Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Layout of the Week -8/29/12 - Beth

When I saw this layout by Beth I was so inspired by it. Who wouldn't be the soft shades of blue, the lovely trim, the mix of pattern paper, the clever title and the sweet little sophie. Thank you Beth for creating such a lovely layout.

Click to view full size image

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Make up Monday 8.27.12

This week we had some great challenges to push our envelope.  I hope you get a chance to try some of them out.

Tuesday Jo challenged us to use Twine in two different ways on our layout

Wednesday we visited using a bubble on our projects with Sandy

Thursday Michelle paved the way for neon colors to come back to our layouts.
Friday Barb shared with us her favorite ride, the tilt a whirl by challenging us to make a pinwheel for our layout
Saturdays sketch was brought to us by Tammy, we discussed maps, her challenge for us was to use this sketch as your map and use outdoor pics



Sundays inspiration Annette showed us a layout with hands, choose a photo with hands, list what inspires you about the hands and use the word hands in your title

Enjoy your creations!!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Layout of the Week 8/22/12 -- Jo!


As soon as I opened the Cookin' Up Creations Gallery, this layout caught my eye.



I love the colors, the composition, and the way Jo incorporated the CalPoly ephemera. And I'm not a big fan of chevrons, but the one Jo used in the background adds a perfect touch.

You can find Jo's layout here in the Cookin' Up Creations gallery. Please leave her some well deserved love!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Make Up Monday - 8/20/12

If you been playing along with us this month, you know we've been doing Amusement Park themed challenges. If you are just going us please start here at the forum at the first challenge. I know you'll love them all.

Here are some of the challenges for this past week:

On Technique Tuesday -8/14/12 Tunnel of Love by Michelle
She challenge us to create a project inspired by something, someplace or someone you love. She also wanted you to incorporate 3 techniques
1. Ripping paper
2. Inking
3. Stamping

Here is the layout inspiration she created.
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What's New Wednesday - 8/15/12 Cotton Candy by BarbP
She challenge us to create a project inspired by the colors of cotton candy (pastels)

Here is the layout inspiration she created.
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On Toss Up Thursday 8/16/12 Kiddie Rides by Annette
She challenge us to create a project inspired by the kiddie rides and the riders of those rides. She also wanted you to incorporate 3 things to your project.
1. Use 3 basic Primary Colors(red, blue, & yellow)
2. It needs to be a simple layout
3. The word FUN must on your layout.

Here is the layout inspiration she created.
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On Focus Friday -8/17/12 Amusement Park Excitement by Tamara
She challenged us to create a project inspired by all the excitement that parks and rides can bring our loved ones and ourselves. She ask us to focus on FUN facial expression and bling (this can be in the form of metal, mirrors, gem etc).

Here is the layout inspiration she created.

On Sketchy Saturday -8/18/12 - Neon Sky by Jan
She inspired us to create a project based on this sketch by Creative Scrappers and the Beautiful black sky and neon lights of the evenings at the Amusement Parks.

Use a black background paper for your base.
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Here is the layout inspiration she created.
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On Inspirational Sunday - 8/19/12 It's A Small World by Cassie
She inspired us to create a project using any of the 3 photos below (or any that you may find based on the ride) as our inspiration. Whether it's the colors or the images.

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Here is the layout inspiration she created.
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I hope you join us in all the fun challenges this month. I know that you will love playing along with us here at Cookin' Up Creations.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Layouts of the Week - 8/15/12 - Erin & Sherri

So many layouts have been loaded in the gallery this week that it was rather hard to pick just one..... My first pick is this adorable layout by Erin, of her new granddaughter Emma....it's such a "girly" layout and baby Emma is just beautiful! It really is nice to see pictures on some of those layouts that Erin has been creating lately! Beautiful work Erin!
And my next choice this week is this layout by Sherri..
Love the title on this one and the colors just jump right out at you in the gallery! Your eyes are completely drawn to it right off the bat! Not to mention, I'm partial to the colors as well!! Congratulations ladies!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Make-Up Monday 8/13/12

What another wonderful week of Amusement park themed challenges we had this week.  I hope you guys are enjoying them as much as I am.  In case you missed any, here is a recap of all the fun challenges posted by our DT this past week:

On Tuesday Annette challenged us to use shades of blue papers to represent the water as well as to do some sort of technique on the page to also represent water. But there was a twist to her water ride themed challenge because that wasn't all.  She also challenged us with making sure the title word or words must include something to do with water (Water, Splash, Wet, etc)




On New Wednesday it was Michelle's turn to challenge us all.  And challenge us all she did.  She decided that we all needed a place to put our souvenirs that we bring home from those cool places we go and so she shared with us a tutorial she found on Split Coast Crafters.  It uses enveloped to make a hidden place to keep those things in.  Looking at her cute LO, I didn't realize that under her photo there was a "hidden pocket". But check it out...


Moving on to Thursday, Tamara challenged us all to hop on the Ferris Wheel and take a ride around that big ol' circle in the sky.  She challenged us all to do a layout using circles and top it off with bling (to represent the lights of the ferris wheel).  And to inspire us she created this great LO that is actually about a ferris wheel...


By the time Friday rolled around, you would have thought we would be too tired from all the wonderful challenges already, however Cassy gave us another awesome challenge and we all caught a second wind to keep on truckin'.  In her own word Cassy challenges us with this: "I want to see a large title on your page. Something that is large, unique, draws the viewers attention and jumps out at you. Embellish it up and make it proud."  Awesome right?


After catching our second wind from Cassy's challenge, we rolled into Saturday rearing to go.  And it's a good thing too because Annie challenged us to use those tickets we made on the second challenge of the month by using this Pagemap and those tickets we made for that challenge:

and here is Annie sample:



On Sunday, Jo found a really cool vintage postcard for us to use as inspiration.  However she does leave this challenge open a bit by saying we can pick a different postcard as inspiration if we so choose to do so.  I love the vintage Galveston Pier postcard though...

I hope that you all are able to take today to go back and get those missed challenges completed.  There really was a week full of amazing challenges and examples by our DT.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

LOTW August 8th - Michelle

When I logged on to the forum this morning and clicked on view new posts, I immediately went to see what today's Blue Plate Special was.  And I saw this oh so sweet layout that my team member, Michelle had uploaded of her granddaughter, Issabella Paige.

 
I loved the soft colors that Michelle used on her layout as well as all the information that was included in her journaling.  I also liked that she included several photos and souvenirs in the envelopes behind the main photo. What a wonderful keepsake!  WTG Michelle!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Make Up Monday -- 08/06/2012

Welcome to Make Up Monday!

Our Master Chef Challenge Team members have been working extra-hard this past week to bring you some fun and fantastic challenges. On Technique Tuesday, Tamara finished July's "Nursery Rhymes" theme with inspiration from "The Farmer in the Dell". Since the farmer kept his animals in a barn, her challenge was to use a photo with a building in it, and to use hidden journaling. Here is her example:


We started August on What's New Wednesday with a great new theme -- "Amusement Park"! Cassy started us off with a challenge to use a fresh color palette that brought the bright colors of the Midway to mind. Here is her example, using the popular new "viewmaster reels" that she made herself:


(You can visit Cassy's blog for a tutorial on how to make those reels)

ON Toss Up Thursday, Annie brought us "Tickets, Please!" with a tutorial link on how to make our own ticket embellishments. Here is her link; and here are her stamped, colored and embellished examples:


Friday's Focus was upon the banners and flags that we see at amusement parks, brought to us by Jo. She created a double-page layout with lots of banners as her example:


Sandy's Sketchy Saturday challenge paid homage to the autographs that children seek from the  many costumed characters in amusement parks. She provided a sketch and challenged us to use handwriting on our layout.  Here is her example:


Our Guest Chef of the Month, Brenda, brought us Inspiration Sunday and asked us to create a project about something that inspires us. She gave us a layout about her grandchildren:


We hope our Blue Plate Specials inspire you! For more challenges (a new one every day!) and fun, join us on the Cookin' Up Creations forum.

Have a great week!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Guest CHEF OF THE MONTH!

Please welcome our August Guest Chef of the Month, Brenda Patterson!


BRENDA PATTERSON
GUEST CHEF OF THE MONTH -- AUGUST

Brenda won the coveted guest challenge team spot for participating in our Christmas in July Blog Hop and Crop. She is an avid scrapbooker and already has shown some beautiful creations in our gallery.

Here's an "interview" with Brenda:

Please tell us about yourself:
My name is Brenda Patterson. I am 49 years young, a mother of three, and a grandmother of four. I currently live in Houston, Texas. I have been crafting most of my life, as my mother is an avid crafter.  I love taking pictures of my family and scrapbooking, of course.

How long have you been scrapbooking? What brought you into the hobby?
I have been scrapbooking about five years. My sister got me hooked on this very addicting craft.

What are your favorite techniques and/or products right now?
Baker's twine is my love right now, but I also use a lot of distressing and inking.
What project are you currently working on?
I am currently working on way too many projects, but mostly Christmas, Christmas, Christmas ... love it!

Do you have other hobbies besides scrapbooking?
I really have tried about all crafts, but my favorites are crocheting and scrapbooking.

Is there any advice you would give to a beginning scrapbooker?
My advice: save anything and everything! You'd be surprised at what you can recycle on your pages.

Are there any designers/websites/blogs that inspire you?
Got Sketches, Bella Blvd, Die Cuts With a View, Celebrate the Occasion, Creative Krafters, Karen's Needle, so many sites inspire me .... And of course, Cookin' Up Creations.

Can you describe your scrapping space?
I used to have a spare room for my crafting, but after moving to a smaller place I am still in the processing of rearranging and setting up my area.

What are three words that come to mind if you were asked to describe yourself?
The 3 words that best describe me are creative, fun and friendly.

What five things will you always find in your purse?
The 5 things you can always find in my purse are lipstick, wallet, gum, change, and sunglasses.

What are some of your favorite tv shows?
Craft Wars, Dancing With the Stars, Wheel of Fortune, Martha Stewart and Food Network are some of my fav's.

If we were to turn on the radio in your car, what would we find you listening to?
My radio station really depends on the mood, but I love the 80's.

Describe your perfect day. Would it involve scrapbooking?
My perfect day would involve family, food and crafting, of course.

Please share with us your all-time favorite layout and why.
My favorite layout is one of my new grandbaby. It is so pretty, and I used several different kinds of flowers, which I love using on my girly layouts.




Here are a few more of Brenda's favorite layouts:




Welcome to the team, Brenda! 

Look for Brenda's first Blue Plate Special challenge Sunday on the Cookin' Up Creations forum! And join us all this month for our daily Blue Plate Specias. Our theme this month is AMUSEMENT PARK, and we're having a blast with our park-inspired challenges!