stickers

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

Happy Days | Throwback Thursday | Michelle Stokes

Hey Scrappy Friends, It’s Michelle back with you today to share a little Throwback Thursday creation. If you’re not familiar with this theme its where we dip into the archives of our Cocoa Vanilla Studio stash and create something magical with an older collection. Today I chose the Happy Days Collection to brighten up our scrolling time, plus a little walk down memory lane in the photo choice too.

I chose a sweet photo of Leila and I from many many moons ago. We were sharing a sweet moment in my craft room when she requested a selfie.

The layout itself started off quite different to this as I originally didn’t plan on using any white cardstock. I knew I wanted to create a wreath type layout as I haven’t made one in quite some time and they always look so beautiful. As I was moving the floral ephemera pieces around on the beautiful spotted aqua paper (Little Blossom B Side) I thought why not try a heart shape. I drew a rough shape between all the flower clusters, making mental notes for where I wanted them all placed, and then sewed all around the shape multiple times for a little hint of stitched texture.

Next up I worked on sticking all the florals down into the clusters using a mix of pieces from both the Floral and Ephemera packs within the collection. I even added some fussy cut florals and butterflies from the Lush Blooms and Flutterby papers. I mainly used foam double sided tape and tacky glue to piece the clusters together in a layered group

I added the photo in between the clusters using a frame from the Ephemera pack and backed with foam to pop it up off heart.

I used the words Happy Days from the Ephemera pack as my title, with the addition of a word sticker from the Accessory Stickers sheet. The perfect addition of colour to mix with all the bright flowers within this layout

Next I decided that the heart wasn’t standing out as much as I had hoped so I chopped into the background paper. I cut close to the machine stitching, under all the florals that were already adhered to the paper and thankfully was able to keep everything in tact. Once I had this main piece free I adhered it to some white cardstock in the centre of the page, then added all the smaller fussy cut florals around the larger clusters, added some puffy stickers then sprinkled with gold ink and some gold glitter paint in spots.

Here’s a final look at the entire layout, so bright and Happy…

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

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

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

Let’s Go Explore | Great Escape | Michelle Stokes

Hooley Dooley its February already! Michelle here with you today, sharing something a little different for me using the new Great Escape Collection.

The minute I laid eyes on this awesome collection I immediately thought of all the travel inspired layouts and creations I could make, then I remembered that travel for us has well and truly been on the back burner for quite some time. So why not create a mini book ready for when we are ready to.

I created this mini album in 6×8 size using so many of the fun pattern papers from this collection, with plenty of space to add photos, write down memories and keep all the things we can collect along the way. Think maps, tickets and tags of all kinds. Theres pockets, fold outs and extra clear pages for all the extra photos I’m sure we will add. I’ll add a list of all materials used at the end of the post for those who may want to recreate for your own travel photos.

Once all the pages and pieces were complete, I bound it all together using my Cinch tool ready for our next family adventure.

Be warned, this is a very photo heavy post as it was just too hard to choose a few photos to share.

First up is a pocket with hidden tag for photos, bits n pieces or even a little journalling. Then when you flip the page you come across space for larger photos or even postcards collected along the journey

I added in pieces of notepaper scattered throughout the book to give space for journalling all about the adventures being had

I created a large pocket perfect to hold larger items like folded maps and brochures. This was super easy to create by joining 2 pieces of pattern paper together and sewing along the top and bottom. No need to sew along the edge that needed to be closed as the binding coils help to enclose that end.

I added another clear pocket over the page for another larger photo, which can be moved like all the pages in this album, by opening up the coil and rearranging.

Another funky pocket created by cutting into the paper in line with the design and sewed onto the backing paper using my sewing machine

One of my favourite ways to mix things up in these mini books is by creating different types of pages, this one is a double sided tag with ribbon, reminiscent of a luggage tag

Another fun piece is this flip out page that opens up to showcase multiple photos and journalling together, which would be perfect for extra special moments within the journey

Further into the book theres yet another pocket with some pull out pieces for hidden photos/journalling/ephemera, with the pocket sewn straight onto the pattern paper this time with an opening to the side.

Flipping through theres more places for photos, including a space for some film strip type photos and more journalling.

1 last pocket for the book with a top opening and plenty of space for extra photos/tickets or even receipts from along the journey

Lastly a space on the final page for last thoughts, future trip ideas, extra photos you name it

And a cute little something on the back of the book ready to fill out once its filled up with memories.

Well thats all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by and persevering through the enormous amount of photos I had to share of this fun mini book. If you happen to make your own version, please be sure to share it with us in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Facebook Community Group as I’d love to see it. Hopefully yours might contain the memories its made for and not sitting patiently waiting for that trip to be booked lol

Until next time, Happy crafting!
Michelle x

PS. Heres whats left of the products I used, with a few extra paper scraps not shown.

Materials & Tools
Great Escape Collection
– 12×12 papers – 1 of each pattern
– A5 paper stack – 4 patterns, 1 of each
– Die Cut Ephemera Pack
– Accessory Sticker sheet
– Foam Title Stickers
– Puffy Stickers

Cinch Machine with Blue binding coil
Sewing Machine with white thread
6×8 clear pocket pages cut in half
White ribbon
Tiny Attacher
Glue Dots
Double sided foam adhesive

Family Day Out | Happy Days Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hey Scrappy friends! It’s Michelle here today with a new layout share for you all. I think this might be the last I share with the amazing Happy Days Collection for a little while as I just received a fresh box of the NEW collection Heart & Home and oh my is it stunning. But first, lets take a walk through this fun creation.

We recently had a family celebration of 50 years marriage for my partners parents, and what better way to celebrate than a family day out on a steam train ride. The kids (both young and old) all had the best fun hanging their heads out the windows as we rolled along the seaside

I had a couple of photos that I wanted to use to document this special occasion, so I thought a “rough” grid design would work for the base with lots of layers and different sized squares of pattern papers. I used a mix of both 12×12 and A5 pattern papers from the collection and cut them into 4×4, 3×3 & 2×2 inch size pieces to layer together. I added machine stitching around the edges for extra detail and left the strings loose for extra texture on the page.

I grouped photos together and layered one over the top of the other to continue the layered effect I was going for with the pattern paper

I added pieces of ephemera, accessory word stickers, chipboard pieces and puffy stickers/heart to the photo stacks to create interest in these areas

I created my usual floral clusters diagonally across from each other by fussy cutting florals from both 12×12 & A5 sizes of the LUSH BLOOMS paper then grouping them together with cut apart pieces from the FEEL GOOD paper

To create the title I’ve mixed letters from the CHIPBOARD TITLES pack to create my own words, and added a words strip from the FEEL GOOD paper above.

Lastly I added a few splatters of gold ink and some tiny puffy stickers in both hearts and dots to finish off the layout

I’m really happy with how quickly it all came together, with the fussy cutting being the most time consuming process of it all.

Well thats all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by! Can’t wait to see the new collection start appearing online within the next couple of weeks, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for inspiration from the team in the coming days.

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!

Michelle x

My Birthday | Happy Days Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hello Hello, It’s Michelle back here today with a new layout share for you all using the Happy Days Collection. I went bold with my pattern paper choice for the background of this one and let the rainbow paint strokes of the Sunshine Lollipops paper shine.

I chose a large cut file design from the CUT to YOU store to use as part of the background design, and it almost became part of the title for the layout. I’ve documented a happy family snap from my birthday a few weeks back, but as it was a ‘quiet’ dinner with family I didn’t think YAY YAY HAPPY WOO TIME was the best option to use, although it does sound quite funny.

I adhered the cutfile to the background using foam tape, giving the design a slight 3d effect.

I printed the photo in black and white so that there was no colour clashing with the background paper and used the frame from the ephemera pack to use as a layering element for this stack. I added fussy cut florals from the A5 paper stack in colour blocked groups according to the direction of colours on the background paper

In the top right corner I added a cluster of ephemera pieces and fussy cut florals from the LUSH BLOOMS paper that blended with the top of the background paper

And then created a second cluster in the bottom left with more ephemera, florals and fussy cut pieces. I added the title ‘My Birthday’ to the journal card using the mini puffy alphas from this collection. So cute and colourful, and so many options for mini titles.

Heres another look at the entire layout, including my usual sprinkling of gold ink to finish it all off. I’m really happy with how colourful this layout turned out, it came together quite quickly which is the best way to create a layout. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of using this collection. It’s bright happy colours and patterns are the absolute best!

Well thats all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by. Be sure to keep sharing all your amazing creations with us in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community Group on Facebook, we love to see what you all make!

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

Good Vibes | Happy Days Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hello Crafty friends, it’s Michelle back here today. I’ve got a colourful new layout to share with you all that features our AMAZING new collection – Happy Days. Abso-freakin-lutely LOVING the rainbow assortment of pattern papers within this collection, so much so that I created a magical colour block creation. There’s plenty of embellishments to create this kind of layout, and I hope you all try it too! Lets take a look …

I started with pretty pattern paper squares from the A5 paper stack, each with added machine stitching around the edges. I adhered each piece using some foam for slight dimension and placed them in rainbow order around the outer edges of the cardstock background.

I used a couple of sweet ‘cool kid’ photos of Leila from a few years back, printed in black and white to ensure no colour clashing. Looking back on these photos I realised they’re from when we first moved into our house, before Leila started school. Hard to believe that this is her final year of Primary School and this ‘cool kid’ will be a teenager in 6 months time. Yikes!

Back to the crafty process.. Each colour block has embellishments to match. There’s florals fussy cut from the Lush Blooms paper, butterflies from the Flutterby paper, cut apart pieces from the Feel Good paper, punched shapes from other matching pattern papers from the collection, stickers from the Accessory Sticker Sheet and tiny Puffy stickers

I fussy cut the words GOOD VIBES from the Definitive paper for the title, as there’s always good vibes when this cute kid is involved.

I added a journal card from the A5 paper version of the Feel Good paper to list a few of the things that made Leila happy at that stage of her life. It stretched the memory to think of them all, thank heavens for the ridiculous amount of photos I took back then to help jog the memory.

I gave the entire layout a good splattering of gold ink to finish it all off and am really happy with the end result.

Here’s a closer look at the dimension of all those bits n bobs around the page, don’t know what I’d do without my beloved sticky dots and foam tape when creating. They definitely help give embellishments a pop off the page

Here’s a final look at the final colourful creation..

Well thats all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing this magical rainbow creation, just as much as I loved making it. If you make your own version, please share with us in the CVS Facebook Community Group, I’d love to see!

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

First day of Grade Six | Storyteller | Michelle Stokes

Hey Everyone it’s Michelle back with you today to share a super quick layout featuring the amazing Storyteller Collection. I’m still loving this collection with all its bright primary colours, perfect for documenting some first day of school photos that almost didn’t make it to print!

I knew I wanted to create something fast, simple and pretty all at the same time, and as we’re still in the month of ‘love’ I felt it needed to incorporate some kind of large heart design along with groups of pretty florals. The layout ended up being exactly what I was aiming for and will be a well cherished addition to Leila’s childhood albums for years to come.

I started off by finding a generic heart shape through google, and cutting the large shape out in the middle of some white cardstock using my silhouette. I adhered this piece to a second layer of white cardstock using foam sheets to give it some flat dimension.

I knew I’d be adding lots of colours to the layout in the way of floral clusters, so to avoid any pattern/ colour clashing I printed the photos of Leila in Black and White at just a smidge over 3x2inch size. I backed both photos with the woodgrain paper (Cross it Off) from the collection, added a couple of accessory stickers and adhered these pieces to the left of the heart using more foam sheeting to pop them up off the page a little.

The floral clusters came together so nicely but were probably the parts of the layout that took the longest. Fussy cutting is quite therapeutic, yet time consuming. I added a mix of ephemera pieces and accessory stickers to each of the groups to mix them up. The beautiful florals are from a mix of both the 12×12 and A5 version of the Spring Fling paper.

I used a mix of adhesives for the clusters, mostly foam tape and glue dots for slight dimension.

There’s also a sneaky enamel heart within each cluster for a finishing touch within each group.

I created a mixed font title using the usual blend of both handwritten text and my beloved white alpha stickers, with the addition of machine stitching for extra detail and to keep them in place.

Here’s a closer look at how sweet these alphas are, lets all keep our fingers and toes crossed that they make an appearance back in the CVS store sometime in the future as they really are the best for creating titles with.

I added the usual gold ink splatters around the layout to finish it all off to, something I do to all layouts to make them feel complete.

Here’s one final look at the entire layout and all its white space goodness!

Well thats all from me today, thank you so much for stopping by to see another of my crafty creations using the Storyteller Collection. I hope you’re all still loving this collection as much as we all are, but I bet you’re all itching to see what the amazing Zoe comes up with next. Be sure to keep an eye on all our Social Media Channels for more scrappy inspiration from all the team here at Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

 

Holly Jolly Christmas | Merry & Bright Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hello Hello! It’s Michelle here today with a new layout share for you all. I’ve continued on with my Christmas crafting in January using the Merry & Bright Collection and a bunch of fun and oh so flattering photos from Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning.

I based this layout off one that I made a few years back that grouped photos together over a chunk of pattern paper with a big floral cluster underneath. This was a fun layout to recreate, even with the cringeworthy photos I chose.

All papers used are from the Merry & Bright Collection with a mix of both 12×12 and A5 papers used. Jingle all the Way was the paper of choice to use behind all the photos, combined with a strip of Happy Holidays to use as a base for the title.

I added a massive cluster of florals under the title banner using the wreath design from the Happy Holidays paper along with a mix of ephemera and fussy cut florals from the A5 version of Joy to the World.

Different forms of adhesive used for this cluster to achieve dimension of all kinds.

I used my all time favourite white alphas for the title, with a pop of machine stitching to keep them in place for years to come.

I added more fussy cut florals around the page and tucked in ephemera pieces, accessory stickers and even layered in a couple of old school doilies within the photo groups. Also, please excuse the hot mess shown above, we were having a little too much fun with the photo booth set up haha

Even the sweet doggo’s made an appearance in this layout.

The papers used to back the photos all came from scraps I had left from past projects, with the addition of some vellum behind a couple.

Here’s a final look at the entire layout, splattered with gold ink to finish it off.

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

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

Springtime Memories | Storyteller Collection | Michelle Stokes

Hey Scrappy Friends, it’s Michelle back here today with a new layout to share with you all. This one was really fun to create as I was given the task to scrap-lift a layout of fellow DT Member Josephine. I’ve used the Storyteller Collection and a little mixed media to pull it all together to document a little trip down memory lane

Josephine’s layout which you will see below, has a season vibe with loads of florals, circular pieces for the main feature of the layout, a splattering of mixed media with a mixed font title. I used all of those elements within my layout but changed up the central piece to be a hexagon shape and documented a photo from a different season. Just a couple of minor changes, just to make it look a little different, while also staying true to the original so that you know I’ve scrap-lifted it.

Here’s the layout I chose for my inspiration…

I think I did a pretty decent job at recreating my own version of the layout, using different shapes for the main feature, while also tying in all the same elements around the entire layout. Here’s a closer look..

I added machine stitching around the hexagons before layering them together with the photo, adding foam for dimension between the layers. Both papers used for the hexagons are in the A5 paper stack – the Woodgrain for the larger and the blue spotfor the smaller.

I used the florals in the Floral Ephemera pack for the giant clusters either side of the hexagons, with the addition of some tiny fussy cut florals and other ephemera pieces from the main ephemera pack

on the bottom cluster I used all the same elements as the other cluster while also incorporating a fussy cut butterfly and sticker banner from the Accessory sticker sheet. I used a range of adhesives in both clusters to give different pops of dimension.

To create the title I dipped into my super old stash of barley there alphabet stickers, my favourite white alphas and one of the very first sets ever made in the woodgrain colour for the bottom word. I sewed through all the stickers to ensure they stay put for years to come, but also to enable me to give the white ones a little pop off the page by folding them up 

Here’s a closer peek above too at the poor attempt at mixed media that I added to the layout lol there was more, but it got covered up

And one final look at the entire layout. Let me know how you think I went in scrap lifting Josephine’s page in the comments

Well that all from me today, thanks so much for stopping by. Be sure to share all the layouts you scrap lift of ours with us in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community Group on Facebook. We love to see what’s inspired you to create!

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!
Michelle x

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