Documenting Routine with Susan Brochu

September 27, 2018

What routines do you have in your life? Today design team member Susan Brochu is giving us a little peek into her everyday morning rituals with a brand new pocket page using our September 2018 Kit and add-ons in such a beautiful way. Let’s take a look!

Hello, everyone! It’s Susan here with a project using the September 2018 Kit and add-ons. The kit is filled with all sorts of fun pocket cards, but I used it here to document my summer morning routine on a new 12″ x 12″ layout.

Supplies | September 2018 Kit, September Labels, September Label Stickers, Hazel Alphabet Stickers — White, Noteworthy Bits and Pieces, Noteworthy Puffy Stickers, Noteworthy 6″ x 6″ Paper Stack, Noteworthy 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection

The two 3″ x 4″ tags that I used on the page gave me the idea for this layout. In keeping with the theme of my page, I backed each of the tags using the green floral print patterned paper in the Noteworthy 6″ x 6″ Paper Stack. The September Labels provided a nice spot for my title and here’s a little tip: I just cut around the outside border of a grouping of three of the labels, keeping them together as a set. Then I placed adhesive on the reverse side and added them right to the 3″ x 4″ “the story of” tag. It was much easier to keep them straight by adding them as a group of three versus adding each label separately.

The “Notes from Today” 3″ x 4″ tag, also from the September Kit, had lots of room for my journaling and I circled all the days of the week along the top of the tag to reinforce the theme of a daily routine. The bottom of the tag held the word “date” and I didn’t really want to specify one specific day, so I used the appropriate “life currently looks like this” Noteworthy Puffy Sticker to cover the word and fill in the rest of the space. That’s another tip: don’t be afraid to cover sentiments that don’t suit your purpose! There are plenty of options in the monthly kits and embellishments that I’m sure you’ll find something that suits your needs.

I used the white Hazel Alphabet Stickers to add titles to my page and all of my photos. I overlapped the tiles to help me fit them in the spaces I had both on the tags and on the September Labels, adhering them first to a piece of waxed paper and then transferring them as full words where I wanted them on the page. One last tip for you: it was much easier to transfer the words as a whole than as single letters. There are so many letters on the sticker sheet, too! I used just one sheet and easily made all the words I needed for my page, and I still have plenty left on the sheet to use on other projects.

I embellished the page with die-cuts from the September 2018 Kit and the Noteworthy Bits and Pieces, and then matted the entire page on a fun polka dot patterned paper from the Noteworthy 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection. The multi-colored polka dots bring together all the colors in the photos and embellishments.

So as you can see, the monthly kits are not just great for pocket pages, but they’re pretty perfect for using on layouts, too!

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Title Builder Love with Tracey Fox

September 26, 2018

As a title lover, I make no secret about the fact that I think the Title Builder products are the absolute best thing since sliced bread! Together, the 6″ x 8″ Title Builder Stamps (Volumes 1 and 2) give you over 70 stamps to mix, match (and even hack) into a virtually endless supply of great-looking titles for all of your creative projects. Combine them with the Title Builder Alphabet Stamp and the Title Builder Acrylics and Wood Veneers that are also available in the shop, and you become a veritable scrappy titling force to be reckoned with!

Supplies | September 2018 Kit, Notes From Today Journaling Tags, Here and Now Phrase Stickers, Hazel Alphabet Stickers — White, Right Now Stamp, Title Builder Vol. 2 Acrylic, Title Builder Stamp, Title Builder Vol. 2 Stamp, Title Builder Alphabet Stamp, Noteworthy 6″ x 6″ Paper Stack, Noteworthy 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection

I reach for these products all the time, and most recently, I used a combination of them, along with some of September’s latest releases, to tell a special story about my nephews’ first day of school this year.

I knew right away that I wanted to try stamping a long title in a circle, so I traced a large circle in pencil onto a sheet of patterned paper from the Noteworthy 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection. Using the Title Builder Stamp, Title Builder Vol. 2 Stamp, and the Title Builder Alphabet Stamp, I started planning out a title that would fit all the way around it. Most of the stamps I used were in the same script font, which created an especially cohesive look to the title. Since the acrylic stamps are flexible, I was able to bend them slightly so that they curved around the circle. A stamping platform came in handy to help with this placement!

I filled the gap between the first and last word of the title with the cute solid and outline circle stamps from the new Right Now Stamp. These little stamps can come in so handy for adding a little extra embellishment to your projects! I also couldn’t resist using some of the lovely little sparkle stamps from the Title Builder Vol. 2 Stamp around the title to help illustrate how special and magical this story is to me.

I used a smaller circle as a template to create a pie chart design out of five patterned papers from the Noteworthy 6″ x 6″ Paper Stack, which added a colorful foundation for my 3″ x 4″ photo and a 3″ x 4″ tag from the Notes From Today Journaling Tags. I tucked die cuts, scraps and fussy cut label shapes from the September 2018 Kit underneath the photo and tag to add some extra layers for added interest, and I added the acrylic word “perfect” from the Title Builder Vol. 2 Acrylic among the layers.

I filled out the tag with white Hazel Alphabet Stickers to quote my nine-year-old nephew as he sweetly instructed his little brother to take his hand so he could walk him to class on his first day of kindergarten.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! If you haven’t already started your Title Builder collection, you’ll want to head to the Elle’s Studio shop ASAP to scoop up these amazing sets while they’re still in stock. I can’t wait to see what creative title combinations you create!

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A Weekly Story with Guest Designer Jen Wong

September 25, 2018

Guest designer Jen Wong has “wowed” us with a pocket page spread using creative stamping, a printable heavy traveler’s notebook spread, and now she has another pocket page to share with us today, using her clean and colorful style with our September Kit and add-ons. Let’s see what she is documenting:

Hi everyone! I’m back with my third project using the September Kit and add-ons from Elle’s Studio. For my final project, I completed a spread in my weekly 12″ x 12″ pocket page album. The greens, aqua, and gray in the kit worked great with my photos from this week!

Supplies | September 2018 Kit, September 2018 Digital Cut File, September Labels, Here and Now Stickers, Jane Alphabet Stickers — Teal, Jane Alphabet Stickers — White, Good Eats Wood Veneer, Days of the Week Chipboard Stickers, Puffy Heart Stickers Summer Mix, Noteworthy Puffy Stickers, Right Now Stamp

I love the big handwritten “story” that is featured in several of this month’s products and so I decided to feature it for my title tag. I used the September 2018 Digital Cut File to cut “story” out of a piece of 4″x 6″ white cardstock. I backed the cut space with vellum in order to add back the cut pieces of some of the letters. I adhered the “this week” chipboard circle from the Days of the Week Chipboard Stickers and then used the circle from the Right Now Stamp to create a fun confetti pattern. I love that the circle stamps from this set can be used in a variety of ways!

I often like to combine different embellishments to create interest. I paired the summer mix Puffy Heart Stickers with two of the Good Eats Wood Veneer pieces on a couple of the photos. I like how the colorful puffy stickers bring in additional color to the wood pieces. I also combined the “High Five” die cut from the September Kit, a September Label, and a puffy star sticker from the Noteworthy Puffy Stickers on the photo with my daughter making her own magic wands.

The teal Jane Alphabet Stickers are the perfect size for adding captions to photos. I used the white Jane Alphabet Stickers to add captions to an adorable photo of a mother and baby hippo at the zoo and added additional letter stickers to a photo of another beautiful landscape we saw. I also paired the “in one word” Here and Now Sticker with “Brittany” spelled out in the teal Jane Alphabet Stickers to create a title with the photo from my partner who was overseas in France at the time. I like to include photos from the whole family, even if we’re not always together!

Thanks so much for having me as a guest this month! I had so much fun working with this month’s products and I hope you will too!

I’m Jen Wong and I live in San Diego with my family. I started scrapbooking several years ago as a way to document the traveling I was doing in mini albums. When my daughter was born, my desire to pair stories and photos together only intensified, and I started creating on a regular basis so I wouldn’t forget everything as the time flew by! I love how this hobby lets me tell the stories behind the photos and remember the everyday moments.

When I’m not playing with paper, I can be found developing software, swimming in the ocean, running up the trails, and spending time with my family. You can find more of my work on Instagram and on my blog!

Thank you so much, Jen, for sharing your beautiful, clean and colorful projects with us this month! Be sure to share Jen at the links above to see what future projects she creates!

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September Design Team Inspiration: Volume Three

September 24, 2018

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A Season Documented with Neela Nalam

September 22, 2018

Whether your child is an all-star MVP, or wins an award for sportsmanship, being a part of a team is an important part of their adolescence to record, and Neela Nalam is illustrating that beautifully in the new layout she’s sharing with us today.

I consider journaling to be a very important aspect of every single project that I make. Whether a little or a lot, I always incorporate words telling a story or providing context for the photo in the spread. Elle’s Studio monthly kits and add-ons are just perfect for this. One of my favorite releases this month are the Go Team Products: Stamp, Journaling Tags and Wood Veneer. How perfect are these to get all those sports stories told! I have stories from so many different sports over so many different seasons between both of my boys—so many that I got overwhelmed. So, I thought that the best thing would be to start from the most recent story and then go back in time. I decided to tell the story of my younger son’s baseball season in the spring of this year.

Supplies | September 2018 Kit, Go Team Journaling Tags, Hazel Alphabet Stickers — White, Go Team Wood Veneer, Go Team Stamp

I wanted to document an overview of his season on this spread. I love the journaling tags included in the Go Team Journaling Tags and I wrote the story of his season on the “Game On” tag. I wanted to especially document that he won the sportsmanship award. This does not mean that he is the best player, but it means that he is there for his team and teammates all the time and I love it.

Another thing that I wanted to document was the fact that his team went all the way to finals of the championship and won! How amazing is the “Final Score” tag? It was perfect for documenting this.

I used the Go Team Stamp to add the phrases “teamwork,” “practice makes perfect,” and “good game” on the colorful dot journaling tag from the September 2018 Kit that I cut apart into strips.

I also cut apart the blue patterned 4″ x 6″ tag from the September Kit to use below the Go Team Wood Veneer baseball bat and ball. I also used a part of that same tag as a mat for the title, which I spelled out using the Hazel Alphabet Stickers.

I hope that my son will love seeing this spread and reading the story of his 2018 baseball season later in life. I know for a fact that I will love looking back at this story. Thanks so much for looking!

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“Inspired By” with Wendy Antenucci

September 21, 2018

Sometimes all it takes is a spark of inspiration from a fellow creative to get us excited to create, and today, Wendy Antenucci is sharing how she was inspired to document a special memory by a layout created from another one of our design team members! Let’s take a look!

Hello everyone, it’s Wendy here today with a layout inspired by Neela Nalam’s amazing labor of love layout from our August reveal gallery!

I was so captured by Neela’s use of the circles at the top of her page and the grid style layout that I just had to document a story using this same approach.

Supplies | September 2018 Kit, September Labels, Title Builder Vol 2 Wood Veneer, Hazel Alphabet Stamp, Right Now Stamp, Noteworthy Stamp, Noteworthy Bits and Pieces, Noteworthy Epoxy Stickers, Noteworthy Puffy Stickers, Noteworthy 6″ x 6″ Paper Stack, Noteworthy 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection

My page began with my large photo and the strip of colored paper forming my “photo block”. I also included the “the story of” 3″ x 4″ tag from the September Kit, as I wanted to have enough room to tell the story of this beach day.

Then the labor of love began! I punched out tons of 1.25″ circles from various 6″ x 6″ papers in the Noteworthy 6″ x 6″ Paper Stack. I’ll let you in on a little secret: I laid the circles out upside down on my grid cutting board. I was then able to take some thin washi and tape the strip of circles together. This allowed me to be able to move my circle row around until I found the perfect placement.

To make my title, I turned to my favorite pastime. I fussy cut the words from paper #3 in the Noteworthy 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection. To make my title stand out even more, I also used the word “good” from the Title Builder Vol 2 Wood Veneer.

Some heartfelt journaling was a must on this layout and I allowed my thoughts to take center stage so that the emphasis was on the precious memory captured.

Final little details were added with some Noteworthy Puffy Stickers and some stamping. While I don’t use large pictures often, it is a nice change in pace, but I do try to keep embellishments to a minimum in some instances.

What memories do you need to tell, both good and bad? Take the time today, be inspired and write your story, it can never be lost that way!

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Size & Scale Using the Story Acrylic with Jess Forster

September 20, 2018

Have you ever noticed how using really big elements on your projects can draw your eye to exactly what you want the focal point to be? Today Jess Forster is here to share a new pocket page spread, and a little lesson about scale on your layout! Let’s see what she created.

Hands up if your a fan of the Story Acrylic from Elle’s September release? I think I love everything about it! The font, the size and it’s in my favourite colour to boot: white! If you are like me, sometimes, I collect scrapbooking supplies with every intention of using them, but then I don’t! This month, I was determine to not be a collector! Have a peek:

Supplies | September 2018 Kit, Quoted Journaling Tags, September Labels, Here and Now Stickers, Story Acrylic

In this 6″ x 8″ double page layout, I used the acrylic word to highlight the conversation my son and I had at bedtime. Fun fact: my three year old is now a chatterbox in the evening and this new stage of development was a fun moment of reflection to capture. Instead of overthinking where I was going to use the supply, I simply combined the acrylic word with the journaling tags from September Kit, Quoted Journaling Tags, September Labels and Here and Now Stickers. The idea was to make the Story Acrylic a focal point for the page, helping guide the viewer’s attention around layout.

I attached the acrylic word to my 6″ x 8″ photo of a recent picture of my son using a combination of red line tape and permanent adhesive. I was conscious of having a neutral background and found that the barn in the photo I used provided some consistent “white” space. I loved that the word looks so big on a 6″ x 8″ photo and creates a bold dramatic feel when viewing it as a whole.

Using the arcylic word was very much inspired by the oversized navy blue quotation marks on 4″ x 6″ blue journaling tag from the Quoted Journaling Tags set. I love how Elle’s designs have small, eye catching details. Remember, when creating your own layouts, keep you eyes open to the products you are using— inspiration is everywhere!

Bottom line: it is super fun to play with perspective in the products you are using. The Story Acrylic can be used in a variety of traditional, card and pocket page layouts, including a 6″ x 8″ double page layout, shown above. No need to hoard supplies—use them!

Thanks for looking!

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Documenting a Food Journey with Meghann Andrew

September 19, 2018

With so many tags and embellishment that released in September to document food, why not create an entire project about your love affair with food, your favorite meal or, as Meghann Andrew is sharing with us today, a change in the way you eat? Let’s take a look at her introspective project!

Hello there! It’s Meghann Andrew with you, and today I’m here to share a brand new layout and pocket page combination spread that I created using the September 2018 kit and add-ons, all about my journey to eating better.

Supplies | September 2018 Kit, September 2018 Digital Cut File, New Season Printables, September Labels, September Label Stickers, Here and Now Stickers, Hazel Alphabet Stickers – White, Green Puffy Alphabet Stickers, Good Eats Wood Veneer, Right Now Stamp, Mini Dated Stamp, Noteworthy Puffy Stickers, Noteworthy 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection, Family Fun 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection, Live Laugh Love 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection

I had not planned on doing any special documentation about my month of Whole30, but when I saw the plate and cutlery included in the September 2018 Digital Cut File, I knew that it would create the perfect layout, with a pretty food photo in the center of the plate!

The green leaf pattern frame from the Family Fun 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection and the numbered pattern found in the Noteworthy 12″ x 12″ Paper Collection created the perfect background for this layout. To match the green in the frame, I added the word “whole” around my plate using the Green Puffy Alphabet Stickers and added colorful circles around the edge of the plate using the Right Now Stamp. Those circles are so versatile! I also wanted to bring all of the colors found in my photo to the layout, so I added the diagonal striped 3″ x 4″ tag from the September 2018 Kit at the top.

To offset the weight at the top corner, I added the “the facts” tag and the “new season” tag, trimmed to just the top portion at the bottom of the layout. The colorful September Label Sticker added the same colors that I have on the opposite side of the page. Since this layout was about why I decided to try Whole30, I added the “you’ve got this” Here and Now Sticker on the label.

I had so much more about the month to document, so I added a design J pocket page to the spread! A selfie placed on the colorful New Season Printable 3″ x 4″ tag added the same colors from the left side of the page, the bit of red in the “note to self” September Label Sticker balanced off the red on my layout. From there, I added green, the main color from my layout.

My favorite pocket in the page is a photo of my lunch topped with a September Label, the “so happy about this” Here and Now Sticker and the “lunch” Good Eats Wood Veneer. At the bottom, I added the hashtag that I frequented during the month using the awesome white Hazel Alphabet Stickers.

The majority of my words about this month was placed on the ledger 4″ x 6″ tag from the September 2018 Kit, and the green space on the left was the perfect width to add the fork and knife from the Good Eats Wood Veneer. I stamped “highlights” at the base using the Right Now Stamp and added the “let’s do this” die-cut from the kit to the top.

If you want to take a closer look at how I create this spread, check out my process video below! You’ll see how the layout looked before I added the green frame, see my easy trick for placing the Hazel Alphabet Stickers perfectly and find the link to the back of my pocket page, where I share my before and after photos!

Thanks so much for joining me today on the blog! What foodie adventures will you document with this month’s kit and add-ons?

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Weekly Favorites with Guest Designer Jen Wong

September 18, 2018

How do you document your most favorite moments of the year? A layout, or a pocket page? That process can be time-consuming, so why not try to create a simple traveler’s notebook spread for each special memory? That’s what guest designer Jen Wong is sharing with us today, created using the new digitals from our shop! Let’s see how it came together.

Hi crafty friends! I’m excited to be back on the Elle’s Studio blog to share my second project with you using the September add-ons. One of the projects I’m working on this year is documenting a favorite memory every week in a traveler’s notebook. For my second project, I documented my favorite moment from Week 32: enjoying a picnic at the beach and watching the sunset with my family.

Supplies | September 2018 Digital Cut File, September Print and Cut Labels, Shapes and Dots Puffy Stickers, Right Now Stamp, Jane Alphabet Stamp

I love that Elle’s Studio offers coordinating digital files to completely customize your projects. The flexibility of digital files and the ability to use them over and over again makes them 100% worth it to me!

I selected several different shapes and sizes from the September Print and Cut Labels to use in my spread, changing a few of the colors to match the muted colors in my photos.

I also used a few of the images from the September 2018 Digital Cut File. I placed the dinner plate PNG image directly on one of the labels, which was easier than trying to mask the image out from the stamp set. I also resized the “Yum” and “Good Eats” images, printed them out, and used them as die cuts on the pages.

Having the digital files makes it easy to add journaling too, since I can directly add the text to the label before printing it out.

After printing and cutting out all of my labels and elements, I arranged them on the pages. I used the Right Now Stamp to add “On The Menu” and “Favorite Part” on a couple of the labels. I also used the Jane Alphabet Stamp to add a title to the long label.

Although I tend to keep my notebook spreads on the flat side (so I can eventually close the notebook!), I couldn’t resist adhering several of the cute puffy hearts from the Shapes and Dots Puffy Stickers.

Thanks for checking out my project and I can’t wait to see what you are making with your latest Elle’s Studio goodies!

I’m Jen Wong and I live in San Diego with my family. I started scrapbooking several years ago as a way to document the traveling I was doing in mini albums. When my daughter was born, my desire to pair stories and photos together only intensified, and I started creating on a regular basis so I wouldn’t forget everything as the time flew by! I love how this hobby lets me tell the stories behind the photos and remember the everyday moments.

When I’m not playing with paper, I can be found developing software, swimming in the ocean, running up the trails, and spending time with my family. You can find more of my work on Instagram and on my blog!

Stay tuned for one more project from Jen coming to the blog next week! Until then, be sure to see what other favorite memories she has documented in her traveler’s notebook by following her Instagram feed!