July 2026 - Challenge #2 - Turn Up the Volume

Welcome back, scrappy friends!

We're continuing our month inspired by the Crescendo Deluxe Theme Kit, and today's challenge is all about building energy and impact on your page.

Inspo kit photo:

Challenge #2: Turn Up the Volume

Create a layout that uses repetition to build visual "volume."

Challenge Requirements:

• Repeat one design element at least 5 times (stars, circles, tickets, labels, arrows, flowers, notes, etc.).
• Use a large title.
• Include at least one photo that captures excitement, celebration, or fun.

One of the things I love about music is how a crescendo builds. It starts quietly and gradually grows bigger, fuller, and more powerful. That's the inspiration behind this challenge.

Instead of increasing the volume with sound, we're going to increase the volume with design. Repeating elements across a page is a great way to create movement, draw the eye, and add visual impact. Whether you choose stars, circles, labels, flowers, tickets, or something completely different, let those repeated elements guide your viewer through your layout.

This challenge is also the perfect opportunity to pull out those embellishments you've been saving. Sometimes a single sticker is cute, but five or ten of them together can create a much bigger statement.

To really embrace the "turn up the volume" theme, use a large title that commands attention and pair it with a photo that captures a moment worth celebrating. Think vacations, parties, concerts, sporting events, family gatherings, holidays, or any memory that was full of energy and joy.

As always, don't overthink it. Start with one element you love and see where repetition takes you. You may be surprised by how much movement and interest it adds to your page.

We can't wait to see how our team interpreted this challenge and how you decide to turn up the volume with your own supplies.

Now let's see what everyone created!

Guest Designer Rona

My Counterfeit Kit was perfect to go with these photos of my grandson playing at the park. My "Crescendo" may be more of an Ostinato, but I do have repeating elements in my arrows and metal rings.  I also may have failed with a LARGE title. My title area is largeish, hopefully that still counts! My photos are definitely representing lots of fun though!! I love how the layout turned out and I'm glad I had pulled all these fun elements together because it made creating this layout a snap! Thank you so much for having me play along this month!

Check out the process video here.

Master Forger Amanda

This challenge really made me think on what and how I wanted to have repeating items that showed volume.  I used some of my 8x8 paper in my kit to make some squares in 1", 1.5" and 2" squares to repeat and get larger into the center of the page, where there was a larger picture 5" square which I matted in two more pattern papers from mini paper pads.  I played around with the placement and decided that a diagonal for the squares would work best, and then added some repeating triangles.  The fun, exciting picture I choose was of my youngest playing with slime,  which led to to large title in the same color as the slime. Since is accendently ripped a couple of letters, I added a little more grunge and ripped all the blue slime letters! You can see my process on my channel here.

      

Master Forger Shala

 When I put together my kit and picked this large cut file title, I knew exactly what pictures I wanted to use and it fit perfectly with challenge #2. My repeated design element was a no-brainer - musical notes and I think all three photos capture excitement and fun. This is my son and one of his high friends learning a dance for a candidate skit competition. They felt ridiculous but had so much fun.

Master Forger Briana

I've been using this kit all month to document photos from the Joey's Song Epilepsy Foundation fundraiser concerts, but for this layout I switched gears and scrapped some photos of my daughter. She shares my love of live music and attended a Mayday Parade concert that just happened to fall on her friend's birthday. It was the perfect combination of celebration, excitement, and great memories—exactly what this challenge called for.  I love how this layout celebrates not only a fun birthday concert but also my daughter's passion for live music. It's always satisfying when a challenge inspires you to tell a story that might have otherwise stayed on my phone!  See my process video here:

Here's what we have coming up this month:

• 22nd - Challenge #3: Let's Get Sketchy
• 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

Life moves Fast.  Scrap the moments that matter.

Love, Christine | ScrappingHarden

July 2026 - Challenge #1 - Summer Soundtrack

 Welcome to our first challenge of the month!

Since our inspiration kit is the fabulous Crescendo Deluxe Theme Kit, it seemed only fitting that we kick things off with a challenge inspired by music.

As a reminder, here's our inspo kit photo:

Challenge #1: Summer Soundtrack

Create a layout inspired by a song that reminds you of summer.

Challenge Requirements:

• Include the title of a song somewhere on your page.
• Use at least 3 bold or bright colors.
• Add something that represents movement (waves, sun rays, flowing banners, splatters, stitching, etc.).

When I think about summer, I immediately think about music. Certain songs can instantly transport me to a specific place or memory:  a family road trip, a day at the lake, a favorite vacation, a concert, or even a simple moment spent with friends and family.

That's the magic of music. It becomes part of our stories.

For this challenge, I want you to think about the songs that make you smile when they come on the radio. Maybe it's a classic summer anthem, a song that played during a special vacation, or a tune that reminds you of someone you love. Use that memory as the inspiration for your layout.

Don't feel like your page needs to be about music itself. The song is simply the starting point. Tell the story that comes to mind when you hear it.

To help capture the energy of summer, be sure to bring in some bold color and create a sense of movement on your page. Think flowing design elements, splatters, repeated embellishments, sunbursts, waves, banners, or anything else that helps your layout feel alive and full of summer fun.

Master Forger JoJo

Master forger JoJo made a summer road trip music playlist that tucks right in the pocket on her layout. This will be her opening page in her summer scrapbook album.

Master Forger Ryann

Master Forger Ryann wanted to capture the essence of the Guardians movie by adding the cassette tape to her page, and adding the musical notes in a couple colors to add movement and motion to her page. Since this song is one from the movie, and adds to the emotion or “feeling” of the movie, she used it as her title!

Master Forger Tina

This was a fun challenge. Tina used some of the brighter paper she had in her kit for this page of a recent bus trip. Using the Go-Go's Vacation song for the title and some of the lyrics for the journaling made this layout come together fairly quickly.

Be sure to share your projects with us in the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Community and tag us on social media so we can celebrate your creations.

Here's what we have coming up this month:

• 18th - Challenge #2: Turn Up the Volume
• 22nd - Challenge #3: Let's Get Sketchy
• 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

Now turn up the volume and let's get scrapping!

We'd love to see what you create! Share your projects in the Counterfeit Kit Community on Facebook or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge.  #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjuly2026

Life moves Fast.  Scrap the moments that matter.

Love, Christine | ScrappingHarden

July 2026 - Mini Kits & Project Reveal

 

Hello, scrappy friends!

Now that we've had a few days to play with our July kits, it's time to share our Mini Kits and Project Plans.

Here are some photos of our inspo kit to get your creative juices flowing:

Now let's take a look at the mini kits and project plans from the team. I always love seeing which supplies everyone chooses to focus on and how differently we all interpret the same inspiration.

Master Forger Tara

The grunge in the inspiration kit really reminded me of Basic Grey!  I dug into my stash and was able to find some papers that I thought would be easy for me to use up for this mini kit and projects.  I pulled all of my papers from my 100 Patterned Paper Challenge box including one 49 & Market background paper that matched my Basic Grey choices perfectly!  I threw in some embellishments and my forgeries and I have a rather large mini kit!  

 

For my projects, I did two layouts.  I used up almost all of my papers and even one of my forgeries!  

 

 

Here are the closeups for this one:

 

You can watch this layout come together over on my YouTube channel HERE.  

 

For my second layout, I used up almost the rest of my patterned papers!

 

 Here are some closeups of this layout:

 

Master Forger Laurie

 

I'll admit I had a difficult time with this kit.  The colors were darker than what I tend t6o use, but I went for it. Since it was a mini kit I pulled just five papers. Instead of the music paper I chose a black and white floral. I also chose a navy and white stripped paper which gives a nod to the navy and white in the Counterfeit kit. I added a dark wood grain and a white wood grain. For embellishments I included a music stencil, a background stamp for controlled splatters and a heart die set.  I did pull in white and black card stock. Here's my kit:

 

I was pretty happy that I was able to complete four layouts. I did pull in some washi tape on my Sweet Girl layout I used the "B" side of the navy and white stripped paper, which happened to be pink text and was perfect for this layout. My favorite is the one with the houses. I stamped, colored and fussy cut the houses, then did some mixed media under each one.

 

Are you a mini kit player too?  Be sure to visit the Facebook group and share yours!

Here's what we have coming up this month:

• 12th - Challenge #1: Summer Soundtrack
• 18th - Challenge #2: Turn Up the Volume
• 22nd - Challenge #3: Let's Get Sketchy
• 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

We'd love to see what you create! Share your projects in the Counterfeit Kit Community on Facebook or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge.  #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjuly2026

Life moves Fast.  Scrap the moments that matter.

Love, Christine | ScrappingHarden

July 2026 - Forgeries on the Fourth

 

Happy Fourth of July to our friends in the United States, and happy crafting day to everyone else!

One of my favorite Counterfeit Kit traditions is Forgeries on the Fourth. This is our opportunity to take a closer look at the inspiration kit and recreate some of its elements using supplies we already have on hand.

The Crescendo kit includes lots of fun music-inspired details, layered embellishments, and energetic design elements. Rather than purchasing something new, I challenged myself to look through my stash and see what I could recreate.

One of the things I love most about scrapbooking is that creativity often flourishes when we work with what we already own. A little ingenuity, a few punches, stamps, dies, scraps, or even some fussy cutting can often give us the look we're after.

Today I'm sharing my forgery and hopefully it inspires you to take a second look at the supplies already sitting on your shelves.

Now to be completely honest, my forgery is a bit off center.  Here's what I mean by that.  I noticed the darker paper in the original kit had music notes all over it.  So, I pulled my darker paper and initially thought to just use my VersaMark to put little music notes all over the paper.

Well, that turned out to be harder than it looked!  I had a hard time seeing the little notes on the pattern of the paper I selected.  So I decided to pivot and go ahead and add embossing powder.  I chose Seafoam White.

So, in the end, I do have a darker piece of paper with music notes all over it - but they are white!

Master Forger Tara

I created some forgeries using my Cameo. Here's the screenshot of my computer screen.  The musical cut files aren't an exact match but work for my personal kit.

 Here's my completed forgeries:

For the banners, I didn't use a music note patterned paper.  I couldn't find one so I pulled this black and white print from a Maggie Holmes collection.  I cut out three of each banner so I could stack them and make them appear to be chipboard.  I like to do this the most with titles on my Cameo.

 The other two items are cutfiles. The heart is one I TRIED to make as similar as the one in the inspo kit, but it was an epic fail.  I will use it anyway.  The second one is just a cutfile that I purchased somewhere.  Here they are:

 

Master Forger Amanda

Two things out of the kit caught my attention for forgeries this month - that green bird wearing headphones, and the chevron like paper with the purples, blues, red and oranges. 

I used a stencil to make a background inspired by the chevron like paper.  I had a spellbinders stencil called Dynamic Backgrounds, and used the distress oxides in Festive Berries, Crackling Campfire, Villainous Potion, and Prize Ribbon. 

To make the birds, I used two different stamp-sets, and couldn't just stop at one bird!  I drew the headphone for this green bird - I am sure you can tell - but I love how he turned out! 

 I spent some time coloring each of the birds, fussy-cut some out, and stamped a whole pile extra to color at a later date!

Here's what we have coming up this month:

• 6th - Mini Kit and Project Reveal
• 12th - Challenge #1: Summer Soundtrack
• 18th - Challenge #2: Turn Up the Volume
• 22nd - Challenge #3: Let's Get Sketchy
• 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

We'd love to see what you create! Share your projects in the Counterfeit Kit Community on Facebook or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge.  #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjuly2026

Life moves Fast.  Scrap the moments that matter.

Love, Christine | ScrappingHarden

July 2026 - Just the Gist of It

Hello, hello!  Master Forger Christine here!

As a reminder, our inspiration this month is the Crescendo Deluxe Theme Kit from Not Just For Boys Kit Club. This kit is packed with music-inspired elements, bright summer colors, and lots of movement and energy.

When building your kit, I want you to focus on the gist of the kit rather than trying to copy it exactly. Maybe it's the music theme that caught your eye. Maybe it's the bold color palette, layered patterns, or sense of rhythm and motion. Pick one aspect of the kit that speaks to you and use that as your starting point.

Here's a few examples of how I interpreted the gist of this kit:

When I first saw the Crescendo Deluxe Theme Kit, I was immediately drawn to the music theme and all of the layered patterns and interesting textures. While I loved the bright, energetic colors of the original kit, I knew I wanted to put my own spin on it using supplies from my stash. Instead of matching the color palette, I focused on the overall feel of the kit—the sheet music, vintage tickets, labels, stripes, and all the little details that create rhythm and movement throughout the collection.

As I shopped my stash, I found these papers from PhotoPlay along with some coordinating neutrals and music-themed die cuts from my electronic die cut machine that captured the same vibe in a completely different way. I added a few embellishments that fit the theme, and before long my July counterfeit kit came together. I love that it's a little softer and more vintage than the inspiration, while still staying true to the musical spirit that first caught my attention. That's one of my favorite things about Counterfeit Kit Challenge—you don't have to duplicate the inspiration, just let it spark your own creativity.

Remember, counterfeit kits are all about using what you already own. Don't worry if you don't have music-themed products. Think about the feeling of the kit and let that guide your choices.

Here's what we have coming up this month:

• 4th - Forgeries on the Fourth
• 6th - Mini Kit and Project Reveal
• 12th - Challenge #1: Summer Soundtrack
• 18th - Challenge #2: Turn Up the Volume
• 22nd - Challenge #3: Let's Get Sketchy
• 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps

We'd love to see what you create! Share your projects in the Counterfeit Kit Community on Facebook or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge.  #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjuly2026

Life moves Fast.  Scrap the moments that matter.

Love, Christine | ScrappingHarden