October 2019 - Challenge #1 - Back to the Good Old Days!

Hello everyone! I hope you are having fun creating with your kit this month and are ready for a challenge!

Just to remind you, our inspiration kit for this month is the 2012 Studio Calico kit 'Summer of '69'.

With our inspiration kit being something of a throwback, my 1st challenge for you this month is to go 'old skool' and scrap just like you used to! Our scrapbooking evolves and changes over time. Maybe you are now a project lifer or travellers notebook scrapper, but you used to scrap 12x12 - go back and scrap a 12x12 layout. Or perhaps you used to use a certain technique that you haven't used for ages-give it another go. Maybe scraplift yourself by diggin out an older layout that you love. Get back to the heart of what made you fall in love with scrapbooking in the first place!

Our guest designer Ayaan took on the challenge and created a colourful birthday layout, scraplifting herself from a birthday layout she made back in 2013.

 MF Lori started scrapbooking 8 1/2x11 layouts back in 1998. She moved on to 12x12 after a handful of 8 1/2x11 were made. She decided to revisit the smaller visit for this challenge:

You can read more about her layout on her blog here.

MF Cindy was scrapping a variety of sized during 2012 but she used a lot of cardstock bases, punches for her pages. 

You can read more about her layout on her blog here.

MF Leslie scrapped two-page spreads in the beginning. This month's challenge (top) was inspired by the grid design in the oldie but goodie (bottom with the fab BasicGrey background paper.)

Don't forget to come back on the 18th when we will have another challenge for you to help you along with using your kit this month. And remember to check in for our follower showcase on the 24th and another installment of killing kits on the 30th.

We love to see what you create and you can share your work with us via our monthly link up or over at our Facebook community. You can also tag us on Instagram (@counterfeitkitchallenge) with the hashtags #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcoctober2019.

October 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, let's remind ourselves of this month's inspiration kit, the beautiful 'Summer of '69' kit from Studio Calico back in august 2012

MF Susan found herself struck by the pink/red mix of the inspiration kit and she began pulling 6x6 papers in those shades. Once she realized that she had a little stack, she decided that instead of narrowing down those options and adding in the rest of the colors from the inspiration kit, she'd embrace the pink/red vibe and use just those colors for her mini kit!  Here's what she chose:

She included a hexagon punch to mirror the hexagon die-cuts from the Studio Calico kit.  And then she put that punch to work and made this page:

MF Lisa decided to make her mini kit from her scrap box. When she spotted the Studio Calico Banner (you can just spy it there next to the glass container) she knew that this would be the perfect item to form the base to her kit. It was very reminiscent of the original inspiration and colours, and that drove her to pick out all older papers and products - Dear Lizzy, October Afternoon, Authentique, BasicGrey, Cosmo Cricket - in patterns and shades that went with that paper and seemed to match the mood of the original kit. As always, it looks bigger than it really is and there are no full sized sheets in there.

She then used those products to make this page that definitely has a "throwback" feel in colours and style. She's used a lot of items that she often added to her layouts in the past such as flowers, buttons tied up with string or ribbon, and banners to give this layout a feeling of being created in 2012! She intends on using the rest of the supplies to make up a bunch of greetings cards for her stock. Those banner flags and miscellaneous embellishments seem perfect as decoration for simple cards that will use up all those leftovers. Win-win!

You can find more detail shots over on her blog here

• October 12th & 18th:  We'll give you two challenges to help you use the kit you've made.
• October 24th:  I'll be showcasing one of the CKC community who's caught my eye this month
• October 30th: We'll be offering another installment in our {Killing Kits} series to help you find ways to use up all of your kit.

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 #ckcoctober2019).

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

October 2019 - Forgery on the Fourth

Our inspiration kit this month, courtesy of Master Forger Laura, is the August 2012 Studio Calico "Summer of '69 - experience the nostalgia".

Laura says:

The name might imply summer, but the colours would work just as well for 
Autumn or spring layouts. Many of us have been scrapping several years now and 

have a fair amount of stash. This kit includes papers from some of the great manufacturers 

we all used to coo over - October Afternoon, Basic Grey etc, so what a perfect way 

for us to have a rummage and pull out some older stuff from our stash to use up.

Here's a look at what the Design Team counterfeiters came up with to inspire you!

Julene
Based on the circles in the kit, Julene has made these 6 small circles to use as tags or layering on her layouts. (No circle punch so hand cut)

Laura made her own version of the chipboard banners featured in the kit "I made both a digital version of the chipboard banners and a physical version. The physical version is made by punching several of the same shape and gluing the layers together, a technique i learned from the fantastic Janet at RTS scrapbooking over on YouTube."

Leslie did a quick take on the hexagon embellishments in the main kit plus the decorated tag from the "Five & Dime" add-on.

Blog post HERE

Lori pulled out her punches, dies, and stamps to make her version of some of the embellishments in the inspiration kit (and the add-on kits).

There's more to come this month as we aim to give you some tips, ideas 
and challenges as you put together and use your kit.  

Here's what we have coming up:

• October 6th:  We'll reveal a couple of mini-kits and projects, in case you're a little limited for time this month and would prefer a more petite kit.
• October 12th & 18th:  We'll give you two challenges to help you use the kit you've made.
• October 24th:  We'll showcase one member of the CKC community from this month.
• October 30th: We'll be offering another installment in our {Killing Kits} series to help you find ways to use up all of your kit.

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 #ckcoctober2019).

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

October 2019 - Just the Gist of It

Hello again everyone! I'm back today with Just the Gist of it, where we hope to give you some friendly pointers for creating your own kit.

Our inspiration kit this month is the Studio Calico 'Summer of '69' kit, and it's all the way from 2012!

If you were scrapbooking back then, you will remember how exciting a time it was, with some wonderful companies creating beautiful products. Sadly some of those companies are no longer around, but their products live on in our stash, so now is the perfect time to dig it out and use it up!

So where can we start? How about the colour scheme.
We have a soft pallette of yellow, pink, orange, red, blue and green, with a pop of black and some neutral kraft. This kit may look and sound summery, but I can see the orange, black and green working great for Autumn layouts. A paper like the blue sky design, paired with the orange and the black would be fabulous for scrapping pumpkin patches or Halloween, whereas the yellow, pink and neutrals in the kit would be fabulous for spring or Valentines layouts.

Now let's look at the patterns. Patterns include chevrons, polka dots, florals, and a blue sky design mixed in with some geometric prints.

In terms of embellishments, we have Doilies, chipboard banners and buttons, some journalling spot stamps, hexagon die cuts, buttons and enamel dots. There are also some flair, shipping tags and tabs. A red chipboard alpha and the October Afternoon 'Mini Market' mini tile alpha completes the kit.

And then we have the manufacturers. There are some Studio Calico branded items alongside October Afternoon and Basic Grey....Anyone reminiscing with me?!

Even if you are new to scrapping, I feel this kit is timeless and would work just as great with more 'up to date' products.

I hope this look at some of the elements of the kit has given you some inspiration as to what you can work into your own version.

Just a reminder that we will be back throughout the month with even more hints, tips and challenges to help you along with your kit making. Here's what we have coming up:

• October 4th:  We'll have our "Forgery on the Fourth" post where the Master Forgers will reveal how they created their own version of some of the items in this month's kit.
• October 6th:  We'll reveal a couple of mini-kits and projects, in case you're a little limited for time this month and would prefer a more petite kit.
• October 12th & 18th:  We'll give you two challenges to help you use the kit you've made.
• October 24th:  I'll be showcasing one of the CKC community who's caught my eye this month
• October 30th: We'll be offering another installment in our {Killing Kits} series to help you find ways to use up all of your kit

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 #ckcoctober2019).

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

October 2019 - Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop & Kit Reveal

Hello lovely Counterfeiters. It's Laura at the helm and this month I've decided to head in a slightly different direction for our inspiration kit. I've been inspired by two things - 1) a kit I absolutely fell in love with and 2) something I recently saw on Instagram.

If you are a follower of Ali Edwards, you may have seen recently that she partnered up with Studio Calico to create a kit entitled ‘The Good Old Days’ where they released a 12x12 traditional scrapbooking kit and re-released some of Ali's older stamp sets. Ali then used the kit to go back to her hey-day and created some traditional 12x12 layouts with the kit. Great right?! Well this got me inspired to go with my gut and choose a kit that I absolutely just loved.

So my pick for October is the ‘Summer of ‘69 Kit' from Studio Calico and and ladies, it’s an oldie! Like 2012 old! However, I can honestly say that if they released this kit today I would totally want to buy it, and I feel it looks just as fresh and bright as it’s modern counterparts.

The kit includes some amazing 'old school' manufacturers like October Afternoon and Basic Grey - and I will bet any money that we have some in our stash somewhere - so have a rummage, find some of that older stash and use it up this month!

Our Guest Designer for October is the lovely Ayaan Nambier. Ayaan joins us each month on Instagram (@ayaan_scraps) and has a dedicated scrapbooking feed where she shows off her beautiful, colourful layouts!

 

"Hello everyone, my name is Ayaan and I live in India with my two daughters and husband. I'm a copywriter by profession and love to scrapbook, sew and read in my spare time. I started my scrapbooking journey with my first daughters birth in 2012. Scrapbooking isn't just a stress buster for me, it also helps me remember my memories so much clearer than I ever could. Although I do art journal and travellers notebooks from time to time, my first love remains the 12x12 layout. I've been counterfeiting kits along with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge since 2017 and I've enjoyed every minute of it. Hats off to the lovely ladies of the CKC team and thank you so much for having me as the guest designer this month. Here's to a happy scrappy time this month." 

Pop on over to Ayaan's Instagram feed (and make sure that you follow her, so that you can see what she creates with her kit this month) then head back here to follow the rest of this month's blog hop!

Guest Designer, Ayaan - https://www.instagram.com/ayaan_scraps/
Cindy - http://cindyscreations-cinmfoster.blogspot.com/
Julene - http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com/
Leslie - http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/
Lori - http://loriannie670.blogspot.com/
Tina - http://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com/
Laura - https://www.instagram.com/mrsp_scrapsandtea/

And of course, don't forget that we'll be back throughout the month to give you some tips, ideas and challenges as you put together and use your kit. 

Here's what we have coming up this month: 

• October 2nd: I'll be back with a "Just the Gist" post to help jump-start your kit-making. 
• October 4th: We'll have our "Forgery on the Fourth" post where the Master Forgers will reveal how they created their own version of some of the items in this month's kit. 
• October 6th: We'll reveal a couple of mini-kits and projects, in case you're a little limited for time this month and would prefer a more petite kit. 
• October 12th & 18th: We'll give you two challenges to help you use the kit you've made. 
• October 24th: I'll be showcasing one of the CKC community who's caught my eye this month 
• October 30th: We'll be offering another installment in our Killing Kits Series to help you find ways to use up all of your kit. 

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 #ckcoctober2019). 

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

Killing Kits - Shipping Labels & Tags.

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 I wanted to focus on shipping labels and tags, which I see included in both 'traditional' kits and those made with Traveller's Notebooks or Project Life in mind. And, if you don't already have some in your stash, you can easily cut down some basic cardstock and try out these ideas for yourself!

Now, whilst I think that one of the commonest uses of a shipping label is as a journalling spot, Ali Edwards took that idea, ran with it, and came up with something truly amazing. This layout has been in my favourites for such a long time - and I don't think I'll ever stop loving it. It's such a fantastic way to make the 'story' the main focus (in fact, the only focus) of the layout.

This next layout from Marivi Pazos couldn't be more different, but I love that the difference in the labels adds to the overall effect, so that the 'title' is contrasted.

Finally, this layout from Shanna Noel uses *so* many labels and tags on one layout - and I think it's fantastic. Shanna has covered her entire base with different labels, finding some balance between the different styles and colours - and has even taken some of them off the edge of the layout, to make sure that there's no empty space. (Not one for our 'white space' scrappers!) I love how she's used the labels as spots for her smaller photos and journalling - and maybe this has helped her to use up those with titles or graphics that wouldn't normally be in her own style?

If you have your own favourite way of using these items in your own scrapbooking, please let us know in the comments below. Or, if you are still in need of ideas for your kit leftovers, you can check out 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

September 2019 - Follower Showcase

I've been amazed this month at so many gorgeous layouts and projects being shared by you all but one member caught my eye in particular and made me go wow!

I'd like to highlight Autumn Brown who has created her first Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit ever and also challenged herself with using her electronic die cutting machine and shopping her own stash for a full project rather than going out and getting new stuff! Yay for shopping and loving your stash - there's so much to enjoy right there in your own craft room.

Her kit is great and I saw a lot there that would be perfect for my own pages! I can't believe it's her first kit.

And then she got stuck right in during a Simple Scrapper online crop and created some beautiful travel pages that just shout out lovely happy memories!

As you know, I love travel pages so they caught my attention right away.

And look how she used the die cut car outline shapes for her journalling! A genius idea and something I'll be stealing for myself ;-)

Autumn told me, "For the car, I used this template (free from Pixel Scrapper) with a 15 pixel inside stroke. I made the interior transparent and saved as a jpg. Then I cut the file. 
I was surprised how easy it was."

It's great to have you with us Autumn, I can't wait to see what else you create this month and in months to come!

You can find Autumn's kit and layouts right there in our Counterfeit Kit Challenge Facebook community (find it here) along with a whole bunch of other gorgeous kits and pages from members and team alike. Inspiration galore so why not check it out and share the love!

We'll be offering a sneak peek of the new October kit in the next few days but don't forget that there's still time to check out the blog and FB community to see what we have to share with you this month!

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 #ckcseptember2019).

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

Lisa