Counterfeit Kit Challenge April kit reveal blog hop

Welcome to April and to a somewhat different kit this month :-)

But let's get the introductions out of the way first! Hopefully you have arrived here via Leslie's blog and after me, you can continue on to Lynette's blog. Which is kind of funny as only yesterday, Lynnette nicknamed us as the Three Last Minute L's! And yes, I'm writing this post late on 31st March so last minute once again! There's nothing like staying true to form. Anyway, if you'd like the catch the whole hop, jump back to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog and start right there, taking in our Guest Designer, Sharon along the way. The full list is at the end if you need it.

I'm hoping that we have a few new hoppers this month as the Three Last Minute L's were lucky enough to present the wonderful concept of the Counterfeit Kit Challenge to the Scrap Happy group in a live spreecast meeting yesterday and there was quite some enthusiasm about it. Therefore, I'm going to go into a bit more detail than usual about the inspiration kit and how I created my own take on it.

Are you ready? Let's go...

First up, we were given the brand new Messy Box kit by Elsie which is, quite frankly, nothing like any kit we've ever used before! Here it is.

Messy Box by Elsie Larson at A Beautiful Mess

Why so different? Shall I make a list?

• Exclusive products for A Beautiful Mess (so no Pinterest board this time around and no specific product list to use to match up items)
• Lots and lots of graphic, black and white items
• Minimal embellishments
• Bright bold colours but minimal patterns
• Paper dimensions are 9x12" (as well as pocket page cards)

Now then, we have an inspiration kit so how do we get from the picture above to my kit, Vivid below?

I started by really looking at the kit photo above, checking out the site which lists - vaguely - the contents and also by watching the kit unboxing video (see it here) to really get a feel for what is in the kit (and what's not!) as well as seeing what colours and patterns I could pick out. Let's face it, there's not a lot in my stash that's going to match this even if I wanted to do a piece by piece copy.

There are 9x12", 6x4", 3x4" and 3" square cards - mostly in black and white with some quotes, numbers, a few splashes of colour and geometric patterns. I see black and white, grey, bright pink, a little pale pink, a little pale blue, bright orange and yellow. Now I have my colour scheme and the format of the papers I will need. I'm going to have to dig deep on those geometrics though and am not sure what I'll do for that - forgeries maybe? I'll be making up some pocket cards for sure.

I rummage through all of my pocket cards for some B&W cards - donated to me by Pam from the Midnight PL core kit as well as some sheets of Studio Calico and BasicGrey 6x6" in pinks, orange and yellow. The square pocket page cards are cut from a sheet by Echo Park in the Capture Life collection and have a rather wonderful graphic yellow and white line design on the b-side. Double win. Then I found some papers to match up the colours I'd identified. There's a single sheet of black, white, grey and yellow by KaiserCraft and the rest are all by Echo Park but coming from 6 different collections. They certainly seem to hit the nail as far as the yellows, reds, oranges, pinks, and black on white designs go and all but one are really small, repeating designs. This is VERY new for me! What will I make without patterns, polka dots and stripes? And no gold foil to be seen! I couldn't find anything matching the small amount of blue I saw in the original kit - all of mine being too grey or too green so I decided just to let that go. I don't use much blue anyway.

There are white brads. Yes! I can do that. I have a gazillion of them so out come two sizes - 10 of each.

There are vellum hearts and circles in pinks, orange, yellow and blue. I have some scraps of vellum so I can match those up fairly easily, if not exactly - details to be shared in Forgeries on the Fourth (yep, on 4th April!)

There is a clear overlay with a bold quote in white. This is also something I can pretty much copy and again, I'll share in Forgeries on the Fourth.

There's black washi with white days of the week. This was a little more difficult as I don't have any black (adding to virtual wishlist for the future maybe) but I have some neon pink and will forge a variation on this - check out more details in Forgeries on the Fourth.

And last but not least in the original, was a gold, chipboard alphabet! Eureka, finally something I can absolutely match up. I just had to decide which one of my gold Thickers to include. I decided on a simple gold font - a new pack I couldn't resist recently - that are very similar to the original.

And that's it!

I have a little confession before I sign off. I have already added a few items into my kit just to make it a bit more me and to help me get going with it - another washi tape in B&W and a small, letter-tile, gold alphabet by Studio Calico. And while I was going through my stash, I came across an acrylic, orange Heidi Swapp alphabet set which I also added in. It's the "use or lose it" item in this month's kit. And you might have noticed those two pens.... more on that in the Forgeries on the Fourth post :-)

Can I guarantee that other products won't find their way into my kit through the month? No! And they probably will. But don't forget that there are no kit making police out there making sure that you ONLY use the items you have in your kit on day 1! The main focus and aim round here is to make up a kit by shopping your own stash for yourself. Filled with products you love and will use. Need ribbon, flowers, stickers or doilies to make your page complete? Throw it in and enjoy using it!

What now? You have your kit. You've given it a name, you've thrown it into a box (neither of which are necessary - that's just me!) So what now?

You can get scrapping right away with your kit and make page after wonderful page.

You can also check in at the Counterfeit Kit Blog on 4th April to see what forgeries we can show and inspire you with. Forgeries on the Fourth will feature items we've found a way to make ourselves as well as links to tutorials, videos or blog posts which we hope will motivate you to have a go at making your own items.

On 6th, 12th and 18th of April you will find challenges posted on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog along with creations by Master Forgers to get you using your kit.

And then, on 24th April, there will be a member blog hop, where you can join in and share the projects you've made with your kits following our challenges. It's a real family affair. (Details of how to join in on the hop can be found at the end of all the challenge blog posts as well as the reveal post)

Many months, there are additional posts during the month with extra challenges or inspiration to help keep you motivated and it might be fun to drop by the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog around 20th April for something we have up our sleeves! *wink* just saying'!

And how can you share, apart from joining in on the member blog hop? You can post your creations on your blog or upload them to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Flickr gallery/group. Then head over to the CKC blog and link up to where you've shared. You can guarantee that we'll be over to check it out as will many other followers. Guaranteed to give you a warm, fuzzy feeling when you see all that love on your blog or gallery post

Now that's a mega-post right there, so I'll sign off and send you on your way to see the marvellous Lynnette's ever wonderful, creative, amazing kit reveal. One not to miss for sure. And here's the full list in case you get lost along the way.

Let me know you were here - especially if you are new to the hop - and tell me which part of the inspiration kit you like the most!

Sharon  http://sksgranny.blogspot.com

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

Julene:  http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com

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

Lisa:  http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com

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