Melissa Vining

Making Traveler’s Notebooks | Legendary and Unforgettable Collections | Melissa Vining

Hi everyone its Melissa here and today I’m going to be sharing something a little bit different.  Did you know that you can make your own Traveler’s Notebook inserts?  I started doing this because I couldn’t purchase them here in New Zealand, and I found it a perfect way to feature beautiful patterned papers.  I also love having control over the weight of paper inside the notebook.  This is by no means my own idea, and there are lots of videos on YouTube for how to do this in lots of different ways. Anyway this way is definitely the lazy girls technique because no measuring is required, just an existing notebook to use as a guide.  In terms of the actual making, I suggest you watch my process video (at the end of this post) where I demonstrate what you need and exactly how to create them.

I let each of my 4 children choose a patterned paper from limited selection from the Legendary and Unforgettable Collections to make each of the notebook covers.  I was pleasantly surprised that two of my girls selected a paper from Legendary which tells me its definitely not just for boys!

Sam (age 13) ended up with the arrow paper by default, but I knew it would be perfect for a teen boy.  I embellished with two cut aparts from Epic Tales, one that I tore in half and distressed the edges of, and the second that I fussy cut the word “EPIC” which was perfect for his cover. I did some subtle mixed media splatters and splatters on the background with some shiny mist.  I finished his cover with a couple of Accessory Stickers, and I also used some of the Clear Stickers.

Here is a close up of Sam’s notebook.

Next up was Azaria (who has just turned 11), who completely surprised me by choosing the Brave Heart paper for her cover. She loves neutrals, so I decided to mix in some of the gorgeous Unforgettable, and based the embellishment of her cover off the cut apart from the Story Teller paper.  I altered the cut apart by cutting off the floral pieces, distressing all edges and then glueing them back together.  I love doing this!!  I minimally embellished with some Clear Stickers and a Die Cut Ephemera piece. Edgy and girly all at once!

 

Here is a close up of Azaria’s notebook.

 

Next up was my girly-girl Brielle (6) who I knew had to have her entire notebook made from Unforgettable! She immediately fell in love with the Glorious paper!  For her cover, I started with layering the wreath cut apart from Storyteller over a piece of paper from the 6×8 Paper Stack, and added a Clear Sticker arrow with a heart layered over the top.  I distressed all of my edges of course!  I needed something to break up the busy floral from the embellishment, so I used white acrylic paint applied with a dry brush, and I applied it very thickly.  Once it was dry I added one of the Clear Stickers (cut in half), punched a tab and stapled it on, and my final touch was to add a clear sticker heart on the tab.

Here is a close up of Brielle’s notebook.

Onto the final notebook which was for Ava (3.5) who is my rough and tumble little girl.  As soon as she saw the selection of papers in my hand she said “I want the stars” so the Legendary All Star paper was hers!  I wanted to challenge myself to use more of Legendary on Ava’s notebook so I used a cut apart from Epic Tales.  I distressed all of the edges like I did with the other three notebook cover papers, and for a subtle girly touch I added a Clear Sticker flower from Unforgettable and I totally love the resulting mix of grey and pink!

Here is a close up of Ava’s notebook.

I bound my notebooks by hand stitching with 3-hole pamphlet stitch, and the centre of the notebook looks like this.

And here’s a lovely photo of all the notebooks stacked up.  Now to convince my children that they’re not actually getting the notebooks, but they’re for me to document their stories that don’t require a full 12×12 layout!!

You can watch my process in the following video, and I also show the embellishing of the notebook covers.

I hope I’ve inspired you to make your own Traveler’s Notebooks!

Until next time,

Melissa xx

Super Awesome | Legendary Collection | Melissa Vining

Hello its Melissa here and I’m so happy to be back sharing a sports layout with you that I created with the amazingly versatile Legendary collection.  The photo is of my son at our New Zealand National Jiu-Jitsu Tournament in 2018.  I always think a sports layout is the perfect way to feature stars, especially when its a boy layout too!!

 

For this layout I really wanted to feature some of the gorgeous star die cuts from the Die Cut Ephemera pack, and I knew that I wanted to have them hanging like a key chain.  My photo was taken in 2018 and Sam was aged 11 at the time, so I really wanted to make sure the key chain feature looked masculine, and not girly or like a baby mobile. In order to this I used a really old banner paper clip from my stash, which also enabled me to attach the stars to my photo. The papers that you can see backing my photo are Offbeat, One Way, and All Star.

I created a shaker pocket from the largest star with plastic packaging, which I hand stitched to close the pocket.  I used some sequins to fill my pocket, and then attached all of the stars with some blue and white stripped twine.  I backed the second largest star with Outdoors Type and then punched holes in all of the stars to thread the twine through.  I arranged all of the stars with different lengths of twine, and then tied them in a knot around the paper clip.  It was a little fiddly, but so worth it!

I created my background with gesso first, then texture paste through a stencil followed by water activated powders that I applied with the packaging technique, and then splatters.  I always think its worth taking the time to dry in between layers of powders to get defined spatters.

Most of my embellishing was done with one of my favourite Cocoa Vanilla Studio supplies, the Clear Stickers.  I also used a phrase from the clear stickers for my title.   I finished my embellishing with a couple of the Accessory Stickers on my photo, and a subtle piece of ephemera which I cut in half and used as a layer under the paper layers.  In order to ground my photo I used a torn strip of Off Beat on the left side of my page.

I made a process video which you can watch below or on the Cocoa Vanilla Studio YouTube Channel.  In fact make sure you subscribe so that you don’t miss any of the videos the DT posts!

Thanks for looking!

Melissa xx

Living The Dream | Unforgettable Collection | Melissa Vining

Hello everyone, it’s Melissa here and I’m so happy to be back to share another layout!!  Our creative theme at the moment is to scrap lift one of the layouts that our community made during International Scrapbooking Day.  I decided to scrap lift a gorgeous layout by the very talented Rosslyn Coutts, which she created for our moodboard challenge.  I chose Rossyln’s layout because I love that she used multiple photos, featured large pieces of beautiful patterned paper (my favourite supply), used a cut apart and she played with watercolours. All of the things I love to do! Rosslyn used the beautiful Happiness collection.

In order to start I had to find three photos that told a story, and the very recent photos I’d taken of Brielle (age 6) with mermaid hair (from French Plaits) were perfect.  I made my layout with the stunning Unforgettable collection, which was perfect with its butterflies and florals. I decided to be bold and instead of using a white card stock background, I used the most beautiful script patterned paper called Unscripted.  I think I could have 50 sheets of this and still find uses for it!! One of my favourite things to do is add a hint of mixed media to this type of paper, and I used water colours with the packaging technique followed by ink splatters – all in complimentary colours to the papers I used, and lifting Rosslyn.

The patterned papers that I used in featured blocks are Unscripted, Forget Me Not and Garland.  I love how beautiful they look layered and distressed!  The cut apart that I chose to use is from Story Teller, and I love the pop of woodgrain that it adds!  My journalling is also on a cut apart label from Story Teller.

I knew that this lift would be the perfect excuse to use the cut files that Anita Bonds designed for iNSD, especially as Rosslyn had used butterflies and florals.  I backed the cut files with papers from the 6 x 8 Paper Stack.

Other embellishments that I added are hearts from the Foam Title Stickers, Enamel Dots, and stickers from the Accessory Stickers which I stapled on to add texture.

Rossyln added a chipboard banner piece to the top right hand corner of her patterned paper, and I just had to add this sweet touch to my layout too!  I stapled on a small banner piece from the Die Cut Ephemera pack.  I love the whimsy that it adds!

I loved lifting Rosslyn’s layout, and you can watch my creative process in my video on the Cocoa Vanilla Studio YouTube channel here.

Thanks so much joining me today!

Melissa xx

 

INSD Challenge Inspiration | Anna K, Raquel, Melissa, Tarrah, Laura and Sue

Hi everyone! Today we are once more turning the spotlight on some of the layouts our design team created during our International Scrapbook Day celebration a few weeks ago.

The first layout we are sharing belongs to Anna, who created a fabulous sketch challenge for us, and this stunning sample layout using our ‘Happiness’ collection to go along with it…

If you would like to see how Anna put this beauty together, she has a process video available on our YouTube channel. You can watch it here:

Anna’s sketch challenge proved to be very popular, with many gorgeous layouts being shared as a result, including from our own team members. Raquel decided to play along using Anna’s sketch to create this layout of her and her son using our ‘Unforgettable’ collection which we absolutely love!

Raquel also created a process video for this layout, and you can watch it on our YouTube channel here:

The final layout we have to share using Anna’s sketch was from Melissa, who created this one LIVE in our INSD group from her home in New Zealand. She used our ‘Legendary’ collection and we are crushing on that big yellow heart and those die cut patterned paper leaves.

The next challenge we had on offer was Tarrah’s multi photo and mixed font challenge. Tarrah used our ‘Wild at Heart’ collection and was inspired by the work of fellow DT member Raquel to create an 8.5×11″ layout.

The next layout we have to share was also created for Tarrah’s challenge, but this time from Laura using our ‘More Than Words’ collection. She went all-out on the multi photo criteria, and managed to add FIVE photos on her page whilst still maintaining a clean, uncluttered look.

The final layout we have to share today comes from Sue, who created this mixed media layout during her LIVE scrap stream in the INSD group. She used our ‘Legendary’ collection which was a perfect match for the fun photos of her kids.

That’s all for today, but stay tuned because we have another serve of inspirational layouts from our team to come tomorrow. Until then, happy scrapping!

Hey Kid | Legendary Collection | Melissa Vining

Hello friends!! Its Melissa here and I’m back again today with another layout made with the stunning Legendary collection – I really can’t stop creating with it!  I was given the task of focusing on the Die Cut Titles, so I decided to go all out! Go big or go home right?!

I took this photo of my newly turned 13 teenager (and only son) Sam on his first day ever of high school earlier this year.  He looked so smart in his tie and blazer, and I knew I just had to use the gorgeous map patterned paper, which is the B side to Outdoors Type, with a border of the blue and white stripe cut apart from the B side of Total Legend.

I decided to incorporate several of the Die Cut Titles into a letter to Sam, and I used a manual die for the remaining words (cut from Total Legend, One Way, and Wild One).  I used my sewing machine to add lines underneath the manual die words for extra texture and interest, and used Enamel Dots for punctuation.

For my photo I layered up some of the same papers, and then simply embellished with the star cut file which Gwen designed to accompany Legendary.  I backed the stars with Wild Once, and I love how it brings out the yellow in his tie.

Carrying on with the star theme, which works really well for both boys and back-to-school layouts, I used a couple of the gorgeous stars from the Die Cut Ephemera pack and placed them off the page for interest.  I embellished them with arrows from the ephemera pack and phrases from the Accessory Stickers.

A little ephemera tab with the word “memorable” was perfect tucked under my layers.

I made a process video which you can watch here.

I’m so happy with this layout, and most importantly so is my son!! It means a lot when they are teenagers and still appreciate layouts that we mums make!

Thanks so much for looking!

Melissa xx

Hello Adventure | Legendary Collection | Melissa Vining

Hello!! Its Melissa here and I’m so happy to be back with you sharing another layout that I made with the amazing Legendary collection. For this layout I decided to work with the stunning Explorer paper (shown below), specifically the B side with the stunning circular pattern.

I always knew that I wanted to hand stitch this paper, but I wasn’t sure exactly how.  When I looked at the paper I could see a snowflake, which was perfect for scrapbooking two chairlift selfies that I took on Coronet Peak Ski Field (here in Queenstown, New Zealand) last Winter of my daughter Azaria and I.

I started making this layout by piercing holes along the lines of the snowflake, back stitching in white embroidery thread (full 6 strands), and then fussy cutting it out.  To be honest I wasn’t sure how it was going to look, because the entire pattern with only some of it stitched didn’t look like a snowflake until I cut it away from the rest of the paper.  I was pleasantly surprised that it worked, and Azaria was very excited, as she had helped me find the lines of the snowflake!

I’ve been very inspired by the other Design Team ladies that use mixed media, specifically Sue, Tazhiana and Danni, all of whom I watched create live during our International Scrapbook Day Celebration.  For my layout I applied clear gesso to white card stock, and then used the packing technique with blue media, and then added some splatters in gold and white.  I love how this media brings the wintry feel of my layout to life! The photo below also shows a peek of my torn border that I placed on the bottom of my layout to look like mountains.  The paper is one of my favourite cut apart patterns from the B side of Total Legend!

The Legendary collection has Die Cut Titles, and I went through the pack to find the perfect title for my layout.  “Hello Adventure” was perfect to describe the many afternoons my daughter and I spent skiing (her) and snowboarding (I) together.  Even though Legendary is a guy collection, it works so well for documenting outdoor memories.   I also had to add some whimsy with several of the adorable Clear Stickers.

I kept my embellishment to a minimum because I wanted the focus to be on the snowflake, but I did find the perfect phrase sticker and “Lets Go” sticker from the Accessory Stickers. The two papers that I used to back my photos are Epic Tales and Total Legend (the A side).  I added texture to these papers by tearing the bottom edge and distressing the other three edges.

You can watch my process video here.

I hope I’ve inspired you to create an outdoors layout with Legendary, its truly such a versatile collection!

I’ll be back again soon!

Melissa xx

 

 

 

 

Epic Legend | Legendary Collection | Melissa Vining

Hello again, it’s Melissa here and I can’t believe it’s nearly the end of April!! I hope you’re all well and finding some time to be creative.

I have another layout to share with the amazing ‘Legendary’ collection today, and its the toughest photo I’ve ever scrapped! This photo is of my brother in law Blair and our youngest daughter Ava a week after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2018.  Blair passed away in October 2019, and I’ve held off documenting any photos from his journey until now, mostly because I felt that I couldn’t do his memory justice.  But the Legendary collection speaks to me, and is perfect for documenting this special photo.

I knew that I wanted to fussy cut some of the stars from the ALL STAR paper and make a wreath to represent what a star Blair was during his nearly 1 year battle with cancer.  I used a cut file from Paige Evans, and backed the stars with several papers from the collection (including WILD ONE, TOTAL LEGEND and Brave Heart) that had small repeating patterns.  I also added some velum from my stash for some lightness. I matted my photo with ALL STAR and EPIC TALES and distressed the edges.

The OFFBEAT paper was perfect for my background as it helps direct the eye towards the centre of my page, and of course towards the photo.  I did some subtle machine stitching in white thread, and just drew a circle with pencil and stitched around it abut 5 times. Its always easier to machine stitch when it doesn’t have to be perfect!!

I didn’t do much embellishing on this layout, mostly because all of the stars are embellishment! But I did add a tab sticker, word sticker, die cut ephemera tab, and some of the clear stickers.  My title was easily made with two of the die cut words which I popped up on foam.

I will admit that I found this layout hard to make emotionally, but I’m so happy I finally managed to start scrapbooking Blair’s Epic Journey.  Blair was an amazing bother in law who was able to present to the New Zealand Government the largest cancer petition in history, and made significant changes to cancer care in my country before he passed away.  I’m so grateful for our wonderful memory keeping hobby, and I hope I’ve inspired you to scrapbook the photos and memories you find difficult too.

You can watch my process video for this layout here.

Much love

Melissa xx

Rad Brother | Legendary Collection | Melissa Vining

Hello and Happy Easter Monday. Its Melissa here!  I hope you had a lovely Easter with your loved ones wherever you are in the world.  I’m so excited to be working with the amazing Legendary collection, and there was a lot of excitement (from my kids and I) when the courier came to our door!

I decided to challenge myself to scrap an Easter photo with this rad collection, with an extra twist of using a floral cut file ,and to use it to document my son Sam. The cut file is from Confessions of a Paper Addict.

The first thing I did was to pull all of the papers that I thought would work for this cut file, bearing in mind that it has a lot of florals.  Often I find that the B-sides are best for backing smaller details on cut files.  Cut part sheets are also great for finding extra patterns and colours.

The title word said “Brothers”, but as I only have one son I altered it by cutting off the “s” to make it work for this photo of Sam.  The story behind this photo is that although he was a big 12 year old last Easter, he still joined in the Easter hunt and even posed for this photo for the sake of his youngest sisters. If you have kids that are nearly teenagers you’ll know what I mean!!

I love using a patterned paper for a background, and this gorgeous small repeating triangle was perfect.  I added some small blue and yellow splatters for some subtle detail.  I really wanted the feature of may layout to be the photo and the cut file, so I kept embellishment to a minimum.  I added some of the clear stickers to help draw the eye in, and my final touch was to use blue drops on the two flowers that were too small to back with patterned paper.

I hope you enjoyed my Easter layout.  Thanks for looking, and I’ll be back later this month.

Take care

Melissa

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay Unique | Happiness Collection | Melissa Vining

Hello everyone, its Melissa with you today and I’m so excited because its my first post for CVS!! I’ve created a layout with the gorgeous ‘Happiness’ collection because my Legendary is somewhere in transit, slowed down by the COVID-19 global pandemic. I used the Large Die Cut & Backing Set and decided to be bold (for me) by chain stitching the heart in back embroidery floss.

The photo is of our gorgeous yet cheeky 3 year old daughter Ava.  I’ve been having some fun with the filters on Instagram, and I was so happy that she stayed still for a couple of seconds for me to take this sweet photo.  I used an Instagram Filter and it turned out so sweet! The equivalent photo of me – not so much!!!

The chain stitching took me hours to complete but was worth it for the texture it added to my layout.  I just worked on it in the evenings while I watched Netflix.  I ended up getting into quite the rhythm, and found it very relaxing!

I don’t have much of this collection left because I love it so much, so I embellished with some fussy cut butterflies from both the 12×12 paper and the 6×8 paper stack, resulting in two different sizes of butteries. I created an embellishment cluster around my photo with layered and distressed papers, vellum, stickers and die cuts. I added dimension with craft foam and pop dots.  My final touch was to add Nuvo Dream Drops in Gold Luxe, and some black mist splatters.

I made a process video which you can watch below:

Thanks for reading & take care

Melissa

 

 

 

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