tape rolls. I laminated a tag from the Tags & Frames packet and then carefully cut it into a bookmark shape.Then I added some of my washi tape! Easy Peasy!

Here is a little look at my opening divider. Using my A5 divider templates I was able to trace and cut out to size. I’ve layered lots of papers and added the cute Reindeer from the 3 x 4 elements. Couldn’t resist adding some adhesive gems to him!

I also made a countdown to Christmas card using some of the number stickers from the Numbers Sticker Tablet.

This month I was super excited to receive the new ‘Seasons” A5 monthly inserts. I dived right into them and added them in for my month. They already have a gorgeous print to them but I also added a few extra embellishments as well.

Here’s a little look at my monthly view before the pen-

I love being able to add some fav photos into my planning also. The 4 x 6 elements were perfect for adding a photo to and punching with my A5 hole punch so it fits perfectly into my planner rings.

Using some alpha dies I cut a title from one of the papers.It added a fun element to my task page for the month.

I’m using the vertical inserts for December. With the beautiful Merry & Bright washi tapes, I’ve added some borders to frame each page and add lots of colour.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my planner set up today and it leaves you feeling inspired for the festive season!

Until next time,

Happy fall, y’all Planner Babes! It’s Rachel, back on the on the blog to share my Cream Dot Traveler’s Notebook set up for November. With so many beautiful travelers notebooks, it was tough to choose which one to use. Spoiler alert: I’ll end up using two this month. The Cream Dot Notebook will be used this month as my catch all “get things done” planner and my Floral Typewriter Notebook will be used to for my journal and creative lists. I’ll be posting more about both on my instagram so make sure to check it out!

Fall is my hands down favorite season and this Forever Fall Collection does such a great job capturing the feel of this season. I used paper scraps from my notebook covers as a place to secure the pocket decorations. I like to choose my favorite chipboards pieces and die cuts to decorate my pockets, adhered to the paper with a little bit of removable adhesive.

For this setup I decided to use just three inserts for monthly (combined with a blank insert), weekly and daily plans. Making notebook covers for my inserts is so easy with the papers from the Forever Fall Collection.

I trim the height first, fold the paper around the insert, and measure the width with the insert closed.

To decorate the covers, I trimmed out the element card papers and add the combo stickers and a few bits and pieces.

To keep the bulk down, I removed several pages of a the weekly insert. I have been using this horizontal layout since September and I have a few weeks left of the insert now, but the rest of the pages are all regular lined pages. I decided to make a vertical layout for my weekly pages. With pencil, I measured out the vertical columns (roughly 1.5 in ) drew the vertical lines, stamps the days of the week, added clear date stickers and then stamped the month along the bottom. 

I decorated with washi, stickers from the 4x6 sticker pack and a few stamps.

I love the layered decoration on this page. Don’t be afraid to trim your stickers to make them work for you!

Here is one of my pages in the daily insert. Daily pages are a great place to “plan all the things”. I love these pages, because they have room for your schedule, your lists and even some memory keeping. And since the insert is undated, you can jump in and out of this insert as needed.

I can’t get enough of the adorable collection, so I decided to try out the digital version of this collection to make my own stickers and embellishments. Anyone can do this! I just downloaded the files, and re-shaped them in a Word document to the size and shape I wanted, printed the sheet on full sheet label paper, and fussy cut them out!

My favorite stickers I made with the printables were scaled down versions of the 4x6 and 3x4 element cards and functional boxes with a light shading in the middle. Check back on my instagram to see how I use them in my weekly spreads later this month!

I hope you enjoyed a look inside my fall setup in my Cream Dot Travelers Notebook. Be sure to check out the https://carpediemplanners.com to purchase this notebook, inserts and stamps and more!

Hello everyone!!  Jackie G here on the blog today!!  I am super excited to share this vintage inspired mini album using the gorgeous “Simple Vintage Christmas” collection!! I absolutely LOVE this paper collection!!!  It reminds me of my Grandmother and all the Christmas fun when I was little.  So, let’s get started!!

This album is a simple pocket page constructed album consisting of only four pages and measuring at 6” by 7.75”.  With a 2.5” spine, each page has a half inch gusset to allow plenty of room for the layered chipboard frames.  These frames are simply gorgeous and made this album so easy to decorate.  You can find an easy step by step tutorial on how to construct this album over on My Sister’s Scrapper YouTube channel.

Like I said before, these layered frames are gorgeous, and I didn’t need to do much to decorate my album.  I did layer some stickers, bits and pieces, and some chipboard elements to each of them for some dimension.

For some added interest I did make one of my pages super big to allow my photo mat insert stick out quite a ways.

I hope you have enjoyed this mini album and are inspired to make a fun Christmas album for yourself!! 

Hello, Simple Stories Fans! It's Jana Eubank back to share a scrapbook page using my favorite Forever Fall Collection. 

I love the name of this collection, because if there is one season I would want to last forever, it would definitely be Fall! I love everything about it, the rich colors, the coziness, everything! I wanted to embody that feeling on this next page about my daughter.

First of all, the Be Grateful paper with it's denim pattern ... SWOON! I could use this paper for every layout this season! I cut out the heart from the 4x4 Elements paper and paired it with the chipboard fox to use as a large accent next to my die cut title. 

Next, I wanted to do something special around this cute photo of my daughter. I used an electronic die cutting machine to cut out several large leaves and then backed them with the Gather Together, Changing Leaves, and Pumpkin Everything papers.

I then used my sewing machine to stitch around the outer edges and veins of the leaves, giving them lots of cozy texture!

Finally, I fussy-cut the large floral element from the 4x6 Horizontal Elements paper and gathered several other floral die cuts and stickers to tuck in among the leaves. The result is a fun way to show off a favorite photo!

Happy Fall!

Hello there creatives! Leah here with you on the blog today. I often feel like I have a million tabs open in my head. The more stressed I get, the worse that seems to get. Then the more information that is flying around in my head, the more stressed I get. It’s a spiral. When I feel too overwhelmed, it can be paralyzing. I know there is so much to do but I can’t figure out where to start. When I get to this point of feeling stuck, I have a process that helps me get the information out of my head and onto paper, and then organized in a way that allows my brain to figure out a path forward. I wanted to share this process today in the hopes that maybe someone else out there will find it helpful.

Check out my process of planning through the overwhelm in the video here -

It starts with sticky notes, lots of sticky notes. I am using the adorable Bloom sticky notes here, but any sticky notes will do. I take some time to write down every task or goal in my head I can think of. It takes me a while because it’s been too long since I last did this and consequently, my brain seems to be more jumbled due to the overload of information. This is my version of a “brain dump.” Writing every random idea onto sticky notes gives me flexibility to move the thoughts around and organize them into some sort of structure that makes sense to me.

When I’ve finished writing everything down, I start looking for common themes so that I can start grouping the thoughts into smaller categories. Everyone’s “categories” will probably be a bit different, but most of my goals/ideas/to dos seemed to fall under seven topics for now - home, budget, general to do, creative, relationships, self care, and work. I used some alpha stickers from Simple Stories to label several sheets of grid paper from the A5 Basic Inserts pack, giving each category a separate page.

Now that the million tabs I had open in my head have been broken down into a few more manageable groups, I feel I am able to sit down and plan out my day with a clearer mind, and I can incorporate some of the goals and tasks that I’ve written down into my plans.

I love the daily TN inserts because they give me plenty of room to break my pages into compartments that correspond to the categories I’ve created.

I’m keeping the sticky notes in my A5 Mint Blossom planner so I can easily flip through the pages as I’m writing out my plans in my TN. I can move the sticky notes around anytime and get rid of or replace them as I start getting some of the tasks done.

You can see where I’m simply taking things I wrote on the sticky notes and transferring them to my daily layout, doing my best to make each idea into a reasonable action item. For example, I wrote “start yoga” on a sticky note, but on my actual planner layout, I wrote “pick a new yoga routine” for this day.

I hope this method of organizing lots of random thoughts into a few more manageable categories is an idea some of you may find useful if you have been feeling overwhelmed lately. If you have a technique that you use to help you work through overwhelm, please share in the comments here, or over on my Instagram or YouTube. What works for one may not work for all, so someone may really benefit from hearing your method. Thank you for joining me here on the blog today!

Until next time friends,

Hi everyone!  For my project today I want to share a gift idea with you.   What hostess at Thanksgiving dinner or a Christmas party wouldn't want to receive a beautiful handmade gift like this memory album?

Family and friends would also love one!  All you need is a 4x6 Snap album, some Simple Vintage Christmas paper and embellishments, and some cream card stock.

I used card stock to add six 4.25"x7" scrapbook pages in between the plastic photo sleeves.  I didn't add photos to the album since this will be a gift and the recipient will add their own pictures.

I used pattern paper from the 6x8 paper pad and lots of cards from the Simple Vintage Sn@p Card set.  

Temperatures are dropping and Fall is upon us! I just love this time of year! Hello friends! Linsey here today sharing my latest altered project, a lovely book box keepsake to commemorate all the beauty and love this season holds. The Forever Fall collection is perfect for all your projects during the Autumn season and this is just one idea that I hope will get you inspired to create with it!

The box is covered inside and out with 12x12 papers in Give Thanks, Gather Together, and Pumpkin Everything. The front is decorated with a variety of Forever Fall Combo Stickers, 6x12 Chipboard, Bits & Pieces and 4x6 Stickers. All edges were covered with the blue leaves in the Forever Fall Washi Tape. Inside the box is a space for journaling and there are large tags meant for adding photos from the season as well as more journaling areas.

More tags could be added or even small mementos to keep inside the box. I love how the 3x4 Elements fit just right on the tags and a 4x6 Vertical Element fit perfectly inside the large space inside the box.

A pretty bow with a cute tag was added to one side of the box.

A title for the book was added along the binding using stickers.

This box will hold all my family's memories from Fall 2018. I hope it will be a favorite for years to come. I really enjoyed making it!

And that's all for me! Thanks so much for visiting today and allowing me to share my Forever Fall book box! Wishing you and yours a most blessed Thanksgiving and Fall season! Until next time, happy crafting!

Hello! It's Jennifer and I'm so excited to share my layout with you today using the Simple Vintage Christmas collection! What is not to love about this line from the gingham and plaid prints to the traditional holiday tones. I  thought instantly about doing a page with an "old fashioned" photo and found these gems from when I  was a little girl. I  was so proud to wear my Christmas dress and so grateful my mom took photos of me.

I  started with a kraft cardstock background mounted on the beautiful plaid print of the B side of Dear Santa. I  love incorporating Simple Stories' cut files from the Silhouette shop and used the "Circle Wreath" with the musical note print of Jolly Holiday.  I  then added embellishments from the Bits and Pieces pack as well as the 12x12 Combo Sticker Sheet.  around the wreath. 

For my title, I  popped up one of the sentiments from the Combo Sticker Sheet layering it over a beautiful poinsettia die cut. I  also used pop dots on the vintage Santa found in the Bits and Pieces and accented with smaller embellishments such as Chipboard hearts and star die cuts. I  typed my journaling on one of the 3x4 Elements as well as added a bit of the adorable Washi that coordinates with the collection! 

Thank you for reading today! I  hope this inspires you to scrap some of your older holiday photos! Maybe even do a page about you! Have a great day!

Hi everyone! Thanksgiving to me is a time to share love and laughter with family and friends with all of our favorite comfort foods. At our annual Thanksgiving dinner, I make the main portion of the meal but ask everyone to bring their favorite dish to share. As we our enjoying our meal we always say how wonderful everything is and we wish we had the recipes to make the dishes ourselves. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving I decide to create a family cookbook to collect all of those divine recipes that I want to enjoy all year long!

I chose three of the beautiful patterned papers from the 'Forever Fall' collection and folded up one edge to create a pocket. Using my sewing machine I stitched around the sides and bottoms for extra detail and then folded the papers in half to create 6 pockets.Since I knew this would be used in the kitchen, I gave it a clear cover cut from an Avery job ticket holder! I stacked all of the pockets together along with the plastic and sewed down the center to keep it all together!

I used the charming and beautiful  journal cards, Bits & Pieces, chipboard and stickers to decorate and embellish the cover and pockets of my cookbook. I also added in some fun family Fall photos along with some journaling areas so this will be a treasured keepsake as well!

I made the recipe cards using the other patterned papers in the collection and some of the gorgeous 'Forever Fall' digital images that are available. Using a paper design app, I made the recipe cards and printed them put onto heavy printer paper. Easy peasy and super cute! I scored all of my cards so they can be open or folded close.

Each page was given a tab made with the stickers of the collection and then I used a label printer to make the labels so the recipes will be easy to organize and find. I have a feeling when my friends and family see this adorable collection cookbook they will all be wanting one for themselves! 

I have a video on YouTube so you can see all of the details of this wonderful cookbook! Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Hi there! Nathalie with you today to share with you a layout all about the most joyful time of the year, Christmas.  The new Simple Stories collections are so festive and joyous that it was hard to chose which one to use to document a picture of my littles (niece and nephew).   Well, after much debating, I went for the new MERRY and BRIGHT collection to create this page.

To build this page, I used a Paige Evans cut file to create the wreath base from the 4x6 Horizontal elements paper and vellum, and then handstitched them to the Sn@p Basic 12x12 Cream ledger paper.

Next the poinsettas were created using a cut file from Just Nick Studio from the It is a Wonderful Life paper and another paper from the 6x8 paper pad.  To break some of the red, i used a paper from the High Style paper pad to cut a few poinsettas, too

The flowers were built and glued onto the page.  Then i used a Silhouette design to cut the ivy and pine leaves that are layered under the flowers from the Joy and Happiness paper.

The picture was then added in the middle of the flower cluster, and then just a few embellishments from the chipboard, puffy and cardstock stickers were added around it.  To finish the page, the title was created using a die cut piece from the Merry and Bright collection along with a few more stickers.   A few gold and white ink splatters complete this page.

Love how this turned out, and i am sure my sister will be framing this page as a Christmas decor piece for her home.  I hope you are all inspired to check the new Merry and Bright collection from Simple Stories,  it is sure to help you record all your upcoming memories.

XO