Cocoa Vanilla Studio: Living the Dream!

Hi Friends!

Welcome back for more Cocoa Vanilla Studio inspiration!

This week the design team are shining the spotlight on the gorgeous UNFORGETTABLE TASSELS & BOWS. I know, what a fun assignment! 

I couldn’t wait to get creating, and I even made a process video of this layout too!

Here’s what I came up with….

“Living The Dream” 

Swoooooon!!! The UNFORGETTABLE collection has my heart!

Such a precious & beautiful layout for my two darlings! Living the dream indeed!

And nothing says ‘dream’ quite like a dreamcatcher, right? I couldn’t resist suspending the TASSELS and feather DIE CUT EPHEMERA pieces from that delicate cut file. So super pretty!

** Note: Cut file is called: Boho Dreamcatcher by Lilium Pixel SVG from the Silhouette Store **

Here’s a better look at my layout….

So very beautiful!

I started this page with a white cardstock base which I trimmed a one inch length off the left hand side. You’ll spy that I machine stitched half an inch of the beautiful woodrgrain pattern paper, CV-UF008 NATURAL BEAUTY to this side. Next, I fussy cut that darker based floral, 4″ x 6″ note card, from pattern paper, CV-004 PRETTY BITS. I trimmed this 4″ x 6″ note card so that I could butt the 6″ lengths together to create the appearance of a 12″ floral paper & then attached it to the back of the woodgrain trim. SO pretty! I love how effective this looks!

Before I adhered the Boho Dreamcatcher cut file to the page, I layered two of the larger DIE CUT EPHEMERA floral swags to the base, so that they would peek out beneath the dreamcatcher. I also removed some of the cut file feathers so that I could thread the tassels onto the cut file ‘strings’, and then covered the remaining cut file feathers with those amazing DIE CUT EPHEMERA feathers.

With the cut file prepared, I glued it onto the white cardstock base, but was careful not to glue the ‘strings’ down. By leaving the strings loose, I created a sense of realism as the TASSELS, and feathers, dangled from the dreamcatcher. This also created flow and movement, as well as soft dimension and texture! What a fabulous way to incorporate those darling TASSELS into my design! Here’s a closer look at those pretties….

They really are somethin’, aren’t they?!! And those feathers are just divine!

I embellished the rim of the dreamcatcher hoop with more pretty DIE CUT EPHEMERA florals, as well as a few fussy cut butterflies from pattern paper, CV-UF005 LACEWING. The larger butterfly is also fussy cut, but this time from pattern paper, CV-UF004 PRETTY BITS. I layered my DIE CUT EPHEMERA title, Living The Dream, over this larger butterfly & then embellished with a few of the CLEAR STICKERS too!

I framed my precious photo with one of the circular frames included in the DIE CUT EPHEMERA pack, and then foam mounted it to the center of the dreamcatcher. I love how the pattern on the circular frame reminds me of a mandala or, yes, you guessed it, the dreamcatcher! I just love repetition in design!

For finishing touches, I covered the ‘beads’ on the dreamcatcher cut file with those pretty ENAMEL DOTS, and added a tiny spot of journaling with the ACCESSORY STICKERS.

Simple. Beautiful. Amazing!!!

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my layout! 

Clearly, it was TASSELS for the win today!

You can see more in my process video for this pretty page HERE!

Thanks so much for watching!

Happy Arty Days,

Amanda xo

And A Lil' More Happy News for the New Year....

Hi Happy Arty Days Friends! 

Welcome back! 

I have just a lil more exciting news to share with you all today....

Yippeeeee!!! 

I'm so thrilled to be remaining on the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Design Team for a 5th year!

Happy, happy days!

I am so thankful & grateful to be part of this incredible team! 

Cocoa Vanilla Studio holds a special place in my heart, and it always will! 

We welcome back a number of our favorite DT members, & introduce 5 new faces too! 

Please join me in congratulating each & every one of them - 

You can find them all tagged in the Cocoa Vanilla Studio announcement HERE, 

so you can follow their creative accounts too! 

Thanks again for all your continued support, comments & likes - 

this encouragement means so much! 

Happy Arty Days, 

Amanda xo 

Paper Issues: August Scrap 'n' Chat

Hi Happy Arty Days Friends!

Time for a surprise challenge at Paper Issues this month - 

Play, scrap, & chat along with us in the Paper Issues Friends & Fans Facebook group here. 

The challenge is such a fun one! 

Simply feature all of the 8 following items on your layout:

*Floral paper

*Polka dot paper

*A sun

*Camera

*Wood veneer

*Stars

*3 Stickers

*Frame 

You can use more items if you wish, but you must include everything on the list! 

Cool!

Here's what I came up with, 

"So Lovely"

Isn't this the sweetest?!!

You'll spy lots of Cocoa Vanilla Studio: Wild At Heart collection here - SO pretty!!!

You'll also spot all 8 of the items - although I wasn't a huge fan of using the sun, 

so it's tucked beneath my photo cluster ;) 

Let's take a closer look at my layout....

Picture perfect, indeed! Love this girl! 

The Wild At Heart collection has a fabulous mix of florals, polka dot and stripes patterns & it was fun for me to use the dots as the feature paper this time. 

As you know I usually cant get past those pretty florals, 

and I just love how this turned out! 

The diagonal design teamed with the photo cluster looks so good! 

Here's another view....

That chipboard polka dot heart is the cutest! 

I've embellished it with a new Amy Tangerine: Hustle & Heart mini bow for extra cute!

Those pretty veneer hearts are from Pinkfresh Studio and coordinate beautifully!

Everything else on the layout is Cocoa Vanilla Studio;

the sun veneer is from the Hello Sunshine collection, 

the chipboard stars are from Love Always, 

& all the rest is Wild At Heart. 

Ga ga Gorgeous!!!

Pretty products, layering and stitching  - what could be more lovely?!

Hope you liked my layout and feel inspired to play along too!

I can't wait to see what you create!

*Need scrapbook supplies?

Get yours from the Paper Issues store here

& REMEMBER: Use my code AMANDA & you'll save 20% off your total! Yay!

Thanks so much for visiting, 

til next time, 

Happy Arty Days, 

Amanda xo 

Cocoa Vanilla Studio: Hello AWEsome!

Hi Creative Friends!

I am so excited to be sharing my latest layout for Cocoa Vanilla Studio with the new 
You ROCK collection! 
This week our Design Team assignment is to scraplift a fellow DT member's layout (past or present) and I am delighted to be lifting the insanely talented, Anna Komenda!  
For those of you who don't know, I am an enormous fan of Anna's unique style - she never ceases to amaze me! 
Here's her original design that I am lifting today.....

"Summer Fun" by Anna Komenda

Absolutely stunning!!! 
You can see why I just LOVE Anna's creating! 

I am also a huge fan of vertical designs and thought this layout would be a ton of fun to scraplift. And, with it being Summer in the Northern Hemisphere right now - Anna's layout is great inspiration! And, for my version, I am inspired by the cooler months in the Southern Hemisphere. 
But enough chatter, here's my scraplift of Anna's original,

"Hello AWEsome" 

I absolutely adore how this turned out! 
You ROCK is such a perfect match for my Mr A for Awesome in the Autumn leaves! 
The colours in my photogrpah were just so perfectly balanced that it seemed a no brainer to draw upon them for my pattern paper choice!
 The warm, earthy and natural look of the reverse side of pattern paper CV-YR008 PLUS ONE (woodgrain) was always going to be my main feature paper, as were the Wood Veneer Shapes. 
The cool blues in my lil boy's outfit and chucks had me grabbing at pattern paper CV-YR009 GALACTIC , as well as the blue highlighter tones from the awesome paper CV-YR004 STRIPPED. 
My final paper choice was CV-YR006 RANDOM - the reverse side coordinated with my son's black & white cap, and the A side features that golden yellow, "You Rock" card. Perfection! All I really needed to do for this layout was embellish!

Let's start with that Wood Veneer title....

The veneer shapes in You ROCK are SO much fun! I love that the AWE is capitalised in awesome - very cool! 
And just like Anna's original, I've positioned my title vertically for big impact. 
Hello awesome, indeed!

Moving further up, you'll spy that I have layered, and mounted, my You Rock journal card.....

It's also embellsihed with that  BOOM Flair Button , a yellow Enamel Shape, a star Chipboard Accent Sticker & that incredible typewriter font Washi Tape Sticker! So many cool items here! I love the pops of yellow throughout my layout - they really create interest and coordinate with my colour palette so beautifully!

Let's take a closer look at some more of those sweet yellow embellies.......

The layered stars are so much fun! Seriously, perfection!!!

I just love the tone of the yellow in You ROCK! It couldn't be more on point!

How awesome are all the Die Cut Ephemera pieces too?!! 
That Happy Snaps camera had me from the moment I opened the packet, lol! And just like Anna's design, I chose to use sentiment Accessory Stickers to lead your eye into my photograph. And Yes, he is officially amazing to us!!! ;)

Lots of decorative pieces adorning my photo too......

More camera goodness - could that veneer get any more adorable?!! And stars for my super star!

And there you have it!

My sweet Autumn take on Anna's amazing Endless Summer design - I hope I did it justice! I'd love to know your thoughts!

Feeling inspired? 
Be sure to share your creations with us in the Official Cocoa Vanilla Studio Community group on Facebook, we love seeing what you've made too!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, 
til  next time,

Happy Arty Days, 
Amanda xo 

Cocoa Vanilla Studio: You're Awesome You ROCK!!!

Hi Everyone!

Boy-oh-boy have I been hanging out to share my first layout with the totally awesome boy collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio: You ROCK!

This collection is just so much fun & I couldn't wait to use it for my Mr A for Awesome! But enough chatter, let's get straight into the good stuff!

Here's my layout,

"You're Awesome You ROCK"

Isn't this the coolest?!!
 The You ROCK collection is just so incredibly awesome that I just had to use it all in the one layout! Yep, you read correctly! 
You'll spy at least one of every item from the line on this page! 
The circular design really lends itself to embellishing and WHOA! Doesn't just scream fun?!!

Moving away from that mixed media feast and circle sensation for just a moment, you'll notice that I introduced small trianlges into the page design too. There's a method to my madness here!  
I've used a whole lotta stars for embellishment, and stars have very sharp angles which contrast against the circle design. By adding the opposing corner triangles to my layout, I've created balance and a little unity between both geometric shapes. It creates a more natural flow for the eye. 
I've used WASHI STICKERS and foam mounted patterned paper, CV-YR005 NIGHT SKY to achieve this look.

Back to that awesome circle now.....

Let's start at the center!

How fabulous is that Wood Veneer title?!
 From the rockstar font to the boldness of the size; this veneer means business! Let's get loud and shout it out! LOVE it!!! 
You'll see that I've mounted my title onto a foam taped, old school View Master film from the DIE CUT EPHEMERA packet. I love that it's been printed to look like a misted newspaper, and practice target - so cool! It really makes my title pop and be the central focal point for this design! 
There's a super cool CHIPBOARD STICKER arrow beneath it all directing your eye into my photo next....

With such a big impact title I kept my photo small, simple,  as well as black & white, to contrast all the other page elements. I've layered my photo with both sides of the patterned paper CV-YR005 NIGHT SKY, a tab ACCESSORY STICKER, the RAD RUBBER CHARM,  and even a strip of the WASHI STICKERS to support it. To the lower right hand side of my photo, I've also embellished with that Awesome FLAIR BUTTON, some black cotton from my stash, and another terrific DIE CUT EPHEMERA piece.
 Here's a closer look......

That's My Boy, indeed! SO cool! 
Check out those stars and ENAMEL SHAPES too!!!

Some of the stars in my circle are fussy cut from the pattern paper CV-YR001 STARSHINE, others are DIE CUT EPHEMERA, ACCESSORY STICKERS, CHIPBOARD STICKERS and even RUBBER CHARMS! 
(I warned you - I had to use ALL the things! )

Here's another look at the circular design and all those stars.....

Even the arrow has it's own star! Such a bold and playful collection! Loving it all!

And I can't go past that banner RUBBER CHARM!!! How incredible! It forms the first part of my title, and I LOVE it! It's mounted onto a small WASHI STICKER strip for a lil extra highlight!

Total Awesomeness!!!

And there you have it! 
My first creation with the super cool You ROCK collection! 
Hope I have inspired you to get creating with it too!

Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment - it really means so much!

til next time,

Happy Arty Days, 
Amanda xo