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 

Pocket Pages for D-lish Scraps and Flutterby Designs!

Hi all!
Just a quick catch up post from me sharing some of pocket pages I completed last month but had neglected to share here (oops!)

*WARNING - EXPLICIT LANGUAGE FEATURED AHEAD*

(If this offends you, please exit now)

"Family Fun at the Park" for D-lish Scraps

This page was done as my sample for my February cyber crop challenge for D-lish and features lots of D-lish embellishments - washi tape; flair button; paper doilies; shaped paper clips; D-lish Dots enamels; wood veneer; Journal Its Wordfetti and journal cards.
Alphas and patterned papers are by Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

"Monthly Mole Meeting" for Flutterby Designs

This double page spread was completed as part of my guest design work for Flutterby Designs and features the recently released 'One of Those Days' Everday Etc photo card sets. This set was right up my alley and was perfect for pairing with these photos of me & my besties. (This range also features coordinating flair buttons, wood veneers, photo cut outs and page tabs - some of which I have used on this spread!) So. Much. Fun.

That's all from me today. I hope I haven't scared anyone off with the language featured here but hey, I did warn you! hehe

If you are a pocket page scrapper, I can highly recommend both D-lish Scraps and Flutterby Designs for supplies for your pages. They are both run by Aussie work at home mums, and are both awesome gals doing an amazing job. Please support them!

Til next time, happy scrapping! X

Sweet for Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi all! Just popping in to share my latest layout for Cocoa Vanilla Studio.
With Easter almost here, I thought it was timely to share a sweet Easter themed page I created using the Hello Lovely collection. I chose to use this 2015 collection to demonstrate that you don't always need a themed collection in order to create an event-specific layout.

'Sweet'

Here, the simple use of a single colour, combined with the black and white photo of my children which clearly depicts Easter, is enough to clearly convey the theme. (This idea would easily work well with other colours such as pale blue, mint or lemon.)

To create this layout, I started by pulling the pink papers from the collection (Delightful and Flower Patch) to work with. I paired these with the Lucky Dip paper, as the small black on white spots provided a good neutral base to help the pink pop.
I added some soft pink watercolour to my background, as well as some messy stitching for subtle texture.

I then gathered together the embellishments from the collection, and separated out the ones that were either pink or neutral tones. In the cluster above my photo you can see Blooms; a Flair Button; Die Cut Ephemera pieces; Accessory Stickers; Enamel Dots and a Vellum Heart.

I echoed the use of almost the same embellishments in a cluster below my photo, but I added a pink and white striped Bitty Bow into the mix. (You can also see the stitched holes where my bobbin thread ran out before I realised, but I didn't mind as I wasn't aiming for neat & tidy anyway, just added depth.)

I chose the scripted "sweet" word from the Die Cut Ephemera pack as my title as I wanted it to be short and simple so as not to overwhelm the rest of the layout. To finish, I added a few splatters of pink mist.

If you missed purchasing the Hello Lovely collection when it was released, there is still stock remaining of most items in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio store HERE

For all the latest Cocoa Vanilla news, sneak peeks and giveaways, make sure you are following the Facebook page HERE and for Instagram users @cocoa_vanilla_studio (and you can find me on there too @sue.plumb)
Until next time, happy scrapping! X

D-lish Scraps March Projects!

Hi everyone! So organised this month - it's time for a re-cap of my D-lish Scraps design team projects for March.

First up, is this masculine layout that was featured on the D-lish blog yesterday. It features my two cheeky boys (of course) and I love how it turned out!

I used papers and some die cut ephemera pieces from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio 'Made of Awesome' collection, which I complimented with lots of gorgeous D-lish Scraps embellishments.

Here you can see a chevron print 5x7 paper bag and some tissue paper left over from a recent Just Add Paper kit in the layers under my photo collage. Along the top edge I used a handmade stitched garland I had been hoarding from a previous JAP kit.

My main cluster used a number of left overs from previous Just Add Paper kits - die cut viewfinder; die cut journal pieces; flair button and the mini photobooth prop (flag). I also added the arrow paperclip and pearl heart cabochon from my D-lish stash.

My favourite part of this layout is definitely the Dusty Attic chipboard title pieces and the wood veneer stars. All of these pieces were altered using silver embossing powder, and I love the metallic look it has given them.


Next, was my absolute favourite piece for the month - a layout I created for one of my best friends birthday. I gave this to her framed (and yes, she loved it!)

I used the Maggie Holmes 'Bloom' collection papers and 'Open Book' ephemera pieces from Crate Paper for this one, which I combined with lots of D-lish Scraps embellishments.

In this cluster you can see one of the stunning new 6" lace paper doilies; a wood veneer frame (these come in a pack of 4); handmade D-lish glitter and vellum teal feather; a gold sequin bow; printed wood veneer butterfly and some D-lish Dots enamels.

More D-lish goodness - D-lish Dots; a Corbett Creations rose wood veneer (from a previous Just Add Paper kit); a flair button and a gold glittered scallop trim (also from a previous JAP kit).

Another Corbett Creations wood veneer piece, which I nested on a dip dye printed tag tied with twine. Below this, is a gold glitter heart pick (from a Just Add Paper kit) which had also been wrapped with twine. Along the top edge of my layout is a Journal Its Minifetti strip.


And my final layout - my take on this month's Inspiration Board Challenge. (You can find all the challenge details and how to enter on the D-lish Scraps blog HERE)

Almost all the embellishments I used on this layout came from this month's coordinating Just Add Paper kit. I also gave my watercolour paints a workout - first, to create the background; and then to colour the wood veneer pieces (the sun and title). 

(Patterned papers and stickers used on this layout are from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.)

That's it from me today. (Thanks for hanging in there through all those photos!) If you would like to get your hands on any of the embellishments I have used you can find them in the D-lish Scraps store HERE.
Cocoa Vanilla Studio products are available in their online store HERE
Til next time, happy scrapping! X