Cookin' Up Creations

ife is too short to stress over the little things—so let's take a deep breath, grab a donut, and sprinkle some happiness everywhere! Whether it’s a simple glazed classic or a wildly decorated masterpiece, donuts remind us that joy can come in the sweetest, simplest forms. So join us all month long as we celebrate creativity, sweetness, and the joy of crafting!



Scrapbooking is all about capturing memories, celebrating the good times, and sharing positivity—just like a warm, fresh donut lifts your spirits. So, let’s channel that donut energy—soft, sweet, and impossible not to love—into every little piece we create. Because in the end, a scrapbook full of happy moments (and maybe a few donut doodles) is one of the best treats of all! Let's make this month one to remember.

A new Blue Plate Special challenge is posted each Monday (sketch), Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Participants have until the 3rd of the following month to complete and post their creations in the Cookin' up Creations Gallery.

Prize will be a $20 Gift Certificate to their favorite online store (random drawing)....



There is a huge craze for donuts that are over the top. Here are a few featured on Cheapism.com:


Stan Y./Yelp


Katrina T./Yelp

These over the top creations have unexpected toppings, wild color combinations, and crazy mixes of flavors. Let's take inspiration from these crazy creations and go EXTRA on our layout today! Your challenge is to use extra layers, extra embellishments, and extra dimension. Here are some ideas but you are not limited to what I have listed!

Extra Layers: mat your page, double mat your photo(s), or overlap photos

Extra Embellishments: multiple (2+) tags, multiple (5+) tiny embellishments like sequins or enamel dots, or a combination of 4 or more different embellishments (I used sequins, epoxy dots, flat stickers, die cuts, eyelets, tags, and washi tape)

Extra Dimension: paint splatters over stenciling, pop-dots under embellishment(s) or title, or texture paste

Here's my layout that I kept adding a little extra this and that to:





Use your imagination and let your creativity run wild today!

Fun donuts, and fun challenge! Love your page. What a weird creature on the photo!

Lolis wrote: Wed Jul 16, 2025 9:45 am Fun donuts, and fun challenge! Love your page. What a weird creature on the photo!

Still not sure what it is! Can anyone identify this crazy guy??

What an interesting page, Amy Jo!

Love your example! Terrific challenge!

That is a horseshoe crab. It's not really a crab, they're related to scorpions and spiders. We used to find them along the beaches in Delaware and Maryland. They can grow up to 2 ft long and they really hurt when they hit your legs in the surf. They don't sting or bite but they sure are ugly.

Love you layout Amy Jo....great background work! Fun challenge

Oooh, this is fun!

Tracy F wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:07 am That is a horseshoe crab. It's not really a crab, they're related to scorpions and spiders. We used to find them along the beaches in Delaware and Maryland. They can grow up to 2 ft long and they really hurt when they hit your legs in the surf. They don't sting or bite but they sure are ugly.

Love you layout Amy Jo....great background work! Fun challenge

Thanks Tracy! I’ll have to go back and add journaling on the back of the page with this info.

Amy Jo wrote: Fri Jul 18, 2025 6:27 am

Tracy F wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:07 am That is a horseshoe crab. It's not really a crab, they're related to scorpions and spiders. We used to find them along the beaches in Delaware and Maryland. They can grow up to 2 ft long and they really hurt when they hit your legs in the surf. They don't sting or bite but they sure are ugly.

Love you layout Amy Jo....great background work! Fun challenge

Thanks Yracy! I’ll have to go back and add journaling on the back of the page with this info.

A sea monster!

Lots of layers here. I matted my layout, double matted my photos, used a stencil, distressed strips of paper and crumpled them up and then overlapped them, splattered with some black ink and added stickers and sequins. This was fun!