April 2026 -Let's use those scraps.

 By now you might have used most of your kit and might have left over bits and pieces. This post gives you some ideas to use the leftover bits and pieces.

First a refresher on the kit we counterfeited this month.

Tara and I have some ideas you can copy or adapt to suit your needs.

Master Forger Tara

I am starting out with very few scraps since I didn't come even close to bashing my kit this month!  I am in the season of military moving and have been a little busier than normal.  Here's the photo of what I am starting with:

 

I will still have a few of the scraps left after I complete my layout for this challenge.  

 

 

For this layout, I kept the two larger triangles intact and used them to create a focal point for my photo.  I also stitched on them.  The photo is popped up on fun foam.  I used the fussy cut florals from my kit as well as the foam title and hearts that are also in my kit!  Check out the detail shots below:

 

 

 

Master Forger Julene

At this point the first thing I do is put all my offcuts in a pile.

If there are any whole sheets of paper left, they become your base.

Look for photo or photos that match the things that are left. (colour or theme)

Sometimes it could be a large embellishment or journal block you want to get out of the way.

From a previous month I had these

I managed a layout using squares cut from those pieces.

From this month I only had a few embellishments and some white card. I used wet teabag and wiped over the white card. I then cut it into tag shapes.

 

 

Next, I made tags using my embellishments I had

 

These will be used on cards or future layouts. Here's 2 cards I just made

Come back tomorrow, May 1st for our Kit Reveal and Hop!! 

 

The Master Forgers love to see what you create.  Share on our Facebook Community Find us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge and tag us in your posts #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcapril2026.

Thanks for playing along with us this month, 

 I hope you were inspired! 

Happy Scrapping!

April 2026- Challenge #3 Let's get sketchy

 First a reminder of the kit we are counterfeiting this month.

Our third challenge involves a sketch. I chose one from another group I belong to with permission from its creator.

This was my interpretation of it back then, to show you that it can be adapted to suit your photos.  I had 3 photos from the Cirque Du Soleil so popped the extra one on there.

Here are our design team ideas.

                                                            Master Forger Brandi

I opted to rotate the sketch to suit the direction of my photos! I had a lot of fun with this one! 

                                                            Master Forger Julene

On this one I went monotone blues and used a cluster of sea themed items. I also added a coaster as part of my embellishment.

                                                          Guest Designer Diana

• April 28th - April Sneak Peek (FB Community & Instagram)
• April 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 

Julene

April 2026 Challenge #2 Colour Palette

 Just to remind you of our kit.

Our second challenge is a colour palette. 

Using the colours on this palette make a layout. 

It doesn't have to be a jetty or seaside; it can be anything. (Snowy days come to mind for instance)

Here's our Design team ideas

Master forger Tina

Tina pulled out the colors from the pallete for this layout of a recent walk. Drawn to the blue skies and water from the bubbling stream in the inspiration picture too. 

 

Master forger Jo Jo

Master forger JoJo pulled a blue and grayish wood grain paper with a light blue and white pattern paper and a multi-colored flower paper to add more colors to the layout. She didn’t have much of this color palette in her collection. 

She used a few dies from her kit to make embellishments for her layout.

Master Forger Laurie

 

I chose to work with different hues of the blues. I added pops of yellow and a colorful stripped pattern to add some vibrancy to my layout.

 

Come back to see what else we have this month.... 

• April 22nd - Challenge #3 Let’s Get Sketchy
• April 28th - May Sneak Peek (FB Community & Instagram)
• April 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 

Julene

April 2026 Challenge #1 Birds.

 Here is our first challenge for this month. 

                                                    Firstly, let me remind you of our kit

Life Crafted FLEA MARKET FINDINGS 6" x 8" Pattern Paper – Citrus Twist Kits

You may have noticed one of these papers features birds. They remind me of the old bluebird of happiness brooches we used to own.

Anyway, your challenge is to make a layout using birds. It can be real birds or perhaps lovebirds or songbirds or use one of these words:

• Birdbath
• Birdbrain
• Birdhouse
• Birdsong
• Birdwatcher
• Birdcage
• Birdfeed
• Birdie
• Yellowbird

When looking through my blog I found these.

Our Master Forgers have created these examples to inspire you.

Master Forger Ryann chose her favorite human to make her layout - a layout about Lovebirds.  This was taken at her wedding and is one of her favorite photos because it captures so well the truth of the love she feels for her husband!   She used this "wintery" type bird paper for her kit and chose it for the November wedding event.

Master Forger Tara created a layout about the eaglets she's been watching online as their parents, Jackie and Shadow have nurtured their second clutch of eggs this season.  They are sweet little babies!!  

 

 

Here are some close-up shots of her layout!  

Master Forger Amanda created a fast layout using 49&Market Birdsong paper, washi tape and a few gems that documents the Finches and Starlings migrating through during spring. It always feels like Spring when the birds have started to return! 

And a couple of close-ups! 

Coming up this month we also have

• April 18th - Challenge #2
• April 22nd - Challenge #3 Let’s Get Sketchy
• April 28th - April Sneak Peek (FB Community & Instagram)
• April 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

Don't forget to share your creations on our Facebook Community Page .  We love to see what you have done. You can also tag us on Instagram.

                                                                           Julene

 

April 2026 Mini kits & project reveal.

 Sometimes you don't have time to make a big kit but still want to join in the fun. Let me remind you of our kit before showing you what our mini kitter has done.

                                  Our mini kit is from:                               

Vikki

When I started creating my mini kit for this month, it was HUGE!  Definitely not a mini kit.  I tend to pick out a lot of embellishment packs or sticker sheets that I might be able to use and then really pare down to just a few from a pack.  I do try to have photos in mind while I'm putting together any kit that I create. I do pull more alphas than I will likely need, only because I like to have options.

For my first layout, I made a 12x12 page about my dogs, of course.  Because I usually always take photos of my dogs, I try to put some sort of dog ephemera in my kits.

  

For my second layout, I made a page that will fit into a Citrus Twist Life Crafted album.  The page measures approximately 4 1/4 x 8 1/4.  I am going to use this album for favorite photos of my honey and me.  Unfortunately, my photo printer decided to give me issues while I was doing this page, so I will have to print the photo when I have more patience.

I still have some papers left in my mini kit, so I'll be making some more layouts throughout the month.

Christine

I was really excited to see a 6x8 paper collection as our inspiration.  The coolest part, I even had a paper pad that was a fairly good match for it.   The 2023 Fancy Pants collection "Unique".  I found a geometric print, a bird print, a dark blue on blue and another blue print.  From my stash I found a woodgrain and a black and white floral.  Luckily, I still had some embellishments from my Unique selection, plus a little stash in the way of chipboard pieces from 49&Market.

I was able to get 2, 12x12 layouts from my selection.  Just perfect for a mini kit :-)

My first layout I went with the black and white floral as a background.  Then I cut 3 of the patterns into vertical strips.  I started with this design because I knew I could use the cut-offs on the next layout.

I put the vertical strips a little off center to add interest and added some embellishment clusters in a diagonal.  The photo is a really old one of my Daddy holding me and my sister.  

So because I had documented that photo of my dad, my sister and I, my next layout is a companion to this one of a more recent photo of the 3 of us.  I don't have many like these - so if this post does anything, it's to encourage you to TAKE THE PICTURES.  I wish I had more of the three of us.

But back to the layout.

This one was quick and easy too.  I simply layered my two remaining full 6x8 pages plus two of the off-cuts from the first layout as a vertical base.  Then I took the one gold tone on tone off cut, cut it in half and layered it horizontally behind the photo, which I mounted on white cardstock.  Just a few embellishments on this one.  

Quick, easy, and just what a mini kit calls for!

Here's what is coming up.

• April 12th - Challenge #1
• April18th - Challenge #2
• April 22nd - Challenge #3 Let’s Get Sketchy
• April 28th - April Sneak Peek (FB Community & Instagram)
• April 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

We love to see what you are doing so don't forget to add your work to our facebook group and tag us in Instagram.

Julene

April 2026 - Forgeries on the Fourth

 

 We often forge our own items for our kits when we can't find anything like the original.

Here is our inspiration kit.

Guest designer Diana has created these forgeries

Stamping white paper with floral pattern

(I must admit I had the same idea!)

                                                      

                                          Stamping and fussy cutting then painting flowers

                                                                 Master Forger Julene

I used my trusty big flower stamp to create a floral paper by dabbing on inkpad, then quickly stamping randomly. I like that ink is darker on some parts and not others, it adds to the overall effect.

Master Forger Misty

Misty turned to ideas she has used before. She created faux puffy stickers using Nuvo Drops style products. She also created faux chipboard by punching and stacking shapes.

Master Forger Laurie

I created some phrase tickets using a rectangle die, a circle punch and some phrase stamps.  You could just cut a rectangle using a paper cutter if you don’t have dies. For the flair I punched circles and stamped in them. For the cute little bunnies, once again I used stamps and fussy cut them. It’s so easy to make your own embellishments and fun!

These are all fabulous ideas. Now it is your turn, will you make something or perhaps try one of these ideas.

Here's what is coming up for the rest of the month.

• April 6th Mini kit ideas
• April 12th Challenge #1
• April 18th Challenge #2
• April 22nd Challenge #3 Let's get sketchy
• April 28th May sneak peek.
• April 30th Baby use those scraps.

That's all for now.