Sunkissed collection

Farewell Danni Visser

Zoe Pearn 15/02/2023

Hi everyone,

Today we say goodbye to another beloved member from our design team – Danni Visser. Danni has been an integral part of our team for a numbers of years now; ever since she first agreed to be a guest designer back in October 2019 and we convinced her stay on permanently. Today truly is a bittersweet goodbye though, because although we are sad to see Danni leave us, we are equally excited and proud of her as she begins her journey through medical school.

So today we thought we would look back at some of our favourite projects Danni has created for us, starting off with one of her guest designer projects from 2019 featuring our ‘Unforgettable’ collection and a beautiful wedding photo…

Danni loves using cut files and has created many projects for us using them, but one of our faves has to be this layout, featuring Danni’s darling daughter, muddy puddles, and our ‘Storyteller’ collection…

Another signature element of Danni’s work over the years has been her amazing hand stitching ability. She has showcased this numerous times, but no layout quite showed it off as spectacularly as this one using our ‘Sunkissed’ collection…

To finish things off, we couldn’t resist sharing a layout Danni created using one of our boy collections, ‘Legendary’. This page featured a nod to the Australian bush and some mixed media work – another element that Danni has often included in her projects over the years…

Danni – thank you for everything! It’s definitely not easy to say goodbye to you and your creations, but we are absolutely thrilled for your new opportunity and what the future holds for you. Lots of love and the best of luck – we can’t wait to be able to call you Doctor Danni!

Travel Often | Sunkissed collection | Sophie Delorme

Sophie Delorme 06/02/2023

Hello Cocoa Vanilla Friends !

It’s Sophie on the blog today with a new layout !

I used the Sunkissed collection for this colourful page !

I decided to use a big black and white photo of my sweet Sabrina at the beach as the focus on the page. I layered it with tissue paper and foam adhesive, and placed it to the right of the page.

I used a cut file from JustNick Studio named “Travel often” for both my title and suitcases. I backed them with different patterned papers from the Sunkissed A5 paperpack.

I fussy cut beautiful florals from the “Growing Wild” paper and mixed them with floral die cuts arranged in clusters around the suitcases and title. I also added a lovely umbrella, a banner and a few fussy cut clouds to decorate the page.

I grounded everything on a teared piece of the “Just Chillin‘” paper.

Here are more close-ups:

I hope that you like this bold and happy page !

Thank you for stopping by !

Sophie xx

Farewell Lina Monaco

Zoe Pearn 04/02/2023

Hi everyone,

A little bit of sad news to share today as we say farewell (again) to one of our beloved team – Lina Monaco. Lina has been a treasured member of our Cocoa Vanilla Studio family for many years, having been a team member twice now after we wooed her back to do another tour with us. Unfortunately for us however, life is just way too busy now for Lina to keep up with everything, so we have to wave goodbye.

So let’s take another look at some of Lina’s recent projects that she created for us. First up, a beautiful layout featuring a photo of the lady of the hour herself along with her husband, and using our ‘Storyteller’ collection…

Lina loves working with bright colours, so next up we are sharing a gorgeous mixed media layout featuring our ‘Sunkissed’ collection…

One of the things we love about Lina is her versatility – she can rock a boy layout just as well as she can rock a girl one. Here’s a gorgeous one she created using ‘No Limits’…

And to round things out, we couldn’t resist sharing this layout that Lina created for our Throwback Thursday featuring one of her all-time favourite collections, ‘Bohemian Dream’. (I think this collection can be found on a lot of people’s favourite list!)

Lina – thank you SO much for all the amazing inspiration you have shared with us over the years and for being such a great ambassador for Cocoa Vanilla Studio. You’ll always be part of the family. We love you and wish you all the best!

Sweet Days | Storyteller + Sunkissed Collections | Danni Visser

Danni Visser 14/11/2022

Hi Cocoa Vanilla Studio friends! Danni here with a layout featuring our newest collection Storyteller plus a little of an older favourite – the Sunkissed collection. Although these collections are quite different, the pops of bright yellow in both make it really easy to combine the two. They pair beautifully with the yellow shirt my daughter is wearing in my photo!

To begin this layout, I started with a sheet of plain white cardstock and the Brighter Days 12×12 patterned paper. I cut two strips from the patterned paper, one thick and one narrow, then distressed the edges. I adhered both strips to either side of the white cardstock.

Next I matted my photo. To do this I used a combination of the A5 paper stacks from both collections, plus a bright yellow 3×4 double-sided card from Sunkissed. I distressed and tore some of the paper edges for some extra texture, then added the photo over the thicker strip of patterned paper.

For my title I decided the sparkly glitter foam titles from Sunkissed were perfect, so I added ‘sweet days’ right below my photo. I also added a small banner text piece from the die cut ephemera pack in this space. I also used a few of the glitter hearts from the foam titles around my layout to bring in more sparkle!

The floral ephemera from these collections pair really well, especially the blue and yellow tones. I created three floral clusters around my layout; two either side of my photo and one to the left side of the page. I added in a couple of pieces from the die cut ephemera from both collections as well.

For some finishing touches, I added in a couple of the brushstroke effect clear stickers from Sunkissed, plus a few puffy stickers and some tiny word strips from the accessory stickers. I stamped the date with grey ink on one of the ephemera pieces, then added a small sprinkling of ink splatters around my ephemera clusters.

I was surprised with how easy it was to integrate these two very different collections, and I’m in love with the result! Such a bright, happy layout. I hope you enjoyed joining me today. Happy scrapping!

Danni x

We look beautiful together on vacation | Josefine vd Hoeven | Sunkissed collection

Josefine van der Hoeven 11/10/2022

Hey creative Paperlovers,

Welcome and so happy to see you again on the Cocoa Vanilla blog today! It’s Josefine here and I’m sharing a new layout with you. For this girls pink layout I choose to work with the beautiful collection “Sunkissed. I really love the pink vibe on this happy page from me and my daughter.

I took a 12×12 watercolor paper and choose three pink colors of distress oxide to work with. The colors I used are, picked raspberry, kitch flamingo and spun sugar. I placed an ink pad on my white background and make a horizontal line. I do this with all the three different ink pads. Then I take a medium watercolor brush and blend the colors with each other by using a little bit of water. I splash some more with the colors by using my watercolor brush and then let the background dry by air. By splashing with water on your distress oxide and dabbing it dry with a piece of kitchen paper you create a super cool watercolor effect.

I used a cutfile by Paige Evans called “Beautiful” as part of my title. The title I choose for this layout calls “We look beautiful together on vacation” I really love the moments that I spend with my teenage daughter. These moments are very special and precious to me. I cut the cutfile with my Cricut Maker and backed it with yellow colored design paper. I color the alphas with the distress oxide “mustard seed” and then I stitch the alpha’s with light yellow sewing thread on my cutfile. The stitching details give my alpha’s more detail and dimensions.

I cut different pattern papers to size and placed it behind the photo from me and my daughter. I made a cluster on the right side of the photo with the gorgeous Die-cuts elements, stickers and figures from the Sunkissed collection. I select some more embellishments for extra decoration between the alpha’s.

I punched out a few butterflies from the lovely Sunkissed design papers and placed them in different places on my layout. Also I give my layout some white splatter with white gesso for a festive look.

I hope I was able to inspire you with this happy pink girls layout with the fresh and colorful Sunkissed collection and give you a creative idea for an easy mixed media background. Of course, I hope to see you next time on the blog with a new project! Can’t wait to see your beautiful projects on the Cocoa Vanilla FB groep! I wish you a very happy and crafty day friends!

XoXo, Jo

Hey There Pumpkin | Sunkissed | Lina Monaco

Lina Monaco 03/10/2022

Good Day Friends,
Lina here on the blog today with an Autumnal layout I created using the fun Sunkissed collection and a photo of my eldest daughter, from this past weekend. I know Sunkissed is a summer themed collection, but I couldn’t resist it’s rich tones of yellow, orange, and pink. I think by looking at my layout, you’d never guess that the collection was geared towards summer. And, that’s the beauty of CVS collections, they’re just so full of fun and colour and that makes them versatile.

I began with a white piece of 12×12 cardstock and created a blended ink background in yellow, coral, and pink. I used water to then add droplets which then I dabbed off to create a reverse splatter as the water removes the ink where it’s placed.
I created the cutfile in Silhouette Studio using two different fonts, layering them and then cutting the background from white cardstock and the rest from papers from the A5 Paper Stack. The Paper stack is perfect for smaller tasks such as cut files or even matting of a photo. I popped up the cut file with dimensional foam and then placed it on my now dry background.

The photo is printed in colour and I feel like the shades and tones in the photo play nicely with the colour scheme I’ve used and do not “get lost” amongst all the colour I have already laid down. I matted my photo with papers form the A5 Paper Stack adding in the same pink, yellow and green.

Time for my favourite part…. the embellishing of the layout. I created a few clusters, one main, large one within the cutfile, a second cluster, mid sized to the left of the photo and lastly a smaller third one, to the right of the photo. I used florals from the Floral Ephemera and a few banners from the Die Cut Ephemera packages. Because I wanted this layout to have more of an autumnal vibe to it, I stayed away from the teal and blue that is included in this collection using soley the shades of orange, yellow, and pink with a pop of green. I also used some gold thread to create a nest for a small Wood Button to sit within. In doing this, I feel like I give the button a home. :P

Lastly, I used some gold ink spray and splattered paint in and around my layout. As always, this finishes off my layout and ties it all together. in my eyes, it similar to adding sprinkles on a cupcake… it’s just that little bit extra that completes your layout.
Thank you for joining me today on the blog and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!
xoLina

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

Sunny Days | Sunkissed Collection | Rachel Lowe

Rachel Lowe 21/06/2022

Hello CVS friends well before I move onto the new gorgeous Storyteller collection which arrived in my mail box today here is a layout using an older collection (but still a fav of mine) Sunkissed . I had many of the wood epoxy buttons left that I decided to make them a focus of my layout.

I decided to create a non summer themed layout using the blue and pink palette and of course wood epoxy buttons! This beautiful Butterfly cut file is from the Silhouette Design Store, I just love the way there is tiny butterflies coming from the wing. I chose the deep blue and pink heart papers to create my butterfly, I used foam tape on the tiny butterflies to add dimension. I added the gorgeous dark blue heart button on my butterfly.

I added some die cut clouds to create the illusion of a sky above the butterfly. This is where I got to add two of the wood epoxy buttons, cute tiny rainbows! To add balance I added a puffy cloud sticker and to finish off I tucked two of the puffy sticker flowers behind the die cut clouds.

I then added my 3×3 inch photo (you could obviously add a larger one) matting it on some paper scraps in a way you could see each pattern peeping through. My photo is adhered with foam tape to add height. I added one of the large wood epoxy buttons to the left of my photo slightly over the photo mat, another rainbow but this time multi coloured.

I created a floral bunch using the floral die cut ephemera, layering and using foam tape and finished of with a phrase sentiment from the accessory sticker sheet.

I used the paint brush strokes from the clear sticker sheet to add a contrast against the white, which is also why I added a border using a light blue, this avoids the white background paper being too overwhelming. Over the top I added my title Sunny Days which again is a cut file from the Silhouette Design store. I added another wood epoxy button, I think this one with the word ‘fun’ just a perfect little extra to my title.

In total I managed to use five wood epoxy buttons on this layout! I probably wouldn’t use that many normally because I always hoard embellishments like this!!!! So if you have any Sunkissed left here is an idea to create a non summer layout.

Thank you as always for stopping by and I can’t wait to share my first layout using Storyteller!

Rachel X

Chill out | Sunkissed Layout | Anna Komenda

Anna Komenda 13/06/2022

Hello, hello! Welcome everyone. It’s Anna here with a brand new page to share with you. I know that you poor Aussie people are just few days only until winter starts but we, on the top of the world, are just entering summer, which makes me soooo happy. It was time to pull out summer lines, including wonderful “Sunkissed” collection. I must admit, I am running a little low on some elements from it, but I still have plenty to make few more pages! I had a perfect photo in mind to scrapbook – beautiful sunset over the Atlantic Ocean. Colors of the photo are very warm and water doesn’t seem blue anymore, more like grey with a purple tint. I wanted to scrapbook it with a very warm color palette choosing mix of yellow, orange, pink and red. Perfect color combo for any sunset!

I had a perfect paper in mind called “Summer lights”! I cut it into smaller rectangles and turned them into a bunch of tags using corner puncher and tag hole puncher. I wanted to create a frame around the page with them. My initial idea was that a background paper will be white to contrast better with saturated tags, but after I tried it, I decided it’s just too much difference. I reached for tried and true Distress Oxide inks in Mustard seed, Spiced marmalade, Ripe persimmon, Pink Raspberry and Candied apple colors and blended them into the strips of colors creating similar patter to the one I just cut into tags. Weird move, I know, but my mixed media background was still lighter than the printed paper and I could add some water splatters for more texture.

Next step was to glue down the tags on the edges of the paper arranging them in similar color pattern than the background. I only applied glue as a thin strip on the bottom of the tags so I was able to lift the top part, creating extra dimension. I could also tuck ephemera pieces behind them!

After all of the tags were in their designated spots, I trimmed down the excess part, that was peaking behind the edge of the background and I started creating a composition. First, glueing down the photo in the bottom right corner, surrounded with palm trees from Ephemera Pack and some flowers from Flower Pack.

Next I added a title. Thanks to the beautiful Glitter foam titles, I didn’t have to think much about it and I simply chose one of the phrases. Yellow color stands out nicely on red and pink background. I also added two cute glitter hearts that are added to the title stickers. Few flowers, hidden behind the tags and some sun and clouds on the top of the page and my composition was almost done!

Last step was to add few puffy stickers here and there (I had a hard time using them as I just want to hoard them forever) and word strip from 6*12 stickers sheet. Few white splatters were the perfect finishing touches. And voila! Page is done. I love the warm colors of it.

That is all for today! Thank you so much for spending this time with me. I hope you like my project and it inspired you to make your own background. You can choose any theme with this kind of design!

See you in two weeks <3

XO Anna

Just Chillin’ | Sunkissed collection | Sophie Delorme

Sophie Delorme 05/06/2022

Hello Cocoa Vanilla friends!

It’s Sophie on the blog today with a new layout to share !

I used the Sunkissed collection for this bright and colorful page !

I used a thick white cardstock for the background and applied dry ink on a stencil from my stash with a brush.

I layered two pieces of patterned papers from the A5 paper stack behind my black and white photo, and cut a big envelope with a metal die to insert a tag cut out of the Good Vibrations paper for my journaling.

I fussy cut beautiful florals from the Growing Wild paper to decorate around the photo and cut out cute little clouds from the Just Chillin’ paper that I placed above the photo.