Hello creative friends,

Back today to share with you my very first layout using the divine ‘Wild at Heart’ collection by Cocoa Vanilla Studio.  I so adore the pastel elements in this collection and I’ve teamed them with a black and white photo of my daughter.

This layout started with this sweet little background cut file called “Heart Background” from the Silhouette store which I cut from plain white card stock.  I just love how it looked over the top of the ‘Luscious’ paper; I think it really shows off that beautiful ombre effect.  I have also added some stitching detail for interest and to keep it in place.

I also really wanted to use lots of the pieces from the Ephemera pack, these are a must in any collection and this one is no exception. There are so many pieces all varying in size and they always include all of the icons in the range and so many beautiful things to finish out your layout.

I started with the larger elements such as the blue and white doily and the pink frame.  The other larger elements I have used are from the ‘Fussy Cuts’ page including the large butterfly and the text “you’re some kind of wonderful” which I’ve used as a bit of a sub-title for my page.

I’ve also added 2 smaller chipboard frames.  Once these larger elements were placed on the page I went back through the ephemera pack looking for smaller pieces.  I found the cute little ‘love’ ticket,  a cute tag, film strip and the die cut butterfly as well as the ‘TODAY” and “Sweet” sentiments.  I also couldn’t resist using two of the butterflies as well.

To round out the page I have added some chipboard pieces, a flair and those super sparkly enamel dots.  I couldn’t have my tag without a pretty bow so I’ve added one with twine from my stash and then thought I’d add two more pieces in circular shapes on either side of the photo to balance out the design.

Thanks for popping by today.
Gwen xo

A big hello to you all, Gwen here today with another share for Cocoa Vanilla Studios using the divine ‘Love Always’ collection.  I will never get sick of the pastel shades in this line teaming them with black and white photos; this one of my husband and I on a recent (and rare) weekend away.

For this layout, I started with the off-cut/outline piece from the ‘XO’ Colour Me Happy Cut file which I had previously cut from a white sheet of card stock. I wanted to use the outline as a feature in my design.  I started by backing the cut file with the ‘Class Act’ paper; those dots are divine and I just loved how simple yet striking they were.  Next, I went about the task of hand stitching around the outline of each of the shapes.  I chose a soft pink thread to complement the pink chipboard elements I had planned to use later on.  This does take some time, but I feel the results are worth it!

The next step was to create my photo mat, adding paper layers from the ‘Note to Self’ and ‘Twin Set’ papers and then adding more hand stitching around the edge of my photo for extra detail.

To round out the design, I have used a few chipboard frames.  The first I chose was a perfect fit for the “This Makes me so Happy” element, which I have used as a bit of a sub title for the page.  This has been cut from the ‘Lovely Things’ paper.  The others I chose for their varying size and colours to help round out the design.  I love working with square photos, so adding the frames (which generally are also square) really pulls the design together.

Of course, I wanted to add some other smaller elements for interest; the Bits and Pieces pack and the Die Cut ephemera elements were perfect – you get so many elements in these and in lots of sizes too which is fab.

What better way to finish the page than with the sparkly Enamel Dots, cannot get enough of these and they are in the most perfect colours with a pretty sparkle to them.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the details of my latest layout and it has inspired you to get creative with some of the beautiful Cocoa Vanilla Studios products, there is so much to choose from and it is all divine!!