100115 CKC October Kit Reveal

Welcome to the October Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog kit reveal post,

only this month? The kit to counterfeit isn't a kit at all! More on that in a moment...

First I'd like you to give a warm fuzzy welcome to our new Master Forgers, 

Kelly Sroka, Clair Rigby & Susan Brochu! A wonderful new injection of creativity & talent.

Thanks so much to everyone that applied for the team. We saw some amazing submissions & are
always so impressed with the calibre of work we see in the Linky each & every month.

Next up is a big hello to our Guest Designer this month, Tina Campbell!

Please click over to the link for her blog & enjoy her creations.

Which brings me back around to the inspiration-kit-that's-not-a-kit...

the ultimate challenge for our new Master Forgers as well as us veterans.

This month, just to tweak our brains & give us an extra nudge at working outside the box,

Bethany has chosen an old CSI challenge to create an original kit from.

The luscious colors & autumn feel of the photo certainly suit my part of the globe.

This became an interesting exercise for me in terms of how I normally "pull" a kit.

I investigated (hehe) the Testimony & made decisions about my projects for the month,

something I rarely think about in advance. This is really dumb since I often forget to include

items specified for challenges, but this month I already felt quite prepared after this first step. 

Next I went down the list of Evidence & pulled punches, embellishments, washi tape, mists,

wood veneers, flair, paint, etc. I even found an ATC card made by a friend which looks remarkably

like the pen & inkwell found each month on the CSI post!

Usually first but this month last but not least, I pulled papers. I started with over forty.

It became obvious which would work together (20) as soon as I laid them all out.
So happy to actually be kitting with real live patterned paper!

This month I won't have my Magic Blue Box since the entire kit is a total ...

Alphas

Extra goodies to paw through when I need them.

Tools

My Forgeries on the Fourth post will go into more detail about how I was inspired by
the CSI info & what I've done with those parameters to create some kit pieces.

Make sure you don't miss ANY of this month's innovation by the team!

Guest Designer: http://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com/

Lynnette  http://www.sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com

Margie:  http://scrappinmargie.blogspot.com

Susan: http://littlethingsbigdays.blogspot.de/

Stephanie:  http://skylinepaperie.blogspot.com

Susanne:  http://snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com

Clair: http://obstinatepursuit.blogspot.co.uk/

Jemma: http://just-jimjams.blogspot.co.uk

Julene:  http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com

Kelly: http://66.147.244.112/~honeysv0/

Leslie:  http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.ca

NEXT UP: Lisa:  http://lisahausmann.blogspot.ca

Thanks for stopping by!

061615 June CKC Challenge #3

This was my favorite challenge this month at Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog.

Challenge #3: One side or the other

  Focus on only ONE side of your project 

(either one...I don't have a preference) 

and keep the rest white space.

Fortunately I had some help from ScrapHappy's June sketch.

Link HERE to find out more about membership.

More inspiration from my scrap crush, Ashli Oliver.

I loved the stacked elements on the left & the layers of white.

Ashli Oliver for Simon Says Stamps

(Process video HERE)

We just spent a week visiting Gatlinburg, Tennessee en route to Atlanta to see "the peaches."

We went to the Georgia Aquarium to celebrate their birthdays.
Chloe adored being up close & personal with the fishies!
She struck a pose more than once of gracefully moving as if she was swimming...

I knew I wanted to use this fish stamp, so I used a less than perfect image
to hold it's place on the start of my layout. The blue paper is standing in for the photo.

Then I used Archival Ink for a perfect image, and added an assortment of Distress Inks to add color.
This process always seems miraculous!
Just blot the ink pads on your mat, spritz with water, and sop up the ink.
Then I added a subtle spray of gold Color Shine.

Fussy cut, highlighted the crown with a gold pen, added a few tiny gems, and some Glossy Accents for the eye.
Makes me look like an artistic genius but the Ranger products did most of the work!

Because of the direction of the fish stamp I flipped the orientation R-L.
Then I decided that my white space could use some added pizzazz.

Happy Scatter Etsy shop HERE

Had a blast putting this together!
(It was really hard not to add any color on the left.)

A little vellum accent punched with "bubbles" is the perfect finishing touch.

I hope you are inspired to tackle this challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!

041615 CKC April Challenge #3

And the inspiration just keeps coming over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog!

April Challenge #3 Spring Inspired: 
Let Spring help inspire your project

Living in a state at the top border of the U.S. makes me delight
in those first signs of life after the blanket of Winter begins to recede...

This moodboard at S.W.A.T. Challenge #53 was a great inspiration!

I began with the Messy thought of mimicking a pocket page with a grid.
I chose some elements & dressed them up with some vellum & stitching,
then made a simple title block with plans to add a little strategic stamping.

As I began to add the photos there was still a lot of empty white space.
Mounting the page on a grey & white polka dot helped add a border, an idea I got
from Susan's page HERE, but there was still an especially large space at the top... ugh.
I tried adding some stitching but it looked dreadful & now I had a row of holes!

I thought perhaps adding some washi, but couldn't get that to work either.
Eventually I cut strips of the script card from my kit to work in here & there.
I added some polka dot washi tape to them as an accent, covering the top corner with it.
Getting happier! Finally fussy-cut a little bee for that corner & it's done.

I also added some flowers made from the vellum circles & brads,
just like the ones made by Elsie at A Beautiful Mess!

One last change was mounting my title on a photo overlay with a big heart,
another subtle layer that adds the perfect sentiment about Spring.
It also gave me something to attach the title letters to with a tiny attacher!

I think I'm drifting further & further from the messy vibe!

Go ahead - celebrate Spring with a page from your counterfeit kit 
& a little Spring mood from S.W.A.T. Challenge's gorgeous inspiration board :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

040115 CKC April Kit Reveal

Another exciting first of the month CKC kit reveal!
The blog hop can be always be found on the April 1st post at Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog.

Please be sure to welcome Sharon, our featured Guest Designer this month!

Known as Scrapping Granny she definitely has a way with sketches.

This month I decided NOT to forge a kit...

I'm sure I'll be fired from the Design Team... :~(

My only excuse?

Photo credit

APRIL FOOL'S!

April's kit is the very first Messy Box from the uber creative prolific blogger sisters, 

Elsie Larson & Emma Chapman at A Beautiful Mess aka ABM.

 And here's mine:

Let's take a closer look inside the Magic Blue Box!

This kit was probably the farthest possible from anything I own.

I challenged myself to come as close as humanly possible to the original. 

 After sharing that with the rest of the Design Team a friendly ribbing
 ensued so it may be on in April for a Master Forger's  throwdown!
Hence the name “Messy Throwdown”

I think I've come pretty close - check out the pocket page card assortment.

Theirs...

Mine!

I detail more about my kit forgeries in the tutorial post at the CKC blog on the 4th.
 (If you've ever been here with me before, you must have known there was more!)

Of course, there has to be some Leslie in there...

so I made my "Les the Mess" add-on.

This was my nickname from my childhood BFF's dad :~)

I tried to keep to the feel of the original by adding more translucent and black & white

 pieces, plus some extra gold alphas and three alpha stamp sets.

The little bag of vellum punched shapes & the conversation bubbles were earlier forgeries!

 One of the fun things that I included is this ABM emoticon stamp set.

Can't wait to see where these pop up this month - keep your eyes open!
I might have to give a little prize at the end of the month
for the closest guess as to how many there were on my blog this month...

 Okay, now get busy - your kit is only as far away as your stash.

And don't forget to visit the Forgeries on the Fourth tutorial post 

for good advice on how to counterfeit some of the kit elements. 

DON'T MISS IT!

Enjoy the rest of the hop!

Guest Designer: Sharon  Scrapping Granny

Jemma: http://just-jimjams.blogspot.co.uk

Julene:  http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com  

YOU ARE HERE: Leslie:  http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.ca

GO HERE NOW:  Lisa:  http://lisahausmann.blogspot.ca

Lynnette  http://www.sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com

Margie:  http://scrappinmargie.blogspot.com

Stephanie:  http://skylinepaperie.blogspot.com

Susanne:  http://snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com
Angela: http://colestoucan.blogspot.co.uk

Thanks for stopping by!

020615 CKC February Challenge #1

Time again for our first challenge of the month at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog!

Challenge #1:  

Use something sheer or clear on your project!

 Do you remember this forgery of mine?

 

Well, it's the obvious choice from my kit for THIS challenge!  

When I made this it was with a page about our retreat in mind. We are in an area with a fair sized Amish population & are delighted with regular glimpses of these living simple folks. 

On our way into town the last trip we followed two horse drawn wagons. At first, we couldn't make out what they were transporting, but then spotted a pair of large ice tongs on top of the load. The blocks of beautiful blue ice became discernible as we closed the distance. 

We snapped a quick shot with a smartphone for posterity.

Okay - don't laugh! That little postage stamp selfie magically appeared. I chose the little camera icon, pointed at the cart ahead, and pushed the little camera... I have begun to convince my family, especially after things like this happen, that I simply repel technology.

Back to the scrappy end of things...

I backed my vellum with an icy cool green paper from my kit. I trimmed my custom vellum down to it's original size but the page felt lopsided. I thought I could use some white cardstock with snowflakes punched out as a border on the left - kind of lacy.

 Then I worked on a little fussy cutting of the inner edge. A tryout helped me realize that my beautiful vellum's sheer quality was being squandered. Serendipity brought the idea to slip those "waste" snowflakes under the vellum! (I wish I could say that was the idea from the beginning but I've gotta keep it real.)

This is the part where I get a little stuck. 

Why would I want to cover that gorgeousness with a photo?

 Perfect :~)

 Thanks for stopping by!