Hey everyone, it’s Raquel here sharing my final Christmas layout for this holiday season. I managed to document our 2021 Santa photo.
Here is a Layout that I created;
As mentioned, the subjects of this layout are my babes having their 2021 Christmas photo with Santa at a local shopping centre. I used a green paper to back the photo as I wanted to tie into the green in the photo but also what I was going to use in the wreath. I embellished the photo with chipboard stickers and ephemera that linked to Santa and of course I had to add in some fussy cut flowers.
To create this layout are used a cut file as the main feature on the page. This cut file was purchased from the Cut to You store and is a wreath design. I used the paper pad and 12×12 scraps I had to back the leaves and bow off the cut file. I tried to use a mixture of green patterns and shades within the leaves.
To embellish around the page I have used the leaves and berries ephemera pieces and any stars I could find within the collection.
I think one of my favourite additions to the page and pieces within this collection are the gold stars within the title pack. They add a beautiful pop of gold to a page and are a great finishing touch to a layout.
I used a thin foam adhesive to adhere the whole cut file to the page. It just gives a subtle pop of dimension.
I love how although this collection contains the traditional red and green colours it also has pinks and creams within the colour palette. I framed the layout on one of the pink papers to soften the layout.
Thank you so much for stopping by the CVS Blog today – I hope my layout inspired you.
Hi everyone, it’s Raquel here and today I am kicking off a school theme this week on the blog. And what better way to kick off school week than with a post celebrating World Teachers Day which is today, October 5th. So to celebrate this day I decided to create a layout all about the 2021 school year….and what an interesting year as a teacher and Mumma it has been here in Victoria.
Here is the layout that I created:
As I mentioned, my goal for this layout was to document the 2021 school year. And boy…what a year it has been. The continual shift and change from onsite to remote learning has been tough as a teacher of 5 year olds and a mum of two primary school age children. I had a few photos taken at random times throughout the year that I wanted to include on this page. This free ‘notes’ cut file from Paper Issues was perfect and allowed me to add multiple photos. I used the ‘Family Ties’ paper for the cut file and love this colour against the white background.
I took advantage of the theme of ‘teacher’ and included all of the woman and child ephemera pieces on this layout. They were the perfect addition to this page I thought.
Due to the framed design of this page my journaling is scattered from the to left square to the bottom of the page. As always I used my typewriter and cut it in a strip design.
To back the spaces in the cut file that were not filled with photos I used a combination of the 3×4″ pocket cards and the a5 paper pad. The designs were perfect and I was able to incorporate a variety of both busy and more subtle patterns to balance out the layout.
It is so lovely to be able to spend my days in my profession in the same school as my kiddies. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a perfect situation as my little man may attest, but I love being able to see those special school moments like awards and assemblies that I had previously missed as a Mumma.
The whole cut file was adhered to the page using a foam adhesive. I also used a variety of dimensional adhesives to adhere any of the ephemera pieces to the page.
The clear sticker hearts and mini heart puffy stickers were that perfect small embellishment to finish off my clustered areas of embellishments.
I also ran a two strips of patterned paper along the left side of the layout. I used my binding edge punch for one of the layers to coincide with the ‘school’ theme.
I am absolutely in love with the mini alpha puffy stickers,…..wow, such perfection! I love the impact they make without overtaking a layouts design.
It was hard to know what to title this page with, so the simple ‘teach’ seemed to fit the purpose. The ‘for the record’ sentiment was on a 3×4″ card. Worked well for this layout to lay journaling.
What a year, I’m crossing fingers and toes that 2022 is a much calmer year for us all xxx
Above all the challenges of the role that has been 2020 and 2021 as a teacher I honestly would not change my job for anything. The absolute joy I get from my profession as a teacher is the ultimate reward…the relationships, the growth I see and the professional learning that I make daily…..just the best!
On this day I think we also need to take our ‘hats off’ to the families and carers who have helped to facilitate their child’s learning alongside their child’s classroom teacher. What a team we have all made and what a journey this last two years has been! Thank you!
Hi everyone, it’s Raquel here, thanks so much for stopping by the CVS blog today. Today I am here to share another new layout using the ‘These Days’ collection. I have not gotten tired of creating with this gorgeous collection and every new layout I create is featuring a different element of it.
Today I wanted to feature one of the 12×12″ papers, the ‘Wall of Fame’ paper that is full of gorgeous frames. I have seen a few layouts shared with this gorgeous paper from both the CVS team and people within our CVS Facebook community. I was feeling so inspired and ready to play.
Here is the layout that I created:
I used my fine tip scissors to cut around the edges and inner pieces of the frames. Of course I had to feature a series of photos within the frames as well as highlight a few embellishments and create a few embellishment clusters.
The subject of this layout is my girl taken on one of our summer holidays. We look forward to a little coastal getaway every year and these pics were taken then. The delight of a child when they find a dandelion is just the best.
To embellish the page I have used a variety of the ephemera pieces, clear stickers, puffy stickers and accessory stickers. The frames form a big part of the initial design of this layout. Because the frames are printed on an essentially white background, I have used a variety of foam adhesives to adhere the fussy cut frames onto the layout.
I adore this envelope ephemera piece and was so glad I found a spot for it to feature on this layout, nestled within one of these frames. When using the clear stickers I will place the ‘painty look’ ones directly on a layout. However, any other elements I will apply to white card stock and then fussy cut out. This allows we to use the pieces like ephemera. The wood button was a great finishing touch to this page.
The ‘Wall of Fame” paper was calling my name as I mentioned previously, has it been calling yours? I’m thankful for fine tip scissors. To fit my photos within the frame they were printed ‘4 up’ but with borders. The outside and background space allowed for a perfect framed photo within the patterned paper frames.
I was not sure at the start of a title for this page. I just loved these photos and wanted to document them. This ‘foam title’ “you” simple but perfect.
The right of the page had some white space which allowed me to add some journaling while still remaining balanced. I wrote my journaling based on the ‘wishes’ of a dandelion. The gold puffy heart , oh my, the perfect touch to the page!
Thanks so much for popping by the blog today. I know it is only 2 weeks since my last share but sometimes they feel like lifetimes apart with this challenging world that we all live in right now. Currently I am on day 1 of my school holidays as a teacher and Mumma. After what feels like years of lockdowns and switches between online and remote learning with 5 year olds….I am ready for all to settle soon. Fingers crossed!
Hey everyone, it’s Raquel here today sharing a new layout featuring the new and amazing These Days collection. I was really inspired by the icons and elements in this collection and had a similar layout idea rolling around in my head since I received it. I had wanted to create a layout with a house design, and include the sentiment and quote “home is whenever I’m with you”.
Here is the layout I created:
The subject of this photo is hubby and I from our wedding back in 2011. The warm tones in the photo suited this colour palette beautifully. The main design of the page was a house cut file. To create this cut file I actually just found a house icon via google and traced that in my cutting machine software. This was a quick and easy way to customise my layout to suit the design I had in my mind.
The title ‘grateful’ was from the foam stickers. I love the bold and striking contrast the black has against the woodgrain paper and white of the cut file. The ‘together is the best place to be’ is from the accessory sticker sheet.
At the left and right sides of the house there was shrubbery style shape. I decided to use that as a base for embellishing and adding floral elements to the house – in a way to replicate garden beds out the front. I used a combination of the regular ephemera and the floral ephemera packs. I adhered these in a variety of depths. To finish this embellishment cluster below I added some puffy stickers, a clear sticker paint swipe and a ‘love you so much’ tiny word sticker.
The cluster to the left of the house was completed much the same using the same ephemera packs and puffy stickers. Again, using a variety of dimensions to adhere through the use of tapes and foam adhesives.
I wanted to add a smaller detail to the top left of the page so I tore the white background, and added a pop of the woodgrain under it to add another touch of that pattern. Machine stitching the edges of the layout helped to tie all this in together.
The ‘home is whenever I am with you’ is one of my favourite elements on this layout. I love that it mimics a photo frame and is the ideal and perfectly worded sub heading.
The whole house design was adhered to the page with a adhesive foam sheet. This gives enough shadow to create interest but also allows me to layer under and around it.
Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. I hope you have been inspired by my layout today!
Hey everyone. Happy Thursday! It’s Throwback Thursday here on the Cocoa Vanilla blog. I decided to throw it all the way back to ‘Bohemian Dreams’ one of my fave collections ever. Purple is one of my fave colours lately so this collection was certainly calling my name.
Here is the layout that I created:
This subject of this layout is myself and my bridesmaids at my Wedding. The image was taken by our photographer and one I just adore. The photo being black and white allowed me to bring in a lot of colours into the designing of the page. Normally I love to feature cut files on my layout but for this layout I wanted to focus more heavily on the papers and patterns within the collection.
I decided to make the ‘Beautiful Mess’ patterned paper a feature of this layout by cutting the individual 4×6″ and 3×4″ pieces. I layered these pieces below my matted photo in a somewhat vertical design, trying to distribute colours as best as I could. These were adhered together to form one piece and then adhered to my layout with a foam adhesive.
To the right of the photo I added a large photo cluster comprising of many pieces of ephemera and other embellishments. The title ‘so happy’ was also used from one of the accessory stickers.To achieve dimension on the clusters – elements are adhered to the page in varying depths using a combination of glue dots, double sided tape and foam adhesives.
Instead of journaling on this page I used the tiny word sticker sentiments from the accessory sticker sheet. These were able to tell my story, just in fewer words.
I think my favourite part of this collection, well actually most CVS collections are the florals. I have to hold myself back from adding more when I am embellishing.
One of my favourite staples in the ephemera packs is the small file tabs. They are one piece that I will add to most pages – usually to the top left corner of my photos.
As you can see from the image below the layout features a lot of dimension, particularly from the embellishments.
I hope that you have been inspired by my layout today for this Throwback Thursday. Thank you so much for stopping by the CVS blog to check it out.
Hi everyone, it’s Raquel here with you today sharing with you some ‘These Days’ inspiration. This is the first layout that I have created with this new collection and oh my, it is just so gorgeous.
Here is the layout I created to share with you today:
This layout is featuring my beautiful new nephew and my beautiful and proud daughter and cousin. I absolutely adore these photos of my little girl holding her cousin and I wanted to showcase them. I used a fun grid design cut file from Cut To You which then inspired my photo size and amount of photos I chose to feature on this layout. I decided to back the photos into the cut file and printed them approx 3×4″ size in black and white.
The grid design of the cut file encouraged me to use the patterned paper to back the different sections. This allowed me to bring in a variety of papers and the bring contrast to the page. When adding the patterned papers to the page I tried to balance the prints and colours to ensure that the layout still looked appealing to the eye.
To embellish the layout I added three main clusters to the layout as well as some other embellishments to help guide your eyes around the layout. The embellishments I have mainly used are ephemera but also accessory stickers, clear stickers and puffy stickers.
The ‘Little Moments of Joy’ sentiment embellishment piece was fussy cut from one of the 3×4″ pocket cards. It was the perfect addition to this page.
The top right of the layout features a photo. I added my fave embellishment the ‘tab’ to the left of the photo. The finishing touch was the cute little puffy sticker hearts. I would just love a whole sheet of those little hearts.
I used the multi coloured tiny puffy alphabet stickers to add my daughters and nephews name.
I framed the whole layout with the yellow gingham paper and adhered the whole square cut file onto the woodgrain paper. I adhered the cut file and a selection of the embellishments to the page using a foam tape to add dimension.
Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. I hope that this layout has inspired you to get creating.
Raquel x
Hey everyone, it’s Raquel here with you sharing my latest layout created for the ‘circles or squares’ theme on the blog this week. For today’s layout I decided to go for the not obvious choice of circles and went for the squares instead.
Here is the layout that I created:
The subject of my layout today is my little man. This year he has begun learning basketball one night after school. He is having a ball and I was excited to be able to document this for him.
The theme is ‘circles or squares’ so I decided to create a square grid design to document two small photos. To create the grid design I used multiple scraps I had in this collection and a square die from Sizzix. I love that I was able to create a visually appealing layout with minimal papers.
To embellish the page I used a variety of ephemera pieces – in stars mainly, making sure to find pieces that are a perfect to match this sport theme. I delved into my stash and also found old enamel dots for the layout.
The title for the layout was created using a combination of CVS collections. The banner was cut from one of the cut apart papers. So cute!
I did not journal in detail on this page today. However I did add some tiny word stickers from the accessory sheet and add the ‘what’ and ‘when’ detail in typewritten journaling.
Thanks so much for stopping by the CVS blog today I hope you have been inspired by my layout.
Hey everyone, it’s Raquel here with you today sharing my latest layout featuring the bright and beautiful Sunkissed collection with you.
This layout is featuring my fave paper in the collection ‘Bright side’. As soon as I saw this paper I knew that I wanted to create a layout that features the rainbow design from the paper. It has taken me many layouts using this collection to finally decide on a layout design that featured it.
The subject of my layout is my kiddies at Summer on our vacation. I have been able to create and document a number of our summer memories thanks to Sunkissed. The pocket cards were the perfect size to mat my photos and I was able to choose complimentary colours to the colours I’ve used from the rainbow. I printed the photos using my portable photo printer and adhered them matted to the page with a foam adhesive.
The rainbow was fussy cut from the patterned paper I decided to only feature three of the rainbow colours on this layout. I tacked them to my page lightly and secured them with machine stitching.
To the left of the photo I have embellished the page using a mix of ephemera, puffy stickers and floral ephemera pieces. I also used some of the gold foam hearts to match in with the title. The wood buttons were a nice finishing touch to the clusters of embellishments on the page.
I used similar embellishment choices to the right side of my photos also.
The gold foam stickers make the perfect feature title for a layout. Summer days worked perfectly on this layout and with these photos. Instead of my usual typewritten journaling I have used the mini word stickers on the Accessory sheet to sum up some thoughts from our day.
When adhering embellishments to the page I have used a combination of glue dots, liquid adhesive and foam adhesive.
The white card stock base was adhered to the ‘Summer lights’ paper on a slight angle to provide visual interest. I also machine stitched around the edges for further texture.
I hope this layout has inspired you today to get creating with this beautiful collection.
Hey everyone, it’s Raquel here with you today sharing my latest layout with you all. Happy INSD everyone. I hope that you have enjoyed the challenges over on the CVS Facebook community page. It was a lovely weekend and I couldn’t resist joining in on one of the challenges also.
Here is the layout that I created:
This layout was my contribution to Laura’s sketch challenge. As soon as I saw this sketch shared I knew I wanted to create a layout based on it. It is just so gorgeous.
I loved the vertical repeating design of the hearts and have been inspired by so many entries in the Facebook community for this challenge; I’ve seen hearts and rainbows and decided to have a look through my cutting dies stash and see what I could create. I found a gorgeous set of intricate butterfly layering dies and immediately knew that I wanted to create a layout featuring my Charlotte and the Sunkissed collection.
The photos were printed on my Canon Selphy in an ‘untraditional’ size. I actually made them fit side by side vertically making each photo approx 2″x6″ in length. I always edit my photos separately on an app on my phone prior to printing. Due to the editing and printing software my photos were missing my usual beloved white border, so I have used white card stock to replicate this. I love that sketches are able to provide you with so much inspiration but also allow you that creative license to make changes to suit your style.
I used the foam glitter stickers to make the title for this page and my fave journaling on my typewriter. As a teacher I know the challenges of girls growing up, however it is a whole different basket when you are raising your own little human. This can prove difficult at times but I am so proud of this little human and I wanted to document that on this layout.
In terms of layout design I have used metal die cut butterflies. I love the intricacy of the layers and the delicateness.
To help balance the layout I have used floral ephemera in the bottom left of the photo. I also added a touch of gold to work with the title.
You may or may not see … but I have to bring your attention to the fact that I did infact ‘mixed media’ on this layout. I used distress stains and a mask to create a subtle text print on my white background. I love the effect it gave the layout. I then got ‘super messy’ for me and added some teal and gold splatters to the layout.
As mentioned above the butterflies were cut with a metal die and layered on top of one another. I used my sewing machine to secure the layers and left the threads free to work as a design element.
I hope that you have been inspired by my layout today. Be sure to check out the challenges in our Facebook community to join in. You have until this Sunday.
Hey everyone, it’s Raquel here with you today sharing my latest layout with you all. Happy INSD everyone. I hope that you have enjoyed the challenges over on the CVS Facebook community page. It was a lovely weekend and I couldn’t resist joining in on one of the challenges also.
Here is the layout that I created:
This layout was my contribution to Laura’s sketch challenge. As soon as I saw this sketch shared I knew I wanted to create a layout based on it. It is just so gorgeous.
I loved the vertical repeating design of the hearts and have been inspired by so many entries in the Facebook community for this challenge; I’ve seen hearts and rainbows and decided to have a look through my cutting dies stash and see what I could create. I found a gorgeous set of intricate butterfly layering dies and immediately knew that I wanted to create a layout featuring my Charlotte and the Sunkissed collection.
The photos were printed on my Canon Selphy in an ‘untraditional’ size. I actually made them fit side by side vertically making each photo approx 2″x6″ in length. I always edit my photos separately on an app on my phone prior to printing. Due to the editing and printing software my photos were missing my usual beloved white border, so I have used white card stock to replicate this. I love that sketches are able to provide you with so much inspiration but also allow you that creative license to make changes to suit your style.
I used the foam glitter stickers to make the title for this page and my fave journaling on my typewriter. As a teacher I know the challenges of girls growing up, however it is a whole different basket when you are raising your own little human. This can prove difficult at times but I am so proud of this little human and I wanted to document that on this layout.
In terms of layout design I have used metal die cut butterflies. I love the intricacy of the layers and the delicateness.
To help balance the layout I have used floral ephemera in the bottom left of the photo. I also added a touch of gold to work with the title.
You may or may not see … but I have to bring your attention to the fact that I did infact ‘mixed media’ on this layout. I used distress stains and a mask to create a subtle text print on my white background. I love the effect it gave the layout. I then got ‘super messy’ for me and added some teal and gold splatters to the layout.
As mentioned above the butterflies were cut with a metal die and layered on top of one another. I used my sewing machine to secure the layers and left the threads free to work as a design element.
I hope that you have been inspired by my layout today. Be sure to check out the challenges in our Facebook community to join in. You have until this Sunday.
