Hey y’all! Laura Alberts here with a diagonal design using the stunning Heart & Home collection. I adored these frames and was excited to use them for my Thanksgiving photos with extended family. I started with a Bazzill navy cardstock and cut this lovely text patterned paper from corner to corner to layer on top.
Along the seam of the two papers, I stair-stepped my framed photos with the title ephemera in between to connect them. To fill the open corners, I added a combination of vellum and card stock ephemera flowers. Tiny, fussy cut flowers are sprinkled around the edges, along with Nuvo drops.
I added in a few bits from the cut-apart sheet and finished the layout off with these adorable puffy heart stickers and a sketchy border all the way around.
To see how “Our Family” came together, be sure to check out the process video below:
Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share another design team project with you. Today I am sharing a layout that has been inspired by our April “Chasing Rainbows” challenge. This month the criteria is to use a BIG rainbow as the main design element of your layout. Now if you know anything about me, you already know I am not great at following rules, which is why anytime I try to follow a sketch I end up somewhere completely different. So it should be no surprise to you that my interpretation of this challenge is a little loose. Here’s what I came up with…
I was determined to create a boy page for this challenge, so how do you create a boy rainbow? Simple! You just cut the pink and purple off! I really loved this striped Sunshine Lollipops paper from the ‘Happy Days’ collection so decided to use it as my big feature. I really wanted the colours to pop, so I first added some dark grey acrylic paint to my cardstock for my background. I wanted to keep the paper intact for my main feature, but add some extra interest, so I snipped a little along the line between each colour and used a narrow wooden skewer to help roll the ends up (some I curled a little more than others).
The photo of my boys was taken whilst we were out celebrating their 11th birthday, so using bright colours was perfect for the occasion. As the rainbow was to be the main feature of my page, I didn’t want to mess it up by muddling the colours at all, so I decided to use the tone-on-tone technique for my embellishments.
I used a mix of pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera and Floral Ephemera packs (yes, you CAN have flowers on a boy page!) as well as Accessory Stickers. I placed the embellishments on top of (or as close to) the corresponding colours on the paper and used foam tape to add dimension to some of them.
I really love the effect that using this technique gives, and it makes it super simple to decide where to place things, so putting this page together was a breeze! I finished off the page by adding the Chipboard Title across the top (I ADORE these chipboard titles – the font is so awesome!)
Thanks so much for stopping by today so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to tackle this month’s challenge (who doesn’t love rainbows?!) You can load your entry over in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community group to be in with a chance to win. I can’t wait to see all those rainbows!
It’s Sophie on the blog today with a new layout to share! This time I used the beautiful Happy Days collection!
I focused on the aqua, blue and purple tones of the collection and selected my three favorite patterned papers from the A5 paper pack. I drew and cut three scalloped borders, uneven, out of those papers, and aligned them horizontal on a 12×12 white cardstock.
I placed my photo on the right side of the layout, and used two beautiful frames from the ephemera pack, the rectangular one for my journaling and the oval one for a beautiful piece of rainbow that matched my color scheme.
I used the Chipboard Titles for my title and added a little touch of blue on each letter with watercolor paint.
I created a floral cluster on the right lower part of my photo and fussy cut a few butterflies that I scattered on the page.
I attached some twine on the first scalloped border as the finishing touch!
Here are more close-ups:
How I love that page, and the Happy Days collection!!
Hey y’all! Laura Alberts back again with a lovely layout using the Heart & Home collection to scrap these photos documenting my newest obsession, crochet! The colors in this collection worked beautifully with the yarn that I used in the very first project I made. This blanket is a bit of a mess, but I learned so much!
I used a simple shelf design for this layout with two 6 inch strips of wood grain patterned paper for each base. This was a great design for using up scraps and hiding the rough edges behind my photos. All of the layers made this simple background interesting and fun! In addition, I used the vellum flowers that I fussy cut from the Heart & Home specialty paper to create clusters behind my photos.
The details of these clusters really help my layout shine! I especially love the tiny florals that I scattered around my clusters and titles. These are all fussy cut from the stunning patterned papers in this collection. I also outlined each of the paper layers with a black gel pen to give them a hint of shadow for a 3D look!
To see how “With Love” came together, check out the process video below:
Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I am sharing another layout using the fabulous ‘Great Escape’ collection that documents a photo of Zoe and I on our trip to the USA back in 2019. This pic was taken the day we went to the Grand Canyon, and it definitely rates as one of my favourite days EVER – I am so happy we got to share it together.
I started this page with a sheet of white cardstock and added some ‘Naples Yellow’ acrylic paint to it using a brayer. I chose this colour because of it was a lovely earthy yellow, and I knew it would work well with the other colours of the collection. I then chose a selection of patterned papers for my papery layers, including the green compass print from the Direction paper; the mustard yellow crosses from the A5 Paper Stack; and the orange chevron pattern from the Happy Camper paper. I distressed the edges of the green one to add some texture, before layering the other two on top.
Once the papers were in place I then added some frayed gauze before placing my photo on top of the layers. You can see how I cut the orange chevron print into an arrow shape to run behind my photo from left to right, which helps draw the viewer’s eye in and across the panoramic photo.
For my embellishments, I started by adding three main pieces around my photo – the compass on the left edge from the Die Cut Ephemera pack; the get outside and roam badge (also from the same pack) at the top; and the group of trees from the Chipboard Sticker sheet in the bottom right corner. These three pieces created my visual triangle around my photo and gave me anchor points to work from for the remainder of my embellishments. The other reason I started with these embellishments is because they were all larger pieces and it is always easier to get the biggest things on a page first.
The next piece I added was the ADVENTURE title from the Chipboard Sticker sheet. I knew I wanted to run this piece along the bottom edge of the photo because it is quite a long title and it mirrored the shape of my photo. With all those large elements in place it was then easy to go back and add a few extra embellishments to finish it off. I used the so much fun banner piece and a few stars from the Chipboard Sticker sheet, along with some tiny words and a label from the Accessory Sticker sheet.
I was determined not to over-embellish this page and detract from the photo, so I finished it off with only a few tiny black ink splatters and my handwritten journalling on the label.
I am loving creating with this collection so much, and I have another project with it in the works at the moment that I can’t wait to share! I’ll be back in two weeks with some more inspiration for you.
It’s Sophie here today with a new layout using the Great Escape collection!
When I saw this 3×4 card “The outdoors is calling” on the “Wild Life” paper, I knew exactly what photo to use and it was my starting point for the whole page!
I framed the photo and card on the wood grain “Starry Night” paper, framed everything on white cardstock and placed it on the “Star Gazing” paper.
I teared a big chunk of the “Adventurer” paper and placed it beneath the white rectangle, adding a fussy cut scalloped border from the “Wild Life” paper.
I hand stitched around the white rectangle and added a few cross stitches on the wood grain frame as well.
I used a label from the “Wild Life” paper to handwrite my date and placed Chipboard Stickers around my pocket card and photo to embellish the page.
Here are more close-ups:
This is a simple and more masculine page, and it makes the photo stand out so well!!
Hey y’all! Laura Alberts here again with a fun camp-out layout using the stunning new Great Escape collection. It’s such a fun mix of nature and camping themes! I love the navy and gray tones mixed with brighter tones.
For this outdoorsy photo, I thought this fantastic background was perfect! I added some lovely curly cloud cut files from the Silhouette shop to the Horizon patterned paper. Using a piece of A5 wood grain paper as a base, I built up a window frame for the photo.
The journaling spot is from the cut-apart sheet in this collection, as are the word phrases that are layered over the fussy cut clouds. A chipboard title along with die cut icons brings all of the colors together and draws the eye directly into the 4×6 photo of my son. I love how this layout captures the excitement as well as the setting of this picture.
To see how “Wild Adventure” came together, check out the process video below:
Hello everyone. It’s Anna here with another page made with brand new “The great escape” collection. it just landed on CVS shelves and you can purchase a whole bundle to get every element from this line! Once again I reached for the photos from our family travels. Since my girls are not little anymore, they do not pose to the photos as much as they used to so I need to stick to our summer memories. Rest of the year is almost non existant in my phone camera :) Beside the dog. He fills up the void.
This time I reached for photos from our visit in one of the Netherland’s beautiful towns called Giethoorn, where instead of roads for cars, are water canals for boats. It looks so picturesque and we had an amazing time on the rental boat. I printed five small photos and placed them in a row, so they look like from a photo booth.
I started with white cardstock as a layout base adding few strips of several pattern papers under the photo. I used: “Happy camper“, “Horizon“, “Direction” and “Journey” patterns. Photos glued in a row on a strip of “Adventurer” paper were the next layer.
I spend some time fussy cutting banners from “Happy camper” paper to add them onto the page in few spots. After they were glued down, I used a string in natural color to make them look connected. Embellishing was quite easy and fast. I used few wood slices from Ephemera Pack and some stars from Chipboard Stickers.
My title was created with words from Puffy Title Stickers, that I places in the bottom of the page. I also added smaller word, with the name f the town, using Mini Puffy Alpha Stickers from older “Heart & Home” collection. Their color matches “The great escape” collection perfectly. I finished my project with super cute Puffy Stickers.
And that it all for today! Thank you so much for spending your precious time with me and see you in April!
Hey y’all! Laura Alberts back again with the new Great Escape collection! These photos of my youngest son at the Delta State Fair were the perfect mix of colors for this collection, even though it steps well outside the nature/camping theme of Great Escape. The versatility of Cocoa Vanilla collections is one of the reasons it’s my favorite!
I started with a 10 inch circle using a chipboard template I made from a large bowl in my house. Using that as a guide, I stacked up tons of fussy cut stars around the circle. This gives the layout a celebratory feel that I think fits the State Fair!
I grouped my photos into two small clusters at the top left and bottom right, then built a larger focal image in the middle. For my 3×4 inch photo in the center, I built up a shelf using scraps and manufacturing strips. This gives visual support to my focal image.
If you would like to see how “Play” came together, check out the process video below:
Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share another design team project with you. Today’s mixed media layout I am sharing was created to document a happy snap that was taken while we were out at a theme park celebrating my boys’ 11th birthday. This layout is part of a multi-page spread for my album that includes both 12×12″ and pocket pages. For this one I decided to use a mix of collections including Happy Days, Sunkissed, No Limits, and there’s even a little bit of You Rock from waaay back thrown in.
I began this page with white cardstock and some dark grey acrylic paint, which I applied randomly with a small brayer. You will often see this technique appearing on my pages, as the paint not only helps to define the focal area of the page, but in this case, the dark colour helps the brights to pop. I also used a red Distress Oxide and a stencil to add some extra detail over the top.
I then began the construction of my page with the Summer Lights paper from Sunkissed. I tore a couple of pieces and then flipped one over to show the reverse print, then layered them on top of one another. I also added a yellow paper doily and some frayed gauze to the stack, and matted my photo with some black and white striped tissue paper before mounting on top.
I then started on my embellishments, beginning with the rad sticker from the You Rock Accessory Sticker sheet in the corner of my photo and the tab behind it from the No Limits Accessory Sticker sheet which was stamped with the date. Alongside my photo I used the sunshine sticker from the Sunkissed Accessory Sticker sheet as the first part of my page title, and I also added the white ampersand which was from a set of CVS alpha stickers from long ago. The small chipboard arrow was from the You Rock Chipboard Stickers.
To the right of the photo I also added a handmade star embellishments from my stash, which I topped with one of the Sunkissed Wood Epoxy Buttons. The gold wire was from my stash and I added a few twisted pieces around my page and secured them with staples.
The large stars that I scattered around my page were fussy cut from the Starshine paper from the You Rock collection. The second part of my title, good times uses the Happy Days Chipboard Titles. I finished off my page with some brief handwritten journalling and stamped phrases.
Thanks so much for joining me today so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to dig deep in your stash and mix different collections together. It’s fun combining old and new supplies together and seeing what you can create with them! I’ll be back again soon with another project to share.
