Counterfeit Kit Challenge #1

November 12, 2022

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Counterfeit Kit Challenge #1

Welcome back! It’s time for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge #1 for November. The theme for this challenge was “Life Right Now” using the Pinkfresh Studio embellishment pack from the inspiration kit.

Be sure to visit their blog (link above) for lots of ideas and approaches for how to make a kit from your stash & then play along with their challenges to see how everyone uses their supplies.

There are so many ways to interpret this challenge – you could do a “currently” page about what you are reading or watching, current projects you are working on or what your hobbies look like right now.

Then there is the literal what is happening in your life, maybe at work, school or church. A group you are part of, like a book club or exercise class. Maybe you are somewhere that Fall is in full swing and you could do a page about the changing of the seasons.

You could also interpret that as a season of life you are in, such as a new parent or empty nester.

I decided to do a two-page layout documenting our “Life Right Now” fostering a puppy. It has been quite a while since we’ve had a puppy and we couldn’t have asked for a better foster.

We are volunteers with a great rescue group called Texas Husky Rescue. Their motto is #savemorehuskies. We do some behind the scenes work for them but haven’t fostered since we “failed” with our dog Haley.

A few weeks ago; however, a plea came in for 5 puppies that the rescue couldn’t take unless they had dedicated fosters. So we ended up transporting 3 puppies for a 2 hour car ride! That was an experience for sure.

Two of the puppies went to other foster homes & we kept one. All of them were very laid back for puppies and especially husky puppies. We didn’t have him long though. After just about a month, he found his forever home.

I was very excited to dig into my kit “Everyday” for the counterfeit kit challenge #1 & use some of the papers and die cuts. I was able to use two 12×12 patterned papers for the background and a couple of the cardstock pieces for the layers and triangles.

I also used lots of cute puppy pics in various sizes. I like using a few square photos mixed in with the regular 4×6 size.

I did pull some pet embellishments from my stash that were not part of the original kit; however, I also used several of the circle die cut pieces and both of the little notebook journal cards.

I also used the “This is the Life” 4×4 card that I have had for YEARS from an old Simple Stories collection.

I am really pleased with how this layout came out & am looking forward to using up some more of this kit soon.

If you participate in the Counterfeit Kit Challenge #1, be sure to leave a comment or a picture of what your “Life Right Now” looks like.

Be sure to check back in soon!

Machelle #1

November 1, 2022

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November 2022 Counterfeit Kit

Hey there! I am excited to be the Guest Designer once again for the November 2022 Counterfeit Kit Challenge. I always enjoy playing along with their challenge to use your stash.

This month the kit was picked by Lisa Hausmann & this is what she had to say about the inspiration kit:

“I wanted to find a different kit – something that can take us in different direction depending on where we are and how we feel about this time of year – you know that this is my FAVOURITE time of year and I think it has the right hint of autumn for me!”

Here is the kit that Lisa chose:

Scrapbook Werkstatt – October 2022 – Herbstzauber

It is a bright, colorful kit with cut apart sheets, lots of die cuts and gold letter stickers. It also has a cozy feel with sentiments about self-care, road trips & life right now.

Color is always the first thing that catches my eye, so I pulled some colors from one of the cut apart sheets & then added in a LOT of die cuts, some stickers, enamel dots and flowers. I even had a sheet of gold letter stickers.

So here is my version of the kit:

November 2022 Counterfeit Kit: “Everyday”

Now lets break it down a little so you can really see the details.

For the papers, I tried to pull some of the colors but also the patterns. There was a lot of variety in the inspiration kit. There are some circles, stripes and a ledger print. I have added some solid scraps and a flower cut apart as well.

Next are the stickers. I had a couple of partially used sticker sheets with labels, tags and coupons. There are sentiments for family, travel and life in general. Also included are the gold letter stickers.

Now let’s look at some of the die cuts. I admit I went a little overboard here, but I have SO many of these type embellishments in my stash. There were quite a few in the inspiration kit, too.

There are some 3×4 cards, fun sentiments, circles, gold accents and even a couple of little notebook paper journaling cards.

And, last but not least, we have a few more die cuts, paper flowers & enamel dots.

I hope that this inspires you to make a kit of your own and gives you ideas about different starting points. It can be color, type of supplies or even just the general feeling of the kit.

You can leave a comment or send me a message if you have any questions. Be sure to visit the rest of the designers to see out how they interpreted this month’s inspiration.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge – http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/
Guest Designer – Machelle Willing (that’s me!) – https://www.smalltownscrap.com/blog/
Cindy – https://cindyscreations-cinmfoster.blogspot.com
Julene – http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com
Laura – https://www.instagram.com/mrsp_scrapsandtea/
Leslie – http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com
Lisa – http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com
Tara – https://kryptonite72-rambles.blogspot.com
Tina – http://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com
Anna – https://youtube.com/c/piececraftlove

Come back soon for some more scrappy news!

Machelle

October 1, 2021

12 comments

Counterfeit Kit Challenge October 2021

Welcome to October’s Counterfeit Kit Challenge Reveal & Blog Hop! I always look forward to the first of the month because it means a new Counterfeit Kit Challenge and lots of great inspiration from the Master Forgers. I am super excited to be the Guest Designer for this month.

You should have arrived from http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/. There is also a complete list of the Blog Hop on their website as well as at the bottom of this page.

Master Forger Tracey picked a fun, bright & colorful kit from Hip Kit Club – May, 2021. In her words she choose this kit because “it is full of beautiful bright spring colours. There are tags, labels, stickers and fun ephemera die cuts that are all singing out to be forged and scrapped. What really called my name in this kit is the American Craft Paper “Let’s Go” from the Buenos Dias collection, the fun colourful world map has me wanting to reach for some of my many travel photos, it made picking this kit very, very easy.”

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Inspiration Kit

Here are some pictures of May, 2021, Hip Kit Club’s main kit, papers, cardstock & embellishments.

Scrapbook Kit Club - Hip Kit Club for May, 2021

As I was looking at the inspiration kit, several themes jumped out; home, flowers, labels, tags, hearts, banners & words about nature, books, comfort & moments. The bold striped paper on the right of the main kit is what first drew me in & so that’s where I started.

Here is my version of this month’s Counterfeit Kit Challenge: “Life’s Colorful Moments.”

Even though it is very bright, I think it also has a cozy home sort of feel to it. What do you think?

As you can see, it is quite a large kit with patterned papers, cardstock, cut apart sheets, stickers, die cuts, washi strips, enamel dots, journal cards, tags & labels. Let’s break it down so you can get a closer look at each category.

Here are the patterned papers:

While it’s not quite as bold as the striped paper in the inspiration kit, I started with the chevron paper on top because it has a lot of the same colors. This came out of a Heidi Swapp paper pad called “Serendipity” from 2013. I have a lot of really old papers – anybody else?

Several of the other papers came from the same pad, including the bright cut apart sheet. I also pulled in several pink papers & a pretty pink floral. The pink, yellow & green striped paper is actually a self-stick fabric sheet.

The cardstock:

It’s hard to tell in the picture, but I have a dark teal & light teal pulled from the striped inspiration paper and then a bright pink & yellow. On the bottom is a gold glitter paper that I am planning on making a forgery with for CKC’s Forgeries on the Fourth.

The stickers:

There were so many options in the inspiration kit – hearts, butterflies, nature, etc. I think I tried to include them all! I tried to keep to the colors as well as the themes but I did add in basic black letters for titles. There are also washi tape strips and enamel dots.

Cut-aparts, labels & tags:

And last, but not least, I have cut-apart sheets, pocket cards, a package of die cuts, labels & tags. More hearts, butterflies and florals with some word phrases, too. Several of these are from Simple Stories as I am always drawn to the feel of their collections.

As you can see, I went a little overboard but once I started it was hard to stop. These colors and motifs are definitely something I have a lot of in my stash and made this kit come together really well. I can’t wait to actually start creating with it!

Please leave me a comment and let me know if you play along with Counterfeit Kit Challenge. Now, go see what all the other talented ladies have made this month! Next up will be Julene.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge – http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/
Guest Machelle Willing – https://www.smalltownscrap.com/blog/ (you are here)
Julene –http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com
Juliet – https://www.instagram.com/julesd/
Kate – https://kateblue.blogspot.com
Leslie- http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com
Misty – https://craftysoup.com
Tina – http://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com
Tracey – https://3obsessions.blogspot.com
Laura – https://www.instagram.com/mrsp_scrapsandtea/
Cindy – http://cindyscreations-cinmfoster.blogspot.com

Also, if you want to see more of my Counterfeit Kits, you can read these blog posts – October, 2020 and June, 2020.

Thank you for stopping by! You can also follow along on my Instagram page where I post pictures of some of my projects.

Machelle

October 2020 CKC Layouts

Welcome back! Even though life has been busy, I managed to make a couple of layouts with my October 2020 CKC Kit “Memories of Home.” I am happy to have recorded more family stories to go along with the pictures. In the past I was only journaling the basics of “who, what, when & where.” Recently, I have been trying to write down the stories we tell when we are all together and may not be obvious from just the pictures.

Do you have those “remember when” stories that pop up when your family is together? Journaling does not come naturally to me, so this is something I am constantly working on. What are some prompts that you use to tell a story or start your journaling?

This 8×8 double page layout is about our first house as a married couple. After looking at quite a few houses that did not meet our expectations, we found this one & fell in love with it immediately.

When we went to put a contract on the house, we found out through the Seller’s Disclosure that it was next door to a bomb factory! You see, the house was outside the city limits and there was a huge field behind it. Somewhere in that field there was a bunker where they tested hand grenades, so every once in a while a siren would go off and then you would hear a muffled pop.

If you were in the house you could only faintly hear the siren. It never bothered us in the least and we lived there for six years. Now that is definitely not your average new home story!

October 2020 CKC Monthly Challenge #2

The next 8×8 layout is about my grandmother and something she always said to me growing up. Anytime I would go somewhere, she would tell me to “act pretty.” She wanted me to look nice but to ACT nicer.

I grew up to respect others and in today’s words Be Kind. She always wanted me to be respectful and friendly to everyone, no matter who they were. She knew it was better to be pretty on the inside.

This is something I still try to be mindful of today. I don’t like it when people look down on others because of their current circumstances or things beyond their control.

8x8 Scrapbook layout of something my grandmother always said; green patterned background paper, flower die-cut and a journaling card with hearts

8x8 Scrapbook layout of my grandmother; background paper brown with polka dots, 3x4 card from Simple Stories of a mason jar with flowers, enamel dots and a Lifetime of Memories sticker

This double page layout was for the October 2020 CKC’s Monthly Challenge #2 – Trick or Treat. The second challenge this month was to pick three Tricks (something a little tricky to use) or Treats (something that you love to use) or if you wanted to combine Tricks and Treats then you needed to pick five from the list and incorporate onto your layout. Here were the lists:

Trick Treat

Hand Stitching Flowers

Eyelets Enamel Dots

Glitter Rainbows

Fringing Stencils

Mixed Media Stripes

Doodling Hearts

Rub-ons Woodgrain

So for the pages above I actually only managed to use four Treats – Flowers, Enamel Dots, Hearts & Woodgrain. I have enjoyed being the Guest Designer for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog this month & still have some of my kit left to work with. I am hoping to make some cards as well, so please be sure to check back in for that. Let me know if you played along with the October 2020 CKC and what were your Trick or Treats?

Looking forward to visiting again soon!

Machelle

UPDATE: Since this post I have put together a handout with 3 story starter ideas to help you look for stories that might not be immediately obvious from your pictures. You can check that out and download a copy from my post in March, 2022.

Family Scrapbooking

family stories Scrapbooking Traditional

October 1, 2020

26 comments

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Reveal – October, 2020

Hello everyone! I always look forward to the first of the month because it means a new Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit and blog hop. I am so excited that I get to be the guest designer for this month’s challenge! I can’t wait to see how everyone interprets this kit.

The October kit is inspired by Shimelle Laine’s Best of Both Worlds Kit for September.

Scrapbook papers & embellishments; Inspiration Kit for Counterfeit Kit Challenge

In her unboxing video, Shimelle does a great job giving you substitutions in case you want to use your own stash (which we do!). You can watch that video here. This helped me in making my own kit & gave me an idea for a great starting point. I love how you can take a kit in any direction depending on what you choose to focus on – I have taken the type of content rather than the colors or motifs. Here is my version of this month’s Counterfeit Kit – “Memories of Home.”

Scrapbooking supplies, cardstock, patterned paper, stickers, die-cuts, Ink pads, stencil to make a kit.

The piece of striped paper (middle, right) was my starting point for this kit. The red, orange, golden yellow & brown felt like fall & are the deeper hues I tend to use. There is also a pop of bright green & blue/teal to lighten things up. I love that she included woodgrain since this is another go-to pattern of mine. Here is a close up of just the papers:

Scrapbooking paper, patterns and solids

I then added the tone-on-tone papers, red diagonal stripe and the floral paper is for fussy-cutting. The small heart pattern is from the same Simple Stories line as the main stripe. The cardstock is all scraps in the fall colors.

Next we have all the embellishments and extras to play with. I have quite a few cut-aparts from Jillibean Soup and journaling cards from Simple Stories. The stickers are bits and pieces that I would like to use up. I have 3 versatile alpha sets but reserve the right to add more if I need to. I also like to use my cricut to cut titles for my layouts. Finally, I added a stencil with flowers, leaves & a butterfly, ink pads to use with the stencil, enamel dots & some die-cuts that match the cut-apart sheet.

Scrapbooking cut-apart sheets and journaling cards

Scrapbooking stickers, small word strips

So there you have it – “Memories of Home.” This kit has more embellishments than I usually add in but I feel that they all go together really well and some of them have been in my stash for a very long time. Be sure to check back in to see what I make with this kit & if you play along, please leave a comment or, better yet, a picture of your kit or projects!

Here is the complete list for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop – everyone’s kits are always different so make sure to check them all out!

Thanks for stopping by & I look forward to visiting with you again soon.

Machelle

July 8, 2020

2 comments

Creative Time with My CKC Kit

Layouts Done!

It always feels good to complete layouts for my scrapbooks. I have spent some creative time with my Counterfeit Kit lately. These are all of one event for my Family album.

Scott’s aunts live in Illinois so we do not get to see them as much as we would like so when they do make it to Texas we all make it a point to get together. The bottom layout spotlights one of the places we love to go in San Antonio. Do you scrapbook places as well as people? We always take pictures of signs and random things, like the ceiling, in case I decide to make a page about a specific place.

I used some of my June Counterfeit Kit, Butterfly Garden, but also added some paper for a couple of backgrounds and several stickers. It feels good to use up stash I’ve had for a while as well as my stamps that I do not get out often enough.

Two-page scrapbook layout with multiple pictures, borders, stamping, stickers & journaling

Two-page scrapbook layout with multiple pictures

Two-page scrapbook layout with multiple pictures, stickers & journaling

There is my June round-up – and now on to July! The inspiration kit for the July Counterfeit Kit Challenge is the Garden Party kit by Sahin Designs.

Garden Party Scrapbook papers by Sahin Designs

Garden Party Elements by Sahin Designs

Garden Party Pocket Cards by Sahin Designs

Now here is my kit, “Blush.” In going through my stash, I found that I do not have many black & white patterned papers, so I decided to make a mini-kit and use it to make a few cards. I will also pull in white cardstock for the card bases and possibly a border punch.

Mini scrapbook kit with patterned paper, cardstock, stickers, butterflies, doilies, enamel dots, flowers & stamps

I was resistant about making a kit with my supplies because I like to have choices, but I found that it makes a great starting point & I can still choose to pull out what I need as I go. Sometimes, I just need that one piece of paper for inspiration and it gets me in the groove and I can make several layouts at a time. What inspires you to get started when you finally have time to sit down to scrapbook? Leave me a comment and let me know how you like to spend your creative time. You can also message me on my Contact page, I would love to hear from you!

Glad you stopped by and be sure to come back soon!

Machelle

Blog News Scrapbooking

Albums Scrapbooking Traditional

April 28, 2019

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(inter)National Scrapbook Day 2019

Since we are coming up on National Scrapbook Day 2019, I thought I would talk about crops & retreats.

There are lots of differing opinions on Scrapbook Crops. Some people absolutely love them (me!) and some do not, for a variety of reasons.

A few reasons for attending would be to have uninterrupted time to finish a lot of pages or projects, visit with others who love the same hobby or maybe just to have some “me” time away from the responsibilities of home.

Others do not like them because they prefer to scrapbook alone, do not want to have to pack & unpack their supplies or have had a bad experience previously.

Crops can be anywhere from a couple of hours to all day while retreats are 3 to 4 days usually over a weekend.

They can be held in someone’s home, a scrapbook store, hotel or dedicated Bed & Breakfast style house.

Sometimes meals are included or it is pot luck style and sometimes you are on your own.

Machelle scrapbooking at a retreat for blog post (inter) National Scrapbook Day 2019 — Machelle (Me)

My friend Janelle making a scrapbook page at our retreat — Janelle

Janelle & Machelle with our "Scrapbook Money" we won at a scrapbook retreat — With our winnings from all the games

I personally love going to crops and retreats. I get ideas and energy from having others to talk to and seeing what they are working on.

When I am at home, it is too easy to be distracted by all the “should do’s” and “need to’s” but when I am at a retreat there is nothing else I am supposed to be doing except scrapbooking.

(To see which program I use to organize my photos so it’s easy to find them & print them when I’m ready to go to a crop, check out my blog post “Picture Overload.”)

Of course it’s not always possible to find one close to you or the time to go, so a few years ago, I found a great alternative through a group on Facebook.

Online Crops! There are several companies and Facebook groups that do them now and I have tried a couple but the one I like best is Scrapbook Generation.

You get the benefit of cropping with others without having to travel or pack all your supplies! There are games, challenges and Bingo; lots to choose from but you only have to do what interests you.

National Scrapbook Day 2019

It’s always fun and the reason I am bringing this up now is because starting tomorrow they are having a week-long online crop to celebrate National Scrapbook Day 2019 (It’s always the first Saturday in May).

I will be participating and thought I would share the information in case anyone else wanted to join in. You do have to be part of their group page on Facebook, but I think it is worth it.

They also have other challenges and giveaways on the page. Here is a link if you are interested: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sgscrapsquad/.

One of the posts will tell you what to expect and there is a printable schedule of the games and challenges as well. (This is not an affiliate post or anything, I am just really excited to participate next week!)

I am lucky enough to also have a friend that scrapbooks and we try to get together at one of our houses from time to time.

It’s always challenging when we are at my house because I have a furry friend who wants to “help” hold the papers down.

My friend Amie scrapbooking at my house — Amie

My cat, Bo, helping with my scrapbook page — Bo (the helper)

If you haven’t ever been to a crop or retreat, I think you should at least try it once.

No matter where you scrapbook, I hope that you are able to carve out some time to enjoy your hobby next week.

Everyone have a Happy (inter)National Scrapbook Day 2019!

Machelle

Contemplating Scrapbook Album Sizes

Several scrapbook albums in various sizes — Examples of Different Scrapbook Album Sizes

There are quite a few album sizes, but the main one most scrapbookers start with is 12×12. I also started scrapbooking almost 20 years ago with Creative Memories and there weren’t as many choices.

So that is how I ended up with my scrapbooks in a state of confusion. Why confusion? Well, mainly because I have recently moved. If you have ever moved you know the tedious task of packing box after box of all your possessions. For me, this meant several boxes of very heavy 12×12 albums that were transported in my vehicle because I did not want the on the moving van.

This made me start thinking about what I want out of my scrapbooks and why I make them.

Think about your why:

Why do you scrapbook? For some people it is for telling everyday family stories or documenting your children’s milestone moments. Sometimes it is just for a creative outlet or some “me” time. Taking time to decide if you are leaving a legacy or simply making pretty pages might help you decide what size works for you or a particular project.

My husband and I do not have children, so my books are just for me or any extended family that might want them someday. Since moving, I have concluded that I do not want as many 12×12 albums because they are so big & bulky we do not look at them very often and I definitely do not want to move them again. This has led me to look at other options for scrapbook album sizes and what I want my scrapbooks to look like for me. They need to be smaller & possibly just less of them.

I have also decided that I like “projects”. Books that have a specific beginning and end, which sometimes means smaller and faster to complete. I have previously made graduation albums and wedding albums for family members and I really enjoy these types of books.

Starting Over:

Over the years, I have scrapbooked many pages of extended family events; school activities, sports and birthdays. All of this has made me realize that I need to “let go” of some pages of other family members and events specific to them, so I will divide those pages into new albums to give as gifts.

I have already started re-doing some of the older 12×12 albums into theme specific 8×8’s that will be more story focused. I also like the 6×8 size and am thinking of transferring some of the 12×12 pages into a digital format to make photobooks as well. Of course this will be a time consuming process since I have over 15 full size albums to redo.

Here is an example of what that looks like for me. I went from two 12×12 pages (top) to four 8×8 pages, but I like them much better.

12 x 12 Scrapbook page about the Oklahoma City Memorial created by Small Town Scrap

8x8 Scrapbook page of the "Last Trail" statue in theNational Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City made by Small Town Scrap

8x8 Travel Scrapbook layout of Oklahoma City Memorial Chairs

One Size Does Not Fit All:

Don’t be afraid to just start over or change your format. That does NOT mean you have to take everything apart like I am doing. For you, it could mean just starting now. There are times and seasons for different projects, so if you are feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated try changing things up. Do a mini-book or make a photobook online. Try digital scrapbooking. If you try something & don’t like it, you can always go back to the way you were doing it before.

Also, different scrapbook album sizes work better for different projects. Maybe you want to document a special vacation or event that doesn’t need a 12×12 book. Or maybe you just want to make a little book with some Instagram photos. There are 4×4 albums or you could even make your own. There are just so many options!

Stay Tuned:

I will definitely be sharing this transition and my thoughts about different scrapbook album sizes for certain projects. Please leave a comment and let me know if you have any questions or you can always message me on the Contact Page.

Until next time,

Machelle

Edit: Go check out this post for the 2nd half of my Scrapbook Overhaul.