Danni Visser

Farewell Danni Visser

Hi everyone,

Today we say goodbye to another beloved member from our design team – Danni Visser. Danni has been an integral part of our team for a numbers of years now; ever since she first agreed to be a guest designer back in October 2019 and we convinced her stay on permanently. Today truly is a bittersweet goodbye though, because although we are sad to see Danni leave us, we are equally excited and proud of her as she begins her journey through medical school.

So today we thought we would look back at some of our favourite projects Danni has created for us, starting off with one of her guest designer projects from 2019 featuring our ‘Unforgettable’ collection and a beautiful wedding photo…

Danni loves using cut files and has created many projects for us using them, but one of our faves has to be this layout, featuring Danni’s darling daughter, muddy puddles, and our ‘Storyteller’ collection…

Another signature element of Danni’s work over the years has been her amazing hand stitching ability. She has showcased this numerous times, but no layout quite showed it off as spectacularly as this one using our ‘Sunkissed’ collection…

To finish things off, we couldn’t resist sharing a layout Danni created using one of our boy collections, ‘Legendary’. This page featured a nod to the Australian bush and some mixed media work – another element that Danni has often included in her projects over the years…

Danni – thank you for everything! It’s definitely not easy to say goodbye to you and your creations, but we are absolutely thrilled for your new opportunity and what the future holds for you. Lots of love and the best of luck – we can’t wait to be able to call you Doctor Danni!

Cairns Getaway | Sunkissed Collection | Danni Visser

Hello Cocoa Vanilla fans! Today I want to talk about layouts with zero photos; these could be pages about a memory where you had no photos available, a page where you wanted to add extra journaling that wouldn’t fit on your photo layout, or like a I have here – a title page.

It can sometimes be difficult to fill up a page when you don’t have a photo taking up a large portion of the real estate. In this case I made it easier for myself by utilizing a smaller format page; this is A4 size, roughly in between 8.5×11” and 9×12”. If you find yourself struggling with a large 12×12” layout you could easily scrap a smaller size within a larger piece of cardstock. Another tip is to use large elements. I used two large cut files as a title and embellishment, which definitely helped fill up all that space.

This layout will be the introductory title page for a holiday album. We visited tropical North Queensland so I wanted it to be super bright and summery. The new Sunkissed collection fit the bill perfectly! I started with Good Vibrations 12×12 patterned paper as my background as I just could not resist those rainbow stripes!

I took the large floral cut file by COAPA Cutfiles and backed it with Summer Lights, Feelin’ Fine and Good Vibrations 12×12 patterned papers. The ‘CAIRNS’ cut file is one I made myself using a bold font in my design software. I wanted some different colours in this one, so I turned to the double sided 3×4 cards to back it with. These are so versatile!

Once I had those cut files backed and positioned, the rest of the layout came together easily. I added ‘Get Away’ from the glitter foam titles to finish out my title. I also took a few of the tiny word phrases from the accessory stickers and staggered them in the space below my title. I chose phrases that applied to our holiday so they double as brief journaling!

I wanted to enhance that large floral cut file so I took several of the die cuts from the floral ephemera and tucked them around the cut file. I also built a small floral cluster at the top of the page to help balance the layout, as well as adding some of the small florals popped up on dimensional foam. I love the extra shadow and dimension this gives.

For finishing touches I used a white gel pen to scribble a sketchy border around the edge of my layout, then added a splattering of white and metallic gold inks all around the page. I hope you enjoyed this bright summery title page! There is a process video on the Cocoa Vanilla Studio YouTube channel linked below as well.

Happy scrapping!

Danni x

 

INSD Challenge Inspiration | Anita, Danni, Raquel and Kylie

Hi everyone! What an awesome weekend of fun, friendship and inspiration our International Scrapbook Day celebration weekend turned out to be. You may have seen that we shared all the challenge winner layouts on here a few days ago, so we thought this time we would turn the spotlight on some of the layouts our design team created for the weekend.

First up, for Anita’s mood board challenge, was this stunning layout – “Happy Little Moments” that was created by Anita as her challenge sample.

We are totally crushing on the gorgeous colour palette she used and those beautiful cut file flowers that she designed herself for Neat n Crafty Cutz. Anita also generously offered these as a free download, which you can grab for yourself HERE

Here’s a closer look at some of the details from Anita’s layout…

Anita also created a process video for her page, which you can watch on our YouTube channel here:

Continuing on with some inspiration for the same mood board challenge was Danni, who created this adorable layout “You Are Lovely” via a LIVE scrap that was held in the group.

It was so awesome to watch Danni work her magic with watercolours and see this layout unfold right before our eyes. If you missed all the action of Danni’s livestream and would like to see her put this page together, you can view the video in the INSD Celebration group HERE

Here’s a closer look at Danni’s gorgeous watercolour work combined with die cut blooms from our ‘Happiness’ collection. *swoon*

Next up on our challenge agenda, was Raquel’s Scraplift the DT challenge, with Raquel sharing a fabulous layout she created using a page by Kylie as her inspiration.

Here is Raquel’s “Memories” layout, featuring our ‘Unforgettable’ collection…

And here is the layout by Kylie that Raquel used as her inspiration…

You can see how Raquel took some of the main components of Kylie’s page structure and then used them as the building blocks for her own interpretation. So many beautiful layers!

And last but not least, Kylie also created a layout for Raquel’s scraplift challenge. This time, she turned the tables on Raquel and used one of Raquel’s layouts to inspire her own.

Here is the layout that Kylie created, “Sweet Memories”…

Kylie said about her layout “for my interpretation I used the Midnight collection. I really loved the heart overlay in Raquel’s layout and that is probably what inspired me to create my page similar.”

Here is Raquel’s original layout using our ‘Happiness’ collection…

Kylie also created a process video for her stunning page, so you can watch her put it all together on our YouTube channel here:

And there you have it – lots of INSD challenge inspiration from our design team with more to come! See you tomorrow with the next installment.

 

Hello Love | Unforgettable Collection | Guest Designer – Danni Visser

Hi scrappers!  Danni here with another layout for you using the incredible Unforgettable collection.  For this layout I gave in to my love of fussy cutting and mixed media – the butterflies were calling to me!  I started with white cardstock primed with gesso and used a combination of pink and purple watercolours to create a swirled pattern.  I included some shimmery paints and some gold spray ink to add some extra prettiness.  I decided on a circle shape for my photo to continue with the shape of the watercolour on the page.

Next, I went to town with my fussy cutting scissors and cut up a storm!  I fussy cut a bunch of the butterflies from both the 6×8 and 12×12 Lacewing papers and the large floral clusters and tiny flowers from 12×12 Glorious paper.  I bent the butterflies in the centre to create dimension and glued them down in clusters around the watercolour swirl, making sure to just add glue to the centre and keep those wings popped up.  They look like they could fly up off the page any second!  I sprinkled the teeny tiny flowers in amongst the butterflies – they are so sweet.

I glued my fussy-cut florals in two main clusters either side of my photo, overlapping them to keep it looking natural and add lots of lovely layers.  I finished off my floral clusters with some of the branches and flowers from the clear stickers to fill in any gaps.  The clear stickers are great for this!  The beautiful berry-coloured enamel dots were the perfect touch to round out my floral clusters.

For my title, of course I couldn’t go past the foam title words, but this time I decided to colour them. I used a mint acrylic paint for the base colour, then dry brushed over the top with dusty mauve to tie it in with the florals.  I love how this turned out!  The titles took the paint with no problems and look amazing.

The edges were looking a little plain and unfinished so I tore the page edges in three places, distressed them and layered the tiny floral pattern from the 6×8 paper pack behind so you can see the pattern peeking out.  This is one of my favourite techniques to do on a white background layout.

For the final finishing touch, I added some glass bead gel on top of the watercolour swirl between the butterflies and around my photo.  It dries clear and leaves a lovely subtle sparkle, especially on top of watercolour.  It’s so much fun to play with different mediums and see the different effects you can achieve.

I hope you love this layout as much as I do!  Thank you so much for joining me today, happy scrapping!

Danni x

Our Stories | Unforgettable Collection | Guest Designer Danni Visser

Hi lovelies!  It’s Danni here today sharing another guest designer layout with you.  This time I was very keen to get playing with the freebie cutfiles that match the new Unforgettable collection.

I first cut a large section of the heart wreath cutfile on my Silhouette machine using white cardstock – I just love the way white pops on the gorgeous papers in the collection. I went ahead and backed some of the cutfile with different papers from the 6×8 paper stack, making sure to leave some open spaces to keep it light and airy.

For my background paper I chose Lacewing for that gorgeous peach floral B side, then I tore strips from Natural Beauty and Story Teller (my two favourite papers from this collection so far, I can’t stop using them!).

I layered the strips to the left side of the page and added a crepe paper ruffle underneath for extra texture.  I made sure to curl the edges of the torn paper strips up a little, then slipped the cutfile under the edge of the ruffle, creating a half-wreath peeking out from beneath the layers.  This created the perfect spot for my pics to go.

I added some layers behind my pics with the 6×8 paper stack and tissue paper, added a little dimensional foam and placed my photos overlapping each other slightly.  I then embellished my photos using some ephemera, a flair button, tiny word stickers and one of the adorable bow embellies.

At the top right of my page I created a small cluster with a label sticker for the date.  I also added some floral embellishments peeking out from between the paper layers to the left of the page.

My title fits perfectly in the space between, with the foam title words again making the most perfect addition to the page.  I can’t get enough of these gorgeous script titles! For finishing touches I sprinkled some enamel dots around the page in groups of three, splattered some white ink and added my journaling inside the circle of the wreath cutfile using a white gel pen.

I love how perfectly this layout represents my photos of my husband and I enjoying the sunshine in the garden, and how perfectly the colours match the peachy coral dress I wore.

I hope you like this layout as much as I do! Thank you so much for joining me today.  Happy scrapping!

Danni x

 

We Remember Moments | Unforgettable Collection | Guest Designer Danni Visser

Hi scrappy friends! Guest designer Danni here, sharing another layout featuring the gorgeous Unforgettable collection. I have been having so much fun creating with this collection, and this time I decided I had to dive into those delicious florals and make a beautiful romantic layout.

I used Natural Beauty and Sprightly patterned papers to create a diamond-shaped background, including some torn vellum for texture.

I had this lovely roses cutfile sitting in my stash, so I decided to incorporate that, backing it with several patterned papers from the 6×8 paper stack and some more vellum.  I popped it up off the page by adding some dimensional foam behind the patterned paper.

My photo was matted using the lovely turquoise and black & white spotty papers from the 6×8 paper stack, and I distressed the edges to add texture.  For my title I cut this beautiful quote card from the Story Teller cut-apart paper and backed it with the peach paper from the 6×8 paper stack to make it pop against the black & white photo.

To embellish the page, I went to town with the florals from the ephemera pack.  I adore florals and this ephemera set is packed full of the most stunning floral die cuts.  I used the two largest clusters at the top-right and bottom-left of the diamond to emphasise the diagonal flow of the page, drawing the eye across my photo and title.  I added some smaller florals either side of my photo with some of the beautiful leafy springs from the ephemera pack.

To finish off the layout I scattered three tiny word stickers from the accessory sticker sheet, added some delicate white ink splatters and sprinkled some of the white enamel dots from the collection around my large floral clusters.

This layout turned out so dreamy and romantic, I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to add this layout to my wedding album.  I really hope you enjoyed this layout today, thank you for joining me!

Danni x

The Good Life | Unforgettable Collection | Guest Designer Danni Visser

Hi everyone!  My name is Danni, and I’m so excited to be here today sharing my first layout as guest designer using the exquisite new Unforgettable collection.  For those of you that don’t know me, I have both a son and a daughter that I love to scrap, and while I was immediately drawn to the feminine floral elements, for my first layout I really wanted to highlight the versatility of this collection by creating a layout for my boy.

I’m using a beach photo for this layout, so I began by tearing large sections of the 12×12 papers to create a bit of a beachy scene, using Natural Beauty, Garland and Story Teller for the sky.  I tore Garland in small sections to create a ‘wavy’ effect.  For some more waves I cut some wavy shapes on my Silhouette, inked the edges with blue ink and machine-stitched them down using some wavy and squiggly lines.  I wanted this to feel natural and organic, so I wasn’t trying to make the stitching perfect.

Next, I mixed some coarse texture gel with gold acrylic paint to create a really fun sandy texture and scraped that onto the page in different places along my ‘boardwalk’.  I really love the fun texture this provides!  To finish off my background I used some turquoise, gold and white liquid inks to splatter all around the page.

I broke into the 6×8 paper stack next, using the black and white type paper and a thin border of the peach floral to add a bit of colour.  I popped my photo up on foam to create some dimension, then added my title using the gorgeous foam title stickers.

I went to town with embellishing, using a combination of the embellishment pack, accessory stickers, clear stickers and a flair button, plus a couple of the adorable hearts from the foam titles stickers to create three clusters around my page.  I popped a few of the embellishments up on foam to create some visual interest.  I wanted another pop of the peach colour, so I hand cut some starfish from the peach paper and added some dots with a white gel pen, then added one to each embellishment cluster.

To finish of the layout, I added my date on a label sticker below the title, journaled below the title with my black gel pen and added a sprinkle of the enamel dots to each embellishment cluster.

I’m in love with this finished page!  I really hope you enjoyed joining me today, I can’t wait to create some more beautiful pages using this incredible collection.

Danni x

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