Counterfeit Challenge #1

When I was first asked to be GD over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge I was a little nervous to find out that the theme of the month would be stamping! I'm not known for my stamping skills and the first thing I did was to sent stamping guru Deb an email to ask her for some ideas!

She was really helpful and so reassuring that I soon felt lots better and ready to face up to my stamping fears! And you know what? I've had a lot of fun these last couple of days playing around and trying out some techniques.

It helps that I won a gorgeous set of butterfly stamps from the very generous Ginger and was immediately inspired to get them out and use them. And here's the thing.... they are so lovely and turned out so well, that I'm wondering if it's all down to the stamps you use? I don't know much about that but I have to say that these Martha Stewart stamps are simply gorgeous and the detail seems to come out so well.

Ok, so I'm waffling - just for a change :-)

Challenge #1 is all about stamping backgrounds. Either a scrapbook background or a card.

I decided to go large and opt for the 12x12 but wanted to do something that wouldn't overpower the layout itself. When flipping through my papers my eye fell on a piece which had same colour glossy images across it and I got the idea to use stamp my butterflies all over the cardstock and then clear emboss them. Subtle, pretty, and very effective. I decided on a pink based layout (bet that surprised you!) and the butterflies were perfect as a random image all over the cardstock.

Then the layout was easy. I decided to give the September Page Maps sketch a second go (1st version here) and stayed quite true to the orientation and design. I kept as much of the background cardstock showing as possible and ended up embossing a few more butterflies and cutting them out to use as embellishments too. The tone on tone effect, along with the limited splashes of colour is a nice combination.

One of the things I love the most about this sketch is the row of photos - you know how I love the multi-photo layout - and when I looked at all that pink, I thought of my (somewhat Diva-ish according to her mum) niece! Photos spanning the years. Perfect.

Layout #2 for Counterfeit Kit Challenge, Departing Summer kit

 Everything on the layout, except for the title Thickers, came from my two kits Departing Summer and September Notes and again, I'm always impressed at how, with the right mix of papers, it's possible to make really boyish layouts as well as pretty, feminine ones from the same kit. If anything was guaranteed to free me from the fear of stamping, this layout was it! I love how it turned out and will be more willing to pick up the acrylic block again soon!

Don't forget that the sponsor for this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog hop is Master Forger, Sherri Thompson who will be sending out a set of stamps from her etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShareCroppersKits. All you have to do to be entered for the prize is to join in the blog hop or comment on the blog hop entries (27th and 28th September) - it's that easy!


Be sure to share your creative backgrounds with us over at the Counterfeit site.