Scrapabilly April kit shares (part 1)

What with Easter and stuff, I'm a few days late posting these but I'm sure you'll forgive me.

The April Scrapabilly kit is, as always, chock full of gorgeous product in the form of Pebbles' Happy Day collection. Papers, stickers and enamel dots from the Happy Day collection along with Simple Stories paper washi, wood veneer houses, a "note" paper clip, kraft tags, a Scrapabilly exclusive flair, ribbon, card stock and of course, a pack of Thickers (never fails to win me over!!). A great collection of matching, easy to use products with lovely colours and some really funky motives! I especially loved the pink elements and the Hello paper. There's a lot here to love and have a lot of fun with.

Here's the kit - just to tempt you - and don't forget that you can head over to Scrapabilly's shop and order it direct :-) Get it now before it's too late!

I've already shared my first layout over at Whimsical Musings (WM#162 inspired by being pampered), but since that post, I corrected a small journalling mistake (only to make the same mistake again!!!) and made one or two little changes. So here it is again:

And this one is for Whimsical Musings #163 (inspired by a Citrus Twist sketch) which I've already shown over there, but again, here it is. How can you not be impressed by Cologne Cathedral. Every. Single. Time. Just stunning.

And just one last one to share today.

There were a lot of elements in the papers and stickers related to sleeping in at the weekend and relaxing so I decided to go literally with this one. Since we've moved, we don't get back to Lenz all that often for breakfast, but we know that even if we get there rather late, there will always be a continental spread for us!

A different layout to my usual style but I just decided to have fun with layering all those different elements. Worked? Not sure but it was fun!

I made a total of five layouts and two cards so tune in later in the week for the last two layouts along with those two cards - I'm pretty sure the recipient of one of those cards never looks at my blog *wink* so I should be safe!

Forgeries on the Fourth

As you might have noticed, I don't actually do much forgery when making my Counterfeit Kit Challenge kits. I always tell people that I'm not crafty enough and that we have experts like Leslie who is truly a Master Forger. I bow to her craft!

But every now and again, I do have some ideas for making my own items and this is one of those months. Now, there's no rocket science in my forgeries but I'd just like to show you that it is possible to make your own items in a very simple way. So please let me present Counterfeit Kit Challenge Forgeries on the Fourth.

Logo "borrowed" from the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog :-)

Here is the kit we were asked to be inspired by. There's a lot of room for forging items because of the fact that all the items are A Beautiful Mess exclusives. I can't wait to see what the other forgers have come up with :-)

First up, I decided that I wanted to include some pocket page cards in colours that would match the rest of the kit. I have a lot of cards but they tend to be more mint, gold, neutral and vintage colours so I needed some very bright reds, oranges, pinks and yellows. So I went through my 6x6 paper packs and picked out some Studio Calico and BasicGrey papers that seemed to fit the colours I was looking for. The grey and white paper there appealed because of the numbers. In the inspiration kit, there were a full set of cards with individual numbers and I didn't want to copy that exactly but having a card or two with the full set of numbers seemed about right.

Of course, I could have just cut the papers in 6x4" and 4x3" sizes with my paper trimmer but I have a Sizzix pocket page die set and decided to use those so that they would have the rounded corners. My square cards are hand cut.

I was really pleased with how they turned out - it was a bit of a squeeze to get two cards out of one 6x6" sheet using the dies, but I managed it and love this little bright collection to add to my kit.

Next up were the little vellum shapes. I had a few scraps of blue vellum, some green, a very small amount of yellow and of course, plain. To start, I just used three different punches (borrowed as I'm too stingy to have a full set of my own!) in 1 1/4", 1 1/2" and 1 3/4" to get a good mix. See, easy!

And then I moved on to my Silhouette Cameo and cut a whole load of different circles and hearts out of the rest of the vellum scraps I had. This was more difficult to be honest because my mat wasn't really sticky enough and the paper kept lifting and getting messed up in the blade! But I persevered with the settings offered by the Silhouette and am particularly pleased with all those circles. I think they'll be great layered up or sprinkled across the page. And I can always borrow those punches again if I come across any other vellum in my stash :-)

On to the photo overlay with the text on top. I didn't want to buy anything new for my kit so I compromised by deciding to use the black vinyl I have for the Silhouette. I could also have printed black (or a colour) text onto the overhead projector slides I used here but I hadn't done vinyl cutting before so I braved it - and learnt a lot!!!

First, I learnt the hard way that you don't need to stick vinyl onto the cutting mat when you are using the Silhouette Cameo. It sticks horribly and is not necessary - if only I'd watched the YouTube video I tracked down first (which I can't seem to find but just search for Silhouette cutting vinyl) or read these instructions from Silhouette here!

I picked out a range of quotes that I thought would work well right in the middle of a photo overlay and was thrilled to find two in brush script - so trendy right now - and a hand script. All of these can be found in the Silhouette shop. Again, I followed the settings Silhouette suggested and it cut so well and smoothly.

I cut the files, then transferred the vinyl onto the backing transfer paper. I really fought with the paper being sticky, the vinyl not coming off the cutting mat (my bad), everything curling up and sticking to itself. But I think that's just me :-) I'm not terribly dextrous and would no doubt manage better next time. I cut out some really small, intricate stuff that didn't transfer properly but I got four well cut, usable quotes and decided to make 2 A4 overlays and 2 6x4" overlays.

They each transferred onto the overlays perfectly and I'm totally thrilled with the effects. The vinyl is so thin that if you rub your fingers over the overlay, you can hardly notice it. A great result.

My last forgery is the washi tape. I didn't have any black tape which appealed a lot but what I liked even more was the handwritten text printed onto it so that's what I decided to copy.

I had a neon pink tape which I thought would go well with the bright colours of the kit so I taped some down onto some paper to try out a range of pens to mimic the hand-written days of the week.

I tried (from top pen to bottom pen) Uni-ball in black, Zig Wink of Stella Brush in translucent, Signo Uni-ball in white, Sharpie (twin tip) in black and Sharpie (thick tip) in gold.

The gold Sharpie and the Wink of Stella brush were total fails - just didn't really show up at all. The Uni-ball black was rather unsuccessful but the Signo white and both ends of the Sharpie in black worked well enough for me to consider them a success.

Top and bottom here is the thick and thin black Sharpie but the gold in the middle was too hit and miss. Sometimes it was ok but most of the time, you could hardly see it. Maybe it would work better on black tape.

The white was surprisingly even but you need to leave it a long time to dry. I think this might be my favourite effect.

Once I had decided on which pens to use on my tape, I then measured out 2" lengths and wrote out the days of the week with the asterisk between them to match the original Elsie tape in the Messy Box kit. I will now produce the strips as and when I need them and will no doubt make sure I have space to do an asterisk before and after the day. If I come across some black tape it will no doubt creep into my kit too - love the idea of trying out the white on black.

Not bad for someone who doesn't make her own embellishments! What will you forge this month? Don't forget to share over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog.

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

Counterfeit Kit Challenge March member blog hop

It's time for another Counterfeit Kit Challenge member blog hop and I'm happy to see you here.

I'm kicking off today, so you can find out all about the hop back at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog and the full list is at the end of the post.

Here are the March challenges in March:

• Challenge #1:  Border Craze:  Get crazy with borders
• Challenge #2:  Irish Challenge: Celebrate St Patrick's Day with some creativity! 
• Challenge #3:  Desk Challenge: Take inspiration from the state of your desk

I wanted to give the border challenge a go and knew exactly what paper I was going to use! I had been wondering how on earth I was going to use all those hot air balloons on a page and this seemed the perfect opportunity.

In fact, this page came together in my head long before the challenge came about while I was flying to NYC. I remember taking off and as we went through the clouds and the bright sunshine came though the window, I suddenly came up with the title on this layout - Beyond the clouds, the sun is always shining. It seemed to sum up everything I'd been thinking recently. I snapped a shot to make up the page when I got back. Perfect timing.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge March kit, Drift lo#3

A little journalling card is tucked away under the photo.

Fussy cutting the balloons out seemed perfect for my mixed up border.

I love how this turned out! What about you? Have you ever come up with a page this way?

Next up in the hop is the ever delightful Clair! She is such an awesome crafter and a well-loved counterfeiter, and we are thrilled to have her on the hop again. Make sure you go over and say hello!

And here's the full list in case you get lost along the way.

CKCB         http://www.counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com

Lisa           http://lisahausmann.blogspot.de

Clair          http://obstinatepursuit.blogspot.com

Gemma    http://thesteelenook.blogspot.co.uk

Margie      http://scrappinmargie.blogspot.com

Tina           http://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com

Laura         http://beadsbuttonsandbirds.blogspot.co.uk

Virginia     http://celtichouse.blogspot.co.uk

Sherrie      http://sherriesmuddlepuddle.blogspot.ca

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

Scrapabilly February kit shares (part 2)

Back again today with the rest of the Scrapabilly February kit makes. I posted some layouts on Monday but just to remind you, here's the stunning kit we were given to work with:

It's available in the Scrapabilly shop here and the DT gallery can be found here. I recommend you dropping in and grabbing one before they are all gone! A simply gorgeous kit that was heaven to use. 

I nearly bought a second kit for myself but in the end, went the whole way and bought lots of the Dear Lizzy Serendipity collection items for my NYC kit. You see, I had decided on the Amy Tangerine Stitched collection to scrap my NYC photos - something about the colours and designs reminded me of the city and it felt a bit "urban". But then I picked up this kit and was inspired - at last - to print out one or two of my photos from my trip there last year. They just seemed to fit the papers in this collection too. So rather than giving up on the original idea, I decided to simply combine the two collection and items I've brought together already into one mega-kit. I will be doing enough pages after all!

So, to cut a long story short, these four layouts are the first four for my NYC album. More to follow no doubt! There's not really a lot to say about each of them as I think they speak for themselves. I continued to add in a little mist, some gold dots (can be found in the shop here and they are really nicely domed, bright gold little dots!), some twine, and a sprinkle of SC veneers.

I probably need to go back to this one and add a little journalling. But to be honest, the layout might say all I want to say at this point!

This came from a LOAD prompt to do a now and then style layout. I especially like the splash of yellow here and the fun journalling along the banner. I kept realising that I had run out of journalling space and still had more to say so I carried on tucking it about the layout! All in all, that is a bit of a Pam thing so I guess it fits!

I wanted to highlight the constellation paper as much as possible but make the layout as pretty as possible at the same time. The veneer stars reinforce the star theme and the little cluster at the bottom is a nod to our neighbouring star signs!

This last layout is a tribute to the wonderfully thoughtful gift that Lynnette gave me when we met in February. Such a thrill and such a beautiful cushion that now has pride of place in my room. Every time I look at it, I think of her and it makes me smile. So I knew that I wanted to make a very pretty, pink layout using up the last elements from the kit. I love it and both the gift and the layout made me happy which means that it was perfect for the Whimsical Musings prompt #159 - inspired by what's making you happy right now. Love it when a plan comes together!

So, there you have it. At last, four layouts to kick off my NYC album covering both trips. I love that I got the inspiration from this kit to start something that felt too big to handle. Now I just need to reduce those 2000+ photos down to a manageable amount to scrap and I'll be sorted.

Thanks for getting this far! I appreciate every single reader and commenter here on this - sometimes - neglected blog. Let me know which layout from which 2015 Scrapabilly kit is your favourite and I might just pick a commenter to receive a little something in the post from me!

These are my share posts so far this year:

Scrapabilly January kit shares (part 1)
Scrapabilly January kit shares (part 2)
Scrapabilly February kit shares (part 1)
and of course, this post that you are reading right now for February part 2
Scrapabilly March kit shares (part 1)
Scrapabilly March kit shares (part 2)

Who doesn't love a good Thursday incentive?!?