Boys Rule

Christmas Cards | Mixed Collections | Mandy Melville

Mandy Melville 30/11/2019

Hello everyone!

Mandy here with you today to share a set of Christmas cards that I created using a combination of Cocoa Vanilla Studio collections! I chose a fresh and pretty colour scheme of pink, aqua, and lime, with a touch of grey and woodgrain. I then pulled together some products from the Happiness, Boys Rule, and You Rock collections to create my cards. I’m going to show you that it’s super easy to create Christmas themed projects even if you don’t have a Christmas collection. Plus I think the Cocoa Vanilla products are gorgeous and are perfect for using for any occasion / theme!

For my first card, I started by adding a piece of the beautiful pink Expressive paper from the Happiness collection to the middle of the card. I also used the Straight & Narrow paper from the Boys Rule collection, and tucked the grey stripe side under the top edge of the pink paper, and the lime green side under the bottom edge. I then adhered a die cut frame from the Boys Rule Miscellany pack to the card using foam tape for added dimension. I used some Christmas stamps from my stash to add a sentiment inside the frame.

To embellish the card I fussy cut a couple of stars out of the You Rock Starshine patterned paper, and then I also traced one onto the Boys Rule Straight & Narrow paper and hand cut it out. I think the stars help to give it a Chrismasy feel! To finish the card off, I added a few Wild at Heart sparkly enamel dots.

For my next card, I used the same patterned papers, and this time I layered them in strips across the front of the card. I only adhered the edges of the grey stripe paper as I wanted to tuck a couple of tags in behind this strip. The smaller tag is from the Happiness die cut ephemera pack, and I stamped the phrase ‘merry merry merry’ onto this one. The larger tag I created using a metal die from stash and the Bright & Beautiful woodgrain patterned paper, also from the Happiness collection.

Once again I finished this card off with a couple of fussy cut stars from the You Rock Starshine patterned paper, and some enamel dots from the More than Words collection.

I love how these cards turned out using non-Christmas themed collections, and I can’t wait to hand them out to some special friends during the Christmas season!

Thanks so much for joining me here on the blog today. I hope that you enjoyed taking a look at my cards!

Mandy x

Future Pilot | Boys Rule | Amanda Baldwin

Amanda-Jayne Baldwin 26/11/2019

Hi Cocoa Vanilla Studio Friends!

Amanda here, & today I am sharing a super cool scrapbook page of my boy, the future pilot! As soon as I saw this photo I knew that I had the perfect Cocoa Vanilla Studio collection to document it with – none other than the awesome BOYS RULE line! This collection is seriously cool & just rocks when it comes to scrapping the boys! But enough chatter, here’s my scrapbook layout,

“Future Pilot”

Whoa!!! How awesome is this?! RAD, indeed!

I have featured the stunning CV-BR007 STAR FALL paper as my layout background, distressed & folded the right edge of this paper and stapled a trim of CV-BR009 GOOD TIMES behind it. This created a really raw, and edgy look which enhanced the masculinity of the overall design. The use of metal hardware (staples) not only attached the two papers, but also emphasized the rawness. Simple, but so effective!

I backed my sweet boy’s photograph with a few cool layers of the MISCELLANY frames and die cuts, as well as some fussy cut labels from CV-BR006 BOY STUFF paper. To these layers, I inserted in a few ACCESSORY STICKER stars and words/phrases, and then attached this photo cluster to my page. With my focal point in place, I then tucked my CHIPBOARD PIECES title ‘RAD’ into the top of the photo layers.

Over my treasured photograph, I foam mounted a couple more ACCESSORY STICKERS that featured stars, plus added I that awesome ‘king of the world’ FLAIR BUTTON. So cool!!!

To the right side of the photo cluster, I tucked in the ‘reach for the stars’ ACCESSORY STICKER – both the print and the sentiment coordinated perfectly with my page design.

More ACCESSORY STICKERS are used to adorn the bottom left of my photo cluster, as well as a few die cuts. To complete the photo cluster I foam mounted & overlapped that fabulous ‘adventure’ CHIPBOARD PIECE. Awesome!

For my title to be noticed on such a dark paper, I dove into my COCOA VANILLA STUDIO: COLOUR ME HAPPY stash and used the plain white ALPHABET STICKERS. I embellished around my title with more of the ACCESSORY STICKERS as well as two of the brush stroke CLEAR STICKERS. A few dots of white paint completed the page.

Simple, and yet so epic!!!

Scrapping the boys is made super easy (& totally awesome) with our fabulous BOYS RULE collection!

Thanks so much for visiting – I hope I have inspired you to get creating today!

til next time,

Happy Arty Days, Amanda xo

“Be a Super Hero” mini album | Boys Rule collection | Sue Plumb

Sue Plumb 16/11/2019

Hi everyone! It’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you and it’s one that is pretty special to me.

Today is World Prematurity Day – a globally recognised day that is aimed at increasing awareness of preterm births, as well as highlighting some of the challenges that are often faced by these babies and their families. Each year approximately 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely, including all three of my children. My post today is for all those babies born too soon.

For my project I decided to create the first in a series of mini albums for my children to document the time following their births. (It has taken me over 7 years to get around to tackling the photos of my boys and all the memories that come with them, so please bear with me for the long post today.)

I began my mini album with the fabulous ‘Boys Rule’ collection and a small 6 ring planner that I purchased from Kmart. (These make perfect mini album covers once everything is removed from the inside.) After choosing the patterned papers I was going to work with, I cut them into a variety of sizes to form the pages of my album.

I used an adjustable 6 hole punch (purchased via eBay) to punch holes on each of the pages, and then used white hole reinforcement stickers (from my local newsagency) to help protect the holes from becoming damaged through handling.

On some of the pages I added extra interest by using border punches to create decorative edges. This, combined with the variety of different page sizes, placements and patterns throughout, is what gives the album so much character.

If you are planning on giving something like this a go, be sure to mix things up as much as you can! Don’t feel like all your pages have to run vertically – a horizontal page thrown in here and there not only adds extra interest but makes the album more interactive as it is turned to be read.

Depending on the theme of your album, you will find that some pages require no more than a photo and some simple embellishments; whilst others may have lots of journaling and very little room for embellishments.

For the sake of continuity across my album, I printed most of my photos in black and white with a few colour feature shots added in. I printed them in a variety of sizes and orientations as well.

Don’t be afraid to add embellishments such as stickers or journaling directly over part of your photos, or to include pages that have no photo at all and are simply decorative. You can even punch directly through photos and use them as a page in your album.

Throughout my album I used a combination of items from the Die Cut Ephemera; Accessory Stickers; Clear Stickers and die cuts from the Miscellany pack to embellish my pages.

One of the other benefits of making your pages different sizes is being able to get a “sneak peek” at what is coming on the next page. This adds to to the anticipation as you leaf through the album.

To further enhance the cohesion across the album, I typed all my journaling on my computer. When putting each page together I began with photo/s and journaling placement first before deciding on embellishments.

For an extra bit of fun, add some interactive elements such as tip-ins, pockets, or pull out tags. You can see how I used one of the small cards from the Die Cut Ephemera pack with a couple of pieces of washi tape to form a tip-in (fold out flap) to include my journaling underneath.

One of my tips for putting together each page in an album is that whilst I approach each page individually, I am also mindful of what is on the facing page. You can see how I carried across the same colours in the spread below. (Working with the same collection throughout the album helps enormously.)

The only other embellishment I included in my album were a few stickers from the ‘Love Always’ Accessory Sticker sheet, as it had a few more love-filled and generic phrases that suited some of my photos.

Another way to mix things up with your photos is to create a collage or include a series of shots taken close together. (And let’s face it, who doesn’t take 20 shots when you are trying to get the perfect one?!)

I know I have included a LOT of photos in this post, but sometimes the best way to explain things is to show them, right?

My final tip if you are going to create something similar in a planner cover or album, is to not forget about the extra pockets that are built into the cover. I made some small tags to tuck into the front of my album and added some extra photos, and in the larger pocket I included a letter to my son with some of the details about his birth story.

If you are interested in seeing a few more details of my album I have filmed a flip through of the entire thing so you can see how it all looks together:

Thanks so much for sticking with me through my long post today. I do hope I have inspired you to try creating something like this yourself. It could make an ideal Christmas gift for a loved one, or just something for yourself to treasure.

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Zombie Apocalypse | Boy Collections | Tarrah McLean

Tarrah McLean 30/10/2019

Hi Cocoa Vanilla friends!

It’s Tarrah back with you and today I am sharing a Halloween layout created for the October mid month challenge over at CSI: Colour, Stories, Inspiration I used lots of the boy collections on this layout!

CSI: Colour, Stories, Inspiration Case File No. 298

I took inspiration from the skull and cross bones design in the image and also the colours. I cut out a skull and cross bone design from black cardstock using my Silhouette Cameo and used is one of the main focal points on my layout. I popped up the skull using craft foam and adhered the cross bones flat to the page. In the eyes of the skull, I backed one of them with one of the paper s from the You Rock collection and added one of the woodies from the Totally Rad collection to the other eye. The Totally Rad collection has lots of pieces with the skull and crossbones so I pulled out what I had left and used them as embellishments. The large white and black skull and cross bones was fussy cut from the ‘Stuff’ paper from the Boys Rule collection The photo is of my eldest son dressed up for Halloween as a zombie a couple of years ago. I just had to add the ‘Admit One Crazy Town ticket and the unbelievable sticker’as they went perfectly with the theme of my layout. I added some of the wood veneer stars from the Flying High collection – I couldn’t believe I still had these! To finish off, I added the chippie crown in the chipboard pieces pack from the Boys Rule collection and added a few last bits and pieces like the arrows, the star flair, the date stamp and some splatters of black mist.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Happy creating!

Tarrah x

You Rock | Page Maps Sketch | Boys Rule & You Rock Collections | Sue Plumb

Sue Plumb 23/08/2019

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here today, and it’s my turn to share my layout for the PageMaps sketch theme that our team have been challenged with this week. It has been amazing to see how all my fellow designers have interpreted the sketch so far, and the range of pages that a single sketch can inspire.

Here is the sketch we have all been working with…

This sketch is one from the PageMaps archives from October 2018; and if you would like more sketch inspiration (including card sketches) you can find them on the PageMaps website.

Despite the floral theme of the sketch, I decided to twist it up and create a boy page instead. I used a combination of elements from two different CVS boy collections – ‘Boys Rule’ and ‘You Rock’.

I began with the ‘Boys Rule’ collection – using the Star Fall paper as my page base to form a border, which I layered with a smaller square of the Entitled paper over the top.

To represent the circular element of the sketch, I cut several different sized wreaths from the free ‘Happiness’ cut files using a combination of white cardstock and the Happy Go Lucky paper for my feature circle. I then arranged them so they were overlapping each other.

Just like the sketch, I used two photos for my page (although I did use a different size and orientation). These photos of my son were taken the day after his birthday while he was testing out his new punchbag and boxing gloves.

I added the die cut what the? speech bubble from the Die Cut Ephemera pack onto my main photo.

Due to the busy pattern on the paper, and the fact that I already had the overlapping wreaths on my background, I wanted to keep the embellishments fairly simple. I dug through my stash and chose the wood veneer pack from the ‘You Rock’ collection. I liked the fact that this was an easy way to add dimension and some natural texture to the page.

I added the large You Rock title piece just to the left of the photos – just like the title was positioned in the sketch. I then adhered a selection of wood veneer stars around the page, placing them at points where the wreaths intersected and forming a “visual triangle” around my photos. I also added a small wood veneer lightning bolt directly onto my second photo.

To finish off, I added the that’s my boy rubber charm along the bottom edge of my photo; then added a small label from the Miscellany die cut pack to the bottom corner of my page and wrote my journalling with a felt pen.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you are enjoying our sketch feature this week. Pop in tomorrow to see another layout from our team inspired by the same PageMaps sketch. Until next time, happy scrapping!

Director | Boys Rule | Mandy Melville

Mandy Melville 15/08/2019

Hey friends!

Mandy here with you today to share a layout featuring the awesome Boys Rule collection! I love all of the colours and patterns in this collection, and I knew that it would be perfect for scrapbooking these photos of Isaac dressed up for book week earlier this year. They had to come dressed up as someone who inspires them, and seeing as Isaac takes after his Dad with his love of the cinema, he decided to go as Steven Spielberg.

I started my layout off with the reverse side of the Messed Up patterned paper as my background, which I trimmed down and matted on the reverse side of the Happy Go Lucky paper. I also added a doodled border around the edge of the page which helps to frame the layout and adds some extra detail. Next I adhered a 6 inch strip of white cardstock to the background towards the right hand side of the page. I tucked a strip of the green side of the Straight & Narrow patterned paper underneath the white cardstock to add a pop of colour.

I created two separate photo clusters on the layout, and I positioned them in a way that it draws your eye diagonally down the page. The first is in the top right hand corner, where I added two photos. I printed my photos slightly smaller than 3×4 inches with a thin white border around them, and then I used the Fun & Games cut apart sheet to mat each of the photos. I created an embellishment cluster to the right of of the photos using a camera, which I fussy cut out of the Boy Stuff patterned paper, a flair button, a star from the accessory sticker sheet, and a wood veneer arrow from the You Rock collection.

The third photo I positioned at the bottom of the page, and I layered embellishments under and around the photo to give it lots of interest and to draw the viewer’s eye towards it. I used a couple of chipboard pieces, as well as a wood veneer star, all from the You Rock collection, and I also layered a die cut frame from the Boys Rule Miscellany pack behind the photo.

For my title, I cut out one of the pieces from the Boy Stuff patterned paper, and I combined it with the Totally Rad Alphabet Stickers, to create the phrase ‘Always be Yourself Unless you can be a Director’. I love how this turned out and I think it adds a bit of fun to the page. I wrote my journaling underneath the title, and then I finished the layout off with a few more stars from the accessory sticker sheet.

Thanks so much for joining me here on the blog today. I hope you enjoyed taking a look at how I created my layout. I’ll be back next month with some more inspiration to share with you.

Mandy x

Mr Fantastic | Boys Rule Collection | Kylie Kingham.

Kylie Kingham 09/08/2019

Hello there friends! It’s Kylie back with you today and I am sharing a new layout I have completed featuring the Boys Rule collection. As I have mentioned before, I had been hanging on and hanging on to my stash of this gorgeous collection as it has always been a favourite.However since my sons album hadn’t been updated in a little while, I figured it was perfect for creating some pages with.

I decided to work with a white background and add some mixed media, although I did add the ‘FUN AND GAMES’ paper as a border by trimming 1 cm off each edge of the white. Some clear Gesso was added to my background and I used some watercolour sprays from my craft stash to paint a lovely aqua/blue messy circle to my page. Once dry, I added some texture stamps in darker blue over the top randomly.

The fun circular cut file I used was by The Cut Shoppe and I have used lots of varying papers from the 6 x 8 paper pad, followed by backing each ‘slice’ with white paper.I adhered the circle to the middle of my page with foam tape so that it sat up from the background a little.

I’ve used two photos for my layout. My son always asks if he can take a silly photo after I have taken a sensible one. Every time without fail! So I have printed the silly photo slightly smaller and tucked it in behind our sensible one. I’ve added some of the typed phrase stickers under the ‘Mr Fantastic’ title as a sub-title as well as some aqua cotton from my craft stash for more texture.

I decided to add a machine stitched border around the edge of the white card stock. I added it around 1 cm in from the edge to balance my layout nicely.