In 2009, Amber Crowell was a busy mom and business owner who was struggling to find the time to document her family's precious memories. She loved scrapbooking but felt overwhelmed by a growing pile of photos waiting to be scrapped. When she did find time to make layouts, she pressured herself to try to create 'perfect' pages. Instead, she ended up with half-completed layouts and albums... and a lot of guilt. Scrapbooking, which should have been a creative outlet that brought her joy, became yet another chore to be done as well as a source of frustration and stress.
Crowell began putting the majority of her many photos into divided page protectors, just to get them out of boxes and into albums. She soon realized that her family didn't care whether her scrapbooks contained elaborately embellished layouts or nothing but photos in divided page protectors. After this revelation, she began to think about making beautiful products designed specifically to put into divided page protectors. She envisioned pre-designed journaling cards, titles, photo mats and more that would allow crafters to scrapbook quickly, simply, and meaningfully. With this vision, Simple Stories was born.
The first Simple Stories collection, called Life Documented, debuted in the fall of 2009 to a group of scrapbook consultants. This collection was designed to help scrapbookers document a full year's worth of memories, from January to December. It featured pre-designed cards and elements with the instructions to trim and insert the pieces, along with photos, into divided page protectors. The items were sized for all types of pocket scrapbooking, with 4"x6", 3"x4", 4"x4", 6"x8", 2"x12", 4"x12", and 6"x12" being the core to the system and concept. Consultants and customers loved the ease and flexibility of the system. In January 2011, the Simple Stories brand and concept were introduced industry-wide.
Crowell's vision for Simple Stories has evolved over the years. What began as a system for using pre-designed elements in divided page protectors has expanded to include a large range of products, including full-size patterned papers, 4"x6" and 3"x4" pads, albums, binders, embellishments and more. Look for Simple Stories' most recently released collections, including:
Smarty Pants, which features bold and graphic papers and embellishments in bright red, yellow, blue and green. Packed with traditional school themes and motifs, this collection is ideal for recording memories from preschool to college
December Documented, which makes it easy to record holiday traditions as well as everyday life during December. Based on the Life Documented philosophy, it features traditional. Christmas colors and icons with very trendy chalkboard papers and accents.
Say Cheese, a collection with elements to scrap smiles from ear to ear. It features a red, yellow, black, grey, kraft and white color palette with lots of stars, cameras, and arrows. It is general enough to be used for everyday photos, yet perfect for capturing that special vacation full of magical moments.
In an industry with hundreds of manufacturers competing for the attention of retailers and consumers, Simple Stories has quickly become among the most popular. Simple Stories was named one of Scrapbook Update's ten Hot Picks from the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) 2013 summer tradeshow and was the top vote-getter in their pre-show survey. Simple Stories' fun and colorful products have generated a loyal following because they recognize that there are many different ways to scrapbook. Whether you do traditional scrapbooking, pocket scrapping, card making, photo-a-day projects, or something else, Simple Stories makes something for every scrapbooker. Each product is focused on the goal of helping scrapbookers document their lives in the way that works best for them.
Shop for Simple Stories products in the Scrapbook.com Superstore.
