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Instagram Collage Templates + Simply Stripes Combo Pack now Available in the Shop

This just added to the Digital Shop:

Save $2.00 when you purchase my Instagram Collage Templates + Simply Stripes customizable digi paper as a set! Available for purchase here.

To see how I use include these instagram collage templates in my scrapbooks, along with a quick tutorial on how to use them visit this post. 

For more information about the fully customizable Simply Stripes pattern paper pack along with a quick tutorial on how to customize your papers to coordinate with your current project, see this post.

Simply Stripes Editable Pattern Paper Pack

Since sharing a post a few days ago about my instagram collages I’ve some emails asking about the striped background I’ve been using. It’s a layered file I created in Photoshop so that I can change up the colors each month to coordinate with my photos.
If you’d like to create a similar look with your collages or customize your own diagonal striped paper , I’ve put together a paper pack for you to use. The package includes 6 JPG files in the colors used in my my instagram collages plus a PSD layered file that you can customize in whatever colors you’d like to create your own custom backgrounds! Keep reading for more info on how to use this customizable paper pack.
Please note that these files are for personal use only!
The layered PSD file included in the set has a background color layer + a striped layer. To change the colors of any of the layers follow these simple steps. Note: Always begin by creating a duplicate, never edit on the original document.
Repeat the same steps with the ‘stripes layer’ using a color that contrasts with the first one that you chose. Hint: When I’m creating the striped background  for my instagram collages I have the photos that I’m using open and I select colors using the eyedropper tool directly from within my photos.
Once you’ve customized your colors you then flatten the document {never do this with the original file or you will loose the editing abilities} and then you can use the background in your next project. To add the striped background to the top of my instagram collages I simply copy and paste the striped paper into the collage, dragged the layer above the title block layer and created a clipping mask. You can then adjust the size of the striped layer by clicking CTRL-T and holding down the shift key while dragging the corners to make it bigger or smaller.
I hope that all makes sense, if you have any questions just let me know in the comments! Have fun creating your own custom digital backgrounds – they can be used in scrapbooking, on your blog, for desktop backgrounds etc. I just love these diagonal stripes because they’re so simple and classic! They’re super versatile and can be used in so many different ways! 

Simple as That is Going to Have a Newsletter!

Sign up now for the Simple as That newsletter that’s scheduled to start circulation in September! You’ll have access to exclusive freebies, special discounts in the digital shop + stay up to date on the latest news at Simple as That!

Recording Memories one Photo Collage at a Time


I’ve reached the six month mark in recording our family memories using my monthly photo collage templates and it feels SO GREAT to have all these memories documented and in my 2013 Project Life album! I’ve been doing this since 2010 and you can read more + download my free photo collage templates here. 

Recording our life in this way isn’t comprehensive – it’s meant to be a very simple way to compile a months worth of memories. It not only provides a way for me to get the essential memories compiled quickly and simply, but it’s also really helped me keep on top of my photo organization.


At the end of each month I make sure all photos are uploaded from my SLR camera and my phone, then take the time to erase all images off my memory cards  and empty the camera roll on my phone so I’m ready to start fresh in the new month. 

While gathering photos for my monthly collage I delete duplicate/unwanted images and then backup photos to my external hard drive. I don’t know about you but I’ve experienced a few scary moments where I thought I’d lost photos that hadn’t been backed up off of my computer and it was the worst feeling! I can’t tell you how important it is to establish a regular back up schedule so you don’t lose your images!

  The instagram photo template that I’m using was created to use in my Project Life  album with Becky’s 6 x 12 Page Protectors and its such a great way to summarize all my instagram pics at the end of each month. I’ve mentioned that I’m a huge fan of using templates before, right!?  They are such a time saver and I just love using them! 


All you have to do is drop in your photos, add some text + print! I probably spend anywhere from about a 1/2 hour to an hour creating these collages each month and it’s definitely time well spent!



Even if I don’t have time to sit down and do a lot of scrapbooking in any given month, I always know I’ll have these collages completed and that’s all I need most months to feel like I’m doing a little something to record our precious family memories. Time is a scarce commodity sometimes and I say that whatever you CAN do preserve your family’s memories is enough! 

You can find my free monthly collage templates here.
More about my instagram collage templates here.
For more detailed instructions on using my templates there is lots of info available in this post. If you’re downloading or purchasing the templates please remember, they are layered PSD files suitable for use in Photoshop or Photoshop elements.

If you’d like to use the same diagonal striped background that I used in my collages the Simply Stripes patter paper pack is available in the digital shop. The package includes 6 JPG files in the colors used in my my instagram collages plus a PSD layered file that you can customize in whatever colors you’d like to create your own custom backgrounds! For step by step instructions on how to customize the colors visit this post.

Regularly $5.00 the pack is available at an introductory price of $3.50 for a limited time!

Please note that these files are for personal use only!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! If you’ve been creating your own monthly photo collages for 2013 I’d love to take a peek at what you’re up to! Leave me a link in the comments or shoot me an email at cooper{dot}rr{at}gmail.com! 

Simple as That is Going to Have a Newsletter!

Sign up now for the Simple as That newsletter that’s scheduled to start circulation in September! You’ll have access to exclusive freebies, special discounts in the digital shop + stay up to date on the latest news at Simple as That!

Project Life 2013 on the Move Part 2

As most of you know, we just made the big move from Alberta, Canada to sunny Arizona a few weeks ago. I decided to make the most out of the many hours spent in the car on the way here to get a head start on recording the trip Project Life style!

Here’s the original post where I shared some of the details on how I planned to do it. Today I wanted to share how the pages from our trip have come together since we got settled in our new home. With most of the journaling already completed they came together so quickly!

I used a mixture of cards from the following Project Life kits: Kraft Edition, Midnight Edition, Seafoam Edition and neutral Baby Edition.
I also used a trip planning website to generate the map of our travels and then printed it as a 4×6 photo that highlighted the places we stopped along our travels.
I recorded the journaling on the PL cards with a pencil as we drove. That made everything easy to erase if I made a mistake or if we hit a bump along the road that may have little blip in my handwriting.

When I got around to creating these pages I simply recorded over the pencil with my favorite journaling pen. I found that I wasn’t able to fit all the info I wanted to on some of the cards with my own handwriting. I recorded front and back during the drive but when it came time to put my album pages together I opted to retype some of the journaling on the computer so I could fit more on the front of the cards. 

Having the journaling already complete for these pages made it super easy to put them together. I’ll definitely be adding a few project life cards to the packing list for our next trip! Having them with you is such a great way to jot down the details of your travels as they happen and gives you a huge jumpstart on recording those memories when you arrive home!
Happy Summer Travels everyone!
It’s great to be back to blogging! 

Displaying Children’s Artwork

I hope to be back to regular blogging starting next week, in the meantime I wanted to share this flash Friday sale I have going on today. Enjoy 50% off my Children’s Art Collage Template Set until midnight tonight! No coupon code needed, the price is listed in the shop. 
The school year has ended and I’m sure your kids came home with piles of unique artwork just like mine! With the help of these simple to use templates you can get a handle on that collection of children’s art and get it on display in your home! 🙂

The set includes four templates for displaying your child’s art:

8×10 – 20 image collage
11×14 – 20 image collage
8×10 – personalized collage for 16 images
11×14 – personalized collage for 16 images


Have a great weekend everyone and Happy July 1st to all my fellow Canadians! 

If you’re looking for some last minute Canada Day inspiration I’ve got you covered! 
Lot’s of ideas can be found here!

Travel Games for Your Next Family Road Trip

If you’ve got family travel plans this Summer that involve long hours spent in the car, be sure to check out this fun printable travel game that I’m sharing over at Simplemom.net today! Pop on over to download the free printable game cards and read up on a few ways you can use them to help keep the kids entertained on your next family road trip!
I thought it would be fun to share a free BINGO game version as well and you can download it right here! I used a similar game to help keep my kiddos busy during our move from Alberta, Canada to Arizona at the beginning of June and it was one of their favourite activities to do in the car!
Once you’ve downloaded and printed out your BINGO cards on cardstock {there are 6 cards in total} you can have them laminated or simply place each one inside a page protector. I gave each of my kids a sheet of stickers and as they found an item on their bingo card they placed a sticker on it. You could also use dry erase markers if you have older children.
What kind of fun plans do you have this Summer? We’re still getting settled here and plan to stick close to home this Summer and explore around the area we’re living! There’s plenty of new things to see and do around here and we’re absolutely loving it so far!
If you’re looking for more travel tips and ideas here are some other posts you might enjoy:

Phone Photography Project Giveaway Winners!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter the Phone Photography Project giveaway!
I’m thrilled to announce the winners + they are…
1. Jennifer Labre
2. Amanda Dickson
3. Vicky Bryan
HUGE Congrats ladies! Shoot me an email ASAP to claim your prize. If I don’t hear from you in 48 hrs I’ll have to pick a new batch of winners.
I’m really excited about this class! It starts July 1st and its going to be an absolute blast! There’s still plenty of time to register!!

For more information and to register for the Phone 
Photography Project click here.

Phone Photography Project Giveaway!

I’m SO excited about another incredible photography workshop through Big Picture Classes that I’ll be  involved in this Summer! This class is all about taking photos with your phone and it’s 
going to be so much FUN!

Keep reading to find out more about the class AND be sure you enter at the bottom of this post to win one of THREE FREE SPOTS in class being given away!

The Phone Photography Project

32 days of Android + iPhone photo challenges, daily inspiration, and app reviews. Need summer photo ideas or help improving your iPhone photography? Spend this July taking amazing photos with your iPhone or Android camera in The Phone Photography Project. 

In this month-long workshop, you’ll learn to take better photos with the camera you always have with you as you document your summer adventures—with help from 32 incredible instructors.
On top of daily smartphone photography challenges, 
you’ll also enjoy:
* dozens of tips and tricks from the pros for taking better photos with your mobile-phone camera
*a handbook of 60+ photography app reviews for iPhone and Android, so you know which are 
worth your time and money

*dozens of project ideas for getting photos off your device and into your world

*interaction with 32 experienced iPhoneographers and Androidographers, and hundreds of fellow students in a private classroom and on Instagram.
For more information and to register for the Phone 
Photography Project click here.

I’m honoured to be included in this lineup of inspiring photographers and I can’t WAIT to share some of my tried and true phone photography tips with you!

ENTER TO WIN 1 of 3 FREE SPOTS IN THE PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT:

Today Big Picture Classes is giving three lucky Simple as That reader the chance to win a FREE spot in this incredible phone photography workshop!

Simply follow the prompts in the rafflecopter widget below to enter. If you’ve already registered or would like to ensure yourself a spot before registration closes July 10th you can sign up now and if you win we’ll refund the cost of the class!

Good luck everyone!
Giveaway closes 6/22 at 12am MST. Giveaway is open to international entries.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Project Life 2013 on the Move

After hoping for this day to come for a long time now, its hard to believe that moving day is nearly here! We leave this Friday for Arizona and we couldn’t be more excited! We’re packing up the last few boxes and have some cleaning to do but other than that….we’re SO ready for this! 
We’ve got a long road trip ahead of us and I’ll be keeping in touch via instagram and facebook as we travel. I’m excited about the places we’ll see along the way and I’m sure I’ll have lots of photos to document by the time we get to Arizona!

I thought I’d put some of the long hours spent in the car to good use and bring along a few Project Life journaling cards to record details about the trip as they happen. I’m using a mixture of cards from the following Project Life kits:

Kraft Edition
Midnight Edition

Baby Edition

I love how easy it is to take these little journaling cards with you anywhere you go! I have them tucked in my Project Life notebook in my purse along with a pencil + my favorite journaling pen. When I’m using my own handwriting I like to record with pencil first – read more here.

I printed out some of the journaling cards using the PL Digi editions available at AC Digitals. I really like working with the digital versions, especially since you can personalize some of the elements like I did with the card below using this fun State Face font. 

I look forward to recording the details of our trip with Project Life! Once we get settled in our new home all I need to do is print out the photos and add them, along with the already journaled cards, to our 2013 album!
** IMPORTANT NOTE **
The Simple as That Digital Shop will be closed from May 30th – June 10th. You can still place orders during this time but products won’t be emailed out until after the 10th. Thank you for your understanding.

We’ll see you again in a few weeks! 🙂

Don’t forget about….
The Phone Photography Project:

I’m thrilled to share the news about another Big Picture Classes photography workshop that I’ll be  involved in this Summer! This class is all about taking photos with your phone and it’s 
going to be fun, fun, fun!

On top of daily smartphone photography challenges, 

you’ll also enjoy:
* dozens of tips and tricks from the pros for taking better photos with your mobile-phone camera
*a handbook of 60+ photography app reviews for iPhone and Android, so you know which are 
worth your time and money

*dozens of project ideas for getting photos off your device and into your world

*interaction with 32 experienced iPhoneographers and Androidographers, and hundreds of fellow students in a private classroom and on Instagram.
For more information or to register for the Phone 
Photography Project click here.

All About Dad Mini Album

Last week I posted about my printable All about Dad Questionnaire and today I wanted to share a quick Father’s Day gift you can make using Dad’s answers to these insightful questions.

The idea is based on this album I created for my Mom a few years ago. How fun would it be to make a mini album filled with Dad’s answers to the quiz questions!? You could make a paper version like I did or use the free digital templates below!


Download FREE All About Dad mini album templates here.

These FREE digital templates  are 5″ X 7″ in size, making them easy to print at your favorite photo lab. Just drop in your own photos + digi paper, add your journaling and you’re good to go! You will need Photoshop Elements or Photoshop to use the templates.Need another simple Father’s Day gift idea? Check out my Personalized Photo Bookmarks for Dad 
are available for purchase in the Simple as That Digital Shop! 

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