Counterfeit Card Kit {Counterfeit Kit Challenge}

I love the process of putting together my kits for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge each month so given the opportunity to put together a Card Kit, based on this month's Inspiration Kit, I became a little bit excited! Another kit to put together? Where do I sign? 

I wanted a card kit that would work well with my main kit because I knew that I'd eventually want to start mixing things together, especially when it comes to all the little leftovers. With that in mind, I started with some 6x6 papers from Studio Calico's Heydey and Dear Lizzy's Neopolitan, which will co-ordinate perfectly with the selection I put into my main kit. Some amazingly awesome patterned papers from Lawn Fawn's Dewey Decimal Collection and Ils' Summer Dreamer, along with some plain cardstock in complementary colours added more options, but not so many that I'll feel overwhelmed!

I used this 3 x3 Envy Template to emulate the cute, little envelopes in the Inspiration Kit. Then used the rest of the sheets to make some card bases to fit - I do like my mini-cards! 

As I still had a lot of embellishments, including ribbon and buttons in my main kit, so I went with an ecelectic mix of little stickers, rosettes, resin flowers and leaves that were just 'hanging around' on my desk and then threw in a couple of plain washi tapes for good measure. 

No card kit is complete without some multi-purpose stamps, so I've included two sets from Lawn Fawn's recent release - Happy Everything which literally covers all eventualities - seriously, no card-maker should be without this little gem of a stamp set -  and A Birdie Told Me, which makes a lovely change from using banners and labels.

So, although it might be nearly the end of the month, I still have some counterfeiting to share with you before the next inspiration kit is revealed on the 5th October. Stick with me.

Positive Negatives {Counterfeit Kit Challenge}

Oh man! I am absolutely loving the Counterfeit Kit Challenge this month. Well, really, I love it every month but I've really had to stretch myself a little during my stint as their Guest Designer. And, of course, I've also been stretching my stash! 

Master Forger Challenge #3 was to use the negative space from a punch, die-cut or die-cut machine. Having made quite a mess whilst making my earlier layouts, I gathered up all of my little leftovers to make some cute cards. For my first card, I chose to simply use a piece of scrap patterned paper that already had a little star punched from one corner; then added a little bit of twine, some stickers from my kit - and voila!

For my second card, I gathered up all of those long, strips that were lying around on my desk and attached them to a piece of white card. Then, using a large scalloped circle, punched the edge of my card to leave a negative space. I attached the card behind the punch-out and, because it was all layered onto white card, the inside still looks nice and neat! An Elle's Studio banner and a couple of handmade flowers finish off the card!

There's some amazing ideas from the Master Forgers DT already on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, so do head on over to have a look. And don't forget that if you've been inspired by any of the challenges, you can link up your projects so we can all stop by to say 'ooh'.

Challenges And Experiments! {Counterfeit Kit Challenge}

September is always a little bit of a crazy month - working in a university means that as soon as autumn arrives, we're welcoming new students; catching up with old friends and working, working, working. This is really the first day this month that I've had chance to catch my breath and I've enjoyed working on a few things in my little craft room. Unfortunately, that doesn't include tidying! It's such a mess! 

Thankfully, the weather has been a little brighter today, so I've managed to take some better photographs of the layouts I've made for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, and here's my take on Master Forger Challenge #1. The aim was to use something from our stash - either a tool or embellishment - that we love but haven't used for a while. Inspired by the Organise This theme for the month, I dug out a couple of punches that haven't seen the light of day for some time!

I've been wanting to experiment a little with some different sizes and shapes of layouts and I'm so pleased with the result - even if it does have a photograph of me on it!

Master Forger Challenge #2 was a little more....challenging. Basing a layout on an inspiring character from one of my favourite books or television shows didn't come easily. I was getting a little panicky, when I spotted John Le Carre's, The Constant Gardener on my bookshelf. I've hidden some journalling away about my own favourite 'Constant Gardener' - my dad - but the gardening theme is easy to spot! 

I decided that a little more experimentation was in order and although I'm not as pleased with the overall balance of the layout - I'm just not feeling the 12x12 at the moment - I am pleased with my layering. Leaving each layer 'looser' than normal and adding some distressing has really given my layout some extra dimension. I've used some stamps from Lawn Fawn's Check This Out and Flutterby to add some embellishment - they were just perfect for this layout!

There's more to share, but you'll have to wait a little bit longer. In the meantime tell me, have you been experimenting with your scrapbooking recently?

You Can Go Your Own Way {September's Counterfeit Kit}

It's my favourite day of the month - the day of the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Inspiration Kit Reveal - and this time around I'm the Guest Designer. I'm just a little bit excited! This month, we're counterfeiting The August 2012 Kit from Birds Of A Feather and choosing three extra elements from CHA Summer 2012.

The first thing that you'll probably notice about my Counterfeit Kit is that it looks nothing like the inspiration kit - and that's a little unusual for me. Normally, I will follow the inspiration kit fairly closely, taking my inspiration from the colours, patterns and embellishments to make up a kit which, if not exactly the same, at least resembles the original. I tried to do that this time around and just ended up with a kit that I knew I would never, ever use. I loved each of the individual pieces, but as a kit, they just weren't inspiring me.

So, I knew that I needed a different approach second time around. I looked at each of the elements from the inspiration kit and chose the one that I loved the most - Studio Calico's 'Cubical'. From there, in the same way that I normally approach the full inspiration kit, I worked with the colours and patterns contained with that one piece of patterned paper to build a counterfeit kit that I absolutely adore.

And that's one of the best parts of creating your own kits, if it doesn't inspire you, you haven't lost anything. You can put all of your papers and pretty embellishments away and start again if you want to! 

I've included a lot of embellishments in my kit - or a least a lot for me - taking my cues from the inspiration kit, but giving them a personal twist. I've included baker's twine, but changed the colours to work with my patterned papers and card-stock; the cute wire hangers have been substituted with some heart shaped paper-clips that have been in my stash for too long; and the Maya Road Pennants have been replaced with some Elle's Studio Pennant Labels and dinky, little banner that I handmade using stamps from Lawn Fawn's Bannerific and my trusty sewing machine. I've also added in four different alphas, buttons, beads, a little bit of bling and some pretty journalling cards from a selection of free downloads at Write. Click. Scrapbook.

To call my kit complete, I just need to decided on three things that had caught my eye from the latest CHA. Easier said than done, right? I finally narrowed down my wish list to the Plano Cling Stamp by Hero Arts/Studio Calico, which I've substituted with another Hero Arts Doily Stamp that was in my collection; the Heyday Thoughts Stamps from Studio Calico (specifically the uber-cool chevron style arrow) which I've substituted with the amazing Arrows Stencil from Sodalicious; and the cute, little Die-cut & Canvas Flowers from Basic Grey's Serenade Collection which I've handmade using several sizes of paper punches and a little bit of bling.

I'll be sharing a tutorial for the flowers (the simplest tutorial of all time!) along with a tutorial on creating your own pennant banner over the next week. I'll make sure that the tutorials appear in the September Mr. Linky, so that you know when to pop back. 

Now, I don't know about you, but I am dying to find out how the Master Forgers have got along creating their own versions of the inspiration kit (and, of course, I'm looking forward to seeing all of your versions very soon!) Your next stop is the lovely Crystal over at Creations Of My Heart, but you can always return to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, if you get lost along the way. Go be inspired!

I've Been Caught Stealing

Uh. Oh. I've been caught stealing! But instead of the shame that you'd usually associate with that phrase, my little heart has, instead, been filled with pride because I'll be joining the Counterfeit Kit Challenge as their Guest Designer for September. 

I am such a huge fan of the Counterfeit Kit Challenge that each month I can be found sneaking onto the blog during my tea break, or lunches, so that I can hit refresh 'just one more time' until the inspiration kit is finally revealed. I'll start thinking about how I can adapt the kit to suit my own tastes; wondering what papers I have that I can substitute in; what kind of embellishments I might be able to make myself; and which photographs I might try to use during the month.

Of course, as soon as the Master Forgers reveal their own counterfeit kits the following day, I'll often see something that starts me thinking all over again - like a paper I hadn't considered using, or a new way of combining the colours and textures from the inspiration kit. I start to get excited about the papers and products I already have in my stash! And that's why, even before I've started pulling together my own kit, or scrap-booking my pretty pictures, that the Counterfeit Kit Challenge is so much fun!