Scrapability

Yes this blog does still exist!

After a very challenging few months, where scrapping has had to take a definite back seat, I have finally been getting creative again with my Counterfeit Kits.  So I am very happy to welcome you to my part of the July Master Forger kit reveal hop.

Hopefully you've just been to see Susanne's kit, but if not, the hop started here with a visit to our Guest Forger, fellow Brit and close friend, Julie who scraps pages about her young daughter and her own childhood.

This month we are counterfeiting a beautiful kit, in my favourite colours, from the German shop Scrapabilly.  Fellow Master Forger Lisa designs for them and has already been creative with the original kit, based on a Kaisercraft collection, so her forging should be fun this month!

I usually like to counterfeit with a twist, and because I already use so much teal in my kits I thought I'd concentrate on the fact that there are lots of papers from one manufacturer, lots of neutrals with a hint of colour, lots of alphas, lots of frames ... and try to use up some papers that I've been avoiding!

So there is still some blue, but it's pastel rather than teal, with plenty of cream and beige rather than black and grey; there are plenty of alphas in the form of ancient office rub-ons, the frames will come from stamps and several sheets of Delish Designs paper from their Bistro collection (2008) have been put to good use!

Supplies:
Fresh Entree (ornate shapes reverse)
Sizzling Stripes (brown striped reverse)
Sizzling Main Dish (brown reverse)
Fresh Main Dish (cream reverse)
Fresh Stripes (brown dotted reverse)
Various buttonsfrom my stash
Bo Bunny brown rub-ons
Corrugated card from DCWV
EK Success Bookworks rub-ons, dates, business cards and epoxy sentiments
Venice chipboard alphas from 7 Gypsies
Some ancient office stationary rub-on alphas
Various trims and frame stamps from my stash

Now it's time to visit Julene to see how she's interpreted the Kit-to-Copy.

Back To The Beginning

Welcome to the final part of the May Master Forger kit reveal hop for Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog.  Hopefully you've just been to see Susanne's kit, but if not, the hop started here with a visit to our Guest Forger Susan's Flickr page.

I've said it before but it's true that time certainly does fly when you're having fun!  I have been Counterfeit Kitting for just over four years now and this month we have been counterfeiting the very first inspiration kit from back in January 2011.  I missed that month (my debut kit was February 2011) so it's been fun to be going back to the beginning again.

We were given the main kit and an add-on to counterfeit back then, and this year we also had a current add-on added on!  I'm never one for making a large kit, so I just stuck with the main one and decided to add looked through my stash to see what Jenni Bowlin supplies I had.

As it turned out, not a lot apart from a sticker sheet and 4 journalling tags!  I did come across sheet of paper with a striking geometric pattern plus a grungy, spotty sheet ... and took it from there.  Apart from those two papers, the rest of the kit is scraps, part sheets and random journalling cards.

Not quite as vintage as the original, but it has to work for me and my photos!  My nod towards those Studio Calico Notions are made with a Sizzlet rosette die and pages from a book, but I know that there will be closer counterfeits in our Forgeries on the Fourth post ... on May 4th!

Don't forget to stop by the CKCB tomorrow when we're celebrating {Inter}National Scrapping Day!

Spring Perspective

Welcome to the start of April's edition of the Members' Blog Hop from the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog.

I've been creative with my April Counterfeit Kit to make another Disney 2004 album double page spread ... and use up a bunch of square brads from my stash!  Inspiration came from Challenge #3's Spring theme and I met the challenge by matching the fresh and vibrant patterns and colours from my kit with some orange cardstock.

It feels good to stop hoarding those brads and get them onto a page!  I made the smaller letters for title from three layers of cardstock to match the chipboard "g" of Gatorland using Blossom Quickutz dies.

As I've been so bad at blogging recently, I'll share another page from the kit with a totally different vibe featuring a different tourist attraction and a more recent holiday:

Edinburgh's Camera Obscura has 5 floors of optical illusions and amazing immersive entertainment!  We took dozens of photos of all the madness there including these shots of Child No.3 & I playing with perspective!  More black cardstock for my title, this time with Sizzlet Go Go Boots dies plus a little washi from my kit to separate it from that eye-watering black & white chevron pattern!

Next stop on the Members' Hop is the lovely Sherrie and you can find the full list of participants Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog today.

Starting With A Single Sheet

Another month, another kit to copy.  Welcome to April's Master Forger Blog Hop ... did you reach me from our Guest Forger Sharon?  If not, the start of the kit reveal hop is published on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog today.

Not heard of the CKCB before?  Trust me it's a great way to use your existing supplies to make kits that are easy to use ... because you pick them yourself, using inspiration from an existing kit!  Very good value for money too i.e. generally zero if you have a well-stocked scrappy cupboard!

This month we're starting with Elsie & Emma's March Messy Box which looks like this:

Lots of black and white and orange and teal, some dots and stripes ... and not one thing that I can match exactly from my supplies!  I knew that I had some bright papers and some black & white supplies, but when I spotted this sheet I decided it had lots of black and white and orange and teal, some dots and stripes ... and it was the perfect start to my kit:

At the CKCB we have no rules about how closely you match the original, nor how you take inspiration from the Kit-to-Copy, just as long as you use up supplies.  So here's what I'll be scrapping with this month ... stash to match that single sheet starting point!

Supplies:
Ringtoss from Prima Marketing's Dude Collection (orange floral reverse)
Heringbone/Orange, Looking Good, Boutique Stripes/Green (from Simple Stories DIY Boutique)
Echo Park's About A Boy 4x6 Journalling Cards (the teal patterned reverse is shown)
Ad Lib Hoopla by Bo Bunny Back To Basics (yellow, teal, lime circles reverse)
Basic Grey Colour Me Silly alphabet stickers
Delight fabric Thickers
Simple Stories Sn@p! Studio lime mini alphabets
Some ampersands from a Simple Stories' Outside The Box sheet
DIY Clear Stickers by Simple Stories
Q&Co and WRMK Washi tapes
Some American Crafts Flair

As usual I'll add cardstock as I need it - and no doubt there'll be a few other additions from my regular stash depending on the photos.

Julene is next on the tour for scrappy kit inspiration and the CKCB has the full tour if you get lost.  Don't forget to check back there on the 4th for detailed forgeries from the inspiration kit.

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!