Wild About Sweden

Welcome to the final post of the March CKCB Members' Blog Hop; if you didn't reach me from  Sherrie then you might want to start at the beginning with Lisa (the full hop list is here)

This month we had a choice of three challenges to use for the hop (#1 Border Challenge , #2 Irish Challenge, #3 Desk Challenge).

I've already had a go with the desk challenge and decided to use my March Counterfeit Kit to make a border for my page using punched shapes from a sheet of ombre paper and a little machine stitching:

Our visit to Skansen in Stockholm was a great opportunity to show Hubby some of the Swedish wildlife ... Moose (really called Elk in British English or Älg in Swedish), Lynx and Reindeer ... we didn't manage to spot the Wolverines though; it must have been too sunny!

Thanks for hopping around with the CKCB Members this month - why not join in yourself in April - EVERYone is welcome!

Hello!

Today's challenge over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog is to reflect your craft desk in a page ... as in the state of it! 

Err - that means I have to admit to you that it's currently a MESS ... in fact I haven't been able to scrap properly at it this year! 
All my scrapping is getting done at my monthly crop and at my dining table as there is no space left on my desk!!!
I'm in the process of clearing up my craft corner to accommodate some different storage and, as ever, I'm making more mess in order to be tidy :-)

So this page for our Disney 2004 (!) album reflects the layers of paperwork, scrapping scraps, half-sorted embellishments, odd pens and a selection of oddments ... scattered around my laptop!

Supplies are from my March Counterfeit Kit with the addition of a few Simple Stories word stickers.  Child No.3 was getting bored waiting for me to browse the biggest craft store I'd ever seen and decided she'd feature in the photographic evidence!  The air-conditioning was a welcome respite from the Florida sun, but the kids didn't appreciate the time it was taking me to decide which scrapbook supplies to spend my holiday $$$ on.

March Madness

Welcome to March's kit counterfeiting with the Counterfeit kit Challenge Blog.  This month our Guest Designer Janine joins us in forging the January Cupcake Kit from A Piece Of Cake Designs in Australia.

My first thought was "Oh no not more pink!"
But then my fellow forgers pointed out that the pink was mostly labelling and upon closer inspection I realised that the kit was lovely shades of teal and yellow and woodgrain ...

This month we Master Forgers are letting you know our "top tips" for putting together and using a kit.  Whenever I put together a counterfeit kit I start by finding my favourite part of it.  This is the thing that will seed the ideas for the rest of the kit.  I just take a colour or a pattern or even some embellishments that I really would love to use and let the kit grow from there.

So I started with the woodgrain sheet ... and the teal patterns ... and then grabbed a sheet with some tiny bicycles (my substitute for those hot air balloons).  That set the tone for the rest of the kit.

My next step is to search my supplies for patterns, journal cards, alphas and embellishments to match the starting elements ... without looking too closely at the original kit while I do this.  This helps me focus on what I actually have in my stash and keeps the kit cohesive.

To finish a forgery off I look back at the kit-to-copy and check that I've included enough of the embellishments to get a feel for the original ... and this month I added wordy frames, some buttons (I'm sequinned out after last month's kit) and a border strip or two.   

I don't worry about counterfeiting each individual piece (though I know that works for some) which ensures that my kit size stays manageable and is more likely to get used up before I get bored with it!

Supplies:
MME Cut & Paste Charm Carefree Mellow (giant chevron)
Thin woodgrain paper (gift from Lesley)
Teal chevron paper (gift from Lesley)
MME Cut & Paste Charm Sweet Spin (cream diamond)
6x6 MME Cut & Paste Charm Hey You (teal arrows)
6x6 MME Cut & Paste Charm Multi-cycles (ombre )
6x6 MME Cut & Paste Charm Sweet Spin (yellow cycles)
Teal, grey and yellow alphas from Simple Stories
Cream punched borders
Various journalling cards from my stash
Yellow chevron glassine pocket
A selection of buttons and wood veneer shapes from my stash
Live Laugh Love Pennant (gift from Lesley)
Wordy frames (gifts from Lesley)

You will have noticed rather a lot of stash supplied by Lesley ... my tribute to a good friend ... who is very generous with her scrappy supplies!

For more kit tips and forgeries please carry on with the hop by visiting Julene (the complete list is published here on the CKCB).  Happy hopping!

P.S.Why March Madness?
Well, I thought I'd prepared my kit weeks ago ... but when I came to write up the blog post I could find neither kit nor photographic evidence that it had ever existed ... apart from in my dreams perhaps?!?!  Cue last minute kit preparation within hours of the reveal!