Simple Stories

From Ok to Awesome!

Hi everyone! It's Gail here today to share how I took a layout from simply ok  to awesome using the (you guessed it) Awesome range from Simple Stories!

I took a photo of my basic layout. It's ok. It's using papers and letter stickers from the Awesome range as well as a pocket for some journaling and a couple of accents to add dimension.

And here's the layout after I've added more Awesome! 

Cute huh?

I've added more character and layers using my favourite thing - elements cut from the 6x6 paper pad as well as a couple of cardstock stickers raised on pop dots.

And the layout is finished off nicely with a simple row of stitching and some white mist splatters.

Confession time: it's probably one of half a dozen boy-style layouts I've created and I LOVE IT! The collections make is so easy to create interesting, perfectly coordinating layouts!

I hope I've inspired you to add a bit more Simple Stories to your next layout!

 

Products used from the Awesome range:

• #2201 6x6 paper pad
• # 2209 Awesome flash cards designer cardstock
• #2204 So random designer cardstock
• #2217 Blue mini dot/Ledger simple basics designer cardstock
• #2202 Fundamentals cardstock stickers
• #2203 Expressions cardstock stickers

a simple challenge

Good morning Simple Stories fans, Yuki here!  Have you submitted your project using signature elements to  ” a simple challenge” ?  I wanted to create something for this challenge because awesome projects of Design Team’s members  had really inspired me!   

I used the newest collection "Summer Fresh" for this page. I got it a couple days ago! I really love bright sunshiny yellows, ripe reds, garden greens and country fresh blues to crisp denim, rustic burlap and country-chic white, Summer Fresh is perfect for your happy, bright summer memories!

 Used signature elements for my title work,

for the hidden journal card,

 

for the background.

Supplies Used:

-Summer Fresh #2405 Country garden Patterned Paper

-Summer Fresh #2406 Sunshine & Happiness Patterned Paper

-Summer Fresh #2407 Summer Quilt Patterned Paper

-Summer Fresh #2408 Easy Breezy Patterned Paper

-Summer Fresh #2412 4x6 Vertical Journaling Card Elements

-Summer Fresh #2413 4x4 Quote & 6x8 photo Mat Elements

-Summer Fresh #2416 Denim/Grid

-Summer Fresh #2420 Burlap

-Summer Fresh 6x6 Paper Pad

-Summer Fresh 12x12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers

-Summer Fresh 12x12 Expression Cardstock Stickers

Thank you so much for joining me at the Simple Stories blog today. I hope you enjoyed my project – and hopefully you’ll be motivated to try some of the ideas yourself!  I can't wait to see what you do! Have a nice weekend!!

 

{Simple Style} ~ "True Love"

I must admit that I am not the type of scrapbooker who pulls out all the tools and gizmos to scrap with. I like things simple and I like my embellishments simple. I'm too impatient to wait for things to dry, etc.  I like it "here" & "now" ... that is why I just LOVE Simple Stories collections. They help me create amazing pages in no time and have everything that I need.

Yesterday my hubby & I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary.  I really wanted to create a layout about this but didn't have a recent picture so I used one from last summer (taken by a dear friend, Allison).  I used the Documented Collection. I just love the warmth that it creates on a layout whether it's with color, black & white or sepia photos. It's just so rich!

I enlarged my photo to 4 1/2" x 9" and layered the 2 patterned papers. I cut a piece from the 2x12 Strip/Border Elements and added that across my page horizontally. I printed my journaling on a 4x6 journaling block, added some stickers to the upper portion by using foam squares for added dimension. (same with the butterfly sitckers).

I love how the stickers can add so much interest and take no work at all to create. Love that!!  ... see I told you I liked simple & easy!!  Below I just added a couple of stickers and ...

... in this photo I added a few more of the strip-style sticker words and my title as well.

And of course, I did make my hubby an Anniversary card!!  I used the same collection - but this time I used the papers from the 6x6 paper pad.  They are absolutely perfect for making cards!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you enjoyed the projects today. Remember beautiful layouts don't have to be time consuming - they can be easy & simple ... and still look like you spent hours creating them!

 

Supplies used:

Ever After #2305

Words to Live By #2308

4x6 Vertical Journaling Card Elements #2312

2 x 12 Border/Title STrip Elements #2314

12x12 Expression Cardstock Stickers #2303

12x12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers#2302

6x6 paper pad #2301

Summer Comes Early

When you live in Texas, Summer does indeed seem to come early...we pretty much bypass Spring with a handful of comfortable days and straight into warm, warmer and HOT!  {Summer Fresh} evokes the feelings of a perfect Summer:  calico sundresses, catching lightening bugs in mason jars, sipping lemonade on the back porch and watching pinwheels spin on a southerly breeze.  I wanted to bring some of that {Summer Fresh} feeling indoors so that I may enjoy it even when the dog-days-of-summer have settled in.  I took a whimsical wooden frame and created a fun shadowbox for hanging on my kitchen hutch!

I first painted the frame a beautiful Cardinal Red.  After measuring the inset of the frame, I cut the desired patterned papers to size and then machine-stitched together.  Strips for the sides of the inset were cut from the Sunshine & Happiness patterned paper. I love the "keep calm" sayings, so this particular 4x6 vertical journaling card was perfect for the focal point. 

Next, I wanted to add some dimension to the collage.  I hand-cut the sweet air balloon and cloud  motif from one of the 2x12 border strips.  I then embellished with a couple of wooden buttons, layered flower and leaves.  Because I cut the balloon away from the basket, I thought adding a bit of baker's twine for the ropes would be just the right touch :) 

I applied the pieces to the collage with foam squares.

From the same 2x12 border strip, I hand-cut the sun and clouds and grouped them to the top left of the collage. In finishing, I made a generous bow and attached it to the top.  I also included a jute hanger so that I may hang it from a hanger or knob!

Simple Stories Products:

-Summer Fresh #2414 2x12 Border Strip Elements

-Summer Fresh #2406 Sunshine & Happiness Patterned Paper

-Summer Fresh #2405 Country garden Patterned Paper

-Summer Fresh #2408 Easy Breezy Patterned Paper

-Summer Fresh #2412 4x6 Vertical Journaling Card Elements

I also created this {Summer Fresh} Card in conjunction with the brand new {Summer Fresh} stamps by Unity Stamp Company!

What a fun time I had making this card!  I used a scrap of burlap from my stash to dress up the jar stamp from Unity.  I then embellished with {Summer Fresh} cardstock stickers, a sunny yellow button, felt flowers and jute.

Simple Stories Products:

-Summer Fresh 6x6 Paper Pad

-Summer Fresh #2419 Sky Blue Daisy/Notebook Patterned Paper

-Summer Fresh #2406 Sunshine & Happiness Patterned Paper

That's all I have for you today...hope you've enjoyed the projects!

 

My Guy - Quick and Simple!

Hi everyone! Hope you're enjoying your week so far, now that Monday is over!

Today I have a really quick and easy page for you using Awesome Elements. I started with the 6x12 Page Elements sheet and cut out the cute mat with the patterned tape on top and bottom. Then, I added my 4x6 photo on top (also matted) and then used a few other elements like the Bingo card and a portion of a 4x6 journaling card to build around it.

I added in a few stars backed with dimensional adhesive and built my own embellishment with a large star die cut, a die cut circle, and the backside of a patterned, wooden button.

There's not a whole lot of extra embellishments on this page because the elements I chose to use are large and pack a big punch on their own. I just filled in some of the space with bits of the Awesome cardstock stickers and there you have it- a simple page you can create in less than 30 minutes!

Supplies Used:

Awesome 12x12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers #2202
Awesome 12x12 Expression Cardstock Stickers #2203
Awesome Totally Cool #2208
Awesome Journaling Card Elements #2  #2211
Awesome 6x12 Page Elements #2215
Awesome Simple Basics Blue Mini Dot/Ledger #2217
Awesome Simple Basics Orange Star/Map #2218
Awesome Simple Basics Green Stripe/Tickets #2219
Awesome Simple Basics Bingo Cards/Chevron #2221

 

Hello Summer!

This past week I was paid a visit by one of my favorite people, yes, that's right, the UPS man! He brought me a lovely packege full of our newest line, "Summer Fresh!" With this beautiful new line and Summer right around the corner, how could I not be inspired?

I recently discovered how fun it is to make a simple little banner to spruce up any boring old wall. It started with a few canvas squares and some mist and I was instantly hooked! 

Add pretty paper & embellishments to the mix and you're in business!  Flower rosettes are so popular right now and they add nice dimension to any wall hanging or banner!

I can't get over how pretty this collection is! It takes me back to when I was a little girl going to pick strawberries in the patch with my grandmother.  Make sure you go pick up some Summer Fresh! It is the perfect collection to have for all of your summer craft projects! 

Products Used: 
Summer Fesh
#2402Fundamental Cardstock Stickers
#2403 Expression Cardstock Stickers
#2405 Country Garden
#2406 Sunshine & Happiness
#2408 Easy Breezy

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope that many of you are being spoiled rotten today by your husbands and kiddos.  It is such a great thing to have a mom and be a mom and wonderful that there is a holiday to celebrate motherhood.  I was inspired to create a couple of simple Mother's Day cards with our BRAND NEW Summer Fresh Collection.  This has to be my favorite collection to date since you cannot go wrong with red gingham, denim and burlap - oh my, what an amazing summer collection.

The burlap paper in this collection looks like it is the real thing and adds a wonderful element of texture and dimension to a project.  This is actually one of the 4 x 6 journaling elements that I trimmed down to fit on my 4.5 x 6 inch card.  Added a 6 x 6 pattered paper as the mat to the journal card.

I added some of the Expressions Cardstock Stickers for the sentiment and then used some foam tape to add a little lift to the cardstock sticker pocket.  The flowers and gems are from Petaloo.

For this card I used the 6 x 6 patterned paper version of the Summer Fresh Designer Cardstock. It makes a fun and simple background for the design.
This cardstock sticker wagon is about as cute as can be and needed to be a focal point for my card.  I added some of the Expressions Cardstock Stickers for the sentiment. 
Wrapped a little packaging twine around the card and added a Petaloo flower.

 

Summer Fresh Products:

Twine

Foam Tape

Red Cardstock

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

Simple Sightings!

{Look around!}

Simple Stories is everywhere and we love what we're seeing! Take a look at these beautiful layouts created with our "Fabulous" collection by Simple Stories fan Lisa Swift!

 

 

Thank You so much Lisa! We absolutely love your layers, stitching and creativity!

A Simple Sister Layout

Hi there! Kay here with a layout of my two daughters, and how happy I am when we can all be together. If you know anything about me, it's that I'm a simple scrapper. And this page took me less than 30 minutes to make. I love how all of the Simple Stories elements come together so effortlessly to make a page.

I used some of the Fabulous Flashcards to surround the photo, and some papers from the 6x6 pad. I also used some of the stickers and VIOLA, layout done.

Supplies Used:

Sweet Fabulous Designer Cardstock

Fabulous Flash Cards

Fabulous Fundamental Cardstock Stickers

Fabulous Expressions Cardstock Stickers

6 x 6 Paper Pad

Celebrating New Life

Hello Everyone!  Donna here, your host for the blog today.  With Mother's Day just around the corner I thought it would be fun to share a layout documenting the birth of our third son, Samuel.  Obviously, as the mama to three boys I love the Awesome collection, but I wanted to show you how versatile all of the collections are by sharing a layout I made using Fabulous.

One of the things that I love about Simple Stories is their inclusion of the Simple Basics Designer Cardstock papers with each collection.  These are double-sided patterned papers that coordinate to each collection, but also come with a neutral side that feature patterns like ledger prints or text.  The patterns of the Simple Basics papers are also more subdued, making them perfect for a variety of topics.

So even though Fabulous may have been designed with girls in mind, it was the perfect fit for this layout featuring photos of me and my sweet baby Sam.

As a bonus today, here are three cards I made recently -  also using Fabulous.

Though it may be a bit early, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

 

Products Used:

Fabulous

6x6 Paper Pad #2101

12x12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers #2102

100% Girl #2105

Pink Flower/Ledger #2116

Teal Dot/Notebook #2117

Orange Mini Dot/Doily #2118

Brown Damask/Antique #2119

Kraft Grid/Typewriter #2120