Last DT Reveal for May

This month as you know, each DT member had an opportunity to work with many beautiful products from Die Cuts with a View  and the variety of layouts and projects created this month have been truly inspiring.  Check out our final reveal with these products:

Barb created this unique layout using DCWV "Colorful Life" stack:

Cassy created two cards using DCWV "Paper Whimsy" stack:

Jenny created this cute little one page autograph type album using DCWV "Pressed Petals" and Chipboard alpha:

Jo created this cute birthday layout using DCWV "Tahiti" stack and "Pressed Petals chipboard"

Tamara made this adorable camping album again using DCWV chipboard letters and their "Weathered and Worn" stack.

And wrapping this reveal up, Nicole (our Guest Designer this month) created this cute layout using DCWV "Pressed Petals"

And used her scraps to make this cute card!

She wrapped up her reveal with another adorable layout using DCWV "Kitchen" stack and chipboard tags.

If you haven't had a chance to check out the many DCWV website, you should!  It is also very inspiring!

Make up Monday! 5/30/11

Here we are with another fabulous Make-up Monday. And what better day than a holiday to get an extra chance to scrap these wonderful creations.

Tuesday's Technique was brought to us by Nicole (our awesome guest designer). She shared with us her weaving techniques and showed us how great it looks on a layout.
























On Wednesday we had Penny show us what fun we can have with our dyes.

























Thursdays Flower Power Barb reminded us that we can use our punches on the paint strips you get from the store to make a pretty embellishment for our cards and pages. Thrify idea!!




















On Friday we focused on Quilling (something I haven't done in a while) Cassy made these gorgeous straberries to compliment her page.
























Saturdays Sketch was brought to us by Jo. She shared a sketch with us by Liz Chidester.
































And then on Sunday, we received some great inspiration by Barb. she chose some inspiration with colors that Wanda shared with us some time ago. Your challenge is to create something with these colors in mind. Aren't they just beautiful together?

From design team member Jenny:

I chose this page by Kimmer as our Layout of the Week!!!!

I love how she misted on the Kraft background!!! :)

DT Reveal May 23, 2011

The Design Team is still working with these wonderful paper packs from DCWV. Look at what great things tey came up with this week!

Barb

Have I mentioned how much I love the DCWV "Colorful Life" paper stack???? For this layout, I followed directions on the DCWV website -- with a few adjustments to suit my style and photo, of course. I cut around the big graphics and matted the patterned sheet, then cut slits in the design so I could slip my matted photo underneath. I love the way everything just POPs on this layout! For the title, I used a DCWV rub-on over a Pressed Petals chipboard tag and sanded the edges to make it stand out. Added a rhinestone and it's good to go.



Cassy

My grandmother mentioned to me the other day that she wanted to take home some of my spider babies. My plant is so heavy that it is being pulled out of the pot so I decided that this would be a perfect little project. I did some fussy cutting on the flowers from the Paper Whimsy DCWV pack and then I embellished with buttons, ribbon, and twine. I included a plant marker at the top with some more DCWV (yellow) papers and a few more embellishments.



Jenny

I made a quick shadowbox using the Pressed Pebbles Chip Chatter Alphas and some stone tiles I had left over from another project...can't wait to display this simple piece in my living room!



Jo

The DCWV papers are so heavy, they are perfect for cards!! I used some papers from the Tahiti Stack to make these congratulations cards for some of the many young adults I know who are graduating high school right now!! I love the bright colors of this stack and how the papers hold their shape even when bent for my flowers and butterflies!



Tamara

Both of these cards were made using the Weathered and Worn stack. I used three different pages to make this card wild.

King of the Jungle





FROM GUEST DESIGNER NICOLE:

I used the DCWV chipboard tags and the Sweet 8x8 paper pad for this layout. I love these tags... they already have adhesive on the backside so you just have to stick them down; and my favorite thing is that they come with a little nail file that you can sand them down with... I wanted to do something fun with them, so I decided to use half a package and make a banner... so cool... they come in all kinds of fun shapes and sizes. The pattern paper is from the Sweet themed paper pad... I loved the bright colors and the fun fruit... so they had to be paired with the perfect sweet fruity pictures... Jamba Juice it had to be.... We love smoothies and when we get back to California it is one of the first stops. I miss Jamba Juice sooo much living in Norway... up where I live we don't have smoothies at all.... I can just look at the layout and almost taste my favorite flavor....heehee




We hope you enjoyed this weeks reveal as muc as we did!

Wanted: Master Chef Challenge Team Members

Do you love scrapbooking challenges? Do you enjoy chatting on forums and making new online friends? Then you may have what it takes to be a member of our Master Chef Challenge Team at Cookin' Up Scrapbook Creations!

Cookin' Up Creations will be focusing more on our Blue Plate Special Challenges, and we want YOU to be a part of it! We offer a NEW challenge each day except Monday (weekly make up day) on our forum, with a prize drawing at the end of the month. We are looking for five to six team members for a six-month term.

Your responsibilities will include:

-Presenting a “Blue Plate Special” challenge once a week

-Posting regularly on the forum message board and initiating at least four new topics each week

-Posting comments regularly in our members' gallery

-Assisting with and participating in special events, such as crops, blog hops and special challenges

-Promoting Cookin' Up Creations on your personal blog, Facebook and wherever else allowed

We offer you the opportunity to showcase your work and a chance to expand your creativity through participation on our active, dynamic Challenge Team. Challenge Team members are eligible for the prize drawings.

All past and present members are encouraged to reapply.

Submissions will be taken from today thru Wednesday June the 15th, 2011 at 9:00 pm EST. Challenge Team members will be notified no later than June 22nd, 2011 via email. Your position will begin immediately after your acceptance. Your “official” term will begin on July 1, 2011 and end December 31, 2011.

To apply:

Send the following requirements to tammy@cookinupcreations.com. Please put "Design Team Entry" in the subject line.

-Your name, address, email address and contact information

- A paragraph or two about yourself and your experience in scrapbooking and paper crafting

-Four recently completed layouts and two cards or other paper crafting project

-Links to your personal blog and online gallery

-A paragraph about why you wish to join our team

Each applicant must have at least 25 posts on our forum. We would like to have the opportunity to get to know you before making our decision, and we want you to see how our challenges are presented.

*If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I look forward to seeing your submissions! Best of luck to you.

Make Up Monday 5-23-11

We continue our May Theme of Comfort Foods with more Blue Plate Specials that reflect our favorite challenges, vintage items or just inspiration that makes us "feel good inside"!

This week's challenges do just that!!

On Tuesday, Tamara showed us an amazing technique of weaving strips of paper to create an amazing layout:

On Wednesday, Jo brought back one of her favorite challenges...Twine...and gave us this example which uses it in several ways:

On Thursday, Cassy transformed paper circles into cute flowers which she used on this layout:

On Friday, Jenny brought back the challenge of focusing on journaling strips....and really made them stand out with pop dots:

On Saturday, Penny Noel gave us an amazing sketch and her layout based upon it is beautiful!

Then on Sunday, Tamara asked us to once again use advertisements as our inspiration for our layouts.  Her layout was based upon an ad for chocolate..and she added the twist of doodling on the layout for an extra challenge!

We hope you enjoyed this week's comfort foods!  Make sure you complete at least 12 of the BPS challenges to be eligible for this months drawing for this wonderful kit from Scraptacular!!

See all the details here!

Layout of the Week - apanf

I love the look of this layout!  I love the circular design, the doodling, the button accents and the cute cloud title!  Great job!

Design Team Reveal...

It's time again to see what kind of creations our DT came up with using the wonderful product they received from Die Cuts with a View!!!

From our guest designer, Nicole:
When I got the DCWV numbers in the mail, I knew just what I wanted to do with them. I have been wanting to make a layout about the funny way my daughter counts. First, I used a piece of DCWV cardstock... I love their cardstock because it is thicker than some of the other brands out there.... The DCWV cardstock numbers are awesome. They already have adhesive on the back and they come with a little nail file that you can use to sand them....I stuck them randomly on the cardstock. I then painted over the all the numbers and the cardstock with gesso... I let it dry and then painted a little more on. I like the gesso better than paint because it gives it texture.... When it was all dry, I took a pen and drew some broken lines around the outside... I then layered my paper, embellishments and picture on top.

From Tamara:
On this layout I was able to use four different texture papers from the DCWV stack Worn and Weathered. It has been a challenge for me to use these papers, that's for sure. LOL
Last time we went to the zoo, we saw this trukey running all over the place confused. He ran up to a building like he wanted to get through the door. The kids were laughing so hard.

From Jenny:
This was a quick page I did using more of my DCWV stack...I added an OLD WRMK chipboard tag and some other misc chipboard I had lying around!

From Cassy:
For these two simple cards, I used papers from my DCWV Paper Whimsy stack. I love the Springy colors and the shimmery backgrounds. For the sentiments, I cut apart one of the papers with words all over it. I also added some embossing powder - orange and Antique Gold, Hero Arts and Gel-a-tins stamps, twine, Life's Journey brads, twine, and much more. TFL!

From Barb:
I absolutely love the bright, bold, "make a statement" prints of The Colorful Life paper stack! This week, I was able to make a quick yet effective layout with just one sheet of paper. I converted a photo from my daughter's wedding into black and white, restoring a bit of the rich greens and turquoise to her bouquet. I dabbed gesso around the edges with an almost-dry foam brush. Then I sanded the edges of some Pressed Petals letters (also by DCWV) and added some rhinestones to my O. I added a few stamped images just to bring in some turquoise. I cut around the edges of the pink butterfly with a craft knife so I could slip the photo underneath, and added a touch of Stickles to the body. Last, I cut 1/4 inch off lengthwise and widthwise on my paper (not too much, because I didn't want to lose much of the design) roughed up the edges and adhere to a piece of smooth black cardstock. The quote from "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" was part of the reading at their wedding.

From Jo:
I had a project in mind for my altered object..but quickly changed my mind while at Target today. In the dollar aisle they had 4 packs of bamboo placements for $2.50....and I thought they would make a perfect party accent when combined with the Tahiti Stack from DCWV!! I love the papers in this stack because they are nice and thick and can stand up to bending and shaping and hold their shape. I also love that they have lots of glittery accents and beautiful colors!!!
I played with some red raffia and my Sizzix dies to create flowers. I also used some Stickles and chalk to finish off the flowers.

Hope these projects inspire you to be creative this week!

Make Up Monday -- May 16, 2011

Our Design Team members at Cookin' Up Creations take turns posting a daily Blue Plate Special challenge. Mondays are our "Make Up Days", when we recap the past week's challenges. Anyone who completes at least 12 of the month's challenges by the deadline (two days after the end of the month) is entered into a drawing for a fabulous prize.

This month our theme is "Comfort Foods" -- those dishes that soothe us, make us feel good, make us happy. We are revisiting past challenges and exploring retro themes.

Here is the recap for last week's challenges:

On Tuesday, Cassy revisited a March challenge to use a layered title on our layouts. Here is her example:

Wednesday's challenge, brought to us by guest designer Nicole, was to make our own decorative hat pins or use pre-made ones, in a fun way. She used hers on this layout, under the photo:

On Thursday, Jo showed us how to make fabric flowers from old jeans and bits of muslim. Here is how she used her flowers:

Friday's challenge by Tamara was to do a "chocolate layout" -- monochromatic brown with just a dash of a second color,  inspired again by a past challenge. Here is her example:

Jenny brought us the Saturday sketch, compliments of Nuts About Sketches. Here is her finished layout:

And on Sunday, guest designer Nicole challenged us to incorporate children's artwork into our layouts, and gave us examples with two layouts:

You still have plenty of time -- two weeks! -- to complete our May Blue Plate Specials to be eligible for the prize drawing. (See the post below this one for a peek at the prize kit this month -- it's a beauty!) We would love to have you come over and join us!

Want a chance to WIN

this beautiful kit from the Scraptacular Kit Club?

Then join us on the Cookin' up Scrapbooking Creations forum for the May Blue Plate Specials!

A new BPS challenge is posted every day on the forum, and a recap of the previous week's challenges is posted on Mondays. If you complete 12 of the current months' challenges by the deadline (usually on the 2nd day of the following month), then your name is entered into the drawing for the monthly "Dessert Tray" prize. The design team works hard to provide fun and interesting challenges. Come on over and check it out!


Go here for more details.

Layout of the Week -- 5/11/11 -- Beth Camp!

I always love the weeks when it's my turn to choose "Layout of the Week". There are so many creative artists on the forum and so many wonderful projects from which to choose!

This week, I chose Beth Camp's "Julian Sunflowerseed" layout as the LOTW. Beth created this page in response to Nicole's challenge to make a shaker box. Beth absolutely knocked this challenge right out of the park! She created a shaker box using a chipboard sunflower, which was perfect with her subject matter. But ... here is the genius .... she used actual sunflower seeds inside her shaker. 

Here's Beth's layout:



and a close up of her sunflower shaker box:



Don't you just love it? 

Congratulations, Beth!


You can see this and a whole array of other creations in the Gallery on our forum. Come on over and join us for the daily challenges and other fun!