Precious Snapshots | Happy Days Collection | Michelle Stokes

Michelle Stokes 24/04/2023

Hello Hello, it’s Michelle here today and gosh am I excited to share my first layout using this amazing new collection Happy Days. I was so happy when the box full of goodies arrived on my doorstep that I dove straight in and made 2 layouts super fast. This first layout was inspired by the absolutely beautiful B side patterns of the Flutterby, Feel Good and Little Blossom papers

I created a created a grid style background using 4×4 inch squares of these pretty papers, machine stitching around the edges of them all for a little added detail. I turned them all on point (I’ve been watching too many quilting videos of late) to give the layout a different feel to a standard grid design, then added fussy cut florals diagonally across from each other in large clusters.

I stepped back in time to 2015 with this photo. When Leila was half the size she is now and loved to play dress ups and dance on the deck at my parents house. She was forever checking herself out in the reflection of the doors and it was just so sweet.

The rainbow colours on her sweet fairy dress were perfect to match up with this rainbow assortment of patterns and colours collection.

I fussy cut the words Precious and Snapshots from the Definitive paper to use as the title for the layout. I’ve adhered the pieces down with some glue dots that I folded in half to hide behind the skinny letters. There’s so many letters on this paper that you could really create any words you like without having to stick to the ones already formed, but there is definitely plenty to choose from as it is.

The florals in this collection are absolute stunning, and if you know me well, you know that it didn’t take me long to chop into the Lush Blooms paper for all those pretty flowers perfect for grouping in clusters like this one.

I kept both clusters pretty similar in size, with the addition of a sweet rainbow in this group and a scattering of enamel shapes, ephemera pieces, stickers and a splattering of gold ink to finish it all off

Here’s another look at the entire layout, kinda wish these pattern papers came in fabric so I could get crafty in more ways than scrapbooking. This Collection has become my newest fave!

Well friends, thats all from me today. Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my first creation using the amazing Happy Days Collection. I can’t wait until you all get your hands on all the goodness to get creating with it, we love seeing what you make!

Until next time, Happy Scrapping

Michelle x

Happy Easter | Happy Days collection | Tarrah McLean

Tarrah McLean 23/04/2023

Hi creative friends!

It’s Tarrah back with you today, I am very excited to be sharing my first layout featuring the gorgeous new Happy Days collection!

I was tasked with using the gorgeous April mood board as my inspiration for my project this week, the Happy Days collection has so many elements in it that match perfectly with the mood board!

I am documenting 2 photos of my nieces from Easter last year, I love their sweet faces so much!

As the mood board is mostly Easter themed, I chose an Easter title cut file from CUT to YOU and backed it with one of the large 12′ x 12′ papers. I love the yellow plaid patterned paper!

You can see from the mood board image below that I was inspired by many things from the mood board! The Happy Days ephemera pack has the gorgeous tassel banner included in it, I knew I was definitely going to add that to this layout! It is perfect!

I absolutely love this mood board! There are so many things you can inspired from this board!

I placed a large white paper doily down on the heart background patterned paper and then adhered the cut file down using craft foam, leaving some room for my photos above the title. I did trim down the heart patterned paper and adhered it to the pink/purple spotted paper. I then machine stitched a zig zag border down the edges where the papers meet. I love the texture that the machine stitching adds to a layout!

I layered one of the papers from the A5 paper stack underneath my photos to help lift them a little bit. I added craft foam underneath the photos as well and also added craft foam under the tassel banner and adhered this at the bottom of the title. Now that I am happy with the placement of the largest elements on my layout, its time to embellish and tell some of the story!

Do you ever look at embellishments and think about how you can use them for something they aren’t originally intended for?

I do this a lot! When I saw the fabric puffy hearts in the Happy Days collection, I just knew I had to add them to this page to mimic bunny ears! Really hoping that you picked out the bunny ears before I pointed them out to you hehe! Aren’t they the cutest?! I added 4 of these in the end, tucking them in enough so that they peek out of the tops of what they are adhered behind.

By using craft foam underneath some of the larger elements on my page, it creates some shadows and dimension to my page which I love! You can see in the photo above the shadows created under the tassel banner. I didn’t add too many embellishments to this layout as sometimes less is more when it comes to embellishing. I did add a few die-cuts from the ephemera pack like the Yay banner, the small flower to the right of my photos and the round journal spot above the photos. I also added the phrase across the cut file, to help break up all that yellow! I also added the cute Love This tab to the left of my photos as well.

Lastly I helped tell the story of my layout by adding the small phrase and word stickers from the Accessory sticker sheet. One of my signature things I do on almost all of my layouts is to stamp the date stamp, the date is of when the photo was taken. Another thing I like to do is, and you don’t see this but I like to sign the back of my layouts and I write the date that I created it as well. I have doing this for years now! Do you have something you like to include on all of your projects? Please share with us!

Thank you so much for stopping by the Cocoa Vanilla Studio blog today! I hope you enjoyed reading how I created my layout as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Make sure you get your hands on the gorgeous NEW Happy Days collection from your local scrapbook store or favourite online store!

Happy creating!

Tarrah x

My Heart is Full | These Days collection | Rachel Lowe

Rachel Lowe 22/04/2023

Today I have a layout to share using the beautiful These Days collection. I am a little sad as this is the last of it but on a positive note I have the new Happy Days collection to start creating with (happy dance).

As I only had the butterfly 12×12 paper left I decided to use it as my base paper but adding a white scalloped square to the middle with a blue colour wash to add contrast. Using a cut file I cut 5 butterflies to layer them for dimension. I used my sewing machine to add stitching down the centre.

I next added my 3×4 inch photo of me hanging out in Paris as you do lol! Which I matted and used foam tape to add. My photo is where I added a larger embellishment cluster. I cafe die cut reminded me of Paris so it had to be added to my cluster, I added a tree die cut behind it and then used phrase sentiments from the accessory sticker sheet to journal.

On the opposite side I created a floral cluster and finished off my adding a die cut tab at the top of my photo and a puffy heart sticker on the tree.

I added of the wood epoxy buttons on the butterfly wing. I then used the puffy stickers alphas to add Paris to the other butterfly wing. This layout is simple and quick to put together but the butterfly paper, mixed media background and layered butterfly cut file give it lots of visual impact.

There are some These Days product left in the CVS shop.

Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to sharing my first layout using Happy Days!

Rachel X

Winner Announcement – ‘Happy Days’ Giveaway

Zoe Pearn 21/04/2023

Hi everyone,

Just taking a quick break from packing orders of our new ‘Happy Days’ collection to announce the winners of our recent giveaway. As you already know, this collection is dedicated to my dear sister Kellie, who passed away shortly after Christmas. Thank you to everyone for your messages of condolence that you included in your comments about the collection. Please know that I read every single one of them and I could certainly feel the love from you all – thank you!

Now let’s announce some winners!

Our first lucky winner who will receive the ENTIRE ‘Happy Days’ collection is…

Congratulations Jenny Dutton!

And our runner-up, who will receive a collection kit is…

Congratulations Shelby Teeter!

Congratulations to both ladies, we hope you enjoy your ‘Happy Days’ goodies! (Keep an eye on your email Inbox – Sue will be in touch to organise your prizes shortly.)

To everyone who entered – thank you so much for your support for this collection. ‘Happy Days’ is already shipping to our amazing retailers all over the world, so please keep a look out for it at your favourite scrappy store.

Zoe XX

I Adore You | These Days collection | Sophie Delorme

Sophie Delorme 20/04/2023

Hey Cocoa Vanilla friends!

It’s Sophie here with a new layout to share!

I used the beautiful These Days collection and created a very simple and soft page!

I cut two strips of the “Take Flight” polka dot paper and placed them on the top and bottom part of a 12×12 thick white cardstock. I added some stitching with yellow thread and white embroidery floss.

I used a precious photo of me and my son Gabriel. I mounted it on tissue paper and foam adhesive, and centered it on the page.

I fussy cut three frames out of the “Wall of Fame” paper that I placed around the photo, and decorated them with Die Cut Ephemeras, stickers and fussy cut flowers.

I created my title with a mix of alpha dies from my stash and some Foam Title Stickers from the collection.

I placed a few phrases from the Accessory Stickers sheet, and scattered a few butterflies as the finishing touch.

Here are more close-ups:

I am so happy with the result and hope you like it too!

Thank you for stopping by!

Sophie xx

Happy Days | Happy Days | Kellie Moore

Kellie Moore 19/04/2023

Hey CVS fans, welcome back to the blog and I’m so excited to share my first page using the BRAND NEW ‘Happy Days’ collection.

This collection is so bright and fun with lots of cute icons…. I don’t think it would be possible to not create something that would make your heart happy. Here is a look at my page..

My assignment for today was to focus on the specialty paper from this range. It is a full sheet of gold frames with lots of cute icons such as butterflies, cameras, florals etc. I was immediately inspired to cut the whole sheet up and use some of the pieces individually. To start I pulled out some of the circular frames and decided these would form the base of my page, popping my photos behind some of them.

My background paper is the gorgeous ‘Juicy Fruit’ paper … I love this paper for the mixed media look it has around the edges.. a great way to have the mixed media look without the mess!

I positioned my photos horizontally across the middle of my page, then I added some circles cut from the 6×8 paper stack to add more colour to my page.

For my title I used the ‘Happy Days’ die cut piece from the ephemera pack. I cut the letters out individually so I could wrap them around the circles….the word ‘Happy’ at the top, and ‘Days’ at the bottom. I love how this looks and emphasis’ the circular look. I also popped these up on foam to pop them off the page.

I wanted to add some of the icons from the specialty paper…you will see I added a banner on the left side of my page and a rainbow and florals to the right.

Next I added a bunch of pieces from the ephemera pack, some stickers from the ‘Accessory Sticker Sheet’ and I also cut some rainbows out from the ‘Sunshine Lollipop’ patterned paper.

The ‘Puffy Hearts’ are so sweet and dimensional so I HAD to add one to the centre of my page …they are a little sparkly too which adds to the fun!

To finish my page I used some of the Puffy Stickers and a light spray of gold mist…

I hope you are excited to get your hands on this collection and get creating. I cant wait to create more with Happy Days!

Stay crafty friends!

Kellie x

You’re Epic | No Limits Collection | Laura Alberts

Laura Alberts 17/04/2023

Hi y’all! Diving into one of my favorite collections today! I absolutely love the bold red and navy in the No Limits collection, so it is one I automatically reach for to scrap photos of my sons. For this photo of my son in his new snarky t-shirt, it was perfect!

I focused primarily on using up a ton of paper scraps on this one! The small stripes of color on the branding strips and 1/4 to 1/3 inch strips leftover from previous layouts were layered together to create a fun, colorful background on the Spark patterned paper.

To extend my photo cluster, I tucked in two cut apart pieces from the A5 paper stack to the right side of the photo. To give the photo more presence on the page, I added a frame from the ephemera pack that I cut in half and wedged in on either side of the photo cluster. Then, I finished it with a light embellishing of stars, cut apart phrases, and a chipboard title for a finishing touch!

I hope this layout inspires you to try and use up those tiny paper scraps and branding strips floating around your stash! If you’d like to see how “You’re Epic” came together, check out the process video below!

So Happy | Happy Days collection | Mandy Melville

Mandy Melville 16/04/2023

Hello everyone!

I’m so thrilled to be sharing my first layout featuring the brand new Happy Days collection! As always, Zoe has knocked it out of the park with this collection! It’s bright and fun and it’s perfect for scrapping all of your happy snaps! The hardest part for me was deciding which photos I should scrap first with these beautiful products! I ended up deciding to document the first time that my eldest daughter rode her bike with no training wheels.

I couldn’t resist using all of the gorgeous patterned papers in the collection and decided to trim the papers into one inch strips and arrange them along the top and bottom of the page. I love the way this adds lots of beautiful pattern and colour to the page and draws the viewer’s eye in towards the photos. I also added the rainbow border from the Feel Good paper along the edge of the strips. For my background I chose to use the Rainbow Bright paper with the tiny hearts on it as this provided a nice neutral contrast to all of the patterned paper strips. I matted my photos with the magenta Flutterby paper and adhered them to towards the left hand side of the page, using craft foam for added dimension.

Tucked under the top edge of the photo on the left, I added a die cut pinwheel and a flag banner. These add a fun element to the page, complementing the theme of the photos. I adhered the pinwheel with foam tape and added a chipboard star to the middle of it for some extra interest.

Of course I had to use that sweet bicycle die cut on this page! I also added the ‘Love that smile’ die cut and one of the super gorgeous Puffy Hearts to finish off this little cluster of embellishments. The puffy hearts are soft and pretty!

For my title I used the words ‘So Happy’ from Chipboard Titles pack. I love the fun and playful font that’s been used for these titles! To finish off the layout I added some typed journaling, and I couldn’t resist adding a few blooms from the Floral Ephemera pack.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today and taking a look at my layout! I hope that you’re as excited for this new collection as I am! I can’t wait to share more projects using Happy Days!

Mandy x

Handmade diary | Storyteller Collection | Anna Komenda

Anna Komenda 14/04/2023

Hello everyone! It’s Anna here with something a little bit different than usual! I know you love all the layouts (and I love them too), but sometimes you are not in the mood for memory scrapbooking. Sometimes you just want to have some fun, use up some embellishments and make something useful. This was exactly my motivation to make this notebook, that can be used as a diary. I am impatiently waiting for the brand new “Happy days” collection to arrive to my doorstep. In the meantime, I still have plenty of other gorgeous lines to play with so I chose “Storyteller” to make my notebook. You can still find plenty of elements from this line in CVS Shop!

As I mentioned, I made this notebook from scratch. If you would like to make something similar, you would need a binding machine like Cinch. I own this tool for years and it still serves me well. I use it to make not only notebooks but also mini albums.

If you would like to make something similar and you have a proper tool, you need to start with choosing your size. I was using A5 sized inserts so my cover needed to be a little big wider and taller. Depending if you wish to add some dividers or tabs, the cover can be a bit wider or shorter – it’s the big advantage of making your own notebook from scratch. I chose “Dits daisy” pattern papers for my front and back covers. I simply cut out pieces of cardboard to the needed size and wrapped them with paper.

I also cut smaller rectangles for the insides of both covers using pretty paper with florals. Now you are ready to punch holes in the covers. You can adjust how many you want, how long the wire should be – it’s all up to you.

From A5 Paper Stack Pack I chose few sheets to add them between the pages of the notebook. They can be used as a dividers or just some decorative pages, to add something extra to your notebook. I gathered them along the regular sheets and made holes too. With covers and inserts prepared I was ready to bind everything together with 1 inch wire.

After everything was connected, i could start embellishing pages and covers. I started with the dividers, adding some stickers from 6*12 Stickers Sheet and Ephemera Pieces. I challenged myself to use up the whole sheet of stickers and I managed to do so! Mission of making room for new collection completed! :)

I tried to keep the decorations as flat as possible so the notebook wouldn’t turn out too bulky. It will not close nicely if you add to many dimensional elements inside. However, I added Foam Title Sticker on the first divider and on the notebook cover.

I also added a big pocket on the back cover to hide some extra journaling cards to add to the pages later. You can also keep there some memorabilia! Pocket is decorated with Floral Ephemera. I also added a wreath of flowers on the front cover.

How do you like my idea of handmade notebook? You can use it by yourself or give away as a gift! And you can easily make one with collection leftovers so use up all the bits and pieces!

That is all for today. I will be back in two weeks with another inspiration. Maybe even made with brand new line! Fingers crossed for the fast shipping. “Happy days” is totally my jam and I can’t wait to dive into those yummy colors.

XO Anna

Days Together | Daydream Collection | Melissa Vining

Melissa Vining 13/04/2023

Hi everyone, Its Melissa here and I’m back with a new layout. Its Thursday which means Throwback time! Yay!! What I love the most about Throwback Thursday is going through my stash of gorgeous Cocoa Vanilla Studio and deciding which collection to create with! For this layout I decided to use the beautiful Daydream collection to document a family photo from Mother’s Day 2021.

This collection has gorgeous florals, and for this layout I decided to feature ‘Daisy Days’. A great way to feature a patterned paper is to tear it, and place it on a white background. This enables breathing space against a busy paper, and the use of mixed media helps integrate the two paper and cardstock. I used a distress oxide ink and the packaging technique to create some interest.

I used lots of ‘Die Cut Ephemera’ florals for my embellishing, some ‘Accessory Stickers’ and also a couple of fussy cut moths from ‘All Aflutter’. I bent up the edges of the flowers for interest and dimension. I was also very happy to get one of the ‘Flair Buttons’ onto the page!

For my titles I used one of the ‘Die Cut Ephemera’, and a word from the ‘Die Cut Titles’. I love that combining the two made for a very easy title!!

I hope you enjoyed seeing a layout created with Daydream, and I hope I’ve inspired you to dig into your Cocoa Vanilla Studio stash. If you’re like me you may want to hoard pretty supplies, but there is nothing like using up products and documenting memories!

Have an awesome week.

Melissa xx