August Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop Challenge

Sketch Support Exclusive Sketch
My layout - Page 1
My layout Page 2
Double Page View

Hi and welcome to the August Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop Challenge! This month's hop is one of a kind. You should have arrived here from Caryn's blog, but if not, head back to the Counterfeit Kit site to find your way.

This month, Sketch Support designed an exclusive sketch for Counterfeit Kit! The challenge was to create a project using the sketch, but also trying to put a twist on it. My layout is all about my favorite hotel in Las Vegas - the Venetian. To make up for my serious lack of 4x6 vertical photos, I used ticket stubs from the Venetian shows I've been too. I also went with 3 - 4x4 images rather than the 3x3 size. I'll let you in on my secret - double page layouts scare me ::shaking in my boots:: It is rare that I venture into the land of two pages. But I'm trying to get better and the only way to be more comfortable is to just jump in and do it! So thanks to Sketch Support for the great challenge.

I always like to call out my favorite products or the one's I've had the most fun with. The yellow dice paper is one of my favorites from Stampin Up -The Jackpot Designer Series. Part of me wishes it was black and white, but I do still enjoy the yellow. The other element I love is the Las Vegas stamp from Inkadoo. I must give a huge thank you to Gabrielle because I was lucky enough to win her blog hop giveaway and this stamp came in her kit. Thank you Gabrielle!

I'm really glad you stopped by today! Enjoy rest of your hop. Next up is Lesa's blog.

Counterfeit Kit Sketch Swap Challenge

My Card
Sketch Support Inspiration

The first Counterfeit Kit challenge this month was to visit the Sketch Support site and pick a sketch for inspiration. You could choose from one-page sketches and card sketches, but the twist was to make the opposite of what you chose. I picked page layout sketch #7 and attempted to make a birthday card. I used the sketch more as a guideline and did not follow it exactly. Here is the link to the Sketch Support sketches.

My brother in-law is a French/Greek/American combination so on his birthday we always sing Happy Birthday in 3 languages. It is a pretty funny family tradition. I decided to have his birthday card reflect his birthday songs.

August Counterfeit Kit Challenge

My Creative Scrapbook Album Kit
My Counterfeit Kit
Bethany's Theme/Fair Add On Kit
My Counterfeit Kit

I'm late to the game this month as we just returned from our final week of summer vacation. It was nice to come back and see all the potential options for the August Counterfeit Kit. I need to spend some time catching up on all the posts and see what everyone else has been up to. I was very inspired by the inspiration kits from My Creative Scrapbook. I decided to keep it very simple this month and chose the Album Kit with the Birthday Theme. Then at the last minute, I also added in Bethany's theme park/fair add on kit. With only a few weeks left in the month, I need to get to work!

Summertime Flashcards

I'm a bit behind with posting this month - a combination of vacation and working too much. I completely forgot about a Counterfeit Kit challenge that I completed in the beginning of July! One of the many reasons I love the Counterfeit Kit blog is because every month they have these awesome tutorials to show you how to make the stuff you love from the stuff you have. When I saw the summer flash cards, I was thrilled. I purchased a set of these, but have been to afraid to use them because they were a bit pricey. Well, I am now able to make my own for the low price of FREE! I simply took a file folder, printed, cut and punched the corners. Super easy and I can make as many as I want.

Paper Haul

Even though I am still in a spending freeze, I managed to find an excuse to buy something. My friend's daughter's 2nd birthday is fast approaching and she asked me to help out again with decorations. Last year was the super cute ladybug themed party. This year is all about owls. She asked for bright pinks, greens and browns. We spent hours on Scrapbook.com examining the different shades of pink. It really is difficult to purchase paper without being able to feel and see it. However, I have to say I was thrilled when the 3 shades arrived and I can tell they are going to be perfect. Here's a list of my supplies:

Bazzill Cupcake
Bazzil Pink Fairy
Bazzill Princess
Bazzill Chocolate Cream
Bazzill Lime Crush
Bazzill White
Echo Park Candy Shoppe Watermelon Dots
Canvas Corp Pink & Ivory Dot and Lime Green & White Dot
Echo Park Metropolitan Navy Dot (Ok - I threw that one in just for me)
Basic Grey Sweet Threads - Spring Tote (Love this paper and the reverse is just as delightful)

And Scrapbook.com was running a freebie promotion so I also got the Pink Paislee Hometown Summer chipboard stickers. For free. I love them all, but watermelon girl has to be my favorite.

I plan to post pictures of the party at the end of the month. I need to get to work!

July Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop Challenge

Hi and welcome to the July Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop Challenge! Thanks for participating in what I think is the best way to spend the 28th of every month. It is never the same hop twice! You should have arrived here from Christy's blog, but if not, head back to the Counterfeit Kit site to find your way.

This month the challenge was to create a layout using flowers in a creative way. I knew I wanted to go for the traditional red, white and blue theme and scrap some scenic New England 4th of July photos, but didn't know if flowers would work. I remembered back to a class I took at CKC where we used some of the Basic Grey paper circles to make large paper flowers and I decided to make some of those. They are actually really easy. You just need a bunch of different sized circles (I cut mine with my Cricut). You can crumple them up, distress the edges and layer as many as you want. I was drawn to the checkered paper and the cherry papers. Two other things about my layout. 1. I never write in cursive. Ever. But this layout was screaming cursive for some reason. I need to practice! 2. I ran out of the letter "A" so that is actually an upside down "V" in the title. Can you tell?

Thanks for dropping by! I hope you have fun on the rest of your hop. Next up is Alanna's blog.

July Counterfeit Kit Layouts #1,2 & 3

I'm back from vacation and and just trying to catch up on everything. Vacation was great - but not long enough! I was able to complete 3 layouts for my Lake mini album. These photos are from last summer. It was the first year we ever took the plunge and rented a boat. It was a 1970's special. Nothing fancy, but a lot of fun.

This year we decided to rent from a different place and go with a bit of an upgrade. Unfortunately, it was a complete mess. We only had the rental for 2 days. The first day everything was going well, but towards the end of the day the boat started acting weird. We called the company and they told us to bring it in the next morning. Well, on the way to return the boat, the transmission died and somehow a piece of the propeller broke off. We had to call to get them to come tow the boat. We lost the entire second day, which was paid in full, and had to pay extra to fix the propeller. It was a disaster all around and very disappointing for the entire family. It is a good thing I captured last year's happy times! Most all of my supplies are from my Liberty Shores Ad-On Kit.