Hi there crafty friends, Anita back with you today sharing a pretty floral layout using the happiness collection so today I wanted to do a product focus on my layout using stickers instead of ephemera you would be surprised I only used a few but it looks like I’ve used heaps..
I started off by backing my white cardstock on expressive then using my cameo I set out to cut some cut file out I started with a leaf wreath 243418 from Paige Evans that I cut out in white cardstock and adhered to the middle of my layout then meadow I cut out flowers using layered flower with leaves 311424 the I cut leaves using the same cut file out of frame of mind and to add that pop of dark navy blue I used botanical bliss and another layered flower and leaves cut file 311423 by Paige Evans
Then I matted my photo of bits of paper papers from the 6×8 and added a few stickers in the layers at the top of my photo and adhered it down inside the wreath to one side
Then I created the flowers by bending them up a little to add dimension and some glitter around the edges to add a bit of sparkle in the center of the big flowers I add the flair and the smaller I popped heart stickers from the accessory stickers and add them around the wreath and photo
Then I started tucking in the leaves around the flowers adding the at the top and bottom of my layout
Then using more accessory stickers I added a couple to the top of my photo and some tucked in layers in my photo and in the flower clusters
Then I added my title using the cardstock titles
And to add a few more details I added some butterfly’s using the accessory stickers and some scattered hearts using the clear stickers to finish of the layout.
Hi everyone! I hope this finds you well and that your year has been off to a great start. I am currently a little ragged around the edges being 5 weeks deep into school holidays but the finish line is in sight! Next week my daughter will be starting her first year of high school, and my sons are both going into grade two. With this big transition for my daughter right around the corner, I thought it was the perfect time to document a photo of her and her friends that was taken at her primary school graduation last month. I paired it with the beautiful ‘Happiness’ collection, which was a great match for this group of gorgeous girls. (That’s my girl in the blue.)
For my layout, I began with the blue watercolour pattern on the B-side of the Good Vibes paper as my page base. Next, I took the oh-so-pretty So Fresh paper and fussy cut the beautiful wreath design from it. I then added some foam mounting tape to the back and positioned it on my page (without yet sticking it down).
I then matted my photo with the pink B-side of the Expressive paper before adhering it to the background sheet, then added the mounted wreath over the top. I bent the edges of the wreath up slightly from the page in some places to add extra dimension.
Above the photo, I added a small tab and some leaves from the Die Cut Ephemera pack to create a small cluster. For my title I used the words best friends from the Die Cut Titles pack, highlighting it with the row of chevrons sticker from the Clear Sticker set.
To help frame my photo and bring some extra balance to the page, I arranged a couple of phrase stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet and the time to shine banner piece from the Die Cut Ephemera pack to create a visual triangle. I also added some extra leaves to the outer edges of the wreath by tucking in a few from the ephemera pack.
At this point I thought that my wreath felt a little “disconnected” from the background, so I drew some inspiration from my former team member Amanda, and doodled some extra leaves around the wreath using a fine white paint pen. I also added a little extra prettiness by using some tiny paper flowers from my stash, which I placed randomly around the wreath.
I finished up by creating another “visual triangle” – this time using butterflies fussy cut from the Bright & Beautiful paper. (You probably already know how much I LOVE butterflies!)
I am so happy with how this pretty page turned out, and am pleased to report it has already found a very special home. It was popped into a frame and gifted to one of the girls in the photo for her recent birthday.
That’s all from me today, thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you. Until next time, happy scrapping!
Gwen back on the blog with you today with my first share of the year. I’ve enjoyed having some time off over Christmas and New Year and I’m super excited to be getting stuck into 2020. What better way to start than to kick off the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Holiday/Vacations theme week. I couldn’t resist scrapping this sweet photo I took in December of my husband and daughter on our recent family getaway to Hervey Bay in Queensland.
For my page, I was drawn to the ‘Happiness‘ collection with its stunning bright blue hues and immediately thought to team it with this fun cloud background cut file by CUT to YOU. I’ve cut the file on a plain white card from my stash and began the page by simply backing the clouds mixing and matching the ‘Good Vibes‘ and ‘Expressive‘ papers. For the rainbow, I used the B side of the Expressive paper.
Next, I’ve mat my photo using the ‘Botanical Bliss‘ pattern paper and then added some stitching around the edge. I’ve double mounted with more of the ‘Expressive‘ paper and raised everything up on foam for dimension.
I’ve mounted my white background using the same ‘Expressive‘ paper and stitched around the outer edge of my page. I find if I use the same paper in various parts of my layout, it really helps the page come together. From here, I’ve decided on the placement for my photo and the large cut file background so it was now time for embellishments.
This was the fun and easy part. With the largest elements of my page locked in, it’s really just about filling in the gaps and thinking about how your eye will travel across the page when you look at it. I decided to go from the top section in between the rainbow and the sunshine, down to the bottom centre of the page. To do this, I’ve started by creating a floral cluster in the bottom right-hand corner of my photo using elements from the ‘Die Cut Ephemera‘ pack.
I’ve then fussy cut out some dark navy butterflies from the ‘Bright and Beautiful‘ pattern paper. Next, it was time to add in my title, I’ve gone with the sentiment ‘Sweet Life’ from the ‘Die Cut Titles‘ pack. I love how it nestles down in under my photo against my flower cluster there.
Next, it was time to add in some journaling. One of my scrappy goals this year is to do more journaling on my pages. I often just write on the backs of them, but this year I would really like to include more details on the front where I can to help me tell my stories more. For this page, I’ve gone with the typewriter and some white card from my stash. I’ve also added in some more elements mostly from the ‘Die Cut Ephemera‘ pack but also from the ‘Accessory Stickers‘ sheet. I just love the typed sentiments at the bottom of these, and they match my typed journalling perfectly!
Thanks for popping by today to see my latest project, I hope it inspires you to get this collection out from your stash if you have it and make a fun summer vacay page. Also, be sure to keep checking the blog as there is a stack of inspiration coming your way from the rest of the design team over the coming week. As always, be sure to pop into the Cocoa Vanilla Studio facebook group to share your pages, I love seeing what you make.
Hello Friends. It’s Anna here. I am the last one, closing this amazing year of isnpiration over Cocoa Vanilla Blog. All of my super talented DT mates already shared their favorite 2019 Cocoa Vanilla projects and now it’s my turn. To be honest, I had a hard time choosing them because I love CVS products and I love all of my layouts and albums made with them.
You all know I love colors so I decided to pick a rainbow page as a first fav page of 2019. I created it as a sample for my classes, that I was lucky to teach in Australia this year. I used papers and embellishments from amazing “Happiness” collection. This name truly reflects the line itself. If you want to make this page, along with a second colorful layout, you can purchase the Double Page Kit in CVS store.
My second favorite page it much less colorful but I had so much fun making it. It’s a scraplift of my fellow DT member gal – Amanda and I used pretty “Midnight” collection. Simple heart made of fussy cut flowers is a perfect example that less is more.
One of my resolutions for 2019 was to reach for older collections much often to use up a little bit more of a growing pile of scrappy supplies. This birthday page was made with “Make a wish” line, which was one of my favorite collections in CVS history. I honestly used almost all of it.
I am a big fan of summer themed line so this “Hello sunshine” line is also on the top of my favorite CVS collections (who am I kidding – they all are on the top of my list…). This one was created during amazing event – CVS Creative Escape retreat. Zoe is making another one in 2020 and you really don’t want to miss that. Check the details here.
Last page is the most recent one. Once again I revisited an old line – the very first CVS collection called “Sugar and spice“. I do not have much of it left but I had a great help from Zoe, who released digital versions of older lines!!! How great is that. Now you can print your own papers and embellishments. We can call this layout a hybrid page, because I combined both older stuff and the newly printed elements.
That is all for today and for this year. We will meet again in 2020! I can’t believe how fast this year went by. I am sure 2020 will bring many more amazing products from CVS.
It’s Tarrah back with you and today its my turn to share some of my favourite layouts from 2019.
First up is this one I created recently using some of my last pieces of the gorgeous Tis the Season collection that I had been holding on to! This layout is one of my favourites because it has lots of my favourite things included on it, a photo of my boys, Christmas, a cut file, machine stitching and I also love the super cute shaker pocket that I filled with lots of the sequins from this collection.
Thankfully I can now have an endless supply of this stunning collection with the release of this collection in digital format! Never have to run out of it again! You can get your hands on the Tis the season digital collection in the Cocoa Vanilla store here.
My next favourite is this one I created using the amazing Unforgettable collection. I just Love all the florals in this collection and the colour palette is so beautiful too. I chose this one as a favourite because I love the design and how the soft colours of the collection make the darker black and white photo really pop. I also love all the layers of florals, papers and embellishments. The gorgeous foam titles in this collection are awesome to use too and the re-introduction of the bitty bows and tassels makes my bow heart happy!
Of course there has to be a boy themed layout in the mix having 2 sons and a husband! I used the awesome You Rock collection and used a sketch as inspiration to create my layout about my eldest son and hubby.
This layout is a favourite because I love the simple design and that I was able to use up some of my stash of the You Rock collection. The You Rock collection is probably my favourite Cocoa Vanilla boy collection. Unfortunately there are not too many pieces left from this collection and as yet its not a digital collection so if you have some left, lucky you!
Last but not least is this pretty layout using the stunning Happiness collection. This layout is one of my favourites because I absolutely LOVE the Happiness collection! This collection gets my colour loving heart skipping a beat! I mean just look at those stunning colours!!
I love that I was able to include lots of the different papers and I also fussy cut the colourful butterflies and scattered them around the layout.
Its also one of my favourite layouts because of the photo I added to the page, this photo features some of my people and they include boss lady Zoe, fellow team member and good friend, Sue and her gorgeous sister Mandy as well as former team member, Raquel and another friend Amy. I love spending time with ‘my people’ who get my passion for creating with pretty things!
Thank you so much for all your support this past year! I hope I inspired you in some way?!
Wishing you and your families all a very safe and Merry Christmas, I hope you get to spend time with the people you love the most and cherish those times with them.
Hi CVS friends! Well I still can’t quite believe that 2019 is almost over and Christmas is upon us! Today I am sharing my fav CVS 2019 layouts. My fav layouts are all about pretty, which Happiness and Unforgettable collections certainly are!
My first share is a layout created using Unforgettable and a fab heart cut file.I adore the clear stickers, especially the paint brush strokes, an easy way to create a mixed media look to your layout.
My second fav layout was created using Happiness collection documenting my love of coffee! This quote is right on point I think!!!!
Lastly a summer layout created using Happiness (again) and a stunning pineapple cut file as the feature piece. How stunning are the die cut florals layered on the pineapple!
And I had to include this sweet gift bag I created using Unforgettable, this colour combo is so beautiful and the tassel from the collection, love!
Thank you for stopping by today for my last blog post of 2019. I have loved sharing my projects with you and being a part of the CVS tribe. I wish you all a safe and blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year, roll on 2020!
Hi everyone! It’s hard to believe we are mere days away from Christmas isn’t it? I hope your preparations are going well and that you don’t have too much left to do.
Today is my turn to share some of my favourite projects that I created during 2019. I am starting off with a layout that features the stunning ‘Happiness’ collection that was released earlier this year. I adore this range, with all its bright colours and beautiful florals. This page also features a photo of myself and a few of my crafty peeps that was taken at a retreat, bringing back some fun memories too.
This layout was actually inspired by a page from my fellow team member Gwen, as part of a “scraplift” theme that we did earlier in the year, and I love how it turned out! I even got my scissors out for some fussy cutting for this page, because those flowers were just begging to be cut out! One of my other favourite things from this collection is definitely the Clear Stickers – especially all the “painty” style ones!
You probably already know that as a mum of twin boys that I am partial to a good boy page; so for my next favourite, I couldn’t go past this mixed media layout of my dynamic duo using an old favourite – the ‘Totally Rad’ collection from 2016. I actually created this one whilst I was at the Cocoa Vanilla retreat, and besides the end result, I think I also love it because I created it whilst I was so relaxed and in such good company. (Seriously, if you have never been to a retreat before, make sure you put it on your bucket list!)
Despite the fact that this collection is no longer available, there is good news for fans of this range that may have missed getting their hands on it. This collection was recently released as a digital range, which you can purchase to print and cut at home! It includes all the papers (which are easy to print A4 size on a normal home printer); all the cool elements, and Zoe has even included three A4 sized ready to print PDFs, so you just have to print them off and cut them out. You can find the bundle in store HERE
My final favourite layout from this year also featured one of our older collections – ‘Life is Beautiful’ and a photo of my daughter and one of her best friends. This range was released waaay back in 2015, and to date it still remains a firm favourite of mine. The colour palette is just SO fresh and pretty, with the navy, aqua and apricot colour combination.
This layout is also a favourite of mine because it features butterflies. (And anyone who has seen my tattoo will already know how much I love butterflies.) I created these large layered butterflies using cut files from Cut to You, which I coloured with Distress Oxides, backed with some of my precious patterned paper scraps, then topped with butterfly stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet. Combined with fussy cut florals and just enough ink splatters, it makes my creative heart happy. (This range is also now available as a digital collection and you can find it HERE)
Finally, I have to give a mention my other favourite project from this year that wasn’t a layout at all. It was the mini album that I created recently using the ‘Boys Rule’ collection for one of my sons to document the time following his premature birth. This one invoked all kinds of memories as I put it together (both good and bad) and truly was a labour of love.
You find my post with all the details of the album HERE or watch my flip through of the album below.
That’s all from me today, wishing you & your families a very merry Christmas! I hope you get a chance to spend quality time with the people you love most, and make plenty of happy memories to document later. XX
Hello friends and welcome to my roundup for 2019. It has been an honor and a privilege and great, great fun designing with Cocoa Vanilla’s beautiful products and I have a few that are close to my heart to share with you all!
This is the most recent project I’ve made while on the team but it’s probably the one I love the most. I love the Midnight collection so much, and if I had to pick a favorite from Zoe’s designs, this one would be it. The colors are so soft and beautiful and this color palette is my favorite.
I especially loved this layout because of the easy design. I love any layout where I can stashbust, use all the embellishments, and repeat things in threes. This layout hits all of those high places for me and it’s so easy to reproduce that this is one of my favorites.
This next layout is a close second! It was a page I made for Cut File week and I used one of Gwen’s files from the Cut To You shop as well as the Happiness collection. This layout features another one of my favorite things: RAINBOWS! I’ve long said that rainbow is my favorite color and that is still true.
In addition to rainbows, we have vellum and watercolor and all the flowers we can handle? With all of this fun and bright elements, what’s not to love?
For my last favorite, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about one more thing that had my heart: traveler’s notebooks. Traveler’s notebooks were my first foray into scrapbooking and making and memory keeping, and I will always have a soft spot for this size and how accessible they are to so many people.
Traveler’s notebooks have that fun square shape without the intimidation factor of a 12×12 piece of cardstock. I love how this spread is lovely enough to be expanded to a traditional layout but small enough to fit into a book. This spread was fun and easily, one of my favorite traveler’s notebook layouts I’ve made all year!
So that’s it, friends! Thank you for a fun year, filled with memories, color and so many beautiful projects, and I cannot wait to see what happens next year.
Hi crafty friends, Anita here with you today wow I can’t believe it’s the end of the year and sharing my 3 favourite layouts from this year
Starting off with my butterfly layout using the happiness collection The idea behind this layout is one we all experience at one time or another a taste or a smell from childhood and for me that was at the beach on the swings with a raspberry ice cream and butterflies always seemed magical in some way
I’ve added a few close up pictures and you can check out my original blog post for my layout here
My second layout today
is of my daughters Eve and Kara taking selfie’s and just having fun
My inspiration for this layout was to use the 6×8 paper pad the heart background cut file adding all the different pattern papers from the unforgettable collection and laying cut files
Close up pictures and pop on over and Check out my original blog post here
For my third favourite layout using the unforgettable collection
As they say inspiration is all around us and mine just happened to be right in front of me!!
I was inspired by a plate I have for my ephemera and bits on my desk that has triangles scattered on it so I thought this triangle confetti background cut file from Paige Evans was just perfect.
Here are some close up pictures and Check out my original blog post here
I hope you liked my 3 favourite layouts from this year have a wonderful Christmas and new year!!
Hi crafty friends, Anita here with you today sharing a love layout full of floral’s using fussy cut flowers and die cuts flowers from unforgettable (do you like fussy cutting?) I think it’s one of those things that’s just relaxes me while I watch a show …I’m totally hooked on prodigal son tv show at the moment.. and yep I’m one of those peeps who totally love’s crime shows!!.. well anyway back to my layout..
I started off by using story teller as my base of my layout and I wanted to have hearts popping in the background so I used a cut file from Paige Evans’s wonky hearts background and cut it out with my cameo in the center of the patterned paper so I could trim the paper down to add unscripted behind it and have a pink border as well. Then I machine stitched around the edges to add a extra textured border.
Next using a paper from happiness botanical bliss I used another cut file for my title from Paige Evans’s XOXO and I wanted to back it with white cardstock so I offset the design to add another layer behind to make it a bit stronger and to pop that floral design.
I matted my photo on papers from pretty bits and add stickers from the accessory stickers around my photo and in the layers. I then fussing cut flowers from patterned paper glorious to tuck underneath the my title
And using flowers from the ephemera die cuts I tucked them underneath the edges of the title and scattered them around adding little flowers on top of my cut file title
I used the mint enamel dots to add extra colour around the flowers and tucked a few clear stickers in the flower clusters and to finish off I used some glitter glue to add a few little dots inside the tiny flowers.
I hope I’ve given you some floral inspiration today..
