March 2026 - Challenge #1 - Watercolor Magic

 Are you ready for your first challenge of the month?  Let me remind you of our inspiration kit again:

Cocoa Daisy February 2026 kit - Inklings

 

Our first challenge of the month is....Watercoloring Magic!  If you love mixed media or would like to learn, THIS is the challenge for YOU!  Bring out your watercolor paints, tubes, pencils and create a background or some embellishments for your layout!  If you don’t love mixed media, never fear!  You can use pre-made watercolor elements in your kit on your layouts! 

 Guest Designer Neyla really took this challenge to heart and created not one, but FOUR layouts using watercoloring!!  She rocked this challenge!!!

For this first layout, she added white texture paste and allowed it to fully dry.  Then she started adding watercolors using the packaging technique as well as adding the watercolors directly to the background to get more color saturation. 

 

 

For this layout, Neyla used the paper she created for Forgeries on the Fourth.  To create this background, she added gesso to her cardstock and blew the watercolors around using a straw to direct them where she wanted them to go.

 

 The background for this layout wasn't prepped at all before applying the watercolors using the packaging technique.  Once the background was dry, Neyla scattered her embellishments tone-on-tone.  This is an excellent way to use lots of different manufacturers and collections on one layout.

 

 

Neyla created this last layout as a bonus layout, showing how to create a watercolor sunburst using a sketch created by Scrapbook Generation.   

Master Forger Laurie

 I started out by water-coloring my background paper in varying shades of blue. I did use watercolor paper. I then stenciled over that and added gold splattering. I stamped, water-colored and die cut the flowers and leaves.

Master Forger Misty

 Misty used some subtler techniques. She did two watercolor resists (title & Pee-Chee embellishment) as well as simple splattering.

Master Forger Tara 

I created a watercolor background using Versamark ink, a background stamp, and UTEE to create resist and then used my Magical Powders from Lindy’s to do the watercolor effect.  You can watch my process video HERE  

 

 

Let’s take a look at some detail shots of this beautiful watercolor resist background:

 

  

Here's what we have in store for you this month:

• March18th - Challenge #2
• March 22nd - Challenge #3 Let’s Get Sketchy
• March 28th - July Sneak Peek(FB Community & Instagram)
• March 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

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 #ckcfeb2026 

Master Forger Tara

 

March 2026 - Mini Kits & Projects Reveal

 Sometimes we just don't have the time to curate a full kit, but we still want to play along.  Mini kits are the perfect solution when your time is booked!  Let me remind you of our Inspiration Kit before our two Master Forgers share their mini kits and projects with you:

Cocoa Daisy February 2026 Kit - Inklings

 Master Forger Christine

I kept my kit very "mini" this month!  Lots of things going on in life, which is why I love this challenge.  I selected 4 pattern papers and a piece of black cardstock initially.  But I do end up pulling in one more piece of black cardstock and a blue/green sheet on my last layout.

I had some great papers with ink splatter patterns, which is a perfect mimic of Inklings.  I also found a tone on tone aqua paper as well as a piece with paint brushes along the bottom.

You can check out the video of the kit here

For my embellishments, I saw there was some nice black accent pieces in the inspiration chipboard.  I found some stickers with a watercolor effect plus black accents, that seemed perfect.  I also noticed in the inspiration some glitter enamel dots, so I pulled a sheet from my own stash.  A few other watercolor and black/white pieces rounded out my selection.

For the first layout I used a piece that has a bit of a splatter effect with a slight woodgrain.  That, plus the black cardstock frame, and a single horizontal banner, was all I really needed to create the base.  A few of the embellishments and I have a simple, but complete layout.

For the next layout, I pulled the sheet with some ink splatter pattern along the top and bottom.  I also added some of the water color stickers to fill out the top.  I think my favorite part, though, is the script I created using ink and a stencil.  I fussy cut the paint brushes and made a horizontal shelf for the photo to rest upon.  I used the other black title stickers and a journaling card on this layout.

The last layout, I really only had the Monet painting paper plus the small black cardstock, so this is where I ran to my stash again and pulled a couple of additional cardstock.  Tearing the single sheet of pattern paper, gave me another pattern when I flipped it over and additional texture.  I decided to mount the two photos similar to how the Monet paintings were overlapped.  

And there we have it!  3 whole layouts from just a few sheets of paper and some embellishments! 

Master Forger Vikki 

 I consider my kit a true mini kit this month.  I started out with two papers from a Vicki Boutin collection.  I added a few single sheet papers I had and some Vicki Boutin ephemera, along with a few alphas.

 I love adding layers of patterned papers behind the photos on a layout.  I used pieces of ephemera or the title that were perfect for this page. I also added a few hearts to tie in the heart paper in the background.

Here's what we have in store for you this month:

• March 12th - Challenge #1
• March18th - Challenge #2
• March 22nd - Challenge #3 Let’s Get Sketchy
• March 28th - July Sneak Peek(FB Community & Instagram)
• March 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

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 #ckcfeb2026 

 

Master Forger Tara

 

March 2026 - Forgeries on The Fourth

One of the most fun things that we do around here at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog is to counterfeit items from our Inspiration Kit!   Let me remind you of our Inspiration Kit:

Cocoa Daisy February 2026 Kit - Inklings

 
Guest Designer Neyla created some wonderful paper forgeries for her kit this month!  

 

She dragged ink pads on their side to create striped paper.

 

She made lots of drips and splatters

 

She stamped polka dots. Though she admitted a stencil would have been easier, LOL.

 

These past two were all about texture paste and watercolor.

 

By priming her paper with gesso she was able to drop on watercolor and then blow it around with a straw. The gesso slows down the watercolor dry time to make this technique possible.

MF Misty 

Misty also created some mixed media, but in a smaller (less scary??) format. She altered washi tape with acrylic paint products. This was inspired by an add-on item from the kit. 

 MF Julene

I had nothing resembling the kit so decided to forge most of it.

Using coloured pencils I copied 2 of the papers

 

I used paint for another two adding water to make it runny, so I got the splatters

Another involved multi colour streaks of paint.

I then stamped and doodled paintbrushes. I added dobs of paint as needed.

Here's my forgeries. These form the basis of my kit.

 Master Forger Tara created two of the patterned papers from the Inspiration Kit:

There’s a process video on her YouTube channel showing how she created these:

https://youtu.be/cgD-W6-ELvI?si=a74ZiLbJN13OTrpM

MF Amanda

I also forged papers from the kit -- the create alpha was a cute addition to the rainbow pattern paper, and gave me a chance to use my alpha stamps. I used a white pigment ink. I also took a leftover scrap paper in the same pink as one of the pages and added some word bits and stamping to make another forgery.

Here is a closer look at the letter stamping

I also took inspiration from all the paint palettes in the kit and decided to create this stitched palette.

You can see the process on my channel.

 

Master Forger Tina

There was that one paper that I didn't have but knew it was easy enough to do with a few mists

 

  

Here's what we have in store for you this month:

• March 6th - Mini Kit and Project Reveal
• March 12th - Challenge #1
• March18th - Challenge #2
• March 22nd - Challenge #3 Let’s Get Sketchy
• March 28th - July Sneak Peek(FB Community & Instagram)
• March 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

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 #ckcfeb2026 

 

 

 

Master Forger Tara

 

 

 

 

 

March 2026 - Just The Gist Of It

OK, so you've seen the Inspiration Kit for this month and now you are wondering what to do next?  Or how to shop your stash?  This is the post for YOU!  Let me remind you of the March Inspiration Kit first:

Cocoa Daisy February 2026 Kit - Inklings

 

The very first thing that I do when I am shopping my stash to curate one of my kits is to look at the papers in the Inspiration Kit.  Do I have anything from that collection?  If not, do I have things that are similar.  Since I do not own this kit, I will have to dig in deeply to curate my kit this month.  Here's the papers from the Inspiration Kit as a reminder:

 

The paper that caught my eyes first is in the middle row, far right. I know that I have a piece of 49 & Market's Spectrum Gardenia, which is similar.  So, I'll grab that piece first.  

From here, I just started adding papers that I thought would work with this one and kind of go with the Inspiration Kit.  My kit isn't an exact match, but I am happy with my selections.

Here's my papers:

I included a mish mash of papers from various designers!  I have two papers that I forged for my kit, three papers from Cocoa Daisy, two papers from Spectrum Gardenia (49 & Market), two papers from Hip Kit Club, and two papers from Vicki Boutin. 

Here's my scraps and a mini paper pad that I included in my kit: 

 

 The scraps are from creating my forgeries and the mini paper pad is from Vicki Boutin's Print Shop.

Here's my embellishments: 

These embellishments came from Spectrum Gardenia, Discover & Create (from my February kit), Bramble Fox Perspectives, Print Shop, and Hip Kit. 

My kit is a mixture of pure color and joy!  I am very happy with how this kit came out and I hope my choices help inspire you to go digging into your stash for color and joy for your own kit!  

Here's what we have in store for you this month:

• March 4th - Forgeries on the Fourth
• March 6th - Mini Kit and Project Reveal
• March 12th - Challenge #1
• March18th - Challenge #2
• March 22nd - Challenge #3 Let’s Get Sketchy
• March 28th - July Sneak Peek(FB Community & Instagram)
• March 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

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 #ckcfeb2026  

Master Forger Tara