Mini-challenge - You've Been Framed

The Counterfeit Kit Challenge site is proving so much fun this month. Maybe it's because it's following on from LOAD last month and I am still on a challenge kick, but I have really loved diving in to the challenges as they come up.

The kit is still going strong and I think I might have one more layout to make with it and then I will break out the bits back into my stash ready for next month.

The latest mini-challenge was to use a frame in your work somehow. Frame the photo, frame the journalling, frame an element, use a frame as a main design feature - whatever.

I had my hands on a bright blue sparkly bling frame from MM that came in a kit last year that I wanted to use, but it just didn't inspire me so back it went.

Then I looked at the papers I had in my kit and decided to go for a completely different direction by picking out the darker colours and using my woodgrain (which is BG is actually a dark grey rather than brown) as my main background. The other side of a bright orange was a black and white spot, and I had put in a couple of pieces of BG basics in cream and kraft which looked like it could all work.

But the photos proved a bit tricky for this darker idea. No jolly, kiddie photos or flowers or most general topics would look good based on a nearly black background.

Then I came across some architectural photos I had taken (or maybe Ted had) in Düsseldorf when we took Ted there for him to take pictures and inspiration for an architectural project he was working on for school.

In this part of town there are three totally funky buildings designed by Frank O. Gehry and the metal covered one is just so great that I thought I would use those. Limited journalling, just giving the architect's name and where they are was all it needed.

As for my frame, I tried to get a bit funky myself and create an odd shaped frame to mirror the curves of the building and used it as a base for my title.

I just adore the lines of this building. 

I am really pleased with myself for getting this totally different design out of my kit which is so predominantly full of nature's colours. (I needed to add in the alphas and the ribbon). The challenge really got me thinking and it forced me to do something I wouldn't normally. I love it!

Do you like to be pushed outside the box?


PS. Don't forget to check out my previous post (Help Me Celebrate!) to share what cheers you up and to be entered into my mini-prize draw to celebrate 300 blog posts! It would be lovely to hear from you!