December 2019

2019 Favourites | Mandy Melville

Hey friends!

Well, can you believe that we are fast approaching the end of 2019?! Does anyone else feel like this year disappeared in a blur? To finish the year off, our design team will each be sharing their favourite projects that they created during the year. I always find it so hard to narrow down to just a few, because so many memories have been documented on my layouts throughout the year, BUT I think these three layouts would definitely have to be amongst some of my faves!

The first layout I’m sharing was created using the super gorgeous Happiness collection, along with the coordinating cut files designed by Cut to You! The colours and the florals in this collection are sooo pretty, and the cardstock titles were definitely a fantastic addition too! It was perfect for documenting a photo of my three kiddies taken on Easter morning!

 

The next layout I’m sharing was created with the beautiful Wild at Heart collection. This collection is still one of my favourites, with its gorgeous rich colours, and I think it worked perfecty with this photo of my eldest daughter and I, taken on Mother’s Day this year. You probably know by now that I’m a huge fan of fussy cutting, and the floral patterned papers in this collection are perfect for this! For more details about this layout go take a look at the full blog post here.

And for my last layout, I’m sharing one that I created using the most recent Cocoa Vanilla collection, Unforgettable. One thing I love about this collection is that there are lots of different colour combinations, and for this layout I decided to focus on the peach and mint colours, along with that beautiful woodgrain patterned paper. I documented a photo of my youngest daughter and I, taken on one of our ‘Mummy and Ella’ days, and again I couldn’t resist fussy cutting some gorgeous florals to embellish my layout. You can check out the full blog post here.

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and New Year! And I’d also like to say a very big thank you for all of your encouragement and support that you’ve shown me over the year in the way of comments and likes on my projects. I’ll be back here in January to share some more inspiration with you. Until then, take care.

Mandy x

Christmas cards | Tis the season | Anna Komenda

Hello Friends. Counting down to christmas is starting to look serious. Only 10 days!!! If you didn’t have time to mail your christmas cards, it’s the last call. I prepared some isnpirations for you for quick and easy cards. Cocoa Vanilla had a christmas collection – “Tis the season” –  few years ago and I still got some bits and pieces left, mostly papers. When Zoe recently released the digital versions of older lines, including the christmas one, I thought it’s the perfect moment to revisit “Tis the season”. I printed myself three sheets of embellishments included into this line. They are already prepared as a PDF versions, so all I needed to do is to pust the “print” button.

Making those three cards took me about an hour, including some fussy cutting of printed elements. It’s a combination of paper scraps, few stickers, ephemera leftovers, wooden elements and digital pieces.

I usually make 10*14 cm cards but I wanted to use up some longer stickers from the sticker sheet so I decided to use 10*20 cm size for the first card. I arranged longer strips, combining them with a piece of paper and glued them over a dotty background.

Something I like to include into all of my projects is dimension. I knew that the cards have to survive being mailed so I used solid cardboard instead of foam squares under the bigger surfaces. I finished my card adding few flowers cut out from printable sheets and wooden elements.

Second card is smaller. Once again I reached for papers scraps. I had few 3*4 elements from one of the papers and I decided to use them on cards. I started with a green background, then I added 3*4 card and finished it with a title from sticker sheet. Winter flowers are from digital version. Even if you don’t have papers, you can print them too!!! If you have a regular printer, you will get A4 size paper – perfect for any cardmaking.

Last card I made has a cute, retro Santa as a main element and it was also taken from cut apart paper.

Santa is quite big so there was no much room left for embellishing. I created my title using ephemera leftover – word “christmas”. I added word “merry” using alpha stickers, that were included into the older lines. You can buy them really cheap now! I mixed real wooden element with the printed ones to finish my card.

I am so, so happy that Zoe decided to release those printable versions of older lines. I can come back to my favorite lines and use up the leftovers. And using up the leftovers always makes me happy and I know I am not waisting anything.

Thank you for stopping by and see you in two weeks.

XO Anna

Xmas JOY | Unforgettable | Amanda Baldwin

Hi Cocoa Vanilla Studio Friends & Fans!

Amanda here, & I am super excited to share my Christmas theme page with the beautiful UNFORGETTABLE collection. I know – it isn’t a Christmas line, nor are there any Holidays elements to this collection BUT, I think UNFORGETTABLE is pretty versatile and suits all occasions! Here’s what I came up…

“Xmas JOY”

How beautiful! White & Peppermint is always synonymous with Yuletide vibes & is such an elegant color scheme to create with! Love it! Let’s take a closer look….

Christmas joy, indeed! These two were having such fun decorating the tree and dancing about to Christmas music. Such a happy capture – remember these days!!!

I started my layout with the reverse side of patterned paper, CV-UF007 SPRIGHTLY. I just adored those mint and white stripes, and knew they’d subtly suggest candy canes & peppermints. A perfect start to my Christmas page! To this paper, I centered & layered an 11″ x 11″  sheet of white cardstock. This created a really crisp and fresh background for my layout.

I cut a very simple digital cut file from Lilium Pixel SVG (in the Silhouette Store)  called:  Circle Floral Wreath and backed it with the B side of our divine CV-UFOO3 GARLAND paper. The simpleness of the wreath and snowflakes, combined with this stunning patterned paper was more than enough to create those Holiday feels! I foam mounted this wreath onto my base, before adding my photo cluster and embellishments. 

How sweet!

My photo cluster is made from a combination of the 6 X 8 PAPER STACK papers ( the smaller versions of pattern papers: STORYTELLER and NATURAL BEAUTY) that I have layered beneath my photograph. Between these layers, I also tucked in a few coordinating DIE CUT EPHEMERA pieces, and some ACCESSORY STICKERS. I foam mounted the last layer, and before adhering it to my layout, I also attached a few leafy CLEAR STICKERS to enhance the Christmas wreath appeal.

Over my photo, I adorned that fabulous Love this FLAIR BUTTON, and added my title, ‘JOY’. I should note that the ALPHABET STICKERS used on this layout are from an older Cocoa Vanilla Studio collection called ENDLESS SUMMER. I specifically selected all the mint colored letters for my page.

To the right of my photo cluster, I added one more phrase sticker, Every photo has a story from the ACCESSORY STICKERS sheet. I used the white and mint green ENAMEL DOTS to decorate around the photo & wreath, as well as a few glass beads and sequins from my stash.

Simple, but so effective!

To the top left hand side of my page, and following the curve of the wreath, I attached the ‘xmas’ part of  my title, and embellished around it with CLEAR STICKERS & ENAMEL DOTS.

For a finished look, I embellished around the wreath with more stickers, sequins and ENAMEL DOTS.

And there you have it!

A very beautiful, UNFORGETTABLE, Christmas layout!

Thanks so much for stopping by today – I really hope I inspired you to use this ‘everyday’ collection to document your Holidays with!

Merry Christmas & Have a Happy New Year!

Happy Arty Days, Amanda xo

Merry & Bright | Unforgettable Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hi Everyone It’s Michelle back here with a new festive share for the month of December. I’ve used the Unforgettable collection to document a sweet moment of Leila in front of the Christmas tree last year, right before she ripped into all the presents. The colours within this collection are perfect for documenting any occasion, even Christmas!

I chose a fun BIG cut file from CUT to YOU to used as the base of this layout and backed the open pieces of the letters using papers from the 6×8 paper stack. Perfect small designs that work wonderfully with intricate cut files. I couldn’t choose one pattern to be the backing piece for the layout, so I chose the PRETTY BITS paper for all its wonderful colourful designs and added some of the grey GLORIOUS in place of the butterflies.

The patterns I used to back the cut file with are SPRIGHTLY, NATURAL BEAUTY, GARLAND, GLORIOUS, LACEWING & STORY TELLER

Once all three of the main parts to the layout were sandwiched together ( cut file, cardstock and backing pattern paper) I added the photo and embellishments. I added a couple of layers behind the photo to tie all the colours together – FORGET ME NOT, STORY TELLER & LACEWING. These are from the smaller 6×8 paper stack with the addition of the pink ephemera piece and heart from a previous cut file. The floral piece at the top of the photo has been fussy cut from the 6×8 glorious paper

I added one main floral cluster to the left of the photo using the large floral ephemera piece and a couple of extras tucked under and adhered with different foam tape. This added slight dimension at different heights to really make the layers pop.

Along the bottom of the cut file I added an extra floral piece, cut apart word, accessory sticker, clear sticker and some enamel dots. Lastly a splattering of gold ink and I called it done.

Well thats all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my take on a bright pretty Christmas layout, without the use of traditional colours.

Until next time, happy scrapping

Michelle x

 

The Good Life | Unforgettable collection | Kylie Kingham.

Hello lovely friends. It’s Kylie back with you today to share another layout I have created with the ‘Unforgettable’ collection. Looking through my craft supplies I had so many decorative punches and border punches that I decided I wanted to use them to create some decorative edges for my layout. These punches were the inspiration for my completed design.

I layered several co-ordinating papers over each other.The top pages, (UNSCRIPTED & GARLAND), were cut slightly narrower than the base,(STORYTELLER) to create a border. I used a delicate scalloped lace border punch across the top edge of the top papers. Layered together it gave them a lovely texture as well.

For a little extra colour on my page I added a heart punched strip to the top of my page from the NATURAL BEAUTY paper. Some simple back stitching was added to the small edge that I added to the base of my page.

Since there was so much colour happening in my layout I chose to print my photo in black and white. It was mounted to my background with foam tape so that it say up a little, enabling me to layer some floral accents for a dimensional look.

To complete my layout I added a title using the FOAM TITLE STICKERS as well as some sub phrasing below using the ACCESSORY STICKERS.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. I hope you have enjoyed seeing my latest layout.

Until next time,

Kylie.

 

Tis The Season | Tis The Season Collection | Tarrah McLean

Hi there creative friends!

It’s Tarrah McLean back with you and today I am sharing a new Christmas themed layout using the gorgeous Tis the Season collection.

I started my layout by cutting a Christmas Tree cut file design (sorry I am not sure where this one comes from) from white cardstock. I don’t have much of the traditional collection left now but I am so happy to be able to get everything I need in digital form! I will never run out again! If your stash is getting low of Tis the Season, make sure to grab the digital collection here and print your own! There are some of the older collections available in digital form now, so check them all out in the Cocoa Vanilla Store here! I did have some of the green holly paper left and I love how it looks behind the cut file design. I also had a small amount of the red and white diagonal stripe paper and decided to adhere a strip of that to the left side of the page.   I chose a photo of my youngest taken on Christmas Day when he was about 3 weeks old, he just turned 9 yesterday so the photo is quite old but its one of my favourites! I changed the colour of the photo to a soft black and white as the colours in the photo would have clashed with the soft colours in the collection. Underneath the photo I layered a small paper doily and a smaller piece of the red and white stripe paper to the right of the photo. I also layered a wood veneer frame on top of the photo, I like how this draws your eye to the photo. I popped up the photo using craft foam and then placed embellishments around the photo. The ticket that says ‘Child’ die-cut definitely had to be added, it was perfect tucked at the bottom of my photo.I used accessory stickers, enamel dots, die-cuts, wood veneer, sequins and a bitty bow to embellish. I have tons of the sequins left, I love the gold stars so I scattered a few of those around to add some sparkle. I placed the white bitty bow at the base of the tree to separate the tree from the pot. To finish the page, I added the date stamp of when the photo was taken. I love how my page turned out even with only minimal pieces from the Tis the Season collection!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed my page today and that you are inspired to create your own Christmas themed layout using your stash of Tis the season!

Happy creating!

Tarrah x

Christmas Card and Gift Boxes | Unforgettable | Rachel Lowe

Hey all today I have some Christmas goodies to share. I love creating Christmas gift boxes and bags, because who doesn’t love pretty things!  I have used the gorgeous Unforgettable collection for my Christmas trio.

I created a simple Christmas card using the 6×8 Unforgettable paper pad. I used Sprightly as my background paper measuring at 5×7 inches. I then chose three papers to create the Christmas trees, Story Teller, Glorious and Garland. I used a cut file for my tree’s but these could easily be cut by hand. I added some machine stitching to the curves of each tree piece to add definition. I added white glitter to the Garland (turquoise) pieces. My tree’s were then attached with foam tape to create dimension. I added gold glitter stars and tree trunks because although not a huge fan of bling, Christmas is a time you can add as much as you like right!!!! To finish off I added some tiny flowers from the ephemera die cut pack and a Merry Christmas sticker from my stash.

This Coffee Cup gift box is a cut file by Lori Whitlock, easy to assemble but oh so cute! I filled this one with Lindt Chocolates and it will be a gift for one of my boys teacher. I cut the cup part using the Natural Beauty paper as this provides a great contrast to use brighter coloured paper and embellishments. I cut the coffee cup lid in white cardstock.

 

I used the turquoise strip side of the Sprightly paper to add the coffee cup heat sleeve and then added one of the large floral bunches from the ephemera die cut pack with foam tape.

I added a paper star created using Unscripted paper finished off with a little bling. The Spiral Star is by Lori Whitlock.

To finish off I added one of the bows from the collection to break up the white of the lid. These are so easy to create and perfect for little Christmas treats.

 

And finally to finish off my Christmas trio I created another box, this is a Noodle Box from the Silhouette Design store. The outer box I used Sprightly paper and inside the box I used Glorious. I used the papers from the 6×8 inch paper pad to create the layered flower finished off with an Enamel Dot from the collection. I have filled this treat box with bath bombs.

You don’t need a Christmas collection to create Christmas cards or boxes, I love pink and turquoise as Christmas colours. Thank you for stopping by today and I hope you find a little time in the busy month of December to create.

Rachel  X

We Remember Moments | Unforgettable Collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here to share a recent mixed media layout I created using the gorgeous ‘Unforgettable’ collection and a photo of my children that I took while I was shopping with them a few years ago.

I started this page by creating a mixed media background on some white cardstock. I used pink ink to create a watercolour style background, before adding some stamping and coloured texture paste through a stencil in a few spots on my page. I also added some blue watercolour splatters over the top for some extra interest.

Next, I fussy cut the wreath from the beautiful Garland paper, adding foam tape underneath the floral section to pop it up from the page, before sticking it down on top of my background. (You can see how I bent the edges up from the page to add extra dimension.)

I then added some pieces of paper cut from the B sides of the Glorious and Sprightly papers as a mat for my photo, which I stuck down on top.

Alongside my photo, I added the quote “we don’t remember the days, we remember moments” from the scaled down version of the Story Teller paper from the 6×8″ Paper Stack to act as my page title. I was especially drawn to use this quote for this layout, as in the early days of having twins life seemed to pass by in such a blur. Going shopping with the kids and having two sitting in the trolley and one perched on the end like in the photo is something I will always remember though.

On top of the quote card I added the cute camera Flair Button and popped a couple of Enamel Dots nearby.

Now it was time to embellish my wreath. I used a variety of flowers from the Die Cut Ephemera pack, which I stuck down on top of the wreath using foam tape to provide further dimension. I also added 3 bows from the Tassels and Bows pack; and a few small phrase stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet.

I finished off my layout by adding more Enamel Dots; a die cut butterfly; and then a few hand-stitched crosses using embroidery thread.

That’s all from me today, I hope I have inspired you to create something pretty too. Until next time, happy scrapping!

 

Happy | Midnight Collection | Tazhiana Gordon

Hello Cocoa Vanilla friends and welcome back to the blog for a new project! I’ve been on a crazy December Daily kick so it was kind of nice to switch gears and relax those Christmas muscles and make something fun with the Midnight collection.

I know I’ve said this before but the Midnight collection has me all over it with the color palette so I figured I would scrap a recent selfie I took with my new phone while exploring portrait mode! I really like how this layout came out and it is an EXCELLENT stash buster.
I started with 6 3x4inch pieces of patterned paper and literally pulled out all the embellishments I had left from the Midnight collection, including the chipboard set and the cardstock ephemera. I then set out to create three individual clusters – one for my photo and the other two to just feature some embellishing. I wish I had a rhyme or reason for why I did what I but it kind of just came together organically. I picked up bits, stuck them down, added foam stickers when I wanted some additional height and just had fun creating the clusters.
For my background, I actually used patterned paper! I know, incredibly shocking. I used the white and gold marble paper as my background and then layered two ripped pieces of paper from other sheets in the collection to add interest and texture since there was already a whole lot of texture in my embellishment clusters. I then attached my three clusters in a diagonal across the page. I love how they look against that marble paper.
To finish off the layout, I added the “Happy” chipboard piece to serve as my title even though this layout would have worked just fine without one and I added a few chipboard hearts. This layout was pretty easy to complete and such a fun process.
I hope you enjoyed my project and you give this technique a try. Seriously, pick it and stick it. That freedom to create is life changing. Till next time, keep it crafty friends.

CHRISTMAS | BOHEMIAN DREAM | GWEN WRUCK

Hi Creative Friends,

Gwen up on the blog today with a new share and its a fun Christmas project featuring my husband, daughter and our ‘Elf on the Shelf’ Candy on holiday in 2017. You all know how I love Christmas so this page was a heap of fun to make!

For a bit of a challenge, I decided to create the project without any ‘Christmas’ themed supplies. I really just wanted to use some things I had on hand to show that you don’t need a Christmas collection to make a pretty Christmas page. I started with my favourite collection ‘Bohemian Dream‘. I felt the cool colours of this collection would translate really well and would be perfect or those who have a cooler Christmas season.

I then pulled this cut file from CUT to YOU called ‘Roses and Frames’ and went about backing it in a section of the papers. I’ve used ‘Dreamer‘ and ‘Abundant‘ for this. Next, I’ve added a photo mat to my pictures, also using the Abundant paper. In my usual style, I’ve raised these on foam and added a stitch detail to the edge. I really love how the black and white photos work for this page, especially once I added the silver elements.

I’ve then simply added my cut file and photos centring it all on my page. I then added a border around the page edge using the ‘Abstract‘ paper. I am really loving the grid style of this cut file.

At this stage, my page was looking good, I really just needed to add in some embellishments to finish it off. I’ve pulled from my stash some Thickers letters and spelt out the title ‘Christmas’. It was at this point that I decided to try and keep the layout very balanced which is why I’ve gone with half the title on the left, the other on the right.

I’ve continued with this balanced look for all of the embellishments, starting with two of the chipboard birds and two butterflies from the ‘Die Cut Ephemera‘ pack. I’ve also added some sentiments from this pack to both photos, I really love those little tab elements. Next, I’ve chosen some stickers from the ‘Accessory Sticker Sheet‘ which I’ve placed up on foam tape for added dimension and lastly added a sparkly silver fabric bow from my stash.

Thanks for popping by today to see my latest project, I hope it inspires you to get this collection out from your stash and try a Christmas project. If it does, be sure to pop it into the Cocoa Vanilla Studio facebook group, I love seeing what you make.

Until next time,

Gwen

xo

Load More

Cocoa Vanilla Studio Pty Ltd

Unit 2,
1 Monro Street
Nambucca Heads, NSW 2448
Australia

is a registered trademark of Cocoa Vanilla Studio Pty Ltd

ABN 75 660 282 511

ABOUT US

CUSTOMER CARE

wholesale

Subscribe + Get $5 Off!

Sign up for our newsletter and we'll let you know about new arrivals, sales, events + more. Plus, enjoy $5 AUD off your first order of $50 or more (check your inbox for details).

Back to top

All Content & Images Copyright © 2015 - Cocoa Vanilla Studio Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.