May 2026 -- Just the gist of it.

 Our kit this month has a very strong theme to it. What do you do if you have no interest in that theme? Don't worry, I'm here to help. As a reminder here is the kit we are using for inspiration: Echo Park Mom's Kitchen collection. 

  

You'll notice that many of the elements are food and cooking/baking themed. You can approach this in a few ways. 

1. You can absolutely ignore those images and icons if they don't work for you. Focus instead on colors or textures. 
2. You can sub in distantly related themes.
3. Nudge the theme just a bit.

Here are some examples of ways I used each of these tips.

1. The inspiration pattern has a repeating oven pattern. I had nothing like this in my stash. I've subbed in a cactus print! What jumped out at me from both these papers is the happy burst of color. Now I have a very different interesting paper in my kit for telling a range of stories!
   
   
   
   
   
2. This inspiration is all about baking. I thought about the idea of pies and ended up pulling several sheets of fruit prints. So this took the theme from cooking to the related theme of food in general with a more botanical twist.
   
   
   
   
3. I really liked the navy blue prints in the inspiration. They had baking & hosting imagery. If that isn't your cup of tea, then maybe tea cup imagery is! This is very closely related to the theme but more flexible in the stories you can tell. 
   
   
   
   

So this is what the start of what my kit looks like. Would you have guessed that I started with the original inspiration? That is what is so fun about building your own kit. You can take it anywhere you want to go.

Hope this gives you a good start to your kit build.
Now, here is what is coming up next for May. 

• 4th - Forgeries on the Fourth
• 6th - Mini Kit and Project Reveal
• 12th - Challenge #1
• 18th - Challenge #2
• 22nd - Challenge #3 - Let’s Get Sketchy
• 31st - Baby Use Those Scraps

We love to see what you are working on so don't forget to show us on our Facebook counterfeit kit community.

Enjoy your time with us this month,

Misty

May 2026- Inspiration kit and social media hop.

 Welcome to a new month at CKC. Are you ready for more kit building inspiration fun? Let's kick off the month with our inspiration... the Echo Park Mom's Kitchen collection. While this kit has a very specific theme as always we encourage you to make it your own. If you need help, the Just the Gist post is coming up tomorrow!

There is a story behind this kit choice! I chose this kit as nod to Thanksgiving when I was supposed to host in November. However, schedules changed and I swapped for May hosting. I decided this kit could still work with bolder colors heading toward summer. Plus with Mother's Day in May the title of Mom's Kitchen felt just right. So glad it worked out.
 Let's take a look.

There is a lot more to this kit so be sure to visit the kit site to get all the possibilities. Of course our team is here to show off their kit building skills to inspire you as well. Before we dive into the team's kits, let's welcome the guest designer for May. Debbie Barton is a friend who said she has been wanting to try CKC. This month is her chance! Let's meet her.

Debbie Barton
Debbie can be found on her brand new YouTube channel

"I am very honored and excited to guest design for May’s Counterfeit Kit Challenge! Scrapbooking, to me, is not only a challenge and stress reliever, but a happy way to remember and put on paper the joys, challenges, and fun in my daily life.

When I began scrapbooking, in the 70’s & 80’s for school memories, the big thing was cutting out pictures and gluing them into photo albums. I then thought that adding stickers and cutting out frames really made my books super special. Putting as many pictures and stickers as possible on a page was the best. And who didn’t love a collage! ;0

I stopped scrapping while raising 2 kids, getting my Music Education degree and my Master’s in Music. I taught choir and music for quite a time and just loved my students. After retirement, my hubby and I moved to SC in 2016. We played at living on the lake with swimming, boating and just relaxing for a bit along the way. We traveled when we could and enjoyed the “big” (boring?) retirement life, esp in 2020. I was blessed to discover several online scrapping groups which were actually not only sanity savers but life savers. When I was able to travel to crops and classes, I jumped on board and have to remember to stay home. I have taken classes with so many amazing teachers. Totally crafty heaven! Recently I have been given a chance to be on a creative team with the wonderful ScrapHappy Team. Great ladies. So many ideas and talents.

I enjoy working on both new and old mixed media techniques and learning new ways to work with my paper products. I recently realized that I do not need every new & sparkly thing. I can make my own papers and embellies! What a fabulous" discovery! I hope you are enjoying this month’s challenges!"

Debbie can be found on Facebook as Debbie Norton Barton.

Okay! We are ready to see Debbie's kit. Debbie went all in. She focused on Mother's Day, family and some cooking. She had a lot of fun mixing and matching manufacturers and products. I've shared just a few of her photos here.

________________________________________________

Here is the inspiration hop lineup:

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Reveal and Hop 

• Guest Designer - Debbie Barton - https://www.youtube.com/@debbiebarton2867

• Amanda - https://youtube.com/@amandacreates1980

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

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

• Julene - https://julenebydesign.blogspot.com/

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

• Misty - https://craftysoup.com/

• Ryann - https://www.instagram.com/scrapbookjoey/

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

• Vikki - https://www.instagram.com/memoriesandmomentsscrapbooking/

Here is the full lineup of activities for May. 

• 2nd - Just the Gist of It
• 4th - Forgeries on the Fourth
• 6th - Mini Kit and Project Reveal
• 12th - Challenge #1
• 18th - Challenge #2
• 22nd - Challenge #3 - Let’s Get Sketchy
• 31st - Baby Use Those Scraps

We love to see what you are working on so don't forget to show us on our Facebook counterfeit kit community.

Enjoy your time with us this month,

Misty

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