Odessa Reichel's Blog Posts

08.20.19

Hi! Odessa here with a cute SN@P! layout using Say Cheese Halloween. I paired my layout with the Yellow Designer binder because I love the polka dot pattern on the inside and the yellow goes great with the spooky colours in Say Cheese Halloween.

The colours and icons Say Cheese Halloween are so fun and playful, so I had so much fun putting this layout together! I’m really into adding interactive elements to my pages lately so there is a photo flip as well as a little protector strip that’s kind of like a bookmark. Around it are lots of cute photos and journal cards from Say Cheese Halloween.

On this page I used a couple of the journal cards from Say Cheese Halloween and a photo from the adventure I was documenting with my kids. I embellished simply with word stickers, stickers, embellishments and alpha stickers to tell my story in a bold graphic way that matches the collection.

In the middle of the layout is one of my current fav elements. I use the Page protector with a long 2x8 strip with two 4x4 pockets. I cut off the 4x4 pockets to make a long strip that’s kind of like a bookmark in the middle of the page and fill it with fun! I put a photo I really liked in it on the black and white stripe of the Frankly Frightful cardstock and added some stickers to finish it off along with a tab sticker on the top.

On the other side of the 2x8 sticker I layered some of the adorable kids from the Say Cheese Happy Halloween Kids Bits & Pieces that reminded me of my boys. Adorable!

I really really like the Photo Flips. They might be one of my favourite Simple Stories accessories and I use them a ton! They’re great for adding that one extra photo to a layout that you couldn’t fit in the pockets or adding more dimension to a story. Under our doughnut photo I squeezed in some journalling and a photo of my son in full donut bliss.

I filled the little 2x2 pockets on the page with some cute embellishments and journal cards. Say Cheese Halloween is such a fun collection! I didn’t have any great recent Halloween photos to use so I used the collection with some everyday photos and love how they worked together. Everyday can be Halloween!

Supplies
08.05.19

Hi everyone, Odessa here with a cute mini album I’ve been working on. I love to take photographs and have a bunch that I just love from our summer camping adventures so far this year so I decided to print some of my favourites and put them together in a 4x6 SN@P! album with the Simple Stories Happy Trails collection. We’re all about camping in my family so when I saw Happy Trails I knew it would be perfect for documenting so many of our summer adventures!

I started out by embellishing the cover of my album. I love how the chipboard covers of the 4x6 SN@P! albums can look good plain or are super easy to embellish. I picked the fun plaid print from Happy Trails and used one of the Bits & Pieces to make a simple yet perfect cover for family adventures.

I love circle photos! I used one of the Circle Photo Crops to cut a 4x4 photo into a 4x4 circle and stuck it in a 4x4 square protector to create a page with a bit of depth from the empty space around the photo. Layers are so much fun in a mini album and that empty space is a great way to add some in. I added some alpha stickers and a word sticker along with a little tab on the edge from the Combo Sticker sheet.

I like to mix in lots of different photo, page protector and journal card sizes in a mini album as well and this page has a bunch! There are some mini 2x2 photos along with a 4x4 journal card on the  left. I used some of the stickers from the Happy Trails Combo Sticker sheet on the outside of the protector so they went over the edges of the pocket for a bit of fun. 

On the right side I cut down 2 of the 2x2 pockets on the page protector so it was square and filled it with some fun 2x2 campfire photos and journal cards. I stuck a chipboard sticker right in the middle of the pocket and then used the scalloped border from the Combo Sticker sheet on the edge for some more layers! I like to add things to the edge of smaller protectors to make them a bit more obvious.

On the other side of the smaller protector I cut a 4x4 photo into smaller squares and put them in the protectors for a tiled look with some phrase stickers and a chipboard sticker. I also used a Photo Flip on this page. I really wanted to include the campground permit from the Bits & Pieces so I placed it floating in a 3x4 Photo Flip with a little Happy Trails tab sticker on the bottom to make it more interactive.

On the other side of the floating embellishment I cut down a piece of Happy Trails cardstock to the same shape. When it’s flipped up it reveals a cute photo of my boys.

Here’s another spread with a cut down protector to get 4- 2x2 squares. I used one of the beautiful 4x6 Happy Trails cards on the page because it was just so perfect and then filled my squares with photos and 2x2 cards. The lantern banner is put on top of the protector so it extends over the top and even over the hole of the page protector.

On the other side is an obligatory smore camping photo with some fun puns next to a full 4x6 photo. I had a ton of beautiful sunset photos from a perfect camping spot right next to a huge lake. I used two in this pocket by using a Circle Photo Crop to cut another 4x4 circle and then laid it over a regular 4x6 photo. I used some simple phrase stickers and Bits & Pieces to add some words to the page.

I really like the single 3x4 photo pockets for the 4x6 albums. I put a nice photo of my boys and I in front of our trusty tent. I really wanted to use the Tent Sweet Tent embellishment from the Bits & Pieces but it was a little large for the photo. I decided to use it as a tab and cut down some Happy Trails cardstock to the same side and attached them like I would tabs. I really like how that turned out! There are so many layers peeking out here, I just love it!

On the other side I used the Campground Permit journal card cut from the Happy Trails cardstock next to a ton of cute sunset photos! Like I said, I had a bunch, so I took some of my favourites and used the Circle Photo Crops to make a bunch of 2x2 circles to put in the pockets. I added in some various Happy Trails embellishments in the empty pockets with nothing around them to get a fair bit of the next page peeking through. I used the reverse side of the Happy Trails 3x4 Elements Cardstock for some night sky vibes as a good background for my photos.

I hope you enjoyed this peek in my mini album and that I’ve inspired you to have some fun with different photo sizes, shapes and layers!

Supplies
07.19.19

Odessa here with some spooky pages using new Happy Haunting. These fun collections from Simple Stories are my fav - a little sassy, great colours and tons of cute icons. Visually telling my family stories is so important to me, not just because it’s fantastic to have cherished and every day moments in a physical and more interactive form, but also because focusing on all the fun we have makes my day! I love a cute collection like Happy Haunting which helps me visually tell my story in a way that emphasizes how much fun we have making memories together.

I had a ton of goofy Halloween costume photos so to start out my pages I printed a bunch as 2x2 squares and mixed them up with some of the 2x2 cards from the cut apart card stock. I added some fun stickers (Trick or Treat Yo’Self!) and filled up those tiny pockets. 

It’s a great way to get a bunch of photos on one page and set the tone for the rest of the pages. The colours in Happy Haunting are so great so I tried to include them all in the tiny pockets.

On the other side are some Halloween night photos with one of my FAVOURITE cut apart journal cards in the whole collection.

The next page is a bunch of more random Halloween season photos. On the top of each protector is a 3x4 photo and a 3x4 Happy Haunting Journal card.

The bottom of both sides of the page is a 3x4 photo laid over 4x4 cards from Happy Haunting to make a 4x6 card. My photos are a little more “lifestyle” than family fun so I really let the sass of Happy Hauntings shine through.

I used the cute banners from Happy Haunting on opposite corners of the page to pull all together and create some balance. I used pink as the star of the page with orange and black accents. I love how unexpectedly perfect the colour combo is in Happy Haunting! I hope this look at my pages has inspired you to tell some spooky stories!

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