Counterfeit Kit Challenge January kit reveal blog hop

Welcome to 2015!

I'm thrilled to be kicking off this new year with a new Counterfeited kit and am looking forward to getting back into the swing of counterfeiting, kitting and of course, scrapping.

I have the pleasure of being first on the blog hop this month but I've got the full list of hoppers at the end of this post. After you've finished here, you need to hop along to Julene down under who's enjoying the middle of summer while we are freezing up here in the north!

We were given a lovely kit by the Hip Kit Club full of the Amy Tan Stitched collection along with a dash of Heidi Swapp, Pebbles and Evalicious. 

First off, here's the gorgeous original... 

The Hip Kit Club December kit

This was really my kind of kit and I am delighted with the results. So, a new kit for a new year - Welcome!

I commenced by creating a Pinterest board with all the items in the inspiration kit and was pleased to see that I had a few of the Amy Tan items to base my very own kit on. You can find my Pinterest board here. I had a few of the papers and some leftovers from the December Scrapabilly kit. I took all those papers and added in some a birch tree print to match the Heidi Swap September Skies design as well as a cut apart sheet that seemed to feature a few of the same colours as the original and then Lisa'd it up a little by adding in a gold print vellum from Crate and a gold glitter ball paper from Webster's Pages.

The colours in my kit have come out a little more vibrant than the original kit but with all those papers being double sided, I know I'm going to have some great combinations to work with.

The original Hip Kit Club kit had a set of die-cuts and some veneers so I added in the left-overs from the Stitched die-cut pack and mixed in a handful of various veneers I thought might be useful.

Of course, I added in some other things I know I'll use up like the few left-over puffy stickers, some twine and some enamels to match the various colours in the kit. 

Several handfuls of sequins were a must as well as a few sets of alphas - both large and small. This could prove challenging as I don't think that either of the sets of Thickers have and e's left so I'll have to get creative with titles!

The feathers and bows seemed pretty and useful additions to this versatile kit so in they went.

The inspiration kit also featured a pack of Dear Lizzy gold word Thickers so I got my Cameo working for me on some gold foil cardstock and was delighted with the outcome!

Look at all that intricate detail. I can't wait to get these used up and maybe some of them can double up for titles to compensate for my lack of vowels!

So there you have it! A large kit to start the new year with the best of intentions. In fact, before I made up this kit I decided to disassemble all the other remaining kits I had on my shelf and put all those supplies back into my stash. My kit shelf now looks nice and clear and this kit has me itching to get going. I have big plans for this collection of goodies and it might even turn into something bigger so watch this space for that development! But for now, it's New Year, New Start. :-)

It's been lovely to see you here today. Next stop on the hop is Julene and the rest of the hop can be found below. I'd love you to let me know you were here and what you think about my interpretation of that gorgeous inspiration kit!

Lisa: http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com

Julene: http://julenebydesign.blogspot.co.uk

Stephanie: http://skylinepaperie.blogspot.ca

Jemma: http://just-jimjams.blogspot.com

Susanne: http://snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com

Lesley: http://ohblogitifyoucantbeatthem.blogspot.co.uk

Angela: http://colestoucan.blogspot.co.uk

Lynnette: http://www.sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com

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

Margie: http://scrappinmargie.blogspot.com    

And don't forget that we love it when you join in and share your own Counterfeit kits and creations. The more the merrier! Check out how you can get involved at the end of each of the Counterfeit blog posts - kit reveal, counterfeit tutorials and challenges - and let us know that you want in!

Scrapabilly December kit shares (part 2)

Yesterday I shared the December Scrapabilly kit and the first three layouts I made. I'm back today to show you what I did with the rest of the kit and another two layouts.

I mentioned that the globe paper was of course my favourite and had cut it very deliberately so that there was the European bit showing and the US bit left over. I knew that I wanted to feature dear Pam and an Instagram photo she shared with me of one of the locations we visited in my trip over to NYC earlier this year - the Flatiron building. Such a gorgeous photo with those washed out colours that it was perfect for a simple, calm layout. If you look closely, the map paper still has the east coast visible.

Finally, I decided to single out all the kraft coloured items in the kit to form the background to this layout with just a few hints of colour. Another Instagram "steal" but I couldn't resist it because she is snuggled up with the Miffy toy we gave her for her birthday. Again, simple and missing the journalling for now but another layout showing how versatile the kit was and how different colour schemes could be easily pulled out to match the mood or colours of the photo.

Thanks for stopping by today and it would be lovely to hear what you think of this gorgeous Stitched collection. Right down your street? I'm planning on getting more of this - I think I have big plans for it!

Scrapabilly December kit shares (part 1)

I'm chasing my tail right now but coming up to the end of the year, I'm trying to catch up on a few blog posts that should have gone up some time ago.

The December Scrapabilly kit (find the kit here) was awesome this month. I loved every single corner of it!

It was full of the most gorgeous Amy Tangerine Stitched collection papers and embellies as well as a super set of Thickers, and a bag of gorgeous sequins and then corrugated cardstock and a selection of plain cardstocks. I think I added in a few sheets of cardstock myself, a small gold apha (here) and then some mists and a tiny amount of gold twine (here). I had originally bought a few more sheets of the papers in the collection to add to my kit but in the end, there was so much in there, that I didn't need it. I made five layouts and I'm going to share three today and two tomorrow so be sure to come back and see the rest of the kit being used up.

First up is one that was inspired by the cloud paper. I was trying to find a reason to use it and thought water, bath, done! These "stolen" instagram photos of my niece were perfect when matched up with some of the cut apart cards and a sprinkling of pretty.

Love the fact that the collection is full of these muted colours and a touch of gold too.

Next is a simple one just highlighting the transformation of my room from chaos to pretty. I haven't had a chance to journal of any of my layouts this month so hope to catch up either over the next week or maybe in the new year. But you know that I will :-)

My favourite sheet of paper in the collection was the globe design - of course! I bought a few extra sheets of this for my collection. I was inspired in the design of this page by this Pinterest link from Studio Calico (see here). I knew I wanted to highlight the European side of the map (the "other" side was also used in an appropriate way - see tomorrow!) and the two photos seemed like a great small capture of my life over here.

Drop by again tomorrow for two more shares from this gorgeous Scrapabilly December kit. The January kit is already in the works so watch this space for that too!

Don't forget to check out the creations from the rest of the team. You can find them all in my side bar or over at the Scrapabilly gallery (here)

14 loves {September 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 hope there's something in here to inspire you or maybe just make you smile.

So, a late, late, late posting for a chaotic September - four months late to be honest! But I did promise to get it up before the year was up so here it is! There wasn't much time for window shopping whether in real shops or virtual and certainly not much time for pinning or doing much of anything other than packing, schlepping, unpacking and fighting against the chaos. But there were a few highlights... let's see if I can manage 14!

one

One of the last mornings driving to work from our old home. The mist on the fields is one of the things I miss. Views like this make/made me happy.

two

I fell in love with this layout and this vellum paper as soon as I saw it on my Pinterest feed. I still love it and try as I might to track down this paper on this side of the ocean, it was not to be :-(

Dreaming with Chic - Shabby Chic Crafts

three

I started new lessons at an old, familiar, friendly building over in Dortmund and was happy to be welcomed back into the "fold" by lovely, new students.

four

There wasn't much time for scrapping or sharing over the late summer but the Scrapabilly September kit (now sold out unfortunately) featuring We R Memory Keepers Indian Summer papers was a joy to work with amongst the chaos. This is a favourite layout I made with the kit featuring one of my "stolen" Instagram photos of my darling niece.

five

The next photos show a bit of an evolution of the first few days of our move - I was so inspired by the new life we were beginning #newhomenewlife

First up, the keys to our new home. 

six

What would, in time, become my scrapbook haven.

seven

The very first night. Candles, music, and just being there.

eight

There might even have been champagne involved!

nine

The new neighbourhood.

ten

Our view over the "park".

eleven

The new city skyline.

twelve

I wish I could achieve something as stylish and calming as this pin. The colours are beautiful and the room would certainly make me happy. But there's nowhere for my scrap stash!

Pinterest source here

thirteen

Of course, there was a little shopping at Scrapabilly along the way, stocking up on the gold twine and doily vellum that is a must in my stash. I think I must have bought 6 rolls of this twine so far and as soon as the gold doilies start getting used up, I simply must buy more.

fourteen

And just because this pin spoke out to me. 

Pinterest source here

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