SCT Magazine: Patterned Paper Technique

Hello, friends! Today I’m up on the Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine blog with a layout using the gorgeous Simple Stories Remember collection. The colors of this collection are perfect for scrapbooking these photos of my parents on their wedding day where their colors were blue and avocado green, complimented by the harvest gold carpet of the reception center. Can you believe these colors are making a comeback?!

One of my favorite supplies is patterned paper. I love it so much that sometimes it is difficult for me to choose which papers I want to add to my layout. Read on to find out how I narrow down my choices to create a layered background for my pages.

The first thing I do when selecting papers for my layout is hold each pattern up to my photos to see which colors look the best. Next, I hold the papers next to one another and decide which patterns look best combined together. For this layout, I chose to go with mostly gold tones.

The first paper I chose for this layout was the dark gold floral paper. I liked how it looked with the deep teal cardstock and cut a band of it to go across the center of the page.

I wanted a strip of patterned paper to anchor my main photo, so I cut a contrasting strip in a black floral and matted it with Moss cardstock.

That still felt a bit too simple, so I decided to implement one of my favorite techniques … combining strips of patterned paper together in one color. You can see that I added the gingham check strip and the wallpaper floral pattern in gold above and below the black floral strip.

The layered strips combine together to form an interesting layered background that compliments the colors in my photos. Once the background and photos are in place, then it is time for the most fun part … embellishing!

Embellishing this layout was easy with the Simple Stories Remember collection. There are so many beautiful florals, butterflies, and ephemera pieces. Perfect for accenting this layout including my parents’ wedding photos.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at my layout today! Stop by the SCT Magazine YouTube channel to see a process video of this layout.

Happy Scrapping!

SUPPLIES USED IN THIS PROJECT:

SCT Magazine: Creating a Pocket Page with the Simple Stories Love Story collection

Hello, friends! This week is LOVE WEEK on the Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine Blog. Today I’m up sharing a lovey-dovey pocket page using the Simple Stories Love Story collection! I think you will agree with me that this collection is totally swoon-worthy with its beautiful, rich color palette and romantic details.

My husband and I were married on January 23rd, so, for me, Valentine’s Day, and celebrating the people I love, begins a few weeks earlier than most people. Life has been busy for both of us lately, so this year, our anniversary celebrations were short and sweet with lunch at a favorite restaurant. 

Even though our photos felt a bit ‘everyday’, I wanted to capture our special day in a beautiful way, so I opted to create a pocket page. We have been married for 27 years now! Yay!

 

I began with a 4×6 pocket page protector by Doodlebug Design. The first thing I like to do is to create a ‘title’ card for my pocket page spreads. For this one, I used a large, floral doily die-cut as the base, then layered the chipboard ‘Love Story’ overtop with a pair of floral die-cuts. A few Decorative Brads add a bit of shine.

I like to print my photos smaller than the 4×6 canvas, so that I have room to play with patterned paper layers, embellishments, words, and journaling.  Placing the smaller photos and journaling in their own decorated sections makes each one feel highlighted and special on their own, don’t you think?

I knew I wanted to use lots of romantic details and embellishments on this layout, so I decided to keep my color palette monochromatic with accents of sage green. I used the same backgrounds on all six slots, alternating between the damask patterned paper and the solid paper.

The damask cards are accented with strips of typewriter paper, and the solid cards have striped border strips. This helps tie everything together. From there, I used Ephemera die-cuts as the base for each embellishment cluster on the different cards. 

Creating embellishment clusters is so much FUN! I always begin with die-cuts, choosing a main image then anchoring it with other shapes. I add words, then sprinkle in things like butterflies, hearts, brads, or enamel dots for dimension.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my pocket page today using the stunning Simple Stories Love Story collection. There are so many romantic, lovely details in this collection and I can’t wait to play with it again! Have you created a pocket page lately?

Happy creating!

SUPPLIES USED IN THIS PROJECT:

My New Job at Simple Stories!

Last week it was announced that I’m back at Simple Stories and I’m more excited than ever to tell you about the new program I will be overseeing … Simple Stories Online! Simple Stories Online are online workshops from Simple Stories that will be taking place every other month featuring one of their latest-and-greatest collections.

The first event will take place in March 2024 and is for sale NOW! The Fresh Air Event will feature the darling Fresh Air collection. We will be making layouts, a 6×8 SN@P! Binder, and additional bonus projects. The cost of the event is the same as the products, so when you purchase your kit, you are receiving the EXCLUSIVE class projects, instructions, LIVE experiences, and community as a BONUS! It’s an amazing value!

We have formatted the schedule for the classes a bit differently, spreading them out over the month so that you have time to focus on each project. We want to fit into your creative life and help you get into a pattern of creating! It’s going to be so much FUN!

There is LOTS of information about this NEW program, the schedule for March’s event, SNEAK PEEKS of March’s projects, and the schedule for the remainder of the year over on the Simple Stories website. CLICK HERE to check it out!

I also did a LIVESTREAM last week talking about everything. You can watch that on my YouTube channel HERE.

Come CREATE with me in March! Class Kits are LIMITED and will begin shipping in Mid-February.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them here!

Happy creating!

Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine: 12 Days of Holiday Giving with Simple Stories

Be sure to pop by the Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine blog this week as we continue to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas! Today I’m sharing a layout featuring the beautiful Simple Stories ‘The Holiday Life’ collection. The traditional color palette of red and green in this collection, underscored with black and soft cream, will compliment your holiday photos perfectly this season!

OH WHAT FUN

I began this layout by stitching various 11″ wide strips of patterned paper in a block to a base of Color Vibe Avocado cardstock. These patterns looks so cute together and add a homespun, cozy Christmas vibe to this layout.

Next, I created a cascade of snowflakes floating down the left side of my layout using two die sets from Scrapbook.com, Nested Circles and Snowflakes. The snowflakes were die-cut from Color Vibe Warm White cardstock and the circles were die-cut from the dotted side of the Color Vibe Brick cardstock. Each snowflake circle is accented in the center with a shiny Simple Stories Decorative Brad.

I also accented each snowflake circle with floral stickers and die-cuts for added holiday flair! The cluster of Journal Bits in the top-left corner of the photo call your attention to the journaling.

I love to look for larger scale pieces that I can fussy-cut from the Simple Stories Element papers or 6×8 paper pad to decorate my pages. This time, I found large tile letters in the 6×8 Paper Pad that I used for my title. I tucked in more stickers and die-cuts around the letters to tie the title in with the rest of the elements on the page.

The Journal Bits include so many fun shapes and word die-cuts that are perfect for accenting your layouts. I found two tiny tags that I layered together, then tied to the bottom of the photo using white twine.

Scrapbooking with the Simple Stories ‘The Holiday Life’ collection definitely put me in the mood for the Christmas season. I’m ready to deck the halls! How about you?!

Thanks for coming by today, see you again soon!

SUPPLIES USED IN THIS PROJECT: