Category: Counterfeit Kits

CKC Kit Build, June ’22

I love kit building and I am on the design team for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge project. We take an inspiration kit each month and proceed to replicate it, or as we say, counterfeit it. This is a free, friendly group that helps inspire you to use up supplies you already own. We are not about needing to buy the latest and greatest thing (though we won’t stop you if you enjoy new crafty goodies😉 ).

You can see my process video or keep reading for the blog version of the info.

This month we are working from a German kit company, Danipeuss.de . Their November 2021 kit featuring Paige Evans brings us lots to be inspired by.

The color palette was too autumnal for me, so I focused my choices on patterns in the kit and used colors that were more to my mood. You can see that direction in my paper choices here.

From there I pulled embellishments. I added in more stars, which was the first thing I was drawn to when building this kit. I also had several pieces from the inspiration kit itself. I know I won’t use all those pieces due to the color palette, but I can pick and choose what works for me.

There is a tradition over at CKC of titling our kits just like companies do. So I’m calling mine Star Struck.

I hope you can follow along with the other designers to see how they built their kits.

Here’s the full hop link list

Have fun kit building and don’t forget to show off your stuff over on the CKC Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge or use #counterfeitkitchallenge.

One last thing before you go… I was also inspired by several things in this kit to create on my own. So join me next time when I show you some product “forgeries”! Until then, have an artful day.

Forgery on the Fourth, April ’22

As a design team member over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge group I play along with as many of our monthly inspiration challenges as I can. The FOF — Forgery on the 4th — project is definitely one I enjoy! So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are inspired by this kit from Scrapbook Doodle from back in 2015. The kit focuses on Bo Bunny’s Sweet Life collection.

Diving deeper into the embellishment pack, I was drawn to the butterflies, especially the white on craft and the text print ones.

I pulled out my butterfly die set and got to work. As you’ll see from the below photos I went a bit wild with creating… not only butterflies but other shapes as well. See the whole process on YouTube, or keep reading for the short version.

Of course the CKC blog has more forgery examples to check out. I hope this gave you some ideas on how you can create forgeries of your favorite products with supplies you already have on hand. Don’t forget to show off your stuff over on the CKC Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge or use #counterfeitkitchallenge.

Kit Build: CKC, May ’22

I love kit building and I am on the design team for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge project. We take an inspiration kit each month and proceed to replicate it, or as we say, counterfeit it. This is a free, friendly group that helps inspire you to use up supplies you already own. We are not about needing to buy the latest and greatest thing (though we won’t stop you if you enjoy new crafty goodies😉 ).

This month’s inspiration was chosen by team member Kate and the kit comes from Scrapbook Doodle from back in 2015. The kit focuses on Bo Bunny’s Sweet Life collection. Along with our host Kate, we have guest designer Dawn playing along with this kit. So be sure to give them big thanks for taking care of us with their inspiration.

Since this kit was really the Bo Bunny Collection I did have a peek at their full line to see what other ideas I could come up with. Particularly I wanted to look at the B sides of the pattern papers and closer looks at some embellishments.

I knew from all this I wanted to incorporate striped pattern papers, buttons, and film strips. So lets look at the papers first. I was excited to incorporate old Basic Grey and Scenic Route papers along side brand new Simple Stories and Heidi Swapp. That is the joy of building your own kit!

For embellishing I pulled plenty of things straight from the inspiration: butterlies (or at least a way to create them!), enamel dots, flowers, tags and ribbons. Then I added in doilies, film strips and buttons (oops, the photo doesn’t include the buttons; trust me, I have them.)

There is a tradition over at CKC of titling our kits just like companies do. So I’m calling mine Life Past and Present for the mix of supplies I have incorporated. And hey, maybe I can even do some then & now layouts!

You can hear the thoughts that went into each choice in my video.

I hope you can follow along with the other designers and see how they interpreted their kits.

Here’s the full hop link list

Have fun kit building and don’t forget to show off your stuff over on the CKC Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge or use #counterfeitkitchallenge.

CKC Challenge #2, April ’22

It is challenge time over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Our hostess for the month, Lisa was inspired by the large sentiment elements that are in the kit, especially the Vicki Boutin die cuts. So that lead straight into the second challenge…. go big with your title. Here is a peek at the entire inspiration kit again. See those phrase elements?

It was really easy for me to go big with my title. I’ve done it before and like the effect. The real challenge this time? I didn’t include many of the phrase elements into my kit! I build my kit around the inspiration of Vicki Boutin and Jen Hadfield and I had phrase’s from Jen. But I was really looking for the Vicki sized title pieces. So I did something I don’t normally do, I went and pulled more stuff for my kit. I grabbed more of the Fernwood collection and ended up pulling the puffy phrase sticker sheet to add to this kit/layout.

It feels a little like “cheating”, but you know what? What rule of the universe says I can’t grab something else to add in? There are no rules! So I got over it and did what I felt was right for this layout!

If you want to see the entire process, including a few tips on working with prhase stickers and some small design tips, you can see it all in action in this video.

I hope you can check out the other designers takes on this challenge! Don’t forget to show off your stuff over on the CKC Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge or use #counterfeitkitchallenge. We love to see your work!

It’s Challenge #1 time over at CKC

It is challenge time over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Our hostess for the month, Lisa was inspired by an the date this challenge goes live. When she looked up “on this day in history” she discovered that Disneyland Paris (called Euro Disney when at first) opened its doors to the public on 12th April 1992. First off, lets take a look at the whole kit from Papers and Beyond called Follow Your Bliss.

Now let’s talk challenge. The idea here is to be inspired by Disney in some way. I went with the fairy tales aspect since I’m not a entrenched Disney fan (I like it fine and was a fan as a kid, but it doesn’t sit on a high shelf in my life). Right now I am reading a book that is filled with the fairy tales a grandmother tells her young granddaughter to teach her life lessons. However, this layout is about more than just this one book; it is about how I found this author and what I enjoy about his writing.

The journaling tag tucks behind the “My Happy Place” title card and actually covers up that gnome embellishment. It is a bit of a surprise to find that guy back there when the journaling is pulled out. You can see all the layout creation details below.

And here are a couple of closeups.

I hope you enjoy this challenge and think outside the box if you are not Disney inclined! Don’t forget to show off your stuff over on the CKC Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge or use #counterfeitkitchallenge

Forgery on the Fourth, April ’22

As a design team member over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge group I play along with as many of our monthly inspiration challenges as I can. The FOF — Forgery on the Fourth — project is definitely one I enjoy! I like getting creative to create my own embellishments. So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are working with this kit from Papers and Beyond called Follow Your Bliss as our inspiration.

Did you notice the wood rimmed button flair in that kit? Well that is where I got my idea.

You can see how I went about creating my forgery in video form, or keep reading for the quick photo version.

I’ve done this technique before in this DIY embellishment video, but at the time I was mimicking metal brad flairs. That technique totally translated into this technique. I used a 1/2 inch punch and a 3/4 inch punch to create rings. The top layer is the decorative layer and the three solid colors are the thickness/filler layers to create depth and texture. Finally, the large punch was used to create solid base circles. With the smaller punch I punched images out of scraps of patterned paper. Then it was just a matter of layering them all up.

I did choose to top them off with a layer of Nuvo drops in clear for that domed flair effect, but that is optional. If you do the Nuvo, let them dry over night.

That is it! While it took a little bit of time, it wasn’t hard to create these little embellishments. Next time I may speed up the process by creating cut files in the Cricut to do all the circle & ring cutting for me. That way I could also get thinner rings as well. That would make them more button-like. So, while these aren’t exact replicas of wood button flair, I really like how the came out!

Of course the CKC blog has more forgery examples to check out. I hope this gave you some ideas on how you can create forgeries of your favorite products with supplies you already have on hand. Don’t forget to show off your stuff over on the CKC Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge or use #counterfeitkitchallenge.

CKC Kit Build April ’22

I love kit building and I am on the design team for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge project. We take an inspiration kit each month and proceed to replicate it, or as we say, counterfeit it. This is a free, friendly group that helps inspire you to use up supplies you already own. We are not about needing to buy the latest and greatest thing (though we won’t stop you if you enjoy new crafty goodies😉 ).

Our fearless leader, Lisa Hausmann, is our kit hostess for April. She chose a kit from Papers and Beyond called Follow Your Bliss. We are also welcoming Helen (DeRam) as our Guest Designer. She can be found on Instagram. Be sure to give her some love over there!

Here are just a few more detailed photos of what this kit has on offer.

This kit is loaded with Jen Hadfield and Vicki Boutin products. As I am a fan of both designers I happen to own a chunk of their work. So, taking in all this inspiration, and the fact that I have some of these designer’s paper lines, here is the kit I came up with.

The top row of papers come directly from the kit inspiration. The lemon paper replaced the bird paper, but if you look at the Jen Hadfield sticker sheet, there are lemons in there! The second row of paper are extras that I was inspired to add. The cups are a nod to the food theme in the Jen Hadfield stickers. The critters are in line with some Easter thinking. The gnomes go along with an icon on the Vicki Boutin ephemera that I added. And the shirts are there for the home theme that emerged from the Jen Hadfield supplies.

The embellishments started with a Jen Hadfield cut-apart sheet, much like the one in the inspiration papers. And I added in gold phrases, and Vicki Boutin die cuts. Plus birds, butterflies and feathers from many of the icons made for great embellies. I chose those in wood veneer inspired by the wood buttons. I also added corrugated cardstock for more wood vibe. I needed more texture so in with the twines. As I bonus I had that washi tape sitting on my desk from my recent washi review so I tucked that in as well. Add some alphas and the kit is complete.

You can hear my thoughts that went into all the choices I made for this kit in my video. There is also a sneak in there about what I have coming for the Forgery on the Fourth project.

I hope you can follow along with the other designers and see how the interpreted their kits.

Here’s the full hop link list

Have fun kit building and don’t forget to show off your stuff over on the CKC Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge or use #counterfeitkitchallenge.

CKC Challenge #2

It is time for the second challenge over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Our hostess for the month, Tara was inspired by pattern paper in the inspiration kit she chose. First off, lets take a look at the whole kit from Citrus Twist Kit from March 2020 called Life Crafted, Weekender.

Now let’s check out that pattern paper. That piece down on the bottom left says “happy happy happy” all over it. And so that is our challenge. Scrap about something that makes you happy! Easy peasy.

What is making me the most happy right now is that my girls are back to their theater life after covid restrictions and delays. That is making us ALL happy!

You can hear (and see) more in the video.

And here is the final layout and a few closeups.

I hope you can scrap what makes you happy!

Life Unfiltered. Seriously.

It is challenge time over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Our hostess for the month, Tara was inspired by an ephemera piece in the inspiration kit she chose. First off, lets take a look at the whole kit from Citrus Twist Kit from March 2020 called Life Crafted, Weekender.

Now let’s zoom in to one piece in particular. See the label that says “no filter needed”. Tara wants us to use this idea to tell stories of “your life unfiltered… the beauty in the mess of real life.”

Challenge accepted. Big time.

These are many photos over the past 15 years that I filtered out of my storytelling. They were all ugly to me for one reason or another. In fact sharing them on the internet has been a cringe inducing challenge. But here they are, totally unfiltered. I chose each one for a tiny bit of story it could tell. Since I didn’t have enough room to add journaling labels to each photo, I went old school and just scribbled all over them.

I asked this question in my YouTube video and I’ll ask again here: What do you do with bad photos? Do you chuck them right away? Save them? Scrap them??? Let me know in the comments!

And speaking of videos, here is the full process video.

I hope you can check out the other designers takes on this challenge! Don’t forget to show off your stuff over on the CKC Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge or use #counterfeitkitchallenge. We love to see your work!

Forgery on the Fourth, March ’22

As a design team member over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge group I play along with as many of our monthly inspiration challenges as I can. The FOF—or Forgery on the Fourth—project is definitely one I enjoy! So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are working with this kit from Citrus Twist, called Life Crafted “Weekender” as our inspiration. The second photo shows a close up of the daisy embellishments sprinkled in the kit. I decided I needed to create forgeries of those!

I started with a PinkFresh stencil that is actually designed for slimline cards. It is a multilayer stencil that adds lots of details.

I didn’t need the full stencil, just individual flowers. Looking at the packaging I noticed 4 flowers total that had that classic daisy shape. So I located those on my stencil and marked them with some flags of Post-It Notes.

Using a small blending brush from Gina K and 4 inks, two in yellow and two in browns (various manufactures!) I proceeded to blend JUST the main flower heads. That meant I did not need to use two of the stencils from the set since those were for the leaves/stems. Two of the stencils were for flower petal details and two were for flower center details. Once done I had this sheet of flowers.

The mess on the right side of the paper is me testing inks and cleaning my brush to switch colors. The pencil tick marks are there to help me line up the 4 different stencils in the correct place each time. I did one pass with the stencil, then shifted it over on my paper and did one more pass. Then I rotated the stencil 90 degrees and did two more passes that direction for a total of 16 flowers. Since the flowers are small it didn’t take long at all. A little bit of fussy cutting and I have myself a pile of pretty petals to play with!

Hope this helps you look at your stencils in a new light. They don’t have to be used “as is” and can be shifted to your needs!

Of course the CKC blog has more forgery examples to check out. I hope this gave you some ideas on how you can create forgeries of your favorite products with supplies you already have on hand. Don’t forget to show off your stuff over on the CKC Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram @counterfeitkitchallenge or use #counterfeitkitchallenge.