fussy cutting

Favorite Days | Day Dream | Anita Bownds

Hi crafty friends,
Anita here with you today sharing my first layout of the new year using day dream collection
My photo is of my kitty enjoying the morning sun in front of the window this was before we decided that all that fluff needed to be shaved off … and yep he wasn’t happy about losing his fluff!!
I started off by trimming a 12×12 by 5 inch strip from sweet serenity and machine stitching around the edges then I cut 2 more little strips 1 inch by 12×12 from sweet serenity then using daisy days I cut 2 more strips 12×12 by inch and then with all the little strips I punched a border on each of them

 

Then I matted my photo on papers from the 6×8 paper pad ( you can substitute the 6×8 for the 12×12 using all aflutter and sun shower ) I then tucked a the circle ephemera piece behind the photo that I fussy cut around the edges.
Using garden variety pattern paper I fussy cut out a bunch of flowers and started adding flowers around the bottom of my photo along with flowers from the ephemera pack that I fussy cut around to match the rest of the fussy cut flowers

 

I added ephemera around my photo and more clusters of flowers around the photo and to the right side of the layout I also added some other bits from the ephemera, butterflies and my title then finished off with hearts around the flower clusters and enamel dots in the center’s of the fussy cut flowers..

 

 

pop on over to the cocoa vanilla YouTube and watch my process video

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed my floral inspiration today
Happy crafting..

This Beautiful New Do | Daydream Collection | Danni Visser

Hi Cocoa Vanilla fans and Happy New Year! Danni here sharing my latest layout featuring the gorgeous Cocoa Vanilla Studio Daydream collection. We are starting off the new year with ‘New’ themed projects, so I have chosen to document these photos of my daughter’s new ‘do – her first ever baby haircut…adorable right?

I decided to keep things fairly simple for the background, using some plain white cardstock and a patterned paper border. This is a go-to technique for me because it is quick and easy but the border keeps the cardstock from looking too blank. I used Daisy Days 12×12 patterned paper for the border, making sure to gut the centre of the paper first so as not to waste any of the beautiful quality paper.

Next, I wanted to use up some of the scraps from the 12×12 patterned papers that I have already cut into for other projects. I had quite a few scraps by now, so it was time to get them used up! Instead of matting my photos individually, I cut several of the scrap pieces into varying sized rectangles and layered them together to form an interesting arrangement. I then distressed all the edges with my scissors for texture and dimension before adhering my photos on top.

I love adding paint and mixed media to my layouts, so I decided to go ahead and add a soft pink shimmery watercolour to the background. I used my paintbrush and added some messy brushstrokes and delicate splatters peeking out from behind my patterned paper layers.

For the title I chose a combination of die cut titles and some glittery alphas from my stash, as well as some tiny words from the accessory stickers to provide some subtitles. This is a great way to use these little phrases and I adore the typeface font.

I stamped the date on a label accessory sticker and added it above my photos along with a few extra stickers and a couple of lines of journaling in white gel pen. I love using white pen on top of patterned paper as it is nice and legible while keeping things light and bright.

I embellished either side of my photos using some floral die cut ephemera pieces and a couple of the adorable little houses. I popped on a flair button and some fussy cut butterflies from the 6×8 paper stack for good measure. I love how these tiny details finish off embellishment clusters beautifully.

I love how this sweet page turned out! The Daydream collection makes layouts like this come together like an absolute dream. I hope you enjoyed joining me today as much as I enjoyed making this layout. Have a wonderful day and best wishes for the new year!

Danni x

Joy | Merry & Bright Collection | Laura Alberts

Hey y’all! Laura Alberts here with a 9×12 layout featuring the gorgeous Merry & Bright collection! Using mostly paper for this one for an extra challenge! I wanted to let this sweet photo stand out on this layout, so I kept my design simple and embellishing light. Using the floral swag from the opposite side of this Happy Holidays patterned paper tucked behind my photo with three paper strips behind it as a base.

I layered a few smaller florals that I fussy cut from the Joy to the World patterned paper on top of the large swag as well as tiny florals that are sprinkled around the edge of the cluster. I also added dots of Nuvo Drops in gold for a soft dimensional detail and gold ink splatter as a finishing touch.

I fussy cut this “Joy” title from the Season’s Greetings patterned paper and then popped it up on foam to give it a little interest and dimension on the otherwise flat layout. This helps to keep the attention on the photo by overlapping the edge of it slightly. I have included a sketch based on this layout to inspire you to give this design a try!

I hope the sketch for this layout inspires you and this embellishment style encourages you to look at your pattern papers a little differently! It’s fun to see how you can change things up. If you’d like to see the Joy layout come together, I have the entire process in the video below!

Miam ! | Merry & Bright collection | Sophie Delorme

Hello everyone !

 

It’s Sophie with you today sharing a lovely Christmas themed layout created with the Merry & Bright collection.

 

 

I challenged myself to use this gorgeous wreath paper named “Happy Holidays”  that I find quite intimidating to work with (I find it stunning by itself..!).

 

I decided to cut out the inner portion of the wreath. I handstitched the center of the leaves around the wreath with blue thread. I then added adhesive foam behind the wreath and backed it with the beautiful wood grain patterned paper named “ Season’s Greeting”, on which I previously splattered plenty of little drops of white acrilyc paint.

 

 

I put the floral cluster of the wreath on the right side of my layout.

 

My photo is from my little Sabrina in the middle of a baking afternoon, preparing yummy goodies from Christmas ! (and tasting them of course !!).

 

I added tissue paper and adhesive foam behind the photo before gluing it on my page.

 

My title is from letters cut out of the “Season’s Greeting” patterned paper.

 

 

I embellished the wreath floral cluster with other flowers and leaves from the Merry and Bright Die Cut Ephemera pack.

 

 

I also added three beautiful Christmas trees from the same Die Cut pack on the lower left side of the photo and tucked in a Pocket Card to write down my journaling next to the photo.

 

 

I think this wood grain paper really stands out from the soft colors of the wreath ! Do you like the end-result ?

 

Here are more close-ups:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope that my layout has giving you a new idea on how to use this beautiful wreath paper !

 

Happy scrapping !

 

Sophie xx

Memories | Merry & Bright Collection | Laura Alberts

Hey y’all! Laura Alberts here with a fun Christmas layout featuring the stunning Merry & Bright collection! I have been dying to use this Countdown paper as a background since I first saw it, such a fun idea for a patterned paper! I layered several papers over the center squares to give it the look of grid layout, then added my photos and as many florals as I could fit! Clustering florals can be tricky, but I find if you start with larger florals first, then nestle in the smaller ones, it’s a much easier process.

In order to blend in the fact that I’d covered the numbers in the center, I used the cut apart page from the A5 paper stack to cover three additional numbers. This way the gap looks intentional and draws less attention. Another quick tip is to add small embellishments to the existing squares, like this little “Oh What Fun” banner onto day 22.

To finish off this layout, I added tiny florals around the cluster as well as Nuvo drops in gold for a controlled splatter effect. I also added two flair badges to break up the array of florals and give them a little bit of interest. This ends up being my favorite addition to the page in the end!

I hope the design of this layout inspires you to look at your photo placement a little differently! It’s fun to see how you can change things up with a patterned paper background. If you’d like to see the Memories layout come together, I have the entire process in the video below!

Christmas Memories | Merry and Bright Collection | Danni Visser

Hi there crafters! Today I am excited to share a layout with you that I created using the incredible Cocoa Vanilla Studio ‘Merry and Bright’ collection. I really wanted to do something creative with the Large Die Cut & Backing Kit – I had already used the die cut on a previous layout, so I wanted to play with the backing section for this layout.

With the die cut removed, the backing paper still has the geometric pattern of the tree with the outline on the paper, providing a perfect guide for some hand stitching. This is one of my absolute favourite techniques – I just love the texture and dimension it brings! The pattern made is so simple to pierce the holes, I simply followed the outline of the tree with my piercing tool. I then went in with some lovely deep green embroidery thread and added a chain-link stitch all around the border of the tree. So striking!

Next I was inspired by the gorgeous watercolour effect on the background paper, so I pulled out my own watercolours and added some extra trees. These trees are so simple to paint and require very little painting skill; simply make a few messy strokes and you’re done! I used a few different shades of green to add depth and dimension.

I matted my photo on some pink paper from the A5 paper stack to soften the edges. My photo is of a beautiful lighted tree we found in a field nearby our house – just the perfect photo for this layout. I took one of the 3×4 pocket cards and fussy-cut the ‘Christmas Memories’ sentiment to use as my title, I love the script font.

Next I used a mixture of die cut ephemera and fussy cut florals to create small embellishment clusters either side of my photo. I also added the little die cut ephemera sleigh, plus a tag and some more florals, below my tree. I just love the whimsy of this little cluster, so sweet!

For finishing touches I used some tiny word phrases from the accessory stickers around my photo, and of course I just had to add on of the adorable puffy gold stars to the top of my tree! I added a few lines of journaling in grey pen below my photo, and with that my layout was finished.

I really hope you enjoyed this one, it was an absolute joy to make and I just love it. There is a process video linked below for you to watch as well. Happy scrapping!

Danni x

 

Happy Christmas | Merry and Bright Layout | Anna Komenda

Hello Cocoa Vanilla fans. It’s Anna here today with another inspiration made with this year christmas line called “Merry and bright”. I already used this collection to make advent calendar for my kids and I can’t tell you enough how much I love it. It’s fresh and fun, with great patterns, that can be also used throughout the year, not only for christmas projects. I reached for last year photos and printed them in the row so they look a little bit like a film strip from the photo booth.

Next step was to cut out words from paper “Season’s greetings“. I focused on the ones with bigger font and arranged them on the back side of the same paper. I love using wooden patterns as my background. I only added glue on the middle of each letter for a little more texture. To make sure they won’t fall out, I added stitching with my sewing machine.

Gaps between the words are filled with elements from ephemera pack. This is always my favorite type of embellishments – very versatile, easy to use and lasts for a long time. I mounted them using 3D foam to add more texture.

This is a really simple page and you do not need any special skills to make similar one. Just a good scissors and a little bit of patience. You can cut out letters in advance wbile watching TV. You can also mix the letters creating your own title for more whimsical look.

I finished my page adding flair button and pretty, shiny fabric stars. I am totally in a festive mood and can’t wait for the christmas to come for another opportunity to snap new photos for even more scrappy fun. I will see you again after christmas so I wanted to wish you all merry and bright holidays. I hope you will spend them with the ones you love.

XO Anna

Merry | Merry and Bright| Anita Bownds

 hi crafty friends, Anita here sharing a layout for cocoa vanilla studio using the new

Christmas collection merry and bright absolutely adore the colour palette

I took a bunch of photos of my Christmas tree last year

 

I started with white cardstock and some mixed media to add to the background using a stencil , heavy body gel and some light pink paint and Mixed it all together and applied it to the stencil then once it dried I trimmed down my white cardstock and added oh Christmas tree pattern paper to the back of the cardstock

 

Then next I cut a strip of pattern paper from the 6×8 paper pad and added a fringe to one side then I punched a border with a border punch from joy to the world patterned paper added some crape paper to it to add more texture the I just layered them together and added them to the layout

 

I then Matted my photo on papers from the 6×8 paper pad and created a tag from the 3 x 4 pocket card to tuck in my photo layers the a doily and adhered it down add it just over lapping the fringed border strip

 

Then next I used a title cut file from @neatncraftycutz  to add on top of my border strip just overlapping the bottom of my photo then I started adding a bunch of ephemera and fussy cut flowers cut from joy to the world around my photo and title to add floral elements to the layout and a sticker from the sticker sheet to the top of my photo

 

 

Then I finished off by adding some rhinestones from my stash to add some bling to the flowers and around the clusters.

pop on over and check out my process video on the cocoa vanilla studio YouTube channel  

I hope you have enjoyed my inspiration today

And you are enjoying all the beautiful merry and bright creations .

Happy crafting…

Christmas Family Traditions | Merry and Bright Collection | Danni Visser

Hi there scrappers! Danni here with another 12×12 layout. I am well and truly gearing up for the festive season and getting creative with the gorgeous Merry and Bright collection. I was inspired this time by the amazing Countdown 12×12 patterned paper with the gorgeous advent calendar-style squares, which I decided were perfect to document the advent calendar I made a few years ago.

To begin with I chopped straight into the paper and cut all the numbered squares apart. To add texture, I first distressed all the edges, then went through and stitched around the border of half the squares with my sewing machine and white thread. I left all the loose ends free to add even more soft textural elements to the layout. For the remaining squares, I used a heat embossing ink pen, gold embossing powder and a heating tool to add a shiny gold border. I just love gold for the festive season!

Once all my squares were ready, I laid them out on top of the Happy Holidays 12×12 patterned paper. I really love that the background is mostly white, but you can just see a sprinkling of the teeny tiny polka dots peeking out from between the squares.

Using the woodgrain and candy stripe papers from the A5 paper stack I made a square photo mat in the centre of my layout. I had originally printed a collage photo for this, but I didn’t love how it looked so I cut it apart into individual photos, keeping the main one in the centre and placing the rest randomly on top of some of the numbers.

With such a busy background, I wanted to keep embellishment minimal so as not to overwhelm the page. I took some of the stunning floral clusters that I had fussy cut from Joy to the World 12×12 patterned paper and created two clusters on opposite corners of my centre photo, layering one over the top and tucking the other underneath my photo. I made use of some of the tiny leaves and flowers to add detail.

Because I did not have much space left on the layout, I decided to simply use three of the tiny word phrases from the accessory stickers to serve as my title, framing them around my centre photo. As a finishing touch I added some gold dimensional drops to the centre of all my flowers, then added some white drops around my floral clusters.

I love how this layout turned out and I really hope you enjoyed joining me today. There is a video linked below where you can watch the whole layout come together. Thank you so much and happy scrapping!

Danni x

Shine On | Laura Alberts | Daydream Collection

Hey y’all! Laura Alberts here today to share a darling 9×12 layout with you as well as a 12×12 sketch version of the same design! I sometimes create a sketch to plan out layouts that I want to get “just right” before taping everything down to the page. With this layout, I wanted to illustrate how to get a vertical and horizontal photo on the same page without trying to collage them together (which is generally my go-to method!). By creating two separate photo clusters backed with similar elements (i.e. a doily, florals, and banner), that are still connected by the title, I could tie them together despite the different orientations.

I used fussy cut florals behind each of the photos and included other design elements, such as flair badges and rainbows to coordinate the two sections. Now, because I was working on a smaller layout size than the 12×12 I’d sketched out, I did have to compromise on space for the title. So, by keeping it short and to the point, that helped it to fit in the limited space between the photo clusters.

The butterflies, along with the Nuvo drop trails behind them, create a bit of movement on the page and guide your eye from one cluster to the other. Butterflies are my favorite icon and love that they are a consistent part of the Cocoa Vanilla Studio collections! I also love these tiny flowers that can be fussy cut from the floral patterned paper and used for sprinkling around my clusters. Those tiny details make such a big difference in the end!

By layering my photo clusters onto a beautiful mixed media style patterned paper, rather than white card stock, it gives my overall layout a very soft feel to it. The borders on either side narrow the space for my clusters while giving me a linear element to contrast all of the whimsical, soft touches.

I hope the sketch for this layout inspires you to look at your photo placement a little differently! It’s fun to see how you can change things up. If you’d like to see the Shine On layout come together, I have the entire process in the video below!

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