Hello and Happy New Year!  I'm  kicking off the all new 2021 challenges on the Paper Issues blog. Have you figured out the January theme? That's right! Games!  So let's get these games started already! First up is the Pictionary challenge. You can call it a mood board, I call it full of ideas! There are games, colors, shapes, pretty much anything!

I was giddy when I saw the Game Boy! Umm, maybe I still have one 😮 My son and I love to play Mario Kart, and yes we still have our Wii. I suck, but we always have fun and laugh while we play.

 I grabbed the last bits of Simple Stories Bro & Co. I never in a million years thought I would use the game controller stickers, but man was I happy to have them! I literally layered a bunch of scrap pieces under the photos, then tucked the few remaining journal bits I had as well. Oh and that banner?  I fussy cut from the Level Up paper! I wanted to make a fun light hearted page with these photos. Mission accomplished!

Thanks for starting the new year with Paper Issues. Join our Facebook group to find all the new January Challenges. Enter one or enter them all. Each entry gives you a chance to win a gift card to the Paper Issues shop! Grab your favorites in the shop and remember to use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. See you next time!

 

Quite the Spread

Hey there, hey there. It's my turn on the  Paper Issues Blog today.  I'm making lists of all the things I have...oh wait. Nope, scratch that. I'm sharing my layout for the Makin' a List, Checkin' it Twice challenge!  

So lists! I make them. Don't always follow them. Couldn't come up with one to save my life when I needed to for a scrapbook page. Ahhh, but then Thanksgiving rolled around. There was so much food. Why not list everything we made and ate! So that's what I did. Yep. We had a lot of food

Let me back up a bit though. Thanksgiving and the November kit were made for each other, but I couldn't find a background paper that made me happy, so I made my own. I know, I know, I have hundreds of papers and I couldn't find one? Anyway, Distress Oxides and Vicki Boutin Stencils to the rescue. I smooshed the background then layered darker colors over the stencil. After I painted, I cut, tore layered and glued papers and ephemera. And I have to say the Simple Stories frames were my favorite part of this kit! A little secret? I combined a few of the sticker words to make the word Thanksgiving. It's not perfect, but it works!

Thanks for stopping by today! Head over to the Paper Issues shop to pick up the December Kit and some Distress Oxides. Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. Join our Facebook Group to find this and all of the December challenges. See you again next time!

Thankful for You

Hey there friends! I'm on the Paper Issues blog  today with a project for the Ties That Bind challenge. So this challenge was bit more difficult than I thought. Yes, yes I know I could have tied a knot or a bow and called it a day but really that is not much a of a challenge for me? 

Well, enter the November Kit! As soon as I opened it the ideas come flooding! It's filled with Simple Stories Cozy Days and, oh, where should I start? How about these awesome chipboard frames! I tied some twine around the pumpkins stems, then a bow around the top of the frame. 

Maybe I should back up a bit...because before I could even lay down any paper, I had to make my background!Yes, that's right, I jumped on the Distress Oxide train. I mixed some colors through an Altenew stencil . I think I am never going to use a solid background again. 

Anyway, I trimmed, layered, tucked and tore a few papers and ephemera, then reconnected the two sides by tying them back together with more twine. And come on, I think we need to talk about how these two young men are the ties that bind, to each other and to me!

Thanks for stopping by today. Head over to the shop fast to grab yourself a  November Kit, some Distress Oxides and anything else that catches you eye. Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. Share what you make with us in our Facebook Group where you can find this and all of the   November Challenges. See you again soon!

 

Stop, Drop & Read

Well Hello there! Did someone say Books? Oh yeah!  I'm on the Paper Issues Blog today sharing this project for the Book Worm challenge.

There couldn't have been a challenge better suited to me. When he was a little boy, I would find him sitting exactly like this. On the floor, in the grass, in his bed, sitting the exact same way. 

Simple Stories Bro & Co couldn't have been more suited for this photo. I'd been waiting to use the So Rad paper for just the right photo. You should know by now I like to put paper to work for me. It makes putting a page together so easy!  Well, that is after I pushed the photo, ephemera and stickers around for an hour 😁 Those stripes! Could there have been a better place to house a title?!?!?  Every time I looked at the Level Up paper, all I saw were banners, so I cut it up! It ties in all the colors and adds some whimsy. Easy Peasy. It's simple, but detailed. 

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. I have all my projects on Instagram @thebeachygal as well. There is still plenty of time to join the September Challenges. You can find them and join all the fun and games in our Facebook Group . I think I have enough Simple Stories Bro & Co for one more project. It's still available in the Paper Issues Shop. Grab some for yourself and use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. 

Buzzed Bros

Oh Boy! It's a new month of challenges and I'm sharing my first one on the Paper Issues Blog today. Did I already say Oh Boy? I meant Oh Buoy! No, there will be no boats or anything nautical. This page is all boy! My boys and their freshly self done haircuts that is. 

I've been so inspired by Danielle and her mixed media mayhems that I decided to give it a try myself. I created the background using Vicki Boutin foundation paper, art crayons, both wet and dry and stencils. 

Once I had finished the background, I had to figure out the rest. Well, I had already chosen Simple Stories Bro & Co to use.I grabbed a couple of papers, mostly Live Out Loud. I even used both sides! I combined some Combo Cardstock Stickers and Journal Bits to created some cool embellishment layers. The Foam Phrase Stickers are ready made titles. Who doesn't love that? 

There you have it.  I hope I inspired you to try mixing the media! I loved it! Head over to the Paper Issues shop to get yourself the things I used here and so much more! Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. Find this challenge as well as many more in the August Challenge album in our Facebook group. We cant wait to see what you make!  See you next time!

Master & Apprentice

Oh hello! I'm up on the Paper Issues blog today sharing my layout for the Grill Skills challenge. 

We have so many jokes about grilling in my family. I couldn't pass this one up. We call my Dad the Grill Master, and my husband the Burn Master. 

This was the perfect opportunity to cut into Simple Stories Summer Farmhouse. I'm a sucker for anything with primary colors as it is. Throw in a summer theme and I'm all in! I started with the Sunnies and Sandals paper for the background. Woodgrain background? No brainer! I knew I wanted to make pinwheels out of the Simple Pleasures paper. So that's what I did. They worked perfectly as a border between the photos and the title! Speaking of the title, if you don't have any of the Simple Stories Foam Alphas, you are missing out. I have them in every color, I used navy today.  The finishing touches are layers of Journal Bits and Combo Cardstck stickers. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. When I'm not here, you can find me on Instagram @thebeachygal. See you again soon!

Fall Wreath

Hey there! I'm on the Paper Issues blog today with a project inspired by the Aspiration challenge. I made something totally different than usual for me. I made a paper wreath.

Now, I probably should tell how how I got from a cake to a wreath right? Well, here goes. It's not really that big of a leap. I was inspired bu the circles, the stacked layers, and the navy blue accents. 

The fabulous Thankful 30 Kit had just arrived and I couldn't wait to dig in to it. It is filled with the best mix of fall papers!!! I was already working on my Thankful 30 project, and just in the grateful mood. I had seen a paper wreath last fall at a local craft store and decided to make my own. 

I grabbed all of the Simple Stories Fall Farmhouse  papers from the kit, cut all the strips, about 60 of them, then glued them into loops and layered them around a chipboard circle. My favorite part of this is the giant bow I made from the Polka Dot Heart & Bow cut file.  See! Circles, layers and navy blue. 

It's good to change things up a bit!  Sometimes getting our of my box sparks a little extra creativity. Now I cant wait to go make more things!

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Catch more of my stuff on Instagram @thebeachygal. Join the fun in our Facebook group where you can find all of the November Challenges. You can get the Thankful 30 kit, Simple Stories and so much more in the Paper Issues shop. Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase.

Stay Cool Bro

Hey there! I'm sharing this layout on The Cut Shoppe blog today. It features the new Stay Cool Bro cut file.

Come on. I kinda feel like this was made just for me. There are so many ways I want to use it. Because there's always more than one way to use a cut file right?  Today though, is simple. Two boys, brothers, bright colors, inspiring sentiments. Boom. 

There are many layers to this cut file. I used the innermost lines, backing it with the entire outline of the file. Using this Simple Stories L'il Dude brightly colored stripe highlights the cut file and gives my page so much fun energy. It really was very easy to put together! It's such a statement it only needs a few embellishments. Small clusters of mixed ephemera, chipboard, stickers and A Flair for Buttons flair finish this off perfectly.

I'm so happy you stopped by my creative view today.  I have so much more to share and hope you come back again soon.  We love to see how you create with our cut files. Share with us in our Facebook Group, The Cut Shoppe Scrap Spot. See you next time!

Rock the Year

Hey there! I'm sharing this layout on both The Cut Shoppe and A Flair for Buttons blogs today. First, I want to show you how I used one of the Traveler's Notebook cut files from the Story Teller group on a 12x12 scrapbook page. It was super easy!

One of the things I like to do with all of my scrappy supplies is to use them in ways that suit me, and that's not always as there were intended. Well, this cut file is no different. I loved the Alphabet one from the minute I saw it. I thought it would be great for a back to school page, which is what I did today. All I did was enlarge it. Yep. I didn't change the proportion or anything. Then I centered it on my page, using it as a back drop for my photos.  See? Easy! Its big, stands out and looks great!

I stuck with the school theme using some Simple Stories School Rocks collection. I was so excited to use the new Back to School2 flair! The books one fit perfectly on top of that green notebook don't you think? How about that ABC-123? Yep. Goes perfectly with this cut file and paper!  Sometimes its fun to go super themed. Today I'm glad I did!

My son loves school so much. It keep him on a routine which is good for all of us, but besides that, he knows it's his place to go to be himself. He likes his teachers and his friends. I'm so happy knowing he wants to be there.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Im starting off December right, and plan to crate the whole month. Come back again to see what's new!

Dude Played Us!

Hey there! I'm on the Paper Issues blog today, and I'm playing along with the Let's Get Sketchy challenge. Here is the sketch which you can find in the November Challenge album in the Paper Issues {Friends & Fans} Facebook Group

Ready? Here's my page. So here's the thing about sketches. You can have 10 people using the same sketch and every one will look different. Why? Any number of reasons, we all use different paper, we all have our own style. We can flip it, turn it upside down. Anyway, I love them. And this one does not disappoint. They are often a starting point for me. Sometimes, I follow them exactly. Other times, like today...Well, look for yourself.

I think I used the last of my Simple Stories Li'l Dude for this one. I love these bright colors!  So I stayed pretty close the the sketch on this one. Ok, I added a few layers, some extra bits and bobs, using stickers and  bits & pieces but you see it right? 

If you haven't figured me out by now, I also love a bit of humor too. See this kid? He's laughing all the way home after saying goodbye to his brother when took him to college!  So yeah, he played us BIG time!

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today.   We'd love to have you join the fun. You have until Dec 3 to enter your projects for a chance to win a Gift Certificate to the Paper Issues store, where you can find so much new stuff, including Create Paper and Echo Park. Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off tour purchase.  See you again soon!

16 Things

Hey there and good morning! Not sure about you, but when I journal on my pages, it usually in a small space that doesn't disrupt the design.  Today on the Get It Scrapped blog, we are sharing ways to make those stories the focal point of your pages. 

Birthdays with my son are special. Every year I write a Facebook post about how far he has come, of how he has changed. This year I wrote something different, in a list form, sharing who he is, with anecdotes and details so that others can see that his disability doesnt define him, or me.

I typed up the story which I dont usually do. I handwrite all my journaling. I placed it on a dark colored matte so it would stand out. The photo and embellishments are small and are there to support the story. You cant tell a story about him with out having a visual...

This particular story was easy to tell and easy to feature. I would use this approach for other easy stories again.

I wanted a happy festive feel to the page, but a design that would focus on the story. I used Simple Stories Li'l Dude whose stripes, dots and sentiments matched not only the feel, but sentiments in my story. This also gave me a chance to play along at Paper Issues with the Listful Thinking challenge. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. I have a lot going on this month, so come back again soon.

Supplies: cardstock-American Crafts, Paper, stickers, chipboard, die cuts-Simple Stories, Printer-Epson

Fresh Start

Good morning and Happy New Year! Im starting the year off right with a brand new layout created for the brand New Issue at Paper Issues! We're Off To A Fresh Start today and hope you are too. Need some ideas to get you going?

We want to see projects about your plans, intentions, or resolutions for the new year. 

Use 2018 on your project

How did you ring in the new year?

Share any project you like, anything goes!

I used the new Simple Stories 2018 collection to reflect a bit on 2017 and declare a literal fresh start for 2018. I cut apart a couple of the 3x4 cards, one with a silly inspirational sentiment.  I layered part of the Top Ten cut file on the blank card. The saying was prefect. I tucked a bunch of scraps everywhere to add more color. I chose to stay simple with stars as the primary embellishments,  adding some flair to soften the edges. that's it. 

No,  2017 was not my favorite year. Too much stress, not enough fun. I'm not sad to see it go. I welcome 2018. It's going to be better. It's a fresh start, a do over if you will. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of what 2018 has to offer. 

Thanks so much for celebrating New Years Day with me and my creative view. Celebrate with Paper Issues too! Join the fun in our Facebook group. Shop using DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase!

Supplies: PP-Simple Stories, Amy Tangerine, Crate paper, stickers-Amy Tangerine, Freckled Fawn, Pink Paislee, American Crafts, Flair-A Flair for Buttons, Silhouette

Time Flies

Good morning! How did is get o be December already?!?!? Anyway, welcome to the first challenge of December at Paper Issues!  It's Sketchy Saturday. Wanna see the sketch?

It's a pretty fantastic sketch don't you think? I like it because it gives me a chance to play with clustering and layering, two things I like to do. A lot. First up, figuring out how to do all that and make it work. All I had to work with in the Simple Stories Old School is tickers and papers. Nothing a little fussy cutting and pop dots cant fix! Let's throw in some flair and acrylic stars in there too for something different. Hey look! It came out great!

I remember taking that photo on the first day of Kindergarten like it was yesterday. It's pretty hard to believe it was 12 years ago already. There is some truth to "Time Flies the you are having fun". Now I want time to slow down a bit. So much and not enough have happened over the last 12 years. I need to remember it all. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Come bak again soon. I'll have a lot going on this month. 

Head over to the Paper Issues shop to get new Crate Paper, Simple Stories and PhotoPlay. you dont want to miss out! Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase.

Supplies: CS & alpha-American Crafts, pp-stickers-Simple Stories, acrylic-Color Cast Designs, flair-A Flair for Buttons

Squashed

Well good morning to you this fine Labor Day Monday. Its a new month which means it's time for a New Issue at Paper Issues. Let's Give Them Pumpkin to Talk About why don't we?  Our Issues are so fun. There really are many many ways to interpret the themes. Here are some ideas to get you started:

anything to do with fall (apple picking, fall traditions, pumpkin patch)
favorite thing about fall
use a fall collection for a non-seasonal page......and the list goes on!

I was inspired by fall in general. I had the new Carta Bella Hello Fall to play with as well as some Simple Stories Hello Fall from last year. So that's pretty much where I started. After thinking through some ides, this one kept growing. I altered the Patchwork Pumpkin cut file by erasing the horizontal lines, filling it with larger pieces of patterned paper. The photos were originally one 4x4, but after finding that 'favorites for fall' in the Tags & frames, I cut them apart. I layered some other bits, then added some green for a bit of contrast. I love it and it screams of some of my fall favorites.

There used to be this cute little farm near us that had a fall festival near Halloween time every year. One of my favorite things about it was they had several new varieties of squash I had never seen before, complete with description of flavor and how to prepare them. They were so colorful and unique in shape. I not only took photos, we bought some as well. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. This is a super fun Issue theme and I hope you play along with us, Too can find all of our September challenges in our Facebook group. You have until Oct 2 to enter your projects.

You can get this beautiful  Carta Bella Hello Fall and so much more in the Paper Issues shop. Use my code DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. See you again soon!

Supplies: CS-Paper Accent, PP-Carta Bella, Simple Stories, photo corners-Queen & Co. die cuts-Carta Bella, clip & enamel dots-Simple stories, twine-Doodlebug Design, flair-A Flair for buttons, spray mist-Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp, Silhouette

Livin' That Mom Life

Hello and welcome to one of our new challenges at Paper Issues, Add it Up. The idea behind this is we will select products and techniques, then assign them a point value. Each month, there will be a target number to achieve. You will create a project using the products and techniques, until they add up to that target number. Here, I'll show you this months board:

Here is my layout with a 125 ish point value. So lets see:

Stitching-10

stamping-10 (on the wood veneer)

Patterned paper- 5x4 = 20

cut file-5

journaling-5

photo-5

flair-1

wood veneer-4x3 =12

chipboard-3

tags-3other embellies-brads-2x3=6

stickers-2x9=18

enamel dots-1x11=11

So do you get the idea?!?!? This month has a high point target. Next month may have a lower one. So for today, pile on what you are comfortable with or try something new! 

I'm all about sarcasm these days so this Emoji Love by Simple Stories really has my number (see what I did there?) I know there are two camps on the poop emoji, love it or hate it. It is a family inside joke, so I am in the LOVE IT camp. i layered up 3 different papers, using 2 Cool behind the cut file, and OMG as the main background. I cut apart the 3x4 page because, well,  poop emoji ;-). I used all kinds of the embellishments, including brads, stickers, die cuts and chipboard to further enhance the sarcasm. Not sure it was really necessary, but whatever (see I did it again). But seriously, this collection makes me smile, and that's what this hobby is all about right?

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my Mom life. I am privileged to be able to have this life. But the truth is, sometimes I feel like I need a SuperHero cape. Instead, my husband got me this shirt. It says I'm the "poop emoji". Ok, I'll take it. Like I said, inside family joke. But really, somedays I have to just laugh too get through it. If you can't laugh at yourself, why bother. 

So, I'll say it again, thanks for stopping by my creative view today. I hope I've given you a good explanation of this new challenge and a reason to go get some Simple Stories Emoji Love.   Remember, it's 20% off when you use my code DEVRA at checkout. 

Supplies: PP,  brads, stickers, die cuts and chipboard Simple Stories Emoji Love, enamel dots-MME, wood-Freckled Fawn, Studio Calico, ink-Stazon, stamp-Snarky Stamp by Paper Issues, Flair- A Flair for Buttons, silhouette, thread-DMC

Emoji Love Mini Book

Happy Sunday Morning to you! I went a little but crazy this week and made a mini book! I never make mini books! But the Simple Stories Emoji Love is a little but crazy, and screamed at me to do something different, So I did!

I started with an old 6x6 chipboard album, covering all the pages with several different Emoji Love  papers. I chose some random family photos that I could totally make fun of using all the emojis.

 The 3x4, 4x4 and 4x6 cut apart papers were key to making this project quick and easy. And always, always embellishments! They are my weakness! I used them all!! Because the die cut ephemera,  Cardstock stickers, chipboard pieces and decorative brads added all the right silly details!

To finish off the book, I cut some of the emojis from the Feeling all the Feels cut file to use as page turners. They are so cute peeking out the top of the book!

Clearly this project was all about the papers and embellishments.  Emoji Love is so wacky and fun I had to go all out creating something just as silly and fun. This collection just puts a smile on my face.  If you can't laugh and have a good time creating, what's the point right?

I am definitely calling out Emoji Love as something you need to have. Really. Treat yourself. When you do shop, use my code DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase.  As always, thanks for stopping by my creative view. I appreciate you being here and ant wait to show you more projects!

Supplies: mini book-American Crafts, PP, chipboard, stickers, die cuts, brads-Simple Stories, ribbon-May Arts, flair-A Flair for Buttons

Vogue

Well hello!  Today's Get It Scrapped  blog article is a topic close to my heart. The subject is taking inspiration from pop culture in certain decades. I was given the 1980's. 

I grew up in the 1980's. My memories are of music icons, fashion influenced by them and fun slang language, some that I still use today. I used these influences in color, texture and motif on this page. Neon colors of pink, green and turquoise are grounded by black and white. Records and cassette tapes reference music, the lace of fashion influenced by music artists such as Madonna and Boy George. Some my favorite slang words and phrases are also scattered throughout the page. 

 My friends and I took over the photo booth at a sorority reunion.  We were celebrating 30 years of friendship, that began in the mid 80's, making this an easy decade to inspire this layout.

Thanks so much for being here today. I appreciate you following along my creative view. Come back again.I have much more to share.

 
Supplies: Patterned paper-Simple Stories, Amy Tangeine, Card Stock-American Crafts, Stickers-Simple Stories, WRMK, Amy Tangerine, Fancy Pants, Die Cuts-Amy Tangerine, lace-May Arts, enamel dots-Doodlebug Design, Freckled Fawn, washi tape-AmyTangerine, Freckled Fawn, sequins-Michaels, Silhouette, Die cut-Stacie Dietz for paper Issues, design inspired by Cassie Box
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