500th + 5 Yr Post WINNER!

Hailey!! Congratulations, girl - it's YOU!
Send me an email at Kelly(dot)Goree(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize! I can't wait to send your goodies to you! I thought about posting a photo to show you your loot but I thought it might be more fun to let you be surprised and then you can do it ;) I hope you enjoy it all!

Have a wonderful start to your week! It's CHA time AND my boys are all home under one roof! It's going to be a great one!

July is for CELEBRATIONS & giveaways!

In the words of my middlest, July is for CELEBRATIONS! And we have much to celebrate! So many good things are happening and I love sharing them with you here.

To start, it was the birth of our nation this weekend - the best nation in the entire world full of opportunity and freedoms much of the world can only dream of! We played it a bit low-key this 4th but did manage visit a neighbor's for a yummy cookout and light a few cheapy fireworks much to the delight of the boys! Speaking of the boys check out how BIG they're getting. Seriously! I take this same photo every year and all of a sudden, this year...well this year I realized I don't have "little" boys any more...


See what I mean? sigh. And please don't mind Ethan's smile (what.is.up.with.that.fakey.fake.thing) or Turner's big lip. Someone (I'm not going to name names) was doing something he shouldn't (jumping on the couch) and busted it big time. Poor kid, but he'd been warned...more than once. Just saying.

And for those of you who are crafty like me and love to get your pictures down on scrapbook pages, Better Homes & Gardens' Scrapbooks Etc included tips in their newsletter for patriotic and summer sports pages. I was excited to see some of my own old favorites included but beyond my pages, there are some really great ideas there. I hope you check it out. :)

My next celebration is over at STUDIO CALICO for their 4th Anniversary/Birthday! I had the honor to come back to party with them a bit and put up a challenge for the site members which just sent went live over the weekend. Here's a link if you want to play along! And yes, there are prizes involved!


And the final celebration I get to talk about is for my 5th ANNIVERSARY/500th POST Blog Extravaganza giveaway! To think it all started on July 1st 2006 with THIS POST! See what I mean about my boys?! Five years ago they were ALL so little! To celebrate, I am giving away a USPS flat rate box SHOVED FULL with all I can fit into it. Unfortunately that means US friends only unless any of my international friends are willing to split the difference with me to get the box to them. (I'm happy to do that if you'd like :)) I'm not exactly sure what all that will be but I can tell you it *will* at least have a full collection pack of both OXFORD & OUT OF PRINT - the newest releases from BasicGrey...and maybe even something handmade, too. So please - leave a comment on this post (one per person please) - telling me something you've enjoyed about this blog and I'll draw a winner a bit later this week! I'm leaving this open for a while because parties are more fun when there's no set *end date*, right?!
Oh and Monica Schoenemann - if you're still reading! Send me a little message because you were my first ever blog commenter and I'd love to send you a little something, too!

Here's to a wonderful July!
xoxo,
k.

Today's the day! It's BasicGrey's 2011 Summer Release!

Today's the day! Are you ready?! I'm so excited to do this!
But let me warn you now...this is going to be a looooong & photo heavy post so sit down with your coffee (or in my case a McD's diet coke) and get comfy and let me introduce BasicGrey's CHA-Summer 2011 release:
Old-world whimsy and tradition. Classic country freshness. Bold, independent bohemian. Elegance and grace. BasicGrey's CHA-S 2011 release captures four distinct and evocative styles with patterns and colors designed to pique your creativity and illuminate your projects.

First up is Indie Bloom. The swish of a skirt, the sound of heels on mosaic tiles, the addictive rhythms playing somewhere close - you're experiencing the devil-may-care style of Indie Bloom from BasicGrey. Go barefoot on an unexpected and delightful journey in juicy guava, pomegranate ruby, flamingo pink, natural ivory and sharp black.

INDIE BLOOM:


*Tutu Sweet*

photo by Ursula Page

I adore this line. The bold colors just speak to me and having that black to contrast all the brights is just heaven! You might notice on here a new product in our Felt Flowers! Aren't they cute?! And they only come in colors to coordinate with this line (for now :)). There's also the new Metal Flowers (orange) that are actually to go with Picadilly but as you can see, they're pretty versatile! Love them! They just stick on with a pop dot so there is no puncturing your page.
And I know I don't have to comment on just how adorable those wee ballerinas are, but I will. The one right in the middle is my friend Ursula's daughter, Harper. They're so precious! (Man, I need a girl!)

*Perfect Piggies*


photo by Shelby Valadez
based on a sketch by Becky Fleck

This is my friend Shelby's little cutie, Anna! And I'm with her, I adore a little girl in piggy tales! So sweet. And I love how this line as so many different color sets! It can be so versatile. In the first layout it was puples/pinks with a splash of orange. This one is a warm red infused with aquas and pinks. So yummy! And those petals? How cute are they?! I have to admit I didn't understand them at first, but now I can't seem to get enough. And so I look for ways and places to use them! (Hey, a girl in a house of all boys has to do what she has to do!) I also have to give a shout out to our Olio rub-ons. Our full color rub-ons go on like butter, are opaque AND have such stinkin' cute designs. They're truly one of my favorite embellishments.

Now on to our holiday line for this year. Get cozy with Nordic Holiday! With lovingly-knit sweaters, warm-baked gingerbread, snowflake kisses on pink cheeks, and traditions that stretch back before days you remember, you've got a lift ticket to ride into the holiday season...Nordic style! Wrap yourself up in all the snowy whites, icicle blues, holiday greens, and merry reds and revel in warm fuzzy holiday memories.

NORDIC HOLIDAY:


*From, Carson*

This year was the first year my youngest decided he wanted to send out his own Christmas cards. He painstakingly filled them out and signed each one "from, Carson." I adore that he wanted to do this and loved documenting it with these gorgeous papers. The Pop 3-D stickers from this line are wonderful (you'll see I used it in both pages) and they have just enough sparkle for the holidays. And did you know that the chipboard shapes for this line are going to have a little sparkle as well?! Yum!

*Happy St. Nick Day*


Again here you see more of the Pops, our awesome 3-D stickers as well as Pieces (holding the title) and the gorgeous stitched brads for this line. I have to admit, I usually don't like scrapbooking the holidays, but this line made it alot of fun! I mean, really - just LOOK at that little Swiss chalet! My boys were thrilled with their wooden shoes from Holland and all the goodies St. Nick brought them so I'm thinking this is going to be a new annual tradition for us. Love when that happens! :)

These two lines we just reviewed - Indie Bloom & Nordic Holiday - will be the two lines that will ship first in our staggered program. They'll both be available in AUGUST!

Now for the two lines that will ship in OCTOBER and perhaps my favorite two lines from this release - Little Black Dress and Picadilly.

Throw on your Little Black Dress from BasicGrey, and descend the marble staircase in classic white pearls, satin gloves, lace trimmings and all the finery. This collection is a smashing symphony of jaw-dropping lace, shattering-the-rules damask, and menswear plaids in bright white, smooth grey, rich blacks, apricot and creams.

Little Black Dress:


*Simply Beautiful*

photos by Stacy Beard
I don't know if you realize how much I love our Pieces. They (and our element stickers) are always my favorite cheap embellishment from any line. They're just so darn versatile. Here I used Pieces, some Pops and the Olio Rub-ons. The colors in this line are just divine. Since they're all neutrals, there's almost no way to go wrong - projects just come together beautifully! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this line! And I'm super excited about a new embellishment we're releasing with this collection - they're paper pom flowers and they're just too cute!

*Us*


photos by Stacy Beard
based on a sketch by Becky Fleck
This layout might be my favorite. Not only were the photo subjects just precious and so in love (thanks, Stace!), but the patterns just go together so easily that it makes everything look good. Here I used quite a bit of our Chip Sticker shapes and Olio rub-ons (have I mentioned how much I love those?! ;)) but also another new product in those white rose buttons! Aren't they gorgeous?! They actually come with an assortment of vintage looking buttons and are so cute. I simply punched a hole through my layout then used a wire to thread it onto the back rather than sewing because we all know I just don't sew!

A hot cup o' chicken soup, warm buttermilk biscuits, and cherry pie with a mound of fresh whipped cream on a glistening white countertop: you're experiencing Picadilly by BasicGrey. A symphony of sweet American coziness and down-home country-fresh flavors in lemonade yellow, cherry red, cornflower blue and new grass green.

PICADILLY:


*Homegrown*

based on a sketch by Becky Fleck
Oh my boys. My silly, stinky boys - they are perfect for this line and all the summer fun they get into. More of my favorite Petals on this project along with a new product, Yo-Yos! Do you see that fabric rosette with the button in the middle of the flower? That's a yo-yo! They're really fun and I think you can do just about anything with them! And before I head on to the next layout, isn't the color palette for this collection just divine?! I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE the colors, especially the cornflower blue and corn yellow. (I'm addicted to yellow lately - it's a sickness, really!)

*Apple of her Eye*


This is my gorgeous best friend and my sweet Lydian Jane. These two are two of the most important people in the world to me. I love them so and was so excited to see them on Father's Day when I took these sweet photos. The large tree is actually one of our Element stickers for this line. I know, right?! It's awesome and I love that it has a variety of apple patterns that work so cute with it. The red polka dot strip is also an element sticker and you'll see a few glazed brads thrown in. This whole line just reminds me of my grandmother in all the best ways and I can't get enough of it! OH! And I keep coming back to this post to edit things I forgot (I'm THAT excited!) but wait til you see the new wooden buttons with this line! Seriously - they are divine! My gram would totally approve!

And finally...last but not least...MY BABY! The 2012 edition of the BasicGrey calendar! I say this every year, but this year's is by FAR my favorite! :)

This calendar will ship in August as well so you'll have plenty of time to make one for yourself or give as gifts for this holiday! I promise you won't be disappointed!

There is so much more that I couldn't even touch on here, but to see all the full releases, go to BasicGrey and click on "Scrapbook" then "Collections" and then be prepared to loose a few hours staring in amazement ;)

Have a wonderful holiday weekend (Happy Canada Day today to my dear Canadian friends and Happy Independence Day on Monday to all my US folks) and stay safe, everyone!

OH! And P.S! Today is my 5th Anniversary of blogging (seriously!?!) and almost my 500th post! Stay tuned in a day or so for a giveaway blow-out celebration!
xoxo,
k.