Counterfeit Kit February - Post 5

My last layout that will get completed in Feb from this kit was inspired by the sketch challenge for March over at the sketch blog for Scrapbook365.  I really liked this sketch.

The koala in the picture is not really noticeable even in real life so I used an arrow that was sitting on my desk and added it pointing straight at him!  This sketch came together quickly and easily and was a great way to use up journalling blocks that I wouldn't end up using because they had vintage pictures on them.

I love the way the background card turned out.  I sprayed a plain aqua Bazzill with Mr Huey Heirloom Blue and Calico Shine.  It has lots of sparkle in real life and the splatters make it feel more rustic.  Normally I spray my backgrounds in a big box, but I couldn't find it and so I took the layout outside to spray on the grass (in the front yard even - the neighbours must have thought I was loony!).  And I learnt something important ... do not stand downwind on a windy day when spraying, unless you want speckled legs!

I will continue to use up this kit throughout March so that I can finish the photos from this trip.  With limited scrapping time my kit will be a two-monther LOL

Chipper

Counterfeit Kit July 2012!

I was photographing a pile of layouts when at the bottom of the pile I came across the last layout I did for my July Counterfeit Kit.  I couldn't find a blog post about it so better late than never, here is the last layout I did with that kit.  After that there wasn't much patterned paper left!

The Thinker was terrified of the stingray pool at Discovery Cove and at first he wouldn't feed them.  But he overcame his fear and really enjoyed it.  I love watching my children try something new!  I used my Cricut to cut the title and the 'moments' bit at the top.  A few strips of washi tape makes a great journaling block.

Chipper

Counterfeit Kit February - Post 4

I like to try and check out each of the links over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge when I participate for the month.  It is wonderful to see how each person has interpreted both the kit and their subsequent projects.  I had put a Studio Calico hexagon mask in my kit that I had just purchased and not yet used.  When I came across THIS post by Julenebydesign I knew exactly how I was going to use it.  Julene had used a chicken wire mask and painted gesso over the top.   I used my mask and stippled Jo Sonja 'warm white' in random patches and then added some sprays.  Once that way dry I built up my papers and used another photo from the holiday I have been scrapping from 2000.

I am really liking this kit but I am getting a bit bored of the colours so the change to a painty/spray layout was refreshing.  As I am only about 1/3 of the way through the photos I will keep on going.  This is THE year that I am going to get some of my older photos scrapped!

Chipper

Counterfeit Kit February Part 3

I haven't had a chance to follow along with any of the challenges this month on the Counterfeit Kit blog but having a kit is helping me to actually sit down and play!  I have just had two days off in a row and in between errands I have managed three layouts.  Here are the first two, they are not a double layout but they will sit next to each other in the album.

The title "Hook line and sinker" is a laser cut chipboard shape by RW Laser Cuts (these designs are now cut by WOW Chipboard as RW sadly closed) and I had lots of fun painting it with my paints that The Princess gave me for Christmas.  I even used an old alpha stamp set that my cousin gave me many moons ago!

For the second page I kept the colours similar and repeated the bunting to help with the flow.  Normally I would journal so much more but these are the only memories that any of us could remember!  I have narrowed down the date to possibly around Easter 2000 but I am not writing that on the page until I am sure

I have even used the stamp set that I put in my kit and the Studio Calico date stamp.  I didn't use the date part but I used the tiny row of hexagons on the 'word' section of the dial.  They are such cute teeny hexagons.  The bunting I cut on my Cricut and coloured in the top bit to look like string.  The Princess loaned me the easel she received for Christmas to see if I could get better light outside.  Even in the shade the summer sun is very bright!

Chipper :-)

Counterfeit Kit February - Post 2

Yep, I was very excited to put my kit together yesterday!  I feel refreshed already after an evening of playing with paper :-)  For the first time in ages I didn't use any sprays but it has quite a bit of ink to make up for it! LOL  I was so excited to share that I couldn't wait till daylight to photograph it so it is a little dull.

Everything came from the kit except the floss/thread and the 'boy' die cut.  Funnily enough it was left over from the last time I counterfeited back in JULY!  It was in my mini embellishment tub on my desk and worked perfectly.  Recently Shimelle had a post featuring hand stitching on layouts by Mandy Koeppen and I fell in love with the stitching around thinkers idea.  Now I don't have quite that much patience but I did decide to stitch around the photo.  I am not sure if I like it as I think I should have backstitched it to create a solid line around the photo, I'll sleep on it and decide over the weekend.

In these photos The Extrovert was about 3 and he fearlessly wandered around with goats as big as him feeding them and patting them.  I always printed the rolls of film back then and methodically placed them in albums but I didn't write any details down.  I meant to go back when I had more time but with two toddlers and soon to be a third on the way that never happened.  So the details of most of the trip are a bit vague.  While I find it incredibly frustrating there is little I can do about it now so I will write what I can and move on.

Chipper

Counterfeit Kit February - Post 1

We have pretty much finished unpacking now and the craft room is usable (I desperately need to cull still!) so I thought I would join in with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge again. Last time I participated I got so much accomplished.  I tend to not include tools, inks, sprays, paints and other items that are go-to supplies unless it is something that I have been neglecting :-)  The kit for this month was from Scraptastic Club and is the sold out January kit from this year.  Here it is ...

I decided to use the green but not quite so much of the blue.  I cheated this time and used papers from one range.  I would normally mix manufactures but I loved these papers and bought 12 different sheets and I want to use them before my tastes change and I hate them!  They are from Echo Park 'This & That'.  I don't normally choose my photos at this stage but as this was a very boy selection I decided to see what I might use before I chose embellishments.

I have just unpacked all of our albums and photos (most had been in storage for 4 years) and I thought I would choose some older photos from before The Princess was born.  I was a cardmaker back then but had never heard of scrapbooking.  We took a family trip when the boys were little and as I had lots of papers I thought I would do the whole trip from this collection as there is only about 30 photos.  I remember the crazy price for developing film at the time and we tried not to waste photos.  With that in mind I added embellishments.  Here is my February kit ...

I used newer papers and I had purchased matching Bazzill at the same time so I rummaged through stuff and added some things old and some things new.  The ribbons and buttons were old Basic Grey, there are old American Crafts chipboard border stickers, random bits that I had just unpacked that are VERY old including K&Co stickers.  I added the matching embellishments that I bought with the papers and my new Mr Huey mask and Studio Calico date stamp.  I liked the phrases in the set of Darcie's stamps so I put them with it to remind me to use them.  I know that my colours are not the same as the inspiration kit but I chose to go with the green and yellow as my starting point.  I didn't have any arrows so I added the green arrow washi tape as I am not a huge arrow fan.

My goal this year is to get some of our family stories into albums.  I have set myself quite a big challenge for such a short month with these 30 photos but I am not stressed if it takes two months to get these photos scrapped!  The boys are excited to see some of their early photos being tackled and The Princess thinks that her brothers were so cute as toddlers that they need to get into albums :-)

Look out Feb, there is going to be some crafting this month!

Chipper

Storytelling Sunday 3 - February

This year Storytelling Sunday asks you to "pick your precious".  This is how Sian described it ...

Start looking around, see what you love. Pick Your Precious is for short story tellers and for long. You can take the idea of simply a photo with a few words; or, if you are a can't-stop-yourself storyteller, you can expand as much as you like. The thing to keep in mind is that at the end of the year you'll have a permanent record of the little things you hold dear - and your family will know why you are holding onto them! Doesn't that sound like it might be worth it? No more "Do you really need that?"

Please join us this year.  It only takes a minute and even if you only write a story or two, that will be a few more of your stories written down. 

Pick Your Precious - February

One of my most precious 'things' are stored in two shoe boxes.  I have had them since I was three.  We were living in Montana at the time with my Grandma and Aunt.  For Christmas they gave me a dolls house full of furniture and dolls.  It is one of my earliest memories.  Here I am Christmas morning playing with my house.  I had to take photos of the photos to get them on here and one just wouldn't lay flat!  The house came complete with Santa going down the chimney, a snowman out the front and a Christmas tree in the living room.

Unfortunately when I was five we moved back to Australia and my Grandma said the house couldn't come with us.  I now know that my mom wanted to pack it and argued with my Grandma about it.  She said that it is her one regret about that move as I didn't forgive her for giving it away for a very long time. Somewhere in Orlando a children's church enjoyed it long after I did.  Thankfully she kept the all of the furniture and the family of dolls.  I played with them for many years and would set them up around my room.  When I was done I would pack them away back into boxes to sit safely on my closet shelf.  I was never really a very big Barbie fan.  For my 6th birthday my dad bought me a huge Barbie house with an elevator and all the furniture, but it was never the same.  It was plastic and gaudy. I sold it when I was 10 and bought a bike.  He was not impressed.

The people have bodies bound in thread so that they can bend.  The family consisted of Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister and Baby.  The grandparents have grey hair (didn't you know that all grandparents have grey hair?!?!?!?)  Funny that I came from an extremely dysfunctional family but I had a 'normal' doll family :-)

All of the pieces are looking a little worse for wear after all these years.  My Aunt used some kind of green goop to attach the accessories to things.  I spent ages trying to remove it as a kid as it is sooooooo sticky, but to no avail.

Grandma has her rocking chair while Grandpa has a big comfy chair by the fire.

I always loved the sewing machine and the basket of knitting.

And what home would be complete without copies of all the good magazines?

The bathroom always made me giggle as the toilet seat goes up and down and used to have a chain hanging from the cistern.  I always wanted a big bath like that.

The kitchen was very modern, considering the dolls wore long dresses and they had a treadle sewing machine.  There was a dishwasher, toaster and lots of other bits.  The little cupboard on the left of the photo used to hang on the wall of the house.

The knives fit into slots on the side of the chopping block.  I used to bake pies and cookies with my dolls in this kitchen for hours :-)

The nursery was so cute with pictures on everything.  I loved the little stroller and the rocking horse.

I always wanted a four poster bed just like this one!  I added the Japanese screen when I was older as all dolls need some privacy when getting ready for bed :-)  It is completely the wrong scale but has lived in the box along with the rest for many years.

As a kid it was always the little accessories that excited me.  I loved the clocks and the books.  There were also mirrors, candlesticks, mice, and letters.  When I was about seven I added the basket for the kitten.  It contains the one and only thing I have ever crocheted.  It is a tiny white and pink circle.  For a little while we had an older lady minding us after school.  I remember crocheting this with her.  But after that we didn't go to her house very often so I never crocheted again.

I have enjoyed getting out these boxes.  Even as an adult I would occasionally open the lids and peak in remembering my lovely house and all the fun I had.  It also reminded me how much I was loved.  These things have been packed for so long that I hadn't realised that I had never showed them to my daughter.  My boys had seen them (although they had forgotten) but I was very sad when The Princess wanted to know where I had gotten the dolls from.  Life gets so busy and complicated and I was very sad that I hadn't taken the time to share these with her.  I am glad that STS is making me look at the precious 'things' in our life.  While people are always more important, sometimes the stories behind the 'things' we hold dear that shed some light on who the important people in our lives are.

Please head on over to Sian's and join us for a story.  I promise that they are all good :-)

Chipper