Merry & Bright | Viva Las VegaStamps

Hi everyone!

Popping in today to share a mixed media scrapbook layout I created for Viva Las VegaStamps featuring some of the recently released VLVS Christmas stamps and a photo of my kids with a cool Santa.

As it is summer time here in Australia at Christmas (and also because I am not a fan), I tend to steer away from the "traditional" red / forest green Christmas colour combination and lean towards brighter colours that more accurately reflect our season.

I began this page with some white cardstock and Dina Wakley acrylic paints (turquoise, lime, sky, blushing and ruby), which I applied using a brayer and my fingers to build up some layers of colour. I also splattered some Colour Blast 'Soot' Colour Artist Ink around the page.

I then took an assortment of Christmas-themed stamps and used them to add some interest to my background. I used a combination of black StazOn ink and Paradise Teal Ranger Archival ink. The stamps I used were:

- Christmas Design Background

- Mittens

- Candy Cane Border

- Christmas Saying Reindeer Head

- Holiday Cheer

I then added a variety of patterned paper pieces from Cocoa Vanilla Studio to form a layered mat for my photo, before adding some frayed gauze and my photo on top.

To embellish my page, I used some cool chipboard Christmas trees from the Yuletide MASH pack by UmWow Studio, which I coloured using a gold paint pen before sticking them down with a liquid adhesive. 

I layered the chipboard trees with some assorted Christmas themed wood veneer pieces; flair button; resin star; enamel dots; and red & white paper flowers from Cocoa Vanilla Studio; plus a few tiny pale blue flowers from D-lish Scraps.

For my page title, I stamped the May Your Days Be Merry stamp a couple of times, then overlaid it with a merry&bright wood veneer piece (also from Cocoa Vanilla Studio and coloured gold with a paint pen). 

To finish off my page I added my handwritten journalling with a Sharpie, and some splatters of Colour Blast 'Bling' Colour Shimmer Spray.

I have a process video available on my YouTube channel for this page:

(If you do stop by to watch it and like what you see, please give me a thumbs up and subscribe!)

Thanks so much for stopping by today so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to document your precious Christmas memories too. Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Joy | Scrap the Boys December Challenge

Hi everyone!

We are quickly creeping closer to the end of the year, so it's time for me to share my December design team layout for Scrap the Boys with you. This month's challenge is an inspirational image that looks like this...

I really loved the image, so I decided to take my inspiration from it quite literally and create my own interpretation. Here is what I came up with...

I took the opportunity to document a couple of photos of the boys getting their presents from Santa at last year's kindy Christmas party. 

I started my page by laying down the colour for my tree. I used the new Colour Artist Inks from Colour Blast, which are divine! I simply applied a small amount of water to my page, then added the ink in drops and blended it out with a brush. 

Once the ink had dried, I then added some details using stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps. My favourite 'Squiggly Star Collage' went on top of the tree; then I used the 'Doodle Frame' stamp to add some branch-like structure. Finally, I used the 'Doodle Dots' and 'Scribble Circles' stamps to add some "decorations" to my tree. 

I also added some splatters of 'Soot' Colour Artist Ink to my page to grunge it up a bit more.

Next, I took the 'Flourish Christmas Tree' die from Uniquely Creative (you can check out the fabulous range of dies and find a list of stockists on the Uniquely Creative website) and cut a white cardstock tree to lay over the top. (I love the way the vibrant ink colours showed through the intricate cut out sections!) I also added some torn pieces of washi tape to help add further structure to my tree. 

To finish off, I added some bows and a flair button - all of which were leftovers in my stash from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio 'Tis the Season' collection.

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. I know it'a a very busy time of year, but you have until the end of the month to get your entries in for this challenge and be in the running for a fabulous prize. You can link your entries up via the STB blog. Make sure you are also following the Facebook page and Instagram account for all the sponsor news and plenty of inspiration from the team and guests.

Til next time, happy scrapping! X

Christmas Day Memories | Scrap the Boys December Challenge

Hi everyone! Can you believe it's DECEMBER already? I know I can't. This year just seems to have whizzed past in the blink of an eye. I think it's finally safe to bring out the "C" word, given that Christmas is now only weeks away. (And no, I am not ready for it!)

I am kicking off today with my first design team layout for the month, which is a mood board challenge for Scrap the Boys...

Here is my take on it...

"Christmas Day Memories"

I chose to scrap these two photos of my boys from their first Christmas. They were sitting up in their new Bumbos for the first time and watching their sister open her presents - it was so cute! I used the 'Tis the Season' collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio, which made it super easy to coordinate everything.

Here are some close-ups...

If you love to scrap boy layouts (or even if you are someone who needs a bit of a push), make sure you put this month's Scrap the Boys challenge on your list!
To see what the rest of the design team has come up with for this challenge, and for all the prize details, head over to the Scrap the Boys blog.

I will be back soon with another project to share with you. Until then, happy scrapping! X

Howzat! | Scrap the Boys November Challege

Hi everyone! Here I am with my first design team share for the month of November, and I am kicking off with Scrap the Boys. This month at STB the challenge is SPORTS, so I decided to scrap this gorgeous photo of Hunter with his new cricket bat on Christmas Day. It was the item that was top of his wish list, so to say he was happy was an understatement!

"Howzat!"

I used a bit of a mash-up of materials for this layout. The background papers are both from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio 'Totally Rad' collection. I added some mixed media using a Dylusions ink spray (applied using a waterbrush) and some stamping using some of my stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps. I also added some small snippets of torn washi tape and some splatters of mist.

The alpha stickers used for my title were also from the Totally Rad collection. (And for all my international friends who may not understand, "howzat" is short for "how's that?" and is a term often used in Australian cricket when appealing to the umpire for the batsman to be given out.)

For the layers under my photo, I used papers from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio 'Tis the Season' collection (to give it that Christmas touch); as well as a paper doily from my stash. Dotted around my page, I also used a few wood veneer pieces from the Tis the Season collection. (This range is currently available from the Cocoa Vanilla store for a massive 40% off!)

To embellish my layout, I used a variety of die cut ephemera pieces, stickers and acetate stars from the Totally Rad range; as well as one of the Cocoa Vanilla Limited Edition flair buttons.

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. You have until the end of the month to scrap your take on this "Sports" challenge and upload it to the Scrap the Boys blog to be in with a chance of winning a fabulous prize! We are looking forward to seeing all your fabulous sporty layouts!
Til next time, happy scrapping! X

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

Tis the Season for Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone! Just popping in today to share my latest work using the new Tis the Season collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

The colour palette of this collection is a little different than the "traditional" ones usually reserved for a Christmas range, but not so much that it doesn't have the right festive feel to it. It really is gorgeous!

For my layout, I used the Good Cheer paper for my base; then layered it with pieces cut from All Is Bright (both sides) and Holly Jolly. I love how the different designs look stacked together.

I used lots of pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera pack and some of the Accessory Stickers layered under and around my photo to frame it. I love all the little interesting details they add. I topped this cluster with one of the coordinating Flair Buttons.

I used a Santa flair and more ephemera pieces in my layered journaling cluster.
I don't have a typewriter, (but I SO love the look of old type fonts), so I printed my journaling onto the woodgrain look tag from my computer. (Print it onto a piece of paper first, then adhere the journal tag over the top with a tiny bit of tape and run it through the printer again.)

To finish my layout, I added one of the super cute Bitty Bows and a scattering of Tis the Season Sequins to add a sense of movement to my design.

Thanks for stopping by today.
Did you know you can find Cocoa Vanilla Studio on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter AND Pinterest? Make sure you are following along so you don't miss a thing!
Til next time, happy scrapping! X

Tis the Season layout for Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone! Another catch-up post from me today, this time sharing my first layout using the brand new Tis the Season collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio that was published recently on the CVS blog.

{I know Christmas isn't something that most people want to be thinking about just yet, so you probably don't want to hear that as of today, there are exactly 100 days until Christmas...eeeeek!}

As I am not renowned as a fan of scrapping Christmas, I have to admit even I was surprised that as soon as I saw this collection I was inspired! The combination of fresh colours, gorgeous embellishments and a lack of (overdone) Christmas elements that I see heavily featured in other collections, made this one right up my alley!

I used the Very Merry and Holly Jolly papers for this layout - both so pretty! (And how clever is the design on that background paper - is it Christmas trees or is it hearts?)

I created my title using layered pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera pack along with Alphabet Stickers.

I also used some of the super cute Wood Veneer shapes. These were perfect for adding some subtle texture. (The Sequins scattered across my page were actually from the other newly released Life is Beautiful collection, but you will find an equally gorgeous set of Tis the Season Sequins is also available.)

My journaling was added using one of the Accessory Stickers, and the sweet little Bitty Bow was the perfect finish for my title elements.

Thank you for stopping by today.
If you have been a "non Christmas scrapper" like me, then trust me when I say THIS is the collection that will change all that! You can find it (and all the other Cocoa Vanilla collections) in the CVS shop HERE.
Til next time, happy scrapping! X