Take 5: The Boo Crew

Hi! Today I am up on the Paper Issues blog to showcase this month's Take 5 challenge!  

The list had lots of fun options, but I was drawn to using the

 free Paper Issues cut file  patchwork pumpkin and the word, Boo.  

Check out the rich autumn tones and patterns from the  Forever Fall line from Simple Stories. 

It is hitting my heart strings with the Elle's Studio wood grain paper in the background.  

Hello, Fall beauty!!

From the Take 5 October list, I selected:  Boo (cut file title), patchwork pumpkin cutfile, large title, stitching, border, and a tag

With cut files of this size that dominate the layout design, popping them up with foam adhesive adds a slight shadow and depth to add more interest against the rustic woodgrain background.  I adore when you can paper piece cut files and use up your favorite paper scraps as well!

This cut file and title was cut out of another Simple Stories collection tone on tone patterned paper.

  It adds subtle interest with the slight pattern and is a fun change from standard cardstock.

 I also splattered the cut file with gold mist drops before I added the paper backing pieces.

As for my photo, my crew of trick or treaters was unposed 

and unaware I was snapping their picture.  

Love when you can just capture a small moment in time!

The stitching added to the rustic look of the Elle's Studio background wood grain paper and the colors used in this Forever Fall collection.  It added a basic border around the layout and finished it off. The baker's twine secured the cute fox tag and was easy to add to the pumpkin stem!

Definitely grab this wood grain paper (it's in stock!!) and 

the Simple Stories Forever Fall collection for any kind

 of autumn celebration or photos of fall!  

It is beautiful and so very versatile even for Halloween!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  

Get your October challenges submitted in the Facebook

 group anytime before November 4th!

I look forward to seeing your Take 5 challenge entry or

 any of the others that are waiting for you!

Tag us on social media when you use a Paper Issues

 cut file or play along with a challenge. 

 I look forward to gathering inspiration from you!

Get your SHOP on and stop by Paper Issues for all of the best!

Save 20% with my code: Stacie

Fall Crop is just a few weeks away...

be prepared and get some new items to inspire you!

Happy creating, friends!

Read It: Pinspire Me

Hello! A fun September mood board is ready for you in the 

Facebook Friends and Fans group. I was so inspired by the stack of books that

 I immediately set out to use my Silhouette to cut books and use them with my son's photo! 

Check out my blog post at Paper Issues to check out the moodboard and other details!

September's Mood Board:

For the book cut files, I grabbed my watercolors 

and chose colors that matched the Simple Stories Lil Dude papers.  

After drying it, I added fine line doodle outlines with my WE R ruler on each of the books 

to give the stack of books more definition.

I love the reflection of the book and my son in the countertop. 

 It was a fun picture to capture because usually they are 

hiding in their rooms when they read!  

I love the text overlay in the Thickers and in the patterned paper.

 It all adds details to the reading theme which is an extra bonus!

Tone on tone stickers and little enamel dots for pops of color.

  I hope you check out the September challenges on Facebook,

 especially the Pinspire Me moodboard challenge.

I have so many challenges I can't wait to try out!

Have you checked out the August kits? The swag bag and the kit of the month are beyond awesome and full of fun!

Blue Ain't Your Color is on my desk right now.  

There is so much included!

Get yours before it's gone!

Don't forget to check out the new cut files

 that are always free in the store.

Save 20% on all of your favorites in stock at Paper Issues!

code: Stacie

Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Page Maps- September Sketch

We partnered with Becky Fleck of Page Maps this month at Paper Issues

 and here's my take on the sketch!

You can see I mixed up the sketch and used stars in place of the hearts. 

 It was so much fun to stitch on a layout using lots of colors to coordinate.

The Simple Stories Lil Dude collection was fun to use

 and it paired so well with Ryan's photos from Hawaii.

Check out more PI Design Team team ups with Page Maps on the Page Maps blog.

You can find all of the Page Maps sketches

 for September and play along! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Free File Friday: 3 2, 1...Happy New Year!

Today we are ringing in the first Friday of the new year with Free File Friday at Paper Issues. Use numbers with a Paper Issues cut file or use a number cut file to document the new year, past year, list of favorites from the holidays, goals for the new year, top three(five, ten) memories of the past year, use a cut file and layer number stickers or Thickers on it, coordinate a cut file with numbers...anything goes! 

 I played along with Sub Zero by Simple Stories.  My littlest is five and he is obsessed with getting his own skates to play hockey on the pond in our back yard. He definitely has had a countdown to winter of 2018 for months now. I converted the Celebrate 2018 cut file into a stitching cut file.  Grab one or both from the free files. The 'Countdown to' from Top Ten cut file made my title work along with the big numerals. 

Yay for new snow.  Excited for the flakes to fall!

This baker's twine is from the We R Memory Keepers Stitch Happy collection.  I used the baker's twine as the perfect thickness to stitch with!

I used lots of Simple Stories ephemera pieces, stickers and chipboard.  Sub Zero is such a fun collection.

Join us at Paper Issues and grab all of the free cut files while you are looking!  

They are always a free download.

Play along with this challenge and so many more now through Feb 4th.

Red Cup 2017

It's Scraplift Sunday at Paper Issues and we are lifting a fun circle grid design by Rachel. When I saw it, I instantly got to thinking about a Starbucks Red Cup holiday design. I love this gray toned wood grain from Simple Stories as the base of this fun and festive cozy holiday design.

Pink Paislee Turn the Page by Paige Evans has the perfect red (Paper 17) and green for the Starbucks cups! Use up your B sides of patterned paper for some subtle tone on tone pattern and a layer of color! Crate Paper FaLaLa has the perfect color embellishments in the chipboard, stickers, and ephemera pack!

 Pink Paislee Turn the Page wood veneer star is perfect for holiday pages! Silver thread doesn't photograph well, but it sure adds sparkle in my album!

PI cut files Circles and Snowflakes has additional snowflakes in the download and I used these to tuck through out the layers in the design. Yes, the one circle cup was ripped, but I salvaged it without having to make a Starbucks run to drink another coffee for the sake of crafting!!

Join us at Paper Issues now through Dec 31st for this scraplift and all of the other challenges! We hope you will play along! 

Back to School

It's a new Project Pocket challenge at Paper Issues.  I documented the start of last school year with Simple Stories Old School.  This was fun to put together and get into the album.  I love mixing it up and adding pocket pages into my albums when the spirit moves me or time is ticking!

A few close up looks:

Use up those text stickers, random stickers, and extra labels on your pocket cards.Add messy threads, flair, and enamel dots for texture and interest!

Add washi tape on top of your photos for a fun layer of text or pattern to cover plain parts of your photos.

I hope you will check out this fun challenge on the PI Blog. 

 An easy way to get started is to use your cut apart papers

 that are usually included in each collection.  

Save 20% at the PI store with my code:

Stacie

Thanks for stopping by! 

Let's "Taco" About It! New Driver in the Fam

The July Issue at Paper Issues is all about talking or Tacos...and all things in between!  "Let's Taco 'bout It" is the theme.  I went with using a speech bubble and lots of expressions I experienced having my oldest start driving!

I  love the new Stitch Happy sewing machine and put it to work sewing strips of paper horizontally to play off of the driving theme and create roads (Check out the stones Doodlebug paper for dirt roads!) like the one Ethan is driving on to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

I used a mix of Simple Stories #Whatever paper collection, Emoji and Doodlebug Design Dragon Tales papers. I love the Simple Stories small word strips that come in their 4x6 sticker sets. The Doodlebug Dragon Tales sticker sheets have fun words, stars, and speech bubbles.

I love the Doodlebug clouds paper at the top.  The overlapping clouds are such a fun print for an outdoor adventure.

 Thanks for stopping by my blog!

We can't wait to see how you use this new issue theme for July.  

Play along and post your project on the Paper Issues Friends & Fans group on Facebook.

If you have boys or need to document your teenager driving, check out the supplies I linked above!

Save 20% off of everything you buy at Paper Issues.

Summer Fair Fun

Happy Father's Day to all of the amazing guys out there! Today we are celebrating and scraplifting an amazing design by Anna.  Here's my take using new Simple Stories Summer Days. Go check out Paper Issues blog post for everyone else's cool design variations on this scraplift.

A few more to get a closer look:

I was messing around with various stitches as Anna has stitching on her layout.  I was using the We R Stitch Happy machine and was not watching the tension settings--so I stitched a few times on some spots to make it look purposeful and messy!  Sometimes you just have to embrace the mess. I super love my new We R pink sewing machine! 

The photo's shadow angle from standing under the midway fair games tent gave the perfect design nod to an angled layout. It was fun to mix a bunch of Summer Days prints and papers together to go with the bright and playful photo of Ryan winning at Whac-a-mole!  I sprinkled ephemera pieces and stickers from Summer Days around to mimic Anna's Pinkfresh design elements.

Thanks for taking a peek!  

I have been missing playing with paper and

 was so happy I could play along with this week's scraplift!

Save 20% with my code: Stacie at Paper Issues

Scraplift Sunday: Things I Love

Today we are lifting an awesome layout by Amy Coose on the Paper Issues blog.  I was inspired by the use of the frames and little embellishment clusters.
 I had fun stashbusting Crate Paper Heart Day, Maggie Holmes, Cocoa Vanilla Studios embellishments, and more.  I had been hoarding the pink woodgrain paper from We R's Love Notes collection.  A picture of peonies and Starbucks were epic enough for me to bust out this pretty paper!

This LO was a two day adventure in placing items, moving things, adding embellishments, and then finally coming back to it to glue it down and commit to it!

It's such a sense of accomplishment when you can pull together multiple manufacturers and make products work together.  It was fun to stash bust so many random bits for this one. Crate Paper Heart Day for a non-Valentine's Day layout, sure did.   Love the phrase chipboard Thickers from Maggie Holmes' Chasing Dreams!  The Crafty Pocket flair was the perfect fit for this design.

 I loved pulling out Cocoa Vanilla Studios Make a Wish collection and using the florals and wood veneer.  A bit of AC Hazelwood got added in for this mash up of all things pink!

  I hope you get inspired to play along with the awesome challenges at Paper Issues. Scraplift Sunday is just one of my faves!  There are sooo many to try.  There's definitely something for everyone!  Post your projects now through June 4th.

Save 20% in the Paper Issues store with code:

Project Pocket: The Mouse & Me

A new challenge at Paper Issues is live on the blog today: Project Pocket!  I pulled out my new stash of Simple Stories Say Cheese III.  My son had an epic experience with meeting Mickey Mouse on Main Street.  Mickey grabbed Ryan's hand and walked him over to kiss Minnie Mouse and then paraded him further to his meet and greet spot!

A few close ups to see more Simple Stories, Mickey Mouse and Ryan:

I cut down larger Simple Stories pocket page cards to fit in the 3x4 pockets.  Layering chipboard stickers, cardstock stickers, flair and enamel dots are an easy way to personalize pocket page cards and to create dimension in the pockets.

My enamel dot Mickey to add more pops of black against the darker red.

Thanks for stopping by!  It was fun to get back into the Project Life style creating and get more pictures into albums!
I hope you'll try out the new Pocket Project challenge and get creating layouts and scrapping in the pockets!
Save 20% on all things in stock at Paper Issues.  Use code: Stacie

Emoji Love

Product Spotlight time on the Paper Issues blog --it's all about Simple Stories Emoji Love!

 This collection worked so well to document my daughter's birthday party from last spring. 

 She had all the girls do a craft and they each made an emoji pillow.  

It was a lot of fun and this photo is perfect for sharing!

The close up of the cool pillows made by the girls.  The cardstock stickers from Simple Stories Emoji Love were so much fun to use for this layout.  I often add foam adhesive under the stickers to pop them up and create layers with the stickers.  I love the skinny rainbow striped paper as a photo mat.

The wide striped paper by Simple Stories is always a favorite in their collections.  

This is the side B to the 2 Cool patterned paper with emoji words on it.

Loving the dimension and shadows it casts on the stripes.  

I seriously love the wide stripe paper as it becomes a base for the design and perfect starting spot for mixed media splashes of color.  Fringe scissors would be fun for this paper as well!

Always be a unicorn!  Yes, always! 

I love the fun layers of stickers and using the technique

 of layering tone on tone whenever possible.

  I kept the splatters of watercolors to the same color stripe area, too.

Have a great day and head on over to Paper Issues 

for the fun Emoji Love paper collection as well as so much more!  

Save 20% on all of your favorites with code: Stacie

Also,  check out the free emoji cut files in the free files section!