CKC Kit Build, March ’23

I love kit building and that is why 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 goodies๐Ÿ˜‰ ).

Team member Anna is our hostess this month and we’ll see the kit she chose to inspire us in a moment. But first Let’s welcome our guest designer before we dive in… Amanda Castle, known as A Joyful Scrapper on YouTube. Pop over to her channel and leave her some love on her kit reveal post!

Now we can get to the pretty stuff. To start, here is our inspiration kit. It is called Time to Thrive digital and printable kit by Traci Reed. Anna loves Traci Reed and wanted something that could lean her into a green color palette for March.

Though I love Traci Reed, I don’t own this kit, so a true counterfeit is in order! I was inspired by many of the patterns, the numbered circles and a general mental wellness vibe.

I played quite closely with the prints in the kit, coming up with things as close as I had in my stash and making a few minor interpretations. I did skip many of the pinks since I’m needing a little break from pink.

For embellishments, I went with hearts, butterflies, chipbaord, labels lots of alphas.

Don’t forget that each month I also create my own elements to add into my kit. Of course these are inspired by the original kit, but often have a twist of their own. So don’t miss what I will make in just a couple of days.

There is a tradition over at CKC of titling our kits just like companies do. So I’m calling mine Mindful for the nod to the original self-care kit theme and the way that I follow some self care in my own life right now.

If you want more details on my kit building thought process, check out my kit build video.

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

Hereโ€™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!

Until next time, have an artful day.

February Wrap Up

Wow, February just got away from me. I’m hoping to do better for March. Yet as I woke up today I realized it IS March 1st. Oh boy. So I need to bring February to and end before I move on to March.

My last post was back for CKC’s first layout challenge for Feb. 12th. I love that layout very much, so if you missed it, go check it out.

As for the rest of March, my schedule was fairly typical. Let’s walk through it.

I created a shiny mixed media layout for the Mix It Up Monday hop. Process video available.

I played with embossing powder for a technique share. One of the viewer favorite idea was embossing with water. Yes, water! That is the first technique of the video if you want to check it out.

The second challenge for CKC was to use an envelope to hide journaling. I got that on there in the upper right corner and my journaling pulls out with a chipboard arrow “tab”. I also used the leftover heart from challenge number one!

For this next one I unboxed my SCT Sampler kit and was inspired by the product to create a then-and-now themed layout all about music.

Next up I was over on the ScrapHappy.org blog along with my creative team discussing cascade design. A simple twistโ€”literallyโ€”on this concept is to turn the paper 90 degrees for a windswept look instead. And if you like watercoloring, this video has you covered.

Finally I was in on the Mixed Media Mayhem Hop that now overlaps with the Iron Crafter Challenge hop. The first was a recipe: inky background, no pattern paper and stamping. The latter was to use dimensional drops like Nuvo. And boy did I take on these challenges. This one is a bit busy, but sometimes the process of play is as important as the final product.

So that wraps up February. I’m hoping to be a bit more up to date for March. (Best laid plans, right?) However, you can start off with checking out my scrapbook kit build for March coming up next!

Have an artful day!

CKC Challenge #1, Feb ’23

It is challenge time over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. Our hostess for the month, Cindy, gave us a nod to Valentines day with a simple challenge. We are going to “put a heart on it”! So easy and it doesn’t even have to have anything to do with Valentines day if that isn’t your jam.

If we are going to put a heart on it, then I am going to put a HEART on it! I went big with this one inspired by being bold with my heart and also about the design concept of white space that my ScrapHappy team has been discussing over on the bog. It is nice when I can get two ideas in one layout!

I was also playing with washi tape, which I haven’t done in a while, so that felt good. And I created some fun interactive tags. They are tied on to flip over and find more photos on the back. I’m super happy with how this one came out.

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.

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!

Freebie Friday, Feb ’23

I love learning, creating and sharing. That is why I offer freebies up to you each month. I have both a layout sketch (in printable pdf as well as editable psd) and an electronic cut file (in svg) for your electronic die cut machines. Here is some further exciting news… new for 2023 are PRINTABLES.!! You can print them at home, cut them apart and use them to embellish your projects. This month I was inspired by the New Year holiday and the Pantone color of the year. You can see all the details in my reveal video, or read on for the short version.

You can check out the full video reveal release plus a project below. Or keep reading for just the pics!

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Sketch

Here is a closer look at the sketch. I created a layout with this sketch in mind and gave it a few tweaks to fit more photos.

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Cut File

If you are a cut file lover, I’ve got you covered too! My video covers any details for this file and any tips and tricks I have to share. Be sure to get all the info by watching above. This month I have photo frames for in in the 4×6 and 3×4 size. They are simple but coordinate nicely with the printables below.

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Printables!!

These files come to you in an 8.5×11 inch format for easy at-home printing. Keep in mind that monitor/screen colors and printed colors will NOT be the same! Screen colors often appear more vibrant. Colors even vary from printer to printer as well.

If you need any tips on cutting this apart my original post talks a little about those plans to simplify how much cutting you need to do. Any tips beyond that will be in the current video reveal!

This time around I have pattern paper to go along with the embellishments. The paper comes in the horizontal and vertical orientations to make it more flexible for your crafting. I do have new tutorials up on my YouTube channel on how to use the embellishment .png file in electronic die cutting software so that you don’t have to fussy cut. You can find the Cricut tutorial or the Silhouette tutorial. Since those are the only machines I know how to use I can’t offer help with other brands. But many machines have options if you search on YouTube.

Download…

  • Sketch: printable pdf version here,
  • Sketch: Photoshop version here
  • Cut File: svg version here
  • Cut File: for Silhouette here
  • Printable bundle is here

Or… head over to my Freebies Page to peruse the catalog of files I have offered in the past. And if you have any ideas I’d love to hear them. I can’t make promises but I can take suggestions!

Until next time, have an artful day.

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!

CKC Kit Time, Feb ’23

I love kit building and that is why 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 goodies๐Ÿ˜‰ ).

Let’s welcome our guest designer before we dive in….

Karen Pietruszkiewicz has been playing along with us over at CKC for a little while now. Her enthusiasm has been infectious! I’m so glad she is on board as our guest this month. She’ll be sharing her work right no the CKC Facebook group so you’ll be able to see all the CKC goodness in one spot.

Now we can get to the pretty stuff. To start, here is our inspiration kit, picked by this month’s kit hostess Cindy. We have the Cocoa Daisy Modern Memory Keeping kit from Feb ’22, called Elegance Blooms. Cocoa Daisy is always packed with options. If you want more ideas check out their site. But we are going to take a brief look and then get to the kit building.

I knew there were elements that I just had to have: enamel dots, circles, arrows, hearts. The rest of the kitting was still up in the air. It wasn’t until I went to start grabbing papers that I settled on the idea that the floral/foliage framed paper shown below should be my starting point.

With that idea in mind I went straight to my Pink Fresh papers since I know they do some lovely floral frames. I found one and the colors played nicely with the inspiration so that was the start of my kit. I also knew that I wanted to pull some chevron in appreciation of the very bold chevron in the inspiration. The color palette flowed both from my starting paper (pictured on the left below) and from nods to the inspiration.

Embellishments this month needed to be all pre-made as it is a LOAD month for me. (If you don’t know about LOAD, the short version is it is a LayOut A Day project hosted over at ScrapHappy.org.) If I am going to create a layout every day, the projects need to come together quickly. I also wanted to give myself plenty of choices for embellishing so I packed a lot in my kit this time. Notice there are some tools in that collection for making my own embellishments. But that will come with the Forgery on the Fourth (coming soon) project and not with each page itself!

There is a tradition over at CKC of titling our kits just like companies do. So I’m calling mine… Fun Lovin’ for the mix of hearts and bold prints.

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

Hereโ€™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!

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!

SCT Sampler Kit Unboxing, Jan ’23

Getting my SCT Sampler kit in the mail each month is a bright spot. This small affordable package is just enough newness + surprise to keep me satisfied. This month the package contained products from Simple Stories. Take a look… (and sorry in advance for the color in this photo. I didn’t notice the issue until it was too late.)

I wouldn’t want to leave you wondering just what to do with these supplies. So I almost always make a project as soon as my box arrives. That way I am sure to use it instead of just showing it off. This time around I made a January in review layout. With this kit and this layout, I will be doing a review page each month! Stay tuned for those. For now this is how far I got with this layout. I have two more photos to add, which I left room for just in case I had more to say for January, and sure enough I did.

Of course if you want more information you can watch my YouTube video to get a better look at the kit products and my project.

If you want more info on these kits, check out the links and info below.

SCT sampler kit information
Please note: you can not order the current kit. Instead you sign up for a future beginning date for your kits. Kits currently run between $14 per month (1-year commitment billed every 4 months) to $17 per month (4-month commitment billed fully). Extras not shown in the video include a private Facebook group with video shares each month, a cut file download to match the theme word and discounts for prominent online scrapbook shops.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at what these little kits have to offer and seeing it put into action with a project. I’ll be back soon with more crafty goodness. Until then, have an artful day.

Until next time, have an artful day.

Freebie Friday, Jan ’23!

I love learning, creating and sharing. That is why I offer freebies up to you each month. I have both a layout sketch (in printable pdf as well as editable psd) and an electronic cut file (in svg) for your electronic die cut machines. Here is some further exciting news… new for 2023 are PRINTABLES.!! You can print them at home, cut them apart and use them to embellish your projects. This month I was inspired by the New Year holiday and the Pantone color of the year. You can see all the details in my reveal video, or read on for the short version.

Sketch

Here is a closer look at the sketch. I created a layout with this sketch in mind in a separate video!

Cut File

If you are a cut file lover, I’ve got you covered too! My video covers any details for this file and any tips and tricks I have to share. Be sure to get all the info by watching above.

Printables!!

I’m starting off January very simply, but I have bigger plans moving forward so I hope you’ll stick with me. Be sure to watch the video to get the tips on how I will be setting up these files to make ease of use for you a priority.

These files come to you in an 8.5×11 inch format for easy at-home printing. Keep in mind that monitor/screen colors and printed colors will NOT be the same! Screen colors often appear more vibrant. Colors even vary from printer to printer.

Download…

  • Sketch: printable pdf version here,
  • Sketch: Photoshop version here
  • Cut File: svg version here
  • Cut File: for Silhouette here
  • Printable is here

Or… head over to my Freebies Page to peruse the catalog of files I have offered in the past. And if you have any ideas for sketch or cut files, I’d love to hear your ideas. I can’t make promises but I can take suggestions!

Until next time, have an artful day.

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.

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.