Conterfiet Kit pages part II

It's extra hard to find time to scrapbook when the weather is so fine. We have had a beautiful summer, now moving into a fine fall. The seasons are so short here. Except for winter, of course, which can last 8 months, if it so chooses.

Now at month end, my August Counterfeit Kit, "Around the Block" has enough oomph in it to make another couple of laps. Still four whole sheets of patterned paper remains.

The first six layouts are all single page.

Always Create Together

This was a photo we used to enter the "Talented Families" contest put on last year by Canadian Scrapbooker magazine. The journaling is part of the notes used for our entry.

 "Why we scrapbook. Rebecca likes to tear paper. Cohen likes to smack punches and stamps. For Robin, it's a reason to buy new tools. Nadine started because I can't get all the stories down. For me, it's as much fun as Kindergarten, but now I get to use pointy scissors! "


Antony, a star in the news.

 Grandson number two was featured on the cover of a local paper. I photocopied the newpaper in colour and in black and white. Then layered the colour over the b&w to bring more attention to the wee picture in the corner. It still didn't have enough impact so a made a second copy in colour, matted it and popped it up on an angle. But, the whole thing did not come together until the red ric-rac was added. It really points the way on the page.

 Rebecca at 22 Months

A short list of her favorite will help me remember her preferences at this time in her life. The mesh mask and paint was a fortunate coincidence that it brings attention to the polka-dots on her hat and ball.



R

A total lift from a book. I made a sketch of this page, long time ago, but didn't make note of book's name or artist. Anybody reading this that recognizes it, please comment so I can give proper credit. In the book's example, the hand had been drawn around and hendi type doodles filled the hand. In this case, a cutout of the hand was used for a mask. Glimmer mist creates a shadow of what once was here. The journaling is a direct copy from the original page.

"No longer a baby, when did she become a little girl, so full of spunk; she knows she is adorable."

On the Road Again!

Except for the green cardstock, this is not really out of the counterfeit kit, but it was made this month. The photos and embellies come from the remains of a craft project of a cardboard bus with all my TOPS diet club friends in the windows. It was used as a center piece and was showing wear and tear when I suggested we, (that would be I) start a TOPS scrapbook.


Hordinze

This page evolved out of a facebook album. I mined the fb album for the journaling. The white board notes are something I go back to when ever my "stuff" begins to take over. Helps keep me from trying to keep EVERYTHING.

"Welcome to my seasonal decoration room. From Canadian Thanksgiving  to Easter, my home changes its look for each occasion. Using techniques I learned from Peter Walsh, I sorted boxed and labeled my "stuff." Ended up donating six boxes and two bags to charity today. Off season, the bric-a-brac and bits and bobs all sleep safe and sound in storage containers. This year it took a little while for me to get Christmas all tucked in for its long summer's nap. May 5, 2011"

These layouts were all done a week ago, but we were on our way to holidays and so they sat and waited for a bit. While I was away, with daily maid service and good water pressure, again, I put together 3 double page layouts.

Hangin' Out ; A.U. Wellness Fair

Robin hung out with the grandkids, while I showed scrapbooking and gave a presentation. What could be better than talking to people about scrapbooking all day?

Well, mayby scrapbooking all day, or as in this next case, all weekend.

 Weekend Getaway at Bloomin' Inn

There is an odd pattern developing here. I like to scrapbook pages about our scrapbooking adventures. So I am sitting at a five star resort, scrapping these pages about a weekend at a bed and breakfast and Robin snapped pictures of me working on the above layout. So now that layout will show up when I scrap about our most recent holiday. I better do that at home, and not on a mini get-away or the layouts could turn into fun house mirrors, with infinitely smaller photos of me scrapping.

 But oh, didn't the clusters come out nicely?

Yummy, yummy clusters.


Riddle Fashion Show at ANFC
 

 The cluster spans two pages. Pretty cool, if I may say so myself.

We were in a fashion show. put on by the charity shop that we volunteer at. The descriptions read by the MC were as follows:

"Robin has been a member since 2010. He volunteers at Riddle Used Store. His specialty is store design as he build shelves and removal of large items. Robin's t-shirt turned up at Riddle just in time for a busy week of volunteering during the Slave Lake evacuation.

Sherrie is a second year member at the center and volunteers at Riddle Used Store, where she has been bestowed the title of  "Design Consultant" The ensemble Sherrie is wearing from Riddle's includes a Biancca Nygarrd top with a 100% linen overblouse and jeans all from the store. Her piece de resistance that gives her bragging rights is the "matt and nat" handbag that retails for over $300. Riddle's price, $1.00."

And that is what Counterfeit Kit, "Around the Block" has produced so far. With the eight pages, in my first set shown here and the 12 pages in this post, I am at 20 pages for this kit, with a few more to come using the four patterned papers that remain.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Will be back soon with photos from holidays. Lots of wildlife shots. Some of them are even in focus!


 

A first for me!

It's a blog award! The Leibster Blog Award! Given to me by Ada at Vintage Sheet Addict.Just between you and me, I am thrilled, over joyed and tickled to bits about this little bit of recognition.     

The purpose of this award is to give to novice bloggers the chance to make themselves known. It's hard to excel in the plethora of blogs and to become established. A regular readership is important to be perceived in the depths of the www. The award is to be given to bloggers who inspire you and have recorded fewer than 200 regular readers in their followers list.

Anyone who has received the award should have the pleasure to give the "Liebster Blog Award" to five other bloggers, who meet the above requirements. If you have received this award, you should do the followings:

Post the award on your blog;

Link to your Nominator, as a little thank you!

Give the award to five bloggers that have less than 200 regular followers and inform them about the award.

 

 

I would like to graciously accept this award and forward it to the following:

 

English ex-pat, living in Germany, wishing she was skiing in Canada, Lisa at Recklinghausen Musings.

 

America's design diva and fashionista; the best kept secret in the scrapbook design community, Pamage at Daily Pamage.

 

A pillar of support in the Scrap Happy community, and leader of unique and supportive comments left on flickr posts, (how many different ways can you say "Nice Layout"? Apparently thousands!) Leslie, at Out of the Mire.

The influence of these three ladies on my craft of scrapbooking has been immense. I can't thank them enough for the inspiration and support they have given so freely and the fun and creativity they have added to my life. I would also like to give an honorable mention to Whimsical Musings which is the co-blog of Lisa and Pamage.

Then because there is more to me than scrapbooking. (some might argue that comment) I would like to recognize:

Super fun, life embracing, wish she was my next door neighbour, lady of passion and panache, Heather at My Little Red Suitcase.

And finally, with one foot in the past, sharing photos of the heirlooms of yesterday and her finger on the mouse with a firm grasp on technology (the only one in this group with a link to her very own esty shop!), a pretty blog with served up with a twist of quirky, Mary at Ornaments by Pink.

And so my first award ceremony comes to a close. I invite you to visit these charming blogs and if they amuse or inspire you,  join them as followers.

I want to thank the academy and all the little people....wait no....that's my speech for a different award. I want to thank YOU! Yep, you right there, reading this, right now. While my little blog (any little blog for that matter) can live on indefinitely by itself in cyber space, it is your reading this, the sharing of the thoughts from one person to the other, that gives it life. Thank you for dropping by. Double thanks for comments.

A Pirate's life for me.

Or perhaps not. But a couple of days spent at a nice hotel with fresh towels and bed made daily, and excellent water pressure, (not so excellent water pressure, here on the farm) has got me yearning for a more leisurely lifestyle.  

When last I was here, we were getting ready for the Rochester Fair.  I pulled together this layout and entered it in the bench show. The judge must have liked it as I got 10 out of 10 possible points.

It is about the bike float we built for last year's parade. The theme for the fair was Pirates of the Tawatinaw River


 This year, being Rochester's centennial, there were lots of heritage displays. I set up a scrapbook demonstration and showed some vintage scrapbooks. They are in the old school style of newspaper clippings glued with mucilage into scribbler books, also made of newsprint. Deteriorating rapidly, but of infinite interest, they are a good example of why you want to use archival quality products whenever possible.

Was feeling stalled and having trouble with the patterned papers in my "Around the Block" kit as they are too happy and cheerful for pirates, so I took a few rugged, masculine looking prints along to help get the mojo to flow while demonstrating, and I made this layout.

The day after the fair, I was off to visit Mr. Muddle as he is working way too much and has very little time off. Easier for me to go to him than for him to travel home and back, in such a short time period. So whilst there, why not stay another day or two and scrap awhile?

 Oh darn, there's that problem again with the pp not working with my pirate pictures. What was really needed was treasure map paper. And since the nearest LLS is about 500 miles from the hotel, shopping was not the answer so I googled images and got inspired.

When I returned home, I got to have grandson, Cohen and little sister Beckyboo for two nights. Cohen has a passion for mazes. He had big eyes and an ear to ear grin, checking out these pages. I bet the next maze he draws will be a treasure map.

After showing him these rather cool pages that feature his pirate adventure, he was pleasantly cooperative when later, I turned popsicle time into a photo shoot.

Now lets see how the CKC kit "Around the Block" and addition kit "Best of Show" are doing. Hmmm... very little of the patterened papers made it into the layouts, they are still relatively intact. A goodly amount of the embellishments were incorporated. Also a little paint was dabbed on while using the mesh as a mask and two banners, and a rosette were fashioned from scratch. Pirate and skull related stickers and rub-ons and a stamp joined in, just for this featured event. One piece of pp was brought into the line up (Harlequin, Kimberly Poloson, Fiskars) and all the designated cardstock has been used. The photos from this event are now on pages and in an album, and that's a good thing!

After a replenishment of cardstock and a fresh stack of photos is gathered, I will be back with new layouts when we come "Around the Block" again!

Around the Block, August CKC

Wowzers! It’s a week into August already. This has been/is the best summer ever for me. Not only have I had time to spend on scrapbooking, sewing, and gardening, (my three reasons to get up in the morning) but also major projects in the yard and garden have come a long way. The tractor has harrows and a cultivator so now it is getting the weeds under control. The garden house is now dressed for a party, and the big fountain that I had been admiring for about four years was marked down to a price I could justify spending. It is a couple of weeks early but the anniversary gift/garden bench has arrived. Scads of perennials and annuals, and shrubs, and trees have been planted and are flourishing due to the most beautiful Alberta summer in my memory. 

Later this month we will spend a few days in Jasper National Park and in September, we will plant the fruit trees that were picked out last weekend.

But this week, it is time for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge. As the remainder of this blog details paper craft products, sheety friends are excused to go visit the more fabric oriented blogs.   This month the kit to copy is Summer Lovin’ from Scraporchard. Com

Colour pallet

The kit to copy

 

This weekend is the Rochester and District Agricultural Fair. The hamlet of Rochester is celebrating its centennial year. We like to participate in the parade, the bench show and the children’s activities. The parade is a hoot. Candy being thrown from tractors and wagons, quads and bicycles.  And the real quirky thing about it is that it circles around the block. So if you are sitting on the main street, you get to view it twice! With a nod to all the good people that make up the agricultural society and the work they do, I am calling this kit "Around the Block!"

Around the Block! Patterned Paper

 

I have been collecting paper for over six years. So sometime I know I have a piece just like the one in the kit. Finding it though, can be a test of determination. But I don’t mind the hunt. It get me reacquainted with so many lovely patterned papers and refreshes my memory as to what I have so that, perhaps next time, the matching process will be a bit faster. 

 

My twelve sheets of patterned paper, (as far as I can determine) are:

1 Red gingham, Checkered Tablecloth, Karen Foster Designs

2 Blue floral, uk (unknown)

3 Yellow hex, uk

4 Wide multi stripe with paisley background, uk

5 Solid taupe, uk

6 Multi confetti, uk

7 Green ledger, Fabric Store, Echo Park

8 Narrow multi stripe, uk

9 Light blue with sunglasses background, uk

10 Multi mini floral, uk

11 Dark denim, uk

12 Burlap photo, uk 

Many of these papers are from the start of my scrapping days. Back then I bought a whole wack of paper through ebay. I think most of it was Making Memories. It is a good thing when the manufacturer prints on the back or adds a strip with the design info. 

A few points in comparing my selection to the sample kit:

There is very little in the realm of the ever summery, gingham in my pp. (Make note for future acquisitions)

In the sample kit, #6 is a floral and #10 is a small confetti type of dot. I switched the patterns to better match the colour and energy of the example.

It was determined last month, during my first CKC, that I have no chevron pp. So #8 is a stripe. I’m thinking of it as a chevron that had a hot date with the ironing board.

#12 Having no wood grain photo paper, I subbed in the burlap photo paper that has the same tone. It would not be too hard to take a picture of some interesting wood and print it out but the idea for me at this time is to get my current stash onto pages. 

Then the fun stuff!

Kit to copy

 The example photo is such a hot mess, it is hard to figure out, item to item, the best matches so I worked from the list.

Around the Block! Embellies and Cardstock

First of all, the felt items. I was stumped on the bicycle, wagon and fruits. Not only do I not have these sorts of things in felt, I don’t have any ideas on how to use these items on pages. I subbed in felt flower boarders from Queen and Co. These were acquired at 70% off at a sidewalk sale that I happened upon during a holiday trip. This was back in my very early scrapping days. Can you imagine my delight? That day I bought EVERYTHING that I could lay my hands on. 

I do have some stickers of strawberries (Francis Mayer) and a bicycle (Sandy Lion), which I will try to incorporate but may just be put back in the drawers when done.

Banner. To be made (tbm). Over and over again. Made my first ones, in fabric and in paper, last month. Now I can’t get enough. Great tutorial on banners from product packaging here. 

Bookplates. Pack of six label holders by Heidi Snapp. They will probably have a makeover with a paintbrush.

Brads in two sizes and 6 colours, to affix the fore mentioned bookplates.

Buttons in four colours. A pill box of each.

Bottle caps, three. I really don’t know what to do with these. 

Clips, four. One plastic and three metal. 

Clouds, tbm.

Flags, three.

Flowers, a handful of Prima Marketing plus a few in fabric and some mini paper ones that need a home.

Old frame, 7 Gypsies overlay.

Paper frames, My Mind’s Eye and Hallmark.

Leaves, two, Making Memories.

Staples, copper and patterned, EK Success.

Stitched boarder and stitches, Rub-ons, Play Borders, by Daisy Bucket and Bella Journee, by Bo Bunny.

Ribbons/trims 6 assorted lengths.

Strings, four bakers twine, four paper floss by Karen Foster.

Tickets, three from 50/50 draws, and one by Tim Holtz.

Watercolour and grass scatters, tbm.

Paper border, a whole page full! June Bug, Basic Grey.

Denim Pocket, Hot Off the Press.

Label, rub-on, Bella Journee, Bo Bunny.

Rosettes, one. That’s all I have in my stash. Might have to try making some.

Tags, three, Making Memories.

Alphas, Going to use up some chip alphas I purchased way back at the beginning. I think they were Basic Grey. Will use paint to coordinate them. 

While pulling the elements together, of course there were a few that didn’t make the cut but I just gotta have them in here. This makes an add-on kit essential. To honour the bench show, which my family and I always participate in and have won many awards at, I am calling it “Best of Show”

Dream Street Papers, Everyday Celebrations, Creative Cuts. Lots of nifty words/phrases and a few borders. Nice mini floral on the backside too.

Yellow gingham, Apron Strings, Echo Park. The only true gingham pp I could round up.

Mulit graphic/floral, uk. 

Kraft glassine, Tim Holtz.

Ribbon photo corners, Martha Stewart.

Square die cut, TLC. 

Navy coragated, uk.

Die-cut Journal Spot, uk.

Glass drops, uk.

Swirly stickers, uk.

These last few items are truly odds and ends. Will feel very good to work them into the pages.

And the white ribbon with the holes punched in it, reminds me of Magic Mesh. It should make a neat-o mask. Looks like the featured (messy) technique for this kit will be paint.

So it all got tossed into a sweet little basket that helps set the mood. And I am off to the fair!

Thanks for stopping by. Double thanks for comments.

Mid Summer Muddlings

Hooray for August. The month of endless summer days. In my youth, it was endless because we had to work in the honey house, extracting honey all August long. Hot, sticky, misery.

This year, I am going to focus on painting during August. I have the cupboards and drawers and shelves for the garden house, and on the real house, the widows need some attention.

Here is my big-girl playhouse. Siding complete. A bit of trim to figure out but in all, ready to show off.

And on the cluttered side, which is out of your view there is a nifty plant stand to hold the pot collection. I promised Mr. Muddle that I would restrict my collecting to what fits on this shelf. Fortunately it hold a lot!


Yesterday I got to spend my day at Riddle Used Store, helping Sweet Charity sort and clean. I arrived with the coordinating coffee cup cozies I made a week or two ago and a carafe of coffee.  The pink/red one, I made with her in mind. Turns out she has purchased some of that same fabric. So I guess I got that one right.

New project idea. Silly old Suitcase got my wheels turning on this. How much fun would it be to open a suitcase full of interesting, creative, beautiful, bits and bobs that someone has put away? Perhaps years ago? Well, I am creating a time capsule of sorts. A sweet vanity case, has been scrubbed up and I am tucking all manner of nifty things into it. A lavender pillow was first. Also some desiccant packs. Do you keep all those from handbags and pill bottles too? Besides some beadwork, crochet, craft supplies, miniature figurines, fabric, buttons, etc, I am including a small coin purse filled with Canadian pennies. Canada has stopped making them this year. (boohoo) so one day they will be of extreme interest. 

When full it will be tucked away on a top shelf, out of the way and forgotten about until it becomes a treasure for some lucky person to discover.

And on the note of lucky; we've held a draw and we have a winner. Conveniently I have 9 followers. So I popped number stamps into a little box, ( don't you love the graphic of the carpenter on this box? I am going to punch it out and save for future scrapbooking.) shook it vigorously and drew out...

#8!

And counting the members back from the oldest to the newest, #8 is Ada of Vintage Sheet Addict, (Won't be hard to figure out what to put in a parcel for her.) who is off camping and will be thrilled to learn of this on her return. 

Thank you to the member/followers, the commenters (here and on facebook) and those that just lurk.Love you all.  

Off to frolic with the flutter-bys.