Design Team

Summer | Bohemian Dream Collection | Anna Blades

Hi CVS friends!!

Anna here today with you. I hope you all are doing well. Today’s focus is texture! I was thinking about something to give texture to my page instead of texture paste and I thought that thread would be a good idea. Then I found this cut file designed by Paige Evans in my Silhouette library and it inspired me the whole page with the Bohemian Dream collection.

For the base of my layout, I used the colorful Abstract paper. Then, I cut the cut file from white cardstock and trimmed 1 cm. off each side and glued it on top of the patterned paper.  The paper is so bold, but this cut file makes it a little lighter but you still see the print.

I had run out of the flowers from the Die cut ephemera pack, so I fussy cut some flowers from the Abundant paper to embellish the layout. I love this tropical look and I decided to die cut palm leaves with my Big Shot. I also added a flair button from the collection and enamel dots.

Let’s go to the title. I looked for a font that would help me to wrap it with thread and cut it with my Silhouette Cameo. I cut the word “summer” twice to glue it on top of each other to make it thicker. I used embroidery thread in gradient blue.

Then, I stacked all the letters on vellum paper and raised it with foam to make it stand out. I completed the title with a chipboard and the word “moments” from the Boho bits paper. Once it was all glued to the page, I raised the tips of the cut file in the spots with no decorations to add more texture. It’s so bumpy when you touch it!

I really love how it turned out! Love all the texture and the summery vibes! I hope it gives you some inspiration. Thank you so much for stopping by today. See you soon!

Anna xx

Hello Little Miss Sweet Face | Happiness Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hey Everyone its Michelle here today. I have a new layout to share with you all that I’ve made for our current ‘Texture’ theme using the bright and cheerful Happiness Collection. Texture can be added to layouts in a multitude of ways using a variety of techniques and products. Now I’m no good at Mixed Media layouts, they always turn out terrible, so I’ve chosen to go down the ‘clean’ scrapping path that I’m comfortable and familiar with to save you from the horror HAHA

I began with a bunch of scrap papers from the Happiness collection which I cut into different size strips, using a mix of both 6×8 and full size patterns. I added texture to each strip by lightly distressing the edges using my fingernail, and gave myself a few paper cuts along the way. To save your own fingers from the same fate as mine you can get this same effect using a distress tool or the edge of a pair of scissors.

I adhered the strips randomly down the left side of the white cardstock, ensuring to mix the patterns, colours and strip sizes as I went, then sewed each individual strip using my sewing machine. I used a mix of both straight and zigzag stitch to add a little extra detail and texture to the layout but it also enabled me to fold the edges of each strip upwards for that finishing touch.

I chose a couple of cute photos of Leila, printed B&W so not to clash with the colourful background, and backed with a pink pattern paper to compliment the strips and make the photos pop.

Under the right side of the photo I added my very last floral cluster from the wreath pattern paper in this collection. I’ve cut up and used these clusters on quite a few of my layouts as they’re super sweet and perfect for layering. You can also see a peek of the pink muslin fibres I added in for a different element of ‘texture’

I added the title over the top of the floral cluster using a mix of elements and handwriting. The ‘Hello’ is from the Foam title stickers pack that can be found in the ‘Unforgettable’ collection and the white alpha stickers are an older product from the ‘Colour Me Happy’ collection that is no longer available. I sewed through the alpha stickers to keep them adhered to the layout in years to come, but also for a little added detail and texture for this corner of the layout.

In the top right of the layout I tucked in a little more of the pink muslin fibres, added a fussy cut butterfly, heart from the ephemera pack and ‘the good stuff’ sticker that can be found on the accessory stickers sheet of the Happiness Collection. The cute little glitter enamel dots are from the ‘Make a Wish’ collection and have to be my most favourite finishing touch to any layout.

Lastly a second mini cluster on the bottom of the layout, replicated using similar items to the top cluster for a cohesive look. I also added the usual splattering of gold ink to finish the layout off.

Well friends thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my take on adding texture to layouts. I kept it pretty simple and mess free, just the way I like it. Be sure to share your texture ideas and techniques with us in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio FB Group, we love to see what and how you all create!

Until Next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle xx

 

 

Is it over yet? | Life is Beautiful Collection | Rachel Lowe

Hello CVS friends today I have a layout that although the subject matter is of a more serious matter it doesn’t mean it can’t be pretty! I have used Life is Beautiful (Digital collection available) collection, which remains one of my fav CVS collections.

Let’s talk about texture. If you are not a fan or experienced in mixed media how do you add texture to a layout? I focused on texture when creating this layout. Paper tearing is one way to add texture, and paper tearing also allows you to add elements under and over the tears which also adds more visual impact.

Another way of adding texture is to sew on your layout, either by hand or using a sewing machine. I always add machine stitching to my layouts. Another technique with stitching is sewing over a strip of paper and then tearing the paper away from the stitching.

 

Paper layers, dimension (ie foam tape to attach some elements and enamel dots) and a light spray of paint (here I have used black) all add texture to a layout.

Recently I have dusted off my embossing folders and started to add texture to papers and elements using various embossing folders. So my 2020 did not look ‘flat’ I embossed with a polka dot folder and added dimension fluid dots which I also added over my title also.

I really enjoyed putting this layout together focusing on textures! I also wanted to scrap a part of the Covid 19 journey that I am involved in, because memory keepers is what we are.

 

Thank you for stopping by today and keep safe and well!

Rachel X

Super Totally Rad | Totally Rad collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. As we all excitedly await the gorgeous new ‘Daydream’ collection, I have been inspired by some of my fellow team members who have been getting ready by doing some stash-busting. So I decided to have a dig into my own stash and see what I could find to use up. I finally settled on the ‘Totally Rad’ collection. For those of you who have been Cocoa Vanilla fans for a long time, you might have some of this hiding in your stash too; and for everyone who missed this range the first time around, you can now purchase it as a digital collection HERE 

Here is my layout “Super Totally Rad”…

When it came to the background, I was limited with paper choices so I chose to use the sun burst style pattern on the “Good Times” paper from the ‘Boys Rule’ collection instead. I had a couple of photos from my boys recent 8th birthday, and I thought the colours of the cake would make it a fun subject to pair with the colourful ‘Totally Rad’ collection.

Based on the limited paper I had left to work with, I decided to go with a vertical design using a piece of the cute camera print “Happy Snaps” paper for the focal area of my page. Alongside that, I added a strip of the yellow chevron print which was the reverse side of the cameras. I also added a second strip of the chevrons along he right edge of my page. Because the photos I was working with were different orientations, I wanted to keep them contained on the vertical strip of paper and then fill around them.

The key to keeping this busy design cohesive, was to ensure that all the different elements I planned to use needed to be touching each other. This cascading arrangement meant that the viewer’s eye was automatically drawn down through the design. I used a mix of die cut ephemera pieces, as well as pieces that I had fussy cut from the “Mix Tape” cut apart sheet. I also used a flair button and some enamel shapes.

I am not a huge fan of symmetry in my work, so to balance out how heavy my design was along the central line of the page, I added a small embellishment cluster in the bottom right corner of my page, along with my hand written journalling.

I finished off with some black ink splatters and by stamping the phrase happy birthday to you a few times around the page. I am really happy with the clean simplicity of this page, but also with the fact I got to bust some stash and re-visit a collection that I loved.

I will be back again with another share in a couple of weeks time…and expect a certain new collection to be the star of the show! Until then, happy scrapping!

HAPPY TIME | LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL COLLECTION | SOPHIE DELORME

Hello everyone ! It’s Sophie here and I am sharing a sweet layout with you today.

For today’s layout, I used a digital Cocoa Vanilla kit ! It’s the “Life is Beautiful collection“. I fell in love with the color scheme of the collection and all the gorgeous patterned papers and embellishments ! I printed them with my very old printer on good quality paper, and it gave beautiful results !

 

I started with an easy mixed media background. I call it the “reverse packaging technique”…

I put a few splatters of ink on a 12 x 12 plastic package, add a little bit of water and press my thick white cardstock on it. It always gives interesting results, and it was my starting point for the design of my page.

I teared a part of the beautiful coral-pink patterned paper to put on the left side of the page and did a little bit of stitching with matching thread.

 

I backed my photo with tissue paper, adhesive foam and a few layers of patterned paper for dimension and interest, and fussy cut plenty of beautiful embellishments from the same collection that I scattered around my photo.

 

 

I put a banner and the fussy cut word “Happy” for my title and a few butterflies for which I only glued the center to make their wings pop.

 

I wrote down my journaling and added the date, as well as a few Nuvo Crystal Drops.

 

Here are more close-ups:

 

 

 

 

I hope you felt inspired by my page today ! Digital products are a great alternative for collections that are no longer accessible and you can get them right away on your computer ! But don’t forget that they are all for personal use only !

Thank you so much for passing by the blog today, and happy creating !

Sophie xx

 

 

 

 

Captured | Unforgettable Collection | Raquel Bowman

Hey everyone, it’s Raquel here with you today sharing a layout featuring the Unforgettable collection. This collection is one of my absolute faves from CVS; the colour palette is just so stunning.

Here is the layout I have to share with you today – 

This layout is documenting a very special moment for my two kiddies and our family. This photo was taken at my brothers wedding and these two kiddies had a special role in that wedding, my son was the ring bearer and daughter a flower girl. They just looked so adorable and this collection is just perfect for documenting it.

The title of this layout was created using the foam title stickers. I love the contrast of black against the white of the layout and the colours in the collection.

 

This 4×6” colour photo was printed with a white border  the white border allows me to use a busy pattern to mat the photo with – I used the beautiful Unscripted paper to do this.

I am the biggest fan of the CVS woodgrain designs and the Natural Beauty paper in this collection possibly tops the list.  I love creating layouts with a vertical strip of patterned paper and embellishing around that.

The floral embellishments I have used on this layout have formed a somewhat ‘laurel wreath’ behind the 4×6” photo of my kiddies. For this floral design I have mainly used the ephemera pack.

 

To the top left of the photo and layout I have added a small cluster that is made up of a butterfly, a small flower and some hearts from the clear stickers and also the ephemera pack.

As well as clusters to the left and right of the photo – I created one to the bottom right of the page. This gave my layout the balance that it needed. To create this I have used a variety of ephemera, accessory stickers, clear stickers and one of the bows too. The tiny word stickers in the accessory sticker sheets are perfect for acting as journaling on a layout to supply more detail to the title.

I hope you have been inspired by my layout today. Thanks so much for stopping by the CVS blog.

Stay safe, Raquel x

HELLO LOVE | MORE THAN WORDS | GWEN WRUCK

Hi Creative friends, Gwen back on the blog today with a new share. I’m really having a bit of a stash bust at the moment with my CVS products, while I wait for the latest collection to arrive and I’m really enjoying seeing these older products on pages. This project features the ‘More Than Words‘ collection and a sweet photo of my daughter and I, taken a few years back.

For this page, I actually started with the idea to use up some of my stash in this collection and noticed that I had quite a few orange/yellow elements left. I’ve made a stack of layouts with this collection and most of those featured the pretty pinks and greens… so I thought it would be fun to use up some of the darker prints and that pretty peach/orange tone.

Some of you will also know that I’m on a bit of a coloured background kick at the moment so thought I’d start with the ‘Sketch Book’ pattern paper as my background. I’ve then framed it with the ‘Gossamer‘ pattern paper to create a solid border around the edge. I’ve also used this pattern paper to mount my photo along with a small piece of the ‘Effervescent’ pattern paper I had left in my stash. I’m going for a design that runs across the centre of the page so was sure to keep the lines of my background paper running left to right (not top to bottom).

Next, I wanted to build the photo mat and base elements of my page. To break up the peach in the background, I’ve pulled out a cut file, this one from CUT to YOU and cut two out in white Card Stock. I’ve layered these across the middle section of my page to act as a base for my photo and embellishments.

I’ve then positioned my photo on the left-hand side of the page and began thinking about my title and other design elements. I’ve gone with the title ‘Hello Love’ from the ‘Chipboard Titles‘ in the collection. These are super sticky and great quality and really add a lovely touch to your page. I’ve positioned it to the lower right of my photo.

With the largest elements of my design locked it, it’s time to embellish! I’ve started with some floral and leaf die cuts from the ‘Die Cut Ephemera‘ pack. I’ve just made sure to keep to my warm soft Apricot/Peach tones and Black and White.

I’ve also fussy cut out some butterflies, some from the ‘Collage‘ pattern paper and some from the ‘Gossamer‘ paper I have used earlier. I’ve also filled in the design with some Die Cut title elements and stickers from the ‘Accessory Sticker Sheet’.

Lastly, I’ve rounded out the page with some Enamel dots and a deep dive into my stash to find some ‘Endless Summer’ Woodies. I love the warmth of the wood grain here, perfect for this page.

Thanks for popping by the blog today, I hope you enjoyed seeing this page come together and that it might inspire you to do a little stash busting yourself! If you do, be sure to share it with me in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Facebook group :)

Until next time,

Gwen

xo

 

Happy Times | Happiness Collection | Laura Alberts

 

Hey y’all! Laura back again and this time to spread some Happiness! When I saw these two photos, the first thing that popped in my mind was to make a quilt pattern. Inspired by my lovely grandma, I cut several of the papers from the 6×8 paper pad with a 1 inch hexagon punch and then puzzled the pieces together to create a quilted flower effect. Such a fun design and so easy to make!

Once I punched all of the hexagons, I cut out small 1 inch square papers to use as a base and then taped each individual hexagon piece into a simple flower design. It doesn’t really matter which piece starts in the center, I changed up each of mine a little bit from the others. It’s a lot of fun to play with quilted designs!

To add a bit of movement along the page, I added fussy cut butterflies all throughout the quilted flowers and even created little Nuvo gold trails behind them, this gives the appearance of movement! Plus, I added clear stickers underneath clusters and butterflies to give it the appearance of depth. This works because the butterflies’ wings are popped up just a bit.

 

I hope this quilted floral layout inspired you to look at your patterned papers a little differently! It’s fun to see how you can use every little piece up in a new way. If you’d like to see the Happy Times layout come together, I have the entire process in the video below!

https://youtu.be/vJ9E4-lA-mk

Heart Eyes | Unforgettable | Anita Bownds

Hi there crafty friends, Anita here with you today sharing a layout using the beautiful unforgettable collection 
Even though it’s winter we still have butterflies fluttering around and flowers are still blooming so it has inspired me to create this layout full of flowers with butterflies…
 
I started by cutting out the flower background cut file from @neatncraftycutz and backing it with unscripted, sprightly and glorious to fill each flower then I back my white cardstock on glorious and added some machine stitching around the border 

 

 
Next I adhered the flower cut file to the middle of the cardstock with double sided foam tape to add a bit of dimension.
I then matted my photo on papers from the 6×8 paper pad using pink and orange to tie in the colours so they blended. I then tucked in a few bits of ephemera and accessory stickers to add extra colour and depth.

 

 
I added clusters of flowers using the ephemera at the top and  bottom of my photo and scattered a few butterflies to tie in with the theme 
I found this cute white foam title in my stash that I coloured with pink ink to match the colours.

 

 
If you would love to see how this layout came together check out my process video 
 

 

 

 
I hope you have enjoyed my inspiration today..
Happy crafting 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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