Simple Stories

A Happy Hodgepodge

Hi there everyone! Donna here today as your host, and I have a bit of a mixed-up post for you today. Even though it's been two months since CHA, I still haven't had a chance to share my projects with you here on the blog. I love everything that Simple Stories designs, but the two main collections released this past season, A Charmed Life and Homespun are definitely up there among my favorites.

Since St. Patricks's Day is just around the corner, let's start with this lucky card first:

Layered clovers... might be my new favorite shape. Love the mix of kelly green and navy in this collection.

And of course, we cannot forget the yellow polka dots:

I made another card for the show using Homespun, and the chipboard pieces from that collection.

As soon as I saw that little bicycle I knew I wanted to feature it on a card.

Some of you may not know that I am a huge fan of sketches and have actually written two eBooks all about them, Stretch Your Sketches and Stretch Your Sketches 2. The first eBook covers one-photo to seven-photo designs, while the sequel covers 8-photo through 20-photo designs.

 

This next layout uses a variation of one of the sketches featured in my second book. In place of photos I used the new Insta-Squares that were released with Homespun:

These little pre-cut squares make it so easy and fun to create your own customized patterned paper grid.

Speaking of hodgepodge, grids are such a great way to fit a lot of otherwise mixed-up photos onto a page. This next layout wasn't made for the show, but I want to share it with you today. You see, until recently I still hadn't scrapbooked any of our past Christmas photos and really wanted to make something before too much time passed. I used December Documented's Simple Basics Kit as the foundation for my page.

You're probably getting tired of me saying it, but I love the Simple Basics packs. I think the chalkboard background worked really well here since it is fairly neutral. With all the busyness in the photos I wanted to keep the rest of the layout rather simple.

I took a few highlight photos from the season and created a photo grid on an 8x10, added my title and finished with some very simple embellishments. It didn't take me very long at all to put together and now we have at least one layout documenting our Christmas. That's what my grandma used to call, "a good deal."

Thank you all for stopping by, and for letting me share my creations with you today!

Products Used:

A Charmed Life

• 12x12 Collection Kit
• 12x12 Simple Basics Kit
• 3x4 Journaling Card Elements
• Sn@p! Cards
• Happy. Go. Lucky
• Happy Times

 Homespun

• 12x12 Collection Kit
• 12x12 Simple Basics Kit
• Homemade
• Beautiful Life
• Insta-Squares
• Bits & Pieces
• Chipboard

December Documented

• 12x12 Simple Basics Kit
• Be Merry
• Brads

A Charmed Life - 3 Different Ways

Hi Simple Stories fans! Rebecca Keppel here with one of my favorite Simple Stories releases A Charmed Life. I adore the colors, the designs and just everything about this new collection, but I especially love how versatile it is. You can make an everday card:

 

You can make a more detailed layout:

 

You can even make a pocket page spread! I based mine on Becky Fleck's amazing skecth available now at Pagemaps.

 

How is that for versatility? This collection is perfect for boys and girls of all ages and all themes. I love how happy and sunny it is. Have you been creating with A Charmed Life? What other projects is it perfect for?

Supplies Used:

Simple Stories A Charmed Life:

- 12 x 12 Collection Kit #3700

- Bits and Pieces #3729

- Chipboard #3728

- Brads #3727

- Simple Basics #3701

- SN@P Cuts 3726

- SN@P Cards 33723

Silhouette Simple Stories Digital Cuts 

- Smile

- Star

March Guest Designer Ashley Horton

Hello Simple Stories fans, Layle here with you today :)

I'm excited to introduce you to our March guest designer, Ashley Horton -

Here's a little bit about Ashley -

Hi!  My name is Ashley Horton and I live in the Southern US with my husband Tyler and our three children.  I started scrapbooking about 8 years ago, and have been in love with it ever since.  Scrapbooking has always been a fun creative outlet for me and I also set goals that I wanted to achieve, and have been very fortunate in recent years to be published in several paper and online magazines and have designed for a variety of Blogs and Manufacturers.  I am currently designing for American Crafts, Silhouette, Echo Park, Creative Scrappers, and Get It Scrapped!  I like to have fun when I am creating and enjoy telling the stories of our family on my layouts.  Even though Scrapbooking takes up the majority of my free time, I also enjoy cooking, reading, and watching movies!

Ashley created a few gorgeous projects for us this month using our new A Charmed Life collection!

According to Ashley -

Most of the time, I like to create a title on my layout as the focal point of my page.  But I couldn't resist using the wood grain paper in the collection, that came pre-printed with the phrase "A Charmed Life".  Having a built in title really makes it quick and easy to put your pages together.  I placed my photos above the title and matted them with two different patterned papers from the collection.  I also thought it would be fun to layer one of the transparent overlays included with the collection kit, over my smaller photo, for added detail.  I finished my page design by adding some of the chipboard pieces, stickers, and brads.

The 8 Sn@p! Cuts jumped out at me, when I looked through the collection.  I thought the Navy polka dot cut would make a great large mat, to place behind the photo.  Once I had my mat and photo in place, I layered a piece of paper cut from the heart pattern.  I loved the look of hearts "floating" against the wood grain background.  And the Sn@p! Insta Squares were perfect for completing my design.

It's always fun to create a card and add a pocket to the front.  You can tuck in a gift card, note, or just a fun patterned paper design.  I used one of the Sn@p! Pockets for the front of my card, and placed the clover cut from the Sn@p! Cuts package inside the pocket.  I added the star brad to the center of the cut card, to hold it in place.  The mix of the word "Lucky" from the chipboard package and the sticker "like a four leaf clover" paired perfectly, to complete the sentiment for my card.  I also used some of the left over hearts, from my A Charmed Life layout.  Those left overs can always come in handy, when you are a creating a card!

I really loved working with A Charmed Life!  The mix of Green, Yellow and Navy in this collection work so well together.  I also love the fact, that this collection can be used for masculine or feminine layouts, since we have two daughters and a son.  The chipboard pieces are great for adding dimension to your projects and the cute 8 Sn@p! Cuts are really on trend with the die cut look that is appearing on so many projects.

Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us this month, Ashley!  We loved working with you :)

To see more projects using our A Charmed Life collection, check out our Charmed Life Pinterest board -

SN@P! Baby Girl Cards

Kim here coming back at you with a few more cards. This time, I am working with the 4 X 6 SN@P! Baby Cards. At the risk of sounding really cliche, using this amazing product makes card making a...snap! (Hee, hee, couldn't resist that one).

Here's my first one:

I literally used the entire SN@P! Baby Girl Card for the body of my Love You a Ton Card. I added an additional sticker, one brad from the DIY Boutique Collection and a bit of pink twine. The rounded edges on the bottom of the card add some extra softness.

My Sweet Baby Love Card features a SN@P! Card trimmed down about an inch. The hearts on the top edge are Side B of this card. Love that the "B" sides automatically coordinate with the front, it sure makes life easy. I also added a few stickers grounded with a label from the DIY Boutique Collection.

And, lastly (my favorite) the Oh Baby! Card. This card features a sweet little cluster of accents in the upper left corner that add just the right amount of polish to this already adorable SN@P! Baby Card. I really enjoy adding bits and pieces to my cards, so it's pretty clear that the DIY Boutique Collection will be one of my favorites.

Thanks for taking a peek at my baby cards! Now that you see just how easy they are, why not create a few for your stash? 

Products Used:

SN@P! Sets

4 X 6 SN@P! Cards - Baby Girl
SN@P! Stickers - Baby Boy

DIY Boutique 

Brads

 

Introducing Simple Inspiration eBooks

Howdy!  Layle here with you again today with some fun news. 

We're super excited to introduce Simple Inspiration eBooks - free, downloadable idea books.  Beginning with our most recent releases, you can now look forward to an eBook with each of our new collections!   

Simple Inspiration eBooks include beautiful photography, project ideas, design tips and inspiration on how you can create with our fabulous Simple Stories collections!  The new Simple Inspiration eBooks include a little something for everyone - layouts, SN@P! Binders, pocket page spreads, home decor items and cards.

Today brings you the first of our new eBooks - the Homespun Simple Inspiration eBook - 16 pages of amazing inspiration; simply click on the link below to download & enjoy!

Homespun Simple Inspiration eBook Download

(note - if you were having trouble downloading the eBook earlier, the link has been fixed!)

We hope you enjoy it!

On Pinterest?  To view/pin some of the projects included in the Homespun eBook, as well as other inspirational Homespun projects, check out our Homespun Pinterest board -

 

Die Cutting with 3x4 Sn@p! Sets

Hello! Nichol here today with some tips and tricks on utilizing 3x4 (or 4x6) Sn@p! Sets cards for die cutting.

Whether you use a digital die cutting machine like the Silhouette Cameo or a manual die cutting machine, I've got some ideas on making the most of your Sn@p! products in non-traditional ways!

Digital die cutting completely changed the way I scrapbook and I can't imagine being without my Silhouette Cameo! And the icing on the cake? Why, the fact that Simple Stories now offers cut files in the Silhouette Store, of course!

I used the following cut files for my first project share today, a layout utilizing eight different designs!

I used some of the cut files "as is" and some files I altered to fit my layout needs. I'll show you how in the accompanying video.

 

Video How To:

I used the polaroid die cuts to "frame up" my page, with a title and journaling in the center of my layout. By layering the die cut polaroids with Sn@p! 3x4 Cards, I was able to create a cohesive page with simple layers and lots of color. 

Once the base of the layout is together, layering on stickers, additional die cuts and dimensional embellishments make the page pop!

The polaroid frames were cut using a variety of 3x4 Sn@p! cards. Most of the cards are from the awesome Office Card Foundations. I implemented many of the Wedding Sn@p! Squares and Pieces, Love Sn@p! 3x4 Cards and Homespun Squares & Pieces into the frames. Don't be afraid to mix and match your Simple Stories Collections!

For my card, I used a metal balloon die in a manual die cutting machine (the Sizzix Big Shot) to die cut balloon shapes from the Birthday 3x4 Sn@p! cards. I also trimmed the greeting from one of the Birthday 3x4 Sn@p! cards.

Adding detail to the die cuts with Glossy Accents, a glitter marker and string make these die cuts a cut above the rest! ;)

 

The balloons didn't take much paper from the Birthday 3x4 Sn@p! cards so I filed the scraps away to use on more die cutting projects!

Simple Stories Products Used for the layout:

• DIY Boutique Outside the Box 12x12 Paper
• DIY Boutique 6x6 Paper Pad
• Love 3x4 Sn@p! Cards
• Wedding 3x4 Sn@p! Cards
• DIY Card Foundations Office
• Wedding Sn@p! Squares & Pieces
• Homespun Insta-squares
• Love Sn@p! Stickers
• Everyday Sn@p! Stickers
• DIY Stickers Typeset
• DIY Stickers Labels
• DIY Stickers Icons
• DIY Stickers Boutique
• DIY Words Stickers
• DIY Boutique Stickers Boutique
• Sn@p! Stickers Icons
• DIY Burlap Stickers Arrows
• DIY Teal, Red & Yellow Enamel Dots
• DIY Pink, Green & Orange Enamel Dots
• Simple Stories So Sweet Together Banner
• Simple Stories You & Me Heart
• Simple Stories Newsflash Polaroids
• Simple Stories Month Polaroids Jan-April
• Simple Stories Fabulous Polaroids
• Simple Stories Hello, Heart This, Smile & Today Polaroids
• Simple Stories Sn@p! Plane, Star, Heart

Simple Stories Products Used for the birthday card:

• Birthday Sn@p! Squares & Pieces
• Birthday 3x4 Sn@p! Cards
• DIY Boutique 6x6 Paper Pad

I hope that these ideas have inspired you to try using your 3x4 Sn@p! Cards in your die cutting machine(s)d. Thanks for hanging out with me today!

 

A Charmed Life Home Decor

Hey, y'all!  Shellye here to share with you today :)  I had so much fun crafting these projects...and believe it or not, they were really quick and easy to put together.

First up I have just the sweetest little hanger using "A Charmed Life" and a few goods from my stash:

I started with a heavyweight chipboard semi circle that I covered with Happy Times Paper.  Next, I matted the cute Insta Square with a swatch of the Happy Times (Side B) Paper and then attached it to the center of the semi-circle with foam adhesive.  I embellished the top of the Insta Square with one of the small chipboard flowers and a yellow brad for the center.

To the bottom, I added some felt flowers from my stash and die-cut a few leaves from the Happy.Go.Lucky Paper.  Using some fabric glue, I inserted the two navy brads into the middle of the yellow felt flowers.  A couple of punched holes were made and some pretty turquoise ribbon strung through for hanging.

A Charmed Life Products:

-Chipboard #3728
-Brads #3727
-Happy.Go.Lucky Paper #3707
-Happy Times Paper #3709
-Insta-Squares #3730

 Next is an easy, easy, EASY card :)

I think we could classify this as a "5-minute-or less" card!  I cut the base paper 1/2" smaller than the card, which gives a nice border of the card peeking through.  The heart-motif Insta Square was added with foam adhesive and then embellished with one of the Bits & Pieces' tags and a brad.

A Charmed Life Products:

-Happy.Go.Lucky Paper #3707
-Insta Squares #3730
-Bits & Pieces #3729
-Expression Cardstock Stickers #3703

 And lastly, a cool frame that I collaged into a fun piece of home decor! 

I started by removing the glass from the frame and reserving just the back piece.  To it, I adhere a thin sheet of corkboard (you can find sheets or rolls at your local craft store). 

I took a couple of the SN@P! cards and trimmed them down so that they would create an even grid of four.  For extra interest, I machine stitched around the edge of each card before attaching to the corkboard. 

Each rectangle was adorned with different pieces from all around the "A Charmed Life" Collection!  Bits & Pieces, Chipboard shapes, brads and stickers were added.

In finishing, I glued on a whimsical bow from some May Arts ribbon.  If you're interested in creating a perpetual collage, use push pins or removable adhesive so that the cards can be changed out with each season!

A Charmed Life Products:

>-SN@P! Cards #3723
-Bits & Pieces #3729
-Brads #3727
-Chipboard #3728
-Fundamentals Cardstock Sticker #3702

I appreciate you joining us today at Simple Stories!

Simple Stories & Petaloo Design Team-Up Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of the Simple Stories & Petaloo Design Team-Up Week!  We’re so excited to team up with Petaloo to share some inspiring projects with you this week.

We’ll be giving away two great Petaloo prize packages at the end of the week, so be sure to play along and check back on Sunday the 16^th to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Here are the different ways you can play along –

1. Like Simple Stories on Facebook 
2. Share this blog post on your Facebook wall and tell us you did on our Facebook wall
3. Follow Simple Stories on Pinterest
4. Follow Simple Stories on Instagram at simplestories_
5. Comment here on our blog or on Facebook

Petaloo is also posting projects and giving away prizes, so be sure to check out their blog and Facebook  page, too!

Donna here with you today as your host. Seeing as tomorrow is Valentine's Day I thought I would share a few very easy but pretty cards and tags featuring Homespun and Petaloo flowers. The Homespun collection is all about family which made it a perfect fit for these projects.

I wanted to keep these designs simple. First, to save time - there is still time to create something beautiful and handmade for someone you love! Secondly, the papers of Homepsun and the flowers from Petaloo are so pretty they stand on their own, and work together beautifully.

I took inspiration from this paper to create my first card:

I wanted to re-create the reddish-pink flower with the blue center using the Petaloo blossoms.

 Here is a closer look:

Next, I used one of the delicate mini blossoms as the center of a butterfly.

The sentiment is embossed with gold metallic powder; it's a bit easier to see the sheen in this close-up:

The smaller pockets from the new DIY Collection are the perfect size to hold gift cards,

which makes them such an easy way to share a gift with someone you love. I made two card holders embellished simply with two smaller Petaloo blossoms along with papers and brads from Homespun:

Finally, this tag features simple layers and a simple sentiment; it will be the perfect finishing touch to a gift.

As always, thank you for stopping by!

Supplies used :

Simple Stories Homespun Collection

• Sn@p Cards
• Bits and Pieces
• Expression Cardstock Stickers
• Sn@p Cuts
• Heart and Home patterned paper
• Homemade patterned paper

Simple Stories Family Collection

• Sn@p Stickers

Simple Stories Photo Overlays

Petaloo Products :

• Fancy Trims (Creme)
• Forget Me Nots (Robin Egg Blue)
• Textured Elements (Amber)
• Botanica Collection (Cranberry/Amber/Green)

- See more at: http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple_stories/#sthash.XQdPOzdf.dpuf

Supplies used :

Simple Stories Homespun Collection

• Sn@p Cards
• Bits and Pieces
• Expression Cardstock Stickers
• Sn@p Cuts
• Heart and Home patterned paper
• Homemade patterned paper

Simple Stories Family Collection

• Sn@p Stickers

Simple Stories Photo Overlays

Petaloo Products :

• Fancy Trims (Creme)
• Forget Me Nots (Robin Egg Blue)
• Textured Elements (Amber)
• Botanica Collection (Cranberry/Amber/Green)

- See more at: http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple_stories/#sthash.XQdPOzdf.dpuf

Supplies used :

Simple Stories Homespun Collection

• Sn@p Cards
• Bits and Pieces
• Expression Cardstock Stickers
• Sn@p Cuts
• Heart and Home patterned paper
• Homemade patterned paper

Simple Stories Family Collection

• Sn@p Stickers

Simple Stories Photo Overlays

Petaloo Products :

• Fancy Trims (Creme)
• Forget Me Nots (Robin Egg Blue)
• Textured Elements (Amber)
• Botanica Collection (Cranberry/Amber/Green)

- See more at: http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple_stories/#sthash.XQdPOzdf.dpuf

Simple Stories Homespun Collection

• Expression Cardstock Stickers
• 6x6 Paper Pad
• Brads
• Yellow Dots

Simple Stories DIY

• Pocket Foundations - Office

Petaloo Products

• The Penny Lane Collection Forget Me Nots (Robin Egg Blue)
• Botanica Collection Minis (Cranberry/Amber/Green)
• Botanica Collection Blooms (Red)

Head on over to the Petaloo blog and check out what their Design Team has created using their embellishments and our Simple Stories products! They’re also hosting giveaways as well, so what are you waiting for – head on over!

Check in again with us tomorrow for more inspiring projects from Simple Stories & Petaloo! 

Handmade and Homespun Cards

Hello, friends! Kim Kesti here, I'm so excited to be writing my first blog post for Simple Stories. As a cardmaker, I appreciate a collection that really focuses on the handmade touch. That's exactly what the new Homespun collection does. Take a peek at the three cards I created:

The first one features the Homspun SN@P! Cuts - they are the perfect size for cards!

This next one shows off the Insta-squares (these make such quick and easy cards).

And lastly, a combination of Insta-squares and Bits & Pieces. It was fun to stitch the little pieces together like a quilt.

When a paper collection does all the work for you, making cards is quick, easy, and most of all - FUN! To check out three more cards made with A Charmed Life collection, visit my blog!

Creating with 3x4 Sn@p! Cards

 Hi everyone! Nichol here today to share a couple of my favorite ideas on using 3x4 Sn@p! Cards for a traditional 12x12 scrapbook page and a card.

I absolutely love the 3x4 Sn@p! Cards (and the 4x6 Sn@p! Cards, too!) but I don't always want to use them for Life Documented layouts. No worries, these awesome little cards can be used in all kinds of fun, inventive ways!

One of the quickest and easiest ways to use the 3x4 Sn@P! Cards? Simply adhere a 3x4 card to the center of a standard 5.5 x 4.25" card, embellish and you have a great handmade card! 

 

For this Valentine's Day card I took it a bit further and actually used 4 - 3x4 Sn@p! Cards from the Love Sn@p! Set. I used one 3x4 card as the center of my card (and pop of color on this otherwise black and white card) and die cut three others using the heart cut file (sn@p! plane, star, heart by Simple Stories) available in the Silhouette Online Store. Using the grid on the Silhouette cutting mat I was able to arrange the heart in the Silhouette Software so that the red text on the largest heart would cut and be part of my design.

Here's a look at the cards after I die cut them. Notice that I used the "B" sides or back sides of most of these, even the red one used as the center of my card. I seem to gravitate towards "B" sides of most patterned papers so it's no surprise I like the back sides of the Sn@p! Cards as well!

To make the die cuts stand out a bit, I die cut each of the hearts from solid black cardstock, slightly offset each and adhered them to my card with foam adhesive.

I customized the banner sticker by cutting part of the design off as well since the colors didn't match the design of my card. 

I love that the background 3x4 red card is a subtle tone on tone "xoxo" and doesn't overpower the heart embellishments!

For my layout share today, I used eight 3x4 Sn@p! Cards to create the collage effect on this page about my youngest son.

I am currently addicted to creating, what I like to refer to as "mini canvases", on my 12x12 traditional scrapbook page layouts! In this instance, I took the 3x4 cards and added photos, embellishments, trimmed some smaller, etc. to create a collage look that is on trend and oh so fun! Breaking down the layout into smaller "pieces" makes it easy to implement any number of 3x4 cards into one space creating an overall large design! 

I also included a couple of die cuts into my page. The awesome frame (awesome, sn@pshot & good stuff polariods by Simple Stories) available from the Silhouette Online Store and the open circles 3x4 card (I trimmed mine down to fit the design) from www.kerribradford.com.

Simple Stories Products Used:

• Sn@p! Love 3x4 Cards
• Sn@p! Him 3x4 Cards
• Sn@p! Her 3x4 Cards
• Sn@p! Love Stickers
• Sn@p! Him Stickers
• Sn@p! Everyday Stickers
• Sn@p! Stickers Icons
• Sn@p! Say Cheese Chipboard
• Daily Grind Collection Kit
• Say Cheese Collection Kit
• Vintage Bliss Collection Kit
• Daily Grind 6x6 Paper Pad
• Daily Grind Brads
• sn@p! plane, star, heart by Simple Stories (Silhouette Cut File)
• awesome, sn@pshot & good stuff polariods by Simple Stories (Silhouette Cut File)

I hope that these ideas have inspired you to try using your 3x4 Sn@p! Cards in new ways. Thanks for hanging out with me today!