Hello Simple Stories fans! Lisa here to share two layouts with you today. I didn't realize, until after I decided to post these together, that they both repeatedly feature the word "hello". Must be my current addiction or something or maybe the word just worked well with both pages. :)

Let's start off with a Good Day Sunshine layout about an opportunity my daughter had to take classes at her dance studio with choreographer Kim McSwain.

I turned the photo black and white so I could work with all of the colors in this fabulously happy collection. The colors not only reflect Kim's upbeat personality, but also the fun time my daughter had. Even though Good Day Sunshine is primarily a summer collection, you'll notice it certainly works equally well for other topics.

Here's a closer look at one of the embellishment clusters on the page:

For this cluster, I layered up a number of items from the Bits & Pieces pack. Grouping them together like this gives them a cohesive look. The enamel dots are a fun way to add dimension and groupings of color.

In this detail shot, you can see more elements from the Bits & Pieces pack, again layered together to create a grouping.

Next up I have a Homespun layout to share. Simple Stories was the featured manufacturer in Scrapbook Generation's CREATE magazine last month. This is one of my projects that appeared in the issue. I used one of the Snap Pockets as a design element next to the photo, layering other items on top of it. The "hello" card inside the pocket is actually product packaging from an iPhone.

Let's take a closer look at some of the details on this page:

A Kraft Tag from the DIY collection provides the perfect foundation for chipboard and die cut embellishments and provided a way to ground them to the page. You may have noticed I used three tags around the page — one larger tag, and two smaller ones. Odd numbers of embellishments are more pleasing to the eye and create a visual triangle to help move your eye around the page.

This second detail shot shows another mix of embellishments, also grounded by a Kraft Tag.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed getting a look at Good Day Sunshine and Homespun in action.