Counterfeiting Anyone?

Confused?  Let me explain.  I am sure most of you have seen or visited the Counterfeit Kit Blog.  The premise of CKB, is taking popular Kits and using your own stash to compile a similar Kit.  I think this is a fabulous idea, but alas, I have been too lazy to ever get a Kit together.  Well, I got a little inspiration last week, when I received a tweet for an awesome Studio Calico blow-out sale.  I popped over to take a look at what they had and there were $30 or more kits going for $10 and under.  I was READY to start shopping!!  But then, I took a closer look at the Kits and I noticed that in more than half of them, I already had most of the same papers in my Scrapbooking stash.  So I argued with myself, to buy or not to buy, that is the question.  In the end, my frugality won out and I decided to save some photos of the Kits and get to work and put my own together.  Shocking, I know!!  

Okay, so now I'll show you the Studio Calico Kit, that I drew inspiration from and what I put together.  I focused mainly on the papers, since I had some good matches in that area.  I went a little more rogue on my embellishments, but I think it worked out well for my page.  And do not laugh at my Kit photo, because it is no where near as fabulous as Studio Calico's photo!!  :)

  
Okay, my photo DEFINITELY is not as fabulous as the Studio Calico photo!!  :)  Next time I do this, I will try to work on a better shot of what I put together.  So here is what I did, I had matching papers to the Kit as far as the Black & Cream pattern from MME, the ruler pattern from Crate Paper's Farmhouse collection, and the red Chevron from Fancy Pants.  I also had the alphabet pattern from October Afternoon, but forgot to add it in (but I probably wouldn't have used it on the page I'm gonna be sharing, anyway).  :)-  For the other papers, I chose patterns and colors from my stash that were similar to what was used in the Kit and for the solids, I decided to work with the Gray and Brown for this layout.  As far as embellishments, I added in a few Amy Tangerine goodies.  And on my layout, you will see that I added in Thickers, October Afternoon buttons, a die-cut Gray tag, and a Flair Button from Ormolu...this is where my laziness came into play, because I just didn't feel like separating all of that out from my stash and adding it to the picture!!  :)  NOW, onto the layout...

 
I just had to document these photos, because let me tell you...I have been through potty training with two girls and I was not prepared for a boy!!  It has been rough going!!  We make it to the potty plenty of times, but as far as actually "accomplishing" anything...well, let's just say we're about 1 for 100!!  :)  One of my friends said to leave this page from being plastered on the Internet for saving our son's embarrassment, but hey, he's only 3, so I am sure I will find more opportunities between now and the teenage years to embarrass him!!  :)  I didn't really have a design pre-planned for this layout.  I just kind of placed a few things on the page and then started sticking them down.  But it came together fairly easy, and I think it's because I put the Kit together ahead of time.  This probably won't be something I do for every layout from now on, but I think it's a great idea for when I'm going to a Crop and of course, I could use the same Kit that I put together for several layouts.

So, there you have it!!  A little look into a fun way to prepare for your next layout.  Find a Kit you like and see what you can put together.  It's a fun way to find new uses for old things in your stash and a great way to deplete your stash...so you can buy more new stuff!!  :)

Products Used:  Patterned Paper:  Studio Calico, Fancy Pants, MME, Crate Paper; Thickers:  American Crafts; Font:  Geodesic & Rustler; Buttons, Stickers, & Mini Market Stickers:  October Afternoon; Remarks Sticker & Die Cut Cardstock Shapes:  Amy Tangerine; Flair Button:  Ormolu; Pen:  Sharpie