Hello CVS friends! Most that know me, know I use cut files on many of my layouts but with this layout I dusted off my metal dies and punches. I had forgotten how many gorgeous dies and punches I have. I still can’t resist Sunkissed and so I created another summer themed layout.
I have used only two papers from the Sunkissed collection, Growing Wild and Feelin Fine for this layout. Keeping to the rule of thirds I cut three strips in varying sizes with the pink strip in the middle. I used a punch to create the scallop border. Once I had adhered to my base paper I added a row of machine stitching on the edge of each strip to add definition.
I found a beautiful butterfly die and cut several in the same pink paper strip and using wet glue only in the centre of the butterfly adhered to my layout. I then gently pulled the wings up to create dimension. I did this to create texture so my strip didn’t look ‘flat’. I next added my title using the gorgeous glitter foam stickers .
I have used a 5×5 inch photo and added foam tape to adhere, as I like to tuck elements under the photo, my foam tape is not directly at the edges. I then set about creating two embellishment clusters on either side of my photo. I used a palm leaf die and then added florals from the floral ephemera pack and die cut ephemera I used the swimsuit and thongs. I finished off this cluster adding a puffy sticker and phrase sentiment from the die cut pack.
I created a floral cluster on the opposite side, tucking under leaves and finishing off with another puffy sticker and phrase sentiment die cut.
Don’t be afraid of creating embellishment clusters on a patterned paper like I have done here, as long as you add layers, use foam tape to create dimension it can work well design wise. I added a clear sticker paint brush stroke under my photo to provide a contrast against the white finishing off with a die cut heart.
I really enjoyed using my punches and metal dies, you don’t have to use many to make an impact on your layout!
Hello CVS friends! Most that know me, know I use cut files on many of my layouts but with this layout I dusted off my metal dies and punches. I had forgotten how many gorgeous dies and punches I have. I still can’t resist Sunkissed and so I created another summer themed layout.
I have used only two papers from the Sunkissed collection, Growing Wild and Feelin Fine for this layout. Keeping to the rule of thirds I cut three strips in varying sizes with the pink strip in the middle. I used a punch to create the scallop border. Once I had adhered to my base paper I added a row of machine stitching on the edge of each strip to add definition.
I found a beautiful butterfly die and cut several in the same pink paper strip and using wet glue only in the centre of the butterfly adhered to my layout. I then gently pulled the wings up to create dimension. I did this to create texture so my strip didn’t look ‘flat’. I next added my title using the gorgeous glitter foam stickers .
I have used a 5×5 inch photo and added foam tape to adhere, as I like to tuck elements under the photo, my foam tape is not directly at the edges. I then set about creating two embellishment clusters on either side of my photo. I used a palm leaf die and then added florals from the floral ephemera pack and die cut ephemera I used the swimsuit and thongs. I finished off this cluster adding a puffy sticker and phrase sentiment from the die cut pack.
I created a floral cluster on the opposite side, tucking under leaves and finishing off with another puffy sticker and phrase sentiment die cut.
Don’t be afraid of creating embellishment clusters on a patterned paper like I have done here, as long as you add layers, use foam tape to create dimension it can work well design wise. I added a clear sticker paint brush stroke under my photo to provide a contrast against the white finishing off with a die cut heart.
I really enjoyed using my punches and metal dies, you don’t have to use many to make an impact on your layout!
It’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. This week our team were challenged to pull out some dies or punches from our stash and use them in a project. It’s been a little while since I used my dies, so it was fun to dig through them and choose some to use. I had already decided to use the ‘Sunkissed’ collection, because I thought the beautiful bright colour palette would work well with this fun series of photos of my daughter and her friends.
I began my page with a sheet of 300gsm white cardstock. This cardstock is by House of Paper and is my absolute favourite to work with. It’s a great weight, takes mediums well, is a beautiful bright white, and it’s super smooth and silky to the touch. And the best part? It’s now available in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio store! (Also available in 250gsm for those who don’t want it quite as thick.) If you want to grab some and try it for yourself, you can find it in store HERE
I started by adding some colour to my background using a brayer and a sky blue acrylic paint. I also added pink, orange and yellow splatters of ink.
With the paint dry on my background, it was then time to start adding some paper layers. I chose the blue striped pattern from the Bright Side paper, and the blue tiny floral print from the A5 Paper Stack. (This paper is exclusive to the stack and not available in the 12×12″ size.) I also had a scrap of a yellow chevron print that I layered over the top. I matted my photo strip using the heart print from the Feelin’ Fine paper and added frayed gauze before sticking my photos down.
When it came to incorporating the dies into my project, I didn’t really consider exactly how I was going to use them before I cut them out. I just grabbed some small scraps of paper that I had left from previous projects and cut each of the different shapes from different patterns.
If you know my work, you would already know that I love using doilies on my layouts. So it should be no surprise that one of the dies I chose to use was a small doily design. I cut two of them using the Feelin’ Finepaper, and tucked them in under my photo mat at the top left corner and along the right edge. I also had a sweet little butterfly banner that I had cut, which I added on top of the yellow chevron paper.
I had some large butterflies that I had cut using a die and the Summer Lights paper, which I layered with some punched butterflies using the same paper. I had also punched the same butterflies in the small blue floral paper, which I added at the top and bottom of my page.
On the right side of the layout, I tucked some die cut banners in under my layers and then placed my feelin’ fine title piece (fussy cut from the Fun in the Sun paper) popped up on some foam tape.
I added a few flowers from the Floral Ephemera pack, as well as a few phrase stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet. I finished off with handwritten journalling and a few small hearts from the Puffy Sticker pack.
I love challenges like this that remind me to get out some of my under-used tools and put them to work. I ended up using four different dies for this page, as well as a punch, so I’d say that was mission accomplished! (And the best part was, I hardly used any extra embellishments because the dies, punch and papers did most of the work for me.)
If you would like to see exactly how this page came together, you can watch my process video here:
Thanks so much for stopping by today so I could share this with you. Until next time, happy scrapping!
It’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. This week our team were challenged to pull out some dies or punches from our stash and use them in a project. It’s been a little while since I used my dies, so it was fun to dig through them and choose some to use. I had already decided to use the ‘Sunkissed’ collection, because I thought the beautiful bright colour palette would work well with this fun series of photos of my daughter and her friends.
I began my page with a sheet of 300gsm white cardstock. This cardstock is by House of Paper and is my absolute favourite to work with. It’s a great weight, takes mediums well, is a beautiful bright white, and it’s super smooth and silky to the touch. And the best part? It’s now available in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio store! (Also available in 250gsm for those who don’t want it quite as thick.) If you want to grab some and try it for yourself, you can find it in store HERE
I started by adding some colour to my background using a brayer and a sky blue acrylic paint. I also added pink, orange and yellow splatters of ink.
With the paint dry on my background, it was then time to start adding some paper layers. I chose the blue striped pattern from the Bright Side paper, and the blue tiny floral print from the A5 Paper Stack. (This paper is exclusive to the stack and not available in the 12×12″ size.) I also had a scrap of a yellow chevron print that I layered over the top. I matted my photo strip using the heart print from the Feelin’ Fine paper and added frayed gauze before sticking my photos down.
When it came to incorporating the dies into my project, I didn’t really consider exactly how I was going to use them before I cut them out. I just grabbed some small scraps of paper that I had left from previous projects and cut each of the different shapes from different patterns.
If you know my work, you would already know that I love using doilies on my layouts. So it should be no surprise that one of the dies I chose to use was a small doily design. I cut two of them using the Feelin’ Finepaper, and tucked them in under my photo mat at the top left corner and along the right edge. I also had a sweet little butterfly banner that I had cut, which I added on top of the yellow chevron paper.
I had some large butterflies that I had cut using a die and the Summer Lights paper, which I layered with some punched butterflies using the same paper. I had also punched the same butterflies in the small blue floral paper, which I added at the top and bottom of my page.
On the right side of the layout, I tucked some die cut banners in under my layers and then placed my feelin’ fine title piece (fussy cut from the Fun in the Sun paper) popped up on some foam tape.
I added a few flowers from the Floral Ephemera pack, as well as a few phrase stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet. I finished off with handwritten journalling and a few small hearts from the Puffy Sticker pack.
I love challenges like this that remind me to get out some of my under-used tools and put them to work. I ended up using four different dies for this page, as well as a punch, so I’d say that was mission accomplished! (And the best part was, I hardly used any extra embellishments because the dies, punch and papers did most of the work for me.)
If you would like to see exactly how this page came together, you can watch my process video here:
Thanks so much for stopping by today so I could share this with you. Until next time, happy scrapping!
Hi everyone! Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I am sharing a baby girl mini album I created using the super pretty ‘Midnight’ collection. (You may recall that I made one of these a few months ago for one of my sons using the ‘Boys Rule’ collection – you can see that post HERE) As it usually goes when you have more than one child, you can’t do something for one without doing it for another, hence I am back today with this album created for my daughter.
I began this mini album with an unbranded 6 ring pink planner I purchased from eBay. This planner came completely empty, and unlike the last planner I used (which was from Kmart), this one features a magnetic clasp to close it, rather than the elastic band. I also used an adjustable 6 hole punch (also purchased from eBay) that I set up to fit the rings in the planner.
I used pieces from most of the patterned papers from the collection, cutting a variety of sizes and shapes to use for the pages. I then punched each one with the hole punch, ensuring they were not all aligned the same so that they would sit at varying heights within the album. I also added some additional decorative detail to some of the pages using an assortment of border punches.
I created “tip-ins” for some of the pages using patterned paper adhered with washi tape. This allows you to extend on the amount of space you have on a page to add extra photos or journalling, or even hide journalling underneath, just like I did with my daughter’s birth story above.
Remember you don’t always need a photo on each page – it adds extra interest to an album to intersperse purely decorative pages, or pages that simply feature a sentiment throughout, such as the page featuring fussy cut flowers from the Bloom & Grow paper and a Die Cut Title word above.
Another way to help anchor photos into an album and ensure they appear as a cohesive part of the page design, rather than just stuck over the top, is to add embellishments that overlap part of the photos. Alternatively, don’t be afraid to use an entire photo as a page in itself and punch directly through the photo. (Matte photos tend to work better for this, rather than glossy.)
To continue to provide variety throughout the album, try turning some of the elements vertically on the page; or have a horizontal page opposite a vertical one. (It also adds an extra level of interactivity to have people rotate the album to look at them.)
A great way to include a series of photos is to print them as a photo strip and fold them accordion style with a tab sticker to pull it out with…
The photos fold out and then fold neatly back into the album, only taking up the same amount of space as one photo.
Create small pockets from scrap pieces of paper to hold journal tags. For a final interactive element, I uploaded a video taken during the drive home from the hospital with my daughter to my YouTube channel (set as private) and then created a QR code for it. This allows it to be scanned by a QR code reader on a phone that links to the video and plays it. (My children LOVE these!)
There is much more to this album than I could show here. If you would like a look at the entire album, I have a flip through below:
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Until next time, happy scrapping!
Hello lovely friends. It’s Kylie back with you today to share another layout I have created with the ‘Unforgettable’ collection. Looking through my craft supplies I had so many decorative punches and border punches that I decided I wanted to use them to create some decorative edges for my layout. These punches were the inspiration for my completed design.
I layered several co-ordinating papers over each other.The top pages, (UNSCRIPTED & GARLAND), were cut slightly narrower than the base,(STORYTELLER) to create a border. I used a delicate scalloped lace border punch across the top edge of the top papers. Layered together it gave them a lovely texture as well.
For a little extra colour on my page I added a heart punched strip to the top of my page from the NATURAL BEAUTY paper. Some simple back stitching was added to the small edge that I added to the base of my page.
Since there was so much colour happening in my layout I chose to print my photo in black and white. It was mounted to my background with foam tape so that it say up a little, enabling me to layer some floral accents for a dimensional look.
To complete my layout I added a title using the FOAM TITLE STICKERS as well as some sub phrasing below using the ACCESSORY STICKERS.
Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. I hope you have enjoyed seeing my latest layout.
Hi everyone! It’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you and it’s one that is pretty special to me.
Today is World Prematurity Day – a globally recognised day that is aimed at increasing awareness of preterm births, as well as highlighting some of the challenges that are often faced by these babies and their families. Each year approximately 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely, including all three of my children. My post today is for all those babies born too soon.
For my project I decided to create the first in a series of mini albums for my children to document the time following their births. (It has taken me over 7 years to get around to tackling the photos of my boys and all the memories that come with them, so please bear with me for the long post today.)
I began my mini album with the fabulous ‘Boys Rule’ collection and a small 6 ring planner that I purchased from Kmart. (These make perfect mini album covers once everything is removed from the inside.) After choosing the patterned papers I was going to work with, I cut them into a variety of sizes to form the pages of my album.
I used an adjustable 6 hole punch (purchased via eBay) to punch holes on each of the pages, and then used white hole reinforcement stickers (from my local newsagency) to help protect the holes from becoming damaged through handling.
On some of the pages I added extra interest by using border punches to create decorative edges. This, combined with the variety of different page sizes, placements and patterns throughout, is what gives the album so much character.
If you are planning on giving something like this a go, be sure to mix things up as much as you can! Don’t feel like all your pages have to run vertically – a horizontal page thrown in here and there not only adds extra interest but makes the album more interactive as it is turned to be read.
Depending on the theme of your album, you will find that some pages require no more than a photo and some simple embellishments; whilst others may have lots of journaling and very little room for embellishments.
For the sake of continuity across my album, I printed most of my photos in black and white with a few colour feature shots added in. I printed them in a variety of sizes and orientations as well.
Don’t be afraid to add embellishments such as stickers or journaling directly over part of your photos, or to include pages that have no photo at all and are simply decorative. You can even punch directly through photos and use them as a page in your album.
One of the other benefits of making your pages different sizes is being able to get a “sneak peek” at what is coming on the next page. This adds to to the anticipation as you leaf through the album.
To further enhance the cohesion across the album, I typed all my journaling on my computer. When putting each page together I began with photo/s and journaling placement first before deciding on embellishments.
For an extra bit of fun, add some interactive elements such as tip-ins, pockets, or pull out tags. You can see how I used one of the small cards from the Die Cut Ephemera pack with a couple of pieces of washi tape to form a tip-in (fold out flap) to include my journaling underneath.
One of my tips for putting together each page in an album is that whilst I approach each page individually, I am also mindful of what is on the facing page. You can see how I carried across the same colours in the spread below. (Working with the same collection throughout the album helps enormously.)
The only other embellishment I included in my album were a few stickers from the ‘Love Always’ Accessory Sticker sheet, as it had a few more love-filled and generic phrases that suited some of my photos.
Another way to mix things up with your photos is to create a collage or include a series of shots taken close together. (And let’s face it, who doesn’t take 20 shots when you are trying to get the perfect one?!)
I know I have included a LOT of photos in this post, but sometimes the best way to explain things is to show them, right?
My final tip if you are going to create something similar in a planner cover or album, is to not forget about the extra pockets that are built into the cover. I made some small tags to tuck into the front of my album and added some extra photos, and in the larger pocket I included a letter to my son with some of the details about his birth story.
If you are interested in seeing a few more details of my album I have filmed a flip through of the entire thing so you can see how it all looks together:
Thanks so much for sticking with me through my long post today. I do hope I have inspired you to try creating something like this yourself. It could make an ideal Christmas gift for a loved one, or just something for yourself to treasure.
I have used a 5×5 inch photo and added foam tape to adhere, as I like to tuck elements under the photo, my foam tape is not directly at the edges. I then set about creating two embellishment clusters on either side of my photo. I used a palm leaf die and then added florals from the floral ephemera pack and die cut ephemera I used the swimsuit and thongs. I finished off this cluster adding a puffy sticker and phrase sentiment from the die cut pack.
