January 2023 - Follower Showcase

 I've said it before but when it's my turn to organize the inspiration kit, I really get excited to have the chance to showcase one of our awesome followers who's caught my eye with their kits, their projects and sometimes even their forgeries.

This month was no exception and it made me happy to go back through out community thread and see ALL that fabulous creativity that you've all shared. The community has been so active and several of you are new and have jumped in feet first to what we hope is a continuing love of shopping your stash right along with us here at The Counterfeit Kit Community. THANK YOU!

A special shout out goes to some great kits and a selection of layouts shared in our community by Judy Luthy, Audrea Flyn, Clem Reid, Sheryle Thomas to name JUST A FEW, and not to forget our amazing Design Team who blow me away every month with their productivity and creativity! You have ALL impressed me with your running start to the new year!

 If you continue this way, 2023 is going to be AWESOME!

 Thanks to everyone for sharing your creations which are all so very inspiring!

And the follower I'd like to highlight today is someone new to CKC and - just wow! - she has been scrapping up a storm all month long! Please give a round of applause to Stacy James!

Look at this kit - her very first for CKC - and check out all that scrappy goodness! So many different embellishments, gorgeous colours and sweet pattens - I love it. 😍

And then she just hit the ground running and has made more than 20 layouts so far this month. I have NEVER made that many layouts from a kit except for LOAD months so this number just blew me away! Go Stacy!

I'd like to share just a couple that particularly caught my attention.

I love that top banner with the butterfly, the cool use of the rainbow sunglasses but especially the subject matter of this feel-good page.

The waterfall of photos here which fits much more on a page as well as giving somewhere for more journalling is genius and who doesn't love a tiny baby page?!?

And I adore how she has been using up older photos which are less than perfect - getting those older stories told and photos shown off to their best advantage! On this page, she turned the imperfect shots into Polaroid type photos to emphasise their vintage quality. I love it. 

You can head over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge FB community here to check out ALL the other layouts she's created this month as well as ALL the productivity out there during January. You are not going to want to miss the inspiration 😉

We've still got one more post to go before the end of the month.

• 31st January: Killing Kits - an idea or two for using up the bits & pieces left in your kit box 

You KNOW that we always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us. You can post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjanuary2023). 

 Thanks so much for stopping by! We can't wait to see your kits and projects this month.

Lisa!

 

January 2023 - Challenge #2 - Make It New Again!

It's time for Challenge #2 - Make It New Again!

In our first challenge of the year, I went back to a design style that I used a lot when I first started scrapping - double page spreads - and encouraged you to give it a go.

On the same theme, this time around I'd like you to think back to when you first started scrapbooking (or at least, look back to sometime in the past) and find a technique that you used a lot which has got forgotten along the way as you have changed and developed your scrapbook style. 

So, bring that technique back into style and find a way to use it on a page today that is right up to date!

Now to see what our talented team has created! 

Master Forger Julene has used paint.

I always forget about paint and yet it always gives an extra dimension to a layout. It provides a plain background for smaller embellishments. It can also be dramatic if used in larger amounts.

 Master Forger Anna used translucent texture paste to create a fun page!

I forgot how much I love the look of texture paste. Applying it to the page is so fun, like being a kid just getting to play with art stuff! You can watch the entire process video over on my channel.

Master Forger Leslie went retro to 2010 for inspiration!

Blogpost HERE

Master Forger Tara went old school and used her very old Making Memories foam stamps and acrylic paints to create a background for her layout. You can watch her Process Video HERE, as well as read her blog post HERE.

There are still a couple of things left to share with you this month so make sure you come back!

• 24th January: Follower Showcase - who has caught our eye this month 
• 31st January: Killing Kits - an idea or two for using up the bits & pieces left in your kit box 

You KNOW that we always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us. You can post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjanuary2023). 

 Thanks so much for stopping by! We can't wait to see your kits and projects this month.

January 2023 - Challenge #1 - Sketch It!

Yay! It's great to see you back here for Challenge #1! 

When I first started scrapbooking, almost all my layouts were double spreads and I kind of miss them! So, let's start the new year with a fabulous Page Maps double sketch which was featured in Scrapbook Cards and Today in their Project 12 feature (January 2010). 

 If you make a lot of spreads, this will be right up your alley and if you don't normally, this is a chance to stretch those creative muscles and give it a go! Double pages are a super way to include lots of photos and journalling with plenty of space for embellishments and all the fun stuff too! 

Sketches are such a fun way to create - copy it exactly, or totally tweak it and make it your own.

Here's the sketch! 

sketch link

Right! Let's see what our talented Guest Designers and Master Forgers rustled up for us today!

Guest Designer Anandi - "I don't usually make 2 pagers or use more than 2 photos so this was a good challenge for me! I used embellishments that matched the bright colors of our hair, and a few "imperfect" handwritten lines instead of the stitching on the sketch. ~ Anandi"

Master Forger Juliet went with a single page using the right page as her inspiration. She dug deep for these pictures of her when se was a little girl probably 1965 or 66! 

Master Forger Cindy Created the Double Page layout sticking close to the sketch.

Blog post here

Master Forger Misty loves a reason for a good double pager! She even used that snowflake pattern paper she forged back on the 4th!

Master Forger Leslie jumped in with both feet to document her grandson's first football season.

Blogpost HERE

And of course, as always, we have a full month of inspiration to keep you inspired!

January is going to look something like this:

• 18th January: Challenge #2 - to inspire you to get creating from your own kit 
• 24th January: Follower Showcase - who has caught our eye this month 
• 31st January: Killing Kits - an idea or two for using up the bits & pieces left in your kit box 

You KNOW that we always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us. You can post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjanuary2023). 

 Thanks so much for stopping by! We can't wait to see your kits and projects this month.

Lisa!

January 2023 - Mini Kit Reveal & Projects

 

Sometimes, you just don't have the time or motivation to make and use up a full kit. Maybe you need to replenish your card supplies, or have a small mini-album in mind to make.

This is where we show you mini-kits that we've made up as well as the small projects that we made with those supplies.

Today Master Forgers Lisa & Laura share their ideas and we hope that you will also feel inspired to give this a go if you need to take a slightly different direction this month!

A quick reminder of the inspiration kit in January to kick-things off:

Hip Kit Club December 2022 Main Kit

MF Lisa - I pulled together a small kit full of Pinkfresh Studio products after the original kit gave me that Pinkfresh vibe (check out the "Just the Gist of It" post here for more info on that direction) and decided to make some quick and easy cards. Let's face it - cards are always quick and easy when I'm in card making mode! But I needed a small kit to take away on a short trip so that I could finish off the assignment on the road and therefore, quick and easy definitely fulfilled the scope this time around. 

So here's the kit with lots of products from the "Let's Stay Home" and "Keeping It Real" collections as well as a few random items that caught her eye when I was pulling the mini-kit together. (The photos have that winter daylight blue tone giving those blues and lilacs prominence in the photos but in reality, this kit is softer and pinker - you will have to take my word for that!!)

It looks like a large kit but for card-making, you generally need a mix of embellishments to add to the card fronts and there is no need to be thinking along the "Kill the Kit" lines.

Then it was just a matter of deciding what elements on the cut-apart sheet I might want to use on the cards and then cutting background pieces and elements to layer up in different ways. The floral die-cuts proved useful for adding dimension and colour on several cards and the other elements of the kit were dipped into as and when they seemed to fit.

If you've seen other card posts from me, you will see that the designs are always pretty similar but that's ok as different cards go to different recipients and no one notices these similarities anyway! 

You can find more details and photos over on my blog here.

MF Laura - I based my mini kit around the 12x12 paper. I added in some scraps of patterned paper and an alpha, but no embellishments as I really wanted to fussy cut the flowers and birds from that paper!

I created a traveller's notebook spread, and did end up adding in a couple of little extras just to finish it off, but it's fun to see how you can stretch 1 sheet of paper!

You can check out Laura on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/mrsp_scrapsandtea/

And of course, as always, we have a full month of inspiration to keep you inspired!

January is only just beginning and there is plenty more going on round here:

• 12th & 18th January: Challenges #1 & #2 - to inspire you to get creating from your own kit 
• 24th January: Follower Showcase - who has caught our eye this month 
• 31st January: Killing Kits - an idea or two for using up the bits & pieces left in your kit box 

You KNOW that we always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us. You can post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjanuary2023). 

 Thanks so much for stopping by! We can't wait to see your kits and projects this month.

Lisa!

 

January 2023 - Forgery on the Fourth

 

We're back today to give you an idea or two of how to make your own embellishments or elements for your own January Counterfeit kit!

Let's just have a quick look again at our inspiration kit this month: 

Hip Kit Club December 2022 Main Kit 

This feature is all about the fun of having a go at making up your own embellishments or re-creating the papers as a way of getting the same look as the inspiration kit even if you don't have any of the original items. 

These tutorials are often so simple and easy that it really is a perfect chance to try out an idea or two. Make sure you share if you do, we love it when are motivated to give it a go!

Now it's time to see what our talented team have come up with - this is always such an inspiration for me. The Master Forgers often create things that would just not have crossed my mind.

 So talented, so resourceful, so inspirational!

 

Master Forger Tara created a forgery of the Faux Wood Stickers in the Hip Kit Club Embellishment Kit! She used her Silhouette Cameo and stacked the woodgrain on top of two layers of snowflakes. 

 You can see her process on her blog HERE.

Master Forger Julene recreated the plaid patterned paper!

Master Forger Misty recreated two sheets of the pattern paper from the inspiration kit. If you'd like to see the process, you can check out her video.

  

The rest of January is going to look something like this:

• 6th January: Mini-kit Reveal and Project Showcase - inspiration for a smaller kit or project idea 
• 12th & 18th January: Challenges #1 & #2 - to inspire you to get creating from your own kit 
• 24th January: Follower Showcase - who has caught our eye this month 
• 31st January: Killing Kits - an idea or two for using up the bits & pieces left in your kit box 

You KNOW that we always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us. You can post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjanuary2023). 

 Thanks so much for stopping by! We can't wait to see your kits and projects this month.

Lisa! 

January 2023 - Just the Gist of It

 Welcome back to our Just The Gist of It post where we hope to offer you a possible starting point for creating your kit. 

Sometimes, we just don't know where to start or there is something about the kit that doesn't feel like us, but we still want to bring a selection of items together to form your own monthly kit. This is the post for you! Hopefully, you will find some inspiration to get you going.

Let's just remind ourselves about our inspiration kit this month:

Hip Kit Club December 2022 Main Kit.

Hip Kit Club December 2022 Paper Kit.

Hip Kit Club December 2022 Embellishment Kit

Hip Kit Club December 2020 Pocket Life Kit

I've talked before about the different ways I approach a kit - looking at colours, a standout piece, motifs or patterns - and one of the things that jumped out at me this month with our inspiration kit was how it reminded me of Pinkfresh Studio collections. And that is where I started this month.

I can't even tell you now which individual item or pattern it was but the overall feeling of the inspiration kit just called out Pinkfresh Studio - something about the geometrics and the bright white against the somewhat softer colours.

I went to my Pinkfresh papers, picked out a pink diagonal and that was my starting point for the other papers and embellishments (I don't want to give away too much as I am on mini-kit duty here again on the 6th!).

But here is a tiny sneak peek of my papers - can you see where my inspiration took me?

Why don't you try this technique? Look at the papers in the kit or make a list of the colours and patterns featured in the kit and see which manufacturer it reminds you of. You might see Echo Park or even Simple Stories (both of whom like clear whites) or it might remind you of a particular collection. 

Go on! Give it a try and let me know how you got on with it 😉

 And of course, as always, we have a full month of inspiration to keep you inspired!

January is going to look something like this:

• 4th January: Forgery on the Fourth - Master Forgers share simple ideas for creating kit elements 
• 6th January: Mini-kit Reveal and Project Showcase - inspiration for a smaller kit or project idea 
• 12th & 18th January: Challenges #1 & #2 - to inspire you to get creating from your own kit 
• 24th January: Follower Showcase - who has caught our eye this month 
• 31st January: Killing Kits - an idea or two for using up the bits & pieces left in your kit box 

You KNOW that we always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us. You can post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjanuary2023). 

 Thanks so much for stopping by! We can't wait to see your kits and projects this month.

Lisa!

 

January 2023 - Kit Reveal & Blog Hop

 And just like that... it's January!

Right, enough of the chit chat 😉, time to get going with 2023 and another fabulous year of kitting😉.

First things first, this month, I’m delighted to have Anandi  join us as our Guest Designer. I simply ADORE her style and loved everything she made when she was on the Simple Scrapper Creative Team - and her CKC kits and layouts are a dream! Thanks so much for saying yes, Anandi - this is going to be a great month!

Here's what Anandi has to say: 

"I started buying scrapbook products in 2007 because I love paper, stickers, and stationery. I didn't have the courage to start actually scrapbooking until I did Project Life in 2012. I fell into a slump in 2020 and 2021 (like a lot of people!) and what got me back to my table was the Counterfeit Kit Challenge last summer. I shopped my stash and made whatever layout I felt like making in the moment. So grateful for this challenge!"

 Welcome Anandi - we can't wait to see what you have in store for us this month!

 Now, onto the kit I’ve picked out for us.

 I always love Hip Kit Club and decided it was time to head there again.

I've gone for the December 2022 kit as it seems a winter kit with the slightest touch of Christmas which can be totally ignored if need be. I think the colours are lovely enough to twist this into more seasonal colours for those in the summer season. 

 I like the idea of something brighter and fresher for the new year but also hanging on a little for the recent festivities. There are enough standard style designs for you to match from your own stash and I think there are surely one or two forgery possibilities! 

Hip Kit Club - December 2022 main kit

You can find more photos of the pieces of the kit by looking at the add ons (paper and embellishments!).

Here is the hop list so that you don’t miss out on any of the team’s inspiration:

• Counterfeit Kit Challenge - http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/
• Guest Designer - Anandi - https://www.instagram.com/anandirc/
• Anna - https://youtube.com/c/piececraftlove
• Cindy - https://cindyscreations-cinmfoster.blogspot.com 
• Julene - http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com   
• Juliet - https://www.instagram.com/julesd
• Leslie - http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com 
• Misty - https://craftysoup.com/
  
• Tara - https://kryptonite72-rambles.blogspot.com 
• Tina - http://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com/

And of course, as always, we have a full month of inspiration to keep you inspired! 

January is going to look something like this:

• 2nd January: Just the Gist of It - to help you find an easy way into creating your kit
• 4th January: Forgery on the Fourth - Master Forgers share simple ideas for creating kit elements 
• 6th January: Mini-kit Reveal and Project Showcase - inspiration for a smaller kit or project idea 
• 12th & 18th January: Challenges #1 & #2 - to inspire you to get creating from your own kit 
• 24th January: Follower Showcase - who has caught our eye this month 
• 31st January: Killing Kits - an idea or two for using up the bits & pieces left in your kit box 

You KNOW that we always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us. You can post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjanuary2023). 

 Thanks so much for stopping by! We can't wait to see your kits and projects this month.

Lisa!