November 2018 - Mini kit reveal and project

I went a bit over the top and decided to make a full kit as well as a mini kit this month! Therefore, I'm back again today to show you the mini-kit and project I've started with it.

I was short of time and decided to make it super quick and simple picking out just the main colours of aqua (and other shades of blue), pink and yellow from the main inspiration kit and pulled out some products for a Project Life spread. It looks like a lot but there is one sheet of full paper plus a cut apart sheet and then just some pocket cards and a handful of embellishments. I know that I will need to add a few more bits and pieces in there but this is a great start and most of the hard work is therefore done.

 

I've had that Elle's Studio set of labels for forever so it's time to get it used up. I've also had that veneer pocket card for a long time and I thought that it combined the veneer and word elements from the original kit.

A handful of pocket cards with designs and words tie in with the original and hopefully, will be useful as fillers.

I picked out that Crate cut apart sheet some weeks ago, knowing that I wanted to use it for my month titles. It's the perfect colours.

I realised that I have just three months outstanding for 2017 in my Project Life album and had already created that month card with the events so it seemed easier to go with this month instead of the two summer months which might have matched my products better.

I'm just showcasing the first page here but I expect this month to be two or three double spreads because I was on the road over Christmas and have some memorabilia and lots of pretty photos I'd like to include.

I like the usual colour scheme for this month but decided that I will try to ensure there is lots of gold element and thread across all pages to tie it all together and give it a festive feel.

I added in a couple of extra pocket cards to back photos and the word veneer below. I wonder if I should move that veneer to the outside pocket?

Keeping it simple.

 
I'll be back on the 18th with challenge #2 using my main kit so I hope to see you there!

Don't forget that we love to see your creations and you can join in the fun over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Facebook Community Group or you can link up directly on the blog here using the Link-Up page. Or on Instagram (find us @counterfeitchallenge and share with #counterfeitchallenge ).

Counterfeit Kit Challenge October mini-kit reveal

I'm back today with my Counterfeit Kit Challenge mini-kit and project. You can find the CKC blog post for the mini-kit reveal including Master Forger Susan's wonderful selection here.

I was keen to volunteer again because I've been really enjoying bringing together the small kit and then using it up right away. I've caught up on a month or two of Project Life 2017 and I saw this as an ideal chance to get working on another month - September. An autumn-themed kit would be perfect for both the inspiration that Leslie picked out for us and for the Project Life month to finish.

This month's inspiration for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge is the Wild Hare Kits selection that was curated for Design Team member Mandi Holmes - you can find her unboxing video here.

Here is a collage that Leslie put together for us to showcase the papers in the original kit so we would be able to pick out the inspiration.

Knowing that I wanted to have a small kit that would still be useful for the doulbe spread I was planning, I decided to include three full sheets of paper as well as a few scraps.

I was inspired by the striped paper, the design by Pink Paislee that looks like embroidery and the cut apart sheet as well as the colours of autumn that seemed to run through the inspiration.

I found an interesting striped sheet with some pretty colours by Simple Stories and then noticed the the collection also had a design that looks like quilting. I was surprised to realise that this was the Mama Llama collection which would not normally spring to mind when you think about an autumn kit. I guess it just goes to show that you can combine products unexpectedly to create fun results.

Apologies for the bad light photos! Late night kitting and creating.

I also included a sheet from Shimelle's Go Now Go line which I had in mind from the beginning due to the autumnal shades. I found few additional cut apart pocket cards from the collection which brought in a little pink to match the Simple Stories papers and a month marker card which I knew would be perfect.

I added in sequins, mini letters and stickers which matched items in the original kit and then I noticed a small bunch of mini scraps and leftover elements from the Cedar Lane collection which seemed perfect as a little extra for my mini-kit.

There is a good mix of items in my kit even though it's small and compact. I love that side of making up my own kits.

Then I made up some pocket 6x4 cards which I'll use for decorative purposes in my Project Life. I glanced through the possible photos I'd be using and saw that we had a few day trips, an Oktoberfest party and the anniversary of when we met so that helped give me direction for my cards.

I adore these month cards and will be holding onto the others I have so that I can use a few more of them. This will be on the first side of my double spread.

The die cut from my forged Thickers was perfect for this celebratory card.

And I was happy to pile up with little word labels for this anniversary marker.

This cut-apart card didn't need much decoration because I didn't want to cover any of the pretty up!

I created all four cards in about 90 minutes - yes, I know that I'm slow - and they will go a long way in saving time when I come to pull together the full month as a whole, maybe tomorrow.

Don't forget that CKC will feature challenge projects on 12th & the 18th which we hope will help you use up those goodies in your own counterfeit kit.

As always, we love seeing your work, so be sure to share your kits and projects with us. You can do this by using the Link-Up page here on the blog, posting in the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Facebook Community Group or on Instagram (find us @counterfeitchallenge and share with #counterfeitchallenge )

Counterfeit Kit Challenge - mini kit reveal and project

Over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog, I'm showcasing my mini-kit for September with which I've completed another of my overdue Project Life spreads for 2017. You can find that post here.

Our original inspiration kit was the Noel Mignon Apple Crisp kit here and isn't it gorgeous!?! Perfect to get me into the autumn feeling which, of course as you know, is my favourite time of year.

I loved the shades of brown, yellow, green, orange with a hint of pink along with the leafy, cooler days of autumn feel to the kit and my kit has most of that, even if it's a bit hard to see!

All the papers came from my scrap basket and there is a small pile that has been put back there. I like to have a lot of choice so I often put more in than I know I will use up and that's ok. This is not a super mini kit because my Project Life pages are two spreads per month.

I was happy to find that I'd included a couple of pages that I could fussy cut and you'll find that there are a lot of flowers, banners and leaves scattered across my pockets.

I'm trying to work through my PL card supply but it's proving hard as I'm not sure I want to mix up the straight corners of the cards I make myself and photos with the rounded corners of the older collections.

Some minimal supplies knowing that my pockets need to be less dimensional. But they give a nod to the original kit with hearts, leaves, words and woodgrain elements as well as a smattering of twine.

I love these feathers so it was a good excuse to try and get them used on a page.

And here are my spreads for November 2017 which was a particularly memorable month round here due to a special birthday.

My PL spreads all follow the same format which gives me space for large and small landscape and portrait photos as well as the opportunity to have some decorative items and space for journalling if I need it. This was a tricky month to pick out photos and a lot didn't make the cut so I'll have to make sure that there are full pages to fill in any of the details that I think are missing.

I've been hoarding these star sign cards from Studio Calico (why didn't I buy four sets?!?!) but this seemed like an ideal time to use them. There seem to be far too many photos of me this month but I have a camera shy husband which doesn't help!

Sigh! I need more of these cards!

Lots of Paris details but I know that there are more stories to tell so I need to make sure that I make full layouts to tell the rest in my regular albums.

And then I've added in some of the memorabilia in smaller pocket pages so that I have it all in one place. Perhaps those of you who make your own pocket pages could give me a tip for how to keep all the "stuff" into that top left hand pocket? Everything seems to fall out every time I touch the page!

These top two photos are actually postcards which makes me happy! What does anyone do with more dimensional memorabilia?

And there you have it. It took me HOURS - I must be doing something wrong and I need to think about how to make it easier for myself! Less decoration? Handwritten journalling mixed in with the printed? Tips and tricks? All constructive criticism welcome!

Make sure you go over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog today and again on the 12th, 15th, 18th, 24th and 30th for more inspiration that you'll be able to use in your own kits, mini kits and projects. You can find out how to join in over there.

Thanks for dropping by and have a great day!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge - January 2018 mini kit

I volunteered for mini-kit duty in January because I knew that I wanted to try to get ahead with my Project Life for 2017 and I've really been enjoying making up these smaller (though still pretty big!) selections that get used for a particular project.

I picked out the Cocoa Daisy November Fair Isle kit for us to be inspired because I loved the mix of wintery, Christmassy and neutral colours which could give each of us somewhere different to go.

My mind went in many different directions and it took me a while to settle on how my kit was going to come together. But when I looked at the patterned papers in the kit, my eye settled on the florally, leafy print in those gorgeous soft pinks, greens and shades of orange.

It suddenly reminded me of the BasicGrey Indian Summer collection from way back when. I pulled the papers in the collection and selected one sheet that then formed the centre point of my kit. So, from a distinctly wintery, Christmassy kit I've made a kit that's distinctly autumnal - perfect!

Here's my January kit, "Together".

It looks bigger than it really is! There's the one sheet of 12x12 and all the rest of the papers are from my scrap box and PL card box.

I added in a whole bunch of die cuts, a couple of tags from previous kits and lots of little bits and pieces that I could imagine being useful for decorating pocket page cards. As luck (or it *might* have been a little planned) would have it, the next spreads I need to do for PL will be September and October which of course are perfect for the colours and embellishments I've added in here.

I struggle with alphas for the smaller canvas of pocket cards so I added in a couple of smaller fonts so that I have more choice.

You will already have seen this die cut which I "forged" using the inspiration from the original kit. It also gave me the name for this kit (gather is a name I've used before).

Labels, die cuts, gems and nature inspired elements inspired by the original kit. I added in sequins rather than the gold stars and included a few bird veneers instead of more die cuts.

It looks like a lot and I knew I probably wouldn't use it all. I had two months in my PL album in mind to complete and I thought that I might be able to find a way to use this kit for both. Let's see how that works out...

Well, as it would happen I managed to get October 2017 completed using just some of the papers and embellishments and has enough left over to get September done (I'll share that if when I get that done)!

 

I feel like journalling is missing but to be honest, I wasn't sure about where to put it! This process is still not settled and it's not yet getting any easier for me. Nor am I any quicker. I think I need to think about this a bit more for 2018 to get it clearer in my head. But for now, I want to get 2017 finished so that I can move on. I think I have almost 7 months done now and quite a bit of September done too so it's coming along.

But when I look at the gorgeous pages out there and our very own Master Forger Susan's delightful pages, I know I have a long way to go! Ha ha.

More soon, but for now, thanks for being here today and make sure you play along over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. All info about how to join in and where you can find us in on the blog here.