Simple Stories

Hi everyone! It’s Lori on the blog today sharing a layout I made with our Love & Adore collection.

When this collection was designed, I immediately fell in love with the fun, playful designs as well as the gorgeous florals and accents. I’ve been so excited to work with this product line; I didn’t even wait for Valentine’s Day! That’s one thing that’s so great about this collection. You’re not limited to using it for only Valentine’s photos. The papers and embellishments also work well for documenting other special relationships in your life.

My six-month-old daughter, Kya, and my 5-year-old yellow lab, Sadie, adore each other. From the day we brought Kya home from the hospital, Sadie has been by her side watching over her and protecting her. Now that Kya is rolling around and babbling, you can always find Sadie trying to creep up to her and kiss her sweet cheeks. Sadie is patient and tolerates Kya’s pawing at her, and Kya is fascinated by her furry friend. This relationship is very special, and I wanted to document how early it started.

Did I reach for dog-themed paper? Nope? Baby themed? No way! This page was about their love for each other, so Love & Adore was the perfect collection to use.

One night as Kya and Sadie were lying on a blanket together, I snapped a series of photos.  I posted a few of my favorite pics to Instagram using the Layout option that allowed me to upload multiple pictures into one collage.

I didn’t want to print 4 individual photos for this layout, so I used the Instagram collage to make an impact and save space on my page. To print this photo, I simply uploaded the Instagram photo and printed it onto 4”x6” borderless, glossy photo paper. I got the impact of multiple pics on my layout without the hassle--and the small pictures each tell a story about the relationship I’m documenting.

I typically shy away from using big, graphic backgrounds as the base of my layout. Since I’m more of a clean-lines type of scrapbooker, these patterned papers always intimidated me. Don’t let these bold designs scare you! If you anchor your photos and elements with a few strips of patterned paper and stick to designing around those strips, the layout will feel coordinated and the bold design can play a secondary role to your photo and embellishments.

As you can see in my design, there are 3 strips of patterned paper adhered to the bottom third of the page. My photo, my journaling block, and all of my embellishments are “grounded” on the layout because they are touching each other or the strips of paper.

Part of the fun of using this Love & Adore collection is seeing the many different ways you can use the beautiful product. So what are you waiting for--Valentine’s Day? Don’t wait! Document a special relationship today!

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EDITED TO ADD:

WOOOHOO!!!  We've picked 5 random lucky winners & I'll be on my way to visit these lucky people & places very soon!

Valerie - Malaysia

Sandi Presley - Orlando, Florida

mscantli - Las Vegas, Nevada

Vonia Fonseca - Portugal

Coralie Peter Bouillot - Paris, France

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Howdy friends!  You may recognize me, I'm Winston, the Carpe Diem mascot.  A few months ago we held a contest to name me; once I had my name & passport, I packed my bags & embarked on a journey to see the word, Flat Stanley style! 

You can follow my travels on Instagram at @WheresWinstonCD and with the hashtag #WheresWinstonCD.  I've already been to 5 countries around the world & visited some pretty amazing places, including Victoria Peak in Hong Hong, Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee and Larry the Lobster in South Australia!  

Would you like to show me around your part of the world?!  Leave a comment here on the blog sharing where you’d like to see me travel.  Five random lucky winners will be chosen and announced on the blog & on social media on Sunday, January 8^th; the five will receive ME in the mail along with a fun prize pack full of products with my likeness!

Thanks for playing along, I can't wait to continue my journey around the world! 

Your Friendly Pup, Winston

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Hello there! Allie here today, sharing two layouts with you using the Winter Wonderland collection. It rarely snows where I live, so I was super excited when it snowed right after the Winter Wonderland collection showed up at my doorstep! It was meant to be.

For my first layout, I used pictures from when we looked at Christmas Lights!
 

Today we're excited to welcome back guest designer Julie Johnson & some fabulously fun home decor she's created with our Winter Wonderland collection

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Hi!  It's Julie with Paisleys and Polka Dots.  Here is a fun winter wood décor project I designed using the Winter Wonderland collection. 

I fell in love with the cool color palette of this collection and felt it was “trending” with the style of home décor right now.  For my wood projects, I usually work with just pattern paper but when I began designing this project I couldn’t resist using the chipboard embellishments.  They were just the right size and with a few pieces of greenery gave my project the perfect winter touch.  

I loved this collection so much that I couldn’t stop designing once I got started!  Plus, when I decorate, I like to have several items as it creates a focal point.  I knew I wanted to create a wood block to coordinate with the snowmen.  There are so many adorable phrases to work with in this collection, but I decided on one of the 6x12 Elements as I loved the size and, of course, the phrase is perfect for home décor! 

Last, are these adorable hanging mittens.  And guess what?!  Both sides have cuffs and are covered with paper so there are no worries with the direction they are hanging. 

Once I finished my projects, I added a few more coordinating décor pieces that I picked up at my local Hobby Lobby.  I love this store and I can wander the aisles for hours!  But, what I love even more is that I can get crafty with my handmade projects and they coordinate so well with my purchased items to create this beautiful winter display.  I definitely will enjoy this wintery scene all season long!

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Aren't these just the cutest?!  If you're interested in getting your hands on a set of these wood décor pieces, Julie has kits available on her website at www.paisleysandpolkadots.com

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Hello crafty friends! Leah here to show you a few super fun decorations I’ve made for my Carpe Diem planner using the Happy New Year Simple Set. I really want to show you a few of the MANY ways you can use any of the Simple Sets to decorate your planner on a budget, with very few supplies; they include six 12x12 papers (3 designs, 2 of each) and a 6x12 sheet of cardstock stickers.

The kits come with a cover page that shows you what products are in the kit. Many people throw this sheet away but I like to repurpose it and cut it into a bunch of little ephemera pieces. I use these pieces to embellish my planner.

Much in the same way, the 12x12 papers in the collection kit are very versatile. They can be cut down to make dashboards, dividers or pocket pages. You can also punch out different patterned shapes, or use scissors to fussy cut some of the designs to create more of your own die cuts.

After I created all of these die cuts, I used a few to make decorative paper clips. Some were as simple as gluing a couple of shapes together with the top of the paperclip sandwiched in between. I embellished the clips with gold sequins, washi tape, string and a few cardstock stickers from the collection kit.

The balloons and party hat are both fussy cut from a 12x12 elements sheet. I used a superglue gel to stick a paper clip to the back.

The circle paperclip is double sided and it’s made with circles punched out from the 12x12 elements sheet as well. I used a 2¼ size circle punch. Rather than just gluing the circles together, I wanted to add a little more interest by adding some cute string from my stash. Whenever I need things to REALLY stick, I always use red line tape. I lined the edge of the circle with the tape and then wrapped the string around the edge.

I failed to get a photo of the next step unfortunately, but all I did after this was use a glue dot to stick the top of the paperclip to the inside of the circle and then I stuck on the other circle die cut to hide the mess.

The other two paper clips were made using pieces cut from the collection kit cover page. Since they are made of thinner paper, I made them double sided. My favorite paperclip is the one with the little banner at the bottom. That was so easy to make! I just cut a few triangles and banner shapes from patterned paper and the cover page of the kit and glued them along the bottom. Because this clip is double sided, the part where the banner pieces are glued on is hidden, as is the area where I glued the paper clip.

I really love how all of these turned out and I can’t wait to make more! I purposely chose designs that I can re-use after New Years as well, for any party/celebration or count down marked in my planner.

The next thing I made with the Happy New Year collection kit is a little shaker card. I made this using a couple of 3x4 cards cut from the 12x12 elements sheet. I used a 2 ¼ in. circle punch to punch a circle into both cards; I punched them both at the same time so that the circle was in the same place. These will be the front and back of my shaker card. I then used my 3in. circle punch to cut two vellum circles. I made these larger so that I have room to add glue around the edge of the vellum and stick it over the open circle on the 2x3 card.

Then I added glue around the edge of the second vellum circle, but not all the way around. I left the top part of the circle unglued and stuck the circle down on top of the first vellum circle. This created a small vellum pocket (with the top open) that I then added some glitter and sequins into. After that, I glued the other 2x3 card down to the back to cover the mess. Then I embellished the front of the shaker card using washi tape, more of those banner pieces I cut earlier, washi tape, some string from my stash and couple of stickers from the collection kit.

Here are what all the decor pieces look like in my planner. I still have tons of this kit left to decorate my January pages too!

The bright colors in this collection kit really inspired me to get creative with my watercolor paints. I made a dashboard for the front of my planner to inspire me for the New Year. I cut down this 12x12 paper from the kit because I LOVE the confetti pattern. I used the colors of the confetti to choose the watercolor splashes I wanted for the background. I had to mix a few colors to get the shades I wanted but this palette from Michael’s makes it so easy to blend colors.

I used the packaging technique to create the background. For those of you who are not familiar with this technique, it simply involves adding paint and water to a piece of plastic packaging and then turning it over onto the page and “smushing” it down (how is that for fancy terminology?).

I put a couple of paper towels over the top and put the page under a couple of heavy books while it was drying to help flatten out the slight warping. After it was dry, I added a doily and started layering. Normally, I wouldn’t add quite so much dimension to my planner pages but since this dashboard will be in the very front of my planner, I added as much dimension as I wanted.

I added another banner here, tissue paper, a couple of the die cuts I created earlier, some stickers, sequins, string, washi tape…lots of embellishing. I have the MOST fun creating mixed media layouts like this! I am absolutely in love with this dashboard and it is the perfect thing to greet me when I open my planner. All of the vibrant colors are so inspiring and the message reminds me that 2017 is my year to sparkle, which for me means pursuing more creative endeavors, taking more time to create, and hopefully inspiring others to create.

Have you been thinking about what your goals are for 2017? I would love to hear what they are! I am hoping to finally launch my blog I’ve been putting on the back burner for all of 2016. I am also currently working on video content, which is a little scary and intimidating. I hope you will pop over to my Instagram and the Carpe Diem planners instagram for more creative inspiration for your planner. I will talk with you again soon!

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Hello planners, Theresa here!  Can you believe 2016 is coming to an end?  In our nearly 20 years together, my husband and I have always loved getting dressed up on New Year's Eve and going out to celebrate the coming of the New Year with our family and friends.  The Happy New Year Simple Set is the perfect little kit to document your celebration, whether it's a quiet night at home or a big night on the town!  I love the fun bright colors in all of the patterned papers, cards and stickers! 

I created a fun divider with the patterned papers and a 3"x4" card that says "another year of AWESOME".  Start off the year with some positivity right in the front my planner! This went right over the original divider. 

I used the daily inserts which has New Year's Eve and New Year's Day on one page

I love all the fun party embellishments like the party blowers, confetti and banner! 

The clock about to strike midnight is my favorite along with all the little New Year's phrases! 

I added a full size 6"x8" SN@P pocket page protector into my planner, all ready for photos from our night out!  If you would like to add one to your planner, you'll have to punch new holes.  I simply centered my planner page over the page protector as a guide for the holes, a quick and easy task! 

I also created a quick little party hat clip by placing two of the party hat stickers back to back over the top of a paper clip!  I hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year!  I can't wait to see what your planners look like for 2017! 

Hello! Stacy here on the Simple Stories blog today! 2016 had been awesome and in no time, it will be 2017!

It has nearly been a 10 year tradition since we dated that we would spend the new year counting down at the comfort in his house and ordering pizza for dinner. This year, our first year as a married couple, is going to be slightly different as I promised my Aunt to go on a short trip with her. Feeling a little guilty, I decided to make this layout to accompany my husband! Of course, the 'Happy New Year' Simple Set is the best collection for this layout!

I love the fun and vibrant colors! I first started with some stitching to accompany the colors. Using simple back stitches to accomplish the title 2017. The sticker sheet has many great phrases to accompany the title!

Next, I fussy cut the elements from the pattern papers to decorate the layout. The party hats make the elements super fun and I totally love layering them!

Another set of elements! Here I used the star from the sticker sheet and another die-cut vellum star to accompany it.

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The second layout today is inspired by the fact that it is also the 10th year since I started dating my husband! This is inspired by the pattern paper in the collection, where the countdown of 1-10 corresponds to the ten years of love! 

I am so inspired by the countdown, that I used 2 sheets of the same pattern paper for this layout. I fussy cut the numbers and layered it on the same pattern paper for impact.

Another part of the layout where I cut strips and sew it to the background. This helps to direct the attention to the photo as well. For a fun element, I curved the sides of the strips a little by folding it upwards slightly.

More party hat and phrases! 

Last but not least, adding some more stitched element to the title! I wanted to highlight the number 10. This time, I did random stitching inside the number so it becomes more bold.

Another important basic element that all should have is the Sn@p Basics 4x6 Basics Stickers! They are super useful - as titles or sub-titles! Here I used the white ones for the word 'Amazing' and I love how it pops out!

2016 had been an exciting year and I look forward to 2017! Here is wishing everyone a great crafty year ahead!

Now that Christmas has passed and you most likely have a ton of photos to scrapbook & memories to document, we thought it would be fun to share an up close look at some of the popular Classic Christmas products & inspiring projects from our creative team!  

When it comes to paper crafting, it’s all about the paper, right?!  Regardless of what crafty project you’re working on, paper is the perfect starting point.  These are some of our Classic Christmas favorites, and judging by our diminishing inventory, they’re some of YOUR favorites too, including the beautiful Be Merry paper that would be great for framing for a quick & easy holiday decoration next year!

Washi tape, stickers, roller stamp and Holiday SN@P! Binder – OH MY!  With Classic Christmas, you’re sure to find just the right embellishment to add those perfect finishing touches to your projects.

From layouts, to home decor to planners, Classic Christmas is just what you need for adding a little seasonal touch for your paper crafting & planning needs.  Speaking of paper crafting & planning, here are a few projects to get you inspired to wrap up your holidays with Classic Christmas – or start thinking about getting a jump start on next Christmas!

Be sure to check out & follow our Classic Christmas Pinterest board for more Classic Christmas inspiration.  And hey, if you missed out on the 2 different sets of FREE Classic Christmas printables, make sure to download them here!

Hey Friends!  It’s Vicki here with a little holiday project fun using the oh so cute, Classic Christmas line!  One of my favourite things to make from paper is a minibook.  I love them in album form, tag form, from scratch…I just love minibooks!  For this one I decided to make a layered flip book.  Simple Stories paper is a great weight and when layered makes for sturdy pages!!  Take a look…







I mounted the flip book on a piece of cardstock and added it to they Tim Holtz “Oh Deer” clipboard.  I like that I can make a new one every year and just switch it out.







I cut six 4 1/2” x 12” pieces of Classic Christmas paper and folded the sheets in half.  I glued all of the pieces together to form a layered flap book.







To finish the top of the book off, I trimmed a 4 1/2” x 3 1/2” piece, created a border punched edge and added it to the top of the book.  I wrapped a foiled doily over the top and added baker’s twine.  The cover is layered Classic Christmas Chipboard and Bits & Pieces with some stamped greenery and diecut letters.







Page one- I added a pocket to the bottom of the page and layered Fundamental Stickers.







Page two- Here I added mats and Bits & Pieces.







Page three- layered flap- I added a 4” x 11” flap that is secured on the bottom of the page.

I layered Bits & Pieces and Fundamental Stickers on these pages.







Page four- Double flap- Trim a 3 1/2” x 12” piece of paper and score a 3 3/4” flap at the top and a 2 1/2” flap at the bottom.







Add a 2” cardstock circle with a the Merry Christmas Bit and Piece to create a tab.







This double flap is a fun, interactive way to add holiday memories.







Page five- Layered flap- This time I added the flap to the top of the page!











Add more Fundamental Stickers and Bit & Pieces.







Page 6- Accordion fold out- Trim a 4 1/2” x 12” piece and score 3” lines.  Fold the 3” pages “accordion style, add baker’s twine and add to the page.







This is a fun and rather quick project to make.







It could make a fun gift or just a little something for you!



Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous Holiday full of laughter, food and fun!



Merry Christmas!!!

Good morning friends! Brenda Smith here with you today to share a pocket page made using Winter Wonderland. If you’ve followed my work for any length of time, you may have noticed that I am always challenging myself with my projects. Because I live in a desert where it is 70 degrees F during Christmas time, the snow theme of Winter Wonderland wasn’t really applicable. But the colors worked perfectly for my photos so I set out to make it work for my pages. 

I attempted to edit my photos using tones that would best match the cards and embellishments from Winter Wonderlands. But with the beautiful, soft browns, blues, and reds of the collection, my photos of wintertime in the desert (read: lots and lots of sand) already matched pretty well. 

Because this is a smaller collection, there aren’t many coordinating cards and even fewer that aren’t specific to snow. However, I forged right ahead and used cards regardless of the phrases on them. If there was something specific to snow or something else inapplicable, I covered it up with something else. Don’t be afraid to use cards you love just because they might say something that doesn’t align with your project! 

In attempting to make the cards my own, I set out to do more embellishing on them than I usually do. I wanted them to be perfectly tailored to this spread. Three items that I turned to heavily in accomplishing this: the 4x6 stickers, the washi tape, and the enamel dots. I used the stickers to cover up things that didn’t apply. The washi tape served the same purpose in some instances but was also used to unify the spread. The enamel dots add dimension and pops of color. 

On this side, I employed the use of some of the winter-specific embellishments. It is, after all, still winter here and is cold to us even if it’s not really that cold. 

I had run out of 4x6 cards to use so I created my own using the 6x6 pad of paper and a die cut from the Bits and Pieces and some stickers from the Combo Sticker sheet. 

Some of the embellishments were used a little tongue-in-cheek like the pine tree behind the photo and the “treetops glisten” because my photo had an illuminated tree in the background.

Hi there!

It’s Shei on the blog today. I’m so happy to be back sharing two layouts. Let’s get started!

I am so excited for the upcoming Christmas because I love these dates!

For my first layout I decided to work with the magical “Mistletoe Kisses” collection. I started designing a Christmas tree with some hearts in Silhouette Studio, and cut it out from a white cardstock using my Cameo. As you know, I love to use light papers as my background, so I used this sheet for my work. Then, I’ve filled in the hearts gaps using all the colorful papers of the collection and I crowned the tree with a cute bow made with Oh What Fun! (b-side) paper.

I used a photo from my cat under our Christmas tree. My cat loves it, unfortunately, his love isn’t as harmless, he loves batting at the ornaments… but he is so cute I can’t stay mad at him. For this reason I have entitled it "Joy" and I added the Santa's typical “ho ho ho” from the 4x6 stickers. Under the photo I putted three funny phrase labels. At its side I added a perfect sticker that says "I’ve been…", like a choice list, and I marked the “I can explain…” option. Furthermore, I added the cute Santa from Bits & Pieces and a wonderful Decorative Clip. (These clips are my new favorite Simple Stories’ embellishments!!).

At the top of the page I glued three balls from Combo Cardstock Sticker and some hearts and a frame from the 4x6 stickers. Finally, to give a bit more dimension to my project, I added some enamel dots of different colors decorating my tree.

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The next layout I’m sharing with you today was again created with the beautiful “Mistletoe Kisses” collection.

I used “Oh what fun!” (b-side) paper as my background, but I glued a white cardstock covering a large part of its. 

As you can see I used three black and white photos for this project, but with one element in red: three balls that we use like our nose, posing like Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer, ha, ha, ha! I enjoyed a lot doing these family Christmas pics.

I glued them with a little frame using "Christmas Magic" (b-side) paper ‘cause it stands out the pic. For the title, I used the phrase “Merry Christmas” from the Bits&Pieces. And for the embellishing I used some stickers from the Combo Cardstock Sticker like the reindeer or the colorful hearts, some elements from the 6x12 Chipboard like the balls and some phrase labels from 4x6 Stickers.

Also, I added some enamel dots to give more dimension and, to finish, I decorated the top of the LO with the garland of lights from the 6x12 chipboard and with the super cute decorative clip.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post! I hope you enjoyed my layouts! See you next month!

Never stop smiling! Kisses!!

Happy Holidays! This is Jennie and in this post I’ll share with you how I am documenting this very special month! Ever since I planned this project I knew my go to collection would be Mistletoe Kisses.

This is my fourth year doing December Daily and ever since I started I’ve used SN@P!  Binders. This year I used the Striped Holiday Sn@p Binder. For the cover I tried a little mixed media with white acrylic paint and a snowflake I made with vellum and just scissors.

The ornaments are from the Combo Cardstock Stickers. I put them into white cardstock so I could use foam tape. You can see how I made this cover WATCH THIS VIDEO.

The Striped Holiday SN@P! Binder comes with page protectors but I always add a 6x8 Pocket Pages Variety Pack because my albums tend to be super chunky! For the cards I used the 3x4 Journaling Card Elements.

The little words are from the Mistletoe Kisses Stickers and I layered them with Washi Tape. I used Simple Stories enamel Dots to add to the Elf’s Eyes to make it more dimensional. I love the alphas from the Combo Cardstock Stickers.

Last year I added 6x8 layouts and I really liked them so this year I am repeating it. I just layered simple shapes and added 6x12 Chipboard Stickers.

I made a little pocket so I could hide another photo behind it. I punched out a peppermint circle so I could have a tab to pull.

These pink pages come in the Pink SN@P! Binder and I had these pages from a leftover project so I used it to type this S’mores Cookie Recipe. I used a bunch of adhesives brads from different collections to glue back to back and add to the shaker pocket.

I used white ink with the Classic Christmas Roller Stamp to add a little detail. 

I hope you enjoyed these pages! I’ve had so much fun documenting December! I can’t wait to show you the whole thing! 

Hey there, friends!  Missy here, and I have two fun and festive layouts to share today.  There is never a dull moment with my youngest child, and she is constantly doing funny things to make us laugh.  These two layouts feature her in 2011 and 2013, and you can see she has quite the the spunky personality.  For my first page, I used the beautiful Classic Christmas collection.  I’m usually not a big fan of dark red and dark green, but this collection just wowed me.  I love the olive greens and light blues mixed in with it.  Those colors lighten everything up and make it so bright and cheerful!  Plus, all the colors in this line look amazing with shiny gold. To create this page, I was inspired by the big tree in the photo.  I decided to use half my background paper to make a big tree.  I used a 1-inch circle punch and went to work on a lot of the 6x6 papers.  I cut the shape of the tree on a scrap sheet of cardstock and glued down each circle.  I machine stitched through each row and then ruffled up the circles.  I love how it turned out!

Here you can see all the circles and stitching.  I’m so happy this turned out as well as it looked in my mind!  It really mimics the photo and creates so much color & texture.  I love how the deep browns look with the light blue and olive greens!

To embellish around my photo, I fussy cut a large flower from patterned paper and layered it.  I used JOY from one of the 4x6 Sticker Sheets and added foam to it.  I used a “Christmas” Clear Sticker to create my title.   I added some deep red tangled thread and more clear stickers as well as a sticker from the Expressions Cardstock Sheet.

I love these boughs and berries chipboard pieces!  They were the perfect addition here.  I also did some watercoloring on my background that you can see peeking out from behind everything.  I used white gesso first and then came in with some gold Color Shine and several Shimmerz sprays. 

Here’s one last close-up.  I love how the watercolor splatters turned out.  They remind me of Christmas lights!  I did add a little bit of tissue paper behind my photo, which I do a lot, but it seems even more appropriate on a Christmas page. 

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For my second layout, I do believe I scrapped the cutest Christmas photo ever of my sweet girl.  Santa comes to school every year, and this year, she decided to lick him.  Yes, lick him!  She’s a very sensory-oriented child and went through a licking phase where everything was tasted.  Santa was no exception…haha!  Like I said, never a dull moment with this curious little comedian!  I used the gorgeous Mistletoe Kisses collection for this, and it showcases my photo perfectly.  I decided to go light and airy, so I began with white cardstock.  I already knew what my title was going to be, so I used the Bromello font in my Silhouette software and cut the title really large and at an angle.  I backed all the letters with patterned papers.  I smudged lots of white gesso over a good portion of the page and then came in with some Shimmerz sprays.  I used some light blue, pinks and reds.  I used the packaging technique, my brush and created splatters.

I did something I’ve never tried before on this page, and that is machine stitch around my entire title.  It turned out like I hoped it would.  It took some time, but I went slow and was careful to turn my paper in different directions as I went.  I embellished around the page with lots of stickers from the 4x6 Stickers.  My favorite is this string of lights!

I pulled this tree die cut from the Bits & Pieces pack and added foam under it to give it some dimension.  I also added some tangled thread under it as well as a few stickers.  This created the perfect pocket to the left for my journaling.

I used a few die cut trees as background layers and also a fun & colorful chipboard tree.  I just love how light and soft this collection is!  I added a few cut apart pieces and some tissue paper behind my photo.  The tissue paper softens everything up even more and adds a fun an subtle border around the photo.

Here’s one final close-up of the stitching.  I added that adorable little bird on top of the “a”…isn’t he so cute?  If you’re ever out of ideas on what to do for a background design, try enlarging your title like this.  It takes up a lot of room and then you only have so many little spots to fill in with embellishments.  Makes it a little bit easier, I think!

I hope these layouts give you some inspiration on how you can use these beautiful Christmas collections!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hey planner friends! It’s Meka today here!  It’s been a whirl of a December, but I wanted to share with you the fun I’ve been having using Mistletoe Kisses in my Robin’s Egg Carpe Diem planner.

I used chipboard stickers, decorative clips, Bits and Pieces, Element Cards and cut out cardstock stickers to adorn my planner pockets, plus a couple of mini projects added in.

This page flag folder makes me squeal a little bit, not gonna lie! I used an element card cut from the 3x4 Journaling Card Elements 12x12 sheet as the base. Just a few stickers to embellish, fold it over, and here’s an absolutely adorable and functional planner accessory.

This shaker tag was made using a Simple Stories 3x4 Photo Flip sleeve with an element card tucked in. The front and back of the card have a design, so it’s double the fun! I sealed it with a Fuse tool, but you could use clear packing tape and cover with washi.

This dashboard was created in a similar fashion, but using a 6x8 Pocket Page. This time I inserted  Bits and Pieces inside for a little hide-and-seek. I didn’t snap a photo, but the back of the die cuts are solid white. I decorated the plain backs with stickers, smaller die cuts, and words. That way it’ll still be visually appealing on the back of the dashboard.

I used a tab punch to cut tabs for dividers, and then adorned them with sticker scraps, enamel dots, and labels from the 4x6 sticker pack.

Using existing dividers as a template, I cut out a set of dividers from the 12x12 papers. I couldn’t help but to adorn the fronts with some of the cheerful imagery in this collection.

This divider is interactive. Flip the sentiment up and you’ve got a hidden bit of joy inside. Wouldn’t it be fabulous with a favorite family photo? (Ha! Alliteration unintentional!)

Here’s one of my daily layouts this month. I used soft watercolors as a base, then added layers of stickers and coordinating washi tape from the collection.

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas set up in my Carpe Diem planner. Mistletoe Kisses has so much eye candy, it’s hard not to swoon! Come say hi at https://www.instagram.com/yespleaseplanning! And have a very Merry Christmas!

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Hey there! Laura here sharing a bit about my "December Daily" or as I like to call my album my "December Moments", which I am having so much fun working on!  Our family tends to be super busy or have nothing going on - rarely a happy medium.   As such, I didn't want to pressure myself to document something every single day, or even only one thing on any given day.  So I will be adding in memories as they are created and inserting dates where applicable.  So we may have 3 things for the 1st of December and then nothing until the 5th, and I am A-okay with that!
 

I would love to share a bit of what I have documented already.  I used loads of elements from the Classic Christmas collection and SN@P packs, they are absolutely perfect for this application and I am loving the way my album is coming together!.  I decided to keep my cover pretty simple, I kept the kraft cover in tack as I love it so, but I did add a hint of gold texture paste with a "falling snow" mask.  I chose a couple of simple stickers, I love the train snow-globe so much and feel it is a little nod to my late father in law that was an engineer for the British Rail Road.  I also used a die cut word and those fab gold foil number stickers and a small strip of washi.
 

I love this door shaped SN@P page, I have layered a die cut wreath over the wreath that was printed on the door so that it really pops, I have also used some (older) SN@P stickers to put our house number on the door.  I love that it welcomes anyone that peeks into my album into our holiday traditions, as well!
 

I added a printed paragraph about my love of the holiday season and my goals for my album.  I layered it onto cardstock and patterned paper and added a simple phrase sticker to adorn it. I also wrapped the leading edge of the page protector with washi tape.

My next page is a photo collage of our family, including our 3 new additions this year (a daughter-in-law to be, a grandson and a puppy).  I embellished the empty squares with some fun accents! This is the backside of the previous page, so this page also wrapped with washi tape.
 

This is my first numbered page, documenting the return of the little advent bags that I made and filled for our youngest son. I journalled all about our son no longer believing in Santa, and about our Elf on the Shelf moving on to our grandson's home, and me toying with stopping this advent tradition, too.  But in the end I couldn't bear to lose so many of our fun holiday traditions.  The number "1" was fussy cut from a patterned paper and stacked on a die cut gift.  I love the way the die cut that is layered on the photo actually looks like it is a framed print in our home!

Our usual first hint of Christmas around the house is changing out the urns on the porch, this year we were given some greenery from our friends and we hiked through the woods on a grey and chilly day to forage for the rest.  Even though it was cold, it was a lot of fun! I documented our walk in the woods and how we got a little lost, as well as shared photos of the walk and our finished urn.
 

Day 1 was also the day that we put up and decorated our kids tree.  I wanted to add several photos and a fair amount of journalling so this ended up being a 4 page spread in my album.  One of our traditions has been to give our children a new keepsake ornament every year.  This was something my husband started with me when we were first married, and we carried it over to the kids once they started arriving. After many years of marriage and 3 kids, we have amassed an amazing collection which is why we now have a "kids tree" and a "grown ups" tree  I love that one is whimsical and one is elegant! When we were decorating the tree, my youngest point out a few of his favourite ornaments, so I took the opportunity to snap a photo.
 

And then I took his picture as he was adding the last touch to the tree, the gingerbread man tree topper!  I used a 4x6 cut apart card to create a page for this photo and added a die cut tab to it.
 

Other than adding another die cut, I left the back of the cut apart card as is, so the pretty image is not obscured.
 

The last page for this spread is really simple with a 4x6 print of the tree layered on the patterned paper with some foam in between for a little lift, and adorned with a gold clip. I am seriously in love with those candy cane stripes!

See what I mean about our all or nothing days!
 

I also wanted to document that I have started my Christmas baking, a tradition I was influenced by my late mother-in-law to start.  Even thought I am not finished yet, I wanted to be sure to include this in my album.  I thought it may be fun to include some of our favourite recipes in my album.  I have paired down my baking to only 6 or 8 different things over the years.  Most of them remain the same, but a couple of things are changed up to keep it fun and fresh.  I created a page with a flap so that I could add a photo of some of my goodies to the front, and tuck the recipes inside.

I adorned my photo with part of a SN@P card, washi, and one of the Christmas dress die cuts cut down to resemble an apron.  I love the way that it turned out!

Inside I adhered the recipe cards with washi tape in a tiered effect. They are very simply embellished and are super fresh and clean looking. I will be sharing a tutorial on how I created this flap page on my blog in a few days.
 

Each year we donate toys to those less fortunate, it is a tradition that is truly important to me and one I hope our children will continue.  My siblings and I were fortunate enough to have received donated gifts during a few Christmas seasons when we were young, without which our tree would have been bare. Because of the importance of this tradition, I focused more on the words, the journaling and the sentiment rather than the photos. I love the bold red alpha stickers in the Classic Christmas collection that I used to write "spread magic", the "GIVE" text was die cut from white cardstock. And the sentiment on the SN@P card could not be more perfect. It reads, "If you don't have Christmas in your heart, you'll never find it under the tree." 

I am super excited to continue on with with my album!  I have a few more pages complete and some started that are waiting for photos.  I  have been trying to do my journalling, even if only on scrap paper, as the events happen so that I do not miss out on any details.