Layout Artist Contest 2013

It is Birthday time at theStudio again. Funny how it seems to come every year, about the same time. :)

Once again I participated in the Layout Artist Contest. This year was a NON-elimination contest which means....I was able to participate all four weeks. Again, I am reminded that I scrapbook for ME and my family, and not to win a contest. My pages are MINE, regardless of who votes for me or not. I enjoy having a challenge and figuring a way to make it work for me. Each week had unique challenges, which I'll talk briefly about below. So without further ado...here is a bit about each week and my layouts.

Week ONE
Requirements: Create 2 layouts using Morning Memories Collaboration by Jilberts Bites & Bytes, The Urban Fairy and Nibbles Skribbles

Each layout must use at least 1 piece by each of the contributing designers.

I need to share about this Layout. When looking through the paper in the kit, I noticed this piece below.

It is P E R F E C T for Bryce Canyon National Park, which I just hiked at the weekend before.

So I added ONE photo and blended it in. I added bubbles to the top and title because of the rain which we received while we were there. I   L O V E  the way the page turnout.

The second page was a bit harder for me. I was inspired by all the flowers in the kit and wanted to use them. The problem I have is that most pictures I have of my family are action/vacation shots. However, I do have a over a hundred photos thanks to my Young Women group in my church. While on a over-nighter, they took my camera to get some 'glamour shots'. Again, I think this page turned out perfect. What an awesome gift I have to give this young lady.

Week TWO
Requirements: Create 2 layouts using the Holiday Hoopla Collab by Snickerdoodle Designs & Kimberkatt Scraps.

This collection is themed around the holidays, but one of your layouts must use this kit for a layout that has nothing to do with holiday fun! One of your layouts must also feature a photo-treatment.


Well....this was a hard week for me. I didn't feel I was able to use the kit as well as I needed to. My non-holiday page still turned out to have a Christmas-y feel to it. However, I do like the way the photo turned out. It is the only picture I have of a cake I made with a friend for the county fair. The little gingham banner was what inspired me to do a fair photo.

The second page, was much simpler to do.  I felt the colors in the kit worked great for our New Years 'Eve' sledding trip. I also did some photo editing on this page. I changed the people to B&W so as not to distract from the overall feel of the page.

Week THREE
Requirements: Create 2 layouts using Big Photo Templates 2 by JanetB design along with any of the mini kit contributions to the Next Designer Contest.

You MUST use any kit/s created by any contestant in Week 1, 2 or 3! You can find all NDC kits here: Next Designer Contest Gallery
You MUST use the provided templates in both layouts.


WOW, so this week was a little different. We could pick out of any of the mini kits that were being made for a Designer Contest. The Next Designer Contest is similar in that each week they have challenges to complete in designing kits.
When looking through the gallery, I saw this kit. LOVE the bright colors.

I then paired the kit with some firework pictures from a few summers ago. WOW.

On the second page, I wanted to show off some pictures from a recent family hike. So I first found some pictures, then I found a kit to work with. I actually worked with two kits, mostly looking for the right flowers.

Here are the two kits I used.

So have I lost any of you? I know a very long post. But I wanted to remember most of this for me. 

Week FOUR

Requirements: Create 2 layouts using the March 2013 Store Mega Kit, You Make Me Happy.

You must use bits by at least 3 contributing designers.


I was struck by the Grays and Blacks in the kit and love the little touches of colors. So for a BOY page, I went with the touches of blue.  Perfect match with the photo. :)

Then to make a page with touches of yellow. haha...It turned out to be a yellow page with touches of gray. I had seen a page made with the paper stacking on the edge and wanted to duplicate that. So I first made this page without photos in mind.. I then had to hunt through many photos to find just the right ones. I really work better having my photos picked out first.

and just so you know, I end up with 2 or 3% of the votes. :)  Ya, I do this for ME!

FALL FRIENDS

FALL FRIENDS

How about a Cutsy semi-Outdoorsy Fall Kit?!

That is exactly what this new kit by Nibbles Skribbles is.

Take a peak.

I made a few clusters that went into the bundle.

...and here is my page. It is all about a Fall fishing trip we took. I LOVE the color combination.

I also worked up a FALL BUCKET LIST. Kinda a fun little decoration for things you might want to do this fall. If you are interested in this 4x6 print, you are welcome to click it and save it. 

yeah!!!!  Fall is coming. I'm so excited, I love this time of year. I hope we have a long fall and short winter. ;)

Working with DISNEY

okay, not really, but a pretty close second. :)

I am working as a guest creative team member on Mad For The Mouse's team.

So for the rest of the year, I will be showcasing and playing with some WONDERFUL Disney themed kits.

Here is what I have been working (ie playing) with so far.

ART OF ANIMATION

This is an art kit perfect for your overall stay at the Art if Animation resort in Walt Disney World.

But I haven't been to WDW.  :( But...I have been to the ANIMATION ACADEMY in Disney California Adventure.  I actually LOVE that place. It is so fun to take a break from all the running around in the parks and sit and relax. My mom (Hi Mom!) has even enjoyed a nap in this air conditioned wonderland. But as for me and my son, we love to learn how to draw the Disney characters.

I created the cluster as a separate piece.

and made another cluster, and stacked paper.

What fun colors in this kit.

HALLOWEEN IN THE KINGDOM

is an older kit from Mad For The Mouse, but perfect for this time of year.

Here is what she has to say about this kit:

"Are you ready for a not so scary kit?!! I had so much fun creating it, and if you have been to Disney during the Halloween Season, you're gonna NEED this kit, trust me :) This year was my first trip during the season, and I have to go back! It was fabulous!!"

I echo her remarks. I think Halloween time in the parks is a favorite of mine. 

Here is my page I quickly worked up. I say quickly, because I used a template from one of the MouseScrappers Templates Challenges.

Do you see the resemblance?  I did turn the page to the left before I began to use this template.

Now for a word about the Template Challenge at MouseScrappers. Click here and you will be taken to the MouseScrappers forum, template challenge. Every couple of weeks a new template is shared here. Each person who downloads the template is asked to create a page (layout) with it and share it in the MouseScrappers gallery. There have been some fun Disney themed templates and some templates that could be used for general pages.  So again, click here and go check it out.

Well, THANKS for reading all the way through, I have a prize for you for doing so. I'm giving away a FREEBIE set from the Art of Animation extras I created. Click on image for download. THANKS again.

Filling the Recipe Box

Well, have any of you missed my recipe challenge posts?

Did you think I have stopped after all those years?

Well....I haven't. But for some reason I have forgotten to post about them.

So here you go, a (almost) year's worth of recipes.

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The most recent Recipe Challenge at theStudio is all about Spices and Herbs.

I have a few recipes that need this theme, but as of now, I have only made one card.

This is an AWESOME recipe from the July/August 2011 Weight Watchers magazine.  I love it.

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Now, I'll share with you the month's past. Remember you can pick up each of these kits at theStudio. And...if you keep an eye out, Let Me Scrapbook will bundle the kits up for extra savings.

In August the theme was Citrus. Love the color combinations in this kit.

I'll admit, I have NEVER made this recipe.  But it was a recent find and instead of pinning it, I made it into a card. I so can not wait to try this. The recipe is from CookieCakesPiesOhMy

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In July we were treated with a Red, White and Blue kit. So fun! So Summery.

My recipe is from a Children's cookbook my 5th grader had brought home. We made this and YUM!  It is a keeper.

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June was a POT LUCK theme, and we were asked to use any kit we wanted. I used the March 2012 kit and made.....

...a recipe for Tuna Cakes. This is really a yummy recipe, but the kids turned up their noses the first few times we had it. Now, they just eat it in peace. :)

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Skipping a few months here, I'll get back to them in a moment.

In March, the challenge was for 5 or less ingredients. 

I made two of my favorite recipes from my childhood that I would make all the time.

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This kit/challenge was a favorite of mine. It was all about Cupcakes.

I had learned that you could turn any cookie dough into icing. 

I tried it.  It worked.

My favorite is the Banana Cooke Dough recipe. 

So yummy.

Perfect combo.

Cookie Dough and Cupcakes!

Here is the recipe for the Cookies...

...the cupcakes...

...and the Icing. 

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Have I lost you yet?  I know...very long post.

Well, Let Me Scrapbook took May off. She needed a break, and I totally understand.

In April, the challenge was for homemade cleaners.

eek....I don't really make my own...so I came up with a laundry hints list. 

There you go...I think it looks great all bundled together here.
Remember you can pick up any of these Recipe kits by going to Let Me Scrapbook's store at theStudio.

If you are interested in joining in on the Recipe Challenge, click here.
The rules are pretty simple.
--use the monthly kit
--create a recipe card
--share it on theStudio gallery
--email a copy to Let Me Scrapbook
You will then get a code for a FREE kit for the following month, and a copy of everyone's recipes.

Hope to see you in the Recipe Challenge.

Alphabet Party

ALPHABET PARTY

is a kit inspired by the children's book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

It is a bright and fun kit. Perfect for those little one's school pictures.

 Nibbles Skribbles store link.

My page for inspiration is about my littlest's 1st Grade. I love the journaling spot and filled that up with all about her year. I used a template from Two Moose Design, which Nibbles Skribbles is part of.

Click on the image to be taken to the shop to get these fantastic templates.

I also made a few 'lunchbox' cards.

Each team member was asked to make one or two to be given away as a FREEBIE. So make sure you are on Nibbles Skribbles newsletter list, to grab the freebies as each kit goes live.

By The Numbers

BY THE NUMBERS

This month in DigiScraps Addicts Group Therapy, the collection theme is

BY THE NUMBERS.

Each month, the design team will work with the same theme and palette to create a collection of amazing products! They will be selling them for $1.79 each, or $1.29 during the first weeks!

You can Mix and Match from 14 designers and more than 100 products to create your kit your way!

Here is a look at the kits made by Nibbles Skribbles.

Here is a non-photo page by me.

font: Lucida Handwriting