CVS | See You Later

Good Morning my scrappy friends,
Sadly, today is the day I say farewell to my CVS Family for a little bit. Things have gotten hectic here on my end with family, work and life in general. Today, school is officially out for summer and it's a busy time of year for everyone. Unfortunately, scrapbooking is the first thing to get pushed aside for the time being until things settle down and go back to "normal".

But, on a happier note, I'm sharing my top three favourite layout's I've created while on the wonderful Cocoa Vanilla Studio Design Team. So, let's get right into it...
In no particular order of course, here's the first one created with the More Than Words collection.

This one is one of my top favourites for a few reasons. I love the composition of the background papers, the title and the colour scheme. To me, it's visually pleasing and has a certain playfulness to it.

This one probably for some of the same reasons, the background. I may have a bit of a "thing" with backgrounds :P
The chipboard frames in the Wild At Heart collection have my heart. They are so well designed and easy to use. I could just stick them anywhere! Plus the vibrant and rich colours... ❤

Hard to choose just three but this one...

This one is created with the Wild At Heart collection as well. But, in comparison to the last one of my faves, it looks completely different in colour scheme. It's not as dramatic as the first but I just adore the composition of the Chipboard Frames in this one! The photo was easy to nestle into the frame and looks great! Also, all the cute Die Cut Ephemera... I mean who doesn't love bows, hearts and florals? Oh! And the Wood Veneer title! Swoon!

Thank you so much for joining me throughout my journey here with CVS. I'm sad to go but hoping to hop back on when things settle down a bit for me. I'm such a HUGE fan of Zoe's work and am happy to represent her and her company.

Have a great day!
Big Hugs,
xoLina

CVS | Too Cool For School

Good Day Friends,
Hello! I'm sharing with you a layout I created using the very versatile, You Rock collection. I decided to document this week a photo of my eldest little meatball on her very first day of Junior Kindergarten. As you can tell from the photo, she's full of spunk and sass and was such a great sport about posing for a few pictures. You Rock has some very cool and "school like" elements and so I thought it perfect to use.

See what I mean about the school like themed elements? The background paper looks like school writing paper, the text paper and the ruler type embellishments that were part of the cut apart border sheet were absolutely perfect! I was excited to be able to think outside the box to document this photo even if this collection is geared towards boys: It totally works in documenting my little girls very first day of school.

I cut strips from the border sheet and a couple patterned papers and adhered them to the top of the background paper giving my background paper some visual interest and a small amount of texture.

My photo measures roughly 4x4 and I matted it with papers from the collection as well as a frame from the Die Cut Ephemera. To embellish, I created clusters behind the left and right sides of the photo. And, that's also where I added my title using black, foam Thickers. I used the Die Cut Ephemera and the Accessory Stickers to create my clusters and add my embellishing. 

Proudly, I also used up a package of Enamel Shapes! I'm happy! Sounds silly but sometimes I refrain from using my supplies because I would like to "save" things for another layout and then the supplies don't get used because I forget. It can't just be me, right? 😝

Continuing with the embellishing, I used the tiny words from the Accessory Sticker sheet to convey the journaling message I wanted to convey. I do this in place of formal journaling. If there is something specific that I'd like to document, I do that on the back of y layout since I don't write on the front of it. I dislike my penmanship and so instead of "ruining" a layout with my own writing, I opt to do it that way instead. It's kind of like cheating but it get the job done!
I also added a Flair Button that sits atop a nest of yellow sewing thread that was just wrapped around my fingers and adhered down.

I hope you all enjoyed my layout for this week as much as I enjoyed creating it!
Have a wonderful rest of the week!
xoLina

CVS | Precious Girl

Good Morning Friends!
Welcome to the blog! Lina here with you today showing this layout I created using the More Than Words collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio. I've decided to document a sweet picture of my eldest little and myself while we were on vacation last year in Mexico. And to be honest, I don't know how I hadn't scrapbooked it until now :P

The paper in this collection is seriously something else... it's so beautifully done and every sheet makes my little heart pitter patter. For this particular layout, I used the floral sheet called Precious (fittingly enough), the coral sheet Called Sketchbook and Radiant which is that lovely black on white random polka dot. You see, I could not decide on which sheet I wanted to use so  I used many LOL!

My photo is printed in black and white and is matted with random pieces of paper I had from the collection. The sweet black 2x3 card you see to the left of my photo is from the Collage sheet. It was perfect for this layout and the message I was trying to convey. It also acts as a sort of sub-title for my layout.

I created a few clusters in terms of embellishing on my layout and created a visual triangle. I have two larger clusters and one smaller one in the top right hand corner of my photo. To embellish, I used the beautiful ephemera from the Die Cut Ephemera pack. And, I also used stickers from the Accessory Stickers page. Both two of my favourite!

For my title, I used the word "precious" from the Chipboard Titles package and the word "girl" is a AC Thickers in Goldie. I love the combination of fonts and colours for title work. I feel it just makes the entire title fun!

Two things to finish off my layout... First, I created a nest of yellow thread and a home for my flair button to sit. I feel it gives a great foundation and a bit of texture to the entire layout. Secondly, I feel a heathy scattering of Enamel shapes is always a good thing! :)

I hope you all enjoyed my layout today and will be back tomorrow to see what the other ladies are up to :)
xoLina

CVS | Easter Beauties

Hello Scrappy Friends!
It's Lina here this morning sharing my layout using the gorgeously designed, Bohemian Dream. I documented a photo of my littles from this past Easter and this collection compliments the colours perfectly!

I began with my photo this time because I knew I wanted to use Bohemian Dream for this layout. I started on my phone using an app called Color Splash and made my image black and white and left my girl's Easter Baskets in colour. I wanted them to pop and not compete with the papers I was using. Instead, I wanted them to compliment each other.
Next I chose my background paper and that blue and white stripe, Wild Flower was screaming my name. Cutting a piece of the Abundant sheet of paper, I used it as a layering piece behind my photo.

Next, for the matting of my photo, I took pieces from the 6x6 paper pad as well as a couple scraps I had from the collection and layered behind my photo. I also used a photo frame from the Die Cut Ephemera to act as a layering piece. My photo is then popped up on foam for lift and dimension.

For my title, I used two different fonts from Thickers. One is Adorn and the scripty one in Rainboots. I just adore the look of a fun and playful title with multiple fonts.

Next, the fun stuff.... Embellishing! I lovingly sifted through pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera and the Accessory Stickers. I also chose a Chipboard Accent piece, Dream Catcher, to adorn the top right hand corner of my photo and floral layering piece. For some added drama and lift, I decided to add some foam behind a few of the flowers to ensure they jumped off the page and did not get "lost".

 

To complete my layout, I added some of the phrases from the Accessory Stickers sheet to convey some of my "journaling". I also added a Flair Button which sits within a nest of thread. Lastly, I added some splatters with some black ink spray.


And that's it!
I hope you enjoyed my layout! Have a wonderful day!
xoLina

CVS | Be Still My Heart

Hello Scrappy Fam,
This morning I'm sharing this layout I created using the beautiful, More Than Words collection. I scrapbooked photos of my littlest meatball, Juliana. This day was the morning of her second birthday and she had asked me to take her picture. I was happy to oblige 😀

I started by choosing the paper Effervescent for my background. I couldn't resist those bubbles for such a bubbly, full of life little girl. It was perfect! I also used a strip of the ledger looking paper called Noteworthy to break up a bit of the colour and give the photos a bit of a base to sit on. It's the perfect shade of pink and matched perfectly with my daughter's cardigan in the photos.

Next, on to my photos... I printed my photos just shy of 3x3 inches each. I wanted to make sure I had enough room going across to showcase all my photos properly. Then, I matted them with papers from the collection including sheets from the 6x6 paper pad.
Then, I popped two of them up onto dimensional foam for lift.

For my title, I used the word "heart" from the Chipboard Titles. I love mixing different fonts, textures and colours. Overall, it creates quite a different effect which in my opinion, is visually pleasing. Plus, it's fun!

I worked on my embellish next. I took pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera package, Accessory Stickers, and Chipboard Stickers and created clusters. I also tucked in tabs (which I ❤!) under my layers. Using the tiny words and phrases from the Accessory Stickers to embellish and add "journaling" I use that word loosely though as I do not usually put pen to paper on my actual layout. I'm not a fan of my writing and so if I have something important to say about the photos I'm documenting, I opt to write it on the back.

For my finishing touches, I added a Flair Button which sits on a nest of metallic silver thread and a whole bunch of Enamel Shapes. I sprinkled the shapes all around my page. Lastly, I added some silver ink spray splatters to add a bit of pizzazz. The silver tied together the layout because it matched part of the title and the thread underneath the flair.

Thank you for joining me today and allowing me to share my layout with you!
xoLina

CVS | Love You

Hello, Hello, Hello!
This morning sharing a layout I created using the fabulous, More than Words collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio. This week, I scrapbooked and documented a picture of my little family. The photo was taken this past summer, so it's a little dated and my girls aren't so little anymore. Still, it needed to be documented :)

The focus this week on the blog has been paper. So, in true "Lina style", I used all the paper. And how else better to do so then to use a cut file and back each word with a four different patterned papers? That's what I did in this case and I just adore the result! The cut file is a freebie from Paper Issues and I cut it from that gorgeous, grey and white washed woodgrain. It's called Precious and it really is so. With my photo, I matted it with a few different pieces of patterned paper, again, going with the theme of the week.

Next, I worked on my title. I used the Chipboard Titles to create my title of, "Love You". Very creative I know, but let's be honest here... I love my tribe and so it worked :P
I placed some foam sheet cut into tiny strips behind the words to prop it up. The words are placed somewhat on the photo and because the photo had dimension to it, the words weren't balanced. Adding the foam behind my words gave them the stability they needed.

I had an idea in mind in how I wanted to embellish the layout. On one of the cut apart sheets, there is a 4x6 card full of black and white butterflies. I cut them out and built my embellishing around them. I took butterflies from both the Die Cut Ephemera package and the Vellum Accents package and created my flying butterfly cluster. I made the butterflies look as if they were in flight, together starting from the bottom right, flying up and across my page into the top left. I simply adore this. It really adds quite a bit of whimsy to my page. I also took the hearts from the Chipboard Titles package and tucked them amongst my butterflies.

Nestled among the butterflies, lies a perfectly placed Flair Button surrounded by a nest of pink thread. I also added some of the same pink thread under the bottom left hand corner of my photo for some added interest. I added some tiny words and phrases from the Sticker Accent sheet. Lastly, I sprinkled a good amount of Enamel Shapes around the page to carry the colours throughout the page. And, voila! Done!

I hope you all enjoyed my layout!
xoLina

CVS | Sweet Moments

Good Morning Scrappy Friends!
Lina here with you today sharing a layout I created using my fave, the More than Words collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio. I am scrapbooking a photo of my eldest daughter, Alessandra taken the other day at school when the parents were invited to class to share in a poetry recital. My girl was so happy to see both mom and dad in the audience and I snapped this quick photo of her. And as the title states... a sweet moment. Here's what I created...



I began with the background sheet called Radiant a cut the word "moments" using a simple, uppercase font. Then, I used my watercolour paints to create a soft and beautiful watercolour wash. I used tones of peachy pink and a blueish aqua. I took inspiration for both the colours from the in the collection. I then backed the cut word with a sheet from the 6x6 paper pad. That black and white floral gets me every time. ❤

I then worked on matting my photo. Now, I love layers so I was sure to add a few sheets of patterned paper from the 6x6 paper pad plus any "scraps" I had already cut into for previous layouts. Lots of lovely paper and colours makes my heart happy! I then popped the photo onto a piece of foam dimension.

I then began my title. Having already completed the "moments" aspect of my title, the next part was easy! I used the word sweet from the Chipboard Titles. I just adore the mix of fonts to create my title.

Now, my favourite part... to build and create the clusters of embellishment around my photo. I took pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera pack, the Vellum Accents and the Chipboard Stickers. I also added some metallic silver thread and created a nest for my Flair Button to sit within.

I thought that my layout needed a bit of anchoring, so, I added a strip, cut at an angle to the bottom of my layout. I also added some embellishment with some ephemera there as well. Lastly, a healthy sprinkling of the Enamel Shapes and some silver Distress Spray. And voila! My layout is complete!

I thank you for stopping by today!
xoLina

CVS | It's a Wonderful Life

Good Day Friends!
For my layout this week, I'm using the beautifully created More Than Words collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio, my new fave!
The photo I am documenting today is of my two little meatballs taken this past summer. Both are sitting on a large rock, enjoying their childhood and life!

 

I chose Sketchbook as my largest layer of background paper. It's absolutely stunning! The I layered Noteworthy and Gossamer on top, smaller and slightly angled. I placed my 5x5 photo that I printed in black and white, in the center. I matted it with papers from the 6x6 paper pad which are perfect for that exact purpose.

I love embellishing with any thing Cocoa Vanilla Studio. Every piece is wonderful and so usable! I used that black and pink tag and surrounded it by florals, leaves, and butterflies. How perfect! Those pieces are found in the Die Cut Ephemera pack.

Next, I did something I have never done before on a layout... I stamped directly onto it! Ahh! A scary thought but I went for it and I'm glad I did! The stamp set is perfect for cards AND layouts! I used Versafine ink in black.

I added a smaller cluster in the top right hand corner using some of the Die Cut Ephemera, Accent Stickers and a wonderful Flair Button. The button is surrounded by metallic silver thread and creates a bit of texture and visible interest.

For my title, I used a mix of alphas. the "wonderful" is from the Chipboard Accent Stickers. Both the others are from my stash. That glittery font I used worked perfectly with the collection.

Lastly, I added some ink splatter with some metallic silver ink spray and called it done!

That's it for today! I hope you enjoyed my layout because I'm glad you stopped by ☺️

Big Hugs,

xoLina

CVS | Cherish These Moments

Hello Dear Scrappy Friends,
I'm excited to share with you my first creation using More Than Words from Cocoa Vanilla Studio! I am smitten with this collection. Every time I fall in love with a collection and claim it as my favourite, Zoe comes along and creates another stunner. I mean c'mon, it's sooo pretty!
The photograph I chose to scrapbook is a picture of my husband and myself. Fitting as how the theme this week on the blog is about love. ❤️

For my background, I wanted to create some visual interest so I started with layering some of the beautiful patterned paper sheets including; Precious, Gossamer and Noteworthy. I cut down stripes and adhered them down horizontally onto Radiant, that wonderful white with black dots. Simple and sweet!

Then, I worked on matting and layering papers behind my photo. I kept it simple this time around knowing that there would be a bit extra going on with all the patterned papers I had already used with my background. I printed my photo in black and white because I knew it would work perfectly with the collection. I was meant to be! I like a little lift and dimension on my layouts, so I adhered my photo and matting onto some foam sheet before sticking it onto my background paper.

Next, I worked on my title using the word "cherish" from the Chipboard Words and "Moments" from the Chipboard Accents sheet. For the word "these" I pulled an older alpha from my stash. These are Mini Markets in blue and cream.
  

Next, my favourite... embellishing! I used some of the gorgeous florals from the Die Cut Ephemera pack, a feather and that beautifully quoted tag that reads "Live for the moments you cannot put into words." I continued to embellish using the tiny word stickers that are included on the Sticker Accent sheet. They always manage to convey the message I'm trying to convey. <3

I thank you all for being here today and letting me share my layout with you. I appreciate it!
Have a wonderful weekend!
xoLina

CVS | Morning Cuddles

Happy New Year Friends!
Today, on the blog featuring this layout I created on my little and her daddy cuddling. This little of mine is a big cuddler and just loves to snuggle, especially in the morning. I used the fabulous Bohemian Dream to document my photo and create my layout.

So, beginning this layout, I printed my photos in black and white. This was important to me as I wanted them to pop against the colours of the papers and embellishments and I didn't want them to "get lost" within my layout. This allowed me to have fun with the elements of the collection but still be able to speak volumes with my photos.

As I always do, I started by matting and backing my photos with pieces of patterned paper, most from the 6x6. I tell you, the paper pad is convenient and I don't have to feel bad about cutting into an entire sheet just to matte an photo. I then popped up my picture with dimensional foam for lift and to create shadow.

Next, I played with the ephemera a chose pieces I wanted to incorporate into my clusters. As I was searching through the paper goodness, I found the cut apart sheet with this wonderful quote on it. The sheet itself is called Boho Bits and I knew I HAD to use it. My husband and I always say our littlest little has a killer smile and she lights up a room with it. She makes people smile when she smiles. Needless to say, the quite was perfect!

For my title, I used alphas in two different fonts and colours. I always love using this technique as I feel it brings a little something extra to my work. A bit of whimsy, maybe.

The butterflies are one of my favourite element in this collection. I used them in this case to draw attention to the top of my layout for some balance since my layout itself is bottom heavy. They just bring everything together and make it more cohesive.

Lastly, I used (you guessed it :P) some gold ink spray to create some splatters. And, really, what's better than gold splatters? LOL!

Thank you all for stopping by today, I appreciate you! Enjoy your weekend!
xoLina