A few sad goodbyes and a Counterfeit Kit Challenge Master Forger Design Team Call – 2018

First of all, I’d like to make a long overdue but ever so sad announcement about some of our wonderful Master Forgers who have left, or are leaving, our very close and happy team.

Master Forgers Stephanie, Jemma and Lesley decided some time ago to move on to different things and we already miss them greatly. To be honest, I held off announcing their departure as I was hoping that they would decide to stay on with us, and I know that they are "lurking" in the background which I love and they are very much welcome to continue to do so, but now is the time to thank them from the bottom of my heart for being so awesome when they were with us and to wish them all the very best for the future. I’ve met each of these lovely women in real life and hope very much that we will meet again in the future! 

Their contributions, not only in the scrapbook kits they made and the projects they shared with us, but also behind the scenes on the blog, the FB community page or within the team were generous, creative and an asset to us all. 

Please join me in thanking them for their time, energy and creativity!

I’m also sobbing over my keyboard while I’m writing because I have to announce that Master Forger Susanne will also be leaving us at the end of the year. I’ve “known” Susanne for even longer than we’ve been on the CKC team together and as a fellow Scorpio, we have a connection that spans the many thousands of miles between us. She has been making me smile with her inimitable wit since I've known her and she has continued to make me laugh out loud each and every month in the very wonderful “Scribbles from my Scrap Studio” here on the CKC blog in 2017. Oh yes, and she’s a fabulous crafter to boot!

I’d just like to add that the door is always open to them in they ever want to come back to us, and they should feel free to lurk as much as they like! 

So thank you to you ALL and we miss you already.

Which brings me to a happier part of this post:

Design Team Call for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge team in 2018

January to December 2018

We are looking for passionate kitters and paper crafters to join the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Master Forger team to join us in 2018 (January to December 2018).

If you would like to apply to join our team as Master Forger for 2018 you need to do the following and send your application to thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by Monday 11^th December:

• pick an inspiration kit from one of the kits featured in 2017 on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog
• create your own kit using the inspiration
• create a project using one of the two featured challenges from the month chosen
• send us bright and clear photos of your CKC kit, your CKC project and two other projects you have created which showcase your crafting style (these two projects do NOT need to be new NOR do they need to have been created with a CKC kit) to thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com with a short write up about each
• in addition to your kit and project photos, your email should include some information about you, any current design teams you contribute to, your crafting story and where we can find you online (social media, blog, online galleries, YouTube etc).

 As a Master Forger for 2018 you will be expected to:

• create a kit each month based on an inspiration kit and showcase it in a design team blog (or other social media platform) hop
• create a project for at least one CKC challenge each month
• contribute to the Forgery on the Fourth feature by making items for your kit with photos and instructions or by finding links/ideas online to link to in the blog feature
• take clear, bright, good quality photos of your kits and projects and/or videos
• contribute to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Facebook community on a regular basis
• comment on projects which are linked up on our blog or the CKC FB community by our followers
• organize and coordinate the inspiration kit, challenges and blog posts once a year

We will make the new team announcement in December, before Christmas, and the new Master Forgers will be able to showcase their first kit in January 2018!

We are excited to hear from you. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact us on thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com if you have any questions or queries!

Good luck, we can't wait to see your creations!

April 2017 Mini Kit Reveal

Love this month's inspiration kit, but not entirely sure if you can play along this month? 
Maybe you're not sure if you have the time + energy to play along?
Maybe you feel like you haven't got quite enough stash to make a full kit?
Or maybe you're still working with the remnants of last month's kit and only need a small selection to work with? 

Link HERE

Link HERE

Whatever the reasons, we've been busy working on a new feature which we hope will help you out when time, energy or stash are a little bit lacking! In addition to the main kit reveal on the 1st of the month, we'll also be creating our own smaller 'Mini Kit' versions of the inspiration kit, along with some ideas for using them up quickly! 

Mini kits can either be simply smaller versions of the main kit, or they can be specifically aimed at use as card kits, mini album kits, pocket style albums or planners. It's entirely up to you. And you can use the mini kit option whenever you like  ... 

• If you're still loving (and creating with) an older kit, but want to play along this month.
• If you don't have enough stash that suits the new inspiration kit. 
• If you're busy, but still want to feel creative. 
• If you love the 'Main Kit' but could have taken it in a different direction. Use the mini-kit as way to explore those other options. 
• If you need *more* kit. Use the mini-kit as an 'add on'. 
• In fact, use the mini-kit inspiration in any way that you want! 

Here's a look at our mini kits and how we've been using them:

Susan made a page kit and layout. Check her blog to find out how she was inspired by the exclusive Cocoa Daisy exclusive papers and their March page sketch.

LINK

 
JULENE created this mini kit using inspiration from 2 papers

She created a concertina album.

See all 10 pages on her blog.

Stephanie was immediately inspired by the original kit's color palette - specifically the bright yellow, navy and lime green combo. Here's the simple page kit she pulled together using that palette as inspiration:

And here is the layout she made using her mini kit.
For more details + a few tips on using bold (practically neon!) colors on a layout, visit her blog 

Don't forget that there's more ways than ever to join in the fun:

• post on your blog or our Flickr group
• link up on the Monthly Link Up page 
• link up and join in the chat on the NEW Facebook Counterfeit Kit Challenge Community
• don't forget to like our Facebook Counterfeit Kit Challenge page too -  we would LOVE to reach 1,000 Likes!

February 2017 Mini Kit Reveal

Love this month's inspiration kit, but not entirely sure if you can play along this month? 

Maybe you're not sure if you have the time and energy to play along? 

Maybe you feel like you haven't got quite enough stash to make a full kit? 

Or maybe you're still working with the remnants of last month's inspiration kit and only need a small selection to work with? 

Whatever the reasons, we've been busy working on a new feature which we hope will help out when time, energy or stash are a little bit lacking! In addition to the main kit reveal on the 1st of the month, we'll also be creating our own smaller 'Mini Kit' versions of the inspiration kit, along with some ideas for using them up quickly!

Kits can either be simply smaller versions of the main kit, or they can be specifically aimed at use as card kits, mini album kits, pocket style albums or planners. It's entirely up to you. And you can use the mini-kit option whenever you like -

• You're still loving (and creating with) an older kit, but want to play along each month.
• You don't have enough stash that suits the new inspiration kit. 
• You're busy, but still want to feel creative. 
• You love the 'Main Kit' but could have taken it in a different direction. Use the mini-kit as way to explore those other options. 
• You need *more* kit. Use the mini-kit as an 'add on'. 
• In fact, use the mini-kit inspiration in any way that you want! 

Shall we show you what we've been using it for?

Stephanie put together a very simple page kit, inspired by the soft lilac color in the original kit:

Julene

Here's my mini kit.

3 sheets of patterned paper, 3 sheets of cardstock, some small embossed scraps plus a few embellishments.

From this group I made 10 cards.

Susan put together this mini kit:

and used it to make this mini album:

LINK 

As always, if you're inspired to create a kit, make sure to include them in our Monthly Link Up. We want to see it! Or share on Instagram using @counterfeitkitchallenge or #counterfeitkitchallenge

We'll be back with the first challenge of the month on the 12th February. Don't miss it!

The Expectations of Christmas Future by Stephanie

First things first ... 

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE to you all! 

I hope your last day of 2016 is spent doing something you enjoy with people you love. My mom and I have a tradition of scrapbooking together while we watch the festivities live on television, so I am definitely looking forward to that later tonight - assuming, of course, that my 4 month old cooperates and doesn't decide to forgo her evening nap. 

This has been ... a quiet year for me on the scrapbooking front. I prefer the word "quiet" to "unproductive" as it makes me feel less guilty about the pitiful number of layouts I made! I think all of us go through seasons where our inspiration is stifled or our creativity channeled into other, non-paper-crafty projects ... that was 2016 for me.

I only made a handful of layouts this year, but the ones I did make are some of my all-time favorites. 

Looking back, I realize these layouts actually have a lot in common. From a design perspective, they're all relatively simple layouts, on white 12x12 cardstock with lots of "white space" and just a few embellishments (mostly ephemera and enamel dots). I've decided that I quite like this look and plan to stick with it for my 2017 layouts. From a memory keeping perspective, the layouts I made in 2016 were all about things that truly matter to me and my family. With a new baby, I have very limited time to scrapbook so I have to choose which photos and stories are most important to me. Believe it or not, I actually LOVE having to make that choice. I love looking through my album and seeing a collection of carefully curated layouts, each one deeply meaningful and crafted with the utmost care. In 2017, I definitely want to continue documenting only the things that "truly matter" - which is a very good thing, since I don't have time to scrapbook any other way right now.

To summarize my creative goal for 2017: I'm hoping to become a bit of a scrapbooking minimalist.  

I plan to go into more detail about this on my personal blog, Skyline Paperie, but the general gist is that I want to create fewer, but better, layouts. I want to spend more time selecting the photos, creating the design + journaling the memory and less time perusing online scrappy stores and buying new products. I want to take my time creating and enjoy the process of putting a layout together, not rush things so I can upload them to my blog or meet a design team deadline.

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Postscript - 

Hi all, Susanne popping in here to give you all a sneak peek at January’s inspiration kit.  Once revealed I think you will agree that this selection ties into Stephanie’s idea for a simpler, more focused approach in the New Year.  It is something new, just released, and serves as a great entrance to 2017.  It is going to be a great year for counterfeiting – you would agree if you could only see what’s behind that door!

See you in 2017! Yes, that’s tomorrow!

Followers of Christmas Present by Stephanie

Hello everyone! Today I'd like to give one last shout-out to an amazing CKC follower and participant - Binty!! Binty blogs over at The Scrapbooking Products Love Affair and has been sharing her creations with us here for many months. Here's a layout she made back in October ...

Binty's work is always colorful and vibrant, but what inspires me most is how she manages to fit so many photos onto a page. She not only manages to make a significant dent in her stash of supplies each month, but she also gets *many* of her pictures into albums - great work, Binty!

To all of our loyal CKC friends - thank you for following along with us each month! I know I speak for the entire design team when I say that I wish we could feature each and every one of you. We sincerely appreciate all of your comments, challenge submissions and blog hop participation and we're honored that you've made us part of your creative process. We look forward to counterfeiting with you in 2017! Happy New Year! xx

Memories of Christmas Past by Stephanie

Hello Everyone! Stephanie here ... I hope you all still remember me! :) As some of you know, I had a baby this summer so I've been on a "maternity leave" of sorts for the last few months. I am so excited to get back into counterfeiting and scrapbooking in 2017 and I have so many creative goals for the new year. But wait - I'm getting ahead of myself here. Today's post is all about sharing a project that highlights a Christmas from the past. So, without further ado, let's get to it!

I love documenting December, but I rarely have the time (or the patience) to commit to a traditional December Daily-type project. Instead, I make one 12x12 holiday layout each year and put it in my Christmas album. I've been doing this every year since my hubby & I got married and it's a system that works well for me. Above are some of the layouts I've made for years past.

I haven't made my holiday layout for 2016 yet ... (did I mention I have a baby? That's basically my excuse for everything these days, lol) ... but I did have time to pull together supplies. This year, I'll be using some new goodies from Crate Paper's Snow and Cocoa line. 

I've also gone ahead and chosen a sketch to work with. 

I'll be using this sketch from the Scrapbook Nerd website to get my creative juices flowing ... 

I'm sorry I don't have a finished recent layout to share with you today, but I hope you're inspired by my layouts from years past and the fabulous Scrapbook Nerd sketch. See you all tomorrow! xx

April Challenge #3: Ephemera Encapsulated

This month we've been inspired by the shabby-chic and vintage loveliness found in the C'est Magnifique February Kits. and have been having a lot of fun bringing back some 'old school' techniques and styles! For our final challenge of the month, we're heading back to the very basics of scrapbooking and asking you to create a project that 'encapsulates ephemera'.

Challenge #3: Choose a little bit of everyday life to incorporate into a project this month. Use it on a layout, in a mini-book; add it to an off the page project; or simply stick it in a note book with a little bit of journalling - just like when you were a teenager! 

Our Guest Designer, Louise Brooks, created this lovely layout. Visit her blog for more details on what she has 'encapsulated'.

Leslie's pause for a spot of tea provided her bit of ephemera.

LINK

Clair included several little bits of ephemera in this delightful, little mini-album. See more details (and the full mini-album) on her blog.

Margie made a page with some of her son's school artwork:

***** MEMBER BLOG HOP *****

Don't forget that we *LOVE* it when you join in the fun and sign up to be on our member blog hop on 24th! Find out how below!  Go on, you know you want to!

Your project should be something new, using a Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, that you haven't shown before and will only post for the hop. Be inspired by any of the challenges this month or just share something you've created with your kit. Remember, the more the merrier and it never fails to be a lot of fun!

To be a part of our blog hop:

• E-mail us your name & blog address & promise to participate at thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by the 18th April.
• You will receive an e-mail from us by the 20th April with a list of the hop participants.
• You will need to schedule your own blog post showing your project based on a challenge and link to the person after you in the hop.All Blog Hop posts will need to be scheduled to go live on the 24th April at 12:00am Mountain Standard Time (Arizona) but we will help you with the scheduling!

Document December with Stephanie: My Project

Welcome back! Yesterday, I shared some photos of the mini kit that I pulled together for my Document December project and today you get to see that kit in action. As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm doing a traditional December Daily album this year with daily photos and journaling. I decided to use my kit to create 3x4 journaling cards and pocket fillers for that album. 

Here are some of the cards I've created so far. As you can see, most of them are pretty simple with minimal embellishing … just a sticker or two to make them look festive, but plenty of leftover room for storytelling and documenting special holiday moments.

All these cards are eventually going to make their way into my 6x8 December Daily album and if you're interested, you can keep an eye on my personal blog (Skyline Paperie) to see my album progress. That said, even if you're not doing December Daily this year you can still pull inspiration from the pocket card idea. 3x4 cards are incredibly versatile … they can be incorporated into your annual Project Life album, you can add them to 12x12 layouts as embellishments or turn them into happy mail by adhering them to a 4x6 card base. They're not very time consuming to make (so, perfect for the busy scrapper!) and they're a great way to use up scraps.

I hope I've inspired you to create some 3x4 pocket cards of your own, whether for your holiday mini album or just for fun! Wishing you all the happiest of holidays xx

Document December with Stephanie: My Kit

Hello everyone & welcome back to Document December. This year, for the very first time, I've decided to try my hand at December Daily. I'm combining the Ali Edwards method (taking at least one photo each day; documenting everyday moments throughout the month) with the Shimelle method (storytelling … lots and lots of journaling). I'll be putting everything together in a 6x8 holiday binder from Simple Stories, and I've stocked up on coordinating page protectors. 

I admit, most of the products I'm using for my December Daily are new releases - terrible, I know, but I just couldn't resist splurging on some of the lovely new collections that are in stores! If you're interested in seeing all of the new products I'll be using, you can check out the blog post I wrote over on my personal blog. For my counterfeit Document December project, though, I decided to create a mini kit using Christmas and holiday-themed goodies already in my stash. Here's what I pulled together … 

I had two goals in mind while pulling together my mini kit … First, I knew it had to coordinate with the new releases I purchased, since they would all be going into the same album. Second, I wanted it to include lots of smaller embellishments since I will be using this mini kit to create journaling cards and pocket fillers (more on that tomorrow). I ended up with lots of red, white and green and the embellishments include sequins, tiny label tags, stamps and small circular stickers.

Stop by tomorrow to see this kit in action! 

Merry Christmas, Stephanie 

November Challenge #3: December Plannin'

December is coming.  Oh, yes, I said it!  There is no need to put your fingers in your ears and ignore it any longer!

Photo Credit

Because we are awesome and all that, we are giving you a head start on December!  We always take December off to spend some time recharging, being with family and doing personal crafting, so we have a FUN month of pre-planned scheduled daily posts for you full of inspiration! (Feel free to look back at some of our other December themes … they are also full of great ideas!)

Our theme this year is...

So right now.  Right this very minute, we are issuing you the challenge to go ahead and PULL YOUR DECEMBER KIT to document either this December or a past December.  I'm not talking about just one project, but a daily one that will share things that are special to you about the December season.  Throughout December we will be sharing some great projects to inspire you to document "a" December in your life.  Mini albums, Project Life, December Daily, home decor projects … they are all fair game!

We will not have a set kit that we our counterfeiting next month.  We want you to build your own kit based on all that Christmas stuff you have hanging out in your stash.  You know what I am talking about.  That stuff that has been just hanging around because you ONLY use it once a year? (Why are you blushing? LOL)

As always, we are ready today with some thoughts on how you can find inspiration for your kit.  We can't WAIT to see what you make and are excited to for you to get some serious scrapping done in December.

Photo Credit

Inspiration #1:  Why don't you try making a NON CHRISTMAS kit? Pull things that are more neutral, and definitely not Christmas themed, to make a kit that works for you.

For example - why not simplify your thinking and use kraft plus colors like white, red and green for your crafting? And why not use simple shapes like stars, triangles and buttons?  Here's a sampling of cards which caught Susanne's eye on Pinterest.  You could use this as a basis for a card kit, a scrapbook kit, or even gift-wrapping.  More on her blog.

Pinterest credits:  a, b, c, d, e, and f.

Inspiration #2: Need a small project idea? Try a Memorydex. Pink Paislee has some great posts about turning a rolodex into a scrappy project. HERE is one of the posts, you can search their blog for some other examples.

Inspiration #3: If you're an Instagram user, Stephanie suggests buying a 4x4 album like the one below by Teresa Collins. This size is perfect for Instagram pictures, making it easy to print off photos and slip them straight into an album. Add in some decorative pages and journaling and you'll have a perfectly documented holiday season in no time! 

WRMK Teresa Collins 4x4 Gold Heart Album

Inspiration #4: Keep your eyes open for ideas everywhere. Susan found this somewhat non-traditional, but fun, color scheme at her local Hobby Lobby:

Inspiration #5: Start with the photographs. If the aim is to document memories from previous years, find the photographs first. The choose elements for kit based on the colors, patterns or themes to match.

(click image for source)

Inspiration #6: Counterfeit one of ours!

Clair has created a kit from stash, which you could use as the basis for a new Counterfeit Kit. She's showing it off on her blog (there's a sneak peek below) and has some additional inspirational tips and techniques for creating a kit for 'the most wonderful time of the year!'

Margie has also created a kit from her stash, and even jumped off of the deep end and videotaped her December kit:

She still has kit and inspiration photos on her blog that she would love to have you take a look at as well:

http://scrappinmargie.blogspot.com/2015/11/ckcb-challenge-3-document-december-kit.html

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Don't forget that we LOVE it when you join in the fun and sign up to be on our member blog hop on 24th! November is the last member blog hop for the year so you don't want to miss it, do you?!? 

This month, we'd love you to share anything you made with your Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit that you haven't yet shared on your blog. Have you joined in on our challenges? Or maybe just been busy using up your supplies? Whatever it is, we'd love you to join in.

To be a part of our blog hop:

1. E-mail us your name & blog address & promise to participate at counterfeitkitchallenge@gmail.com BY THE 20th 
2. You will receive an e-mail from us by the 22nd with a list of the hop participants.