Category: Counterfeit Kits

CKC Challenge #2, Jan ’23

It is challenge time over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Our hostess for the month, Lisa, has been taking us back in time with our challenges. Remember the popularity of double page layouts from times past? That was challenge #1. This time we are heading to our old favorite techniques to bring the past back into the present.

This layout is definitely a mix of the old me and the current me. Old me used a three-photo cluster almost all of the time. Plus old me would ink and distress edges much of the time. New me adds more layers of pattern papers, homemade embellishments, and watercoloring. Both of me still turn to the classic rule of threes for embellishing.

New me also likes to use wording in my journaling that hints at some of the product selections. If you enlarge the journaling above you’ll notice I refer to how an audience “circularly reinforces” the energy of the performers. That wording is a nod to the circular elements I used on the page!

If you want to hear more of my thinking behind layout decisions, check out the 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!

Until next time, have an artful day.

CKC Challenge #1, Jan ’23

It is challenge time over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Our hostess for the month, Lisa was inspired by a double page sketch offered over at the Scrapbook and Cards Today Magazine from 2010 . You can find that post here.

Are you a double pager? I used to be a dedicated double page girl. I did not like flipping pages in my album to see two discordant layouts side by side. I have no idea how I made the switch to doing single pages. I’m sure some of the industry trends played an influence. Some of it was a slow down in my own photo process. Definitely part of it was time allotment! At any rate, I have been a single pager for many years now, with just the occasional double. So it felt good to take on a double page this time.

First here is a peek at that sketch….

And here is my interpretation. I replaced some of the photos with clusters of photos. I adjusted some of the paper blocks with mixed media (details shots below). Finally, I turned my title and journaling block to be horizontal instead of vertical. Simple changes and I have a different layout.

Here are a few more closeups of this one.

There was a lot of “making” on this layout. Not only did I use glitter paste mixed media to make a background, but I created all of the embellishments. Previously I made the snowflake paper and the title card. I die cut foliage, watercolored & stamped snowflakes, and added a bit more other stamping., If you want to see the whole process of pulling all these pieces together, I’ve got a video for you.

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!

Until next time, have an artful day.

Forgeries on the Fourth, January 2023

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 Forgery on the Fourth, aka FOF, project is definitely one I enjoy! That is where we see a scrap product we like and set out to recreate it with supplies we already own. So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are being inspired by this kit from e a Hip Kit Club inspiration from just this past December of 2022.. I found 3 papers very interesting in that kit, but could only get to forging two of them. This first one was a snowflake print

I pulled out a stamp set from Hero Arts called Color Layering Snowflake (just a quick tip: this set is currently on clearance sale over at Scrapbook.com for a great price!!^^ ) and my Concord & 9th inks and got to work. I added in some navy ink to match my kit a bit more and I ended up with a piece that I am very happy with.

The next inspiration up was this little paper on the far right.

Those feathery circles really grabbed my attention. I knew I had to recreate those in watercolor! I pulled out my new Grabie.cc travel watercolor palette (full disclosure I did receive this set for free to do a review of it.) and set to work. Again, I added in navy to my palette. This did take me probably more than an hour to complete, but I put on music and sang while I painted and it was very meditative.

If you want more details on how I created each of these pieces you can check out the video below.

For more creative ideas, the CKC blog has more forgery examples to check out. I hope this gave you some ideas on how you can recreate 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.

Until next time, have an artful day.

PRODUCTS USED^^

^^Disclaimer: I offer affiliate shopping linked products when possible. This shopping won’t cost you anything extra, but I get a small kick back from the companies for sending business their way. It is an easy way to tell me “Thank You” for the content I provide. I appreciate you using my links!

CKC Kit Build, January ’23

I think I have gotten to the time of my life when I am surprised every single time when the calendar flips over to a new month. Plus with this being January the calendar has also flipped over to a new year. Oh how time flies. After a break in December from kitting, and largely from scrapping, it is time to get back at it.

Lisa is our Master Forger hostess for this month. She chose a Hip Kit Club inspiration from just this past December of 2022. Before we take a peek at the kit, let’s welcome our guest designer, Anandi. Anandi has been playing along with us at over at CKC for a little while now and her design sense is beautiful. She has been a part of the Simple Scrapper design team in the past so she know’s what she’s doing! 😉

Alright, now we can take a look at the inspiration piece. I grabbed this screenshot from the Hip Kit Club YouTube video kit reveal. The graphic was just much clearer that the website photos. Odd. Anyway, I took inspiration from the kit for these elements: yellow, aqua, pink, navy, grids, stripes, woodgrain, birds and foliage, chipboard, die cuts, homey icons, and snowflakes.

Hip Kit Club offers a wide range of add-ons for their kits, so I did take a look at those as well. A few things caught my eye. I liked the wood grain foliage pieces in the embellishment set, the idea of mixed media and the sweater texture of the metal die. So all these ideas got incorporated in my kit.

So here are my papers

And what my embellishments ended up being.

There were a few items I missed tucking in my kit because I forgot or because I couldn’t find them. So a few more bits will be coming. In addition I’ll have some forgeries coming on the fourth, so stay tuned for those. Finally, as a tradition over at CKC, we name our kits. I’m calling my kit Warm & Wintery for the juxtaposition of the hot pinks and yellows along side the blues and snowflake elements!

In the meantime if you like to hear more thoughts behind my kit process, then you can check out the video version.

Go ahead and follow along with the other designers and see how they interpreted their own 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.

I’ll be back on the 4th, for our Product Forgeries. Until then, have an artful day!

CKC Bonus Challenge

It is challenge time AGAIN over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Normally we have just two layout challenges a month, but since our fearless leader Lisa is hosting this month — in her birthday month! — we get a bonus birthday-inspired challenge. We are going to play with bows or ribbons.

So I grabbed my CKC kit. Here is a reminder of that…

Then I grabbed a bow die from my stash. This little bow came from a Doodle Bug holiday stamp and die set that I got as part of an online event. If I can find. Then I got to work building little bows. I lined them up and built the rest of my page around that.

And here is the full process…

You can find more takes takes on this challenge over at the CKC blog! Don’t forget to play along with this challenge and 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!

Until next time, have an artful day.

CKC Challenge #2, Nov ’22

It is challenge time over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Our hostess for the month, Lisa was inspired by all the harvest festivals that incorporate gratitude. So that is our theme this time: Gratitude stories! First off, let’s remember how all our kits started off with an inspiration image. That was offered by a German company called Scrapbook Werkstatt, but it has since been taken down. But we always try to give credit where credit is due!

If you haven’t seen my kit build yet, head over to check that out.

With kit stuff out of the way, back to the challenge… Challenge accepted, with a bit of a twist. I am scrapping Christmas photos with more of a Thanksgiving/Fall color vibe. But since this story is very homey and has to do with food, it all works for me!

This layout included some hidden journaling behind that little “living room scene” (center photo above). The red banner is stapled to a small card to pull out for the words. The other things about this embellishment cluster that I was a little too pleased about. See that butterfly button? In my little scene, the green pattern paper is “wall paper” on the “wall” behind that armchair, and that button is “art” hanging on that wall! It is an embellishment with a larger purpose.

So if you want to hear more about my goofy thinking 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!

Until next time, have an artful day.

PRODUCTS USED

Disclaimer: I offer affiliate shopping linked products when possible. This shopping won’t cost you anything extra, but I get a small kick back from the companies for sending business their way. It is an easy way to tell me “Thank You” for the content I provide. I appreciate you using my links!

Two Interactive layouts!

Last time I showed you some tip-out elements to make for creating interactive layouts. Tips out are simple small paper elements that are adhered to the page in a way that they can tip or flip open to reveal more space. I’ve been obsessed with this technique for a couple of weeks now, so I’m bringing that obsession right to you!

Layout 1: Uses one of the tip outs I made with only a bit of adjustment to it.

Layout 2: Creates a tip-out from scratch using slightly different techniques! I had lots of lots of journaling and a few more photos, all while still allowing “white space” on the front of the layout.

I hope you enjoy these interactive layouts. Until next time, have an artful day.

Kit Additions, Nov ’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 Forgery on the Fourth project is definitely one I enjoy! That is where we see a scrap product we like and set out to recreate it with supplies we already own. This month, I’m also one of the Master Forgers tasked with the mini kit and project segment. Since both challenges involved me making things to add to my main kit, I’m sharing both here at once.

As a reminder, we are being inspired by the October Kit, Herbstzauber (NOTE: the kit has been removed from the company site so please check out their main site listed next…) offered by a german company called Scrapbook Werkstatt.

If you know me, then you will know that I love wood elements, including those buttons tucked on the far right side. So that was they natural place to go for my forgery.

Video episode about making wood button embellishments.

The mini kit task was a perfect opportunity to pull some scraps from my paper that had elements inspired by our host kit this month and create some interactive layer items for my kit. Having these pre-made will make creating layouts just a little bit faster.

So that is it for this time around. I will be back very soon putting those tip-outs to use on some layouts!

For more creative ideas, the CKC blog has more forgery examples to check out. I hope this gave you some ideas on how you can recreate 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.

Until next time, have an artful day.

PRODUCTS USED^^

^^ Disclaimer: I offer affiliate shopping linked products when possible. This shopping won’t cost you anything extra, but I get a small kick back from the companies for sending business their way. It is an easy way to tell me “Thank You” for the content I provide. I appreciate you using my links!

CKC Kit Build, November ’22

Wowza. Another new month is here. This last part of the season has just whipped by and I don’t feel like I’ve given my previous kits enough love. Sigh. But time progresses and so do I. With that, lets move on to my new kit as part of the design team for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge project. If you are new to CKC, 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😉 ).

Let’s welcome our guest designer Machelle Willing to the team for November. She’s been around the CKC block before so she will bring her experience to the team again this month.

Our inspiration kit this time around is the October Kit, Herbstzauber (NOTE: the kit has been removed from the company site so please check out their main site listed next…) offered by a German company called Scrapbook Werkstatt. This kit is centered around product by PinkFresh Studio, Maggie Holmes and Paige Evans, all of which I have used in the past. I had to dig in my stash to see what I may have still had on hand from these pieces vs what I’d need to replicate.

Before we get to my kit, let’s peek at most of the inspiration pieces.

For my build I started with the same PinkFresh paper line and it turns out that I had a partial sheet of the ticket style print to tuck in my kit. I added in a map print based on the inspiration. Next came a jumbo text print from Shimelle to take the place of the word print from PinkFresh. Then a bunch of decisions had to be made to get to the final paper selection (see the video below for all the details!)

Next up was embellishments. As last month was a jumbo embellishment month, I kept things calmer this time. I drew very heavily from the inspiration in pulling these bits together. Notice I’ve got blank wood buttons in my kit. I bet you know I’m going to dress those up somehow for the Forgery on the Fourth project at CKC. Just a little hint for you!

Okay. That is my kit. Now… there is a tradition over at CKC of titling our kits just like companies do. I had a hard time finding the right name. I’m going to call this one Across the Seasons since I brought in more springy purples and green as well as richer autumnal yellows and blues.

If you want to see my thoughts behind my kit choices, check out my kit build video.

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

I’ll be back on the 4th, for our Product Forgeries using those blank buttons. Until then, have an artful day!

PRODUCTS USED**

** Disclaimer: I offer affiliate shopping linked products when possible. This shopping won’t cost you anything extra, but I get a small kick back from the companies for sending business their way. It is an easy way to tell me “Thank You” for the content I provide. I appreciate you using my links!

October CKC Challenge #2

It is challenge time over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Our challenge this time is to “Go Big or Go Home”! So I am putting together my layout using a large photo frame. I created the frame as part of my design team work over at the Counterfeit Kit Blog for the Forgery on the Fourth project. (It’s at the bottom of the post so be patient and scroll down!) But here is a quick peek at the frame.

And here is how it made it onto my layout!

Here is the full process video if you’d like to see the layout come together.

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!

Until next time, have an artful day.

PRODUCTS USED

Disclaimer: I offer affiliate shopping linked products when possible. This shopping won’t cost you anything extra, but I get a small kick back from the companies for sending business their way. It is an easy way to tell me “Thank You” for the content I provide. I appreciate you using my links!