Tara Chaussee's Blog Posts

10.15.18

Hi everyone! Tara here with Secretbees Studio  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to decorate and craft for. I love the rich color combos, the spookiness and the fact that everyone young and old love this festive day! The treats aren't too bad either!

For this project I wanted to combine my love of treats into a decoration and this hanging banner definitely fits the bill!  The 'Simple Vintage Halloween' paper collection from Simple Stories is full of traditional blacks and oranges in amazing designs and the chipboard, ephemera and stickers are cute, quirky and super fun! 

Using the amazing patterned papers as the base of my banner, I cut three different backgrounds for my banner flags. I then created pockets for each flag from card stock and topped those with more fun patterned paper or a 4x6 journal card. The pockets themselves are large enough to hold a good amount of holiday treats and a small decoration!

            

A big variety of the Bits & Pieces, chipboard stickers and word stickers were layered over the top of the pockets adding lots of fabulous visual details! To accent each pocket a bit more, I used strips of the matching washi tapes too!

To hang this jolly banner I used a dowel rod that was cut to size and covered in more washi tape with a strip of ribbon adhered to both ends. I then embellished the banner with  lots of paper curls and more stickers for a jolly look! 

Supplies
09.23.18

Hi everyone! Tara with Secretbees Studio  Summer may be drawing to a close (say it isn't so!) but you can preserve all of those wonderful Summer memories in a fun and happy mini scrapbook that is jam-packed with pages, pockets and pull-outs!

For this adorable mini scrapbook, I used the Simple Stories 'Hello Summer' paper collection with it's amazing mix of sunny colors and bold, playful patterns. There are plenty of fruits, florals and flamingos for every page along with lots of charming summer-inspired sentiments! This collection is all about summer vibes and will document your summer story in the brightest way!

The front and back covers were cut from chipboard to 4.5" x 5.5" using a paper trimmer before being covered with the colorful patterned papers. I used an assortment of stickers, chipboard and bits & pieces layered with the cute word stickers to embellish the front and even added a few to the back cover for fun!

For the inside, I had a mixture of Simple Stories pocket pages that I cut to the desired size- some 3x4, some 4x4 and even one with four 2x2 squares! Some had patterned paper added to them along with delightful ephemera and some were just accented with a sticker or two! There are even a couple of interactive pull-out pages as well

Check out my video on youTube to get a great view of the entire mini scrapbook and don't forget to preserve those Summer memories!

Supplies
09.01.18

Hi everyone! Tara here with Secretbees Studio! Due to popular demand, I have made another Traveler’s Notebook similar to this one that was a huge hit! However, because I used the stunning and gorgeous 'I Am' paper collection by Simple Stories for this notebook, I decided to make it more of a personal journal!

The 'I Am' collection is all about telling your own personal story and is full of beautiful images, patterns and uplifting sentiments. I was super excited about all of the rose gold foil accents in this collection- they are fabulous! This notebook measures 9 1/4 inches x 6 1/4 inches including the laminate borders. I used the pretty patterned papers to make the cover of my journal as well as some folders with pockets and charming inserts!

Included in my journal are some of the new Carpe Diem Traveler’s Notebook inserts so I will have plenty of room to doodle, draw and write. I dressed everything up with all of the exquisite stickers, chipboard and bits & pieces. There are just oodles of pretty things in this collection and they all coordinate beautifully together.

I know this collection has been around for a few months but I wanted to make something really special with it and really personalize it since it would be all about me! I felt so happy and empowered while I was making this lovely notebook since it has the most wonderful affirmations throughout the entire collection!

The most important story you have to tell is the one about you! Believe me, this soft and feminine collection will document your story in the most gorgeous way and will bring out all that is wonderful about you! Since so many people asked for a tutorial on how to make one of these notebooks I could not refuse! There is one over at my YouTube channel that I hope you will check out so that you can make one of these beauties for yourself!

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