August 2023 - Just the Gist of It

Welcome back to our Just The Gist of It post where we hope to offer you a possible starting point for creating your kit. 

Sometimes, we just don't know where to start or there is something about the kit that doesn't feel like us, but we still want to bring a selection of items together to form our own monthly kit. This is the post for you! Hopefully, you will find some inspiration to get you going.

Let's just remind ourselves about our inspiration kit this month from Pink and Paper:  

Pink and Paper Subscription Club - June kit

When I sat down to make up my kit I found myself drawn to a technique I've talked about before - concentrating on one single sheet of paper and seeing where THAT takes you! 

With the kit above, I feel that you could go with a more pastel version of the kit by being inspired by the Gingham Garden - In The Shade paper.

This gives us a lovely palette of colours that you could take as the basis for your kit as well as offering the delicate botanicals on the b-side. The stripes give the impression of a hand made watercolour design which is another direction you could take. The pastels lend themselves to different times of the year as they are not specifically one season or another allowing you to take the kit in any direction you please!

Or... you could take your kit in a bolder direction with the bright florals inspired by Happy Days - Lush Blooms.

Here you have the pinks, aquas and yellows with a splash of burgundy. And if pink is not your thing, there are several shades of orange and blues to take you in a different direction while the florals could be the starting point for a set of papers picking up a summery theme. To be honest, the pinks and aquas remind me of several winter/Christmas collections if you really want to go rogue!

So... which of these were the starting point of my own kit? 

I went with the pastel stripes because I wanted a slightly softer, calmer kit than the original (which I still have sitting on my shelf with about 50% left) so that I would be inspired by the original but wouldn't end up with a kit which was very similar!

I selected Paige Evans -Wonders - 2 and that encouraged me to pull out one bolder floral (Simple Stories Happy Hearts, Sweetheart), followed by the Echo Park You & Me, I Love Us Floral - a purple, which is unusual for me. Following the colours in the striped paper, I then found myself drawn to the softer tones making the overall kit a more muted selection than the original. Result! 

As always, our Design Team have taken this kit in all directions so make sure you check them all out if you need a nudge in one direction or another! That's one of the best things about what we do round here - we start in different places, have different stash, love different things and therefore, end up with different (but familiarly similar) kits!

Where will this month's inspiration take you? Pick one sheet of paper from the original kit as your starting point and see where you go with it? I hope you'll share!

 Here is what the rest of the month of August's inspiration will look like:

•  4th August - Forgery on the Fourth - Master Forgers share simple ideas for creating kit elements.
•  6th August - Mini Kit Reveal and Project Showcase - Inspiration for a smaller kit or project ideas.
• 12th August - Challenge #1 - To inspire you to get creating from your own kit.
• 18th August - Challenge #2 - To inspire you to get creating from your own kit.
• 24th August - Follower's Showcase - who has caught our eye this month.
• 31st August - Killing the Kit - an idea or two focusing on using up the bits and pieces left in your kit.

You know that we always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us. You can post them in our Facebook Community or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcaugust2023).