April 2025 - Just the Gist of It

 Here at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog, we are sure to take some time every month to go deeper into our kit-building process to [hopefully] inspire you to dig deep into your own stash of scrappy supplies and build a kit you love! 

As a reminder, our inspiration kit this month is lil' man by Bella Gypsy Designs.

First things first, do not let the name and all those fun little boy phrases deter you from playing along if you don't have little boys in your world to scrapbook! If you break the kit down into colors/patterns/motifs, you can make this kit just about anything you wish. The black & white title pieces can serve as inspiration to find your own quotes and words to add to the kit, they do not have to be boy, or even child, themed! 

Now, where do we start? For me, I almost always look at color. I actually use an online color palette picker, Coolors, to help me get started! This site allows you to either let their system randomly choose colors for you OR you can use the picker option and move around the image yourself. All you have to do is upload the photo of the inspiration kit and the site will help you create a beautiful color palette. You can also choose how many colors in your palette, I typically choose 4 or 5 depending on how colorful the inspiration kit is. 

Here's my chosen color palette for April: 

My next step is deciding a theme/season to include. This kit just screams SPRING to me, so that's where I started. I also have two young boys as the primary subjects of my scrapbooking these days, so keeping the little boy theme also works for me. This kit also has a lot of fun motifs - flowers, gears, hearts jump out at me. 

Here's a few other ideas I had for themed kits before I get into sharing mine! 

• Perhaps you or someone in your life is mechanically inclined and loves to work on cars/engines - focus on finding geometric pattern papers and adding in plenty of gears for a grungy garage-feel kit. 
• Masculine scrapbooking not your style? Pull out the lighter colors, pink, yellow & baby blue and create a beautiful pastel kit to scrapbook spring or Easter. Add LOTS of flowers! 
• There's a lot of greens in this kit - outdoorsy themes, such as gardening or even hiking, would make great choices as well! 
• Finally, abandon "theme" altogether! There are so many fun geometric patterns in this kit, it would work wonderfully for scrapbooking those everyday photos, regardless of season! 

Now, let's take a closer look at my April kit - "Spring Things" 

Since I knew I wanted to focus on spring themes this month, I started by pulling out some spring-themed pattern papers that coordinated with my color palette: 

Next, I went searching for some basic prints & background paper options to round-out my paper selection: 

Now that I have my papers selected, it's time for the fun stuff! I was surprised to find a lot more spring-themed goodies in my stash than I was expecting, so this kit quickly grew and grew. Here's my spring-themed embellishments. I've included a few cut-apart card sheets, lots of floral ephemera & fun flair and other small embellishments! I love layering clusters on my layouts, so having a variety of embellishment styles is a must for me. I'm also playing along with a 6x6 paper pad class this spring, so I included a few of those here as well. 

I also wanted to include some boy-specific embellishments and rounded it out with some miscellaneous goodies and a few stencils/dies/stamps I'd like to play with as well! Of course, I had to include gears like our inspiration kit! 

and finally, one of my favorite things to do when building a kit is build up my own little box of goodies focusing solely on color! I keep a lot of items sorted by color, so this is always a fun way to use up some loose embellishments. I will go to this box of goodies first when creating layouts too. 

 Let's see what we have lined up for the rest of this month:

• 4th April - Forgeries on the Fourth
• 6th April - Mini Kit and Project Reveal 
• 12th April - Challenge #1 
• 18th April - Challenge #2
• 22nd April - Challenge #3 Sketch Challenge
• 24th April - Follower Showcase 
• 26th April - April Sneak Peek (on Instagram and the Facebook Community) 
• 30th April - Challenge #4 Baby, Use Those Scraps Challenge

We love to see what you are working on!  Drop in your projects to our Facebook Community Group and of course tag us on Instagram at #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcapril2025

"Crafting all day won't solve your problems... but then again, neither will cleaning and cooking!" 

Happy scrapping! 

~ Brandi ~ 

April 2025 - Inspiration Kit and Social Media Hop

 Welcome to April 2025. It's time for a new Counterfeit Kit Challenge!

I'm Brandi and I'll be the Master Forger in charge for the month of April! It is really starting to feel like SPRING in my neck of the woods, so for this month's inspiration kit I chose Lil' Man Collection by Bella Gypsy Designs. Don't let the name fool you, there's a lot of beautiful inspiration here no matter what theme or season you are scrapping!  

As always, we have a fantastic guest designer playing along with us this month! Briana Spors is a fellow member of the Stick It Down design team with me. 

Here's what Briana has to say about her scrapbooking style: 

"I have been passionate about scrapbooking for 25 years — and my extensive stash is proof of that journey. I have 3 young adult daughters and a husband that are the subjects of my scrapbook layouts.  Over the past 2.5 years, I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with amazing new friends through my YouTube channel. My style leans toward simplicity, but I also have a deep love for mixed media. My layouts often reflect a blend of old and new, bringing together timeless supplies with fresh finds. Lately, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the process of creating counterfeit kits, which allows me to rediscover and combine my favorite products in exciting new ways."

You can find her on social media as well! 

Instagram: mommie_rn

Youtube: lovemylifeonpaper

Our new kit reveal always comes with a team social media hop to get your creative ideas flowing. Be sure to visit all our team members this month to see a wide range of takes on the inspiration.

Social Media Hop:

 

• Counterfeit Kit Challenge - http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/  

• Guest Designer, Briana Spors - https://www.youtube.com/@lovemylifeonpaper

• Brandi - https://www.instagram.com/scrappy.boymama/ 

• Christine - https://www.youtube.com/@ScrappingHarden

• Misty - http://www.craftysoup.com

• JoJo - https://www.instagram.com/scrappyconfessions

• Tara -  https://kryptonite72-rambles.blogspot.com/

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

• Laurie - https://www.instagram.com/scrapbookingbits

 

 Now, let's see what we have lined up for the rest of this month:

• 2nd April - Just the Gist of it. 
• 4th April - Forgeries on the Fourth
• 6th April - Mini Kit and Project Reveal 
• 12th April - Challenge #1 
• 18th April - Challenge #2
• 22nd April - Challenge #3 Sketch Challenge
• 24th April - Follower Showcase 
• 26th April - April Sneak Peek (on Instagram and the Facebook Community) 
• 30th April - Challenge #4 Baby, Use Those Scraps Challenge

We love to see what you are working on!  Drop in your projects to our Facebook Community Group and of course tag us on Instagram at #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcapril2025

"You never know what you have... until you clean your craft room!" 

Happy scrapping! 

~ Brandi ~ 

March 2025 - Challenge #4 - Baby, Use Those Scraps!

What a great month it has been. It is always an adventure making sure all the little blog details are covered.  Hopefully you have had a wonderful experience as I have. Here is a final look at our Inspiration kit for the month. 

 A Beach Tale

Now, let's go ahead and wrap up the month with our final scraps challenge!

MF Tina

Had fun creating this layout from just some of the scraps from her kit

 

MF Jody created a mini album with all the pretty tropical paper that she still had in her kit.  The album design is from a Heidi Swapp class and can be used with any paper collection. Now Jody has a mini ready to go for her first Summer outing.  

We've made it to the very last challenge of March. Stay tuned, because we have a new  month coming - and new inspiration is literally right around the corner!

We love to see what you are working on!  Drop in your projects to our Facebook Community Group and of course tag us on Instagram at #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcmarch2025

Remember to Make Every Day a Day Worth Scrapbooking!

March 2025 - Follower's Showcase

You will hear us Master Forgers say this over and over again: This is the hardest part of the job! Choosing just one person to highlight. There are so many talented followers showing off your work. Plus scrapping is very personal. So picking out just one... It. Is. So. Hard! 

Before I introduce the March Follower we are highlighting, let's take another reminder look at our kit.

A Beach Tale

I would like to take this time to introduce you to one of our most prolific members of our group.  She always makes super large kits and makes amazing layout with her kits!  Here are some photos of her kit that she shared with me:

 

Look at all of the beautiful dies she has to make embellishments!

These papers are amazing.  Loving the colors and patterns she chose.

Do you remember those old journaling templates, too?

Here are some the layouts that Sheryle created with her beautiful kit!

 

Thank you Sheryle for allowing us to see your kit and beautiful layouts!  Check out to see what we have left for the month of April!z

• 26th March - April Sneak Peek (on Instagram and the Facebook Community) 
• 30th March - Challenge #4 Baby, Use Those Scraps Challenge

We love to see what you are working on!  Drop in your projects to our Facebook Community Group and of course tag us on Instagram at #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcmarch2025

Remember to Make Every Day a Day Worth Scrapbooking!

March 2025 - Challenge #3 Let's Get Sketchy

It's time for the March sketch. Before we dive into the sketch, remember that this is the inspiration kit from which we are working this month.

 A Beach Tale

Knowing that I want to work on my vacation album this month, I chose this sketch I found from ScrapbookTree.net with a tropical vibe.  Obviously, if you don't have tropical photos to scrapbook, you can modify this however you would like!  You don't even have to use both sides - make it a single page layout, or flip the whole thing upside down if you like it better that way!  This is a starting point for you to work from.  I love the circles on this layout, which I think really draw the eye across the page.

Master Forger Julene

My daughter recently went to a garden wedding, so I used her photos on this.

I painted my circles with a fine brush in red. I fussy cut around the pink flowers X2 for bottom left and top right. I added to these sections with extra flowers and leaves. The strips under the photos had flowers to match and I border punched another paper strip. Finally, I added tiny hearts from Simple stories plus wood veneer ones. The red title also matches the bride's dress.

MF JoJo

These photos was taken on our November vacation to California, from Santa Barbara Mission rose garden. This sketch is perfect for me photos and I had fun using circles on my layout.

 

• 24th March - Follower Showcase 
• 26th March - April Sneak Peek (on Instagram and the Facebook Community) 
• 30th March - Challenge #4 Baby, Use Those Scraps Challenge

We love to see what you are working on!  Drop in your projects to our Facebook Community Group and of course tag us on Instagram at #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcmarch2025

Remember to Make Every Day a Day Worth Scrapbooking!

March 2025 - Challenge #2 - Vacation Variations

Welcome back to the blog. Master Forger Ryann, here!  I hope you have been using up the supplies in your kit to tell your stories. If you still need a bit of motivation, we have another inspiration for you. First let's take a look at our inspiration kit again.  

A Beach Tale

Vacations can come in all shapes and sizes – from across the globe to a staycation, from solo mental health vacations to family reunions and chaos vacations, from all-inclusive to camping with whatever you carried in your backpack! So, for this challenge - Do a layout about some type of vacation.

Include:

• What you would do again or longer
• What you would change – if anything

and/or

• What you might have expected that was different or exactly as you thought it would be
• Include a small detail that was that a special “silver lining” of the trip or something fun – a special moment, attendee, or little story (i.e. this cute little squirrel was watching us through the window when we woke up that morning, etc.)

I decided to do the Title Page of my album for my Hawai'i vacation for this challenge. I summarized the entire trip into this book - over 2,000 words - and I'm super excited with the way it turned out! The title of my journaling "book" is "Not Exactly What We Expected" which is a summary of the entire, wonderful trip!

MF Misty

At first I didn't think I would be able to tell a vacation story. Then I had a face-palm moment when I realized our big trip from 2023 was largely unfinished. Time to get to work! I started with a bit of a trip overview.

MF Cindy

I am documenting a trip to the one of the many local parades. It is always exciting see the parades through the eyes of the grandkids. He had so much fun we tend to hit as many as time allows during the summer. It's not really a vacation but it was definitely an all-day trip. 

MF Tara

I recently went on a Scrappin' On A Ship cruise in February.  I scrapbooked the photos of my roommate and I arriving to the port and getting onto the ship.  So exciting.  The only thing that I would change about this trip was I would've scheduled my flight for earlier in the day because weather caused my flight to be delayed by 2.5 hours and I missed out hanging with my sister in Galveston because it was very late when I finally arrived. That was the fun part of getting there-seeing my sister and having dinner with her. 

Still coming up!

• 22nd March - Challenge #3 Sketch Challenge
• 24th March - Follower Showcase 
• 26th March - April Sneak Peek (on Instagram and the Facebook Community) 
• 28th March - Challenge #4 Baby, Use Those Scraps Challenge

We love to see what you are working on!  Drop in your projects to our Facebook Community Group and of course tag us on Instagram at #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcmarch2025

Remember to Make Every Day a Day Worth Scrapbooking!