Challenge #1 Stamp a background!

It's all about stamping this month at Counterfeit Kit Challenge! Our fabulous sponsor is none other than our own Master Forger, Sherri! She is giving away a stamp set from her etsy shop, which is a very cool and generous prize!

Our first challenge this month is to use stamps to create a background for a layout or card. Because of my bold paper choices this month, I struggled a bit with this one. I wanted a background that would not get lost with the strong patterns of my other papers. I also needed to make a card for my middle son, Joey, who turned 12 this weekend. I had a fun photo of him riding a unicycle, and decided to silhouette cut around his figure. I used a starburst stamp, and intended to create a mat to place behind the photo using the stars radiating out from the center. At first, I used a gold ink pad, and the image was too faint. So, I went with gold acrylic paint, which is not the most precise medium, but at least it showed well on my dark cardstock. After I got my stamped image down, I did not like the way it looked. So, since I was already feeling scissor happy, I cut out around all the stars, leaving a space intact in the center. I glued the center down to my card, but popped the ends up, so the appear to come right up off the front of the card. I also popped the image of Joey up. I cut out one of the fun images from the Graphic 45 paper, as well, to create this card. My son absolutely loved it, and all his friends were impressed, as well.


While I was on a roll, I made this page, using one of the stunning sheets of paper from my kit (Le Cirque). It begged to be cut into a frame, which I've seen done before, but I wanted to try something a little different. I was lucky enough to check out the free class a few weeks back put on by Miss Arts Papercrafting School, which was one of our former sponsors. It was called "The Secret Garden", and one of the examples was a gorgeous layout, which was cut in a similar manner, and popped up off the page. The designer, Stacy Cohen, used paper to create the ruffle around the edge of her cut out, but I used crepe paper, which seemed to go more with my circus theme. I found the perfect photo of my youngest son, Anton, last year at a local parade. His soccer team dressed up like clowns for the parade, but he wanted his face painted like a "sad clown". It was really cute, and I was lucky to get this shot of him with his face made up. Most of the items used were from my kit, except the crepe paper and Jillibean Soup alphas.


I am having a blast with my kit this month! It may be one of my favorite all time counterfeit kits! I hope you are enjoying yours, and can't wait to see your projects!