Teal Simple Stories Album

Hello!

I have been waiting for my new Simple Stories Sn@p album to come in the post the past few days, since the weekend really. I have been laying in wait for the postman pretty much daily. He's probably starting to think I'm either a mad woman or have some kind of dippy crush on him. I only say this because, to be honest, I've never really seen the postman before this week so I can only imagine what he must now think when every day this week as he pulls into our drive the curtain in the front hall window starts twitching and then there I appear in the doorway before he's even come to a complete stop.

Suffice it to say, it came today and I was more than pleased! Mainly I was looking for something creative to occupy me until my laptop comes back, as mentioned in a previous post. I already knew before the album arrived what paper I wanted to use on the front cover - the blue and white chevron paper from the Simple Stories DIY Boutique 12x12 simple basics kit.
 

After I tore into the shrink wrap and cut my paper for the cover I started pulling out all the embellishments that I thought I'd want to use.
 

 

Since the album is about our life I thought it would be apt to use the script lettering "Our Life " die cut I had made. I wanted the cover to be quite simple, include a title, the year and a few embellishments.

 

This picture is where I am laying out the title and paper on the album cover to see if I like how it looks. I do have to say that the inspiration for the style of the title came from a layout by Mel Blackburn over at Studio Calico here.

 I added some American Crafts Thickers for the date and my embellishments - a Simple Stories brad, a DIY Boutique love-heart sticker, a Mambi Sticks puffy sticker and a Studio Calico chipboard arrow banner.

 

The end result

Was happy to have something crafty to keep me occupied. However, its meant to be another week before I get the laptop back so not sure how I will spend that time.

Thanks for stopping by to have a look!

(Blogging is a whole new concept when you have to create your entries via smartphone so apologies for any mistakes or wonky bits.)

Have Your Cake and Eat it too!!

Hello All!

Today I am trying the new Simple Stories Insta-squares page protectors.  I have an Instagram account so I do take a few Insta-pictures but I don't always use them in my layouts on a regular basis.  However, I did see these page protectors used in an album on another blog (sorry, can't remember who - more than likely it was probably Kristine Davidson I'm guessing) and I liked that it gave the album another dimension so I thought I would order some, see what I could create.   

 

I am using them for a layout to document a lunch date that I have with my friend Sarah.  Typically we meet once a month but recently, due to a few things going on in her life and mine, it hasn't been as regular as it used to be. I do enjoy my lunches with her as she always manages to put me in a better place once I have spent the afternoon with her so I do miss the time together but as we all know, sometimes life can get in the way!  She is trying to focus on the moment at finishing her curriculum to become a Yoga instructor so I can understand the pressure and need to take time to do this, as I remember what my college days were like (although just between me and you that was a LONG time ago).  

 

For this layout I wanted to use brown as a primary colour to tie in with the chocolate cake - something that is irresistible to me!!  My cryptonite!  Ashamedly I will do just about anything for chocolate cake. I am the epitome of that pin on Pinterest that shows the first picture of a really fit girl with the quote "I'm so doing this" and then the second picture of a baby with cake all over it's face with the quote "did someone says cake?".

 As pink is my go to colour, and I think pink and brown go so well together, pink was the secondary colour I chose for this layout.  Plus I wanted the layout to have a fun element, brighten it up and I also wanted to do a bit of layering with the primary photo as I had a few pink scraps I wanted to try and use up.  I recently purchased some chipboard letters by Basic Grey called Grand Bazaar, that are brown and pink, so thought these would be perfect for this layout, and they were!  They worked so well with the colour scheme.

 

 

You may be wondering why there are just pictures of cake and none of Sarah if I had a lunch date with her.  Some of my friends don't mind being included in the blog but some, like Sarah, would prefer not to be so I respect that and keep the pictures of her and I private as asked.

 

After creating the layout with mostly pink and brown I thought it could use a few highlights so decided to add a bit of gold, as it goes really well with pink and mostly just about anything! Thought it was the perfect final touch. 

The final double page layout

SUPPLIES | For the left page:

The brown background paper is Bazzill. For the various pink paper behind the cake photo - one is Echo Park "Dots & Stripes" (bottom) and one is called Garden Party by Pebbles (top). As for the pink polka dot paper in the middle, not sure as this was a scrap. The pink tag, split in half behind the photo is by American Crafts, very old. The "sweetie" tag down the left hand side of the photo is actually the top of a Bingo card by Simple Stories. The pink tab with "Have Your" on it is the top part of a PL card and the lettering are by Simple Stories Typeset. The wood veneer (painted pink) is by Studio Calico and the gold glitter dot is by Twine & Ink. The "delight" Dymo style tape is Marcella by Kay, the stripe below that is Echo Park, the stripe below that is washi tape stuck to white cardstock (don't know the brand) and the tag below that is from a PL card that was cut up. The "Love This" chevron bubble next to the cake photo is by Mambi Sticks and the gold label at the bottom is Studio Calico as is the gold arrows.  

For the right page: The background paper is old Daisy D's. The letters spelling out "Lunch" are Basic Grey called Grand Bazaar. The wood veneer love hearts are Studio Calico. The "with" letters are Simple Stories Typeset and the letters spelling out "Sarah" are by Bella Blvd called Playdate. 

Thanks for dropping by to have a look!

Christine   : )

Was wondering, for those who have visited my blog before, do I focus too much on the personal side of the story? Too much on the scrapbooking process? Or not enough of both?  Neither? Do let me know. Your comments would be welcome!