Zip-A-Dee-Doodle

Goodbye 2016 - and welcome 2017.  Have you broken any New Year's Resolutions already?  I've resolved not to make any ;-)

As it's the first of the month, I've grabbed some stash and I'm ready to join in with the Master Forger reveal over at the  Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog.

This month's kits-to-copy, was chosen by Julene from the Shop’n’Crop based on a brand new Kaisercraft collection Ubud Dreams.  Our guest designer Cindy is starting us off, and I'm after Susan.

Lots of mint and navy and black and white with some hessian and wood veneer and maybe a little kraft?  Funnily enough I have a similarly coloured collection from Bo Bunny (Zip-A-Dee-Doodle) and based my kit around that:

The reverse sides of the sheets are all black and white doodly patterns which should be useful.

I included some kraft-core cardstock and a sheet of Crate Paper's Wonder My Dear with a selection of veners and some woven trims as well as a few ribbons ... I have more ribbon than I'll ever use in a lifetime ... better make a small dent in it!

Now it's time to hop over to see what Kelly has for you.  If you want to visit all the Master Forgers or you want to know more about kit counterfeiting pop over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog today.

Happy New Year !!!

I should Cocoa

Happy First of the Month!
Which around here means that it's reveal time at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. We started with Dawn, our Guest Designer, and you will have seen everyone else including Susanne as I'm the last in line.

This month the kit-to-copy is Cocoa Daisy's City Park.

A lovely autumnal set of papers, and I knew I had one themed paper in my stash ... so that was the basis of my whole kit!  Unfortunately as it was a freebie from a retreat give-away pile, I have NO idea who the manufacturer is.

Supplies:
MME Bloom & Grow "Bloom" Vines (yellow vine reverse)
Carolees Creations Little Things Dot
The two unknown sheets!
Simple Stories Awesome Collection Flash Cards & Bingo Cards
Allison Kret Sprinled With Love By Your Side (love-birds reverse)
Various tags and journal cards from my stash
Papermania rub-on alphas
K&CO rub-ons
MME Follow Your Heart gems
Autumnal coloured brads

Next on the hop is Kelly (who chose the lovely kit) - take a look why don't you?!

Collecting A Kit

Welcome to another month of kit counterfeiting with the Counterfeit kit Challenge Blog.  This month we have Kelly, our Guest Designer,  to start us off  with her counterfeit of the Indigo Hills collection from Pinkfresh Studio.

If you have been hopping along you'll already have seen what the lovely Susanne did with the inspiration kit and now it's my turn.  It was far too painty and blotchy for me to counterfeit too closely, so (ignoring the pastel pink) I went with a colour match!

Those blues and blacks reminded me of some papers from Teresa Collins Urban Market collection ... which I just happen to have in 6x6 format.  I selected some sheets from that and added some yellow accents from a Sn@p! Colour Vibe pad.

I haven't used buttons much recently so they'll feature this month!

Supplies:
6x6 Urban Market papers - Damask, Floral, Collage, Subway, Circles and Dots
6x6 Sn@p! Colour Vibe 1 sheets
Blue & Yellow buttons
My Little Shoebox grey alphas
Navy alphas by Sn@p! studio
Navy alphas
Grey alphas

No excuse to run out of letters for my titles!

Now let's see what Master Forger Kelly makes of forging a collection - Happy hopping :-)

Felicitations!

It's that time of the month again ... kit reveal ... with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. Which of course means a hop around the Master Forgers.  This month we started with our Guest Designer, Nicole, and you should have reached me from Susanne.

This month the kit-to-copy, Felicity Jane's August Kit, called "Maggie", was a beautiful combo of orange and blue, black and white, stripes, plaid and florals ...

Last month's kit featured pastel blue,so when I spotted a combination of orange and green stripes in my stash, I decided to go off at a slight tangent.  For some reason all my stripes are diagonals!

Supplies:
MAMBI black & white plaid pattern (from 2004!!!)
Orange striped paper
Puddle Jumper from Pink Paisle's Hello Sunshine collection (green drops reverse)
MME's Now & Then Izzy Smile Bloom (green dots) and Smile Regard (tesselated cards)
BG Typeset Crop Marks (plain green)
White Paisley by Doodlebug
6x6 sheet from Studio Calico's Thataway pad

Various journalling cards, scraps and ribbons from my stash
MME Lush brads
Orange striped washi
Scalloped border punch and some scallop-punched borders 
American Crafts Remarks alpha stickers in black & white
Sn@p! Studio Orange alphas

Next on the hop is the lovely Julene so please pop "down under" to see what she has to offer!
If you get lost along the hop - the full list is on the CKCB here.  Have fun!

A Germane Kit to Copy!

Kit reveal time again ... with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog's hop around the Master Forgers' blogs.  We started with our Master Forger Karen and I'm a hop away from Susanne.

This month it was Lisa's turn to choose a kit and, appropriately enought, the kit-to-copy came from Germany: Papier Werkstadt's March Kit.

A lovely muted kit, full of neutrals plus hints of pastels.  I started leafing through my papers to find kraft/white patterns, but spotted a trio of Basic Grey's Scarlett's Letter that I'd been saving ... and decided that they could work as a starting point.  I added a couple more modern neutrals from Crate Paper's The Pier pad and then added some hints of pale blue ... no suprise that pale pink didn't feature!  Well actually, it is there on a pattern reverse that will NOT be being used!

Supplies:
Crate Paper's The Pier (numbers)
Daisy Bucket Star KissedStardust (fawn reverse)
My Little Shoebox In Bloom Botanical (floral reverse - the pink one!)
Unknown damask pattern
Crate Paper Maggie Holmes (interlocking circles)
Crate Paper's The Pier (chevrons)
Confession, Pearl and Desire from Basic Grey Scarlett's Letter Collection
Paper Salon Enamoured's Iron Gates, Blue Scrolls and Floral
Scenic Route Small Random Kraft alphas
Crate Paper Story Teller alphas
Unknown brown and blue alphas
MME Follow Your Heart decorative brads
WRMK enamel shapes
Paper Salon cardstock stickers
Basic Grey cream rub-ons
Bo Bunny brown rub-ons
Home made paper rosettes

Next on the hop we are welcoming the lovely Julene back from her holidays. If you get lost along the hop - the full list is on the CKCB here.  Have fun!

D'you like a July Kit?

It's that time of the month again ... kit reveal ... with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. Which of course means a hop around the Master Forgers.  We started with Gretchen, our Guest Designer, and you will have seen everyone else including Susanne as I'm the last in line.

This month the kit-to-copy, from S&CT is 2015's Crop & Create Delivered - Heat Wave.

A lovely summery set of papers, none of which I has ... so I looked out some dots and chevrons, some clouds and text, in reds, blacks, teal and especially bright sunshiny yellow!

Supplies:
Crate Paper's Little Bo Peep Matilda (green floral reverse)
MME Jack & Jill "Life Is Good" Serene Spots (green  floral)
½ sheet Boutique Newspaper (yellow) from Simple Stories DIY Boutique
Hambly Screen Prints teal Mod Circles
Roundabout from Bella Blvd's Pack Your Bags
2 6x6 sheets from MME Cut & Paste Charm pad
Boutique Polka (red) from SS DIY Boutique
Various washis from my stash
Grey and yellow Thickers
K&Co Rub-ons
Home-made bees (details on the 4th)
Yellow buttons (to replace the enamel dots)
Various 2x3 cards from my stash
7 Dots Studio Illumination Elements

Not a close match, but one I can work with!  Plus I dug out some really ancient stash to use up - RESULT!
That's the end of the Master Forger Hop for July - if you're joining in this month, please link up and share.

Bustin' Out My June Kit

Welcome to another month of kit counterfeiting with the Counterfeit kit Challenge Blog.  Having started last month's reveal, I'm bringing up the rear this time - so you should have seen everyone else's efforts already ... including our Guest Designer Salla ... and found my blog via the lovely Susanne.  If so, you'll have seen loads of photos of the Kit-to-Copy, the Hip Kit Club May 2016 Kit and all the add-ons and extras.

Whenever I start counterfeiting, I look to see if I have anything (similar) from the original kit.   
Yes - I had some Jillibean Soup mini placemats from the PL Kit and some wood veneers from the main.
The patterns ar ethe next pointer for forgery:  words on a page ... dots ... patterned stripes ... florals ... triangles ...
Yes - I had some bright text-covered paper, loads of dotty patterns, some navy striped paper I could embellish, some matching florals and some triangular brads!
After that I add to what I've already selected, keeping an  eye on the colours ... there was plenty of pink in last month's kit, so this time I concentrated on the turquoise!  Here's my mini-kit:

Supplies:
Freeze Frame (frames), Who's To Say (floral), Chevron/Teal (chevron) from SS DIY Boutique
Some polka dot paper from a giveaway pile
6x6 Sheets of MME Now & Then Izzy paper Smart/Boys (keys) and Frolic/Happenings (orange pattern) which is now a forgery of a Hip Kit Club Exclusive (see Forgeries on the Fourth for details)
Jillibean Soup Mini Placemats - Smile
Triangular brads in various colours
Navy/white arrow washi tape
KI Memories Softies (random extra - to use them up!)
Creative Memories Stencil alpha stickers
Gin XCollege Navy and Chotchkie White rub-on alphas
Wood veneers from my stash

Total effect ... not a lot like the original, but definitely usable, and some seriously old stash busted out of storage!!

The full list of Master Forgeries is available on the CKCB today if you fancy joining in.

May Kit - May Scrap

It's that time of the month again ... kit reveal ... with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. Which of course means a hop around the Master Forgers ... starting with our lovely and talented Guest Designer, Jane!

I chose the kit-to-copy this month so I have no excuse for not liking it!  Every other month I am SO tempted by the kits that my crop friends receive from Quirky Kits, that I decided to pay tribute to them by choosing their April 2014 Kits (Main, Lite and Embellishmets) for our forgeries.

I picked elements from all three kits to combine into my counterfeit, ending up with a largely teal, pink (!), black and white theme:

Supplies:
Unknown dotty paper in cream and olive
Bella Blvd's Super Stud Eclipse
Echo Park (green flowered reverse of) Diagonal Dot from So Happy Together
MME Flair "Small" Charms (black & white striped reverse)
Pink Flamingo Fusion from Basic Grey
Simple Stories Boutique Dots (pink reverse)
A scrap of Crate Paper So Rad from Boys Rule (yellow, grey triangle reverse)
Twelve by 12 Garden Mist
Music vellum
Unkown 6x6 sheets with teal dots (orange reverse) and rainbow chevron
Home made butterfly rub-on*
Heidi Swapp Washi Tape Booklet and gold Acetate Words
Various wood veneer shapes from my stash
Home made enamel dots*
Black striped washi and teal striped washi
MME Now and Then Dorothy "Lovely Day" Flair
MME Flair "Today" Stickers
Various cards from MME Flair Collection Kit

Having photographed the papers, I realised there were still things missing, such as gold thread, black and white alphas and mini alpha stickers ... so I grabbed them too:

Next on the hop is Julene who has forged some of the papers beautifully.  If you get lost out there in Blog Land, the full list is on the CKCB here.  Have fun!

*Please don't forget to stop by the CKCB on the 4th to see our Forgeries On The Fourth creations!

April Foolery

Welcome to another month of kit counterfeiting with the Counterfeit kit Challenge Blog.  This month's Kit-to-copy: February's Enchanted Garden Kit from C'est Magnifique Kit Club has been counterfeited already by our Guest Designer Louise, fellow Master Forger Clair and now it's my turn.

I'll be honest and admit that when I first saw the inspiration kit, my heart sank.  It's full of darkly, vintage florals and really not my thing.  However, I spotted that the whole kit was based around a Kaisercraft collection, and remembered that I had a number of Kasiercraft 6.5"x6.5" paper pads, one of which contained a number of darkly, vintage florals - the perfect basis for my kit. A few flowers, ribbons, arrows and pearls later, this is what I came up with:

There are more papers in the Mr Fox pad than you can see here; I didn't want to pull them all out of the pad quite yet.   I'll add cardstock as required.

Looking back at the original, it's obvious I have a different style for displaying a kit:

So a more accurate counterfeit might be this ;-)

Now let's see what Julene makes of the darkly, vinatge floral inspiration - I'm pretty sure she'll cope!  Happy hopping :-)

Clickety Kit

It's that time of the month again ... kit reveal ... with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. Which of course means a hop around the Master Forgers.  Did you see that we welcomed back a former Master Forger as our Guest Designer?  The hop started with Lesley and I'm fourth in line after  Clair.

This month the kit-to-copy, from Ali Edwards' 'Click' Story, was devoid of patterned paper causing quite a few headaches amongst the team!

As I am NOT a pocket scrapbooker I decided to make a traditional kit, but resolved to only use papers from my scraps bag or 6x6 pads and include as many journalling cards as I could match to the orange/green/black/white theme of the original:

So barely any resemblance to the original, but I need something I can scrap with LOL
I'm also going to try and use EYELETS this month following a discussion with the Whimsical Musings crew.

Next on the hop is the lovely Julene who may be sharing a more accurate forgery, but then again, perhaps not?!?!?  If you get lost along the hop - the full list is on the CKCB here.  Have fun!

Mind The Scrap!

Welcome to February's edition of kit counterfeiting with the Counterfeit kit Challenge Blog.  If you are already hopping you should have reached me via Clair.  In which case you'll already know that while we generally forge an existing kit, this month we were given the inside gen on  Mind The Scrap's February Kit.  Armed with a list of the kit's ingredients, I was determined to make a dent in some of my TK Maxx shopping bargains this month and I managed to grab several papers that were a bit of a match.  First some tiny triangles and an ombre pink sheet, then some stark black on white, a transparency and some regular colourful curves, along with some arrow designs ... throw in some washi and some ribbon to add to the embellishments and my kit was born:

Supplies:
All papers are from a (bargain) MME Cut & Paste Flair Collection Pack
"Snapshots" Click (ombre chevrons reverse), "Today" Present (journal cards reverse)
"Small" Point (arrows reverse), "Wow" Specs (plain black reverse), "Forever" Always (teal ombre reverse)

Webster's Pages Transparency (3rd time in a kit - MUST use it!)
Luxe Brackets rub-ons
Thickers Regards chipboard alphas
Crate Paper Story Time teal alphas
JBS black alphas
MME Cut & Paste Flair "Small" journalling card
Creative Expressions Pearl Swirl
Webster's Pages camera washi and a stripey washi tape
Various ribbons from my stash
Jillibean Soup Smile Mini Placemats
MME Cut & Paste Flair "Small" Enamel Shapes

Mind you, once I saw the photo of the WHOLE kit-to-copy, I wasn't quite so sure that I'd got decent counterfeit ... maybe I'll check out the Forgeries on the Fourth post to add some extras.

Now, let's see if Julene has a closer counterfeit today.

Goodbye 2015 - Hello 2016

It's already time for a new set of New Year's Resolutions ... have you made any?  Here's one I made at the start of 2014, which fell apart during 2015, so I'm making it again:

"I'm determined to be a more consistent blogger and scrap more"

As I also said back then, what better way to start than by putting together a new kit to join in with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog.

Today the Master Forgers are all sharing their takes on this month's kits-to-copy which come from the Scarlet Lime's Planner Society Kits - we were allowed to pick any of the past kits from May 2015 onwards.  If you've been hopping along, you'll have just been to visit my compatriot Clair.  I chose the June Kit to copy as the warm colours and pretty shapes were a tonic after all the cold wind and rain we've had lately.

Rather than a planner kit, I have been inspired to make a page (or two) kit reflecting the pinks (!) and yellows of the original:

Supplies:
2 sheets from a Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm pad
1 sheet from an Amy Tangerine Yes Please pad
2 sheets from a Christina Cole 8x8 slab
½ sheet Rainbow Life Happens by Christina Cole
Various journalling cards and mini-spots from my stash
American Crafts ⅝ Chevron knockout punch
KI Memories Softies Corners
Simple Stories Sn@p! Stickers and alphas
Jillibean Soup It Is What It Is Mini Placemats
WRMK yellow woodgrain washi
3 toning flair from my stash
Sizzix This Way Thinlits dies
WRMK Enamel Shapes
EK Success Binding Edge border punch 

I'll add cardstock as and when I need it.

Now it's time to hop over to see what Julene has for you.  If you want to visit all the Master Forgers or you want to know more about kit counterfeiting pop over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog today.

Happy New Year !!!

December Documented with the CKCB

Over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog, the Master Forgers are sharing kits to help document December in various ways.  I showcased my kit yesterday ...

... and today I am sharing my project ...

It's based on my original Lean Mean Maxi-Book, but with an added half-sheet of patterned paper to extend it and allow for 25 photos or snippets of journalling.

A standard Lean Mean MAXI-book needs 2½ sheets of good quality patterned paper for the inner pages (instructions here) and one sheet of cardstock for the cover (instructions here).  My extended version needs 2½ sheets of patterned paper plus an extra ½ sheet (mine was the same pattern as one of the full sheets I'd used for the last half of the book which allowed me to make a double page spread for Christmas Day):

Simply make up the cover and inside pages - but don't stick them together yet!.  Measure the depth of the spine of the inner pages - mine was 3/16".  Cut a 5"x12" strip from the extra ½ sheet of patterned paper.  Score the strip 5" away from the right hand edge of the strip and make a second score line, to the left of this, that is the smae as the depth of your inner pages spine.  Trim the strip 5" beyond this second score line.  Punch a semi-circle half-way along the top edge of the left-hand 5" section.  Adhere the other three sides of the left hand 5" section to the front of your inner pages to make a pocket for a tag.  The right-hand 5" section of the extra strip of paper is now stuck down onto the centre section of the cover, over the ribbon tie (see the cover instructions).  Finish off the cover construction, decorate and you are ready to Document December!

All of the inner pages are shown on the CKCB today.
In fact there's inspiration every day of December on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog; please join us and share your creations on our Mr Linky page.

Not Quite A Collection

Welcome to the November Master Forger Kit Reveal Blog Hop which started with our Guest Designer Alicia.  If you're following in order you'll have popped over from Clair (if not, the hop order is on the CKCB today).

You never quite know where the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog will glean inspiration from ... this month Bethany has chose a collection pack rather than a kit: The Cedar Lane Collection by Pink Paislee which hit the (US) stores in August this year.  The first thing that struck me with this collection was that sheet of bright purple ... followed by the mix of bright colours against brown ... plus splashes of bright blue and some neutral woodgrain.  Here's what I found in my stash (more or less) along those lines:

I added some arrow dies to help with the counterfeiting, and a splash of buttons as they've been missing from my kits for a while.  There's also a sheet of teal cork to cut my own titles from.  Seeing the two photos together ... I realise Pink Paislee won't be hiring me as a collection designer any day soon ... ;-)

Supplies:
Glitz Designs Sparrow Daisy (orange reverse) and Sparrow Stripe (teal reverse)
All the other papers were from the giveaway pile at my recent Bloggers' retreat - leftovers from a pad of Crate Paper's The Pier collection and a pad of Amy Tangerine from American Crafts one brown polkadot paper fromgoodness knows where?!
Little B's Arrows dies
A selection of buttons from my stash
Arrow and honeycomb washi tapes
Simple Stories SN@P! studio alphas and icon stickers
Teal cork from WRMK

We're also counterfeiting an embellishment add-on ... and I chose to have a go at Grapevine Design's social media wood veneers in honour of the smartphone I was given for my birthday ... 21st century, here I come!!!!

Now it's time to hop on to Julene ... I wonder what she has put together for this month and what she'll be adding to her kit?

A {C}old Case

Welcome to the October Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop - if you arrived here from Clair via our guest designer Tina, then you'll know that we're shaking things up this month by creating Counterfeit Kits Identi-kits using a {c}old Case File #S365-9 from the parnership between Colour Stories Inspiration Blog and the now deceased Scrap365 (I miss that magazine)!

The Scheme: I started looking through my papers to see what might match the colours and found a pair of papers in pale green and orange as well as a sheet with ecru/grey on one side and yellow on the other.  All colours found, I raided some 6x6 pads and my scraps bags for extra patterns. Matching mini-alphas should help me with the clues!

The Evidence: Leafy washi, metal brads, coloured string and bakers twine add to the picture along with some wood veneer stars and buttons to scatter around.  Those heart-shaped enamel shapes help support the case. 

Supplies:
Green tiny floral print paper - unknown manufacturer as this was an outcast from a friend's stash
Lily Bee Design Queen Bee (yellow damask reverse)
¼ sheet Grandpa's Overalls Stripe by Mustard Moon
⅓ sheet Basic Grey Create from Colour Me Silly
Orange tiny floral print paper - same source as above!
6x6 sheet Pink Paislee Prairie Hill
6x6 sheet American Crafts Thataway Collection
¼ sheet Echo Park Navy (?) Ombre (grey reverse)
¼ sheet Holly-Christmas Vanilla by daisy d’s
Echo Park All About The Boy Superhero (teal, white, orange explosion reverse)
MM Paper Reverie Noir alpha stickers
WRMK green leafy washi tape
Grey, yellow and orange paper blooms
Grey washi tapes (from a fellow blogger)
American Crafts wood veneer stars
Lily Bee Designs ABC neutral mini alphas
Grey and white baker's twine
Cream and orange hemp cord from Hemptique
MLS Fog mini alpha stickers
Basic Grey Archaic glazed brads
Bingo Card from SS Urban Traveller
WRMK Enamel Shapes
7 Dots Studio Illumination word stickers

There's still some Case File Testimony for use during the month ... which should help me solve the huge pile of photos that I still have to scrap!

Now you need to pop over to Julene and see what supplies she has managed to unearth!  If the trail goes cold, you can always pop back to the incident room here and work out where to take the next step.

Inspiration Is The Simplest Form Of Forgery

A pinch and a punch, it's the first of the month ... which means that it's time for another reveal at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. Today the Master Forgers are blog-hopping how they took inspiration from this month's kit-to-copy, starting here with our February Guest Designer Cindy and, if you're following in order, then you will have reached me from Susanne.

February's kit-to-copy is from Studio Calico's August subscriber kit called "Pop Art".  I have to say, it's not quite my "thing" as it contains a) pale pink and lilac b) realistic florals c) HUGE patterns ... so I struggled to see where I could start with my counterfeiting.

The most appealing thing to me in the kit were those diamond shaped puffy stickers ... and when I spotted some patterned paper from Pink Paislee with multicoloured diamonds, I decided that they would be my inspiration starting point!  By adding some dots, stripes, grids, pale blue alphas and a little gold washi I had the basis for a whole kit:

I punched various sized circles from coloured vellum to imitate the Studio Calico "Circle Transparency Die Cuts".  I then added some journalling cards and broke out some gold brads, orange gromlets and bling to give me some useable embellishments because feathers, especially green and blue rubber ones, don't really do it for me!

Supplies:
½ sheet of Echo Park Rough & Tough (orange and white zigzags reverse) from All About A Boy
Doily from Echo Park's For The Record 2 collection (blue and green doilies reverse)
Numbers from same collection (green floral reverse)

Glad to get rid of these "B" sides to be honest!

6x6 stripes, diamonds, spots and grid sheets from Pink Paislee's Prairie Hill collection
Echo Park For The Record 2 sticker sheet
Gold dotty washi tape
Orange striped washi tape
American Crafts gold medium glitter brads
Crate Paper's Story Teller alpha stickers
Various journalling tags from my stash, including a part sheet from Echo Park's For The Record
Circle-punched coloured vellum
WRMK orangel gromlets
MME Follow Your Heart Be Amazing rhinestones

Well that just goes to show: you don't have to like a kit to be able to take inspiration from it ... though I'd hardly call my kit a copy ... would you?!?!

I'll be back in a couple of days to share my first page; in the meantime, please join me over at Julene's and see what she has put together for this month.