fussy cutting

The great outdoors | Great Escape | Josefine Van der Hoeven

Hello Paperlovers,

and welcome to the Cocoa Vanilla Studio blog! I’m so glad you’re here seeking new scrapbook inspiration and are curious about the fantastic new collection called “Great Escape.” Today, I’m excited to share how I was inspired by the June challenge. I love stars, so I dove into fussy cutting and had a blast creating this layout.

 

First, I began by selecting a sheet of patterned paper filled with stars and cutting out each one. For the background, I opted for a crisp white 12×12 cardstock to make the stars pop. Using my electronic cutting machine, I cut a circular frame, which I placed in the center of the white cardstock. To add a subtle touch of detail, I stitched a delicate white border around the circle.

 

Next, I adhered my photo partially onto the circular frame, using patterned paper as a backdrop to give it an extra layer of interest. With the photo in place, it was time to arrange all those carefully cut stars. I wanted to create a playful and dynamic effect, so I scattered the stars around the photo and the circular frame, using 3D foam to lift them off the page slightly. This gave the layout depth and a fun, interactive feel. Once the stars were securely in place, it was time to add the title. I chose the elegant black titles from the collection, placing the title right in the center of the circle. The bold, stylish lettering contrasted beautifully with the white background and colorful stars, making the title stand out prominently.

To finish off the layout, I added some splatters of blue distress ink. This little touch brought a sense of whimsy and tied the entire composition together. I let the ink dry naturally, which added a bit of texture and dimension to the page.

 

 

By focusing on the star theme and using techniques like fussy cutting and layering with 3D foam, this layout captures the essence of adventure and exploration that “Great Escape” embodies. Whether you’re documenting outdoor memories or simply love celestial designs, this collection offers endless possibilities for creative expression. Don’t forget to join in on the challenges and share your creations with the Cocoa Vanilla Studio community—we love seeing what you come up with! Until then, enjoy scrapping and making memories.

XoXo, Jo

 

 

You Make My Heart Smile | Love Always Collection | Laura Alberts

Hey y’all! Laura Alberts here again with a beautiful winter layout using the stunning, classic Love Always collection. I especially love the florals in this collection! They are so pretty and soft, perfect for a pastel layout like this one.

I started this layout with chipboard frames and a number of stunning patterned papers to back them with. The title is a cut-apart piece that I layered a frame on top of and decorated with Nuvo drops in gold. I outlined each of the frames with a black gel pen to give them a little depth with a faux shadow.

Next, I backed my photos with a beautiful bold pink from the Unforgettable collection to help them stand out. Layering the photos on top of the frames, then adding embellishment clusters on top of the photos, it gives the layout a 3D look without much bulk.

To see how “You Make My Heart Smile” came together, check out the process video below:

https://youtu.be/plzSvvQnA24

You Got This | No Limits collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here with another design team project for you. Today I am sharing a mixed media layout that has been inspired by this month’s “Seeing Stars” challenge. As an avid boy scrapper, stars are one of my absolute favourite things to put on my pages, so I couldn’t help myself but join in on the fun. The first thing I did was choose which collection I was going to work with, and I couldn’t go past the ‘No Limits’ collection, which is filled with all kinds of celestial themed elements. I paired it with a photo of my son at soccer, who was definitely a star on this particular day.

I began this layout with a sheet of white cardstock and a piece of the star print Orbit patterned paper that I had left over from another project. As it wasn’t a whole sheet, I decided to tear along the edges of it and have it run vertically on my page. Before sticking it down, I used a pencil to mark out where the paper would sit, then turned my attention to the background.

I wanted to add a splash of colour first, so I used my Mowed Lawn green Distress Oxide to add some loose watercolour underneath where the paper would sit. Once dry, I used some star-themed rubber stamps from my stash to add extra detail over the top. I used a large star first, which I stamped three times to form a triangle; then a background stamp featuring tiny stars to scatter around. I then stuck the starry patterned paper down on top.

With the large piece of paper in place, my background was complete, so I turned my attention to the photo and embellishments. I cut a mat for my photo using a green sheet from the A5 Paper Stack and secured it to the page. I topped it with a grey paper doily, frayed gauze, and then my photo which had some cardboard underneath to help pop it up from the page.

I then added my embellishments, focusing on creating three clusters – above, to the left and to the bottom right of the photo. On the left side I used the you’re the best banner from the Die Cut Ephemera pack. I also added the hand from the same pack, and placed it directly onto the photo. I finished off this cluster with a couple of stars nearby, that were fussy cut from the Nebula paper.

To the right of my photo I created another embellishment cluster, this time using a handmade heart embellishment from my stash, which I topped with a CVS limited edition flair button (from many moons ago). Both of these embellishments were to tie in with the print on my son’s t-shirt. As with the previous cluster, I also added some fussy cut stars nearby. I balanced the stars out by adding a couple more above the photo as well as my third “cluster”.

There were only a few elements left to complete at this point – my title, using the Die Cut Title words alongside the photo. A few more small stars from the Puffy Sticker pack and some small word stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet. And finally, my handwritten journalling and I was done!

If you love stars as much as I do, then make sure you enter our June “Seeing Stars” challenge which is hosted in our Facebook Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community group. You can enter as many times as you wish (providing each entry is created specifically for our challenge) and there is a $25 store voucher to be won. Looking forward to seeing all those starry projects!

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Sunny Days | Sunkissed collection | Sophie Delorme

Hello friends !

 

It’s Sophie on the blog today with this rainbow layout to share !

 

 

I used the Sunkissed collection, and focussed on the beautiful rainbow paper named “Bright Side” as the star of my page.

 

I selected matching colour embroidery floss for each ray of the rainbow and added hand stitching on them. I fussy cut around the rainbow, added foam dots on its back and placed it on the right side of a 12×12 thick white cardstock.

 

 

I chose a beautiful summer photo and arranged a big floral cluster around it, adding a few more little rainbows, leaves, and the date.

 

 

My title is from the Sunkissed Clear Stickers sheet.

 

Here are more close-ups:

 

 

 

 

I love how it turned out ! It’s a simple page but so bright and cheerful, and so easy to create with such a colourful collection !

 

Thank you for stopping by !

 

Have a great crafty day !!

 

Sophie xx

Family | Heart & Home collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share another design team project with you. Today I am sharing a mixed media layout featuring the ‘Heart & Home’ collection. Inspired by this month’s “Flower Frenzy” challenge, I decided to document this family photo I took while we were out celebrating an early Mother’s Day lunch. (Family photos with all of us in them are rare, as I am usually the one behind the camera – I am sure many of you can relate!)

I began this layout with a sheet of white cardstock, which I cut down to measure 11×11″, and then backed with the sweet Leaf Litter paper to form a border. I then used pale pink Distress Oxide ink mixed with a little water to create a watercolour paint, which I brushed vertically onto the top half of the page using a wide brush. I then chose a yellow acrylic paint and applied it vertically to the bottom half of the page using a small brayer. This gave me a two-toned background that coordinated perfectly with the colours of the collection.

Now it was time for some paper! I chose a mix of patterned papers, including Fall Beauty, Harvest, and a couple of designs from the A5 Paper Stack to create layers in the central area of my page. I used a mix of both cut and torn edges for contrasting textures, and also added some frayed gauze and a paper doily. My photo was then mounted on top with a little cardboard behind it to help pop it up from the page.

I stuck a couple of stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet directly onto my photo, then turned my attention to the journalling. I cut a journal card from the Gather cut apart paper, then popped it into my typewriter. (I find the easiest way to do this is to use some washi tape to tack it to a larger piece of paper or card, so it doesn’t get lost in the roller.) I then tucked my journal card under the edge of photo and added a handmade heart embellishment on top.

Then it was time for some flowers! I used a combination of fussy cut pieces from the Bountiful paper, and others from the Floral Ephemera pack to build my clusters. I used my tried and true method of creating a visual triangle around my photo to help me decide placement which in this case was top left / centre right / middle bottom. You can see how this frames naturally around the focal point of my page (my photo). I layered the floral pieces, bending up the leaves to create dimension off the page.

I finished my page with a Gold Foil Title in the lower right corner; some stamped words and the date; and tiny gold ink splatters scattered around. Love how this one came together!

If you love flowers, then make sure you enter our May “Flower Frenzy” challenge which is hosted in our Facebook Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community group. You can enter as many times as you wish (providing each entry is created specifically for our challenge) and there is a $25 store voucher to be won. Looking forward to seeing your floral masterpieces!

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Lovely you | Storyteller | Josefine van der Hoeven

 

Hello Paperlovers,

Welcome to the scrapbook blog of Cocoa Vanilla Studio. It’s great to see you here looking for some new scrapbook inspiration. It’s May, and this month it’s all about flowers. Have you seen the new challenge yet, the Flower Frenzy Challenge? For this challenge, we invite you to use flowers as the main design element of your layout.

 

 

 

I found this challenge really exciting, so I dived into it using the beautiful “Storyteller” collection. I started by fussy cutting flowers from the patterned paper. I combined these flowers with the die-cut floral ephemera. Then, I trimmed some blue patterned paper to size and placed it behind the photo of my daughter. This photo was a perfect fit for the theme. She was posing by a small restaurant in Mexico, hidden behind a stunning sea of flowers.

 

 

 

Placing the photo roughly in the center of the white cardstock, I began creating a gigantic cluster of flowers above it. I was pleasantly surprised by how it turned out. On either side of the photo, I added a few small flowers and leaves in a playful manner. For the title, I used the word “Lovely” in black foam, and for the word “you,” I used a green alpha from my own stash. I thought the red puffy heart was a lovely finishing touch for the title.

 

 

Finally, I added some circle puffy stickers around the flower cluster. I had so much fun with the Cocoa Vanilla Studio May challenge, and I’m really pleased with how this floral layout turned out. I hope I’ve inspired you with this layout, and I’m looking forward to seeing your beautiful flower layouts too! Wishing you a creative and wonderful day.

XoXo, Jo

 

Crazy Little Adventurer | Great Escape | Michelle Stokes

Happy Weekend Crafty friends, it’s Michelle back with you today. I’ve used the Great Escape Collection for this layout to document our crazy little adventurer from a couple years back. Lets get into it..

As you can see I’ve gone fussy cutting mad again, this time with the Flags paper Happy Camper. I spent many nights in front of the TV cutting up that entire page of flags without any idea of how I was going to use them all. Then it hit me, let’s create another wreath / sunburst style type of layout.

I started with a blank piece of white cardstock with a roughly drawn large circle centred in the page and all the flags set out in colour groups ready to go. The easiest way I found to get a good mix of the colours around the circle was to work with each colour individually. Thankfully each flag design/colour had 3 of each so it was easy to place evenly in thirds around the whole thing. I used foam tape to adhere each flag to the background which gives it that little pop of dimension. I added more texture to the layout by sewing all the pieces down using my machine and a straight stitch.

Our Happy yet Crazy Little Adventurer – LOVED this little trike and its a little sad that she no longer fits to ride it around. The speeds she would get up to on this little thing, flying round and round my parents little court.

I ended up cutting the entire circular flag piece off the white background and then adhering it to the bright Horizon paper. I felt this made the wreath pop so much more. Next up I added the photo layered with a piece of A5 paper, then adhered to the left of the wreath using some foam to lift it up.

I created the title using the puffy mini alphabet from the Heart & Home Collection along with the chipboard sticker word from the Chipboard stickers sheet. I layered in some stars and ephemera pieces to create a cluster of sorts to add even more fun to this already chaotic layout.

I added more of the larger stars around the layout to create more embellishment clusters, with a mix of tiny stars, puffy stickers and accessory word stickers scattered around to finish it all off.

I also added the usual splatters of gold ink to tie it all together and called it done.

Here’s one final look at the entire layout..

Well friends, thats all from me for today. Thanks so much for stopping by

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

Our Family | Heart & Home Collection | Laura Alberts

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:

https://youtu.be/yvJUp_Gqyvw

 

 

Happy B’Day | Happy Days collection | Sue Plumb

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!

Until next time, happy scrapping!

 

Wild New Life Adventure | Great Escape | Michelle Stokes

Hello Crafty friends, it’s Michelle here today with a new layout share for you all. Shock horror as its not a layout dedicated to our furry kids this week, I chose a recent photo of Leila on her first day of High School. New level of life adventures has begun. Woo Hoo!

Using the A5 paper stack from the Great Escape Collection I’ve whipped up a grid design for the base of my layout design. I cut the squares in the middle row in a 3 inch size and the top and bottom rows in a 2.5inch size, then sewed around the entire edges of each using my machine. Each piece was then secured to the cardstock base using foam for a little dimension.

The photo (shared with permission from this spicy child of mine cause we all know how teens are these days) was printed in a 4x3inch size and packed using another pattern from within the A5 paper stack. I stapled both pieces together using tiny staples and adhered to the layout using a little more foam sheeting to pop it off the layout.

You can see above how the little bit of dimension brings the layout to life

I created a couple of larger clusters diagonally in the top and bottom corners using left over stars fussy cut from the Star Gazing paper that I used on my last layout, with a mix of enamel shapes, accessory word stickers and puffy stars from the foam titles pack

Next up I added the mixed product title using a word from the ephemera pack, letters from the chipboard stickers pack and words from the Foam Title stickers pack. If you’re wondering where the W came from – never fear, its just the M from the word TIMES in the pack that I’ve turned upside down.

I added a little journal spot from the Accessory Stickers sheet to the bottom of this square to note what the photo is all about, and theres also a date label tucked into the photo too that was added towards the end.

I added the usual sprinkle of gold ink from the bottle I have that seems to be a never ending supply, just like Mary Poppins bag, but I’m sure its going to dry up at any minute

Here’s a final look at the layout as a whole…

Well friends, thats all that I have for you today.
Thank you so very much for stopping by and seeing this beloved creation that I’ve made.

Until next time, Happy Scrappin!
Michelle x

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