Simple Stories

Life Documented with Homespun

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here with a Life Documented layout using Homespun and I have another new sketch that combines traditional scrapbooking with the Sn@p! Pocket Pages.

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #9

The left side of the sketch is designed as just a normal/traditional style scrapbook page while the right side of the sketch uses a combination of photos and cards to fit the Sn@p! Pocket Page, Design 7.

Here's what I put together based on the sketch above:

After we finished taking our annual Christmas card photos last year I ended up with some fun "brother" shots. The boys were being goofy and just having fun since the official photo shoot was over. Homespun ended up being the perfect match for these photos. The colors, style, and theme were exactly what I was looking for to document this moment. I especially love how the wood background almost perfectly matches the wood fence in one of the pictures.

One the left page I have a big grouping of photos making up most of the design on the page. I love photo blocks (a big grouping of photos) like this on sketches. This is always a great area to adapt the sketch to fit the amount of photos and the size of the photos you have. I see these blocks as a puzzle, an opportunity to play around with different sizes and combinations. There are endless possibilities!

I thought the little jar and "filled with love" brad was so cute! Every time I looked at it I thought of this jar being so filled with love that it was bursting or overflowing so I used small hearts coming out of the top to make it look like it was.

I added a small title at the bottom of the 4 x 6" photo. The main title for the whole layout is on the right page but I wanted something on the left, more traditional side of the layout too.

On the right page I used a Sn@p! Pocket Page. I really, really enjoy how quickly my pages go together when I use a Pocket Page!

For the 6x12 pocket I went with the simplicity of the 6x12 Page Elements patterned paper in the collection combined with my own design of photo layout. 

For the title of the page I just went with the large "family" already on the 6x12 piece and just simply used the red alphabet stickers to add brothers to it.

For some extra detail I added a few heart accents around the photos.

In the top 4x6 pocket I used a 4x6 card and paired one of the 3x3 Insta-Squares with a 2x3 photo. These Insta-Squares are one of my absolute favorite things right now. I love working with squares and tend to use a lot of 2x2, 3x3, and 4x4 photos. So having these cute little squares to go with those photos is awesome!

I finished the design on the 4x6 card with a double stitched border.

I will be using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all my Life Documented pages. I love the quality of the faux leather and the stitching accent!

I used the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 7 from the Variety Pack. You get so many great options and designs with the Variety Pack!

The Homespun products I used were:

• Fundamental Cardstock Stickers

• Expression Cardstock Stickers

• Chipboard

• Brads

• Grateful Patterned Paper

• Stitched Together Patterned Paper

• Homemade Patterned Paper

• Beautiful Life Patterned Paper

• Heart & Home Patterned Paper

• 6x12 Page Elements Patterned Paper

• Grey Wood/Grid Patterned Paper

• Green Dots Patterned Paper

• Red Dots Patterned Paper

• Yellow Dots Patterned Paper

• Teal Dots Patterned Paper

• Insta-Squares

• Sn@p! Cards

I hope you enjoy using the new Life Documented sketch!

Life Documented with Sn@p! Love

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here with a Life Documented layout using the Sn@p! Love Set and I've got another sketch that mixes the Sn@p! Pocket Pages with traditional scrapbooking!

I have a confession to make. I am obsessed with hearts. All things hearts. I have shirts with hearts, necklaces with hearts, a heart change purse, heart bookends, heart decor, heart headbands, heart drinking glasses...hearts, hearts, hearts! Naturally this love for hearts has made it's way into my scrapbooking as well. I use them all the time whether it's a layout covered in hearts or just simply sneaking in a teeny tiny heart on an embellishment. It's probably pretty obvious that I love the month of February since everything is covered in hearts! I figured that if I was going to make a sketch to celebrate my love for hearts, then this would be the perfect month for it.

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #8

The left page of the sketch is a traditional scrapbook layout while the right page uses a combination of cards and photos with the Sn@p! Pocket Page, Design 6

Here's a look at my layout based on the sketch above:

The Sn@p! Love Set was the perfect choice for not just this sketch but my pictures too. This set has so many great cards and lots of hearts!

On the left page I wanted to have a little fun with that huge heart background. I've done so many layouts with a large heart background like that so I wanted to put a new spin on an old idea. I decided to cut a lot of 1 x 3" strips of paper and use them to create my own pattern on the heart.

I started by cutting out a large heart from a piece of cardstock. Then I started adhering the strips in a pattern until I had the whole heart covered. After that I trimmed around the heart to cut off the part of the strips that where hanging over the edge.

To finish the design I added stitching over the strips. (My junior high home economics teacher would never believe that I stitched this! I wouldn't blame her since in her class I somehow managed to sew the elbow of my sweatshirt to the collar.) The stitching was time consuming but I love the look of stitching and the texture it adds. Plus, I really like the quilted look when making patterns like this.

There are so many patterns you could make to create a unique design on that heart background. You could try small squares, a chevron pattern, triangles, smaller hearts, circles, torn strips of paper, larger stripes of paper going across the whole heart, banners, or a starburst. There are so many possibilities!

I had my son, Jackson, help with this layout. For the journaling he finished the sentence, "I love my dad because..." I try to have my kids help me with the journaling on a lot of layouts. As scrapbookers we are often so used to just capturing our perspectives. Sometimes it's fun to get other loved one's views on layouts too. Plus, kids usually say some really cute and funny stuff!

One the right page I used a Pocket Page with a mix of photos and cards to match the left page. I added a few of my own little heart details to the cards and pictures.

On the top photo I added three punched hearts, some stitching, and the cute little phrase sticker.

Both of these 3x4 cards were two of my favorites in the whole set. The first with the hearts had a nice open space perfect for a small 3 x 2" photo. The second, "All you need is love", is one of my favorite sayings.

On the bottom part of the Pocket Page I used two more 3x4 cards. The first one had enough space for me to add another 3x2 photo, like I did on the card at the top. I added a little extra detail by stitching a heart frame around the "i  ♥ you". The second card is a check list and instead of just checking each item, I used small punched hearts as the check.

On the 4x6 card on the bottom, I added a small 2x2 photo to the frame and a small yellow heart to the arrow.

I will be using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all of my Life Documented pages. I love the details like the metal accents and stitching.

I used the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 6 from the Variety Pack. You get so many different options and great designs with the Variety Pack!

The Sn@p! Love products I used were:

• Sn@p! Stickers

• 4x6 Sn@p! Cards

• 3x4 Sn@p! Cards

I hope you all enjoy using the new Life Documented sketch!

Life Documented with December Documented

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here with a Life Documented layout using December Documented. Plus, I've got another sketch that combines traditional scrapbooking with the Sn@p! Pocket Pages! 

I love this time of year! I have two little boys that are such a great reminder of how magical this time of year is, especially for little ones. As an adult it can be easy to forget that and all the excitement and wonder that comes during the month of December. Having my boys has brought that back and I feel like I get to be a kid again through their eyes.

I also love this time of year because I have a fondness for creating sketches and layouts with Christmas trees on them. So, I'm very excited to be sharing the new Life Documented sketch with you today!

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #7

The left page follows a more traditional design while the right pages uses a combination of cards and photos with the Sn@p! Pocket Page, Design 8.

Here's a look at my layout based on the sketch above:

I tend to take more photos during the month of December than any other month. There are so many activities and events going on! Decorating our Christmas tree, baking cookies for Santa, driving around to look at Christmas lights, spending the day at Silver Dollar City, and visiting Santa. Trust me, I could go on and on with so much more! I love that December Documented can work with all of those photos and I can end up with a December/Christmas themed album that looks great without spending a ton of time on it.

On the left page a big part of the design revolves around four Christmas trees made out of patterned paper. One of my favorite things about scrapbooking Christmas is finding different ways to make Christmas trees out of patterned paper. For these trees I kept it pretty simple with just a single triangle as the whole tree, a small strip for the trunk, a little star for the top. 

To add a little detail on the biggest tree I added small punched circles and hand stitching to create a garland on the tree.

I also added some red and green stitching along the design on the red and green chevron tree.

I was instantly drawn to the strand of lights in the December Documented Chipboard and had to use them! I thought adhering them over the front of the trees would be cute and also help to tie those four trees together.

On the right page I used a Pocket Page to create a quick and easy page to go along with the left, more traditional scrapbook page. In the 4x6 pockets I used a combination of 4x6 pictures, a 4x6 card, a 3x4 picture, and a 3x4 card for my journaling.

In the 6x8 pocket I used a 6x8 photo mat as a background for another Christmas tree and some photos.

I designed the tree to match the biggest tree on the left page.

I created the same garland out of small punched circles and hand stitching. To top the tree I layered together a punched circle, a punched star, and a holly brad.

I will be using the 12 x 12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all of my Life Documented pages. I love the quality of the faux leather and how well constructed they are!

I used the 12 x 12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 8 from the Variety Pack. You get so many great designs and options with the variety pack!

The December Documented products I used were:

• Fundamental Cardstock Stickers

• Expression Cardstock Stickers

• Chipboard

• Brads

• 3x4 Journaling Card Elements

• 4x4 Quote & 6x8 Photo Mat Elements

• Red Snowflake/Chevron

• Green Snowflake/Chevron

• Bright Green Snowflake/Chevron

• Chalkboard Snowflake/Chevron

• Blue Snowflake/Chevron

• Bingo Cards/Chevron

• Sn@p! Cards

I hope you enjoy the sketch and wish you all a very Happy Holiday season!

Life Documented with Sn@p! Family

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here with a Life Documented layout using the Sn@p! Family Set and I have another new sketch that combines traditional scrapbooking with the Sn@p! Pocket Pages.

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #6

The left side of the sketch uses a combination of cards and photos in a more traditional scrapbook design while the right side uses the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 9.

Here's a look at my layout based on the sketch above:

Every time my family gets together we attempt to take family pictures. Seldom does it turn out well. There are eye rolls, giggles, closed eyes, goofy faces and a host of other issues that keep us from getting those so called "perfect" family pictures. Just like I love being with my family, I love our not so perfect pictures. It's such a great portrayal of how we are when we are together. The Sn@p! Family set was perfect to document those pictures!

On the left page I combined the 3x4 and 4x6 Sn@p! cards with 3x4 photos to create most of the design. Then I added a few smaller photos to the 3x4 cards.

I accented the design with hearts of all sizes, a few with hand stitching.

Hand stitching is such an easy way to add more detail to a simple paper shape like hearts, stars, circles, etc.

On the right page I used a Pocket Page. Lately I've been using different photo sizes and changing up pockets but this time I used the pockets all as they are.

Here's a closer look at the details:

For the 12x4 pocket I created my own design on a piece of 12x4 cardstock. I used a 3x4 card and a 3x4 photo as the main focus and then added a smaller photo (my brother-in-law is so going to kill me for sharing that photo!) To finish the design I added a row of patterned paper hearts with a couple of stitched lines through them.

On the 3x4 journaling card I added a cardstock strip with my journaling.

To see more projects using our SN@P! Sets, check out our SN@P! Sets Pinterest board

 

I will be using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all of my Life Documented pages. I love the quality of the faux leather and how well constructed they are! - See more at: http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple_stories/simple-sketches/#sthash.1KegcMPC.dpuf

I will be using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all of my Life Documented pages. I love the details like the metal accents and stitching!

I used the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 9 from the Variety Pack. You get so many different options and great designs with the Variety Pack!

The Sn@p! Family products I used were:

• Sn@p! Stickers

• 4x6 Sn@p! Cards

• 3x4 Sn@p! Cards

I hope you enjoy using the new Life Documented sketch!

Life Documented with Sn@p! Him

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here with a Life Documented layout using the Sn@p! Him Set and I have another new sketch that combines traditional scrapbooking with the Sn@p! Pocket Pages.

With this layout I looked at the Pocket Page design that I chose to work with as more of a starting point rather than just using the same size of photo as the pocket size. I see those Pocket Pages in a similar way as I see sketches, as a starting point. Sure you can just follow the sketch or just use the same size as the pocket but, the beauty of scrapbooking is that there are no rules and for me, that applies to both sketches and Pocket Pages. I adjusted things to work with the photos I wanted to use.

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #5

The left side of the sketch follows a more traditional scrapbook design while the right side uses the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 3

Here's a look at my layout based on the sketch above:

I had a ton of photos of my son, Jackson, wearing his favorite super hero cape and mask. Most of the photos were vertical. Since I wanted to use so many of them on one layout, using the horizontal 4x6 pocket for two vertical 3x4 photos was a great way to achieve using both more photos and accommodating a different orientation of photo.

One thing I love about the Sn@p! Sets is that you get a very large variety of designs and the backsides are often just a pattern without images or text. I took advantage of those backside patterns to create a grid background on the left page.

I added hand stitching along the edges of each 3x4 card on the whole grid pattern. It was a lot of stitching but I put the photos down first so that I didn't waste time and energy stitching along an area that was going to be covered anyway. 

For details on the layout I used simple stars punched from a few of the cards.

On the right page I used I used a Pocket Page with mostly 4x6 pockets but used 3x4 photos to fill them.

Here's a closer look at the details:

I used the "Boy" Sn@p! card in one of the 4x6 pockets and added the "Super Jackson" with the alphabet stickers and accented it with a few stars.

Along the middle I used three of the 3x4 Sn@p! cards.

I added hand stitching and little star stickers to the lines on the "boom" card.

On the boy/man icon I added a super hero cape to match the cape my son was wearing. I love adding hand stitched details like this to my pages.

To make the cape I just drew the cape with pencil and then pierced the holes with a paper piercer before I started stitching. I finished it with a bow around the neck.

I will be using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all of my Life Documented pages. I love the quality of the faux leather and how well constructed they are!

I used the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 3 from the Variety Pack. You get so many different options and great designs with the Variety Pack!

The Sn@p! Him products I used were:

• Sn@p! Stickers

• 4x6 Sn@p! Cards

• 3x4 Sn@p! Cards

I hope you enjoy using the new Life Documented sketch!

Life Documented with Smarty Pants

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here with a Life Documented layout using Smarty Pants and I have a new sketch that combines traditional scrapbooking with the Sn@p! Pocket Pages.

I don't know about you but I was not ready for school to start this year. My youngest entered "big boy" status and was heading off to Kindergarten and I just wasn't ready to let him go. He was ready though and since the last day of preschool he had been counting down the days until the first day of Kindergarten. He's growing up way too fast! (Don't they all!) That is one of the many reasons that I'm so happy that I scrapbook and have documented my kids growing up. It's also one of the many reasons that I'm happy to have products available to use like the Pocket Pages so I can put together pages quickly and in some way try to keep up with the speed of life passing me by.

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #4

The left side of the sketch uses the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 7 while the right side follows a more traditional scrapbook design.

Here's a look at my layout based on the sketch above:

When I saw the Smarty Pants collection I knew that it would be what I used for both my boy's school albums this year.

This layout is the first page in Jackson's Kindergarten album to document his first day of school. I'm going to be repeating this same page for my older son, Drew, who started third grade this year. I think when you get into multiple children it's just easier with certain albums to pick a design and duplicate/repeat for both/all of them. I know it saves me a lot of time!

On the left page I included a wide variety of photo sizes from large to small. Here's a closer look at the details on the left page.

I saw the large, 6x12 pocket as a great opportunity to use a large photo. I cut a 6x12" piece of cardstock and added my 6x8 photo to the top portion and a 4x6 journaling card to the bottom.

I had Jackson write his name for me on the journaling card while I filled in the rest. I also added a 2x2 photo and a few stickers to accent that area.

On the top "I ♥ School" card I added some strips of paper, stitching, and the cute little apple brad.

I tried to capture a lot of the little details about Jackson's first day of school. I took pictures of his favorite shirt that he picked to wear, his backpack, his shoes, his name on his desk, and his name tag to name a few. I like using 2x2 photos for detail pictures so I used one of the 4x6 pockets for six of those 2x2 detail photos.

On the right page I included five more of my favorite photos from the day. If you wanted to use less photos or include an enlargement you could always combine those four smaller photos into one larger photo.

Here's a closer look at the details on the right page:

 I used one of the Sn@p! 6x8 die cut pages as a background for my pictures and I added the chipboard "school" banner under the "Today" quote. The Sn@p! pages are great for the Sn@p! albums but I like to use them on full size, 12x12 layouts too!

I added another little circle with a brad on the right page. I used journaling strips like on the sketch but you could easily substitute a journaling block or card there too.

I will be using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for all of my Life Documented pages. I love the quality of the faux leather and how well constructed they are!

I used the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 7 from the Variety Pack. You get so many different options and great designs with the Variety Pack.

Other Smarty Pants products I used were:

• Expression Cardstock Stickers

• Chipboard

• Brads

• 6x6 Paper Pad

• Head of the Class Patterned Paper

• School Spirit Patterned Paper

• 4x6 Journaling Card Elements

• Red Composition/Notebook Patterned Paper

• Sn@p! Pages

• Sn@p! Cards

I hope you enjoy using the new Life Documented sketch!

Life Documented with Say Cheese

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here with a new Life Documented project using Say Cheese. That means another sketch combining traditional scrapbooking with the Pocket Pages!

With this sketch I took a Pocket Page and changed up a few things to include more pictures. I see the Pocket Pages and Sn@p! Cards much like I see a sketch. I don't necessary look at the Pocket Pages and think that I have to follow that design 100%. Especially with so many options in sizes and designs with the Sn@p! Cards. I can easily adapt those Pocket Pages with the help of the Cards to create a unique layout that fits the pictures and elements I want to use while still fitting within the Pocket Page design.

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #3

The left side of the sketch follows more of a traditional route of scrapbooking while the right side uses the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design #8 

Here's a look at my layout based on the sketch above.

I was over the moon excited when I first saw the Say Cheese collection. I have a little boy who adores "Mr. Mouse" and has for as long as I can remember. Plus, I love how versatile the collection is and how easy it is to use with many, many magical moments from the everyday to the big events!

I had originally planned on using the Sn@p! Pocket Page, Design #8 as it was. What I mean is that I thought I would just use 4x6 photos in each 4x6 pocket. I ran into a bit of a problem though. I had the hardest time narrowing down my pictures. I seem to run into this problem a lot! I had a ton of pictures that I wanted to include so I wanted to find a way to do that but still use the same Pocket Page. I wanted to mix in more of the cards too.

For three of the pockets I cut a 4x6 piece of white cardstock. On one side I adhered a card and on the other I adhered one of my pictures, cropped to fit the 3x4 space. Doing this I was able to include six pictures in the four photo pockets.

Here's a closer look at the details:

On the 6x8 photo mat card I added two pictures, some strips of paper, and hand stitched some "ears" as a frame around my son's hand holding his favorite pal.

In the top 4x6 pocket I used the "you & me" card and added a small red heart.

For the middle 4x6 pocket I cut around the circle so I could tuck my picture underneath it a little. I also added a few circles to the top of the "smiles" circle on the card to create "ears" to match the theme of my layout. I finished it with an arrow and heart sticker.

In the bottom 4x6 pocket I used a bingo card as the background for a smaller picture. I also added the arrow, heart, and "hello" sticker to the bottom of the picture.

By using a combination of 3x4 photos and cards I was able to include a few more smaller photos which made narrowing down the selection of photos a little easier!

On the left page my layout follows the sketch as it is. There are several options if you want to play around with different photo sizes to fit your needs. For example, you could use two 4x3 photos in place of the three photos on the bottom or one long 8x3 photo would look great there too.

Here's a closer look at the details on the left page:

I used a few "ears" in place of the hearts on the sketch and accented them with a word sticker, a heart sticker, and a brad.

I added "My Pal" stickers to the title/journaling card.

I will be using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for my Life Documented pages. I love the quality of these albums!

I used the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 8 from the Variety Pack. I love the large variety of pocket layout and sizes in the Variety Pack!

Other Say Cheese products I used were:

• Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers

• Expression Cardstock Stickers

• Brads

• Magic Patterned Paper

• Seeing Stars Patterned Paper

• Best Day Ever Patterned Paper

• 3x4 Journaling Card Elements

• 4x6 Vertical Journaling Card Elements

• 4x4 Quote & 6x8 Photo Mat Elements

• Bingo Cards/Stars

• Kraft Dots/Stripes

• Red Dots/Stripes

• Yellow Dots/Stripes

• Blue Dots/Stripes

• Black Dots/Stripes

 

I hope you enjoy using the sketch!

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: - See more at: http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple_stories/simple-sketches/#sthash.UmWRiecD.dpu

Life Documented with 24/Seven

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here today to share a Life Documented project using 24/Seven! I also have another sketch that focuses on mixing traditional scrapbooking with the Pocket Pages.

The new sketch has room for 19 photos. (Yes, I really said 19!)

I love the camera on my phone. It's not the same kind of love I have for my big camera but, having a camera that is small, is always with me, and that I can quickly grab allows me to get a better portrayal of our normal, everyday lives. I can snap a quick picture in places that I'm usually without my big camera. I can capture Jackson with his x-ray sticker at the doctor's office, the boys asleep in the car during a long drive, my husband an I enjoying a dinner alone. These little moments can be easily forgotten but thanks to my phone camera I can document these sweet occasions. The pictures might not be as good quality-wise but they are the little moments that tell the story of our lives and deserve a spot in our albums. 

The sketch today was inspired by all those pictures I have from the camera on my phone.

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #2

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #1 - See more at: http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple_stories/simple-sketches/#sthash.E4TjpRfz.dpuf

The left side of the sketch follows a more traditional design while the right side uses the 12 x 12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design #10.

Here's a look at my layout based on the sketch above.

The 24/Seven collection was a great match for a large group of my Instagram pictures. The fun rainbow of colors in the collection works perfectly with a large group of photos from different settings where there are bound to be many different colors.

The 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 10 also worked perfectly with my Instagram pictures. Since Instagram pictures come out a square, the six 4x4 square pockets were just what I needed for this page!

Since I filled each of the 4x4 pockets with just pictures, I used the middle row of 3x4 pockets to add some of the 3x4 cards, a few smaller photos, and my journaling.

Here's a closer look at the details on the 3x4 cards:

The "Good Stuff" card was just begging to be stitched on! The card already had a line through each letter that I used as my guide for the stitching. I changed it up a bit by using several different colors on the letters.

I always recommend to anyone stitching letters or something with small curves that when piercing your holes to pierce them closer together. The result will be smaller stitches which creates a smooth, fluid curve instead of larger stitches that create a more jagged, rough curve. 

I used a journaling card as the base to hold two smaller pictures. I didn't want to cover up part of the blue tab so I cut around the bottom of it so I could slip the top corner of the bottom picture under it. I also added an arrow to the tab.

I used the speech bubble as a frame for one of my pictures. I also added the "love" circle sticker, some heart stickers, and the "memorable" sticker.

On the last 3x4 card I added my journaling but, I didn't limit my journaling to just that one card.

I added little strips with a small caption for each picture on the right page. 

On the left page there are a ton of tiny pictures! The beauty of this sketch is that if you aren't a big fan of using smaller pictures you can simply remove them. Nothing about this design is hinged on those smaller pictures and removing them isn't going to require adjustments. Or, if you have less pictures to use but still want to include some smaller pictures, try using slightly larger pictures like 2x2.

Here's a closer look at the details on the left page:

I used a couple of the smaller photos to frame my two larger photos.

I also added some word stickers and heart stickers to those two smaller photos.

Along the bottom I accented the row of small photos with caption strips, heart stickers, and the chipboard phrase.

This sketch would be great for a monthly layout full of pictures from a specific month. To make it super easy you could even use this sketch for each month throughout the whole album. To help change it up a little you could start with the sketch as is for January, then flip it (left page to right page) for February, and continue that pattern throughout the whole album. It would be so easy and you would end up with a year's worth of photos documented quickly thanks to the Pocket Pages! 

I will be using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for my Life Documented pages. I love the beautiful details like the contrast stitching and the metal corner accents!

I used the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 10 from the Variety Pack. I especially love that the pockets have enough extra room that you can add some embellishments and dimesion.

Other 24/Seven products I used were:

• Fundimentals Cardstock Stickers

• Expressions Cardstock Stickers

• Chipboard Stickers

• Snapshots Patterned Paper

• Today Patterned Paper

• 3x4 Journaling Card Elements

• 6x12 Page Elements

• Bingo Cards/Stripes

• Gray Grid/Lattice

• Sn@p! Cards

I hope you enjoy using the sketch!

 

You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #1 - See more at: http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple_stories/simple-sketches/#sthash.E4TjpRfz.dpu

Life Documented with I Heart Summer

Hi everyone! Allison Davis here today to share my first Life Documented project with you using I Heart Summer!

The Life Documented philosophy of sharing your memories in a quick, simple and meaningful way mixes well with what I do, create sketches. My goal when creating sketches is to help others save time and make the process of putting a page together easier giving you more time to focus on the photos, the story, and the memories.

One of my favorite things about sketches is that they are a great tool for any scrapbooker, even the seasoned pros! To a beginner they can be a guide from start to finish. To an advanced scrapbooker they can be a starting point to build on with their own creative ideas. I see the Life Documented products in the same way, from beginner to advanced, they work for everyone. Use them as they are for beautiful, effortless pages or add your own details and ideas to feed your creative needs. 

I am so excited to share a sketch with you today that mixes the Life Documented style with traditional scrapbooking!


You can download the full sketch with measurements and placements here: Life Documented Sketch #1

The right side of the sketch is designed to work with the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 4. The left side of the sketch is designed to coordinate with the right page but uses a more traditional scrapbooking design. It's like the best of both worlds!

Here's a look at my layout based on the sketch above.


I heart the I Heart Summer collection! It was the perfect fit for a layout with our Summer vacation beach pictures. With this sketch and the Pocket Pages I was able to include a lot of photos (12 total) which is always a plus with vacation albums.


On the left page I created waves with two strips of paper and layered the smallest one over the larger one with foam adhesive. Making the waves is a super simple technique and one that I use often.


All you need to create the wave strips is a circle punch, I used a 1" punch for these waves. Flip the punch over so you can see where you are punching and then punch half circles along the strip.

I like to make my waves/punches at different heights. You can also use two different sizes of punches on the same strip for a similar look. After I punched the waves I added hand stitching along the tops to define those edges and help them stand out. (I also happen to have a stitching addiction and can't seem to make a page without including it!) I finished the waves with some of those cute fish stickers.

Here's a closer look at some more details on the left page:

I made some paper splashes and placed them so they are peeking out from behind a surf board sticker.

The title is constructed with several different letter stickers, the beach arrow sticker, and the fun little chipboard anchor.

I used a tab sticker and word sticker at the top of the photo and added a yellow brad to the center of the sun on the tab.

The right page took very little time to put together thanks to the Pocket Pages and cards! I added a few of my own details to the cards and photos.

On the 2 x 12 strip I added some stitching along the black strip and a few smaller pictures at the bottom.

I also added a stitched border around the quote bubble on the 3 x 4 fish card.

On the top photo I added my journaling.

If you don't have a picture with lots of open space like I did, try using a 3 x 4 photo with a 3 x 4 journaling card in that space. You can mount them on a 6 x 4 piece of cardstock to keep them in place in the pocket.

I think the middle card is my favorite out of all of them! The surf boards are so cute and the "life's a wave..." phrase fit so well with pictures of my son, Drew, attempting to boogie board.

I sanded the edges of my photos to help them stand out. I actually did this with all the pictures on my layout.

On the "Fun in the Sun" 4 x 6 card I added a few arrow stickers and sun to match the saying on the card.

On the bottom 4 x 6" picture I added a few word stickers to the top and bottom corner. I love word stickers! They are one of my favorite go-to embellishments!

My favorite part about this layout is that by using the Pocket Pages and cards I ended up with a detailed look without spending a ton of time it! The cards were so cute and I just added simple little touches here and there like the word stickers and stitching. When I'm working on a vacation album I need to save all the time I can on each page and I'm convinced that the Pocket Pages are the perfect way to do that!

I will be using the 12x12 Sn@p! Leather Album in black for my Life Documented pages. I love the leather and how well constructed the albums are.

I used the 12x12 Sn@p! Pocket Pages, Design 4 from the Variety Pack. You get so many different options and great designs with the Variety Pack!

Other I Heart Summer products I used were:

• Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers

• Expressions Cardstock Stickers

• Chipboard Stickers

• Decorative Brads

• Smooth Sailing Patterned Paper

• Daydream Patterned paper

• 3x4 Journaling Card Elements

• 4x6 Journaling Card Elements

• 2x12 Border & 4x12 Title Strip Elements

• Sn@P! Cards

I hope you have fun playing with the sketch and all the Life Documented products!

Happy 7th Anniversary to PageMaps: In the City

Hi All! Wendy here and wishing a Happy 7th Anniversary to PageMaps!

The design team here at Simple Stories is so excited to join PageMaps in its month-long celebration, and all the party details can be found here.

Simple Stories participated in the "On The Border" challenge with Lynn Ghahary, where we had to use three border designs on our project, along with this PageMaps sketch below for inspiration.

What a fun challenge!

And here's my take on the sketch....

My layout was inspired by the sketch (ok, obviously, ha!) but also from a recent trip in March to NYC with my fiance.  His first time in the city and we had a blast! A few of my favs from the sketch are the ink splashes/sprinkles of confetti.  I wanted the sparkle and excitement of the city to shine through in my layout. Also, I love the super fun focus on the variety of border strips.  

The ledger paper from the Urban Traveler Simple Basics Kit is just that, simple + basic.  You can choose to jazz it up (as I made my layout) or keep it simple & toned down.  I love the neutral tone to this paper and just the freedom to work it with some color, if you like.  I used splashes of inks, mists, and those super cool new brads from Urban Traveler.

You can work the border strips in the sketch with many options.  I love variety & a bit "out of the box", so I went this route....

• Stamps: Used a cityscape stamp for a repetitive stamping of a city border to play on the NYC landscape of skyscrapers.
• Border Punch/Silhouette Cameo: I used my Cameo for the filmstrip movie border.  This is a fun touch on the Broadway theme and movie feel to the city.
• Ticket Stubs: I used a strip of ticket stubs from my stash of scraps as a fun accent as another border strip.
• Sticker Border Strips: The Simple Stories collections have an awesome variety of sticker border strips in every collection.  I used sticker border strips from the Urban Traveler collection.

I used the clock accent as a play on the "city that never sleeps".  Also, the pictures in my layout were taken in Times Square, NYC.  So, rightly I added in this dimensional clock accent.

I love the 24/7 banner sticker here from the 24/Seven collection. I combined it up with a torn cardstock cut accent from my Silhouette Cameo and wood veneer numbers.  

I hope you enjoyed my take on this sketch!

We'd love to see what you create with this same challenge and we've sweetened the pot with a prize package of our newest release, "I Heart Summer!"

You can join the challenge here.

Supply List | Simple Stories:

Urban Traveler  

•     12x12 Simple Basics Kit - Navy Dots/Ledger #2918
•     Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers #2902

24/Seven  

•     Expressions Cardstock Stickers #3103
•     Decorative Brads #3126

Be sure to check out the full supply list over on my blog here.