Cocoa Vanilla Studio – Make A Beautiful Life Story

I Love Us | Make a Wish | Missy Whidden

Hey there, friends! Missy here with my first design team project, and I couldn’t be more excited! I am so in love with the Make a Wish collection. I had to use it for my first assignment, and I worked with the beautiful XO cut file from Cocoa Vanilla. One of my favorite techniques is using patterned papers to back the open spaces of cut files. All the open spots allowed for lots of colors and patterns, so I took the time to make all the XOs very colorful. Also, using a big cut file like this takes up a lot of space on your layout, so it makes it pretty easy to determine where your photo should go.

Here’s the layout I created.

I arranged my XO cut file and then added my photo to the upper right corner at an angle. I used a few patterned papers to layer behind it as well as some tissue paper from my stash. I layered in a few of the gorgeous vellum flowers as well as some tangled thread. I went minimal on the rest of the embellishments so I wouldn’t take away from the XOs or make everything too busy.

I machine stitched through each XO with white thread, and I love the detail this creates. One of my favorite CVS embellishments are the adorable flair buttons. I layered this one right on top of my photo with a bit of tangled thread. Here you can also see I layered in a few of the beautiful floral die cuts and hearts.

I went small with the title and used a few of the beautiful patterned alpha stickers. The XOs were pretty good for a title in itself, but I wanted to add a little more. I also created a fun little cluster with die cuts here…an arrow, flowers and a heart. I also added a few of the word and phrase stickers for added detail.

Here’s a closer look at the those beautiful vellum flowers. I wish I had a never ending package of those because they are amazing!

Here’s one more look at the cut file and all that pretty patterned paper. I hope you are inspired by this layout, the products and the techniques. I have a process video if you’d like to check it out. I show how I created this layout from start to finish. I hope you enjoy!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

By Missy Whidden| February 10th, 2017|Cut Files, Design Team, Inspiration, Make A Wish|0 Comments

My Son | Totally Rad | Emma Wood

Hi everyone! Emma here with my first post as a member of the CVS Design Team! With Valentine’s Day this month we’ve been spending a bit of time focusing on ‘love’ themes and for my page I’ve created a little something about my son. I worked with Totally Rad for this page, which is still one of my all-time-favourite collections; it’s so versatile and can totally work for any type of theme!

For my page I created my background using a quote cut out on my Silhouette Cameo. The quote itself came from something I found on Pinterest (you can find the source here). I used the Alphabet Stickers to create emphasis on the words that have extra meaning to me. To make sure I had the paragraph spacing correct I measured the alpha’s and typed them in at the actual size, then I just deleted them when I wanted to actually cut the paper. Side note – incase you didn’t know, I scrap 6×8 pages, it’s a little unconventional I know but most people assume they’re 8.5×11 so thought I’d just point out they’re a teeny bit smaller than that! My white background is a little smaller than 6×8 as I wanted to include a border around my page – it needed to something neutral so I went with that gorgeous woodgrain paper (B-side of “Stellar”).

The words are backed up a few of my favourite papers, I went with a soft blue (“Line Up”) for the majority and added a few pops of colour on the other words I wanted to emphasise (B-side of “Happy Snaps”, “Line Up” and “Mix Tape” for the yellow, orange and green). I used some of coordinating enamel star shapes to help add a little dimension to the page!

My photo is backed up with a one of the die-cut frames and I also popped one of the sticker tab pieces behind to help add more dimension. I’ve a habit of wanting things to “pop” off the page so I’ll often not stick embellishments down completely, such as the tab and arrow shown here – I actually put pieces of paper behind the adhesive edges to prevent them sticking down completely 🙂

I stitched around the border of my page and over the alpha’s using my sewing machine (you’ll be hard pressed to find a page of mine that does not include machine stitching..) and to finish it off I added a couple clusters at the top and bottom of my page using the Woodies and Flair Buttons (both of which I absolutely adore! I mean how cute are they?!).

Because I scrap 6×8, space can sometimes be limited so I just add my journaling to the back of my layout. I used one of the 3×4 cards and printed directly to it using my printer. Super easy!

As you can see, you can use the Totally Rad collection for any kind of theme! I know this is a page about my son but I think the soft colours on this page would have worked just as well had I used a photo of my niece instead (and picked a more suitable quote, haha).

Thank you so much for joining me on the blog today – I hope it’s inspired you to use your Totally Rad collection, even for those lovey-dovey, non-boy themed pages 😉 I can’t wait to share more with you later this month!

Take care, Em xo

By Emma Wood| February 8th, 2017|Design Team, Inspiration, Totally Rad|1 Comment

You Had Me At Hello | Love Always | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone! I can’t believe it’s my first share of February already?! (Where did January go?) Being Valentine’s Day in only one weeks time, the team at Cocoa Vanilla Studio are celebrating with some love themed layouts to get you in the mood. And what could be more appropriate than a layout featuring the beautiful ‘Love Always’ collection, which celebrates all things romantic. This page also features one of my loves – my partner.

Given that this photo was taken in a garden, my goal when I created this layout was to create a page that incorporated some of the floral elements from the collection, whilst still maintaining enough of a masculine edge. I achieved this by using the Bouquet paper as a background sheet, and then sewing a square of the Lovely Things paper over the top, which left only a narrow border visible.

I added some subtle mixed media to my background (I used a mica powder applied with a waterbrush) to grunge it up a bit. I also decided that I wanted to make good use of the Lovely Things cut apart paper for this page, so I incorporated a variety of pieces into the layers under my photo, along with a piece of the reverse side of the Bouquet paper. Tucked into my layers was also a doily from the vellum accents pack.

I fussy cut a variety of elements to use around my page from the cut apart paper – the geo heart; floral accent piece under the side of my photo; and my title you had me at hello were all cut from the same sheet of paper.

Also tucked into the layers under and around my photo was a frame from the chipboard accent stickers; a scalloped border from the accessory sticker sheet; and some pieces from the die cut ephemera pack.

To tie in with the stitching, I also included some small bunches of messy cotton thread around my page; and on top of one of them I nested one of the coordinating flair buttons. After that, it was simply a matter of adding some stamping and a few splatters of black mist and my page was complete.

Thank you for stopping by today so I could share this with you. If you are looking for the perfect collection to scrap photos of your own valentine, then the Love Always collection is available in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio store now; or alternatively you can ask for it from your favourite scrappy retailer.

Til next time, happy scrapping!

By Sue Plumb| February 7th, 2017|Design Team, Inspiration, Love Always|0 Comments

Best Ever Smile | Make A Wish | Lina Monaco

Hello Everyone!
I’m super excited to share with you today my first official layout and post for Cocoa Vanilla Studio! Thank you all for joining me!

Today’s layout is created entirely with the Make A Wish collection and I just adore how this collection is birthday and celebration themed but there are such gorgeous elements added to make it totally usable for everyday layouts like this one. This photo is one of my youngest daughter, with a great big toothy grin. She’s such a happy babe!

I started the layout with a white sheet of cardstock in which I cut a cut file using my Silhouette Cameo. I used the geometric heart file and leafy file from the Colour Me Happy Cut file. The geometric heart was cut out of the white cardstock and then backed with the gorgeous Daydream paper, popped up with a foam sheet for dimension and then adhered to my layout. I adore all the dimension on the layout!

I decided to use a black and white photo for my layout. This way, all the pretty colours of the collections could stand out and not compete with my photo. I then matted the photo with various layers and papers from the collection. Love the contrast of colours and patterns!
To embellish, I used pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera pack. So much goodness crammed into one gorgeous packet. I wish I could have used it all! I also used pieces from the Accessory Sticker sheet.
For my title, I used a bit from the ephemera pack, <<Best Ever>>, as well as letters from the Alphabet Stickers to spell out Smile. So, as a whole, my title reads, Best Ever Smile.

For the first time ever, I used my sewing machine to add a bit of stitching on my layout. I’ve had my sewing machine for over a year and this was the first time I actually used it. Life happens!

For much of my layout, I used foam to add dimension and I simply adore using it. It just adds that pop to a layout and makes certain pieces jump off the page.

That’s exactly what I wanted with the circular piece above you see that says, “Love that Smile”. That is a sticker from the Accessory sheet that I layered on top of a piece of foam that was backed with a circular piece of patterned paper from the collection. And Voila! Now that piece of ephemera totally stands out!
Finally, to finish off my layout, I added some gold spray mist to accent all the gorgeous ephemera I used.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I look forward to “seeing” you all again! 💜 xoLina

By Lina Monaco| February 6th, 2017|Cut Files, Design Team, Inspiration, Make A Wish|7 Comments

Love You | Wild at Heart | Raquel Bowman

Hey everyone, its Raquel here today with a layout using the upcoming new release Wild at Heart. Boy, this collection is just amazing! I honestly didn’t know where to start and what to use first as it is all so gorgeous. For the first part of February, up until the 14th the design team will be sharing layouts inspired by Love, after all February is the month of love right?!?

Instead of going the traditional route and scrapbooking my Mr, I decided to scrapbook and document the love I have for my kiddies and this moment that was captured in December.

Here is the layout I created:

I knew I wanted to do a lot of journaling on this layout, so I tried to keep my main design and embellishing to the top half of the page. To help balance the photo placed in the centre, I added clusters to either side of the photo.

The cluster in the image below was made up of fussy cut florals, some stickers and ephemera pieces. I just adore the tags in the ephemera packs, they are usually one of the items that goes first.

Another one of my favourite items, this time from the sticker sheet, is the cute little tabs. There is two on the sheet and they are another item that goes super quick. I love the look and little bit of detail that they bring to a page.

On the right side of the photo my cluster of embellishments was made up of another fussy cut flower, some of the ephemera pieces and stickers. I also created a banner from the collection name portion of the manufacturer strip. It was perfect and worked well with what I had journaled about.

It is rare for me to get infront of the camera and I do not have many pictures of myself and my kiddies (unless its a selfie) so when hubby took this photo and I saw the looks on their faces it was just priceless. The photo really just sums the kiddies up perfectly and that is what I wanted to document through my journaling; my sensitive, precious little girl, and my loveable but cheeky little man. My favourite and only way to journal is using my typewriter. I love the look it brings to a page and for me I am not bothered by the fact it is not handwritten, as long as our story is being told.

The chipboard stickers in this collection are so amazing. I fell in love with this large ‘love you’ sentiment on the bottom of my sheet. It spanned across the page underneath the photo perfectly. To add further detail to the title, I sewed over it. My sewing machine behaves when I do this, as long as I sew through it slowly to avoid the needle snapping.

The photo area itself is comprised of many layers of papers and embellishments that make up part of the clusters. Underneath the photo I chose to use a navy based patterned paper as I felt that would help my photo pop. I then added a softening layer of the new specialty vellum underneath that and a doily from my stash. The whole photo mat is adhered to the page using a foam sheet, one of the staple supplies in my stash for adding dimension.

The new Wild at Heart collection is just gorgeous and available at retailers very soon. In the meantime, you can check out my YouTube video below where I share the collection in more detail. It gives you a good overview on the products that will soon be available and you can get your wish lists started. Though to make it easier I suggest getting one (or more) of everything!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today, I hope my layout has inspired you.

Raquel xxx

By Raquel Bowman| February 5th, 2017|Chit Chat, Design Team, Inspiration, Wild at Heart|0 Comments

YOU COMPLETE ME | LOVE ALWAYS | GWEN WRUCK

A big hello everyone!! Gwen here today to share with you my very first layout as part of the Cocoa Vanilla design team. Super excited to be here and looking forward to sharing lots of creations with you all. First up, I’m using one of my all time favourite collections ‘Love Always‘ AND it features my two most favourite people in the whole world; my husband and daughter.

I really wanted to document the true love the three of us have for each other, they really do complete me. The design for this layout began with the ‘Colour Me Happy‘ cut files, in particular, the bold leaf design. I have cut two of these out quite large (one slightly smaller than the other). I am using white card stock for a soft look to match the photo and stitched down the centre of each of the leaves for a sweet little detail.

I then went to my photo to choose papers from the collection to match, I particularly love the softness of this collection which I knew would work really well with my photo. I chose the blue/green in the ‘Note to Self‘ paper to pick up the blue and green tones in my photo and added a touch of pink from the ‘Class Act‘ paper. I wanted something a little more striking for the title, so I chose the wide stripe of the ‘Twin Set‘ paper and back mounted it against the letters.

I also wanted a little grey in my design so the ‘Lovely Things‘ paper was the perfect choice, especially with the cut apart elements on the A side. For this layout I used the strip of grey hearts along the length of my design. It may have only been 6 inches long, however, I have placed my photo mat on top to give the illusion of it running the full length of the page.

Lots of other elements from the collection used including the Die Cut Ephemera, Accessory Stickers, flair buttons, Enamel dots, chipboard accent stickers and the Bits & Pieces pack which I L.O.V.E – Oh so many cute little pieces to choose from including these darling sparkly hearts, don’t you just love those?

Thanks for joining me for my very first share, I hope you enjoyed it and it inspires you to scrap a page about someone you love using beautiful Coco Vanilla Studio goodies.

Until next time,

Gwen

By Gwen Wruck| February 4th, 2017|Cut Files, Design Team, Inspiration, Love Always|0 Comments

Hello Love | Make A Wish | Elodie Lusseau

Hi everyone!

I am so thrilled to be sharing my first project for Cocoa Vanilla Studio with you today! It’s going to be all about love on the CVS blog for the next couple of weeks. To illustrate this theme, I made this blue and pink page using the beautiful Make A Wish collection and a sweet photo of my girls snapped last summer.

For the background, I went for the Hip Hooray paper and its lovely navy stripes. I cut out a strip from the Party Dots paper, stitched the borders and placed it vertically on the background, along with thinner strips from the Loot Bag and Daydream papers. I just love the blues in this line! So pretty!

I picked some pink die cuts from the ephemera pack and lined them up on the left-hand side of the page, along with the matted photo. I then went back to blue and cut out hearts from the beautiful Daydream paper. I placed them at the top of the floral strip and adorned them with blue alphabet stickers and more paper pieces from the die cut ephemera pack. I folded the paper hearts gently and adhered them with foam squares for dimension. I love the soft and dreamy touch those blue on blue hearts give to the page!

For the title, I made a little cluster on the pic with another die cut and one of the gorgeous flair buttons. Last but not least, the pretty pink bow and shiny sequins from the bits & pieces bag add the perfect finishing touch to my girly layout!