Simple Stories

Hello Summer

Hi Everyone,

Angella here today with a spash of Colour using the new Summer Paradise simple set   for  a SUMMER mini album  ! for some of you out there, i promise the hot weather is coming.

 

I loved Summer paradise as soon as i saw it ! The Colours are great for those summer projects and best of all it is a FUN collection!

I have created a mini album using a chipboard beach pail album, and the summer paradise 12x12 simple set. the summer paradise collection comes complete to create great projects.

1. cover your chipboard pages with pattern paper

2. Choose one of the pages for your front cover and decorate with the fundamental cardstock stickers

3 . to create the funky classes as i have, the classes are cut from the Elements 1 1#6034 page, then i just dressed them!

4. 3d foam the front cover and another page together,  this is so you can add elements to your bucket - example straws, cardstock stickers.

5. Now you can dress up your remaining pages with your favorite summer pictures and embellish with the fundamental and expressions cardstock stickers

I have also used the DIY Enamel dots and Burlap stickers - arrows  for that added extra Zing !

Have a great day all !

Spring Forward with A Charmed Life Minibook

Hello Simple Stories fans, Layle here with you today :)  If you haven't changed your clocks to 'spring forward', here's your reminder :)

You may remember last year back in June and then again in January when I introduced you to a super talented designer - Julie Johnson. 

Well, I've invited Julie back again this month and I'm absolutely thrilled to share another one of her amazing mini albums she created for one of her March kits, this time with our A Charmed Life collection!   A Charmed Life is the perfect collection to 'spring forward' with it's fresh, springy pallette!

Here are some shots of her 'springy' minibook, prepared to be WOWED!

Here are all of the inside pages -

AMAZEBALLS - am I right?!!

She also created this fun two page layout with plenty of room for LOTS of photos -

Pretty awesome, right?!  Every time I see one of Julie's creations with our products, my jaw literally drops.  She's one talented lady!

Julie has graciously offered one of our readers her A Charmed Life mini album kit - everything you need to put together a gorgeous mini album of your very own!  Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below and on the 13th we'll be back here to announce the random lucky winner!

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Thanks Julie for sharing your beautiful work with us again!!

Life Documented | with Homespun

 

Hello Everyone! It's Kristine Davidson here today with a Life Documented post using  the NEW Homespun Collection. I have to admit that I LOVE this collection. I will be using it until I have little scraps of paper left and then I'll create something using those scraps! I love the colors, the elements of spring, the hearts, and oh so much more! If you haven't had a chance to purchase this collection yet I'm sure you LSS will be adding it to their list of must haves shortly! 

Alright, here is my story for this Life Documented post. In early 2013 I decided it was time to reformat my computer.  I have fast fingers when it comes to typing and I love DELETING! I love a clean screen and well ... see where this is going ? I sadly DELETED ALL MY PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!! ya ya i know backup ... well i was going to backup my hard drive but instead i guess i just deleted all MY PICTURES folder. So with that said I thank Instagram for allowing me to download ALL my photos from when I first opened my account with them. So, i downloaded all my pictures and right after my February post here on the blog I decided to document 2012! After losing all my photos I decided to document what I had and atleast I would have some stories to tell. 

So, here I am documenting 2012. I decided to do this on a Monthly basis and not weekly. Here is my spread for the month of APRIL 2012 and perhaps this will inspire you to create your Life Documented album. Regardless of size or format - documenting your stories is what matters. 

 

For this page, i created a layout from one of my photos, and on the other side I used a pocket page with 2x2" inserts. This allowed me to add more photos and also decorate and journal. I really love the idea of having a layout on the left side, it seems to showcase a bit of what my month was like. I met up with friends at a scrapbook event and it was excitement all month long. So a big part of April 2012!   

 

 In my pocket pages, i added photos, and also didn't put dates on any of them. Like I mentioned previously this is more about documenting the month/ year than remembering what day something happened.  You'll see in my next picture why ! ;-) 

 This is the other side of the pocket page featuring the 2x2 card inserts. Again I added photos, and decorated the cards to add some character to my spread. On the right side of the spread you see a photo with tons of little mini pics?  

This picture of tons of mini pics is done using an APP called Project 365. This reminds me on a daily basis to upload a pic I took of that day. It can be anything and sometimes it's just my face, the weather, what i ate and other fun stuff. It keeps me on track by reminding me and at the end of the month I can upload my picture or email it to family members. I Love it! SO since i lost all my picture I had this as a back up. This helps me remember what happened on that day and allows me to remember something I might have forgotten! That happens often ;-) 

 This is the last page of my month. It is a photo taken at a scrapbook event and it was saved from my facebook page!  This was a special day laughing with friends and I wanted to save that in my spread for 2012. 

As you can see Scrapbook products even in a 12x12 collection kit can be used for Documenting life spreads. The elements in this kit were perfect in helping me document my lost photos and a month that was specially shared with friends at a crop. 

I'll be back next month to showcase another one month in the year 2012!

I will be using the 6x8 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all of my Life Documented pages for 2012. It's sturdiness, metal corner accents, and stitch details are fantastic and durable. The album will be handled often so durability is a must - this Sn@p! album is the best!!

 

I used a variety of inserts for this monthly spread - a 6x8" size featuring 2x2" to 4x6 and also a full 6x8. The Sn@p pocket pages come in a variety that you can add to your album. PERFECTO!

 

Homespun Products Used :

Fundamental Cardstock Stickers 
Expression Cardstock Stickers
6x6 Paper Pad
Bits & Pieces 
Brads 
12x12 Simple Basics Kit
Insta-Squares
Sn@p Cards

The DIY Products Used:
Enamel Dots - Teal Red & Yellow
Burlap Stickers - Icons

Hope you enjoyed my Life Documented pages and will be inspired to create your own using our new collections ;-) 

 

Daily Grind Planner/Album

Hey everyone...Andrea here with a cool project I made using the Daily Grind collection.  It's a mini book/album that doubles as a planner for 2014!  The Daily Grind line is in my top five of favorite lines from Simple Stories, and it was PERFECT to use for a planner.  This is kind of a "perpetual" project, as I will get to add to it throughout the year.

I can't wait for you to see this!

 

 

The base of the book is a SN@P! Binder from My Mind's Eye - it's virtually the same SN@P! binder you've come to love from Simple Stories, but with a little My Mind's Eye 'twist' :)  The binder cover is already decorated because it's embossed, so I didn't want to do too much to it.  Rather than putting a photo in the opening, I used an overlay from the Collection Kit over a 4 x 6 Journaling Card Element from the collection, and framed it with strips of patterned paper.  The inside covers of the book were covered with patterned paper.

 

This book is THICK!

 

The inner pages are a mix of papers from the Daily Grind 12 x 12 Collection Kit, 12 x 12 Simple Basics Kit, SN@P! Pockets, 4 x 6 Journaling Card Elements, SN@P! 6 x 8 Pocket Pages, and sheets I printed off of the computer.  They contain space for me to keep track of and document everything I need for this year.

 

I printed out monthly calenders on cardstock, and used the month stickers from the Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers as tabs.  I used sticker numbers for the days of the month.

 

I printed weekly calender pages on plain computer paper, punched holes, and reinforced those pages with paper reinforcements.  These pages will make it easy for me to keep track of appointments and schedules. I placed month cards from the 4 x 6 Journaling Card Elements at the beginning of each month of weekly pages.

 

Here's some of the inner pages of the book:

 

SN@P! Journal Pages and Pocket Pages are added throughout the book.  I've already embellished some of the Pocket Pages with items from the collection, but there are empty pockets as well to be filled with photos, journaling and memorabilia throughout the year. The photos will be of every day happenings (my "Daily Grind"!) that I wouldn't necessarily do a layout of, or duplicate photos from my stash.

 

I added some ribbon and gems just to finish it off.

I love this project, and I don't mind saying that i might just have the coolest planner around :)

I do have just ONE complaint...and that is that I definitely needed a bigger binder!  It already won't close, and I have a lot of months left in the year to document!

I hope this project inspires you to use your scrapbooking supplies in an entirely "out of the box" type of way;  even a planner can document your memories.

Thanks for letting me share with you!

Daily Grind products I used in this project:

• 12 x 12 Collection Kit #3600
• 12 x 12 Simple Basics Kit #3601
• Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers #3602
• Expressions Cardstock Stickers #3603
• SN@P! Pages #3624
• SN@P! Cuts #3626
• SN@P! Cards #3623
• SN@P! Pockets #3625
• Chipboard Stickers #3628
• Decorative Brads #3627

 

 

 

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 -

 

Fan Focus Friday

Hi there!  Layle here with you today :)

Today I'm back with another Fan Focus Friday! 

We have so many great Simple Stories fans out there that we thought it would be fun to showcase some of the work shared with us. 

So, here goes! Kayla MacAulay

This month, let me introduce you to Kayla MacAulay -

I am a twenty three year old new Mum from Tasmania, Australia. I began scrapbooking back in 2004 when I was just a teenager. I was never really a crafty person up until then but found love in the fact that I could tell a story through this craft. I dabbled in many mediums of scrapbooking over the years and was lucky enough to work on several design teams and up until most recently owned my own online scrapbooking kit club which I have since changed hands to focus on my new little family with the addition of our first child Elijah Mason who is just 2 weeks old. I love finding new products, techniques and ideas to focus on and this year I am excited to be combining my usual 12x12 style with some Pocket Page themed pages.

Kayla created this wonderful 6x8 Teal SN@P! Binder album in the early stages of her pregnancy with her first child -

According to Kayla -

I was so excited and nervous about being a new Mum and the scrapbooker in me just knew that I had to document it. I loved that with the SN@P! Binders you can set it up and work on little bits here and there.  Throughout the pregnancy I just completed cards as I thought of them and slipped them in the pockets.

I used the chipboard dividers that came with the album to section off the binder into three parts, one for each of the trimesters of pregnancy.

I used some of the 6x8 inserts to document some of the bigger things and placed some of the ultrasound photos on these.

I loved that Simple Stories SN@P! Binders have such a large variety of different sized inserts to accommodate different sizes.

I used a mixture of 3x4, 4x6 and 4x4 sized pockets. It’s great for keeping things interesting throughout the album as not every layout is the same!

I have shared pictures here of the first two sections of my album as the third section I was waiting on baby photos from the much awaited arrival of our son who is just two weeks old now. I can’t wait to share the completed album on my blog very soon! 

Isn't that an amazing keepsake Kayla created documenting her pregnancy?!  I'm sure her son Elijah will treasure this album in the years to come.

Congratulations Kayla on the birth of your son and thank you so much for sharing your amazing project with us this month!

 

 

 

A Charmed Life Anniversary Mini

 

 

Hi everyone! Emily here today with another fun project that I created with the NEW "A Charmed Lfe" collection. I know I've said this before, but i LOVE this collection! Everything about it is simply perfect, the colors, sentiments, elements, etc. Just fabulous! 

My husband and I got anniversary photos taken last year for our 3rd anniversay. I use any opportunity that I can to have a photo session. We always have so much fun and get great photos out of it to last a lifetime. 

 

I decided to create a mini album to display on my desk. I had this little Maya Road acrylic album laying here and decided that it was time to put it in use! 

 

Here are some of the inside pages. I wanted to keep the bottoms for photos and when you flip each page, you see a sentiment at the top. I used some of the Sn@p cards from this collection for the sentiments.

Another one of my favorites from this collection are the chipboard stickers. I always love to add a little dimension to my projects and these are perfect to do so. 

Here's a little peek at the side of this album. This album may be a mini, but it packs a big punch! Perfect to store a couple of photos that you want to keep on display!

 

Products Used:

Simple Stories:
A Charmed Life 
6x6 Paper Pad #3722
Bits & Pieces #3729
Chipboard #3728
Brads #3727
Insta Squares #3730
Sn@p Cards #3723

Maya Road- Acrylic Album
May Arts- Ribbon

Love in a SN@P!

Happy day after Valentine's Day :) 

Hello friends, Layle back here with you today.  With love still in the air, I thought it would be fun to share a fun LOVE themed album created by designer Sue Kendall using our Love SN@P! Set and 6x8 Faux Leather Album.

I love how Sue added a little embellishment to the bottom right corner of the front of the album - they're beautiful albums 'as is'; adding just a little something to the cover makes them really pop!

To add a bit of variety, Sue added the inserts from the red SN@P! Binder (chipboard divider pages, additional 6x8 Pocket Pages & Journal Page inserts) in addition to the Pocket Pages included in the 6x8 Faux Leather Album for lots of fun pages!

She used one of the 4x6 Pockets from the Love SN@P! Set in this pocket page - what a great idea to insert it sideways in the pocket!

 

Here she simply punched holes in a 4x6 Love card and inserted it in the album as it's own page!

How about this clever idea for using 3x4 cards - create a cascading 'waterfall' effect by scoring & adhering the tops of 3 cards, as Sue did on this page -

Sue was able to put this mini album together in a jiffy using the 3x4 & 4x6 cards and the Pockets & stickers from the Love SN@P! Set -

Now all she needs to do is add photos and a bit of journaling and she has a fun keepsake of her loved ones :)

28 days of love with SN@P!

Hello Simple Stories Fans! Alissa here today with a special Sunday edition on the blog with one of the new burlap SN@P! 6x8 binders. I thought these new albums were so awesome and then when I received one in my design team box for this project I immediately knew how awesome they really are! So, so fun!!!! It's super cool to have a new texture and pattern option in the 6x8 binders.

Every February, since 2011, I've hosted a little month long project on my blog called 28 Days of Love. I post a daily prompt for the photo/page of the day and share my own pages on the blog. This year when I told Layle about the project, she asked me if I would want to create it with one of the new Burlap SN@P! albums and the Love SN@P! Set. I was already thinking about using some of the Love SN@P! Set, so, I said yes! Of course! :)

I used the red chevron 6x8 Burlap SN@P! Binder and misted it with a shimmery pink mist to make it more Valentiney. Is that a word? :) I also used a heart brad from the NEW Homespun collection. I just love that line!

See the subtle pink misting? So pretty.

My date tags are stamped on chalkboard paper with white chalk ink. I used a set I've had for a year or so in my stamp stash. The brads used here are from the Homespun Collection, the A Charmed Life Collection and a couple from December Documented.

The SN@P! binders come with a variety of Pocket Pages and paper pages, too. The new burlap ones even come with a cool kraft envelope page!

The pop bottle 3x4 card is one of my favorites in the Love 3x4 SN@P! Cards set. It's just so cute!

The little arrow sticker is from the Love SN@P! Stickers set.

I just love all the different Pocket Page configurations.

Alpha and circle stickers from the Love SN@P! Stickers set. I love that there is a variety of different styles of stickers in one set.

The top 4x6 card is actually one that is meant to be a vertical card. I love the chevron horizontal and just covered up the quote in the center with my photo. More stickers from the Love SN@P! Stickers set on the bottom card. Lots of variety. :) I wasn't kidding!

My last page to share with you today is a full page 6x8 photo page.

Just a few more stickers from the Love SN@P! set and an acetate word from my stash stapled on and it's all done! Simple stuff!

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at my 28 Days of Love project and some new stuff from Simple Stories!

I used the red Burlap 6x8 SN@P! Binder.

Pocket Pages used are included in the binder.

Other Simple Stories products used in the project.

• Love 4x6 SN@P! Cards | #4183
• Love 3x4 SN@P! Cards | #4184
• Love SN@P! Stickers | #4182
• Homespun Brads | #3827
• A Charmed Life Brads | #3727
• December Documented Brads

Have an awesome Sunday!

 

I {HEART} Summer Mini

Hey everyone! Andrea here to bring sunshine and warmth to the blog!  I don't know about you, but I'm WAY tired of arctic temperatures and gray skies, so today I'm sharing a mini album I made using the I {HEART} SUMMER collection.  Mini albums are probably my most favorite thing to make because there's no RIGHT way to make them and you can add as much or as little as you want.  Being a self proclaimed "tchotchkey queen", these are right up my alley!  It's also a great way to use up the leftovers from a collection you're working with.

So here's what I have to show you!

The book base is a clipboard that o-rings attached (sorry - for the life of me I can't remember where I got that!).  The inner pages of the album are chipboard or cardstock, covered with paper from the collection.

Once I cut and/or covered all the pages, I inked all of the edges.

 

A couple of the pages are made from other items in the collection, like the SN@P! Pockets and 4x6 Journaling Card Elements.

 

 

Once all of the pages were covered and photos added, it was on to embellishing.  And since I'm a firm believer in "more is more", I added embellishments from the collection wherever there was open space.

 

One of my favorite things to do is to add some type of interactive page, and I did this with the "flip" page.

To finish it up, I did some journaling, added gems and ribbon, and used a dimensional adhesive on a few of the things I wanted to stand out.

And there you have it!

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope that you are now warm and toasty, and that this will inspire you to look at your "leftovers" a little differently and create something totally fun and unique.

 

Here's a list of the I {HEART} SUMMER products I used:

• 12 x 12 Collectin Kit #3200
• Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers #3202
• Expressions Cardstock Stickers #3203
• Chipboard Stickers #3227
• Layered Stickers #3228
• 3x4 Journaling Card Elements #3210
• 4x6 Journaling Card Elements #3211
• SN@P! Pockets #3223
• SN@P! Cuts # 3225
• SN@P! Cards #3230
• Flair Badges #3229