Not Quite Perfect for Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone!
Hope this finds you well on this long ANZAC weekend here in Australia? I'm in the midst of 8th birthday preparations for my ANZAC birthday girl here.

Today I am sharing a layout I created using the brand new Colour Me Happy collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio. This collection features a mix of papers with bright colours on one side and printed black and white patterns on the other, which lend themselves to being coloured in or altered with mediums.

I thought that a super fun collection like this called for an equally fun photo, and I had the (not quite) perfect picture for it...

In keeping with the theme for this collection, I decided to stick with a black / white / grey colour palette with a single colour contrast. I used an orange mist applied to my background to give a watercolour effect, and then I used the same colour applied with a water brush to add some small highlights of colour to the Star Spangled paper.

To embellish my layout, I used elements cut from the Snip Its cut apart papers, which include a mix of labels, tags, words and other shapes. I also added one of the new wood veneer words, which I coloured black using a paint pen.

Of course this collection includes a range of coordinating flair buttons, and I added the black 'don't forget' one nested on some cotton thread. I also scattered a few enamel dots around my page, which are available in 'warm' or 'cool' colourways for this collection.

Colour Me Happy includes two sets of alphabet stickers. The first is black (as I have used here), which is perfect for bold titles; and the other is white, which allows you to colour yourself to suit your project. (I love this font!) You can also see how I used some of the phrases from the Snip Its to support my title.

That's all from me today, thanks for stopping by. If you would like to get your hands on your own stash of the new Colour Me Happy collection, it is available from next Friday (29th April) in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio shop or ask your favourite scrappy retailer.
Til next time, happy scrapping! X

D-lish Scraps April Cyber Crop Challenge!

Hi everyone!
Just popping in to remind you that the D-lish Scraps April cyber crop kicked off last Friday over in our Facebook group The Scrap Suite. (If you aren't already a member, simply click to join.)

There are 4 challenges on offer from the design team with a store voucher up for grabs for EACH challenge, so plenty of love to go around.

The crop challenges are open for a whole 4 weeks, so there is plenty of time to complete your entries. And as far as entering the challenges goes, it couldn't be simpler! You need only upload your layout photo to the relevant album and that's it! No need for a blog or anything complex.

Here is my challenge to get your mojo flowing...

And my sample layout...

"Hello You"

{Papers by Heidi Swapp}

Although this layout appears quite understated, there are still a number of D-lish embellishments to be found. In this first cluster I used a wood veneer frame (which I wrapped with twine and added a strip of washi tape to); there is also a wood veneer speech bubble; coloured paper doily; and a flair button.

The cute little camera wood veneer is by Corbett Creations and was from a previously released Just Add Paper kit. The quote was cut from the Journal Its - Wordfetti (Everyday Moments) sheet.



The wood veneer title is another Corbett Creations piece (there are a variety of words available) and I added a wood veneer word arrow too. The tiny flower was another item from a previous JAP kit.

Thanks for stopping by today. I would love to see lots of people take on my sketch challenge, as I so enjoy seeing the different interpretations that one sketch can generate.
You can load your entries into my sketch challenge album in The Scrap Suite HERE
Til next time, happy scrapping! X

Show Us Your Stuff April Challenge!

Hi everyone! Just popping in to share my Design Team layout for this month's challenge at Show Us Your Stuff. This month's challenge has been designed by the lovely Deena Otway from our DT and looks like this...

Confession time: Although I have a reasonable amount of stamps in my stash, I am not usually much of a stamper. *hangs head in shame* So this challenge was the perfect push I needed to drag some of them out and get them dirty. I decided that seeing as I was going to be making a mess with my stamps, I may as go the whole way and drag out my paints as well.

Besides using traditional stamps on my layout, I also used my stencils to "stamp" by turning them over and stamping off the excess paint elsewhere on my layout.

Here is what I created...

I used a bit of a random mix of embellishments on this layout. Wood veneers are by Cocoa Vanilla Studio, Heidi Swapp and Amy Tan.

Die cut ephemera is by Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

To cover the handmade criteria, I used a Charms Creations star and a Cocoa Vanilla Studio flair. The Freckled Fawn geo tag paper clip and red tissue paper are from D-lish Scraps. The stamps are a mix of Amy Tan, Glitz Designs, Studio Calico and Crate Paper. (And a date stamp from my newsagent as well.)

So there you have it! My (messy) take on this month's challenge at Show Us Your Stuff. I hope you will join us and show us what you can do with stamps. Remember that you are not limited to traditional layouts for this challenge - we welcome all crafters! So cards, art journal spreads, pocket pages, canvases and off the page items are also welcome! Entries need to be linked up via the SUYS blog by midnight, 30th April.
Happy scrapping!

Pocket Pages for Cocoa Vanilla Studio!

Hi everyone!
Just popping in to share my latest work for Cocoa Vanilla Studio and today I have a pocket page post for you showcasing three different collections.
As a scrapper that likes to make the most of my materials, one of the things I like to do is use left over bits and pieces from collections to create pocket pages.

"Train Ride" - Totally Rad collection

The 'Top Gear' paper was perfect to use on this page about my boys first train trip. I also used the 'Happy Snaps' and 'Line Up' papers; accessory stickers; die cut ephemera (how cute is that robot?); flair button; acetate stars; and enamel shapes.

"Best Day Ever" - Life is Beautiful collection

For this page I used pieces of the 'Beautiful Day' paper (my favourite from this collection) and also the 'Heart Song' paper; die cut ephemera; stickers; and enamel dots. (It doesn't take many materials to make pretty pocket pages!) 

"Christmas Lights Tour"- Tis the Season collection

I had so many photos on my phone from various Christmas events, that creating some pocket pages was just the push I needed to finally get them documented! (Pocket pages are great for those phone photos that might not otherwise make the grade for a "traditional" type of layout.)

Besides the papers from this collection, I also used die cut ephemera pieces; accessory stickers; and enamel dots on my pages.

"Christmas Eve"- Tis the Season collection

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope I have inspired you to look at those left over bits and pieces a little differently now!

Til next time, happy scrapping! X

Scrap the Boys April Challenge!

Hi everyone! Just popping to post the first of my design team shares for April. Kicking it off this month with the Scrap the Boys challenge first of all, and the challenge is this...

Seeing as I have two little boys here who like nothing better than to be just like their dad, this one wasn't a problem for me. This layout was created using the new Totally Rad collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio which is perfect for scrapping all things boy related.

"Just Like Dad"

It can be so hard to find a good boy collection sometimes, and this one is a cracker! I love everything about it. The grey cross print on the B side of the 'Say What' paper is one of my faves, so I couldn't go past using it as a background again. Paired with the bright pops of colour on the 'Top Gear' paper, it's a match made in heaven for me!

To the right of my photo I created a cascading embellishment cluster, which features pieces from the die cut ephemera pack; wood veneers; snippets of the 'Mix Tape' paper; an acetate star and a flair button. (I love the variety of embellishments available from Cocoa Vanilla!)

To bring balance to my layout, I echoed the wood accent to the left of my photo with some die cuts; a wood veneer; and a mini wooden peg from the Bits & Pieces pack.

I wanted a big feature title on this layout, but I also wanted it to have a playful, child-like quality to reflect the theme, so I handcut the letters from the B side of the 'Line Up' paper. 

I then added printed strip journaling, a few more die cuts, a Woodie; stamping and black mist splatters to finish it off. 

I hope you will join us at Scrap the Boys this month. Besides the fact the challenge is a great one, we have prizes on offer from some of my favourites this month with Cocoa Vanilla Studio and Flutterby Designs both offering prizes. There is also a prize from Lauren Hender at A Little Peek at Me. Definitely worth playing along for! You have until the end of the month to link your entries up.

Happy scrapping! X