A few sad goodbyes and a Counterfeit Kit Challenge Master Forger Design Team Call – 2018

First of all, I’d like to make a long overdue but ever so sad announcement about some of our wonderful Master Forgers who have left, or are leaving, our very close and happy team.

Master Forgers Stephanie, Jemma and Lesley decided some time ago to move on to different things and we already miss them greatly. To be honest, I held off announcing their departure as I was hoping that they would decide to stay on with us, and I know that they are "lurking" in the background which I love and they are very much welcome to continue to do so, but now is the time to thank them from the bottom of my heart for being so awesome when they were with us and to wish them all the very best for the future. I’ve met each of these lovely women in real life and hope very much that we will meet again in the future! 

Their contributions, not only in the scrapbook kits they made and the projects they shared with us, but also behind the scenes on the blog, the FB community page or within the team were generous, creative and an asset to us all. 

Please join me in thanking them for their time, energy and creativity!

I’m also sobbing over my keyboard while I’m writing because I have to announce that Master Forger Susanne will also be leaving us at the end of the year. I’ve “known” Susanne for even longer than we’ve been on the CKC team together and as a fellow Scorpio, we have a connection that spans the many thousands of miles between us. She has been making me smile with her inimitable wit since I've known her and she has continued to make me laugh out loud each and every month in the very wonderful “Scribbles from my Scrap Studio” here on the CKC blog in 2017. Oh yes, and she’s a fabulous crafter to boot!

I’d just like to add that the door is always open to them in they ever want to come back to us, and they should feel free to lurk as much as they like! 

So thank you to you ALL and we miss you already.

Which brings me to a happier part of this post:

Design Team Call for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge team in 2018

January to December 2018

We are looking for passionate kitters and paper crafters to join the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Master Forger team to join us in 2018 (January to December 2018).

If you would like to apply to join our team as Master Forger for 2018 you need to do the following and send your application to thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by Monday 11^th December:

• pick an inspiration kit from one of the kits featured in 2017 on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog
• create your own kit using the inspiration
• create a project using one of the two featured challenges from the month chosen
• send us bright and clear photos of your CKC kit, your CKC project and two other projects you have created which showcase your crafting style (these two projects do NOT need to be new NOR do they need to have been created with a CKC kit) to thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com with a short write up about each
• in addition to your kit and project photos, your email should include some information about you, any current design teams you contribute to, your crafting story and where we can find you online (social media, blog, online galleries, YouTube etc).

 As a Master Forger for 2018 you will be expected to:

• create a kit each month based on an inspiration kit and showcase it in a design team blog (or other social media platform) hop
• create a project for at least one CKC challenge each month
• contribute to the Forgery on the Fourth feature by making items for your kit with photos and instructions or by finding links/ideas online to link to in the blog feature
• take clear, bright, good quality photos of your kits and projects and/or videos
• contribute to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Facebook community on a regular basis
• comment on projects which are linked up on our blog or the CKC FB community by our followers
• organize and coordinate the inspiration kit, challenges and blog posts once a year

We will make the new team announcement in December, before Christmas, and the new Master Forgers will be able to showcase their first kit in January 2018!

We are excited to hear from you. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact us on thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com if you have any questions or queries!

Good luck, we can't wait to see your creations!

October 2016 Challenge #2

Challenge #2 for October 2016 - Balance the Scale!

Source

The astrological sign for most of the month of October is Libra, symbolized by a scale. The second challenge this month is to keep your project's color scale in balance. An easy way to attain color balance is the "gallon-quart-pint" strategy: feature one color for the majority of your project (gallon), another color for a smaller part of the project (quart) and one color for a tiny part of your project (pint). You can find an explanation of this strategy and a sample layout here and and a video explanation here.

Those of us familiar with the Halloween treat called candy corn can think of this confection as an example of the color balance strategy: feature one color prominently on your layout (like the orange band of the candy corn), another color less prominently (like the yellow band of the candy corn) and another color in just a small amount (like the white band of the candy corn). When I first proposed this challenge to the Master Forgers, I was very surprised to find out that those of us outside of the United States weren't familiar with this Halloween icon:

(Candy corn has a bit of a waxy consistency and is very, very sweet - I'm more of a chocolate fan myself..)

Susanne has used a simple three color scheme on her card.  Using black, even as the third most minor color really adds punch to the design.  Hop over to her blog to see how she took another card even further using this principle.

Julene has used navy, mid blue and white on her layout

Jemma loved this challenge - for a liquid gift!

On her page, Kelly used a lot of mustard yellow, some aqua blue, and a smidgen of light grey to create balance.

Don't forget that we love it when you share your creations with us over at our Link-Up page or maybe you'd like to hold onto something to share in the Member Blog Hop on the 24th. :-)

***** MEMBER BLOG HOP ***** 

WE *LOVE* it when you join in the fun and sign up to be on our member blog hop on 24th!  Find out how below!  Go on, you know you want to! 

Your project should be something new, using a Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, that you haven't shown before and will only post for the hop. Be inspired by any of the challenges this month or just share something you've created with your kit. Remember, the more the merrier and it never fails to be a lot of fun! 

To be a part of our blog hop: 

• E-mail us your name & blog address & promise to participate at thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by the 18th October.
• You will receive an e-mail from us by the 20th October with a list of the hop participants.
• You will need to schedule your own blog post showing your project based on a challenge and link to the person after you in the hop.All Blog Hop posts will need to be scheduled to go live on the 24th October at 12:00am Mountain Standard Time (Arizona) but we will help you with the scheduling!

July 2016 Challenge #3

CHALLENGE THREE: Inspired by Played in the Shade.

Want to stay out of the sun altogether, then be inspired by playing in the shade with word games, like crossword puzzles, anagrams, jumbles.

Or if you are a numbers person, how about Sudoku? Any of these can be found in the Sunday paper. They all make for relaxing fun when it’s too hot to be doing much else.

This challenge was inspired by the Pebbles papers in the kit called Puzzled and Sunday Paper from their Happy Day line.  

Pebbles even had a fun post on making your own easy Sodoku and Crossword Activity Books here on their blog.

For challenge no. 3 this month, Guest Designer Gretchen Henninger whipped up a layout titled Sunday Brunch, using a crossword puzzle paper from October Afternoon called Roadmaps.

  Leslie has this version on offer using another beach vacation photo.

Blog post HERE

Lesley was puzzled by this challenge as her plan didn't go the way she wanted - her blog post will tell you why...
 

Lynnette knew exactly which paper and what photo to use for this challenge...

Check out some more close-ups on her blog HERE.

Jemma used a criss-cross layout for her title celebrating a Master Forger Meet-up:

Do please share your kits and creations to Mr. Linky so that we can all come and look.
Perhaps save a special project using this month's kit and join in with your very own Members' Blog Hop towards the end of the month!

*** MEMBERS' BLOG HOP ***

 

Be inspired by any of the challenges this month or just share something you've created with your current kit. Remember, the more the merrier and EVERYone is welcome! To be a part of the Members' Blog Hop:

• E-mail us your name & blog address & promise to participate at thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by the 18th.
• We will e-mail back on the 20th with a list of the hop participants and full instructions.
• You will need to schedule your own blog post, showing a new counterfeit kit based project, to go live on the 24th at 00:00am Mountain Standard Time (Arizona) but we will help you with the scheduling!

 

Forgeries on the Fourth - July Tutorials

for·ger·y

ˈfôrjərē/

noun

1. the action of forging or producing a copy of a document, signature, banknote, or work of art.

Welcome to "Forgeries on the Fourth" where it is no crime to create your own version of the trendy, hip products from the inspiration kit using your own stash and ingenuity.  Each month on the fourth, check out tutorials from your Master Forgers or links to resources they have found for you on the internet.

  Jemma got buzz-y with some oh so clever use of punches:

 

LINK

Susanne did her own charming version of those pinwheels flowers.  Check out her blog for a few other tidbits she made this month.

 

Here's a Pinterest search link for "paper pinwheels" - quite a variety to be had! Here is a sampling of those resembling flowers: 

 

This link includes a printable template for a bow in four sizes!

 

LINK

 

  Who doesn't love a good layered embellishment? This was shared in the DT private forum & may help you creatively use up the embellishment/diecut pack that you've included in your kit:

 

LINK

 

We would love to see anything that our members create using the tutorials we've found - and, even more so, if you counterfeit something from scratch. Please do share with us by adding a link to our monthly Mr. Linky!

***** MEMBER BLOG HOP *****
Don't forget that we *LOVE* it when you join in the fun and sign up to be on our member blog hop on 24th! Find out how below!  Go on, you know you want to!
Your project should be something new, using a Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, that you haven't shown before and will only post for the hop. Be inspired by any of the challenges this month or just share something you've created with your kit. Remember, the more the merrier and it never fails to be a lot of fun!
To be a part of our blog hop:

• E-mail us your name & blog address & promise to participate at thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by the 18th July.
• You will receive an e-mail from us by the 20th July with a list of the hop participants.
• You will need to schedule your own blog post showing your project based on a challenge and link to the person after you in the hop.All Blog Hop posts will need to be scheduled to go live on the 24th July at 12:00am Mountain Standard Time (Arizona) but we will help you with the scheduling!

 

Forgeries on the Fourth - June Tutorials

for·ger·y

ˈfôrjərē/

noun

1. the action of forging or producing a copy of a document, signature, banknote, or work of art.

Welcome to "Forgeries on the Fourth" where it is no crime to create your own version of the trendy, hip products from the inspiration kit using your own stash and ingenuity.  Each month on the fourth, check out tutorials from your Master Forgers or links to resources they have found for you on the internet.

With lots of watercolored items in the kit this month,

these YouTube beginner tutorials may inspire you! 

Flowers:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bsv0rzU7Dc

 Word Art:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlsxrQcPgMU 

LINK to print & cut files

Our Guest Designer, Salla, has these on offer:  

 The Hello words are DIY stickers, by the way, made of paper scraps backed with wide double sided tape and die cut with Sizzix Big Shot! 

LINK

 Jemma used a fine tipped pen to add doodles to striped patterned paper to counterfeit one of the Hip Kit Club exclusive papers from the kit:

Leslie had a similar idea for a Project-Life card & more...

LINK

Kelly created pocket page cards--see the complete tutorial on her blog.

Lesley jumped right back in & offers these:

LINK

Lisa tried her hand at the print & cut feature on her Silhouette for the first time (since she got her machine almost 2 1/2 years ago!) and discovered that is SO easy! In under 30 minutes she had a wonderful pile of printed and perfectly cut pretty florals as well as other motifs. She found plenty of cut files in the Silhouette shop and used the easy to follow tutorial on the Silhouette School Blog here 

 We would love to see anything that our members create using the tutorials we've found - and, even more so, if you counterfeit something from scratch. Please do share with us by adding a link to our monthly Mr. Linky!

***** MEMBER BLOG HOP *****
Don't forget that we *LOVE* it when you join in the fun and sign up to be on our member blog hop on 24th! Find out how below!  Go on, you know you want to!
Your project should be something new, using a Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, that you haven't shown before and will only post for the hop. Be inspired by any of the challenges this month or just share something you've created with your kit. Remember, the more the merrier and it never fails to be a lot of fun!
To be a part of our blog hop:

• E-mail us your name & blog address & promise to participate at thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by the 18th June.
• You will receive an e-mail from us by the 20th June with a list of the hop participants.
• You will need to schedule your own blog post showing your project based on a challenge and link to the person after you in the hop.All Blog Hop posts will need to be scheduled to go live on the 24th June at 12:00am Mountain Standard Time (Arizona) but we will help you with the scheduling!

{I}NSD - The Fabulous Forgers' Fantastic Favourites - Jemma's crazy for counterfeits!

It's no secret that I love this blog and the many ways in which it has helped me to USE my scrappy stash.
There are plenty of tutorials to help me recreate trendy items and make my existing embellishments and papers work in new and fun ways.
In fact it was the recreation of a Studio Calico item that led me here in the first place:

The CKCB founder Bethany recreated these fun Notions back in January 2011.
We often counterfeit Studio Calico exclusives!  In September 2012 we had paper and ribbon counterfeits for their pretty paperclips:

In 2013 we introduced Hey ... I Can Make That! summary posts to gather the monthly forgeries together so that there would be a variety of counterfeiting help in one place.

This post from July 2013 is no exception with faked black and white Thickers (ueseful for this month's counterfeiting), washi-striped patterned paper, home-made Bingo Cards, pretend Pebbles clothes pegs and some counterfeited Elle's Studio stickers!

Even our Guest Designers get crafty with counterfeiting.  Elaine (Chidkid) was one one of the contributing forgers on this post from March 2014 which included home-made stencils, stitched journalling spots, faux flair, DIY patterned paper and free printables to help with the fakery.

Following some changes on the CKCB, we renamed our monthly makes entry as Forgeries On The Fourth and this post from November 2015 was jam packed with creativity as you can see from this collage:

And of course those forgeries are still coming every month including this month.  Take a look at the Tutorials category of our blog posts as there is a wealth of inspiration there - both from our own Forgers and plenty of links to instructions out there on the web.

Happy International Scrappbooking Day!

Jemma

***********************************

If you’ve been inspired to create by any of our “Fabulous Forgers’ Fantastic Favourites”, we’d LOVE to hear from you over on our Link-up page.

Of course, you could also use this inspiration to join in with our member blog hop later in the month. You can find out how to be part of the hop on this help page or at the bottom of our regular challenges.

So be sure to let us know you're following along and how you're using up your kit this month.

Forgeries on the Fourth - May Tutorials

for·ger·y

ˈfôrjərē/

noun

1. the action of forging or producing a copy of a document, signature, banknote, or work of art.

Welcome to "Forgeries on the Fourth" where it is no crime to create your own version of the trendy, hip products from the inspiration kit using your own stash and ingenuity.  Each month on the fourth, check out tutorials from your Master Forgers or links to resources they have found for you on the internet.

Susan forged two sets of items for her kit this month. You can get the details on her blog.

Link

Julene has Counterfeited 2 papers, both using simple ideas.



Lisa had mixed success with her forged stripey alphabet and the coloured veneers. You can find out all about it over on her blog.




Great minds think alike :D

Leslie's blog post LINK

Here's a link to Pinterest for stamping on acetate/vellum ideas,as in those cute b/w embellishments in the original. This one is altered with alcohol inks but imagine layering your transparent elements over a beautiful patterned paper for added pizzazz.



What about creating a faux bokeh paper with stamping?
This post from June 2013 Guest Designer Sherri Breese
gives you her inside tips for making this work & customizing for a motif!
Her examples below show both a subtle & bold version.
The post includes a link to the Lawn Fawn tutorial.

(Notice the hearts on the left-hand version? Delightful!)

Here's another online tutorial for a faux bokeh patterned paper.



Jemma took a scrap of patterned paper, a hole punch and some liquid glaze to make a variety of faux-enamel dots ...

... and taking the two tone embellishment theme, she even made two-tone dots from that stripey pattern!  The hardest part is leaving the glaze plenty of time to dry ... fingerprints are not a good look
;-)

Jemma also forged the butterfly transparencies by making her own rub-ons using Butterflies font by Typadelic at Dafont printed Crafty Computer Paper dry rub-off decal paper (you can also use Safmat or print directly onto a transparency).

We would love to see anything that our members create using the tutorials we've found - and, even more so, if you counterfeit something from scratch. Please do share with us by adding a link to our monthly Mr. Linky!

***** MEMBER BLOG HOP *****

Don't forget that we *LOVE* it when you join in the fun and sign up to be on our member blog hop on 24th! Find out how below!  Go on, you know you want to!
Your project should be something new, using a Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, that you haven't shown before and will only post for the hop. Be inspired by any of the challenges this month or just share something you've created with your kit. Remember, the more the merrier and it never fails to be a lot of fun!
To be a part of our blog hop:

• E-mail us your name & blog address & promise to participate at thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by the 18th May.
• You will receive an e-mail from us by the 20th May with a list of the hop participants.
• You will need to schedule your own blog post showing your project based on a challenge and link to the person after you in the hop.All Blog Hop posts will need to be scheduled to go live on the 24th May at 12:00am Mountain Standard Time (Arizona) but we will help you with the scheduling!

Forgeries On The Fourth - April Tutorials

for·ger·y

ˈfôrjərē/

noun

1. the action of forging or producing a copy of a document, signature, banknote, or work of art.

Welcome to "Forgeries on the Fourth" where it is no crime to create your own version of the trendy, hip products from the inspiration kit using your own stash and ingenuity.  Each month on the fourth, check out tutorials from your Master Forgers or links to resources they have found for you on the internet.

The C'est Magnifique Design Team have filled the C'est Magnifique You Tube Channel with an amazing selection of scrapbooking process videos; mixed media tutorials; kit reveals; tags and decor inspiration. And the C'est Magnifique Pinterest Boards are also well worth a visit!

Margie is sharing some amazing tutorials for making hand-made flower embellishments, like those in the C'est Magnifique Flower Add On Kit, on her Crafty Handmade Flowers Pinterest Board. (Seriously, head over and take a look, there are *so* many to choose from!)

Paper Flowers

Dryer Sheet Flowers

Clair found these beautiful (and free) ATC Journalling Cards whilst browsing the internet for inspiration. Head to Dear Brighton to include some in your own kits!

Julene has made crochet doiley flowers

Jemma used Microsoft Word to recreate the Giant Arrow - find out how here on her blog

 

We would love to see anything that our members create using the tutorials we've found - and, even more so, if you counterfeit something from scratch. Please do share with us by adding a link to our monthly Mr. Linky!

***** MEMBER BLOG HOP *****

Don't forget that we *LOVE* it when you join in the fun and sign up to be on our member blog hop on 24th! Find out how below!  Go on, you know you want to!

Your project should be something new, using a Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, that you haven't shown before and will only post for the hop. Be inspired by any of the challenges this month or just share something you've created with your kit. Remember, the more the merrier and it never fails to be a lot of fun!

To be a part of our blog hop:

• E-mail us your name & blog address & promise to participate at thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by the 18th April.
• You will receive an e-mail from us by the 20th April with a list of the hop participants.
• You will need to schedule your own blog post showing your project based on a challenge and link to the person after you in the hop.All Blog Hop posts will need to be scheduled to go live on the 24th April at 12:00am Mountain Standard Time (Arizona) but we will help you with the scheduling!