stars

You Got This | No Limits collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here with another design team project for you. Today I am sharing a mixed media layout that has been inspired by this month’s “Seeing Stars” challenge. As an avid boy scrapper, stars are one of my absolute favourite things to put on my pages, so I couldn’t help myself but join in on the fun. The first thing I did was choose which collection I was going to work with, and I couldn’t go past the ‘No Limits’ collection, which is filled with all kinds of celestial themed elements. I paired it with a photo of my son at soccer, who was definitely a star on this particular day.

I began this layout with a sheet of white cardstock and a piece of the star print Orbit patterned paper that I had left over from another project. As it wasn’t a whole sheet, I decided to tear along the edges of it and have it run vertically on my page. Before sticking it down, I used a pencil to mark out where the paper would sit, then turned my attention to the background.

I wanted to add a splash of colour first, so I used my Mowed Lawn green Distress Oxide to add some loose watercolour underneath where the paper would sit. Once dry, I used some star-themed rubber stamps from my stash to add extra detail over the top. I used a large star first, which I stamped three times to form a triangle; then a background stamp featuring tiny stars to scatter around. I then stuck the starry patterned paper down on top.

With the large piece of paper in place, my background was complete, so I turned my attention to the photo and embellishments. I cut a mat for my photo using a green sheet from the A5 Paper Stack and secured it to the page. I topped it with a grey paper doily, frayed gauze, and then my photo which had some cardboard underneath to help pop it up from the page.

I then added my embellishments, focusing on creating three clusters – above, to the left and to the bottom right of the photo. On the left side I used the you’re the best banner from the Die Cut Ephemera pack. I also added the hand from the same pack, and placed it directly onto the photo. I finished off this cluster with a couple of stars nearby, that were fussy cut from the Nebula paper.

To the right of my photo I created another embellishment cluster, this time using a handmade heart embellishment from my stash, which I topped with a CVS limited edition flair button (from many moons ago). Both of these embellishments were to tie in with the print on my son’s t-shirt. As with the previous cluster, I also added some fussy cut stars nearby. I balanced the stars out by adding a couple more above the photo as well as my third “cluster”.

There were only a few elements left to complete at this point – my title, using the Die Cut Title words alongside the photo. A few more small stars from the Puffy Sticker pack and some small word stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet. And finally, my handwritten journalling and I was done!

If you love stars as much as I do, then make sure you enter our June “Seeing Stars” challenge which is hosted in our Facebook Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community group. You can enter as many times as you wish (providing each entry is created specifically for our challenge) and there is a $25 store voucher to be won. Looking forward to seeing all those starry projects!

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Crazy Little Adventurer | Great Escape | Michelle Stokes

Happy Weekend Crafty friends, it’s Michelle back with you today. I’ve used the Great Escape Collection for this layout to document our crazy little adventurer from a couple years back. Lets get into it..

As you can see I’ve gone fussy cutting mad again, this time with the Flags paper Happy Camper. I spent many nights in front of the TV cutting up that entire page of flags without any idea of how I was going to use them all. Then it hit me, let’s create another wreath / sunburst style type of layout.

I started with a blank piece of white cardstock with a roughly drawn large circle centred in the page and all the flags set out in colour groups ready to go. The easiest way I found to get a good mix of the colours around the circle was to work with each colour individually. Thankfully each flag design/colour had 3 of each so it was easy to place evenly in thirds around the whole thing. I used foam tape to adhere each flag to the background which gives it that little pop of dimension. I added more texture to the layout by sewing all the pieces down using my machine and a straight stitch.

Our Happy yet Crazy Little Adventurer – LOVED this little trike and its a little sad that she no longer fits to ride it around. The speeds she would get up to on this little thing, flying round and round my parents little court.

I ended up cutting the entire circular flag piece off the white background and then adhering it to the bright Horizon paper. I felt this made the wreath pop so much more. Next up I added the photo layered with a piece of A5 paper, then adhered to the left of the wreath using some foam to lift it up.

I created the title using the puffy mini alphabet from the Heart & Home Collection along with the chipboard sticker word from the Chipboard stickers sheet. I layered in some stars and ephemera pieces to create a cluster of sorts to add even more fun to this already chaotic layout.

I added more of the larger stars around the layout to create more embellishment clusters, with a mix of tiny stars, puffy stickers and accessory word stickers scattered around to finish it all off.

I also added the usual splatters of gold ink to tie it all together and called it done.

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

Well friends, thats all from me for today. Thanks so much for stopping by

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

Wild New Life Adventure | Great Escape | Michelle Stokes

Hello Crafty friends, it’s Michelle here today with a new layout share for you all. Shock horror as its not a layout dedicated to our furry kids this week, I chose a recent photo of Leila on her first day of High School. New level of life adventures has begun. Woo Hoo!

Using the A5 paper stack from the Great Escape Collection I’ve whipped up a grid design for the base of my layout design. I cut the squares in the middle row in a 3 inch size and the top and bottom rows in a 2.5inch size, then sewed around the entire edges of each using my machine. Each piece was then secured to the cardstock base using foam for a little dimension.

The photo (shared with permission from this spicy child of mine cause we all know how teens are these days) was printed in a 4x3inch size and packed using another pattern from within the A5 paper stack. I stapled both pieces together using tiny staples and adhered to the layout using a little more foam sheeting to pop it off the layout.

You can see above how the little bit of dimension brings the layout to life

I created a couple of larger clusters diagonally in the top and bottom corners using left over stars fussy cut from the Star Gazing paper that I used on my last layout, with a mix of enamel shapes, accessory word stickers and puffy stars from the foam titles pack

Next up I added the mixed product title using a word from the ephemera pack, letters from the chipboard stickers pack and words from the Foam Title stickers pack. If you’re wondering where the W came from – never fear, its just the M from the word TIMES in the pack that I’ve turned upside down.

I added a little journal spot from the Accessory Stickers sheet to the bottom of this square to note what the photo is all about, and theres also a date label tucked into the photo too that was added towards the end.

I added the usual sprinkle of gold ink from the bottle I have that seems to be a never ending supply, just like Mary Poppins bag, but I’m sure its going to dry up at any minute

Here’s a final look at the layout as a whole…

Well friends, thats all that I have for you today.
Thank you so very much for stopping by and seeing this beloved creation that I’ve made.

Until next time, Happy Scrappin!
Michelle x

Wild Times Ahead | Great Escape Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hey Hey, It’s Michelle back here to kick off another week of creative shares from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Design Team. This week I’ve used the awesome Great Escape Collection to create this star filled explosion of colour to document our sweet little furry kids after a fresh haircut.

To begin I cut into the Happy Camper paper between two of the zigzag lines and adhered them to some white cardstock with a gap between to add all the stars. I cut up an entire sheet of the Star Gazing paper to get the right mix of colours and shapes to fill all that white space. I used both tacky glue and glue dots to adhere them to the layout for different heights of texture.

These 2 little fuzz balls are so hilarious when they have a haircut, its so much fun to look back each time.

I used a piece of the cool woodgrain paper from the A5 paper stack to pop the photo off the layout amongst all the colour.

Love Love Love me some stars, just about as much as I love fussy cut florals, and even though cutting up all that one sheet took so very long, I really love the texture it gives the layout

Theres a couple of accessory word stickers placed around the layout, and a mini cluster of beautiful stars at the bottom of the layout to balance it all out.

 

I created a mixed font title on the layout using the Foam title stickers along with chipboard sticker words. Perfect mix of textures to bring it all together.

I did add the usual splatter of gold ink to finish it all off.

Here’s a final look for you all…

Well friends, thats all from me today. Super short and sweet, just the way I like it.

Thanks so much for stopping by

Until next time, Happy Scrapping
Michelle x

Sunshine & Good Times | Mixed collections | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share another design team project with you. Today’s mixed media layout I am sharing was created to document a happy snap that was taken while we were out at a theme park celebrating my boys’ 11th birthday. This layout is part of a multi-page spread for my album that includes both 12×12″ and pocket pages. For this one I decided to use a mix of collections including Happy Days, Sunkissed, No Limits, and there’s even a little bit of You Rock from waaay back thrown in.

I began this page with white cardstock and some dark grey acrylic paint, which I applied randomly with a small brayer. You will often see this technique appearing on my pages, as the paint not only helps to define the focal area of the page, but in this case, the dark colour helps the brights to pop. I also used a red Distress Oxide and a stencil to add some extra detail over the top.

I then began the construction of my page with the Summer Lights paper from Sunkissed. I tore a couple of pieces and then flipped one over to show the reverse print, then layered them on top of one another. I also added a  yellow paper doily and some frayed gauze to the stack, and matted my photo with some black and white striped tissue paper before mounting on top.

I then started on my embellishments, beginning with the rad sticker from the You Rock Accessory Sticker sheet in the corner of my photo and the tab behind it from the No Limits Accessory Sticker sheet which was stamped with the date. Alongside my photo I used the sunshine sticker from the Sunkissed Accessory Sticker sheet as the first part of my page title, and I also added the white ampersand which was from a set of CVS alpha stickers from long ago. The small chipboard arrow was from the You Rock Chipboard Stickers.

To the right of the photo I also added a handmade star embellishments from my stash, which I topped with one of the Sunkissed Wood Epoxy Buttons. The gold wire was from my stash and I added a few twisted pieces around my page and secured them with staples.

The large stars that I scattered around my page were fussy cut from the Starshine paper from the You Rock collection. The second part of my title, good times uses the Happy Days Chipboard Titles. I finished off my page with some brief handwritten journalling and stamped phrases.

Thanks so much for joining me today so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to dig deep in your stash and mix different collections together. It’s fun combining old and new supplies together and seeing what you can create with them! I’ll be back again soon with another project to share.

Until then, happy scrapping! X

Adventure | Great Escape | Niki Rowland

Hey everyone! This is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) with another layout made using the Great Escape collection! I adore the bright stripey paper and decided to make a feature out of that. I started off by cutting a large block of it to go across the layout which I paired with a narrow strip of yellow sun paper to go along the top.

I cut one of the border strips from the cut apart sheet, the one with the rainbow scallops, and added this strip as a boarder along the bottom of the stripes. I love the bright colours!

I mounted my photo onto a piece of navy blue paper from the A5 paper stack to make it stand out against the stripes and added it to the lower horizontal line. I already had two layered stars made that I had leftover from my previous layout so I added those to the layout too, tucked behind the photo.

 

I added my title ‘adventure’ from the puffy title stickers across the top of my photo together with the word ‘play’ from the cut apart paper. I also added a little label sticker from the Accessory Stickers to the bottom of the photo that says ‘so much fun’.

I then embellished the layout with several pieces of ephemera from the Die Cut Ephemera pack, Chipboard stickers, Puffy Stickers and more Accessory Stickers. I finished off with a few sequins and splatters of black paint!

I love how bright, happy and colourful this layout turned out!

Happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

Adventure Awaits | Great Escape Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hey Scrappy friends, it’s Michelle here today. I’ve got a brand new layout share for you all using the Great Escape Collection thats inspired by this months Challenge – Scrap about your adventures. I’ve taken a step back in time to when I travelled overseas with my Mum in 2008 and had a magical visit to Times Square in New York. Loved this trip of a lifetime.

As the photo was already quite busy I didn’t want to add too much to the background of the layout or overdo the embellishments, so I’ve kept the background ‘clean’ and only used fussy cut stars from the Star Gazing paper for the main focal points of the embellishment clusters.

I took this photo from the top of a ‘hop on, hop off’ bus as we were touring around the city. This was the first glimpse of the area and it was just so impressive. The noise, the people, the cars. Everything there in that moment was everything you read and see online about New York. Its was magical and hectic all in one.

I backed the photo using the rainbow stripe side of the Journey Paper and layered it with some foam sheet to pop it off the page. I knew I would be using the chipboard pieces at some point so I needed to match the depth of dimension they would create. I added fussy cut stars from the Star Gazing paper to the top right with the addition of the cute mini van ephemera piece

I added more of the Journey Paper to the layout, this time the green tree pattern along the bottom of the layout to act as a landing point for one of the clusters. I added machine stitching along the top edge once all the stars and stickers were in place

To the left of the photo I created a cluster of stars using different forms of adhesive for a layered effect. I did this with all three clusters within the visual triangle. I also added an extra piece of chipboard to the photo along with a sticker and journal tab tucked into the top

To create the title I’ve used the word Adventure from the Chipboard Stickers pack along with my beloved white alphas and some handwritten text for journalling. I love the mixed look this creates. Then lastly I added my usual splatter of gold ink to add interest to all the whitespace surrounding the clusters.

Here’s a final look at the entire layout..

Well thats all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by. Be sure to check out the main post regarding this months Challenge to see more inspiration on the current task.

Until Next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

Fun Times | Great Escape | Niki Rowland

 

Hey everyone! This is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) with a new layout and process video using the fabulous Great Escape Collection! This layout actually started off as a scraplift as the monthly challenge over on the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community Group is to scraplift a layout of one of the Design Team. There is an example by Josefine that has layered hearts in a grid design, so I decided to do the same thing with stars.

I set about using my Big Shot and metal nesting star dies to cut lots of different sized stars from lots of patterns from the A5 paper stack. I layered them together and stitched down the middle of each one. I made some smaller than others and each star has at least three layers.

But it turns out that arranging stars in a grid design doesn’t really work because they are very pointy! They would have to be really small to fit several across the page! So I continued to use my layered stars but the grid design was out the window!

I prepared my background using the beautiful white wash woodgrain paper which I trimmed down, distressed the edges and stuck onto a sheet of white card. I then splattered this with black paint.

I arranged my photo onto the background with four of the layered stars. They are all clustered together across the top part of the layout and this worked really well. I couldn’t cut my photo into a star shape so I’ve kept it as a rectangle and slotted it in-between two stars with some overlap.

I added ‘Fun Times’ as my title from the puffy title stickers pack and then added just a few simple embellishments to the layout: a couple of Chipboard Stickers, some little phrase stickers from the Accessory Stickers and some little star stickers: some from the Puffy Stickers set, and some from the Puffy Title Stickers pack. I finished off with some sequins and some splatters of black paint!

Thanks so much for joining me today and happy scrapping!

Niki xx

@nikiclaircreates

Wild, Fun & Free | Great Escape | Michelle Stokes

Hello Hello, it’s Michelle here with you today to share another creation using our NEW collection – Great Escape. I’ve tied this into our current Monthly Scrap–lifting Challenge to give you another example of  where your imagination can take you when lifting others creations.

Wild, Fun & Happy – all words easily used to describe this crazy doggo of ours. He keeps us entertained day in and day out, loves on us like no tomorrow, and drives his fur sister Daisy absolutely crazy.

I took inspiration from the absolutely amazing layout below, created by Josephine. For my creation I’ve used used a mix of hand cut and ephemera stars to create a similar look to the hearts in the original.

I hand cut all the larger stars from the pattern papers within the A5Paper stack. I used the larger of the stars within the Ephemera pack to trace around, then drew secondary lines around that to create a larger star. I then grouped 2 complimenting patterns together and sewed them together with some rough machine stitching and adhered to the white background using foam tape for dimension.

I added in ephemera stars, fussy cut stars from the A5 version of the Star Gazing paper and puffy stars from both the foam title pack and puffy stickers pack.

I printed the photos in 2.5×3.5inch size and layered them together using foam behind to pop them up over the tops of the spiky star points. There is so much going on within this layout in terms of dimension, but I love it. It really brings the layout to life.

I also added pops of ephemera pieces and accessory stickers into the star clusters to add even more excitement to the layout.

Lastly the title came together using words from the Foam Title Stickers pack and my trusty old tiny alphas from the Hello Lovely Collection from many many moons ago.. Wonder if anyone can twist Zoe’s arm to get these released again? I’m sure I’m not the only one who loves a little old school alpha action on a layout?

A few splatters of gold ink and I have one complete scrap-lifted layout ready to add to the collection of Pet scrappy layouts.

Here’s a final look at the layout, inspired by Josephine’s

Well friends, thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my take on this Months Scrap Lift Challenge. Be sure to check out the original post HERE for all the info about it.

Until Next time, Happy Scrappin!
Michelle x

The Best | No Limits collection | Tarrah McLean

Hi creative friends!

It’s Tarrah back with you and today I am sharing one of my favourite to create – a boy layout! Because I have 2 sons, there is never a shortage of boy photos around here! I decided to pull out the awesome and very cool No Limits collection, one of my favourite boy lines by Cocoa Vanilla Studio! This photo is an older one of my youngest son who is now 13 – he is about 5 or 6 in this photo! I loved the way the shirt he is wearing matched some of the colours from the No Limits collection – that is where I got the inspiration from for my layout today.

I started off with a plain sheet of white cardstock – as I mostly do- then trimmed it down to measure approximately 11′ x 11′, backing this onto the ‘B’ side of the Big Bang patterned paper (the woodgrain side). I then pulled out a few of the various papers from the A5 paper stack and sorted through them to find some that co-ordinated with my son’s shirt. I decided to cut some into triangle shapes and then layered them top and bottom of the page. For some extra texture, I bent the edges of these papers and also applied a little mixed media to create a sort of shadow effect.

I placed craft foam underneath my photo and placed it in the centre of my layout, adding some layers underneath like a pocket card, a die-cut frame and a sticker and tag both from the Accessory sticker sheet. I love to layer embellishments on top of my photos and under my photos too, how about you? In the top right corner, I stapled a banner sticker here and tied a bow through the tag using some white wax cotton. In the bottom right corner, I placed the large star die-cut and added some chipboard ones on top.

In the bottom cluster of papers, I added another chipboard piece and also one of the super cute wooden epoxy buttons all from the No Limits collection. I love how these small details add some interest to an area to help draw your eye in. My title is ‘The Best’ letters from the chipboard sheet, I also added a phrase under the title, cut from the ‘Universal’ patterned paper. Another of the wooden epoxy buttons was also placed here and I love the teal/aqua coloured chipboard arrow pointing to the photo too.

Once I had most of the design in place and the larger elements on the page, I started to add smaller details for the finishing touches. I added some phrase stickers around the page and stamped the date stamp and added some sprinkles of mist in various colours also. Lastly I machine stitched a border around the entire edge using white thread.

Thank you so much for stopping by the Cocoa Vanilla Studio blog today! I hope you have been inspired by my layout in some way! Make sure you share your creations with us if you get some time to pull out your Cocoa Vanilla collections and create some cool projects!

Happy creating!

Tarrah x

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