September 2025 - Just the Gist!

 Do you ever have a hard time curating a kit from your stash? Where do you start - papers, embellishments, stickers?  Well, you're not alone if you do.  Today I'm going to show you how I chose the elements in my counterfeit kit this month.  Plus, I'll show you what I look for when I'm stuck on where to start with my kit.

Let's first look at the inspiration kit, Life Captured by Simple Stories:

  

When I scrapbook, I tend to make page kits.  These include everything I need to make the page, including the photos.  I always start with the photos when making page kits.  When I first started making Counterfeit Kits, it was a little hard to break that habit.  

When I look at the inspiration kit, I  still try to have some photos in mind that will go with the kit I want to create, but I'm not absolutely tied to certain photos.  I look first at the patterned papers and the colors represented in the kit.  I go through my stash and try to choose similar patterns in the same color family.

Here are the papers in my kit this month:

While I didn't have the same patterns as the papers in the inspiration kit, I tried to stay close to the same colors and use similar elements.  I pulled the butterflies from the sticker sheet of the inspiration kit.

I always include around four solid papers in my kit.  This month I added a navy blue piece of vellum as well.  I went through some leftover ephemera packs and chose elements I felt would work.  I had a sheet of puffy hearts, which happens to have birds on it, also from the inspiration kit's sticker sheet.  Enamel dots are a must have for me in nearly every kit.

I have the Noteworthy collection by Simple Stories and thought I might be able to use some items off of the sticker sheet.  I always add multiple alpha stickers to any kit I make.  I like a mix of fonts and colors for my title.

I did see some great opportunities for forgeries in this kit, so picked some different stamp sets to play with this month.  I'll choose which color ink pad to use when it comes time to stamp.

 And that is my kit for the month.  It's not a huge kit, but I think I can get quite a few layouts done.

Here's another good way to get an idea of where to start.  Sometimes I struggle with the theme of an inspiration kit.  Maybe it's a tropical vacation theme and I know that I have absolutely no pictures that will fit.  This is a perfect opportunity to utilize the mood board that one of the Master Forgers create each month.  Check out the one below made for this month  by Master Forger Christine.  This gives you the vibe of the kit, with a lot of different elements that you can choose to incorporate.  It also gives you the color palette, which is an excellent starting point.  I referred to the mood board a lot when curating my kit this month.

I hope my process gave you some ideas on how you choose the elements for your own kit.  If you haven't already put a kit together, maybe this will be the month you give it a try.

Come back in a couple of days and check out our forgeries.  Don't forget, we still have a lot more to come this month.

• September 4th - Forgeries on the Fourth
• September 6th - Mini Kit and Project Reveal
• September 12th - Challenge #1
• September 18th - Challenge #2
• September 22nd - Challenge #3 Let’s Get Sketchy
• September 28th - October Sneak Peek (FB Community & Instagram)
• September 30th - Baby Use Those Scraps
  

We always love to see what you are working on!   We often choose our Guest Designers by looking at the work you show us.  Share your projects on our Facebook Community Group and be sure to tag us on Instagram at #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcseptember2025 

Happy Scrapping!

Master Forger Vikki