Category: Techniques & Tips

Forgeries on the Fourth (aka FOF), Feb ’24

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. So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

This month our inspiration was chosen by Brandi Jo who has boys in her life to scrapbook. So, she avoids all the typical “girly” papers. Thus we are being inspired by a fall color pallet of blues and oranges. This kit is November Rain by Not Just For Boys Kit Club.

I found the bold diagonal stripe paper in the top center, and the blueprint style paper in the top left to be pieces that I did not have in my stash. So that is where I focused my forgery attention. (I wish I could have forged the blue brick but I could not figure out a way to make that happen!)

Here is how that stripe paper turned out. I am rather pleased with it. The trick with a diagonal stripe has to do with math. The diagonal of a square is always longer than the sides. In the case of 12×12 pattern paper, that diagonal is almost 17 inches (if I did my math right 😁). That means you either have to cut a whole new paper right on that diagonal or piece together shorter pieces to reach across the span. In my case I used both.

For my second forgery, I did not have any type of mechanical stamps or stencils to recreate that paper. So instead of trying to make an exact duplicate, I went with the vibe of the paper. I used industrial looking imagery to pull this one together. It is all stenciling so it came together rather quickly.

If you want more details on how I pulled these together, especially tricks to get those diagonal stripes to work well, you can check out the video.

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.

Forgeries on the Fourth (aka FOF), Jan ’24

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. So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are being inspired by this kit from [fill in blank here].

Did you notice the die cut ephemera pack in the bottom center of that kit? Well that is where I got my idea. I chose some of the homey icons included in that set and added in some woodland critters that matched my theme from my kit build. With a bunch of stamping, punching, die cutting and even some diy tag creation, I made a full set of ephemera.

This project is great for a spending freeze or supply hoarders collectors like me. It is even great for those who just run out of favorite pieces in store bough collections. Whey you diy, you can always make more of those favorites.

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^^

Small inking tool:
— From Scrapbook.com: https://shrsl.com/4d97p
— From ScrapbookPal.com: https://shrsl.com/4d97q
— From Acherryontop.com: https://shrsl.com/4d97s

Concord & 9th Inks:
— From Scrapbook.com: https://shrsl.com/4d98n

^^ 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!

Forgeries on the Fourth (aka FOF), August ’23

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. So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are being inspired by this kit from this June kit by Pink and Paper. This is a European company and their kits are built to accompany bi-monthly lesson plans. They are all about education, and not just hoarding! But I tell ya, I was so in love with several of these items and couldn’t narrow it down to just one. So today I four forgeries for you in a bit of a compilation as I’ve done many of these techniques before.

Let’s take a closer look at the items I’ll be recreating.

Let’s take them one by one. First up is the scalloped paper. I simple punched circles (well, actually, half circles) from paper and glued them down into straight lines. This takes some time but zero brain power! It could also be done with stamping (mask off a straight line with tape and stamp half of a circle onto the paper). However, the paper version gives you a bonus… Notice in the final photo the little lift I gave that second row of circles? A layout with tons of dimension is in my future!

Up next is the puffy words. Now, I do have some puffy words already in my kit, but I could not resist pulling out my Nuvo drops for a favorite technique. I created these words and images by drawing with my squeeze bottle onto a non-stick sheet. Let dry for 2 days and these embellishments are ready to go. Nice thing with this technique is that you can use whatever colors and words work for YOUR project!

Want more Nuvo/dimensional drop techniques? Check out this video for lots of ideas!

Third up I have another sheet of pattern paper. I really liked the piece of paper but I knew it would take a while. So I increased the size of my text to reduce the time it would take to get everything done. Now I could have copied the original word for word, but again the beauty of DIY is making it your own. I’ve done my own word art before, and this watercolor piece shows how to get these letters looking good.

Finally I took a flat paper embellishment and recreated it in full real life 3D! I’m taking about the tassels in that ephemera pack. I’ve done tassels more than once over on my YouTube channel because they give so much texture and they are just plain fun to make. If you enjoy fiber based embellishments I have an entire video for that as well.

You could go watch the previous videos I’ve linked up for you, or see all these projects in this compilation video.

Okay, that is my share of forgeries for this month. 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.

Forgeries on the Fourth (aka FOF), July ’23

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. So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are being inspired by this kit inaugural, Feeling Groovy, by Mercy Tiara. Mercy Tiara has a large online presence and audience and she is now offering kits!

While there might have been more obvious things to counterfeit, I was drawn to this little popsicle sticker on the Jen Hadfield sticker sheet.

I was drawn to this image because I have a new stencil from Concord & 9th called Sweet Summer. It was a good excuse to break out my inks and embossing powder — yes, some of these are embossed — to create some sweet treats.

While that popsicle icon on the Jen Hadfield product may be Neapolitan flavor, I made my popsicles in a wide variety of flavors like strawberry lemonade, blackberry, and my favorite, lime punch! Plus there is a bonus popsicle at the end of the video if you want to check it out.

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^^

—- From Scrapbook.com

—– From ACherryOnTop.com

—- From ScrapbookPal.com

^^ 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!

Forgeries on the Fourth (aka FOF), June ’23

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 craft 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 The Friendship Collection kit by Weeds & Wildflowers Supply Company. This is a digital kit so if you are not a digi scrapper but love the mood of this kit, counterfeiting is the way to go!

Since this kit is so jam packed with stuff, if you want to see more, you will have to read my kit building post. There is a whole gallery from this inspiration kit. Or visit their website. we are all about supporting the crafty industry who bring us beautiful products and inspiration. Yet sometimes our crafty needs mean counterfeiting works better for us.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about what I wanted to forge this month. I had a couple of the papers in mind to recreate but my attention really got drawn into all the doodled elements I noticed. Like all of these…

So I pulled out my favorite pens as well as some coloring products. I used my Tim Holtz watercolor pencils but I also show some items using simple markers. Most of the pens that I use for doodling are readily available — the Micron pens. However I have one favorite that I had to track down and that is the Pentel Fude brush pen. Luckily it is available on Amazon, so an easy purchase for most if you like the idea of doodling. That pen is my favorite since the flexible nib allows really easy integration of thick and thinner line work. It is that black pen at the top. As for the Microns, my favorite sizes are 08, 05 and 02 but my 05 has gone rogue so I pulled in an 03 and I don’t think I actually used it!

There are several tips and tricks that I cover in the video below, so if you want some specifics on how I created these items, check it out.

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!

Forgeries on the Fourth (aka FOF), May ’23

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. So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are being inspired by this kit from the Not Just for Boys kit club called Noteworthy. Notice in this picture the “wonky” flowers and the geotags? That is what inspired me this time.

I easily saw how both these items begin as circles. In the case of the geotag, it is a circle atop a triangle shape, much like an ice cream cone. So I created a temple just that shape!

With that template ready to go, I traced it many times on various papers, cut them out then decorated them with stamped circles and arrows much like the inspiration image. (You’ll see the final results in a moment.)

For the florals, I layered up various circle stamps in white pigment ink as well as blue ink, then punched them out with a circle punch. For the leaves, they started as circles too! Once a circle is punched, you place the circle partially back into the same punch and then cut out a “cats eye” shape to create the leaf. This is more understandable if you want to watch the video below. But here is the final pic to see what I mean.

You can see all the details of these builds in the forgery video.

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.

Forgeries on the Fourth (aka FOF), March ’23

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. So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are being inspired by this kit called Time to Thrive digital and printable kit by Traci Reed.

Did you notice the accordion folded hearts tucked through the kit? You can click to enlarge the image and play Where’s Waldo to find them. 😁 Well, that is where I got my first idea. It took a bit of trial and error to figure out how to recreate these digital goodies in physical form. But I got it and I think they are really fun.

A brief rundown on the sizing of these is represented in this screenshot.

  • Cut rectangle of paper 4 inches long by 2 inches heigh.
  • Score it at every 1/4 inch. The final length may be off depending on how precise your scoring is. Trim down to 1/4 inch if necessary
  • Fold in half with “wrong” side of paper facing out.
  • Draw an arc at the top of the folded paper as pictured.
  • Cut along the arc.
  • Open, fold accordion style on all the score marks.
  • Pinch and glue bottom of paper folds together to form heart.

The second bit of creation involved more experimentation. I have this set of dies from Tim Holtz that creates labels. The difference with these is that they can be inked for a letterpressed cut and embossed label. I played with this just once before sitting down to really see if I could get nice results. The end results were not as crisp as I wanted but that doesn’t surprise me too much since Tim Holtz is the distress king. They are “fine” and I’ll probably keep using the dies, but I did have higher hopes for this product. Ah well. At any rate, here is how they turned out.

You can see how I went about creating my forgeries in this video if you want more details.

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!

Forgeries on the Fourth (aka FOF), Feb ’23

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. So let’s go ahead and dive in to what I have for you this month.

We are being inspired by this kit from the Cocoa Daisy Modern Memory Keeping kit from Feb ’22, called Elegance Blooms.

Did you notice the arrows, chipboard circles, frames and a tag in that kit? The photos below came from various add ons and kit pieces. You can see that I was inspired by quite a bit!

I used white cardstock, washi tape and various cutting tools to create all these items. Did you notice that I even included the “negative space” from die cutting the arrows as part of my embellishment set? So fun!

You can see how I went about creating my forgery in this video for more details.

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!

Mystery Box Monday is back!

Hello, hello! I am excited to bring back my Mystery box Monday series. I did this series back in 2020 and since it did not get a lot of views back then I had retired it. But I missed it. This project was just some weird, creative fun and I am happy to be back to it.

So, what is Mystery Box Monday? I have a “grab-bag” style box of supplies that I purchased from Piece Craft Love as part of a clearance sale back in Dec ’22. Since the box is a grab-bag, that means all the supplies in the box are a mystery. The box comes at a steep price reduction because the supplies are unknown. Who doesn’t like a good mystery?

I’m going to reach into this box and pull out three items. Much like that cooking show with the mystery basket ingredients, I have to put those items to use on one crafty project. Will these ingredients work together? Or will it be a recipe for disaster? Let’s find out…

Here is a peek at the mystery items I pulled out of the box this time around. I have a stamp set of a girl with a pirate/Halloween theme, some die cut ephemera from Echo Park with a winter theme, and some green india ink markers from Faber Castel. Hmm. How to combine pirates and snow…

With those items in front of me I was inspired to create a tag using a tissue paper technique! Here is how it came out. Notice the wrinkly looking background behind that girl? That is the tissue paper in action!

If you want to see all the details and techniques of how I went from mystery items to a finished project, you can check out the video.

So that is it this time around. What do you think? Did I “make the cut” or did I get “chopped” from future crafting?

I hope you join me for future Mystery Box Monday goodness. Until next time, I hope you 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!