You & Me - Life is Beautiful for Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi again everyone!
Just popping in to share my latest project using the stunning Life is Beautiful collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio that was featured on the blog yesterday.

This layout features a photo of my mum with one of my boys taken on her birthday. My mum isn't a big fan of the camera, and when I recently realised just how few I had of her together with the kids, I insisted we take some.

It was one of the reasons I chose to use this sentiment from the Mixed Bag cut apart paper as a complimentary focus to my photo - it serves as a reminder to seize every opportunity to make and record our memories together. (Mum is going to be pushed in front of that camera more often now, whether she likes it or not!)

I used several papers from the collection on my layout. The 'B side' of the Mixed Bag paper was the base, with portions of the In Bloom, Beautiful Day and Heart Song papers layered over the top. You can see them here topped with pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera pack, Accessory Stickers and some Little Pretties resin flowers.

I love how easily the elements from this collection are to layer together. I used the 'you & me' script words from the ephemera pack as my layout title and the gorgeous 'happy days' Flair Button to anchor this cluster.

More layers of paper and ephemera, some extra Little Pretties for dimension and a sprinkling of the coordinating Enamel Dots completed my layout.

I am loving this collection so much! It's so easy to work with, and the wide range of embellishments available ensures you don't have to look far for that perfect 'thing' as a finishing touch. If you would to purchase your own bundle of Life Is Beautiful to work with you will find it in the Cocoa Vanilla store HERE, or please ask your favourite retailer if they have it in stock.
Until next time, happy scrapping!

Show Us Your Stuff October Challenge!

Hi friends! Back again today to share yet another of my Design Team layouts for October, this time for Show Us Your Stuff.
This month's challenge was designed by the super talented Leanne Jago (and yes, that's  her own photo in the graphic). Check this out...

Besides the "no people allowed" criteria, as always you must include a handmade embellishment. (I squeezed on four this month!)

Here is my layout (warning: I've gone a bit way out this month)...

{Papers by Close To My Heart; Prima and a Project Life card)

I had so much fun creating this layout, with it's messy layers of gesso, acrylic paint, water soluble pastels and mist for the background. I was inspired by the work of Celine Navarro, who is AMAZING when it comes to using paint.
I scrapped one of my recent photos I posted on Instagram. (You can find and follow me on Instagram under the username @sue.plumb or simply click the link in my blog sidebar.)

Here's a closer look...

{Heart by Charms Creations; flower pin by My Little Bit of Whimsy; die cut ephemera by Heidi Swapp and Dear Lizzy}

{Freckled Fawn paperclip, flair button and enamel dots all from D-lish Scraps; die cut ephemera by Heidi Swapp and Amy Tangerine}

This layout really was something different to what I have been creating lately and it made me happy. Not only the end result, but simply the process of creating it, where I let my mojo run wild and free.

I hope I have inspired you to join in with this month's Show Us Your Stuff challenge. There is a fabulous prize from the lovely Agnus at {scrAp this!} up for grabs. So get scrapping! X

Scrap the Boys October Challenge

Oh dear! I just realised that I wrote this post and forgot to schedule it! Anyway, here I am (finally) sharing my take on this month's fabulous mood board challenge at Scrap the Boys.

Here is the board...

And my layout...

{Papers by Shimelle; Dear Lizzy; Glitz Designs and Heidi Swapp PL cards}

As you can see I went for a clean, layered look for this layout, which features a gorgeous photo of Kaden on his first trip to the beach. 

I used stickers, flair button, wood veneer pieces and a charm all from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

Aren't those Cocoa Vanilla wood veneer clouds the cutest? I love them! The die cut ephemera pieces are by Shimelle for American Crafts.

Thanks for stopping in today. I do hope you will join in with this month's mood board at Scrap the Boys. There are some awesome prizes up for grabs from Imaginarium Designs and A2Z Scraplets up for grabs for the winners. Entries close 31st October.

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

D-lish Scraps Announcement & September Projects

Hi all!
I am very pleased to announce that I have been accepted back onto the D-lish Scraps Design Team for another term! I am so excited to be staying on with the store, and I look forward to working with all these amazing girls...

Now, time to share a recap of the projects I created for D-lish Scraps during September, which were all very different.
Starting with a layout I created based on the "Take Flight" Inspiration Board Challenge...

{Papers by Studio Calico & Heidi Swapp} 

I used a number of items from the Take Flight Just Add Paper kit. These include gold foil doily; feather print washi tape; flair badge; Corbett Creations swallow wood veneers; ombre dipped journal tag; handmade foil & vellum feather embellishment; and Green Tara mini heirloom flower. (There are still some extra kit bits available in the store, you will find them HERE)

In addition to the items from the JAP kit, I also used a few little D-lish goodies from my stash. These included Resin Forget Me Nots and D-lish Dots...

With so many new and restocked flowers in store, my next layout was something gorgeous & girly to showcase some of them...

 {Papers and die cut ephemera by Kaisercraft}

Pictured below are a flair button from the Woodgrain Hashtags set; Cherry Blossoms; Cosmos Daisy; Forget Me Not; Freckled Fawn paper clip; glitter washi tape.

So many of my personal favourites here - Sequin bow; roses; wood veneer heart; gold foil doily; Forget Me Nots; mint stamens. There is also a flower from the Little Birdie - Boutique Elements (Strawberry Fields) pack, which I have altered by colouring the bead in the middle gold with a paint pen. I used the same pen to colour the wood veneer heart also.

For my final piece, I decided to have a bit of mixed media fun...

 {Paper by Heidi Swapp}

Below you can see - Freckled Fawn wood chip arrow word; silver spot tissue paper and teal chevron tissue paper (both from Just Add Paper kits); glitter washi tape; 2 printed washi tapes; silver punchinella; grey hand-dyed muslin; teal paper doily and sequins (from the loose pastel mix).

Yes. That really is 10 different D-lish products packed into that small space!

Thanks for stopping by today (especially if you made it to the end of my post!)
I have my fingers crossed that with a return to school for my big girl tomorrow, I will get back into routine and on top of all my blogging soon! X

Sweet Cousins for Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi all! Just popping in to share with you my first layout featuring the brand new Life Is Beautiful collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio that featured on the blog a few days ago.
I just love the colour palette of this new collection with its gorgeous citrus hues and pops of navy - it's so fresh and vibrant. Perfect for spring here in Australia!

I used the Happiness Is paper as my base, and then topped that with pieces of the Blossoms and Beautiful Day papers. They are such stunning designs and all work so well together. And as you can see, the enamel dots coordinate perfectly with the colours of the collection.

I used one of the script words from the die cut ephemera pack and alphabet stickers for my title, and surrounded it with more ephemera pieces and one of the beautiful blooms.

I love how easy the accessory stickers and ephemera pieces make layering on your layout. The packs are so generous, there are always plenty of little bits and pieces to choose from. I added some extra dimension with another bloom and one of the Little Pretties resin flowers.

Yet another cluster featuring some stunning blooms (I really am a sucker for pretty flowers!); another of the Little Pretties resin flowers, ephemera pieces and enamel dots. Such a beautiful array of embellishments in this collection!

I found this collection such a delight to work with. So many choices in both the papers and the embellishments. If you are yet to get your hands on it, you will find it available in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio shop HERE (check out the special offer for the ENTIRE collection!)
Til next time, happy scrapping! X

Show Us Your Stuff September

Back again to share another of my Design Team layouts for September - this one for Show Us Your Stuff. The challenge this month is a colour challenge (designed by me!)
Here it is...

Besides the colour criteria, the layout must include at least one handmade embellishment.
Here is what I created...

Orange has never been my favourite colour to scrap with, but I have to admit it has really grown on me the past couple of years and I love it teamed with black and white!
The gorgeous papers and embellishments I used were all from Cocoa Vanilla Studio (with the exception of the foam arrows, which are from Burdy's Embellies). The papers are a mixture of both the Hello Lovely and Made of Awesome collections.

My embellishments included Made of Awesome die cut ephemera, flair button, vellum stars, accessory stickers, little stars and enamel dots.

From Hello Lovely I used some gorgeous blooms, a bitty bow, arrow shaped lucky charm and accessory stickers.

Isn't it fabulous to see how easily two completely different collections can be combined when using a colour palette such as this? (I LOVE colour challenges!)

Thanks for stopping by today and for everyone who has taken the time recently to leave me some love, it really is appreciated!
I hope I have inspired you to join in on our challenge. I look forward to seeing what everyone chooses as their "one other colour". Entries close midnight, 30th September. You will find the SUYS blog HERE.
If you would like to purchase any of the Cocoa Vanilla Studio items I have used, you will find them all (as well as the two brand NEW collections) in the CVS shop HERE.
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

Scrap the Boys September Challenge

Hi all! Just popping in today to share my take on the September challenge at Scrap the Boys. This month, there is a fabulous sketch designed by Rikki to kick start your mojo and get you scrapping those boys.
Here is the sketch...

I chose to turn the sketch on its side to suit my photo and created this...

Of course, all the gorgeous goodies I used were from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.
The papers are a mix of the Made of Awesome collection along with a sheet from Sugar & Spice. I think they worked well together!

Check out this cluster of cool embellishments! Made of Awesome die cut ephemera, ticket, wood veneer shapes and stickers.

More MOA die cut ephemera, wood veneer shape and a ticket; along with a flair button from the Flying High collection.

More Made of Awesome ephemera and wood veneer. And how good is this mix of colours & patterns together?

From somebody who struggled when I first started "boy" scrapping a couple of years ago, I have to say, I love it now! So for all of you who also love scrapping boys, (or those who might need a push), this month's Scrap the Boys sketch challenge is perfect for you! Entries close 30th September. You will find the STB blog HERE.
Happy BOY scrapping! ;)

Legend - Made of Awesome layout for Cocoa Vanilla Studio

{Confession: I have been terrible, Muriel.} This is yet another catch up post from me featuring a layout I created last month for Cocoa Vanilla Studio using the Made of Awesome collection.
Ever since I clapped eyes on this collection, it has made me think of rock stars! And in my world, you don't get much bigger rock star than Foo Fighters front man Mr Dave Grohl. This amazing shot of him was captured by my sister when we went to the concert and I knew it would be a perfect match for this collection!

I used the Directions and Awesome papers and paired these with lots of pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera and Accessory Stickers sheet. The cool mix of elements was perfect for my theme.

I used both of the alphas from the Alphabet Sheet for my title, which I tried to keep simple and understated to keep the focus on the photo.

I also used snippets cut from the Mixed Up and Lucky Star papers and topped the cluster pictured below with one of the coordinating Flair Buttons.

Don't you agree that Made of Awesome is perfect for rock stars?
If you would like to get your hands on some Made of Awesome to scrap your own concert pics you will find it all in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio shop HERE (Check out the special offer available for the ENTIRE collection!)
Til next time, happy scrapping! X