Krafty Travel Kit and Mini Album − Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop

Welcome to my part of the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Members' Blog Hop!

If you're already following the Blog Hop, you have probably come here from Tina's blog. If you want to start from the beginning or got lost along the way, head back to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog to find the full hop order!

A couple of months ago in June, I had the honour to be a Guest Designer at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. It was so much fun to put together my own kit, and even more fun was to have my kit then handy to create projects for the whole month. The inspiration kit was the May 2016 Kit from Hip Kit Club, bright and cheerful, and I called my kit Hip State of Mind.

Here you can see all the projects I made with the June kit, and here is the direct link to the one time I had joined their challenge with my own kit before that.

This time, the monthly inspiration kit was chosen by Lisa Hausmann, who as a European member of the CKC Design Team wanted to pick a kit from a European club. Lisa's choice was the March 2016 kit from Papierwerkstatt. You can also take a look on the kit on Lisa's Pinterest board here!

Let's take a look at the Papierwerkstatt kit first!







I was particularly inspired by the kraft and neutral tones of the kit, and also the mini book idea, which you'll see in my project further down! For contrast, there is also one black paper with a flower pattern.

And here's my Counterfeit... named the Krafty Travel Kit!



With a close-up...



Here are the papers and cardstock I chose!

I was not completely happy at first to replace the black paper with these two Basic Grey flower ones with brown and purple backgrounds, but they had to do, since I simply didn't have any with black backgrounds and wanted to have some dark ones with flowers anyway. We'll see if they work for this kit or not.



From left to right: Glitz − Sunshine in my Soul 6x6 pad
Pre-gessoed and stenciled kraft cardstock
Textured light yellow paper
Prima − Just Us/Long Embrace
Basic Grey − Jovial/Nordic
4 heures 37 − 1658 Eiffel Avenue
Bazzill Basics − straw cardstock
Non-scrapbook item: a piece of wallpaper from our Red Cross thrift store
Almond and kraft cardstock also probably from Bazzill Basics
4 heures 37 − Chemin des 3 flocons
Bazzill Basics − kraft with gold foiled stars
Basic Grey − Mellow/Cultured
Basic Grey − Eva/Noble



And then the embellishments, Project Life supplies and alphabet:



Tiger aka Flying Tiger Copenhagen − cork and gold/white striped paper straws
Kaiser Scrapbook − Golden Rhinestones
8x8 Papers on top left and chipboard are of unknown brand.
PL journaling cards are from 4 heures 37, Sodalicious, and... can't remember the third one.
Chipboard alpha, unknown, cork alpha from American Crafts/Dear Lizzy, and the travel themed alpha from Papermania/All Aborad.

Some more close-ups:





I knew I wanted to join the Challenge 2 of the month in particular, where the theme is Outside the Stash: Incorporate some non-scrapbook stash into your project. I had so many possible items that they deserved to be an add-on kit of their own!



And then to my challenge project!



A Mini Album from Outside the Stash − made from toilet paper rolls!



This was a quick and simple project with memories and ideas from a craftivism workshop that I participated in last weekend. The good thing with a paper roll album is that the rolls automatically form pockets where it's easy to add hidden journaling, so I can do that later!

















Thank you so much for browsing through this super long post! To continue the blog hop, you should hop over to Jemma, the last person in the hop today! For the full hop list, check the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog here.

Thanks for looking! I'd love to see you comment to let me know you were here and happy hopping!

Old is New Again − Counterfeit Kit June Challenge 3

Hi there,

and welcome to June Challenge #3 at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge! The prompt is
"Old is New Again: Showcase the oldest item in your kit in a new & fresh way!"

My oldest items were the floral papers from The Sweet Blossom Stack by Die Cuts with a View: one 12x12 paper and a 12x12 that has tags in different sizes.



I picked three other papers in shades of aqua/mint green/teal. I cut the solid mint green cardstock in half to make a 6x6 card.



This was the perfect moment to open the Studio Calico wood veneer package I got recently...



I was once again crafting at night so I didn't get to take process pictures, I'm afraid. But here's the finished card!



In addition to the papers and wood veneer, I used stamping inks, 7 Dots Studio Alpha Stickers, Geometric Neon Washi tape from Papermania Docrafts Capsule collection and Liquid Pearls glue paint in Mint Green.

Although I didn't have any of their papers this time, just the alphabet, I was also inspired by the Gardening challenge at the 7 Dots Studio blog!



Another challenge theme that inspired me was Berries at Studio Leto.



I'm really happy with how the fuzzy cut painterly flower and branch look in the card! The paper was restless to use as such, and that's probably why I hadn't used it. It definitely needed a new and fresh look from this challenge!



For those of you who aren't familiar with the The Counterfeit Kit Challenge, it's is all about putting together our own kits from what we have, inspired by actual kit club kits. I'm happy to be their Guest Designer this month and got to Counterfeit the May kit from Hip Kit Club. If you want to see what else I included in my kit, it's here!



Thank you so much to Leslie and the team at Counterfeit Kit Challenge for inviting me as the June 2016 Guest Designer! It has been a lot of fun and I continue to be inspired by the kit I created. A ready made kit is also very easy to take with me when I spend some summer weeks in the countryside, so that's an extra plus side!



Thank you for coming and hope to see you again soon!

Hellos and Bows − Forgeries on the Fourth for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge

Hi again!

I am honoured to be Guest Designing for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge this month, and at CKC, the Fourth of each month is for Forgeries!

In other words, we look for DIY solutions to replace some of the items included in the original inspiration kit. This month, it is the May Kit from Hip Kit Club. The image is from their website and it is their Embellishment Kit, more precisely.



And here's what I made!



I had just learned an easy way to make a tiny bow, so I decided to make paper clips with bows! I learned it from a Finnish crafting friend/teacher/shopkeeper Mira Ekonen, whose tutorial can be found here! There are images, but if you need guidelines in your own language, just Google "fork bow" and plenty of tutorials will come up.

I didn't have ribbons in matching solid colours, but I'm really delighted with these polka dot organza ones that I found.





Other items that I love in the Hip Kit Club Embellishment Kit are the handwritten-looking word stickers and chipboards. I had just bought the Sizzix die set called Warm Winter Wishes, where one of the dies is the word Hello.



I made the words into stickers, backing my paper scraps with 50 mm wide double sided tape before I die cut it. Rather than in craft stores, in Finland and Sweden you can find a wide tape like this in Biltema, a car supplies store of all places! It is also very economical and good quality.

Thank you for coming, and don't forget to pop into the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog to see what handmade embellishments or other items the regular DT members did!

Hip State of Mind: Guest Designing for Counterfeit Kit Challenge

Hello everyone, and happy June! My exciting news today is that I've been invited to Guest Design for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge!

At the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, the idea is to be inspired of a given kit from existing kit clubs, and put together a Counterfeit version from your own stash. It’ll help you see your products in a new light and give new ideas for using them. Before this, I've joined the Counterfeit Kit Challenge once last year, with a very different kit.

Can anyone guess which was our inspiration kit this month?



Here you go! It is the May 2016 Kit from Hip Kit Club. (photos by Hip Kit Club)

May 2016 Main Kit from Hip Kit Club



The May 2016 Kit from Hip Kit Club is a fun mix of colours, but also a cool contrast of graphic black, white and navy. Looking at the papers I had in my stash, I decided to go a bit more in the black and white direction. You'll see my picks soon, but first...

May 2016 Paper Kit from Hip Kit Club!



The kit has several fun patterns, like triangles, irregular dots and doodled five point stars. It also has some painterly papers, flowers and circles that again make a fun contrast.

Inspired by these features, I started building my Counterfeit Kit. But let's look at all the Hip Kit Club add-ons first:

May 2016 Project Life Kit from Hip Kit Club



May 2016 Embellishment Kit from Hip Kit Club



And last but not least, May 2016 Cardstock Kit from Hip Kit Club



Now let's take closer look at my kit, starting from papers in the photo below. From top left:

Canvas Corp – Yellow & White Big Stripe
My Mind's Eye − Love Me Do − Heart of the Matter
Studio Light − Flower Delight
Die Cuts with a View − The Sweet Blossom Stack − painterly floral paper
Die Cuts with a View − The Sweet Blossom Stack − painterly striped paper
Tiger − pink paper with black doodles
Tiger − black paper with white dots



Bottom row:

unknown – black with white stripes
Die Cuts with a View − The Sweet Blossom Stack − white polka dot on black canvas-looking paper
We R Memory Keepers − It Factor − Hello Bobby
Dear Lizzy − Documentary − Mondays
Sodalicious − Cozy Moments − Time for a Cup Of

And here below, from left:

Kaisercraft − Bow & Arrow − Sunrise
unknown − aqua check pattern
unknown − teal with polka dots
unknown − sea green/white diagonal stripes
unknown − pink triangle pattern
unknown − four 6x6 papers with black, white and grey patterns



A general view of the embellishments and Project Life supplies I found to go in my kit:

Here are the embellishments for a closer look! From top left,

Maya Road − Rag Tag Animals, Mini Sheer Set
Queen & Co – Twinkle Goosebumps
unknown − metal frames
Studio Calico – Wood Veneer



Middle: I found plenty of washi tapes in suitable colours and patterns.

Papermania Docrafts − Capsule − Geometric Neon Washi tapes
unknown − white with blue ledger
unknown − white with blue stripes
MT Washi tape − sea green/white stripe
Papermania Docrafts − Capsule − Spots & Stripes Brights washi, dark blue with dots
MT Washi tape − narrow yellow with text
MT Washi tape − traditional Japanese Samekomon aka Wavy Dots on dark blue
Papermania Docrafts − Capsule − Geometric Neon Washi tapes re-shown out of their box
unknown − pink with stripes

Always good to add a mixed media element: American Crafts − Pop! Microbeads − Lipgloss

And bottom row:

Papermania Docrafts − Neon Pink Adhesive Gems
Papermania Docrafts − Neon Yellow Adhesive Gems
Doodlebug Design − Sprinkles, Lilac Assortment
Navy blue sequins
American Crafts − Thickers Delight −Glitter Letter Stickers
American Crafts − Thickers Playroom − Felt Letter Stickers

In Finland we have this cool tape store called Teippitarha (Tape Garden), that also delivers internationally. Check it out if you are a fan of washi tape − they have a huge selection of tapes, also the MT brand which is the original Japanese one.

(*Note: this is not sponsored advertising, apart from a postage-free next order, having mentioned the store in my blog.)

Then let's check out my Project Life add-on.



Die Cuts with a View − The Sweet Blossom Stack − 12x12 of journaling cards
Kaisercraft − Shine Bright − Mango, 12x12 of journaling cards
large black paper clips
Papermania Docrafts − Capsule − Spots & Stripes Brights, leftover journaling tags
We R Memory Keepers − It Factor − 6x6 paper pad
13arts − leftover words and arrows for fuzzy cutting
Sodalicious − Whoo Lives Here − DIY journaling cards from leftovers
Sodalicious − Cozy Moments − So Delicious Notes

And last but not least, my cardstock choices! In addition to the solid cardstock, I have these two papers from 7 Dots Studio. They're previously lightly gessoed and I may or may not use them in one of the May Challenges at Counterfeit Kit.

7 Dots Studio − Love is in the Air − Whisper of the Tree
7 Dots Studio − Domestic Goddess − Overused Tablecloth

Yes, there will be more to look at in the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog! In addition to the challenge of building your own kit, there are also weekly challenges. Before the first of those, do come back on the 4th for our Forgeries on the Fourth Blog Hop, where the DT presents DIY embellishments to add to our kits!

And to see the rest of today's Counterfeit Kit Reveal Blog Hop, here's the list of the regular Design Team members!

Julene
Kelly
Lesley
Leslie
Lisa
Lynnette
Margie
Susan
Susanne
Jemma

Thank you for coming and I hope to see you soon again!

Edit: Blog hop list updated.

My Reveal for Counterfeit Kit Challenge DT Call!

Hi! In today's post I'm doing something I haven't done before, and that is making up a kit for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge! Have you heard of this fun challenge? The idea is to be inspired by a given kit from existing kit clubs, and put together a Counterfeit version from your own stash.



Then there are three challenges every month that you can join, using the kits you have made. My post today has a different purpose, though: I'm applying for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge DT and in this post I present my kit, together with a challenge for how to use those papers!

The kit I was given to forge is Basic Grey's Second City by Kelly Purkey. It's a mostly paper kit, so I was given a list a some other items to include in my kit. But let’s see the papers first!



I was lucky to get this kit to counterfeit, I can tell you! Basic Grey was the first paper brand that I found and loved. I have lots of their old papers left, even if I've also used them faithfully. However, as I've tried to cut down my paper shopping the past year or two, the colour palettes of my old stash look very outdated. I can find a lot that fits, but getting a consistent look with such a burst of colours and patterns is a challenge.

Therefore I gave myself a sligthly higher budget than I normally would: approximately 20 €/22 USD. That allowed me to buy a few new papers and a couple of alphabet sheets!

I had just one of the Second City papers from before, called Ashland, and decided to start from there!



For more inspiration, I googled the collection name and found that Second City is a nickname for Chicago from the time when it was the second largest city of the USA. I’ve never been there, but an imaginary big city is definitely the inspiration for my kit as well.

Think vintage industrial, a town or city a bit grungy and abandoned in places, but also friendly and alive with colourful streetlife! The combination and contrast of dark and light, bold and bright is what defines my kit.

And drumroll, here is my kit:



The papers in my collection are:

First row, left to right: Cardstock in orange, purple, teal and bright sunflower yellow and a bright coloured mosaic patterned paper, manufacturer unknown.

Second row are all Basic Grey papers, left to right: Out of Print/Reprint, Sweet Threads/Summer Wedges, Nordic Holiday/Wedge and Color Me Silly/Celebrate.

Third row: American Crafts: Lucky Charm (hearts, first on the left and arrows, last on the right) and Color Conspiracy: Everyday (in the middle).

Fourth row: Chinese Lantern patterned double sided paper in Peach/Grey, manufacturer unknown, American Crafts: Summer (cameras) and Sodalicious: Journey/I Love My Bike and Time for a Cup of/Cozy Moments.

The three first BG papers are double sided. The backsides are here, from left to right: Nordic Holiday/Wedge, Out of Print/Reprint and Sweet Threads/Summer Wedges, together with a doily from the Basic Grey Eerie line, which takes takes us to a spider inhabited building at night, or maybe through old wrought iron gates or bridges!



Then again, the happy heart, arrow and lantern patterns tell the story of street festivals, with banners and lights, while the two black and white Sodalicious papers portray a bike-friendly city with lots of nice cafés to sit down at and get some artsy inspiration.



The bold colours of the cardstock are good for contrast, as they are in the original kit.

In addition to the papers...

1. Paper Choice: Second City from Basic Grey

My kit was to include the following:

2. Tools: Glitter. My Swinging Skyline kit has four colours of Stickles glitter glue: Turquoise, Icicle, Pineapple Crush and Gunmetal, and glittery stickers called Twinkle Goosebumps.

3. Embellishments: Border strips. A couple of my papers suited well for cutting border strips, the American Crafts ones with the cameras and the colourful arrows. Washi tapes make great borders, too, so I picked a few that went along with the rest of the kit.

The yellow Sodalicious alpha look like a border in its own, and that gave me the idea to make the layout title look like a border! You'll see that in a minute...



4. Materials: Vellum. Yellow, patterned yellow, turquoise and lavender vellum – see how I used these in an embellishment down below!

5. Tiny bits: Brads (together with my Glitter selection)



6. More Embellishments: Layered embellishments

I made a large flower that combines many of my elements: it has vellum, brads and is made in layers. I fuzzy cut it from the BG Out of Print paper and added a second layer of petals cut from vellum.



I also altered a frame with layers of alcohol inks and stamping. Here it's pictured together with a few stamps I've picked for my kit. The grey rubber ones are from 3rd Eye and the acrylic insta-heart one came with the Craft Stamper magazine.



7. Fun extras: Pocket page cards. The coffee themed Sodalicious paper, Time for a Cup of/Cozy Moments, would look great as pocket page cards, I knew it immediately! I cut half of it into 3x4 pocket cards right away. You can see one of them hiding in my layout!

I run out of time before I could cut more, but I think many of these papers will look nice as pocket cards. The backsides of the Sodalicious papers and the Color Conspiracy one are neutral enough to be also used for writing the journaling on.

And now to my challenge.

I love to buy papers with bold prints and patterns, but find them too often left in my stash when their more neutral companions have already gotten into use. Anyone else have the same problem? Good news! There’s a way to use up these.

And that’s the challenge I’m giving today.



You can use gesso, paints, modeling paste, add texture by glueing cheese fabric or napkins onto the paper, or doodle, stamp, collage, or any way you like! The idea is to turn a loud background paper into more neutral and more usable. The fun pattern will not be lost but it’ll be just the first layer instead of a ready-to-use (but dominating) background.

You can probably tell why I would never have used these papers as such, let alone combine these two!



It is a good idea to start with white.



I used acrylic gesso here. You can see that where the layer is a light one, I’ve mixed gesso and water. In other parts, I’ve put a thicker layer of the gesso and used a stencil to make another layer of patterns.



My new stencil from Tando Creative was perfect with these papers, repeating the mosaic pattern!



My layout is beginning to get shape! After I got the background this far, the next things I did were the choice of photo and placing the large flower embellishment.



I added some paint to highlight the corners of the layout, and drops of white acrylic ink and dark grey mist here and there.

Then I matted the photo with two papers, both from BG – Nordic Holiday and the backside of Out of Print. Next thing I did was add the borders and make the title.

The Sodalicious pocket card and the altered photo frame went in their places… Dots of Stickles, some brads and stamping, and there you are, my challenge layout!



Taking part in this DT call was a lot of fun and I can tell I'd love to join the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Team. I sure look forward to hearing from you over there!

And those of you who have never had a look at the CKC blog, I really recommend it, those talented ladies are sharing some great ideas for using up your old stash!