Now that you’ve thought about how you scrapbook, and what you use when you scrapbook, let’s pull a kit together.

Actually, before we get started, ask yourself one more question: what am I planning on scrapbooking soon? Is it a subject that lends itself to a theme? Knowing that can help you make decisions.

Let’s create a kit now!

Start by going through your paper stash, and looking for one paper that you really love, but haven’t figured out how to use yet. Just one paper. Any pattern, any theme, something that you had to have the first time you saw it.

This is the paper I built my kit around:

Now look at your paper. What are it’s major colors? What’s it’s style? (This one is a bit grungy, with small details that make it feel more ornate and girly.) Based on the colors in your first paper, find a second paper with similar colors and style.

This is the second one I pulled out of my stash:

As you can see, this has an orange and yellow similar (but not exactly the same) to the oranges on the butterfly paper. It also has a dark grey and light grey, and it pulls in two more colors: a light blue and a pale green.

Now, using those colors, bring in more papers. You’ll want at least six patterned papers, although I pulled ten. (I have a large stash, I need to use it!) Vary the sizes of your patterns from small to large. You might also want to make sure you’ve added some monochromatic papers or some neutral patterns. Don’t forget to check both sides of double sided papers. Sometimes one side doesn’t play real well with what you’ve already assembled, but the opposite side is just what you needed to pull all the separate elements together.

If you know you’re going to be using this kit to scrap a theme, start with a themed paper you love if you want. You do NOT have to use themed papers for themed pages though. You can use Valentine papers on a Christmas page. You can use train themed papers for pages about your pets. (Especially if any of yours are named for trains as mine are!)

The most important thing is to start with a paper you love, whether or not it has a theme.

Once you have your patterned papers assembled, do another color check. Are your papers still carrying on a color and style conversation? Good. Based on the colors in your patterned papers, pull out four pieces of cardstock in colors that coordinate with your patterns. Any black, white, or kraft you have in your stash are bonuses and can be used to make your kit go further.

Notice how none of the oranges are exactly the same? That’s okay. You just want your papers to play nicely together, they don’t need to match. (Matching is for 70s velour suits!)

Finally start pulling together your embellishments. Add some alphas if you want, and embellishments that you’ve been dying to use, but were saving for some special page. Once again you want a mix of sizes and types. If you can vary texture as well, that will add a lot of visual interest to the pages you make from your kit.

Things that aren’t in my kit, but that I’ll probably use at some point? Baker’s twine. Bling. Inks and mists and masks. Washi tape. (Washi has totally replaced ribbon at my house. Do you still use ribbon? You’ll probably want to add some to your kit if you do.)

These items are a starting point. Like all kits, they are meant to be used together, but also with the items in your stash.

Any questions about pulling together a kit from your stash? I’d love to help you figure it out. And if you want to get into adapting what you have to mimic other kits, you really do need to check out the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog. They are full of ideas and inspiration.

If you make up a kit, take a picture of it, and add it to the No Excuse Scrapbooking Flickr group. I’d love to see what you pull together.

Personally, I am so looking forward to playing with this. I’m planning on using it for the ScrapHappy October LOAD. If you don’t know what LOAD or ScrapHappy is, come back tomorrow for a little blog hop that will explain one of the most fun things to do in the scrappy universe.