Happy Moments | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone!

Today I have another Cocoa Vanilla Studio design team project to share with you that I created recently. This page was created for a "Holidays and Vacations" theme that we ran recently on the CVS blog to inspire people to dig into their holiday photo stash and get the memories documented.

I used a combination of the ‘Boys Rule’ and ‘Midnight’ collections. I know what you are thinking – a bit of a strange mix, right? Despite the very obvious differences between the two, they did work together surprisingly well and were a perfect compliment for the colours in my photo.

For my take on the theme I decided to document a photo that was taken at the Cocoa Vanilla retreat that was held last May in Coffs Harbour. Scrap retreats are definitely one of my favourite kinds of holidays – besides spending time with great friends, you get to enjoy a change of scenery, have a break from your everyday responsibilities, AND you get to create! What’s not to love about that?!

I started my layout with ‘Boys Rule’, with a sheet of Star Fall as my base,which I topped with piece of white cardstock, cut slightly smaller than the paper, to leave a narrow border around the edge. I then added four blocks of paper to my background using pieces of the Messed Up; Expressionist and Straight and Narrow papers. I distressed each of the blocks by scrunching and then flattening them back out; then ran them horizontally on my page to compliment the landscape orientation of my photo.

With my background complete, I then added some scrap cardboard to the back of my photo and decided on its placement on the page. I chose the beautiful floral print Bloom and Grow paper from the ‘Midnight’ collection to begin embellishing my layout, fussy cutting several pieces to tuck in around my photo to frame it.

With the flowers in place I then added the little banner that said the best from the ‘Boys Rule’ Chipboard Pieces pack, and a small black and white butterfly sticker from the ‘Midnight’ Accessory Stickers; placing both near my top floral cluster.

I created another small cluster below my photo by combining another fussy cut floral piece with a small leafy branch and heart, both from the ‘Midnight’ Die Cut Ephemera pack. In my cluster to the left of my photo, I also added the shine bright flair button from the ‘Midnight’ Flair Buttons set.

For my page title, I used the words happy and moments from the ‘Midnight’ Chipboard Pieces pack; and then I finished off my layout by typing up my journalling and applying it in strips (again tying into the horizontal theme) near the bottom of the page.

That’s all from me today. I hope you are feeling inspired to document some of your own holiday moments. Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Been There Rocked That | Scrap the Girls August Challenge

Hi everyone!

Today I am sharing a super fun scrapbook page I created for the Scrap the Girls August challenge. This month's awesome board is called "Wild Women Do" (which I totally love!) and it looks like this...

Our challenge this month is being sponsored by Charms Creations, and Charm kindly supplied us with some special embellishments to use on our pages. Unfortunately, with so many DT commitments I was working well ahead of time, so my page was complete before I received them. (Rest assured though, they WILL appear on a future page, you know I love my Charms embellishments!)

Here is my take on the challenge...

As soon as I saw the zebra print in this board, I couldn't resist scrapping these fancy dress retreat photos for it. (Given Mandy was wearing leopard print tights - that's close enough, right?!) I took the opportunity to do some stash-busting as well, using up lots of old supplies.

I used a sheet of black cardstock as my page base, adding pieces of some old Heidi Swapp and Shimelle patterned papers; and some music paper to create my design.

I wanted to include several extra photos besides the main focal image, so I printed them in strips and created a small pocket in the corner of the page to tuck them under; and then popped a paper doily behind them. In keeping with my music theme, I also added some music themed Shimelle ephemera pieces around the page.

For my page title, I used an awesome Kinder Kreations chipboard piece, which I painted white and highlighted with a small Cocoa Vanilla Studio wood veneer arrow (also painted white). (Seriously, could that title have been any more perfect for this page?) Around my page I added a few more Cocoa Vanilla Studio wood veneer arrows and stars just to add a little dimension.

To finish off, I sourced the Poison band logo online and then printed it out and cut around it, before adding it along the bottom edge of the page. I also added a few small splatters of white mist.

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. Don't forget you have until the end of the month to join in with this challenge and be in the running for the Charms Creations prize. (And if you have any Charms Creations in your stash, be sure to include one for bonus points!)

Head over to the Scrap the Girls blog HERE to link up and see what else the team created.

Until next time, happy scrapping! X

I Wish You Were Here | Viva Las VegaStamps

Hi everyone! 

Popping in to share my latest design team project for Viva Las VegaStamps with you today. This mixed media scrapbook layout features lots of delicious painty layers, and (of course) plenty of fabulous stamps! It also features a fun photo that was taken on dress up night at the Flutterby Designs retreat last year.

I took lots of process photos while I created this page so you can see exactly how I put it all together - and perhaps even try creating your own version?

I started with my cardstock and a selection of Flutter Colour acrylic paints. I didn't have any plan when I applied them, I just followed my instinct.

I started applying the paints using a wide brush, allowing each colour to dry before adding the next; then moved on to using my fingers. (Fingers make the best brushes!)

Once all the paint was in place, it was time to pull out my stamps to give my page some structure and depth.

The stamps I used for my background were:

- Stitching Lines

- Sawtooth Stitching Lines

- Row of Scribble Squares

- Doodle Circle 

After I had stamped out my background marks, I decided I needed a little colour contrast; so I used my finger to rub a little pink paint into the centre of each circle.

With my background complete, it was time to start adding some focal images to my page that were going to help compliment my photo. I looked through the images I already had stamped onto tissue paper to see what would work with the theme of my page. 

The images I chose were:

- Butterfly Spotted

- Magic Maker Paintbrush

The butterfly was to represent the fact that it was the Flutterby retreat, and the paintbrush was to represent creativity and tie in with the painted background I had created. I adhered my images using an acrylic matte medium.

Once I had the focal images in place, I wanted to add some words to my page. I used the following stamps:

- Art is Anything-Andy Warhol

- I Wish You Were Here

It was then time to add some texture to my page, so I collaged a few bits and pieces onto my page (torn tissue paper; plasterer's tape; paper doily; cotton thread).

I then added my photo on top, which I mounted onto some scrap cardboard first using Miracle Tape. 

With my photo in place, I then added my handwritten journalling before adding a few random sequins to my page to finish it off.

Here's a closer look at the finished details...

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to get inky too!

VLVS stamps used:

- Stitching Lines

- Sawtooth Stitching Lines

- Row of Scribble Squares

- Doodle Circle

- Butterfly Spotted

- Magic Maker Paintbrush

- Art is Anything-Andy Warhol

- I Wish You Were Here

Until next time, happy scrapping! X

She Was a Wildflower | Viva Las VegaStamps

Hi everyone!

Popping in to share my latest Viva Las VegaStamps design team project with you. Today I have a mixed media scrapbook page that features some fun photos of my fellow Aussie VLVS design team member Fiona Paltridge and I. These photos were taken at the Flutterby Designs retreat last year after I did a class with her; and as soon as my latest batch of stamps arrived I knew I had the perfect stamps to scrap these pictures!

I started my page by using the Wildflowers Silhouette stamp several times across my page to create a "garden" for my background; then I added some colour using Colour Blast Colour Artist Inks (Marine, Berry and Mermaid) and a small brush; allowing the colour to run down the page. I also added some splatters of Lime ink around the edges of the flower silhouettes.

While my background was drying, I stamped a large Gossamer Butterfly image onto some extra cardstock, then coloured it using Faber-Castell watercolour pencils and a waterbrush. I then cut around it, and added some shimmer to the wings using a Colour Blast (Silver) Shimmer Brush Marker before sticking it down amongst my garden.

I used several stamps to create the quote at the top of my page:

- She Was

- An Artist

- She Was a Dreamer

I also used the Row of Chevrons stamp to help highlight it.

I used my very favourite Doodle Dots stamp to lightly stamp around where I had splattered the lime ink to add more depth to the background.

I then added my photos to my page (using Miracle Tape and some scrap cardboard to mount it up) before sticking the She Was a Wildflower quote (stamped onto cardstock with watercolour pencil used to highlight the edges) onto my photos.

I added some subtle pops of texture by creating a few small "flowers" from cotton thread, using some D-lish Scraps enamel dots as the centres.

I also added some coordinating enamel dots to the butterfly body.

Here's a linked list of all the VLVS stamps I used:

- Wildflowers Silhouette

- Gossamer Butterfly (large)

- She Was

- An Artist

- She Was a Dreamer

- She Was a Wildflower

- Row of Chevrons

- Doodle Dots

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this - I hope I have inspired you to get inky today! I will be back soon with another project to share. Until then, happy scrapping! X

Shameless | Scrap & Chat Retreat Challenge

Hi everyone!
Just a quick share from me today of a layout I completed whilst at the Scrap & Chat retreat in Victoria last weekend. It was one seriously AWESOME retreat with such a fabulous talented crew and I am already counting down until next year!
Here's our group photo...

Now, onto my layout. This page was completed for one of the many challenges we had available to participate in. We were each given a stencil, wood veneers and a DIY fabric button from the lovely Jo at Kinder Kreations that we had to use on a project.

Here's what I created (and yes, there is a swear word on it)...

I went with a black cardstock background for this one and then used some Colour Blast 'Sienna' Colour Paste, which I smeared around with a palette knife. Once dry, I applied 'Dusty Charcoal' Colour Paste using the Kinder Kreations alphabet stencil over the top of the 'Sienna' paste.

I then added some texture to my background using some plasterers joint tape and some frayed gauze, before adding my photo on top, which was mounted on some cardboard to give it extra dimension.

I then took the Kinder Kreations wood veneer stars and added some subtle colour to them using a Colour Blast 'Singin' the Blues' Colour Shimmer Cube and a small brush. I also added a few random painted spots to my background to provide some contrast. (The shimmer showed incredibly well on the dark background!)

While I had my paintbrush out, I also added a small swipe of the same colour to the Kinder Kreations fabric button, as well as some stamped words.

To finish my page I added some copper coloured wire (attached with staples); white ink splatters and my handwritten journaling using a white gel pen.

Thanks for stopping by today. I will be back again soon with another project to share. Until then, happy scrapping! X