September 2019 - Counterfeit Kit Challenge - Back to School!

Good morning - Happy Hump Day!

It's time for Challenge #2 over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge but first, here's a quick reminder of the personalised, curated kit we're using as our September inspiration courtesy of the Secret Not Secret Kit Club.  If you missed this month's reveal, why not head back to the CKC blog hop on the 1st here and get the gen - it's never too late to join in.

And here's another reminder of my own Wanderlust kit (find the details here).

And now it's time for the challenge itself:

Challenge #2 - Back to School

"In the UK, September always marks the start of the new school year and whenever I see September on my calendar, my mind goes back to that time of my life. The low-lying sun, the misty mornings, the beginning of autumn, the smell of new school supplies, the familiar sights and sounds as we all piled back into the classroom."

Be inspired by this "back to school" feeling!

As I often do these days, I made up the whole layout without actually knowing what photo or story I wanted to tell. But it all started with that sheet of photo-realistic Crate Paper that I've used as a background. The road stretching out before me reminded me of the days of school and how it's the starting point to life. I love the design and when I have a pattern such as this, I try to come up with a layout that allows the full picture to be seen with a cluster of layers and elements tucked off to one corner or other.

I've also taken to looking for colour combinations in my kits that have some sort of significance and even though they are not true to the shades of my original school uniform (sky blue, navy and bright green), I picked out shades of blue and green for my layout and brought in blacks and grey to add a little more interest and contrast.

I'm always surprised at how many items of a particular colour I can find in my kits when I look at them critically like this.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge September kit, Wanderlust lo#1

I have to admit to adding in that navy alphabet to my kit and yes, it now lives in the kit box - my kits tend to grow throughout the month!

It was a lot of fun looking for different shapes and small pieces to cluster up for dimension, texture and additional interest. I also like the symbolism that may of those items have to support my story.

The larger "empty" section above the cluster proved perfect for my longer journalling and then a modern (from 2011), bright, eye-catching photo finished off the design. With so few photos from my original time at school, I'm really enjoying finding ways to use the school building photos I have from that visit to tell stories from years and years ago. And I really like the contrast of the colours in the photo with the muted background.

We always love to see your work, so please share your kits and projects with us.

You can use our Monthly Link-up page, post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcseptember2019).

Thanks so much for stopping by - don't forget to check out the blog after letting me know you were here!

What school stories are you going to tell this month?