Tides & Treasures - Simple Stories - Simple Vintage Sand & Sea Collection

Hi everyone,

It's Rebecca here today, sharing my first layout and blog post of the month. This month, I'm lucky enough to be working with the beautiful Simple Vintage Sand & Sea collection from Simple Stories. I'm always drawn to coastal and nautical-themed collections—probably because my parents live surrounded by coastline, so whenever we visit, we spend lots of time at the beach! The full collection will be in the shop for you to purchase very soon!

To begin, I selected the two striped patterned papers from the collection—one red and one blue—which work beautifully together and provide a lovely contrast. I cut small sections from each paper to create two fishtail banners, making one slightly smaller than the other. After distressing the edges for added texture, I layered them at an angle on a sheet of Premium White Cardstock. I then positioned my photo on top, printing it twice and mounting it on white cardstock to add extra dimension and interest.

Next, I created clusters on either side of my photo using pieces from the Bits & Pieces pack, including a sandcastle, a large crab, and a starfish. I didn't want to over-embellish around the photo, as the striped papers already add plenty of visual interest. Keeping the embellishments simple helps ensure the focus remains on the photo rather than the surrounding details.

Above and below the patterned paper banners, I added several tags from the Tag Elements paper along with florals from the Floral Bits & Pieces pack. I chose tags in coordinating colours and arranged them into two clusters to help balance the design. Adding metal eyelets to the tags provided an extra touch of texture and detail.

For my title, I used one of the Foam Stickers. I love the dimension these stickers add to a layout, and they make creating titles so quick and easy. I placed the title to the left of my photo, filling a space I had intentionally left open during the design process.

To finish the layout, I scattered a few tiny heart die-cuts from the Bits & Pieces pack around the page for a subtle final touch.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy my layout and that it inspires you to get creative yourself. With the summer holidays fast approaching, I know I'll have plenty more beach-themed photos to scrapbook, so this certainly won't be the last time you'll see me working with this gorgeous collection! 

Take care,

Rebecca xx

@preciouspagespapercraft

Simple Stories ~ Take Note #3 🏷️

Hi everyone, it’s Anna back with you today to share my third and final layout using Simple Stories - Take Note. 

You can find the collection in the shop here. 

To create this layout I used bazzill cardstock as my base. I had the full sheet of tag elements left in my kit of this collection, so I decided to just use the tags to create my page. I love the Simple Stories tags and they can be used in so many ways to create a full page layout as well as feature on one. 

I cut out all of the tags individually and chose 12 of them to use on this page, just leaving 3 unused.

I arranged the tags on my layout, and adhered multiple mini photos to the tags. I joined some of the tags together by punching a hole at the top of them and threading through some twine. 

Once I was happy with the placement of my photos, I adhered them to the tags and then began adding clusters of embellishments. 

I used the Floral Bits and Pieces and the Element stickers, tucking them around the tags and photos in clusters. I completed my layout by adding a title using alpha stickers. 

Thanks so much for looking. 

See you in March with a new collection! 

Anna 

@acraftylifewithanna