sketch

Best Ever | Storyteller collection | Sue Plumb

Sue Plumb 07/02/2023

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!

Storyteller | Our Story | Rachel Lowe

Rachel Lowe 21/09/2022

Hello crafty friends, today I have another layout based on a sketch. I have used a Page Maps sketch and agin I have gone with a 8.5×11 inch layout. I have gone bright and bold using the new gorgeous Storyteller collection.

I chose a strong background for this layout and I must admit usually I avoid stripes but the Brighter Days paper is wonderful with its large brushstroke strips broken with a little white. I need to use a white based paper next to provide a contrast, I have used the Oh My Heart paper. Before adhering this I added the smaller paper strips at the top and bottom. To be honest I just used some left over paper strips from the A5 paper pad.

Instead of creating a large title as the sketch shows, I chose one of the Pocket Cards, which still is my title but it adds another pretty paper layer. I added some of the heart puffy stickers over the printed hearts to add some definition and dimension to the pocket card.

I used two of the floral pocket cards to mat my photos, one larger floral print and one smaller. I added my photos with foam tape for dimension. I have used the same photo of my daughter and I, the colour one I cropped so our faces were more the focus and the other I converted to black and white.

Next was to add some embellishment clusters. Where the sketch has banners I added a floral bunch using the Floral Die Cut Ephemera, adding the circle puffy stickers to the centres of the flowers.

To the lower right of the layout I created a pretty embellishment cluster using the Die Cut Ephemera pack. Lastly I went back and added some tabs above and under my photos and a Wood Epoxy Button.

And there you have it, I love this sketch and next time I will try a 12×12 layout.

When your mojo is just not working always go to a sketch to kick things off, Often when I am having one of those days I often scrap lift my own layouts or use a sketch.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful and crafty week.

Rachel X

Sweet | Storyteller collection | Tarrah McLean

Tarrah McLean 08/09/2022

Hi everyone!

It’s Tarrah McLean back with you today to share my next design team project with you. This week on the Cocoa Vanilla blog we are focusing on sketches. I have of course used the gorgeous Storyteller collection and I also chose a fun sketch from Lottie Loves Paper to work with for inspiration. I am documenting a cute picture of my niece dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

I picked this great sketch from Lottie Loves Paper.

I chose a piece of plain white cardstock for the main background for my layout and trimmed this piece down and adhered it to the ‘B’ side of the Ditsy Daisy paper. I then machined stitched a border around the outside using white cotton. I trimmed a piece of the ‘B’ side of the Brighter Days paper and adhered my photo to this piece. I ripped the bottom edge off and bent the edges up to give texture. I stuck to the design of the sketch mostly by adhering the photo in the centre of the page using craft foam just like in the sketch. I layered a journal spot from the ephemera pack on the right of the photo and also created a small cluster of embellishments in the bottom right corner. Here I included a floral die-cut, a button die-cut and 2 heart puffy stickers.

Below the photo I added my title also like in the sketch – my title is from the foam title stickers and I also added a phrase piece from the ephemera pack. You can see in the sketch design that the title and journaling are together, as I don’t do a lot of journaling on my pages, I just added the date stamp as an extra feature here. There are no rules when creating, and you do not have to completely stick to a sketch if you are using one for inspiration, as long as you have used the sketch as a starting point you can’t go wrong.

I cut up some patterned paper strips from the A5 paper stack and layered these on the left side of the photo, you can see in the sketch design that there are strips added. I also layered one of the frames from the ephemera pack under the top left corner of the photo to add some interest here. Next I chose some of the gorgeous florals from the floral ephemera pack and layered them by adhering some using dimensional tape and adhering some flat to the page also. I love the shadows and dimension this creates on my page. On top of one of the flowers I also added a camera die-cut.

Because I added the black title at the bottom, I wanted to create a visual triangle on my page so I did this by adding 2 of the black foam hearts from the foam title stickers. I added one to the left of the large floral cluster and also added one at the top embellishment cluster. The top embellishment cluster also mimics elements in the sketch. I added a die-cut here, a chipboard word, a floral die-cut, the black foam heart mentioned before and also a puffy sticker heart.

Do you ever struggle to get started with creating a layout or project? Sketches are a great way to get you started and there are so many awesome sketches to include one photo or multiple photos. Why not try a sketch for your next project?

Thanks so much for stopping by the Cocoa Vanilla blog today, I hope you enjoyed reading how my layout was created as much as I enjoyed creating it?!

Happy creating!

Tarrah x

Storyteller | Picture Perfect | Rachel Lowe

Rachel Lowe 07/09/2022

Hello CVS friends! I love a good sketch and this month my layouts will be based on sketches. I love this sketch my Ashley Horton who Kindly allowed me to use. I decided to create a 8.5 x 11 inch size to mix things up!

Of course I have used the gorgeous Storyteller collection. I chose a white background knowing I was going to add a yellow watercolour effect on the background. I firstly cut a circle (approx 5×5 inches) using the Fly Away paper. I draw a circle with a pencil so I would know where to add the watercolour paint. Once I had done this I added some splatters and inked the edge of my page also in yellow (which doesn’t show well in my photo but it defines the edges).

I next cut varying sizes of hearts using the A5 paper pad. In using the A5 papers means you get to have smaller prints of elements, like the florals which are perfect for smaller embellishments and pages. I layered my hearts using the sketch as my guide. Some I used foam tape to add dimension. I then added word/phrase sentiments from the Accessory sticker sheet. I also added some tiny hearts from the Die Cut Ephemera pack.

Instead of using two smaller photos I used a larger landscape photo, matting it on Oh My Heart paper. I added a sentiment banner under but slightly over my photo.

On a 8.5 x 11 inch layout you need to be mindful not to over do it with embellishments as your page can end up looking too ‘busy’. I created one larger embellishment cluster at the top pf my page but incorporating the larger heart. I added the camera die cut with foam tape and then tucked under some flowers from the Floral Die Cut Ephemera pack and finishing off with a Wood Epoxy Button.

You can see on the photo below the yellow ink I used around the edge of my white base paper. Lastly I added some die cut butterflies with foam tape to add more dimension.

A sketch just makes putting a layout together fun and easy, and of course you always creative licence if you want to change things a little.

Thank you for stopping by and if you like this layout/sketch you could create your own take and make it a 12×12 if that suites, just post it on the CVS Community FB page and tag me!

Rachel X

Sunshine | Sunkissed Collection | Danni Visser

Danni Visser 31/08/2022

Hi Cocoa Vanilla Studio fans! Danni here with a combination Throwback Thursday and Sketch layout. I was challenged to use a sketch and an older Cocoa Vanilla collection, so I settled on the stunning Sunkissed Collection and this adorable sketch from Lottie Loves Paper.

I love how a sketch can help guide you in a direction that you may not have thought of spontaneously. The rainbow in the sketch reminded me of the Sunny Days 12×12 patterned paper so I used that to make a border around my page. I also added a layer of the pink Growing Wild 12×12 patterned paper behind a piece of white watercolour cardstock, ready for some paint!

Continuing with my inspiration from Sunny Days 12×12 patterned paper, I matched the colours from the rainbows in the pattern by mixing up some acrylic paint, then painted a rainbow on the watercolour paper following the placement in the sketch. Next, I added some pink and gold ink splatters around where my photos would go.

The sketch called for three square photos, so I chose these pics from a day trip and picnic with my family last summer. I decided to trim my smaller photos a little, so they were more rectangular than square, just because they fit a little better on the page that way. I matted my photos using the A5 paper stack and backed them with 3D foam before adhering them down.

I chose a beautiful glittery title from the Foam title stickers and placed it following the sketch, curving it along the top of my hand painted rainbow. It fit just perfectly between my two photo clusters.

Next, I chose a collection of clear stickers, puffy stickers, accessory stickers, floral ephemera, die cut ephemera and wood buttons to create small embellishment clusters around my photos. I placed them roughly in the areas shown in the sketch, but I was pretty flexible in the placement of these.

Finally, I printed my journalling using a typewriter font and cut it into strips, before adhering it down at the base of my rainbow. I had a bit more journalling than the sketch had, so I just brought it up a little higher on the page. There was plenty of extra room, so I was happy with the final placement. And that’s the layout finished! I hope you enjoyed joining me today and happy scrapping!

Danni x

InterNational Scrapbook Day challenge winners!

Zoe Pearn 15/05/2021

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in our InterNational Scrapbook Day festivities. We had so many fabulous challenge entries uploaded into our community group, it was really great to see all your work. Here are our winning entries…

Challenge 1

The winner of Laura’s sketch challenge was this awesome layout by Anja Curvers…

Challenge 2

The winner of Tarrah’s cut file challenge was this sweet page by Wendy Germain Crowe…

Challenge 3

The winner of Melissa’s mixed media challenge was this bright, happy layout by Michelle Jamieson..

Challenge 4

And finally, the winner of Michelle’s Grab 5 challenge was this fabulous layout from Nicole Hary…

Congratulations all our winners and thanks again to everyone who played along!

Don’t forget you still have another chance to win this month with our “Slice of Summer” May monthly challenge. Entries close 31st May via our community group.

Happy scrapping!

InterNational Scrapbook Day challenge winners!

Zoe Pearn 15/05/2021

Hi everyone!

Challenge 1

The winner of Laura’s sketch challenge was this awesome layout by Anja Curvers…

Challenge 2

The winner of Tarrah’s cut file challenge was this sweet page by Wendy Germain Crowe…

Challenge 3

The winner of Melissa’s mixed media challenge was this bright, happy layout by Michelle Jamieson..

Challenge 4

And finally, the winner of Michelle’s Grab 5 challenge was this fabulous layout from Nicole Hary…

Congratulations all our winners and thanks again to everyone who played along!

Don’t forget you still have another chance to win this month with our “Slice of Summer” May monthly challenge. Entries close 31st May via our community group.

Happy scrapping!

Sweet Memories | Sunkissed collection and INSD Sketch Challenge | Raquel Bowman

Raquel Bowman 04/05/2021

Hey everyone, it’s Raquel here with you today sharing my latest layout with you all. Happy INSD everyone. I hope that you have enjoyed the challenges over on the CVS Facebook community page. It was a lovely weekend and I couldn’t resist joining in on one of the challenges also.

Here is the layout that I created:

This layout was my contribution to Laura’s sketch challenge. As soon as I saw this sketch shared I knew I wanted to create a layout based on it. It is just so gorgeous.

I loved the vertical repeating design of the hearts and have been inspired by so many entries in the Facebook community for this challenge; I’ve seen hearts and rainbows and decided to have a look through my cutting dies stash and see what I could create. I found a gorgeous set of intricate butterfly layering dies and immediately knew that I wanted to create a layout featuring my Charlotte and the Sunkissed collection.

The photos were printed on my Canon Selphy in an ‘untraditional’ size. I actually made them fit side by side vertically making each photo approx 2″x6″ in length. I always edit my photos separately on an app on my phone prior to printing. Due to the editing and printing software my photos were missing my usual beloved white border, so I have used white card stock to replicate this. I love that sketches are able to provide you with so much inspiration but also allow you that creative license to make changes to suit your style.

I used the foam glitter stickers to make the title for this page and my fave journaling on my typewriter. As a teacher I know the challenges of girls growing up, however it is a whole different basket when you are raising your own little human. This can prove difficult at times but I am so proud of this little human and I wanted to document that on this layout.

In terms of layout design I have used metal die cut butterflies. I love the intricacy of the layers and the delicateness.

To help balance the layout I have used floral ephemera in the bottom left of the photo. I also added a touch of gold to work with the title.

You may or may not see … but I have to bring your attention to the fact that I did infact ‘mixed media’ on this layout. I used distress stains and a mask to create a subtle text print on my white background. I love the effect it gave the layout. I then got ‘super messy’ for me and added some teal and gold splatters to the layout.

As mentioned above the butterflies were cut with a metal die and layered on top of one another. I used my sewing machine to secure the layers and left the threads free to work as a design element.

I hope that you have been inspired by my layout today. Be sure to check out the challenges in our Facebook community to join in. You have until this Sunday.

Take care

Raquel

Sweet Memories | Sunkissed collection and INSD Sketch Challenge | Raquel Bowman

Raquel Bowman 04/05/2021

Here is the layout that I created:

This layout was my contribution to Laura’s sketch challenge. As soon as I saw this sketch shared I knew I wanted to create a layout based on it. It is just so gorgeous.

In terms of layout design I have used metal die cut butterflies. I love the intricacy of the layers and the delicateness.

To help balance the layout I have used floral ephemera in the bottom left of the photo. I also added a touch of gold to work with the title.

As mentioned above the butterflies were cut with a metal die and layered on top of one another. I used my sewing machine to secure the layers and left the threads free to work as a design element.

I hope that you have been inspired by my layout today. Be sure to check out the challenges in our Facebook community to join in. You have until this Sunday.

Take care

Raquel

InterNational Scrapbook Day – Challenges 1 & 2!

Zoe Pearn 01/05/2021

Happy InterNational Scrapbook Day everyone! We love this special day each year when people from all over the world come together to celebrate their shared love of this craft. Today we are hosting a celebration in our Facebook Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community group and (of course) we have some challenges for you! We have a mix of challenges that include a variety of styles, so there is sure to be something that suits you.

Challenge Rules

Entries must be loaded into the correct challenge album in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Facebook Community group prior to midnight (AEST) Sunday 9th May to be eligible for the prize. (If you aren’t already a member, make sure you click the link to join.)
Some Cocoa Vanilla Studio products must be used. Yes, you can include other supplies as well, but there must be some CVS products clearly used. (If you don’t have any CVS products, you can always download and print some of our digital products HERE.)
Entries must be created solely for each challenge and not combined with other challenges or design team work.
You may enter each challenge as many times as you wish and entry is open to participants worldwide.
One randomly selected winner from each challenge will receive a $25 store voucher to spend in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio online store.
By entering the challenge you automatically give permission for your work to be shared by Cocoa Vanilla Studio via any of our social media channels.

So without further ado, here are our first two challenges…

Challenge 1 – Sketch Challenge with Laura Alberts

For this challenge you are required to use Laura’s sketch as inspiration for your own project.

Laura created a beautiful sample layout and used one of our older collections, ‘Bohemian Dream’. (Unfortunately this collection is now sold out and no longer available.)

Challenge 2 – Cut File Challenge with Tarrah McLean

For this challenge you are required to include at least one cut file from either of the two sets shown above in your project.

Tarrah chose two cut files from our ‘Summer’ set and paired them with our most recent release collection, ‘Sunkissed’ for her layout. This cut file set, along with our ‘Legendary’ cut file set designed by Cut to You, are both available to download via our community group for this challenge.

We hope these challenges have given your mojo a kickstart and you will come over and join us to play along. We’ll be back with more challenges to share later. Time to get scrapping!

sketch

Best Ever | Storyteller collection | Sue Plumb

Storyteller | Our Story | Rachel Lowe

Sweet | Storyteller collection | Tarrah McLean

Storyteller | Picture Perfect | Rachel Lowe

Sunshine | Sunkissed Collection | Danni Visser

InterNational Scrapbook Day challenge winners!

InterNational Scrapbook Day challenge winners!

Sweet Memories | Sunkissed collection and INSD Sketch Challenge | Raquel Bowman

Sweet Memories | Sunkissed collection and INSD Sketch Challenge | Raquel Bowman

InterNational Scrapbook Day – Challenges 1 & 2!

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