Chantalle McDaniel's Blog Posts

08.12.17
Hi Simple Stories fans and welcome back to the blog today!  Chantalle with you, and I’d love to share some layouts, which both make use of some machine stitching to secure embellishments, as well as add a decorative touch.
 
JUST ADD H2O
 
This page, capturing my kiddos in the pool at one of our fave holiday destinations, was created using the Summer Days collection. The bright colours, fun prints and mini swimming costume shapes were perfect for bringing this memory to life on paper!
 
 
The inspiration for the title of this page came in the form of a phrase from a sheet of Summer Days ‘4x4 Elements’.
 
 
I set up the text in Silhouette Studio and then went about using my Silhouette Machine to cut the lettering out of a 12x12 sheet of Summer Days ‘Lazy Days’.
 
 
Initially I thought I would leave the top section as is, or just cut it neatly into a strip about 4x12 inches across. Thinking of all the splashing that was going on in that pool at the time (not to mention two cheeky little monkeys!) I thought it would look better if I tore the paper, to give it more of a sense of movement.
 
 
Another fun touch is this scalloped stitching! The sewing machine I used is new to the market and allows the user to sew with thicker mediums like Baker’s Twine! I’ve done the scalloped stitching across the teal cardstock and photos, to echo a wave pattern.
 
 
For an extra bit of fun, I've added some water and splash marks to the page. Glossy accents made for some awesome water droplets and Versamark can be used to create a stained effect.
 
 
 
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WE’RE NOT LOST, WE’RE JUST EXPLORING
 
Getting out and about to explore the beautiful area in which we live is a firm favourite in our family. We are so lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world, with opportunities for adventure right on our doorstep. Cabin Fever is perfect for capturing those big and not-so-big trips out!
 
 
I’ve turned things on the diagonal with this page, choosing to pick up some of the thicker lines and bring them out by machine stitching with embroidery floss from edge to edge. Inside these lines, I have added my text and photos at an angle to mix things up.
 
 
The heading was hand cut from a sheet of 4x6 Horizontal Elements. I snipped it in to pieces so I could run them within the stitched lines. Below these strips, I began with some border stickers from the sheet of Cabin Fever Combo Cardstock Stickers. I’ve also popped some strips of Summertime Sweetness Washi Tape as well as some pattern stickers from the 4x6 Sticker Sheet pack.
 
 
Another little touch I added was a mini circular garland which I created by punching some 1 inch circles from a leftover piece of ‘Off the Grid’. I then sewed these together using a straight stitch.
 
 
I’ve popped a few up on foam tape to add a touch of height.
 
 
For the rest of my embellishments, I’ve used some Cabin Fever Bits & Pieces, Chipboard Stickers as well as stickers. Finished off with a bit of journalling which I have also divided in to strips to match the diagonal theme.
 
 
Thanks so much for joining me today.
 
Happy crafting!

 

Supplies
07.07.17
Hello Simple Stories fans and welcome to the blog today! One of the best things about SS collections for me, is that you get a brilliant selection of elements that all go together effortlessly. I love having some washi, that matching brad or enamel dot in just the right shade!  Sometimes though, it’s awesome to have a few bits and bobs that co-ordinate perfectly plus you know you will make use of every bit, for occasions like Halloween etc… Enter Simple Sets. I love them! I’ve created two pages to share with you today using ‘Old School’ and ‘Hello Lovely’ Simple Sets.
 
Hello Lovely
 
The combination of pink & navy was too pretty to resist for these fun snaps taken in a photo booth recently. 
 
 
The woodgrain print was a perfect base on to which to start my layering. This one is the Hickory/Cream Grid. The great news is that you can grab a selection of these useful papers in a Sn@p! Basics Pack which has 8 double sided sheets and is also available in a handy 6x6 size! Perfect for a variety of projects.
 
 
I started with a bit of texture paste through a stencil to echo the floral patterns in the Hello Lovely set. I purposefully didn’t add it in a uniform pattern. I just wanted it to show here and there.

Once the texture paste was dry, I began adding my elements. There is lots to choose from to hand snip if you enjoy fussy cutting!
 
 
Below my photo strip are some black plastic bits as well as an overexposed pic I probably won’t use. The black bits are the pieces that are left over from a pack of Instax film. I used a stapler to quickly bind them together and pop them behind the images I was scrapping. I really like the bit of interest they provide!
 
 
Stickers can be used like a die cut if you pop some talcum powder on the back of them. I’ve mounted this one on to some pop dots and used a chipboard frame from the Enchanted collection to highlight the title.

There are lots of little details on this page, like the confetti which I used to show happiness bursting off the paper. It was a bit of a labour of love adding adhesive and subsequently the teensy bits of paper, but it adds that extra element of fun to the page.

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This page also uses an element from a Simple Set to create the page title. This phrase is so apt right now, so I cut a section from a 3x4 journalling card from the Old School Journalling Card Elements. My son will be completing his primary school journey at the end of this year and we are so excited and nervous for him as he starts a new chapter in his schooling career.

The background is a combination of Old School ‘Hall Pass’ and the 3x4 Journalling Card Elements B side. The chalkboard print is super cute! I also echoed the paperclip theme of Hall Pass by using some coloured paperclips as embellishments. You’ll notice my materials list is pretty minor for this page, but by using a mixture of elements, it can still pack a visual punch!
 
 
I pretty much used up the whole sheet of 6x12 Cardstock Stickers on this page. I ran them along the edge where the two papers meet, tucking some in and raising some up on foam dots. I’ve added some typed journalling above and below the title to draw the eye along the same line, so it doesn’t look like too sharp an angle jutting out on it’s own.
 
 
Thanks so much for joining me today.
 
Happy creating!

 

Supplies
06.03.17
Hello everyone. Chantalle here, and I would love to share some recent projects with you, capturing some sweet outdoor moments. I have used new releases Cabin Fever and Summer Days which are both perfect for your summer adventures!
 
You Are My Sunshine
 
This page uses the bright and breezy Summer Days. I love this new collection with its infectious brights and fun elements. The watermelon is a fave for sure!
 
 
For a bit of fun, I have created some subtitles on the ‘So much Fun’ background paper using some co-ordinating alpha stickers from a pack of Sn@p Color Vibe Lights. 
 
 
I love the way these stickers add a bit more detail to the page without being too distracting. I lined them up with the help of a light ruler but you could also line them up on the very edge of a plastic ruler and then place the ruler down carefully in your desired area, to transfer them.
 
 
The striped pattern also helped make lining things up a breeze. In between the colour bars, I have added some more details in the form of ephemera and phrase stickers. The super cute sunglasses shapes matched my photo perfectly, so I cut some larger sized ones from a sheet of the 4x4 Elements in three different styles and colours.
 
 
I quite like to group matching colours on my projects. Creating with Simple Stories is such a joy as everything co-ordinates so perfectly!
 
 
I’ve cropped my photo in a circular shape for something different. Using Circle Photo Crops makes cutting your photos to size a cinch!
 
 
 
For a final flourish, I have added some embroidery style stitching around my title stickers. I think it helped it stand out a bit more against the colourful elements.
 
 
This next page, 'Call of the Wild’ also celebrates fun moments outside.
 
 
Cabin Fever is amazing for those camping times, getting out and about times or just nature times! Living in Queensland where we have pretty much gorgeous weather for most of the year, I can see myself using every last bit of this collection!  I’ve used a vertical design and grouped lots of fun elements together to show off the photos of a wonderful day we spent enjoying the Gold Coast Hinterland this Summer.
 
 
The tree and mountain elements called out to me for this project so I nabbed a few larger size ones from the Cabin Fever 4x4, 3x4 and 4x6 Elements pages. I always look forward to seeing these papers in Simple Stories collections as they are full of extra bits and pieces to cut out if you need some more of a certain shape or for a journalling spot etc. Value and versatility in one! The compass was also cut from the 4x6 Elements page. I added a little brad in the centre for a bit of extra detail.
 
 
I also loved the muddy boot track and tree stump chipboard stickers!
 
 
Thanks for joining me today!

 

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