cardmaking

Masculine cards | The Great Escape Collection | Anna Komenda

Hello everyone. It’s Anna here with another project made with brand new “The great escape” collection. This time I don’t have layout for you. Instead I wanted to share three simple, masculine cards. I don’t know how about you, but I always have problems making cards for men and I never have enough in my stash to give them away with gifts. I have plenty of pink and floral ones though… You all know I am not a master in making masculine projects at all so I like to keep thing as simple as possible. Simplicity is a key to success when you struggle!

Let’s start with the basics. To avoid looking for a matching card base, I like to make them with single sheets from A5 Paper Stack. I just fold them in half and it’s done! The best part is that pages are single sided so inside of the card is white and ready for your message. It’s not the first time that I am using this trick.

First card was inspired by one of the papers in A5 Paper Stack with a sort of a simple landscape. I trimmed it to the card size and added stitching around it. Next, I reached for my stash of old CVS Alpha Stickers from variety of collections and created a title “Sky is the limit”, which works great with the landscape. The last step was adding trees from Die Cut Ephemera pack on the bottom and clous fussy cut from one of the papers. Super cute and tine Puffy Stickers and the perfect finishing touch.

Second card was inspired by the navy paper with night sky. I trimmed it to the proper size, added stitching around it and created a card title using Puffy Alpha Stickers from a bit older “Heart & Home” collection. “Reach fo the stars” needed to be surrounded by stars of course. So I cut them out from one of the papers from A5 Paper Stack. I also picked few from Die Cut Ephemera pack. I finished my composition with tiny stars from Puffy Stickers sheet.

Inspiration for my third card came from this pocket card with numbers, cut out from “Wild life” paper. It looks like a bucket list, so I added incouraging words from 6*12 Accessory Stickers. I backed the card with a piece of “Happy camper” paper and embellished everything with bits and pieces from Die Cut Ephemera and Chipboard Stickers. Can you guess the final step? Yep. Super cute Puffy Stickers.

That is all for today my Friends. Do you also struggle with masculine projects or it’s a piece of cake for you?

Thank you so much for staying with me and see you in two weeks.

XO Anna

Simple christmas cards | Joyful Collection | Anna Komenda

Hello crafty Friends! Can you believe it’s December already and we are only 10 days till Christmas? It’s a very last call to make and send christmas cards so I have few ideas to share with you today. I am a great procrastinator and I keep pushing things from my “to do” list to the very last possible day it can be done. Making my cards is no different. That’s why I need to be efficient and fast in making them. Today I have a set of four cards to show you, all made with super cute “Joyful” collection from past years. But worry not – my tips can be used for any other collections too!

Let’s start with card bases. I never have enough of premade card bases as I simply do not make that many cards, so it’s pointless for me to keep bulks of them. Instead, I came up with this quick fix – I am using paper sheets from A5 Paper Stack! This way my card base is colorful and pretty on the outside, and white in the inside. I simply fold the paper in half and card base is done! Just remember to pick patterns that look good both horizontally and vertically so, let’s say your christmas trees, won’t be tilted to the side on the folded base. I picked four different papers for all of my cards.

For each card base I later picked another pattern paper from A5 Paper Stack for the card front. In case of this card, it was papers with cute, little trees. They inspired me to create my own, bigger tree! I simply cut strips of another, darker green pattern. I then trimmed each piece to be slightly shorter then the previous one and glued them to the front of the card. You can create christmas trees in many colors! It doesn’t have to be green. Final step was to add presents under the tree using cute Puffy Stickers and some stars on the tree that look like a ornaments. I mixed Chipboard Stickers and Golden Puffy Stickers from the same collection.

Second card features some christmas greenery cut out from one of the 12*12 patterns. I just arranged them on candy cane pattern paper vertically and finished the card using Golden Puffy Titles stickers as a sentiment. Few golden stars here and there added even more festive look. This technique is perfect if you are running low on embellishments but still have plenty of papers left. Especially the ones that can be used for fussy cutting!

This card has more fresh color palette and I once again reached for fussy cutting to get more embellishments. I found this “falalalala” word in my Ephemera Pieces and I knew I wanted to use it at the center on the card. To fill the empty space around it, I added some stars that I fussy cut from one of the papers from A5 Paper Stack. I finished the composition by adding even more, smaller stars from Chipboard Stickers and Golden Puffy Titles Stickers.

Last card I made features sentiment strips from 6*12 Stikecrs Sheet. I used up most of the sheet but I still gor left those gold foiled words. So I decided to add a lot of them on one card. They look like a speach bubbles coming out from the mouth of a christmas bear. I also added some presents at the bottom of the card. Another quick and easy composition!

How do you like my tips and ideas for christmas cards? I hope they will help you create your own handmade cards. Thank you so much for spending your time with me. See you soon!

XO Anna

Simple cards with “Heart & Home” collection | Anna Komenda

Hello everyone! We all love pretty layouts and albums as they are a perfect way to preserve important moments and memories. But once in a while we also need a nice card to send or add to the gift and let’s be honest – there is nothing better than a handmade card! It can be curated specifically for the recipient to show them how much we care. That’s why, with every CVS collection, I like to make a bunch of cards too and have them ready whenever I need one. This is exactly what I did with new “Heart & Home” line.

I made three cards, each for s different occassion. My trick for a quick process was to use papers from A5 Paper Stack as a card bases. I simply folded each page in half and card base was ready! It has pattern on the front and back but inside is white, as papers in Papers Stack are single sided! Perfect solution! You can add extra pannel like me, or you can embellish your card directly on the base saving even more time.

Fot the first card I used Floral Ephemera Pack flowers and leaves. I used my scissors to trim the white outlines around flowers but you don’t have to do that! Simply arrange flowers and leaves on the card, add glue under each of the elements and your card is almost ready. My sentiment is made with Gold Foil Titles word “love” and Mini Puffy Alphabet word “you”. Few tiny Puffy Stickers hearts here and there and card was done!

Second card has a Polish inscription “Sto lat” which translates to “Happy birthday”. I made it inside the little wreath of flying moths. I cut them all out from “Fall beauty” 12*12 paper. I also added some machine stitching but it’s totally optional. Once again I finished my design with Puffy Stickers hearts and dots.

My last card is the quickest one as I utilised leaves leftoves I had from one of the previous projects. I die cut bunch of them from variety of papers from “Heart & Home” collection. Part was used for the layout, and the rest I added to my Ephemera Pack. I arranged few leaves in the center of the card, adding some foam squares under them for more dimension and finished everything with sentiment from said Ephemera Pack. It took me 10 minutes to complete. You can of course die cut your own leaves. It will take you a little bit longer to finish the card, but it’s only dozen you need.

And that is all for today! Do you like my quick and easy card ideas? You can use them for any other CVS collection too!

Thank you so much for spending your time with me and see you in two weeks!

Cards for teachers | Happy days Collection | Anna Komenda

Hello everyone. It’s Anna here with another project made with new “Happy days” collection. June is a busy period in our family’s life as it’s the last month of school year. Final exams are already over and now it’s time for a lot of good bye’s as my older daughter is finishing the elementary school and is moving to the highschool and my younger daughter is finishing the first step of elementary school and will be changing teachers. I will need a big bunch of cards to thank all of the teachers for taking such a great care of my kids. That’s why I decided to combine my DT duties and my mom duties and make a THANK YOU cards for teachers.

This week we are also focusing on PUFFY ALPHAS so I decided to show you how easily you can customize your cards with them! All four cards I made are the same size, but each looks a little bit different. I used variety of pattern papers from A5 PAPER STACK for my backgrounds. This way I didn’t have to cut into whole 12*12 sheets to only get a small piece.

Two of my cards have little shakers made with frames from EPHEMERA PACK. This is the fastest way to make a shaker! Just add a piece of acetate behind the frame, then pieces of foam adhesive to create a shaker, fill it with sequins and glue to the background.

Those two cards are more personal, with the names of teachers added. It was so easy to do with those tiny PUFFY ALPHA STICKERS! I decorated the frames with some flowers from FLORAL EPHEMERA PACK and some cut out from LUSH BLOOMS 12*12 PAPER. I also added colorful butterflies fussy cut from FLUTTERBY 12*12 PAPER. They create such a lovely, colorful mix. As you can see I didn’t add any school related items to my cards. Who said teacher’s appreciation cards need to have them? Mine are simply cheerful and colorful.

This card utilise another elements from EPHEMERA PACK – little oval frame, that became a focal point of my composition. I added a title on top of it, this time it’s simple THANK YOU, and surrounded it with some florals and butteflies. My final step was to add few cute PUFFY HEARTS.

Last card features fruits instead of flowers. Once again I reached for my scissors and fussy cut some lemons, peaches and oranges from one of the A5 PAPER STACK patterns. I arranged them in a frame around the background and added title in the middle. Another cute card was ready in just few minutes!

Here are few close-ups for the titles, showcasing PUFFY ALPHAS.

Four cards are done. I just need like ten more. But it’s good to have a good start. That is all for today. I hope you like my ideas for colorful and easy to make cards showcasing all the colors of beautiful “Happy days” collection!

Thank you so much for spending your time with me and see you at the end of June!

XO Anna

Love cards | Midnight Collection | Anna Komenda

Hello crafty Friends! Almost each year I have a pleasure to inspire you on Valentine’s Day and this year is no different! I thought that instead of another layout, I will share with you three simple cards I made for my Valentines at home – hubby and two daughters. Each year I keep making cards for them adding few love words inside to show them my appreciation for each of them. I also add something sweet as a little bonus :) This year I decided to dive into older stash and found some papers and embellishments from “Midnight” collection. This line was an amazing combination of soft pink and coral with very dark and deep navy and purple. And those florals… They were so pretty and unique.

Each card has a similar composition with a little shaker in the middle, filled with sequins and some wood veneers from very ancient CVS collections (I still have a box full af them and I keep adding them here and there to many projects).

One of the cards is for my hubby and I made it darker than two others. It also doesn’t have any florals. I added little jars filled with hearts instead. One of them is from Ephemera Pack and one is taken from the 6*12 Stickers Sheet (yes, I still have those too :) – I am a hoarder). “Midnight” collection came with a set of Words Die Cuts but I already used up most of the love related words so I reached out to similar set from “Happiness” collection. It has similar font and similar color so it was a perfect match!

Second card is for my younger daughter and it also has shaker in the middle. If you look closely, you will notice that for my card bases I used a pattern paper. I am using my A5 Paper Pads for this purpose. Each card is sized 10*14 cm and it helps me use up some of the older papers! The good thing about those Paper Pads from CVS is that they are white on the back! Perfect for adding personal message inside the card. This time I added some flowers from Ephemera Pack trimming the whote outline first. This made them a little bit smaller and a better fit for the card. My card title is the only one made with “Midnight” Words Die Cuts. It was the only full phrase in love theme that I was able to create with it.

Last card is for my older daughter. I tried to keep it a little bit less “sweet” as she is teenager now, who prefers black over pink :). I couldn’t help myself and added few flowers, but they are a bit smaller than in the previous card. I made my shakers using a frame die with a cute scallop border. After die cutting the frame, I backed it with a piece of acetate and used foam strips to build volume. All I needed to do is to add some sequins inside and job was done!

Do you make your own Valentine’s Day cards? Or you do not like giving them? I know we need to show our love and appreciation each day, but it never hurts to highlight it even more on the Love Day!

Thank you so much for stopping by and see you in two weeks! Sending you all tons of love!

XO Anna

Gatefold cards | Storyteller Collection | Anna Komenda

Hello everyone! It’s Anna here and today I will surprise you with my project, as I didn’t make another layout! I know! How unusual of me :) I recently watched live where fellow scrapbooker was showing how to make gatefold cards and I wanted to try making one or two. Even after so many years in crafty world I still have so many things to learn. Cards are my weak point for sure as I do not make them often. However, they are great little projects to try out new products or just play when the mojo is low. I reached for my well loved “Storyteller” collection to make my cards.

At first they look like a normal, rectangular cards but magic happens when you remove the belly band. Sides of the card unfold, revealing the inner part. You can make classical version with two rectangles on the front, or use your shape dies to make a window! This is exactly what I did here. Each card has a different shape used for the front panel – circle and heart. It’s important that the shape you use for the opening is symmetrical when you fold it in half.

I used colorful cardstock for my card bases in red and dusty pink colors. “Storyteller” collection is so colorful that you can easily match some cardstock to it. With the pink card, I left the cardstock visible adding only a small, navy circle around the opening cut out with A5 Paper Stack patter paper. Red card has a cute hearts patter paper in the front called “Oh my heart“. I matches the “i love you” phrase perfectly.

Gatefold cards like to open up themselves so it’s good to add some sort of belly band to keep them closed and flat. My red card has a band made with pattern paper and embellished with bits and pieces from Ephemera Pack. Pink one is closed with just a piece of acetate as I didn’t want to cover the composition. Inside of the card, visible in the window, is decorated with Foam Title Stickers. Each card got a different inscription. You can also use stamps inside or replace words with flowers or some other graphic.

Front covers of my cards are decorated with flowers from Floral Ephemera pack – one of my most belowed products in every CVS collection! They are so versatile and easy to use! I also added few butterflies from Ephemera Pack (I trimmed the white outline with my scissors) and super cute Puffy Stickers – hearts and dots. The best feature of gatefold cards is that you can showcase them on the shelf easily as they stand alone.

They are so easy to make when you learn the process and they look stunning. You can easily make a christmas version and I will probably try to create few. And how do you like them? Have you tried this card form before? You can find plenty of tutorials on YouTube for them. Just tyle gatefold card tutorial and many variations will show up.

That is all for today! Thank you so much for stopping by and see in in December! Can you believe it’s only month until christmas?

Sending you lots of hugs,

Anna

Winner Announcement – ‘Storyteller’ Giveaway

Hi everyone!

It’s been such a whirlwind of activity here at Cocoa Vanilla Studio recently that we haven’t had a chance to announce the winner of our new ‘Storyteller’ collection giveaway… until now! I would like to start by saying how appreciative I am for all the beautiful messages and positive feedback I have received about this collection. As you know, I collaborated with my long time friend Traci Reed on this one, and I am thrilled with how it turned out. It really does warm my heart to hear that you love it and I am sure Traci is delighted to hear it too.

Now let’s get to those winners!

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

Congratulations Belinda Ryken!

 

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

Congratulations Anne Farrar!

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

To all who entered – thank you so much for your support for this collection. ‘Storyteller’ is currently shipping to our valued retailers around the world, so please look out for it at your favourite scrappy store.

Zoe XX

Space cards | No limits Collection | Anna Komenda

Hello everyone. It’s Anna here with my next project made with amazing “No limits” collection. Super talented CVS Team has been playing with this line for a while and girls created all sorts of inspirational and fantastic layouts. Their ideas blow my mind! That’s why I though I will surprise you with something a little bit different this time. I made cards! Yep, not a common thing in my scrappy portfolio but I like to make a card or two from time to time. Especially when the idea comes to my mind for a specific products. That was the case this time. When I saw all those space related items like planets, stars and rockets, I though it would be fun to use them in an interactive design. I made three quite simple and easy to recreate cards.

First card has a slider, that moves the rocket up and down. It was the easiest and fastest to make and didn’t required any special tools. I started with cutting the background from A5 Paper Stack twice, in the same size. Then I took a craft knife and a ruler and cut out the strip of paper from one of the backgrounds. To estimate how wide the strip has to be, check what size of foam dots will you be using and add 1mm of each side. You will also need something small and heavy, like a coin. I used 1 cent, which was just perfect.

Next step was to add pieces of foam tape under the first layer of background leaving the tunnel for the coin to move up and down. Put the coin on the first layer of background, add second layer with the foam and glue them together. You should be able to see the coin under the strip. Next, add a foam dot on top of the coin and place the rocket. I used the one from Die Cuts pack, but I trimmed off the white outline to better fit the dark background. Slider is ready! Now you can finish the card by adding the planet on the bottom and some stars and smaller planets. My “Earth” was fussy cut from “Universal” paper. Stars come from Chipboard Stickers sheet and Puffy Stickers.

Second card also has a slider, but in a round shape. This time I had to reach out for dies and die cutting machine. I used to sizes of circles, one slightly smaller than another, to make a round tunnel for the rocket. Rest of the process was pretty much the same – foam layer, coin, foam dot. Decorating the card was also simple as I wanted the rocket to shine. You also need to remember to let the tunnel open so the slider can work smoothly.

This time my planet was fussy cut from the globe from Die Cuts pack. It was just a perfect size. Title for the card was created by cutting one of the stickers from 6*12 Sticker Sheet into pieces. I wanted it to match the “space” theme. Super cute Puffy Stickers stars are a perfect match for any project.

Last card doesn’t have any movable element. It has a shaker instead. I used one of the stars from Die Cut pack to make it. I actually used two of them (from the secon pack) becasue I wanted my star to hang of the side of the card, thus the other side of it would be visible too. If you are planing to place the shaker in the middle of the card, one star will be enough. I started making my shaker by adding a layer of think double sided tape on the left side of the star. I then added a piece of transparency and cut it into the proper shape. I did it twice, with both stars. Next step was to add a layer of foam tape cut into narrow strips on the edges of the star. It was ready to be filled with sequins and glitter. After that, I sealed the shaker with second star. This way, you can use either side of it.

Decorating the card as simple and easy, as with the previous cards. Rocket and few stars make the whole composition. “Reach for the stars” sticker was a perfect finishing touch.

That is all for today! I hope you liked my ideas for simple yet entertaining cards using amazing “No limits” collection.

Thank you so much for stopping by and see you in two weeks <3

XO Anna

Holiday Cards | Joyful Collection | Laura Alberts

Hey y’all! Laura back again with three holiday card from the stunning new Cocoa Vanilla Studio Joyful collection! I really adore the sweet icons and beautiful patterns in this one. It was so much fun to experiment with a variety of papers, fussy cutting everything, and adding the sparkly finishing touches! For the first card, I layered fussy cut florals in the background with a tree from the ephemera pack and a chipboard piece that says “Falalalala” for my central focal point. The title is simply “Jolly” wrapped over the top from the ephemera pack. Those tiny details really are what makes this one pop! With one of the gold fabric stars for the top of the tree and gold Nuvo Drops dotted in the center of the florals and around the backyard, this card really shines!

On the second card, I layered two patterned papers from the A5 paper stack as a base for my large title. The “Christmas Joy” is from the chipboard stickers and is a stunning gold foil! I layered a large fussy cut swag behind the “Joy” and then added dimension with a second layer of fussy cut florals on top of it. My favorite part of this particular card are the little floral bits that look like they are flitting around the outside of both the swag and the title. With more Nuvo Drops for a sparkly detail, this card came together rather quickly after all of that fussy cutting!

For the third card, I decided to create a scene with these adorable animal icons! A little white card stock for snow along the bottom was a quick and easy base for this sweet deer and squirrel. I created the appearance of depth to this one by layering the tree and sign behind the deer, which gives the allusion they are further back. I added chipboard stars across the top of the card with Nuvo Drop trails leading down to them, so that they appear to be hanging from the sky! The “Jingle All the Way” sentiment is from the chipboard stickers and just like before, gold Nuvo Drops were the final details this one needed!

I hope you enjoyed my take on holiday cards using the gorgeous new Joyful collection! They were so much fun to make and I can’t wait to share them with family and friends! Don’t be afraid to use some of the dimensional embellishments on your cards! Once I removed several layers of chipboard behind the titles, they laid quite flat!

 

 

 

Valentine’s Day Gifts | Daydream Line | Anna Komenda

Hello everyone. Happy LOVE DAY!!! I lie Valentine’s Day so much because what can be better to celebrate than LOVE? It doesn’t have to be the romantic one between partners. Love has so many shades and forms and this day is just another occassion to show our appreciation to the people we care the most. Each year I prepare little gifts for my daughters with handmade cards filled with love words. I usually make some decorative boxes too for a little treat. This year is no different. This time I reached for pretty “Daydream” collection and created two sets containing of paper bag and card.

Each bag is made with single sheet of paper: “Daisy days” and “Serenity“. I closed them with a ribbon bows so you can easily open them and close again. I also added a decoration on each bag with a little shaker. They are the part of the gift itself because they are mounted to the bag with magnets! You can remove them and put on the fridge or some other place.

Each shaker is made with a frame from ephemera pack and decorated with flowers and butterflies. You can fill them with sequins and beads like me, or use ready mixture from Sequins and flowers Pack. I also added words “love you” from stickers sheet.

Each bag has a matching card – very easy and fast to make. I chose the same pattern papers than I used for the bags, but this time I reached for smaller size. Paper stack comes very handy here. All the patterns and smaller, which works great with smaller projects, like cards.

Each card is made of trimmed paper and some ephemera pieces. I also used die cut titles to add a message on the top of embellishments. They are small enough to fit the card size, but still big enough to become a main focus element.

All I need to do now is to place some treats inside the bags and write personal messages to each of my daughters. Do not worry – hubby will also get his own gift :)

Thank you so much for stopping by and I wish you all to spend this day surrounded by people you love <3

XO Anna

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