Capricieux Card

While the creative muse was buzzing, I put together a quick card using my Counterfeit Kit from Nancy along with a new Darcie's stamp set I bought while at Camp at the Island in San Jose. It's called Three Little Birds and is just too cute for words. Also used one of the new stamps from Simon Says Stamp. 

Camp Scrap

Well, I finally got busy with May Flaum's Camp Scrap. On the very first day of camp, she challenged us to use a technique she calls Confetti Burst. As always, I am multi-tasking by using this technique on a sketch by Becky Fleck's Page Maps for June and finally breaking into my Capricieux Counterfeit Kit by Squirrely Nancy. I couldn't resist using photos from my IRL visit with May at Scrapbook Island in San Jose along with quite a group of my West Coast Scrap friends.

In addition to the Confetti Burst, which is entirely out of my comfort zone, I also outlined my title letters with a black pen which is a little tip I learned from May. Not a big deal but it does add a bit of an extra touch.

Thanks for looking. 

Capricieux

Nancy’s Counterfeit kit for me this month is indeed whimsical. Featuring a lovely spread of green patterned papers, some delicious doily rub-ons from Hambly, a bagful of embellishments and goodies and a fabulous Dear Lizzy stamp set including a camera image. I can’t wait to get started on some cards and layouts using this kit. As I have reported over the past several months, Nancy and I exchange monthly Counterfeit Kits based upon inspiration from the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. This month they threw us a curve, challenging us to create a kit based upon a video called Maxing Out a Set of Supplies from Glitter Girl Shimelle Lane over at Two Peas. It is an exciting way to swap from our stash, encouraging us to dig into the depths and find things we forgot we ever bought. Often something will be languishing in my stash and Nancy can look at it with a new set of eyes and make something wonderful. It’s a great way to play, long distance. Here are a couple of photos to give you an idea of what I’m talking about. If you’d like to see Fleurs d’ete, the kit I sent to Nancy, take a spin over to her blog.

Spring Fling

Nancy and I were waylaid in March due to Club Scrap PSL and didn't really get to play with our March Counterfeit Kits. We decided to skip May and make an effort to get caught up before the June reveal takes place this week. Here's a link to my March kit.

This card was created using some of the supplies provided in that Counterfeit kit. This card was also created for the June card sketch challenge over at PaperArtistsOnline. Multi-tasking as usual. Thanks for looking.

Counterfeit Kit - April

Bliss is the name of Nancy's kit for me this month and I am blissful that I finally got SOMETHING made with it. This has not been a crafty month for me and I am crunched for time at the end of the month so these offerings may be all I accomplish. First is a card using bits and pieces of the patterned paper, mostly from Pink Paislee. The rubber stamp is a loaner from Miss Nancy. I did use a base of coral Cruisin' cardstock from Club Scrap to make the card as I wasn't ready to cut into one of my 12x12's. Created based upon a sketch from My Favorite Things suggested by Counterfeit Kit Challenge. Here's a link.

I worked backwards this time and made the layout with the scraps. HA HA HA

Dug through a shoebox of old photos to find some random ones with appropriate colors. As it turned out, once I finished the layout, I discovered the photos on each side of the layout were from totally different years. For those of you who know me well, THAT is not how I scrapbook. But I can live with it this time. So random photos and random dates. These pics were taken on various occasions when I "fend the night" with Mallory when she was a youngster. We had fun snuggling together. And playing with our dogs. 

This style layout is so far out of my comfort zone. Combined with the randomness of the photos, I feel free as a bird. Not saying I will continue to scrap in this way but it's another layout completed for the books and that makes me happy. The sketch was suggested by the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog here.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge – April

As Nancy explained on her blog, we knew we were going to see each other this month so we waited to exchange our kits in person. What fun! Nancy called her kit Bliss and it’s blissfully full of delicious colors and textures. The colors are fabulous. She even included some purple for me. And I love the lace paper. Don’t have any other that in my stash. The papers are so Spring-y and I love the extra bicycle embellishments. Great fibers and birdie die cuts. There are even some Distress Ink re-inkers. Now all I have to do is get busy creating some layouts and cards. Photos from our recent hike on Table Mountain should work quite well. Thanks so much, Nancy, I am so happy you suggested we play this little game each month. Hopefully, we’ll get back on track creating with them. We were sidetracked a little by PSL.

In case you are interested in our inspiration kit from Counterfeit Kit Challenge, here’s the link. It’s a kit club from Spain so we were doubly challenged by not being able to read much of the accompanying text.

Spring Fling Counterfeit Kit

This month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge inspiration kit comes to us from Birds of a Feather Kit Company. My kit-swapping partner Nancy sent me an adorable kit called Spring Fling, pictured here, with lots of blues and yellows and flowers and bird tags and all sorts of delectable goodies. Can't wait to get busy on it. I will have have lots of fun with chevrons and hexagons and kite shapes which seem to be all the rage this season. And I can't wait to play with that OWL paper, using some owl shapes (which are also all the rage).

This combination of sending a Counterfeit Kit to each other and Use.Your.Stash is really making me a happy scrapper. And providing all sorts of crafty inspiration. Not to mention clearing out some of my stash. Well, not really because more comes back in. But it feels good to be using stuff.

Don't forget to visit Nancy's blog to see her Counterfeit Kit.

Smitten Cards from PageMaps Sketches

So I'm still working on the scraps from my Counterfeit Kit and have many more cards and layouts to complete but I did finish these two cards today. Both were taken from the Page Maps March Card Sketches which I love. I don't have the dies they used on their samples but I did have some similar shapes to substitute. That's what the Counterfeit Kit is all about. Making use of your stash. I just love these cards. And they are so different from my usual style. If you can't tell, I am definitely hooked on the Counterfeit way. Thanks for looking.

Another Smitten Counterfeit Layout

Another "naked" layout. As I said, this seems to be the best method of scrapping for me lately. This Counterfeit Kit system is allowing me to free myself to use "everything in the box" and simply create something from what is in front of me rather than scrambling all over my room to find that exact perfect embellishment or piece of paper, etc. I just dive into the box and make what I can from the contents. I should have learned this lesson LONG ago with my Club Scrap kits.

Anyway, this layout was based upon a sketch recommended by Counterfeit Kit Challenge. The source is Creative Scrappers. This layout goes against my grain as I very very rarely make a one page layout. I actually did not in this case. There's another half of layout on my table waiting to be joined for eternity with this half. It is actually identical to this half. One will probably be turned on it's side in the final iteration. Anyway, it was created with more of my "Smitten" kit from Nancy. Loving it.

Smitten Counterfeit Kit Layout

I was starting to panic because I hadn't yet created anything with my beautiful Counterfeit Kit "Smitten" from Nancy. The new kit will be revealed on Monday so I thought it was high time I dig into that box of goodness and create. This layout was made with a challenge in mind from PaperArtistsOnline. It was their February Scrapbook Layout Sketch challenge. The sketch appears to be one from PageMaps. In any case, I missed the deadline but like the sketch so much, I went ahead and used it. Now that it is made, I will be able to percolate some ideas for which photos to use on it. It seems this is the only way I can scrapbook these days. Create the layout and THEN find the photos. Stay tuned for more cute stuff from this kit.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge – Smitten

I received my Counterfeit Kit from Nancy today and can’t wait to dig in. Counterfeit Kit Club gave us a choice of two kits. Nancy and I chose the “You and Me” kit from Scrapbook Circle to counterfeit. Nancy’s kit was full of wonderful pinks and reds with a little kraft and lacy things and tags and fibers and felt flowers and, oh, so many things I can’t list them all. But I can’t wait to get started creating with these precious papers and embellishments. Funny thing, without discussing it, we both included similar items in our kits so I guess great minds do work alike. Nancy sent me some embossed cardstock using a folder I don’t have. Go figure. That was a small miracle, considering the stash of embossing folders taking over my craft room.  So without further ado, here is the photo of the kit Nancy put together for me. Stay tuned for some cards and layouts using this adorable kit.

More Counterfeit Scraps

I couldn’t stop. I challenged myself to make a few more cards from the scraps on my table. This is the way to go. This way, I don’t have anything to file back into the stash. Well, a little. You know I couldn’t use it all. But here are two more cards from the Coffee and Cream Counterfeit Kit from Young Nancy over at Squirrely Art.

The cupcake card is the result of a stamp Nancy included in my kit. I love it. So cute. And here is me, stepping out of my Comfort Zone. I rarely, if ever, stamp on patterned paper. I LOVE it. You will be seeing this technique from me again. Especially with that darling cupcake. How can you miss with a cupcake? I think I’ll go make one right this minute. Thanks for looking.
The stamp on the left is from Glitz Design Afternoon Muse and the cupcake on the right is from Cocoa Daisy. The sentiment stamp is Ticketed by Katie Pertiet from Autumn Leaves. Love that cupcake, Ms. Nancy!!!

Coffee and Cream Counterfeit Results

A few weeks ago, I posted the Counterfeit Kit sent to me by my Squirrely friend Nancy. You can see it here. And a day later, I posted the “photo-less” layouts I created from that kit. You can check them out here. I have finally matched up photos to those layouts and finished embellishing them. I am very please with them. Certainly out of my usual comfort zone for scrappin’. I don’t usually use patterned papers like these. Most of my layouts are created with Club Scrap materials. But I am really liking these and I hope they will boost me to continue, using up the stash I have amassed over the past ten scrappin’ years.

These are photos from a December visit to the Napa Valley with my Hubby and Mom. I talked DH into a short detour to see the Grape Crusher on the hill. The flowers were made with my Spellbinders Peony nesties. I added a few sticker letters from my stash. Otherwise, everything else was in the kit provided by Nancy.

This second layout covers a trip to Mission Santa Clara on the campus of the University of Santa Clara. This was my 21st and final mission to visit in the great state of California. I have now photographed all of them. Thus, Mission Accomplished. This layout, again, was completed solely with materials provided by Nancy with the exception of the Sticker Studio Alpha Tags which have been in my stash for at least ten years. Hooray. USE YOUR STASH!!! Most edges in both layouts were inked with Tim Holtz Distress Ink. Both sketches are from the Big Picture Class called Double Take which Nancy and I took together in September/October of 2011. This has been a wonderful experience. Both using materials that I probably would not have chosen as well as sketches which were assigned to me. I have created some layouts that are totally different from my usual presentation. Nice to switch it up a bit, now and then. Thanks for looking. We can’t wait for the reveal of the February kit at Counterfeit Kit blog so we can start the process again.

January Counterfeit Kit – Coffee and Cream

As reported on my friend Nancy’s blog, we have decided to play along with the Counterfeit Kit Club Challenge each month this year. The innovational idea behind this challenge is to create a “Counterfeit Kit” from your own stash thereby using the supplies you already own rather than buying new stuff for your ever-growing, never-dwindling stash. They choose a kit from a popular kit club (such as our beloved Club Scrap) and challenge you to create a "counterfeit kit", using just the supplies you already own.
Nancy and I chose to put own spin on it by preparing a kit for each other and challenging the other to create layouts and cards with that kit. I received my great kit Coffee and Cream in the mail yesterday and photographed it today. It is a box of delicious textures and goodies, including solid color cardstock, patterned papers from Bella Blvd, NRN Designs, K&Co. cardstock stickers, chipboard letters, some die cut bracket shapes and stamped images, along with a Cocoa Daisy cupcake stamp and a chock full baggie of fibers, buttons and flowers, etc. She also included some rubber stamps from Operation Write Home which finally leaves me with no excuse to not get busy on making cards for our heroes away from home.
Our kits were based upon an “inspiration kit” from Cocoa Daisy called Sunshine and Snowflakes. We agreed to focus on the color scheme in preparing our kits. In addition to the kits, CKC also provides other inspiration to encourage using our stash, including a sketch suggestion. I hope to try to utilize that sketch, as well as the ones I am still working on from the Big Picture class called Double Take with Nic Howard and May Flaum.
What a great way to encourage one another to Use Your Stash and help a friend create something that might be a little out of her comfort zone. As Nancy’s DH says, we are Cutting Edge.