Page Maps

Best Ever | Storyteller collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here today to share my latest design team project with you.

I have to admit, things have been super busy in my world lately, and I have really found myself pushed for both time and inspiration to create. In times like these, I often find it helpful to reach for a sketch so I have somewhere to start and can get going quickly. It was for this reason I decided to use a Page Maps sketch for this page, along with the beautiful ‘Storyteller’ collection.

And here is the sketch I was working with…

As you can see, I stuck fairly closely with the overall sketch design. One of the greatest things about using sketches though, is that they are designed to inspire you, so you have the ability to interpret different elements of the sketch however you want.

This is exactly what I did when it came to my background. I began with a sheet of patterned paper (Fly Away), just as the sketch suggested, however instead of layering this with another piece of paper or cardstock, I chose to add acrylic paint to define the focal area of my page. I then added a piece of the rainbow striped Brighter Days paper that I had leftover from a previous project.

The sketch had a couple of vertical elements, so I used one scrap strip of paper I had on hand, plus the heart strip from the Story Time cut apart paper. For my title, I used the best ever card from the Pocket Cards pack and in keeping with the sketch I punched along the top edge of it using a notebook style punch. Before sticking down the photos of my daughter and I; I added a small paper doily and some frayed gauze to create texture behind them.

With all the main components in place, it was then simply a matter of adding my embellishments. Again I stuck fairly closely with the design of the sketch, but instead of using stars, I substituted flowers instead. I created three clusters using a variety of pieces from the Floral Ephemera pack, and I topped one of the flowers with an Epoxy Wood Button. Other embellishments used included a small banner and heart from the Die Cut Ephemera pack; some Accessory Stickers; and Puffy Stickers.

You can watch how this layout came together in my process video below:

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this today. If you have found yourself short on time or mojo lately, try using a sketch like I did for this layout. You can stick close to the original design or use it as a jumping off point – just get those memories documented!

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Precious Moments Together | Storyteller Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hello Hello! It’s Michelle here today to share another layout for our month of sketch inspiration using the wonderful Storyteller Collection. I had so much fun creating my last layout that I thought, why not create another using a fun sketch from Page Maps. This one was based on a grid design and brings together multiple photos to tell a story, perfect for sharing one about a new blossoming doggy friendship.

We recently welcomed another sweet pup into our home, his name is Sonny and boy is he a handful. He’s the most hilarious little ball of fluff we’ve ever encountered, and is a great new addition to our little family. Our first doggo Daisy only took a few days to get use to having him around, and so far they seem like they’re going to be the very best of friends.

As you could imagine theres been a lot of photo taking in the last few days, so it was hard to narrow the selection down to just 4 for this project. I edited them all using an iPhone app and printed them out in black and white as per the size on the sketch below.

The sketch I was inspired by from the Page Maps website has a grid of pattern papers with 4 photos across the middle, machine stitching around the edges and clusters of flowers. I love creating with sketches as it takes the guess work out of how to start a layout when you’re stuck in a creative ‘rut’.

Seeing this little friendship begin has been so magical..

I used 4 different pattern papers from the A5 paper stack cut down to roughly 4inch squares, distressed the edges slightly and adhered to the white cardstock using pieces of foam sheet to raise them up off the page. I sewed around the edges next using my machine and some off white coloured thread.

I added the photos across the middle of the layout using the same foam sheets to add a little more dimension to the layout.

Next I worked on creating the clusters, bottom right was first using the ‘Love this’ tag from the STORY TIME cut apart sheet, a bunch of florals fussy cut from the A5 version of SPRING FLING,  journaling tag from the EPHEMERA pack, black heart from the FOAM TITLES pack and sticker from the ACCESSORY STICKER sheet.

In the top left corner I added another cluster of fussy cut florals, black heart and ephemera pieces. Using coordinating elements within all the clusters on a page really helps to give it a cohesive look

I added the title to the top left of the grid cluster also, using a mix of both a word from the FOAM TITLE STICKERs and a piece from the EPHEMERA pack

In the top right corner I created a smaller cluster, again using the same floral elements as the other 2 clusters. I used different types of adhesives in all 3 clusters to create different heights of dimension giving the clusters a more 3D feel. My go to adhesives for this are double sided foam tape, sticky thumb ‘sticky dots’ and tacky glue.

I added the usual splattering of gold ink to the layout after adding some hand written text to the journalling card

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

Well thats all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing another sketch inspired post from me, and the rest of the team this month. It sure was a fun theme for us to be inspired by. Be sure to share your sketch inspired layouts with us in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community Group on Facebook, we love seeing what you all create using the CVS Collections!

Until next time, Happy Scrapping
Michelle x

 

Book Week 2022 | Storyteller Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hey Hey! It’s Michelle here today with my newest layout share featuring the wonderful Storyteller Collection. This layout is part of our current monthly sketch theme, which is THE best way to get the creative juices flowing when you’re feeling low on inspiration and ideas. I chose an awesome sketch from the Page Maps website, which I’ll share a little further into this post, to document this years Book Week costume of choice. One that needed a little time and patience to recreate.

Here’s what I came up with this week..

The sketch I chose from Page Maps, shown below, was originally designed for a 8.5×11 size layout but is easily converted into a 12×12 design. All the same design features are there, with my own little spin.

I used a few of my favourite A5 patterns from the A5 paper stack to create the vertical strip of patterns down the middle of the layout (off centre). I distressed the edges and adhered flat to the white cardstock. There’s a scalloped border between the top 2 pattern papers using the yellow pattern side of the LITTLE LOVE paper, then a strip of hearts from the STORY TIME paper with a string of yellow pom poms between the bottom 2 pattern papers.

I centred the photos in the top half of the woodgrain section, adding some of the green pattern paper (FLY AWAY)  the rainbow hearts card from the A5 version of the STORY TIME paper and the love this tab from the EPHEMERA pack tucked into the top left photo.

To create the cluster on the right side of the layout I fussy cut the circle journalling piece from the cut apart paper STORY TIME, layered with another journalling sticker square from the ACCESSORY sticker sheet, pieces from the EPHEMERA pack plus a bunch of fussy cut florals from the A5 version of SPRING FLING paper.

For the left cluster I fussy cut more florals, added a ephemera heart and the A5 version of the round journaling spot from the STORY TIME paper in the A5 paper stack.

I added machine stitching in random places for a little added texture and interest across the page

And I dipped into the never ending, but almost used up, stash of very old white Alphabet stickers from a few years back to create the title of the layout.

I added a fair bit of hand written journalling to this layout, much more than I normally would add. I drew some rough lines using a pencil that I could erase once the writing was complete. I also added the usual splattering of gold ink to finish it all off

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

Well friends, thats all from me today. Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I created for our current Sketch theme. Be sure to check back in each day to see what sketches the other DT members have been recreating too. If you get the chance to create with any that we’ve shared, please feel free to share them with us and the entire Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community in our group on Facebook.

Until Next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

Sweet Moments | Midnight Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hello Crafty friends, its Michelle back today. I have a new layout to share with you all that’s based on the super cute Page Maps sketch shared by my fellow team members this past week. I had so much fun using the sketch as a kick starter for this layout, and that Midnight collection worked perfectly with the floral design elements

Love that these photos document a sweet moment shared between both Leila and my nephew from a few years back. They both love to read

TO begin the layout I cut down a piece of white cardstock to roughly 11.5inch square and adhered to a 12×12 piece of the stunningly beautiful INKY DEPTHS paper. Love the tiny floral design of that pattern paper. Once the 2 papers were secure I roughly drew then sewed multiple circle shapes similar to the large version on the sketch.

I gathered a couple of photos, printed black and white so as not to clash with the colours of the sweet Midnight collection. There were layered to the right of the large sewn circles and adhered using foam tape for slight dimension. I’ve tucked some ephemera pieces and fussy cut florals from the BLOOM AND GROW paper above the top photo

Between the photos I’ve layered a strip of roughly torn pink paper from the ombre SHINE BRIGHT design and a piece of the  blue and white diagonal stripe frame found in the ephemera pack to replicate the scalloped piece on the sketch. I’ve also added a second piece of the torn pink paper to the top of the layout

TO the left of the photos I created the large title cluster using more elements from the ephemera pack and die cut titles that looked similar to those on the sketch. Especially those mason jars and florals. Perfect pieces! To give them all different dimensional heights I’ve used multiple adhesives – raised and flat glue dots, foam tape and good ol tacky glue.

Lastly I added some handwritten journalling and a few splatters of gold ink and called it done.

Well thats all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by! I really enjoyed playing around with this sketch as it helped get my creative juices flowing when I was stuck in a rut. I hope it inspires you all too!

Until Next time, Happy Scrapping (or sketch scrapping)

Michelle x

You Rock | Page Maps Sketch | Boys Rule & You Rock Collections | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here today, and it’s my turn to share my layout for the PageMaps sketch theme that our team have been challenged with this week. It has been amazing to see how all my fellow designers have interpreted the sketch so far, and the range of pages that a single sketch can inspire.

Here is the sketch we have all been working with…

This sketch is one from the PageMaps archives from October 2018; and if you would like more sketch inspiration (including card sketches) you can find them on the PageMaps website.

Despite the floral theme of the sketch, I decided to twist it up and create a boy page instead. I used a combination of elements from two different CVS boy collections – ‘Boys Rule’ and ‘You Rock’.

I began with the ‘Boys Rule’ collection – using the Star Fall paper as my page base to form a border, which I layered with a smaller square of the Entitled paper over the top.

To represent the circular element of the sketch, I cut several different sized wreaths from the free ‘Happiness’ cut files using a combination of white cardstock and the Happy Go Lucky paper for my feature circle. I then arranged them so they were overlapping each other.

Just like the sketch, I used two photos for my page (although I did use a different size and orientation). These photos of my son were taken the day after his birthday while he was testing out his new punchbag and boxing gloves.

I added the die cut what the? speech bubble from the Die Cut Ephemera pack onto my main photo.

Due to the busy pattern on the paper, and the fact that I already had the overlapping wreaths on my background, I wanted to keep the embellishments fairly simple. I dug through my stash and chose the wood veneer pack from the ‘You Rock’ collection. I liked the fact that this was an easy way to add dimension and some natural texture to the page.

I added the large You Rock title piece just to the left of the photos – just like the title was positioned in the sketch. I then adhered a selection of wood veneer stars around the page, placing them at points where the wreaths intersected and forming a “visual triangle” around my photos. I also added a small wood veneer lightning bolt directly onto my second photo.

To finish off, I added the that’s my boy rubber charm along the bottom edge of my photo; then added a small label from the Miscellany die cut pack to the bottom corner of my page and wrote my journalling with a felt pen.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you are enjoying our sketch feature this week. Pop in tomorrow to see another layout from our team inspired by the same PageMaps sketch. Until next time, happy scrapping!

You and Me | Page Maps | Free Spirit Collection | Tarrah McLean

Hi Cocoa Vanilla friends!

It’s Tarrah back with you and today I am sharing a new layout using the gorgeous Free Spirit collection. Today my inspiration comes from the awesome sketch from Page Maps some of the design team were given to work with for this week.

Here is the awesome Page Maps sketch we were given for inspiration. It can be found under the October 2018 archives here

I still have a few bits from some of the older CVS collections so I decided to pull out the pretty Free Spirit collection and work with that. I stuck to the sketch design pretty closely, even adding the same elements the sketch suggested. I changed it slightly to balance the page and also replaced a suggested photo for paper instead.  I started off by trimming some white cardstock down and then machine stitching 2 circles. I then adhered the white cardstock to one of the gorgeous floral papers. I matted my photo with one of the papers from the Free Spirit collection and also layered another one above to replace the 2nd photo as I mentioned earlier. I also added some of the journal spots as a layering piece. I added one of the scalloped border stickers above the photo of my sister and I also added a few embellishments to this area also. I fussy cut the ‘You and Me’ title from one of the journal cards included on one of the papers from the Free Spirit collection and positioned it where the sketch suggested. I cut out the pink phrase ‘Hello Happiness’ and added that tucked in under my photo and also layered the ‘Wonderful’ die-cut phrases over the photo also. One of the cute flair buttons and a die-cut heart were added to the left of the photo. On the sketch, the suggestion is to place a large embellishment like a jar of flowers, I added one of the floral stickers from the accessory sticker sheet here instead and I really like how it looks.    Lastly I added the die cut banner popped up using pop dots to the top left corner touching the machine stitching, I also sprinkled some white sequins around and some navy Heidi shine mist. The date stamp was the very last thing added and that completes my layout.

Be sure to check out Page Maps for inspiration, there are so many designs over there to kick start your creativity.

Check them out and get creating with your favourite Cocoa Vanilla collection!

Happy creating!

Tarrah x

Wonderful Sweet Days | Page Maps Sketch | Midnight Collection | Rachel Lowe

Hi everyone Rachel here and today I have a sketch inspired layout using the beautiful Midnight collection.

I love sketches, they really help get your mojo going! This sketch is from Page Maps.

I had not used the beautiful large die cut from the collection but this sketch totally inspired me to use it. Instead of leaving it as a circle, I altered it by cutting it into a flower shape, including the paper background.

I cut down the gorgeous pink and white striped paper, leaving my white cardstock as my border. I machine stitched to add definition around the pink and white striped paper.

I next added my two photos which are 5×4 inches with foam tape so I could embellishments later. I created two floral clusters next to each photo.

I clustered one floral bunch over and on my photo, but on the other photo I layered my flowers under my photo. This creates more visual interest and although you are repeating the same concept it will look different.

I then created my title using the accessory stickers and the die cut titles.

I added my titles with foam tape so they stood out.

Then it was adding little finishing touches! I added a banner embellishment at the top of my page, adding some machine stitching a butterfly which I added with foam tape.

I added some more sticker butterflies from the accessory sticker sheet and also added a tab behind the top photo. I added some extra leaves and sprigs in my floral bunches from the die cut ephemera pack

I love how this turned out and the sketch really pushed me, like using two larger photos for me was a challenge lol!  I also love how many layers there are to this layout.

Well that’s it from me today, make sure if you try this sketch post on the CVS FB page so we can all see your take! See you again soon.

Rachel X

 

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