July 2019 - Challenge #1 - Blue or Blueberries

In July 2003 the United States Department of Agriculture proclaimed that July is National Blueberry Month in the USA! 

and
July 11th, National Blueberry Muffin Day.

and July 12th is the 1st challenge of the month! I challenge you to use your counterfeit kit 

Challenge # 1

Blue or Blueberries - I challenge you to use the blue papers in your kit to make a monochromatic layout or do a layout about blueberries or with blueberries

Here is a look at what our Team has created:
Our Guest Kathy has created:  I went with monochromatic (sort of). I allowed the other colors to show but I blocked them out to emphasize the blue text saying “make time for the things you love”, for example. I used a blue & white patterned paper as a background — even though I’d originally planned to use it differently. I pulled together everything blue — stickers, flowers, Thickers, enamel dots — and used them even though they were different shades and tones. I think the dress Ava’s wearing in the photo is where all those blues come from and it’s why they go together well. And this photo just says “summer” to me, like there might be some sweet tea served when they get home from the park!

Leslie was inspired by one of the papers in her kit.

Blog post HERE

Laura was inspired by the idea of creating a monochromatic layout and used the papers in her kit to document a recent trip to the Bluebell woods

Julene took it literally and scrapped a page about blueberry Danish.
She's used ribbons and many small scraps of blue paper on her layout.

July 2019 - Mini Kit Reveal and Projects

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the idea of a big kit this month?

 Perhaps you just want to pull together a few products to get those creative juices flowing again.

Maybe a mini kit is the answer!

Today we'll be sharing a couple of mini kits and projects to give you a little inspiration.

First, here's a little reminder of July's Inspiration Kit:

Susan started her not-so-mini kit with a blue gingham paper similar to the one in the inspiration kit, and then she added items in pink, green, yellow and gold:

She made a photo-less page featuring some fussy-cut elements.  She was a little stumped when it came time to add her journaling, but luckily the reverse side of the blue polka dot paper was covered with frames that were just what she needed.  So remember, check the "B" sides of your papers - they can give you lots more options!

Lori was inspired by the popsicle paper that was in the Junior Kit to create a page kit of her own. She found a popsicle paper from Bella Blvd in her supplies and created her page kit from there:

She created a double page layout of her granddaughter making popsicles this summer:

You can read all about her layout on her blog here. You can also see another page kit that she created - inspired by the cut apart paper with the lemon on it and see her plans for that kit on her blog, as well.

Kathy also created a layout from her add on kit which are smaller mini kits :) Here’s my first layout using the main kit, some altered elements from my Forgery on the Fourth, and fussy cuts from my add-on kit.

You can see more about this layout over at her youtube channel 
(Scrappy Kathy) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0TTq5vBtMM&t=13s

Don't forget that we love to see your kits and projects! Post through our Link-Up page, share them in our Facebook Community, or post them on Instagram (tag us: @counterfeitkitchallenge and use #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjuly2019).  Come back on the 6th for some mini-kit reveals, and the 12th & 18th for challenges to help you use up your personally crafted kit. See you then!

July 2019 - Forgery on the Fourth

The July inspiration kit:

A lovely mix of products to spark your creativity!

Let's take a look at what the Team has created & discovered!

Leslie has these to offer:

Blog post HERE

Our Guest Forger KathyMcElfresh created some forgeries for her kit this month.

As I looked for papers and embellishments to suit the “sweet tea” vibe of this kit I realized I’d used all my lemons during Calvinball. After a quick search I found a very lemony pattern in a Jen Hadfield collection called Patio Party. I also had a stencil with an image that COULD be interpreted as a lemon. A little fussycutting and glitter pasting and dimensional painting, and I now have a variety of embellishments that will add a summery brightness to my pages. As I said I would in my kit reveal, I also sprayed white doilies gold with varying degrees of success but I think they’re all usable as layering pieces or backgrounds where other elements have a starring role.
Before:

 After

You can see more about these fun creations over at her youtube channel 
(Scrappy Kathy) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0TTq5vBtMM&t=13s

 

Lisa found these on Pinterest!

Spiral flowers to print and roll up - reminiscent of the "vintage" Prima in the original kit
http://ginasdesigns.blogspot.com/2013/11/freebie-friday-dictionary-page-flowers.html

 A whole bunch of printables including plants cards and tags - sign up to the newsletter for full access
https://www.hannanilssondesign.com/members/

Rustig woodstock printable tags with pretty florals
https://www.hannanilssondesign.com/rustic-wood-tags-romantic-floral-printable/

Some cards and elements which reminded me of some of the motifs and colours in the original kit.
http://imonthecoast.blogspot.com/2016/04/grey-yellow-planner-printable-for-happy.html


And various tutorials and help for creating your own flowers!
https://pen-grunt.livejournal.com/202546.html

Although I have no idea wha the text says on this link, I think you get an idea of how you can update your older flower supplies with modern mixed media to get a whole plethora of up to date florals for your kit.
https://ztinaspysselvra.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/gessoblommor/

This tutorial reminds of how I made flowers back in the day - and they still look gorgeous! Try this with book paper too for an even more vintage effect.
https://www.prettypaperbook.com/2011/06/10/cardstock-flower-tutorial/

And for those yarn experts among you, here is a crochet tutorial for oh-so-pretty crochet and button flowers
http://www.diyhowto.org/crochet-button-flower-free-pattern/


Way way way back in the past, I used to make pretty flowers for my pages!

Here is a tutorial for ricrac roses
- http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com/2011/07/ric-rac-roses.html

And these layered lovelies!
http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com/2011/07/ric-rac-roses.html

Don't forget that we love to see your kits and projects! Post through our Link-Up page, share them in our Facebook Community, or post them on Instagram (tag us: @counterfeitkitchallenge and use #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjuly2019).  Come back on the 6th for some mini-kit reveals, and the 12th & 18th for challenges to help you use up your personally crafted kit. See you then!

July 2019 - Just The Gist of It

Welcome Back

Hopefully you had a chance to hop along the Blog Hop yesterday and saw the kits that the Master Forgers and our Guest Design Forger Kathy McElfresh curated from this month's inspiration kit.

Sometimes when looking at the inspiration it's hard to decide what to do with it! How to create something from it with your own stash! Where to start?

Color - Theme - Patterns - Product

I'm here to help and show you my approach to curating my kit. The inspiration this month is Clique Kits. Sweet Tea kits (Sounds like Summer)

Main kit: https://cliquekits.com/june-2019-main-kit-sweet-tea/

Junior kit: https://cliquekits.com/june-2019-junior-kit-sweet-tea/

Sometimes it's hard to start, especially when you have 2 kits to choose from. First I focus on the mood of the kit this one has a Summer Country theme to it. Then I'll look at the patterns and colors and make my list to take to my stash:

Lots of Florals, Blues, Yellows, a dash of Pink, and a Darker Golden Yellow. There are Woodgrain, Vellum, Geometric, Words and Checks. The bits and bobs I picked up on is Lemons, Sunglasses, Doilies, Frames, Flowers, Jars, Bikes, Gardening and Fruits.

Now depending on the kit you go with you may see the 6X6 paper, cut apart paper, tags, hearts, border strips, popsicles and so much more. But this is a good starting point to get you looking in your stash and curating your own fun kit

I hope this gives you great ideas to get started! Now go shop your stash we want to see what you pull together.

Don't forget that we love to see your kits and projects so you can show us through:

• Monthly Link-up page, 
• post them in our Facebook Community
• or share them on Instagram  - we are @counterfeitkitchallenge and you can tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjuly2019

 

Tina

July 2019 - Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit reveal and blog hop

Hello July! Sunny July symbolic meaning signifies summer and all of its radiant glory in the Northern Hemisphere. But for the Southern Hemisphere it means a bit colder for them :) with winter falling in June, July, and August. Therefore, in some southern hemisphere countries Christmas in July or Midwinter Christmas events are undertaken in order to have Christmas with a winter feel in common with the northern hemisphere. Many crafters like doing Christmas in July cause that is when the new Christmas collections start showing up on Social Media. Myself, I have found doing my Christmas cards in July leaves me time to enjoy the month of December. Just enjoy the month how you see fit doing what you like and please join us with a fun kit to counterfeit this month!

This month we will be counterfeiting Clique Kits. I went with their June 2019 kit, it's more my own style. Sweet Tea kits (Sounds like Summer)

Main kit: https://cliquekits.com/june-2019-main-kit-sweet-tea/

Junior kit: https://cliquekits.com/june-2019-junior-kit-sweet-tea/

I fell in love with both kits as soon as I saw them. For a girl that likes to travel and take in antique tractor shows instead of the beach this is a great kit to counterfeit :) The main kit features favorites from Dear Lizzy, Pinkfresh Studios, Heidi Swapp, and 1 Canoe 2 brands. The junior kit features mainly 1 Canoe 2 and Dear Lizzy. I love the softness of the colors not the bold colors that relate to summer :) So I challenge you to take on this kit and have fun!

Our guest designer this month is Kathy McElfresh. Kathy and I met awhile back from Scrap Happy when I was chatting about Calvinball and somehow got her into it! If you follow Calvinball then you know she was on fire this year from it :) Just as I introduced her to Calvinball, I also introduced her to Counterfeit Kit Challenge when I found out that she like to make kits. We got to meet in person in March at a retreat I went to in OH. It was so cool to get to know her a bit better and so glad that she is a friend :)

Hi I'm Kathy McElfresh, sometimes know by my stage name Scrappy Kathy. I have been saving photos in albums and adding journaling and memorabilia for as long as I can remember but really didn't get into "modern" scrapbooking until 2011 when I took a class at Archiver's. I'd done a few "baby book" albums with stickers and pretty papers but my first 12x12 was for that class. I have hundreds of old prints that NEED to be scrapped but I often opt for telling a story around a cute digital photo that shows up in Facebook memories (mine or my son's), even if I know I've scrapped it before. I love mixed media and I host a "getting messy" challenge for one of my kit clubs every month, and I like to join in online challenges whenever I can. I have a Facebook page (ScrappyKathy) that's like a blog displaying selected layouts and talking about challenges and other scrappy activities. My Instagram (scrappykathyy) usually has a few more layouts but with less commentary. My YouTube Channel (Scrappy Kathy) has challenge videos, layout process videos and layout flip-thrus. I plan to do a couple album flip-thrus and a scrap room tour but those are still in my head at the moment. I'm relatively new to the "homemade kit" concept although I've accidentally done it when packing for retreats. I've known Tina forever it seems -- my first scrappy group was ScrapHappy Family and I participated in their LOAD challenges where I met Tina and first heard about Calvinball. I saw references to Counterfeit kits as well as to subscription kits but the concept was pretty abstract to me and I wasn't sure it was for me. It seemed to make a LOT more sense when I realized that I had SO much stuff it was actually hard to pick what to use on a layout! I'm so thrilled to be Guest Forger this month and I love the kit I pulled to work with. I hope we all have fun making pretty pages with our own pretty stuff!

Thanks so much for joining us this month Kathy!

Now here is the blog hop list for this month's reveal:

Counterfeit Kit Challenges -  http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/

Guest Designer - Kathy McElfresh (Scrappy Kathy) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0TTq5vBtMM&t=13s

Cindy - http://cindyscreations-cinmfoster.blogspot.com/

Julene - http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com/

Lisa - http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com

Leslie - https://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Tina - http://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com/

Laura - https://www.instagram.com/mrsp_scrapsandtea/

We always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us!  

You can use our Monthly Link-up page, post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using#counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjuluy2019).

Thanks so much for stopping by today! We can't wait to see your kits and projects this month!

Killing Kits - Project Life Cards

Hello Counterfeiters. We're nearing the end of the month, so I'm back with a few 'Killing Kits' ideas to help you finish of some of those kit leftovers and this month our focus is on Project Life Cards.

I have a massive stack of Project Life Cards that have accumulated via kits, collections and from the 'cut apart sheets' that seem to be included in lots of new collections. 

Of course, the simplest way to use those Project Life Cards is to add them into a Project Life Album, but it can sometimes be difficult to match colours or themes. Next time you find yourself unsure of which cards to use, choose a monochromatic scheme, like this beauty from Crafty Kari that I found over at Studio Calico. There's no overall theme to the cards, but it's well balanced and, more importantly, it's a layout done and in an album! Imagine! ;)

This beautiful, soft layout by Kathleen Graumuller for Felicity Jane uses two 3x4 cards to fantastic effect. A filler card acts as the base 'frame' for a small photograph and combined with a beautiful sentiment card, forms the base of the layout. It's so pretty!

But what about the cards that aren't really your style? I often find it difficult to use 'loud' colours, but this layout from Eyoung Lee looks effortless. With 3x4 cards in a loose format, she's used them as a base for embellishments and a smaller photograph. The bold colours draw in the eye, but don't overpower the layout in such small doses. 

I'd love to know if you decide to try one of these ideas, or if you have any ideas of your own for using up Project Life Cards.

If you are still in need of ideas for your kit leftovers, you can watch the full Killing Kits Series or head over to the Counterfeit Kit Facebook Community where the Master Forgers and our friendly followers will be happy to help!

Clair x

June 2019 - Follower Showcase

Hello, everyone! June is winding down and that means it's time for our follower showcase! 

We've had so many of you play along with us this month and that makes it difficult to feature just one participant, but our feature for June is Tara O'Rourke.

Tara put together a fabulous kit for June and the last time I looked at her blog she had made 11 layouts using her kit. Here are a few photos of her kit, but to see all of it you really need to check out her blog here - Tara's Ramblings:

And here are just a few of the beautiful layouts that she has made this month:

Get ready because July is right around the corner and Tina has another great inspiration kit for us to counterfeit! 

Thank you to everyone that has played along with us this month. We have so enjoyed seeing your kits and the projects you have made with those kits here on the blog, in our Facebook Community, and on Instagram.