Killing Counterfeit kits (in a positive way)!

I haven't been managing a lot of blogging over the last few months but during May you might remember that I was busy creating daily pages for LOAD.

I started the month with 6 Counterfeit kits on my shelf. Some of them were huge, some already quite well plundered but all needing using up and finishing off! Throughout the month, I managed to create 34 layouts, of which 27 were created using those kits. I killed all of them and even started using up my June kit. That is a whole lot of older (and some newer) stash used up and given new life rather than just sitting around waiting to be loved.

So, I thought I'd share a little - maybe a handful of layouts at a time so that I don't spam your blogger reader!

My oldest kit was Passport, from way back in September. It had been a huge kit and I have no idea why, but it was just not as successful as I had hoped. I still have a layout somewhere needing to be finished off (??) but I did manage to pull together one last layout before I decided to retire the kit. It only provided me four pages which was very surprising for me but sometimes, you just have to recognise when the products are not working for you.

The LOAD prompt for this day was "On The Phone" so I decided to create a layout about my time in the Philippines when I worked for Globe Telecom. I found a photo with nothing much going on and just wrote some of the details of what I can see in the picture - clues about my life at that time. I love making these types of layouts as I know these are the little things that get lost over the years. Already so many details are gone so I want to try and get as much as possible noted down before my terrible memory takes over!

Passport kit, layout #4

Then there was the the February additional mini kit, Nostalgic which featured a lot of much older product. I had already made two layouts and a set of cards when I first made up my kit and during February LOAD, so I was happy to manage one more and then break up the scraps back into my stash. For a little mini page kit, I think three layouts is a good number. The layout was made for the prompt "Puppy Love" and I decided to take it literally with a page about our most beloved puppy shortly after she came home to live with us. 

Nostalic kit, layout #3

And last but not least for this post, was my wonderful kit, Tender, also created in February. This last page was layout # 13 which is really a pretty good quantity for me even if I always knew it was a huge kit! But it just went on and on making the most incredible combinations. I loved it from the first page to the last.

I hope that my very good school friend doesn't mind me posting this layout here but I think it's just such a fun photo and brings back so many happy memories of this last day of school. We signed each other's shirts, took silly photos and laughed and cried together knowing that some of our friends were moving on and that we would never be this complete group again. And like I say in the title, I have NO idea why I might have been carrying her. :-)

Tender kit, layout #13

Three layouts, three kits.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: LOAD without kits just isn't going to work for me. In fact, to be honest, I can hardly remember the last time I scrapped any page without a kit. How about you?

Counterfeit Kit Challenge June member blog hop

Hello and welcome to the June Counterfeit Kit Challenge member blog hop.

Hopefully, you've landed here via Cindy's blog (here) but if not, you might like to go back to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog (here) to catch the start of the hop. That way, you'll soak up all the inspiration and fun along the way.

This month, the mini-challenges posted on the CKC blog were:

1. Challenge #1 - Create a tone on tone background
2. Challenge #2 - Sketch challenge - Retro Sketches #110
3. Challenge #3 - Line them up.

Now that my daily scrapping LOAD fix is over, I decided that I could manage all three of the challenges this month! I've already shared Challenge #2 (see my blog post here) and Challenge #3 (see my blog post here) so now it's time to share my take on Challenge #1 - tone on tone.

I broke into my precious sheets of real wood veneer "paper" and used my Big Shot along with my favourite star dies as well as a mini Memory box die of hearts and tiny stars. The dies cut perfectly which surprised me because I was worried the thin dies wouldn't manage to cut the wood. But the cuts really were perfect, the edges are smooth and the shapes popped out without any trouble at all.

June kit, Woodgrain, layout #7

I wanted to use bright papers and embellishments as a contrast to the neutrals and to support the theme of my niece being such a cutie star! 

Kraft cardstock worked well for the veneer tone on tone look

I'm loving this kit - 6 layouts already and it's still going strong. It seems to work for anything I want to use it for and the abundance of veneer paper and shapes is such fun to use.

Thanks for dropping by today and I hope you picked up some inspiration along the way. I'm the last on the hop but if you got lost along the way, you can find the full list over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog (here)

Scrapabilly Shares June kit part 2

Yesterday, I shared my mini-book which I created using the Scrapabilly June kit (see blog post here). Let's just remind ourselves of the fun, bright colours that can be found in the Jillibean Soup collection which is focussed, but definitely not limited to, social media and modern technology...

As well as the mini, I created two layouts and a couple of cards. I added in a little cardstock, a small amount of washi and some twine to complete the projects

The first layout features Instagram photos from my two über-adorable nieces. I love how individual they are. I created two collages and then stuck them down together to appear as one. I will complete the journalling on the card in the pocket with a few lines about how impressed I am as they grow up and become so much their own little people.

And this layout is just comparing my selfies of today with my younger self when I would often hand the photo to someone to take a shot of me. I think that if we'd had mobiles phones and Instagram back then, I would have been a total addict!

I used mostly the B-sides of the papers here with just a small strip that has the smaller icons. I wanted it to be clear that I was talking about social media but not too much. IG is really the only media where I'm very active.

Love these letters - need to stock up on some more!

I added in the Mini Market letters to help with the longer title. I especially love that the Thickers alpha has the hash tag symbols - we need more of those

And lastly, here are two simple cards that I made up using the scraps I had leftover.

This card was inspired by a design I found on Pinterest

Once again. don't forget to check out the Scrapabilly site to see all the team's creations in the June gallery (here). You can also find links to Ilonka, Nadine, Maria and Silke's blogs in the right hand side bar. You don't want to miss out on their amazing projects. Make sure you say hi to them!

Scrapabilly Shares June kit part 1

I'm late - again - with posting my Scrapabilly June kit shares :-(

And I was all ready to post right there at the beginning of the month - where does the time go?

Anyway, let me show you this month's fun kit which is perfect for capturing a slice of modern life! All forms of social media, internet and our love for our phones can be recorded using this kit full of Jillibean Soup's Spicy Social Soup. But I have to admit to particularly loving both sides of the papers and the B sides could certainly be used for any topic. 

Here's a peek.

Papers, cardstock, a full set of die cuts, word stickers, twine, labels, chipboard and rings suitable for a mini-book, mini-bags, buttons and brads all topped off with a stunning brush script alpha. It was hard to know where to start.

Now, you all know that I'm not a big mini-album maker but I challenged myself to make one for this kit using the chipboard in a creative way. I was inspired by a mini-album I'd made some time ago with a kit by Cleo Jarvis who's known for her detailed folding techniques. You can see my original circular album (here). I decided just to go for a three fold-out page square book to record a whole month of Instagram.

I had a lot of fun just piling things up on top of the front cover.
I painted the chipboard in a cream colour before covering it with paper to match the inside pages. 

I left some space between the pages for some journalling cards to be tucked in there. I added the red twill to tie the book closed and to serve as tabs on my story cards

It takes a little brain power to work out the orientation for the papers and how to position the photos - especially when they go over the edge of a fold but with a little time and thought before the glue came out, I didn't make too many mistakes :-)

You can see that I only decorated the one side of the book and left the other side as simple cardstock. But I still managed to fit over 30 photos and labels. So imagine how much more could be squeezed into this space if you decided to use both sides!

I simply copy/pasted the captions I had written in IG for each of my photos. 

I organised and stuck down all the photos first and then printed out my journalling very small, cut it into strips and just fitted it in where I could.

I'm not saying that I'm a mini-book convert but this was a lot of fun to make and lovely to just look through to see the type of images I'm capturing across the month. And it reminds me that I have to get back on the treadmill!

Join me again tomorrow to see the layouts and cards I made to complete this fun kit.

Don't forget to check out the Scrapabilly site to see all the team's creations in the June gallery (here). You can also find links to Ilonka, Nadine, Maria and Silke's blogs in the right hand side bar. You don't want to miss out on their amazing projects. Make sure you say hi to them!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge - lining things up

The next challenge is up over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog and today we are being asked to line up our embellishments (see post here). Looking into my kit, I realised that I didn't have so many automatic options for this without making my own embellies - and you KNOW that I'm a bit too lazy to do that! So, back to the kit to see what I did have that could be used for the challenge and then my eyes fell on the frames I'd included in the kit.

I have a confession to make. This pack of frames has the most gorgeous gold frames in it, guaranteed to catch my eye. Well, when I was making up my kit I realised that I had bought two packs by mistake - clearly blinded by those gorgeous gold, glittery gems! So it didn't feel so bad to include a whole pack in my kit and now to use several of them (8 in fact) on one layout.

June Counterfeit kit Woodgrain, layout #6

I decided to place different sized frames along a common horizontal line, filling each one with different colours scraps to give the very neutral coloured page some splashes of colour. Stitching around the edge and then along the bottom and top of the frames as well as over the title adds some interest and dimension.

A pocket for some journalling to keep the front of the page focused on those cute frames.

A few mist splats, enamel dots and veneer hearts were all that was needed to finish off the embellishments.

I used my real wood veneer "paper" as a mat for my photo. I love the added texture it gives the page

This challenge was a lot of fun to try out and a chance to add a new design to my arsenal. Why not try it yourself? Make sure you remember to link up to the Counterfeit blog using the Mr Linky (here).

14 loves {June 2014}

Welcome to the next in the series {14 loves} for 2014 based on the original concept by my beloved friend, Pam, back in January 2013. I enjoyed sharing my loves so much through the year that I decided I needed to continue through 2014. I hope you will come back each month to see if there is anything in my list to inspire you. You can find previous posts  {here}

I missed a month. And I'm late today in getting my post up but let's see if I can find 14 things that have made me happy over the last two months. There's been a lot going on in the background with a new/old job, a quick trip back home to the UK, lots of scrapping and stuff to keep me busy.

I hope there's something in here to inspire you or maybe just make you smile.

one

When I was home, I got to spend two days with my baby sister and her little family. It was so nice to catch up with her, her partner and of course, their little bird. 

two

Then it was over to my other baby sister's to see #1 nephew to be amazed at how grown up he is...

three

... niece #1 who is adorably sweet even if she is beginning to show teenage tendencies...

four

... and niece #2 who made sure I caught up on my cuddles and kisses to keep me going until we see them again in September

five

There was also an opportunity to drop in on my 92 year old grandmother. And while "fit as a fiddle" might be an over-statement (!), she is amazing and it was lovely to see her so well.

Of course, I also spent time with camera shy mum and #1 brother and all in all, it was wonderful to see everyone and share as well as catch up on the news. I even managed to get over to see my best friend from school - we don't do that often enough. She is a genius cake maker and impressed me once again with her skills. 

six

As mentioned above, I started back at my old job and found myself in familiar surroundings. It was great to see that nothing has changed at one of my favourite Essen landmarks - the RWE Tower 

seven

A month of LOAD was completed with a total of 34 pages and many nostalgic older stories told, and 6 Counterfeit kits killed!

eight

You might have noticed that I'm always on the lookout for the perfect nail varnish which is ironic as I have the worst nails and don't often wear nail varnish! This Essie - Good as Gold - looks gorgeous for the summer. On my list...

nine

Still reliving my NYC experience even if I haven't even started scrapping it yet. (Photos locked on a dead computer and limited editing/printing possibilities right now)

ten

Super cute flair buttons perfect for cards and layouts when I want to add a little local something! Love the colours of this small selection I picked out for myself from the Scrapabilly exclusives.

eleven

Good weather and lots of Bank Holidays means evenings sitting outside with the BBQ grilling in the background. Home-made burgers proved simply delicious.

twelve

I'm sure I've posted a similar love to this before, but I LOVE that I have the best barman in the world living with me. Without a shadow of a doubt, the BEST Cosmopolitan I've tasted is created right here.

thirteen

Yes please.

fourteen

I have been excitedly waiting for the arrival of the We R Memory Keepers GOLD albums to arrive at Scrapabilly. So imagine my delight to receive this simply gorgeous specimen as a gift. I was grinning from ear to ear all evening!

I’d love you to share your own {14 loves} lists with me. Why not link up in the comments below?

{14 loves} is a series that will feature on my blog each 14th of the month