Simple Stories

Hey Everyone! This is Jennie with today’s pocket pages using the Sunshine & Happiness Collection. This week had a little bit of everything including some photos that daughter took. My daughters always take my cell phone to take random photos and sometimes they get good shots.

The journaling cards from this layout are from the Sn@p Pack.

This week I only used the typewriter for my journaling. Normally I mix it but I needed to journal a lot and my handwriting is pretty big.

Every week I stamp the dates on labels and the labels from the 4x6 Stickers are perfect for my title card.

The most common kid’s photos on my phones are from the TV, toys or their messy rooms. I always make a note of which girl took the photos, in case I forget in the future. In the middle of collages I like to use Adhesive Bradz.

The Fundamental Cardstock Stickers are great when for typing because they are flat and once I’m done typing I can add a few around to embellish.

I hope you enjoyed these pages! Summer is almost over and I bet you’ve made gorgeous projects with the Sunshine & Happiness Collection. Make sure you share them with us on Social Media, tag @simplestories_ on Instagram!

Hi there!

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

For my first layout I used the FA-BU-LO-US “Carpe Diem” collection. This line is so fun and colorful!

I made a very simple layout. Only a cardstock, a colorful paper and a few embellishments I used to make this project. As a starter point, I chose white cardstock as my background ‘cause I like the brightness that the white color brings to the whole project. 

For this layout I used one of my favorite photo of my cat, so I decided to cut the silhouette of a cat with the paper "Pencil It In (b-side)". Actually, I copied the cat's silhouette in this collection  (it’s so cute!!). Then I pasted it in the middle of the white cardboard and I sewed with black thread the cat shape.

To highlight the pic, I made a thin frame with the "Black Dot paper" and I pasted the photo on the project. Below the photo I put the title "Look cat me" (play on words with “cat” instead “at”) with black and pink letters from Expressions Cardstock Stickers.

Finally, I decorated the project with some embellishments from "Total Chaos paper" (the lovely cat in the world!) and "Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers" like the hearts and the arrows.

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The next layout I’m sharing with you today was created with the beautiful “Sunshine&Happiness” collection. 

As is usual with me, I started this page with a white cardstock as background. Then I used some of the journaling cards of the 4x4/4x6 Vertical Elements, 4x6 Horizontal Journaling Card Elements and 3x4 Journaling Card Elements papers. I pasted the pic in the middle of the cardstock and around it I glued the journaling cards I chose.

Next came my favorite part: the embellishing! For that I used some stickers from the Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers, some elements from the Chipboard Stickers and some sentences and lime letters from the Expressions Cardstock Stickers. I also added a few enamel dots and the self-adhesive brads to give dimension to my layout.

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!!

Hey there, planner girls! Meka here today sharing a bit of my robin’s egg Carpe Diem planner decorated with totally gorgeous Posh planner goodies.

I’ve added a few Posh pocket card inserts and Epoxy Metal Clips to liven up my front pockets. The gold foiled “Choose to Shine” clear dashboard provides continued inspiration, shown here backed by the striped floral front side of the August monthly spread.

One of my favorite Simple Stories products is the clear sticker pack.

It includes a variety of both monochromatic and colored transparent stickers. While they’re great for planning layouts, they also make an unexpected addition to the planner itself.

I’ve used some on the front and back cover, pockets, and strap. They’re super easy to remove when I’m ready for a change.

Here I combined them with the Clear Label Stickers

For the weekly layout, I started out with a simple watercolor treatment on a Vertical Appointment Weekly Insert, as well as a Vertical Format Weekly Insert.  They’re so simple to create, and it’s nice to have a variety to choose from when I’m ready to complete a layout. I ultimately went with a vertical layout this week.

Across the top I wanted to use a strip of thin washi layered beneath the dates. Since I love the pattern of the standard-width High Style floral washi, I sliced it in half using a craft knife and a cutting mat.

After that, the Make It Happen roller stamp was just what I needed to create a row of headers for each section of the vertical layout.

Posh Page Flags, Planner Basics stickers, and gold foiled Designer Stickers were then layered to further embellish the headers.

From there, I added components of my week with the help of Calendar and Weekly Stickers, plus a few hand-drawn in elements.  Another week made beautiful with the help of Simple Stories and the lovely Posh planner collection!

Hello dear Friends! Alexandra here! I'm so happy to revisit my "big" album. Here is what our WEEK 23 looked like with the beautiful Sunshine & Happiness collection

I added two stickers on the 6x8" photo (can be found on the Fundamentals Cardstock Sticker sheet) I like how the black of the HELLO sticker echoes the black found on the top picture. The pink of the peonies is picked up throughout the left page.

I didn't have that many photos for that week so for the right page, I trimmed a regular 12x12" Pocket Page so that I would have three 6x4" pockets and here too, I used the cards found in the the SN@P! Pack Sunshine & Happiness.

I always enjoying incorporating a bit about the news so included a photo of the New York Times and did a collage about the EuroCup with pictures I found on the net. I also included pictures of two postcards I received that week. Thank You!

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Hello scrappers!  Laura Whitaker here with you today sharing two more layouts using the fun and fabulous Sunshine and Happiness collection! I love every little thing about this collection and just had to keep on using it, I am down to the bare bones, but hope to get another page out of it at least!

My first page is called "Hello SONshine"
 

This page was created to document a big event for this youngest boy of mine. July 5th was the 11th anniversary of his adoption day!  We always celebrate this day with a special dinner out, but since his dad was out of town this year we postponed dinner and he and I made up some fancy drinks (Shirley Temples) and had a fun night celebrating with just the two of us!

I am totally happy to use pink in a bold way on a boys page, I love to use papers and embellishment that suits the mood of my photo over the gender of the subject.  And hot pink is just plain fun!
 

I used a sticker, alpha stickers and part of a die cut to create my "HELLO Sonshine" title and I just love the way that it turned out!  I added a bit of machine stitching just for fun!
 

There were so many embellishments in this collection that made it very simple to  accent my page, like this pop bottle and a variety of fruit stickers.
 

I added a small cluster of embellishments to the top left of my page, which starts my visual triangle and draws the eye to my photo on the right.
 

I really wanted to use this 4x12 cut-a-part on my page as I do not typically put these pieces to good use.  I layered on a few phrase stickers and doodled around them with a black felt tip pen for a bit of pop.
 

The last point in my triangle is this small cluster at the bottom left of my page, with is highlighted by a triangle of patterned paper.

My second layout is called "There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy"
 

Yes that title is a mouthful!  But so very perfect!  As I mentioned, I had challenged myself to use up the large cut-a-parts in this collection and when I pinched this photo off of my son's Facebook page I knew this particular cut-a-part would be exactly right!

I layered it over the yellow patterned paper and added a bit of striped paper to the right side of my layout to tie in all of the colours.
 

This butterfly was fussy cut from another cut-a-part; to the Native Americans butterflies symbolize change, joy and colour which made it perfect for my layout which celebrates these three special people that have become a little family as my son and his new fiance recently got engaged.
 

This phrase was also cut from a cut-a-part card which pretty much acted as perfect journaling on my page.
 

I have been simplifying my embellishment clusters lately and this little one at the top of my page is indicative of that.

Once upon a time, my layout started with one sheet of paper and a pair of sharp scissors. The 'High Five' paper from Sunshine & Happiness was screaming chop me up!  lol.  

That is exactly what I did!  Then I separated the colors and lined them into rainbow form.  

Tucking them behind my photo was the challenge.  

They keep moving on me!  Using a wet fine tip adhesive helped lock them in place. I felt this color combo looked best on the amazing woodgrain paper 'Dig it" from Bloom & Grow.  

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For my second layout I pulled out the Life in Color collection.  

YES!  It is important to have fun in life and these two kids know how to do just that when they are together.  

I loved the blacks and whites with the Life in Color collection.  At first, I attempted to keep it black white and turquoise.  That did not last long.  Slowly red and yellow crept in, but I did keep those minimal.  I think my favorite is the Expressions Sticker letters.  Combining them can really make fun titles.  I started this layout by cutting a big triangle out of the polka dot paper, raising it with foam tape and backing it with a basic white cardstock.  I used the Washi Papers along the seams to help make the white on white pop a bit.  

I think it is fun to play with paper and layer ephemera!  What do you find fun?  

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Hi everyone, it's me Violet. I am on the blog today to share the new Reset Girl Ballerina pink Carpe Diem Planner. I planned out my whole week, 'before the pen', using The Reset Girls Stickers. What an awesome collection it is. 

Here are a few close ups of my weekly vertical layout. I am so excited about the box stickers that fit perfectly in the layout and makes it perfect for breaking up your days. Let's talk about the way to a planner girl's heart, washi tape! OMG! 

I absolutely love all the vintage flair of The Reset Girl stickers. The browns, yellows, pink and mint green are so yummy. And can we all just take a minute to admire how adorable the little scissors and camera, roller stamp and pencil stickers are! The quotes are my favorite and add that extra special uniqueness to my planner spreads. 

I am so super excited about all the new goodies that come in the boxed kits and folders. It allows me customize my planner how I like it. Pockets are my fave, I love to store ephemera and stickers for that little extra planning that goes on throughout the week.

As you noticed in all of my planner spreads I love to use paperclips and was super duper happy to see that they are added to the collection and decided to use some of the stickers and ephemera to make larger ones too. 

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Hello Simple Stories friends. Marcia back today sharing a couple of fun summer layouts with you.

The first one, Sangria & Summer Serenades, I created with the bright and fun Sunshine & Happiness collection. With Summer in full swing I couldn't help myself! One of my favorite things about summer is just enjoying outdoor cafes where you can people watch and be serenaded by a couple tall, dark and handsome guys. These guys found me enjoying tapas and my first Sangria in Barcelona when I was there on a business trip a few years ago. I wish there had been more time to explore this beautiful city ... hopefully I can return one day.

This chipboard lady looks like she could be people watching in an outdoor cafe too! You can see some of the fussy cut flowers here, a decorative bradz, and some bright yellow enamel dots. I created a little border here to separate my photos from my title and journaling.

 A chipboard frame was the perfect spot for my journaling. I added some palm leaves and a tropical drink that I cut with my Silhouette Cameo. Enamel dots and decorative bradz are my go to embellishments for all my layouts.
 

Today I have two new layouts to share with you using the Sunshine & Happiness collection! I never get tired of the bright and summery colors.

For my first layout, I used the "I Love This Place" cut file by Simple Stories. I cut it repeatedly from white cardstock, and used it to create a background. I love the look of white on white for backgrounds!

I used a heart punch to create this next layout. I punched from multiple different patterns and scattered them across the page. I focused more at the top, so they looked like they were scattering down.

Next, I placed my strip of photos and added my title. I wanted to focus on using the marquee-type letters included in this collection, so I added as long of a title as I could!
 

Hello Carpe Diem planner lovers! This is Leah again, and I want to show you how I’ve set up my brand new Ivory Carpe Diem planner!

We are over halfway through 2016… the exciting time when all the new planners start coming out! For me, with a new planner came my urge to refresh and reorganize my planner setup. My planner setup for the first half of the year worked very well for me, but toward the end of June, I found myself not using my planner very much. I was just making to do lists and working with blank paper – which is okay! That was working really well for me because I think when I was feeling extra busy, it was nice to start with a completely blank page and then brain dump all my “to do’s” on it. There are so many things I love about the new planner products being released by Simple Stories, that I became inspired to revamp my planner setup to make it more functional for my current needs.

As a disclaimer, I want to say my new planner setup is in its rough draft stage. I plan to use it frequently over the next month and I might tweak things depending on how well they work or don’t work – I will keep you updated!  Future changes to my planner sections will be SUPER easy thanks to the new clear label stickers from the Planner Essentials collection. When I started brainstorming what sections I needed in my planner, I picked the labels I wanted for my dividers. The label stickers are really easy to remove and there are TONS of words, so I can easily switch up the labels later.

Currently, I am using the Dividers from the Posh collection; there are 6 dividers. For now, I have decided to divide them up into the following categories: To Do, Calendar, Schedule, Ideas, and Budget. I have one divider left that I have not assigned a category to yet. In each section, I am using different inserts and I want to show you how I’m using them. By the way, ALL of the new inserts from the Spring release are 140gsm. Maybe I get a little too excited about stationary, but the weight of the new inserts is a paper lover’s DREAM!  My favorite pens are felt tip and I usually can’t use them in planners because of bleed-through. However, I have been using them on the new inserts with zero bleed-through or shadowing! I am really excited to try painting with watercolor on them later!

The first section of my planner is the “To Do” section. I have this at the front because it is where I plan to jot down quick lists: to do lists, grocery lists, reminders…lists that I need to access quickly.  I am using the plain lined inserts in this section, which come in the Basic Inserts.

This is a list of my important tasks and events for July. I had a lot of fun layering all of these washi tapes and stickers from the Posh collection! How cool is the mini July calendar sticker? 

The pack of Mini Monthly Calendar Stickers has 18 months, from July 2016-December 2017 (6 calendars per month), so these stickers are going to last a long time! There are enough to add one to all of your weekly inserts for each month, and a couple extra for projects like the one above. Another idea I have for using these is to make a year-at-a-glance calendar for the front of my planner. Pictures of that project will be coming up on my Instagram!

I also like the colorful ring reinforcements that come in the Planner Basics Sticker pack, which add a pop of color to the page. Instead of throwing away the middle portion of the ring stickers, I used them as bullet points for my list.

The next section of my planner is the Calendar section. I currently have the new horizontal inserts in here (not shown) – usually horizontal layouts are what I prefer. However, the following “Schedule” section has the Vertical Appointment Weekly inserts. I am still deciding which inserts I want to use for daily planning so I want to spend the next month using both. This will be the first time I’ve ever tried hourly inserts. What I like about these is that I can use the hourly time slots to plan out my day in more detail. I am hoping this will help me become more intentional and efficient with my time. Plus, there is always the option to cover up the times on days that I just need to make lists – like this week, since I am traveling and don’t have a detailed schedule. I just covered up the times with a thin piece of washi tape.

If these inserts work out, I may convert to hourly for my daily planning and use my horizontal inserts for memory-keeping and journaling. If they do not work for my daily planning, then I will move them to another planner I am setting up as my Business Planner.

All of the inserts being released this summer fit the different stickers from both Planner collections REALLY well. I love that Simple Stories thought about those little details.

For example, the square “Life is Sweet” sticker and yellow rectangular box I wrote in above, would both fit within the lines of the hourly (same width). The rectangular one fits exactly into the boxes on the Vertical Weekly Inserts, and it is also just the right height to fit the Horizontal Weekly Inserts too (pictured below).

I fully expect that I will be mixing and matching inserts in my planner, and I love that all of the stickers from the new collections are going to work on all of them.

The next section of my planner is for “Ideas.” I have the graph paper inserts from the Basic Inserts pack in this section. I plan to use this part of my planner for project planning, brainstorming ideas and sketching out plans of action to achieve my goals. Below, you can see where I sketched out some ideas for this blog post. I laid out the sections I wanted in my planner and then wrote down ideas for how I plan to use each.  I also jotted down some ideas for how I can use the unassigned divider, but truthfully, I think 5 sections are plenty for one planner. I may end up designating an entirely separate planner for some of those other ideas.

At the center of the brainstorming “web” I created on this page, I just punched out a circle of patterned paper and added gold glitter washi tape with word strip stickers, and a beautiful floral from the Bits and Pieces pack. 

The next section of my planner is the Budget portion. In this section, I have our household monthly budget broken down, debt repayment details, a savings plan, and a monthly calendar to mark bill due dates. I don’t have any pictures of this section because it has a lot of personal information.

In the back of my planner, I have this Bookmark Tablet notepad from the Posh collection that slides into the top pocket. I also love that there is a larger pocket that could hold a traveler’s notebook if I decide to do my journaling/memory-keeping that way.

Last but certainly not least, my planner just wouldn’t feel right without decorated front pockets! I put together a few elements from the Posh collection Bits and Pieces Pack and Dashboards and Pocket Cards pack. I also added a set of Page Flags and a Decorative Clip!

I can’t wait to see how this setup works out for me! It is slightly different than my last setup but I find that as our lives and goals change, our needs for a planner change. It is important to revisit your setup if it stops working for you – even if certain inserts have worked for you in the past, it may be time to try something new if you realize you have not been using your planner regularly. Fortunately, Simple Stories now has lots of choices for you to pick from, so hopefully everyone will be able to find inserts that work with their planning style! Check out the Carpe Diem Planners Instagram for more Creative Team inspiration using all of the inserts that will be available in August!

Hello Friends, It’s Kristine Davidson with you today.  I will share 2 of my latest layouts with you today and my love of Sunshine & Happiness! This collection is one of my favourites and I have almost exhausted every. single. piece. of paper in this kit. This collection is full of bright sunny papers, pinks, orange, yellow and the bits and pieces make creating so much fun.

The first layout is called " Hello Sunshine "

This picture was taken of my niece in the month of May as she was playing outside and enjoying the sunshine. I wanted to add some fun embellishments to this page and included flowers, fruit, sunshine, and my favourite journal strips.

To start my page I created a cut file with my Silhouette Cameo. I love pages that allow me to use a cut file because I find I can add more colors and use up some smaller pieces of papers too.  I left the top part white and just concentrated on the bottom for an assortment of colors.  I added layers of chipboard, bits and pieces and even a bit of thread to add more texture.

In this picture you can so many elements but for some reason with layers and overlapping it doesn't feel like too much. It creates a beautiful cluster.  You can also see I used a few 3x4 cards behind my photo to add more layers and added dimensional adhesive to create elevation.

I didn't fuss over a title for this layout. I simply used a piece from the Bits & Pieces package and selected Hello Sunshine for my title. Nice and Easy!

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My Second layout for you today is called "Happy Day"

Ok. So I will admit this was a test. I often create layouts and try to remain " clean " but this layout took a life of it's own.  I have been drooling over Missy Whidden's work and wanted to try something different. I grabbed some watercolour paints and went to town ;)

Sometimes we have to step out of our element and try something new and this was one of those times.  Yes my background paper is warped, yes I have some paint splatters that aren't perfect but that's okay. This collection allowed me to create something different. It gave me tons of color to work with, some great summer die cuts and really made this layout come together.

For my title, I created with the same technique - selecting a few Bits & Pieces, adding dimensional adhesive and making it my focal point for my page title.

This is such as great way to use supplies and match it with your layout.

I hope you enjoyed my layouts today and enjoy making your own with this fabulous Sunshine & Happiness collection! 

If you are interested in seeing more of my work you can find me on instagram with user name @KristineDavidson. 

Thank you so much for reading and being a fan of Simple Stories!

I am in love with the new Marigold Carpe Diem Planner!  I couldn't wait to 'posh' it out for July with Carpe Diem Posh accessories!  

With the kids out of school for the Summer and a lot of activities scheduled, I decided to switch up my inserts this month and use the new Planner Essentials Vertical Appointment Weekly inserts.  The layout makes it easy to see exactly what you have going on each day and how much free time you have in between activities.

I used sticker strips to block out how much time each activity will take to give me an better visual of the day.  I used the same pattern stickers for the same activities throughout the week.

Since the vertical layout didn't give much room for my to do's and lists, I turned the Doc-It Journal into a bullet journal.  I used number stickers to mark the dates and embellished with die cuts, stickers and washi tape. 

I love that this journal fits right into the large pockets in my planner and I can pull it out and just take it with me for quick trips out.   I can't wait to see what everyone does with the fun new collections!  Happy planning!

Hello crafters! It’s me Stacy here on the Simple Stories blog today with 2 layouts. This time, I am inspired by the wedding photoshoot taken recently for my traditional wedding. I thought I would like to document some thoughts that went in my mind during the photoshoot and it would be a good memento when hubs and I grow old! This time round, I made use of 2 Simple Stories collection which matches both of the photos I intended to craft on.

 The first layout is titled "My Heart is Yours" and I made use of the Heart Simple Set. This collection houses my favorite colors and I absolutely adore the paper elements in the pack! I had made 2 layouts previously using this collection, now another, and I still have enough for another layout!

To highlight the paper elements which I would like to showcase, I first cut them in squares of 2 sizes. Then I started planning where they would go, before finally stitching the edges of all the squares. Then I picked out the elements which I would like to use in order to highlight my photo.

Here, I have used a heart sticker and popped it over a pattern paper. This helps to highlight the embellishments pretty much! 

Adding Wood Veneer from “Life in Color” collection here! I love to add wood veneer to showcase my subtitles. Easy way to create layering for my layouts! I also did fussy cutting of the heart shape there, it was originally meant for my journalling but I changed my mind afterwards! It is okay to make changes along the way, most importantly, go with the flow of creating and have fun!

Then, I used the more stickers to help with my title. Matting the little alpha stickers help to enhance the title. I did some fussy cutting of the rosette in order to place it below the title to help encase it. 

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My next layout features another wedding gown and I thought it would look best with the Bloom & Grow collection. I titled it “Happy Moments” and it came from the sticker sheet as well as the Bits and Pieces pack. How apt! I love it totally when pieces like that come to place easily!

More stitching here! I added some simple tacketing to the background in order to break the vertical flow of the layout. Simple stitch but I love that it creates sort of a fence which highlights the entire theme well! To add on to the garden feel, I also added some die-cut floral pieces, highlighted by the bradz and embellished with the bits and pieces pack! Not forgetting some sentiments along the way!

Another use of the sticker pack here. I layered then randomly then stitched up the entire row. Simple and effective!

There is so much fun and variations to achieve with the Simple Stories collections! Hope you get some inspiration from the layouts! Thanks for stopping by today!