A little bit of sad news to share today as we say farewell (again) to one of our beloved team – Lina Monaco. Lina has been a treasured member of our Cocoa Vanilla Studio family for many years, having been a team member twice now after we wooed her back to do another tour with us. Unfortunately for us however, life is just way too busy now for Lina to keep up with everything, so we have to wave goodbye.
So let’s take another look at some of Lina’s recent projects that she created for us. First up, a beautiful layout featuring a photo of the lady of the hour herself along with her husband, and using our ‘Storyteller’ collection…
Lina loves working with bright colours, so next up we are sharing a gorgeous mixed media layout featuring our ‘Sunkissed’ collection…
One of the things we love about Lina is her versatility – she can rock a boy layout just as well as she can rock a girl one. Here’s a gorgeous one she created using ‘No Limits’…
And to round things out, we couldn’t resist sharing this layout that Lina created for our Throwback Thursday featuring one of her all-time favourite collections, ‘Bohemian Dream’. (I think this collection can be found on a lot of people’s favourite list!)
Lina – thank you SO much for all the amazing inspiration you have shared with us over the years and for being such a great ambassador for Cocoa Vanilla Studio. You’ll always be part of the family. We love you and wish you all the best!
Happy InterNational Scrapbook Day everyone! We love this special day each year when people from all over the world come together to celebrate their shared love of this craft. Today we are hosting a celebration in our Facebook Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community group and (of course) we have some challenges for you! We have a mix of challenges that include a variety of styles, so there is sure to be something that suits you.
Challenge Rules
Entries must be loaded into the correct challenge album in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Facebook Community group prior to midnight (AEST) Sunday 9th May to be eligible for the prize. (If you aren’t already a member, make sure you click the link to join.)
Some Cocoa Vanilla Studio products must be used. Yes, you can include other supplies as well, but there must be some CVS products clearly used. (If you don’t have any CVS products, you can always download and print some of our digital products HERE.)
Entries must be created solely for each challenge and not combined with other challenges or design team work.
You may enter each challenge as many times as you wish and entry is open to participants worldwide.
One randomly selected winner from each challenge will receive a $25 store voucher to spend in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio online store.
By entering the challenge you automatically give permission for your work to be shared by Cocoa Vanilla Studio via any of our social media channels.
So without further ado, here are our first two challenges…
Challenge 1 – Sketch Challenge with Laura Alberts
For this challenge you are required to use Laura’s sketch as inspiration for your own project.
Laura created a beautiful sample layout and used one of our older collections, ‘Bohemian Dream’. (Unfortunately this collection is now sold out and no longer available.)
Challenge 2 – Cut File Challenge with Tarrah McLean
For this challenge you are required to include at least one cut file from either of the two sets shown above in your project.
Tarrah chose two cut files from our ‘Summer’ set and paired them with our most recent release collection, ‘Sunkissed’ for her layout. This cut file set, along with our ‘Legendary’ cut file set designed by Cut to You, are both available to download via our community group for this challenge.
We hope these challenges have given your mojo a kickstart and you will come over and join us to play along. We’ll be back with more challenges to share later. Time to get scrapping!
Happy InterNational Scrapbook Day everyone! We love this special day each year when people from all over the world come together to celebrate their shared love of this craft. Today we are hosting a celebration in our Facebook Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community group and (of course) we have some challenges for you! We have a mix of challenges that include a variety of styles, so there is sure to be something that suits you.
Challenge Rules
Entries must be loaded into the correct challenge album in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Facebook Community group prior to midnight (AEST) Sunday 9th May to be eligible for the prize. (If you aren’t already a member, make sure you click the link to join.)
Some Cocoa Vanilla Studio products must be used. Yes, you can include other supplies as well, but there must be some CVS products clearly used. (If you don’t have any CVS products, you can always download and print some of our digital products HERE.)
Entries must be created solely for each challenge and not combined with other challenges or design team work.
You may enter each challenge as many times as you wish and entry is open to participants worldwide.
One randomly selected winner from each challenge will receive a $25 store voucher to spend in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio online store.
By entering the challenge you automatically give permission for your work to be shared by Cocoa Vanilla Studio via any of our social media channels.
So without further ado, here are our first two challenges…
Challenge 1 – Sketch Challenge with Laura Alberts
For this challenge you are required to use Laura’s sketch as inspiration for your own project.
Laura created a beautiful sample layout and used one of our older collections, ‘Bohemian Dream’. (Unfortunately this collection is now sold out and no longer available.)
Challenge 2 – Cut File Challenge with Tarrah McLean
For this challenge you are required to include at least one cut file from either of the two sets shown above in your project.
Tarrah chose two cut files from our ‘Summer’ set and paired them with our most recent release collection, ‘Sunkissed’ for her layout. This cut file set, along with our ‘Legendary’ cut file set designed by Cut to You, are both available to download via our community group for this challenge.
We hope these challenges have given your mojo a kickstart and you will come over and join us to play along. We’ll be back with more challenges to share later. Time to get scrapping!
Hello everyone!! It’s Melissa here and I’m so happy to be here for Throwback Thursday. The first thing I always do for Throwback Thursday is pull out all of my Cocoa Vanilla collections and decide which one I’m going to use. I decided that for this layout, I’d let the members of our Facebook Group decide, so I made a poll with the following collection options: Happiness, More Than Words, Bohemian Dream and Midnight. Happiness won by a landslide, but a couple of people asked for a mashup, and several other others likes this suggestion. So I decided to make Happiness my main collection, and incorporate something from each of the other three collections!! Such a fun challenge to set myself!!
I chose a photo of oldest and youngest daughters, and my main reason for choosing it was for the pink and purple colours in it! It goes perfectly with Happiness.
I created a mixed media background focussing on pink, purple, blue and gold. I also added subtle white splatters to tie it all in together. I mostly used the packaging technique, and also splattering. I used a manual die cut machine to cut two different sizes of triangles from the paper scraps I had leftover from Happiness. After I had adhered all of my triangles I machine stitched through them in bright pink thread for texture and interest.
I heat embossed the large floral stamp from More Than Words with gold metallic embossing powder. I love how elegant it turned out!
The large chipboard “beautiful” is from Bohemian Dream, and I kept it white so it would pop against all of the other colours on my page. The “together” die cut title is from Midnight.
I also used Accessory Stickers and from Happiness and Midnight over the top of the triangles and stitching, and I love the whimsy that it adds!! I wrote my journalling on a cut apart piece that I fussy cut.
I made a process video, which you can watch below.
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I hope I inspired you to pull out your older Cocoa Vanilla Studio collections, and to even mix them up a little!
Hi CVS friends, Rachel here! Today I have a fun layout using lots of colour and busy patterns which if done in a balanced way and with a white (or black) contrast totally work. I have used Bohemian Dream collection. I cut a piece of white cardstock to 10×10 inches. I added some turquoise paint brush strokes randomly across the page and splattered lightly with some black paint (this is as messy as I can get lol). I then added messy machine stitching in a turquoise colour. I also tore some of the white cardstock edges for texture.I attached this to the stunning Abundant paper as a stunning border. I used two floral cut files from the Silhouette Design to add to the sides of my pages. I used another busy paper Flower Child to paper back these, which you can do as they have the white background paper to contrast.I love using the Accessory Stickers to create my journalling which I usually tuck into embellishment cluster.I added my photo using s die cut frame and then added more florals to either side and finished off adding some phrase banners under my photo and not forgetting a gorgeous butterfly which I had to add because the colour was perfect! I also added my photo with foam tape which I always do when I am using a smaller photo so it has dimension.Lastly I added my title using a die cut and accessory sticker words, I love the contrast between big and small in a title. I went back and added some enamel dots to add more texture.This layout would be perfect for a teenage girl themed layout, it’s modern, bright, bold and lots of fun!Thank you so much for stopping by today and I am so excited to share my first layout using the stunning Day Dream collection, so see you all soon. Happy creating.
Hi everyone. Its Tarrah back with you today on the Cocoa Vanilla blog sharing a new layout featuring the gorgeous Bohemian Dream collection!
I am not normally a purple person when it comes to clothing or scrapping but when it comes to the Bohemian Dream collection, how can you go past that gorgeous purple?! The dress that my niece is wearing in this photo together with my Mum was the inspiration for my layout today. The colours in Amelia’s dress were the perfect match with the Bohemian Dream collection!
To start my page, I chose my background, which is the Dreamer paper and then started to build from the background up. I cut 2 strips of paper from the A and B sides of the Flower Child paper and placed them horizontally, I then trimmed the blue with white spots paper and cut it into a rectangle shape. Next I layered a paper doily underneath my photo, one of the journal cards from the Beautiful Mess paper and also layered one of the die-cut frames from the ephemera pack under the photo. The photo and frame have craft foam underneath them to add dimension to the page.
To embellish my layout, I took some of the florals, feathers and butterflies die-cuts from the ephemera pack and tucked them into various places around the page. On the left of my photo, I added one of the gorgeous flair buttons and the ‘Beautiful’ die-cut became my title for the page.
Thank you so much for stopping by the Cocoa Vanilla blog today! I hope you can take a little inspiration from my layout today.
Hi there crafty friends, Anita here with you today sharing a layout using the bohemian dream collection our theme this week is stars or stripes I have decided on stripes, I added it behind my photo and add them to the border.
I started off by trimming and Matting dreamer pattern paper behind my purple cardstock as I wanted to change it up from my normal white..I then splattered some white paint and some lavender mist across the cardstock to ass more colour and texture then I layered some texture Using a stencil and modeling paste.
Next I added a 6 inch doily in the centre to add softness to my background
I matted my photo on dreamer and beautiful mess to add the stripes and colours to blend
I embellished with ephemera and accessory stickers around the photo
I also wanted to add a bit more colour to the top and bottom of my layout by clusters of embellishments layered By using more accessory stickers and ephemera
For my title I pulled out those beautiful foam titles from unforgettable and painted it purple and add some pearl drops for texture
(Tip)
Tucking ephemera and stickers can add that extra texture and layer to help it not be so Plain
(Tip)
Also cutting out the negatives of your stickers can add a different texture And texture element.
I hope you have enjoyed my mixed media layout today
Hey CVS friends, I loved this challenge and have chosen a fab layout created by Natalie King for the Grab 5 INSD 2020 challenge. And here is her gorgeous layout.
And here is my scrap lift of her layout.
I have used a mix of Bohemian Dream and Wild At Heart collections. I first cut a doily on my Silhouette instead of Natalie’s circle at 8 inches. I cut my white cardstock down to 10×10 inches. I used the vibrant Flower Child paper as my border page (creating a stark contrast for visual impact). I then used two polaroid die cut frames (these photos are 2.5×3 and 2×2 inches) and added with smaller photo with foam tape.
I next created the 3 embellishments clusters as Natalie did. I used the Bohemian Dream Ephemera die cuts, layering under and over the photos and a smaller one under the doily.
I have used enamel dots and some clear stickers to add a little mixed media feel and add more dimension.
You will see here that I have not glued the outer part of my doily cut file, only adhering the centre, this ensure it does not look ‘flat’ and helps create another layer on the layout.
I finished off my layout adding a clear sticker brush stroke on the edge of the white cardstock and added a sentiment banner over the top
I had such fun scrap lifting this layout! I also love going back and revisiting older collections and falling in love with them all over again! Thanks for stopping by and see you again soon.
It’s Sue Plumb here to share my take on the current scraplift theme that the entire team have been working on. For this theme we were all challenged to choose a layout that inspired us from the International Scrapbook Day challenge entries and create our own version. There were so many amazing layouts I found it really hard to choose, but I kept coming back to this super cool page by Rachel Dutko…
There were so many elements I just loved about this page – the textures of the torn, layered papers; the eclectic mix of embellishments; the use of white space; and the touch of mixed media – it just drew me in. For my scraplift, I really wanted to capture some of Rachel’s main design features, whilst still creating a layout that was my own style. I even decided to re-visit one of my all-time favourite collections, ‘Bohemian Dream’.
Here is my layout (I hope you think I did yours justice Rachel!)…
I decided to create my page with a similar theme to Rachel’s, by documenting a selfie and focusing on the message of being yourself and unique. (This pic probably accurately represents me…haha) I then grabbed some white cardstock and added a splash of colour, just as Rachel had on hers. I used blue and purple inks, which I mixed with a little water and then applied to my cardstock to achieve an abstract watercolour background.
Next, I chose three patterned papers, which I tore and layered across my page. The papers I used were Dreamer; Gypsy Heart; and Abstract. I also added a few torn pieces of a washi tape sticker from the ‘You Rock’ collection and an extra paper strip cut from the reverse of the Dreamer paper.
Just as Rachel did, I used two layers of paper to mat my photo (these were from the ‘Bohemian Dream’ 6×6″ paper pad); along with a small yellow paper doily and some frayed gauze for texture. I then began working on the embellishments to cluster around my photo.
I had a sheet of the gorgeous floral print Abundant paper that I had already cut into previously, so I fussy cut three floral pieces to tuck into the layers around my photo, adding a couple of extra little leafy branches from the Die Cut Ephemera pack.
Then it was time for a little stash-busting treasure hunt as I looked through my stash of Cocoa Vanilla embellishments for some extra bits and pieces. I found a couple of gorgeous blue paper flowers I had left over from the ‘Hello Sunshine’ collection that matched with my blue ink perfectly, so I added those to my clusters, tucking the edges under my photo. I also found some cute little blue puffy stickers from the same collection, so onto the page they went too.
The one of a kindFlair Button that I added to the corner of my photo was from the ‘Bohemian Dream’ pack, and was perfect for my page theme! The small mint acrylic heart was left-over from the ‘Free Spirit’ collection; and I also used some blue enamel dots from ‘Life is Beautiful’.
Rachel had some pretty little butterflies on her page, so I had to include some on mine too. (I know, since when do I need an excuse for butterflies, right?!) I added a blue one from the ‘Bohemian Dream’ chipboard near the top of the page; then a smaller pink one from the Die Cut Ephemera pack near to the bottom.
To finish off, I added the live in the moment sticker for my page title (popped up on a little foam tape), and a few small phrases from the Accessory Sticker sheet. A little splatter of some navy mist and I was done.
A big thanks to Rachel for inspiring me with her fabulous layout, I am really happy with how mine came out. (Even though I am clearly incapable of showing the same level of restraint that I so admired about Rachel’s page…haha)
I hope you are all keeping well. Gwen back with you on the blog today with a new share. For this page, I’ve dug deep into my stash to my all-time favourite collection ‘Bohemian Dream‘. I just love the blue tones in this collection and the moment I took this series of photos of Miss 12, I just knew it would be the perfect collection to work with to scrapbook it!
First things first, I stitched around the edge of my photo and added two photo mats. The first mat is purple card stock from my stash and the second mat is the ‘Wild and Free‘ paper. I’ve added foam between the layers for dimension.
Next up, I went about choosing my background paper. I used the same purple cardstock for the outside border of my layout and then ‘Gypsy Heart‘ pattern for the background. It’s bold, but I just love it! I then pulled out the “Intersecting Heart Row’ cut file from CUT to YOU, cut it three times and colour blocked the backing of each row. It looks like I’ve used different pattern papers here but I’ve simply chosen different sections of the ‘Dreamer‘ paper from the deep purple through to the light pink. *TIP – Choose ombre pattern papers in collections; you get multiple colour options for the price of one :)
Once the files were backed, I centred them onto my layout. Next, I wanted to lock in the position of my title and photo. For this, I’ve used the Chipboard Titles from the collection and the word ‘Beautiful’. As this is quite long, I’ve positioned it toward the left of the layout and the photo positioned towards the right. I think this balances the page out really nicely.
With my three main elements locked in, it was time to embellish. In my usual style, I’ve started with the bigger elements first. I had these Charm Creations fabric X and O and have added them to the left of my photo. I found this sweet sentiment ‘Fine and Dandy’ from the ‘Ephemera Pack‘ and have added that on top of these elements.
I’ve also used two of the flower elements from the ‘Ephemera Pack‘ one below my title and the other above my photo which creates three main cluster features around my page. The Ephemera pack in this collection has so many pretty watercolour flowers and lovely sentiments, it really is a must-have and still available in the Cocoa Vanilla shop.
Lastly, I pulled out the ‘Accessory Stickers’ from the collection including two fun tabs, one that says ‘Captured’ the other ‘Happy Snaps’ and added these around my photo. I’ve also added two die-cut butterflies, a flair button and some enamel dots to finish off the page.
This page is a little different for me, especially with that bolder background colour, but I just love it! I think the white in the cut file and the chipboard title really pop and it just sets the page off. Do you have some Bohemian Dream in your stash? If you do, I hope this page inspires you to revisit this stunning collection.