CKC Kit Build, November ’24

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˜‰ ).

Welcome to a new month of kit building. Vikki is our hostess this time. She chose the Goldenrod Digital & Printable Kit by Traci Reed Designs to inspire us. Before we dive into the details of this kit, let’s give a warm welcome to our guest designer this month. Tamra Hunt, pictured to the left! You can find her on her blog.

So let’s move on with our kit. Here are a few looks at what we have in store this time around.

Lets take a bigger look at the papers since that is where I usually start. What caught my attention was the fact that there were plenty of everyday papers tucked in there. From plaids to polkadots, I found plenty to inspire me outside of the definite fall theme of this collection. I very much appreciate that! I also liked that the softer than traditional color palette as well as the addition of gray and gray-teals.

So these are the papers I came up with. I subbed out the black star print for a large bold multicolor star. I included one leafy print and one pumpkin print as a nod to the theme. I also subbed in one wreath print that while intended for Christmas, could work really well on a Halloween layout with porch pumpkins!

And here is a look at the embellishments. I kept my main selection of embellishments manageable. I will allow myself to draw readily from my stash of fall and Halloween embellishments as needed.

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. I’m sharing some things from super-easy to fun-techniquey this time around.

There is a tradition over at CKC of titling our kits just like companies do. So in honor of the wreath print I included, I’m calling mine…

Porch Decor

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!

CKC Kit Build, October ’24

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˜‰ ).

Man, I have been so busy with a long list of stuff going on. Luckily most of it is good. Unfortunately it means multiple things have fallen through the cracks. Deep breath. Pick up the trail and move forward.

With that I am here with my October kit. The team at CKC breaks up tasks for the group by various jobs. I’m actually on the job of creating a mini kit + project this month. But… that kit & project is going to be a fun home decor idea (sneaky peek there). That means I still need a scrappy kit. So here it goes.

First here is our guest designer: Liz Ketter! You can find her on Instagram. I don’t know Liz so I am looking forward to seeing her work. Speaking of which we need to build a kit based on inspiration. Since I am behind the times, you can check out Liz’s and the rest of the team’s kits over at the CKC Blog. We are working with the An Autumn Tale: Chilly Breeze digial kit available at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

The very first thing I noticed was the demin accent. LOVE. We have had at least one other month with denim vibes during my tenure on the team. Still loving it. I also appreciate the softer takes on oranges and browns. Those are not my go-to colors at all. Yet the tones here have a bit of a glow to them that I appreciate.

So these are the papers I came up with. Apologies for the blurry photo. I had my camer in the wrong setting when I snapped this and didn’t realize it until it was too late.

And here is a look at the embellishments. Despite the chaotic look of this pile, I kept it simple. I added dies and stamps to create items as I scrap. I added textural elements of felt and cork. Then I just plopped my entire fall embellishment pouch onto my kit. Done.

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. I’m loving my ideas this time.

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

Easy Breezy Autumn

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!

January Wrap Up

I have been struggling to keep up with life these days. Have you ever been there? Well, in an effort to stay active here I’m going to wrap up January in a bit of a gallery style, so let’s dive in.

CKC Challenge #1: Tell about a cozy adventure.

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I went back to 2018 or 2019 for this story of exploring a new-to-me town while my daughter was at an event. Despite the rain, it was a lovely adventure.

This is from my ongoing Mystery Box Monday series. I have a grab bag of supplies that I ordered. “Grab bag” means I have no idea what is in the box! I reach in without looking (a challenge!), pull out three items, and put them to use on a project. This is just a fun and creativity stretching exercise. Are the projects always great? Nope. Do I learn something each time? Yep.

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CKC Challenge #2: Tell a story of a special moment.

We happened to have this owl visit our yard one day for several hours. My whole family was in awe and we spent a good amount of time just staring at this guy.

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Iron Crafter Challenge: Use Stamping

Iron Crafter is all about putting underutilized supplies to use. I wouldn’t say my stamps are under used, but one thing I don’t do much is stamp my titles. So along with other stamping, I also stamped part of my title.

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CKC#3: Use a sketch.

The CKC group has added two extra challenges to our array of inspiration each month. Sketches are one such addition. If you want to see the sketch and how I worked it to this layout, check out the video.

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New for 2024: Freckled Fawn Kit unboxing + project

Since my SCT Sampler kits were discontinued, I went on a quest to find a new kit subscription. I landed on Freckled Fawn! Here is my first project from my January kit. The video shows the entire unboxing, thoughts on why I chose Freckled Fawn and the project creation.

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Mixed Media Mayhem

I love the Mixed Media Mayhem group, but as I am struggling with time in my days, this is the one YouTube project that I may need to drop from my calendar. I’m still thinking this over. At any rate, I was really happy with how this one turned out.

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CKC Challenge #4: Use your scraps

At the end of each month, CKC is now offering the “use your scraps” challenge. While I have a go-to list of using up scraps, I’m not sure I have 12 ideasโ€“one of each month of 2024. I will be learning along the way with everyone! As my ideas run out, I may skip doing videos on this project as well. Again, decisions need to be made!

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So, that wraps up my January. If you have any questions or comments, just drop me a note and I’d be happy to get back to you.

Until next time, have an artful day.