December 2018 - What's coming up!

Woah! It's almost here - December!

Can you believe that we are heading into that last month of the year and as always, 

we have a different way to spend the month with you here at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog.

This December, join us for our 

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Advent Calendar 

as we "open the door" each day and share something seasonal with you. 

Starting on the 1st, one of the Master Forgers will take over the blog every day, and share a quick and simple festive idea. It might be inspiration for a scrapbook page or project, some aspect of Christmas we'd like to draw you attention to, or just something to help make you smile in the days running up to Christmas Eve.

That's a full 24 days of Christmas bite-sized, daily inspiration. 

I know you will love it as much as we have loved pulling it together for you!

We hope you will join us and continue to share your own crafty creations and ideas throughout the month using the:

 Link-Up page here on the blog

posting in the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Facebook Community Group 

or on Instagram (find us @counterfeitchallenge and share with #counterfeitchallenge )

One reason I'm particularly thrilled to share the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Advent Calendar with you is because Advent-time is really big here in Germany and everyone has their own calendars ready to go for 1st December - chocolate filled, gift based, Advent wreaths or floral displays with 4 candles or just beautiful "open the door" types. 

There's a bit of something for everyone round here. And I'm no exception. 

I'm supplementing my usual simple 4-candle display with a marzipan based one for my DH and this wonderful selection of small gifts from our yearly crafty Advent swap. 

Look at my cute Advent calendar that I swapped with my crafty German friends.
All that pretty wrapping and elements that are always chosen with a
 December journal of some sort in mind. So inspirational. I can't wait for the 1st to come!

So I'm pretty excited to add the ideas that the wonderfully talented 

Counterfeit Kit Challenge team share with us in December to 

my own inspirational Advent mix. 

Won't you join us? Come back on 1st where we'll be kicking things off.

Lisa

The Expectations of Christmas Future by Stephanie

First things first ... 

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE to you all! 

I hope your last day of 2016 is spent doing something you enjoy with people you love. My mom and I have a tradition of scrapbooking together while we watch the festivities live on television, so I am definitely looking forward to that later tonight - assuming, of course, that my 4 month old cooperates and doesn't decide to forgo her evening nap. 

This has been ... a quiet year for me on the scrapbooking front. I prefer the word "quiet" to "unproductive" as it makes me feel less guilty about the pitiful number of layouts I made! I think all of us go through seasons where our inspiration is stifled or our creativity channeled into other, non-paper-crafty projects ... that was 2016 for me.

I only made a handful of layouts this year, but the ones I did make are some of my all-time favorites. 

Looking back, I realize these layouts actually have a lot in common. From a design perspective, they're all relatively simple layouts, on white 12x12 cardstock with lots of "white space" and just a few embellishments (mostly ephemera and enamel dots). I've decided that I quite like this look and plan to stick with it for my 2017 layouts. From a memory keeping perspective, the layouts I made in 2016 were all about things that truly matter to me and my family. With a new baby, I have very limited time to scrapbook so I have to choose which photos and stories are most important to me. Believe it or not, I actually LOVE having to make that choice. I love looking through my album and seeing a collection of carefully curated layouts, each one deeply meaningful and crafted with the utmost care. In 2017, I definitely want to continue documenting only the things that "truly matter" - which is a very good thing, since I don't have time to scrapbook any other way right now.

To summarize my creative goal for 2017: I'm hoping to become a bit of a scrapbooking minimalist.  

I plan to go into more detail about this on my personal blog, Skyline Paperie, but the general gist is that I want to create fewer, but better, layouts. I want to spend more time selecting the photos, creating the design + journaling the memory and less time perusing online scrappy stores and buying new products. I want to take my time creating and enjoy the process of putting a layout together, not rush things so I can upload them to my blog or meet a design team deadline.

***************************

Postscript - 

Hi all, Susanne popping in here to give you all a sneak peek at January’s inspiration kit.  Once revealed I think you will agree that this selection ties into Stephanie’s idea for a simpler, more focused approach in the New Year.  It is something new, just released, and serves as a great entrance to 2017.  It is going to be a great year for counterfeiting – you would agree if you could only see what’s behind that door!

See you in 2017! Yes, that’s tomorrow!

The Counterfeit Kit Challenge in December

December is just a few hours away and we have a lot to share with you though the month.

In fact, we'll be posting every day in December and we really hope that you'll be coming back each day to see what we are up to.

There'll be some story telling, some creating, some finger-crossing and some cheering. 

It's going to be a lot of fun but as always, it'll be piles more fun if you join in too :-) 

So, make sure you come back on 1st December where I'll introduce our plans to you. 

There'll be no bah humbugging round here for sure :-) 

Coming up in November!

And in the blink of an eye, November is knocking at the door! 

Whoopee! 

I'm excited to hit this special month. It's right up there at the top of the list for me - 

and I can't wait for it to start.

We've got a simply fabulous kit for you this month, picked out by MF Kelly, 

which is perfect for this time of the year. 

I wonder how each of the Master Forgers will stamp their own individuality 

on their own version of the inspiration kit - it's quite seasonal as you can see by our sneak :-)

Can you guess which kit this is and can you spot any items that you might have in your own stash? 

And what about our challenges in November?  

Of course, we kick things off on 2nd with "Just The Gist of It",  

quickly followed by "Forgeries on the Fourth" on... yes... the 4th!

Then we challenge you to really dip into those products on 6th, 12th and 16th 

and you'll need to think scrummy, fresh air and feeling toasty. 

It's going to be a wonderful golden November and we really hope you'll join in.

I so hope I've whet your appetite to get going when the full reveal is up on the
Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog first thing on Tuesday 1st November!

See you there, bright and early.

Coming up in October!

October is coming and we're ready! Are you?

We are heading over the "hills" to very different inspiration than in September
and I'm SO excited to see how our Master Forgers,
and you, our followers, will interpret our inspiration kit.

Of course, there'll be Forgeries on the Fourth as well as three challenges to get you using your stash: 

Get your scissors ready for some detailed work, 

our US friends will be busy sorting out a favourite candy at this 

time of year to get the proportions right 

and for the last challenge of the month, we're getting all fancy!

Intrigued? I hope so!

Come on back early on the 1st October for the full reveal of
another fabulous kit and a month full of inspiration! 

Coming up in September!

Even though it's almost September, there's still plenty of summer feeling to be had 

and we are going to show you how!

The new inspiration kit will be revealed in less than 48 hours 

but maybe you'd like a sneak peek just to get those juices running?

Just look at these gorgeous colours!

And there are pretty embellishments too...

As for those challenges which help you to use up your kits, 

prepare yourself for sketches, classes and on-trend inspiration. 

It's going to be a wonderful month and we want to share it with you 

so make sure you come back on Thursday 1st September 

for the full reveal.

Coming up in August!

It's nearly time!

Are you excited?

The new inspiration kit will be revealed in just a couple of days now and I think you are going to LOVE it!

I'm in charge of picking the kit this month and I've scoured near and near (hint hint!) to find the perfect collection of products for you. 

And I'm following the summer theme for the challenges too. So fish out those beach photos, scour your scrap room for something that doesn't belong there and unearth your school language dictionary for a month of fun scrapping! It's going to be a fun month for sure.

Come back on 1st August for the full kit reveal :-)

I can't wait!

Coming Up In July!

Hello, fellow forgers.  Susanne here.

Want a hint about what is coming up in July?

All I can say is that "it's gonna be hot".

 Hmmm . . . what kind of fish are those . . . see any red herrings?  No, I wouldn't do that, would I?

Let's just say that might be a clue, not only about the kit contents, but also maybe related to one of July's challenges where we will concentrate on keeping cool.  That will be important because . . .

July is going to be hot!

Coming up in June!

It's nearly that time of the month again! Yes, reveal day is just around the corner and you are going to LOVE June's inspiration Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit. Selected by Leslie and right "on trend" - excuse the pun - this kit is full of all the elements and designs we all love! There's something for everyone to pick and choose from

Like to see a couple of sneaks? How about this?

As for the challenges, you can expect to find us turning to words, old is good and romantic images!

We're heading to Europe for our Guest Designer and the Master Forger line-up is undergoing a few changes - we have a special surprise for you there!

It's going to be another great month and we can't wait to share it with you.

See you on the FIRST!

Coming up in May!

Would you like a little sneak peek of what's to come in May?

We are travelling to the UK for our inspiration kit - can you guess which one it might be?

 How about this sneak ...

Or this one ...

Tune back in tomorrow to see the full kit reveal... you're going to love it. 

You'll need to get your thinking caps on too because our challenges are going to feature the alphabet, designs and a bit of mathematics for good measure.  :-)

And of course, in honour of {Inter}National Scrapbook Day next Saturday 7th May, we will be offering you a full team's worth of inspiration starting on Friday 6th May at 4pm. 

Don't miss out: mark you calendars and see you there 😘 

It's going to be a GREAT month