This Boy...

...turned 8 years old this week. Eight. My baby. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this, but it's a fact. I just can't seem to stop time. On the upside? *HE* is really excited about him being 8!

And because he's 8 and being the good mama that I am, we're incredibly busy planning a Harry Potter party in the woods at our local park. It's going to be SO much fun and I think my husband and I are even more excited than him and his brothers. So to kick off the week of party festivities, these sweet invites were delivered to his class Monday along with some cupcakes. And you know? Sometimes being a scrapbooking mama pays off in unexpected ways. Just how many other mom's would have enough vellum and embossing powder in the house to create 24 invitations? ahem. Just sayin'.

Source: instructables.com via gluestickgirl on Pinterest

Oh...and these wands? Well. They're our next project. Daddy's next project anyway. This mom already did her part by knitting Griffyndor scarves for the party guests. Ok, so I really only knitted two while my mom did the rest, but still....

And speaking of the boy...unfortunately he has also decided to quit football. Daddy and I are pretty devastated about that as he'd been looking forward to it for so long and was so excited about it, but we're not about to force him to play a sport he doesn't want to play. It was just an unfortunate little accident (a kid fell on his collarbone) that did him in and that. Was that. So to document his brief stint on the turf, I created this layout for the BasicGrey sketch this week. It features the Oliver line (probably one of my all-time favorites) as well as that sweet gap-toothed photo shown above.

Supplies : [OLIVER] MET-2720 Assorted Brads, VER-2716 Sticker Elements, VER-2702 Greyson (navy grid/grey stripe), VER-2700 Drake (green), VER-2709 Tate (multi-striped/white circles), VER-2705 Keegan (red polka dot), VER-2698 Austin (red chevron), VER-2713 Tyson (red solid), VER- 2706Mason (navy solid), [OLIVIA] VIA-2639 Isabella (white), BUT-2667 buttons (clear), [WANDER]WAN-2983 Sticker Mini Monograms (red), [HELLO LUSCIOUS] HLO-3249 Sticker Micro Monograms alpha stickers (black).

And yes! You might have caught that I said BASICGREY SKETCH!! They're back, baby! We've been so excited to have our own little corner of the blogosphere lately because it's really let us be in contact with YOU, our loyal fans and one of the top 3 requests for the new blog was SKETCHES! It seems that you all want inspiration and a starting point for your pages so here's what we're gonna do:

Each and every Monday you can expect a sketch to inspire your next project over on our BasicGrey blog. We’ll provide you a sketch and an example or two of how we put the sketch to work. And there may or may not be prizes along the way. (We all know how we like FREE goodies!)

Which brings me to my OWN free goodies to give away! The winner of the fantastic spot in Jennifer & Kristina's Summer Card Camp class is nbuston! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

And I never heard from - the winner of my "other baby" - my BasicGrey 2012 calendar! Congrats to you as well!

If you'd please contact me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com I'll be able to hook you up with your prizes!

Have a great week!

xoxo,

k

So you say you've always wanted to work for BG like me?

Well now is YOUR CHANCE!! Oh yes. I hinted that today's BasicGrey news would be huge, but did you expect it to be THIS big? I bet you didn't! So here it is:

We want to work with YOU as a member of our new BasicGrey Design Team!

I know, right?! How cool and exciting is that? I can hardly stand it. The full details and what we're looking for/expect can be found on the BasicGrey blog HERE so HURRY and get your projects and resume ready! We can't wait to see your submissions!

And speaking of things you won't want to miss especially if you did the first time around...
...here's your 2nd chance. My sweet friends Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner held an incredible class this summer called SUMMER CARD CAMP that was focused on color! It was such an amazing success that they decided the would open registration as a read/watch-only class for anyone who missed it. The price is slightly reduced as it's not an active class but you as a student can still go in and see, read and watch everything. Find out all the details HERE! I promise you, you will be mad at yourself if you don't sign up - it's that great!

And of course in true Jennifer & Kristina's fashion, they have generously allowed me to offer free registration to one of my lucky blog readers! Isn't that fantastic?! So please, leave a comment on this post telling me what had you so busy this summer and you'll be entered to win! Hurry - this giveaway will end soon!

Have a great Tuesday!
xoxo,

k.

Welome to the Blogosphere, BasicGrey!

Good morning & Happy Monday!

And YES! That banner is exactly what you think it is! BasicGrey has now entered the blogosphere! I can't even tell you how excited I am about that and how excited I am to finally be working with my long-time friend, Melanie Bauer! Mel was chosen as BasicGrey's new Social Media Coordinator and you'll find her chatting up all things BasicGrey all over the net - from Facebook to Twitter and our Blog and beyond!

It's going to be such a wonderful thing for BasicGrey and I know you'll be thrilled at all the inspiration and information we'll be able to get to you in this fun new way!

So now get hopping over there to the blog to see what it's all about AND to get your name into the drawing for some FREE BasicGrey! Who doesn't like free, right?! And trust me, you'll want to come back again and again because if today's announcement was huge, tomorrow's is going to be TREMENDOUS!

And speaking of giveaways - the winner of my calendar kit giveaway is mentioned here! If it's you, holler at me so I can get your your prize!!

Have a wonderful day!

xoxo,

k

It's the first day of SCHOOL!!

Hello, everyone!

I'm so excited to share a little something with you today but first I have to let out a big "WHOOO HOOOO!!! It's the first day of school!!" shout! And while I know the adults in the house were just a smidge more excited than the little people about that (when you work from home, summer can be a bit hairy at times ;)), everyone was up and ready to head out the door on time....with even a few minutes given to mom to snap the required photos.

My handsome guys. Ethan - 6th grade (and now a Middle-schooler!), Turner - 3rd grade and Carson - 2nd grade. They're getting so big now I can hardly stand it. Seriously. My baby will be 8 in just a few short days. Anyhow...

It really is with a bitter-sweet sadness that summer is officially winding down. We've had the most amazing (and jam-packed) few months and I hate to see it end. On the other hand, with the end of summer we get the wonderful beauty of Fall, football games and sweater weather! But with school fast approaching if not already here (and you're anything like me), you're already (or still) scrambling a bit trying to get supplies and clothes bought, backpacks picked out, lunches packed and teacher presents to make. And while I can't help you much with packing lunches (just don't do tuna ;)), I CAN help you with a super quick and easy gift for your brand new teachers using OXFORD by BasicGrey. Have you played with this line yet? It's so amazing for back to school, boys and everything in between! You'll love it and you'll love that these little notecards take just minutes and will take one more thin off you're "to do" list! And here's how they're done:

Supplies Needed:

2 sheets 8.5x11" black cardstock

1 pkg. BasicGrey Oxford Chip Sticker Shapes

1 sheet BasicGrey Oxford alpha stickers

1 sheet BasicGrey Oxford Letterman's Jacket

1 sheet BasicGrey Oxford Dean's List

1/8" hole punch

scissors

corner rounder

black brads

adhesive

1. Start with 4.25x5.5" black card bases. (An 8.5x11" sheet of paper will yield you two cards).

2. Trim Piece of Dean's List (tablet) to 3.25x4.5". Round bottom two corners.

3. Print sentiment at the bottom of the sheet (using printer or hand-journaling).

4. Using the 1/8" hole punch, punch a row of holes along the top of the tablet block approximately 1/4" from the top edge.

5. Trim into each hole from the edge using scissors, then fray to create a "faux" notebook edge.

6. Adhere table block frayed edge up to the center of a black cardstock base.

7. Trim a 1/2" strip of Letterman's Jacket against the grain so there are more stripes per strip. Adhere horizontally across the card just above the sentiment. Trim away any excess.

8. Adhere a chip sticker shape to the top of the tablet block above the striped strip.

9. Add a title (naming the chipboard piece) to the tablet block as it fits best.

And there you have it! It's that easy and look how cute they are?! I think any teacher would just love them.

And just as a reminder: the calendar giveaway in the post below is still open (for now!) Hop over there by clicking this link to get entered to win!

Happy Hump Day & Happy Back-to-School!

xoxo,

k

Nobody puts my BABY in a corner! **CONTEST CLOSED**

And the WINNER IS:

CONGRATULATIONS! Please email me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize!

Hello, all! Sorry. I couldn't help that reference in my post title. I'm still in denial they are wanting to remake "Dirty Dancing" but I digress. ;)

Most of you who know me know that when I talk about "My Baby" I'm referring to my annual BasicGrey calendar - my labor of love that I work so hard on and am so darn proud of. And as I've already mentioned last month, 2012 is by FAR my favorite. Yeah, yeah. I know. I say that every year. But this time, I reallllly mean it! And guess what? It's shipping to stores near you NOW!! You'll so want to stock up on several as it truly makes a wonderful holiday gift...for others OR yourself! So much is included in this kit (just check out the image below) yet it doesn't take forever to assemble.

Here are just a couple of images from some of the months that you'll be creating. This one is using the HOPSCOTCH line - one of my favorites for whimsical fun!

And my favorite BOY line for this one - OLIVER. I can't get enough of the colors and grids and stars! All they need now is YOUR photos, right?!

And I know you're waiting for it - it gets even better this Monday morning because I'm giving one of these awesome kits away for FREE!! Oh yes! Simply leave a comment on this post telling me why you need this calendar and it could be yours! Only one comment per person please! Contest will end sometime this week so get your name in soon!

Have an awesome day!

xoxo,

k.

It's gotta be a record!

Yep, I think it just might be a record! I can hardly believe it, but I completed a vacation album in LESS than a week since I've been back - in 4 days actually (that's practically only a 1/2 week)! And *that*, folks, is why I love pre-preparing these things! You might note that there is a formula I follow on almost all my minis so that I can get them done in a reasonable time. I develop two 2-page spreads and then do variations of it all throughout the album. It makes it come together quickly, keep things uniform in appearance and helps stretch supplies! Then all I had to do once I sat down with is is crop and print a few photos, add journaling and call it good! SO easy and I am loving how it turned out. BasicGrey's Lauderdale was just perfect for this little project. And since I promised I'd share, here you go:



A little photo punched with a 2" circle punch was just perfect for the middle of that bracket label diecut!

One of my favorite places - Harbor Town. The insert at the right holds more photos and is tucked into one of the pockets of the album.






So excited how this turned out and absolutely thrilled that I got down my memories before I forgot some of the little details. The boys have already poured over this, too - checking out photos of themselves - and truly that's what it's all about, isn't it?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo,
kg

I think I need a Vacay from my Vacay!

Whew! Does anyone out there remember me?! I know it's been forever since I last posted. To say it's been a crazy summer would be an understatement! Between multiple camps for the three boys and work and the usual summer hotness, it's flown by. Thank goodness we were able to cap it all with a wonderful family vacation down to Hilton Head. I ADORE Hilton Head - I've been going since I was about Ethan's age but it had been far too long since I had been back. And as much as things had changed, things were still so very much the same :). I love when that happens. We just got back Sunday night and now are in full-on school mode even though school doesn't start until the 17th. Between teacher home visits (don't get me started on those), back-to-school shopping, football practice, scouts and planning a birthday party, I never know if I'm coming or going! So I try and calm myself with wonderful memories of our recent vacation and dream of going back soon....

Here are a few of my favorite moments:

Carson playing in the sand.

Ethan learning how to boogie board.

All my guys in the water.

Harbor Town Light. I've climbed it's 144 steps more times than I can count. I LOVE this lighthouse though I wish they had left off the flags (they didn't used to be there) - I'm a purist when it comes to my lighthouses.

Everyone on the docks in Harbor Town. They're all laughing because Ethan sneezed every time I tried to snap a picture! ;)

The view from the dock going over the dunes to the beach. It kills me that no photo editing was done to this picture. It is just THAT pretty and colorful. sigh.

I wish I was this talented with sand! This loggerhead turtle was very fitting as it's egg laying/hatching season on the island right now.

The oldest thinking a dead jellie wouldn't sting him. He was wrong.

The oldest also thinking he could also outrun his dad. He was wrong again. (But it won't be long!)

Awwww. The littles in the pool.

The sunset over Skull Creek. It was gorgeous there when it broke through the clouds.

And finally our attempt at a family photo (I was setting it up in this shot) but it was a huge epic FAIL. I sat them in fire ants and well - that was all she wrote. Bah. I just we just have to go back again soon to try again?! ;)

In the meantime, I get to have fun filling this cute little mini album I made with BasicGrey's Lauderdale line with all our vacay memories. Have you ever pre-prepared an album for your vacation or event photos? I love doing that. I find it such an easy way to make sure you get those memories down super fast while they're still fresh in your mind - not to mention you have this cute little book to inspire you to get all those photos you might otherwise forget to take. Though I have to admit that's not so much my problem (as you can probably tell!). I take so many that I almost have to put them in a little mini album of their very own!
Doesn't this album just scream summer?! I can't get enough of this line. And I'll be sure to share the album again as soon as I get it filled up so you can see how quickly it came together.



Supplies: BasicGrey Lauderdale 6x6 pad, Olio rub-ons, alpha stickers, Pieces (die-cuts), brads
Other: Bazzill cardstock, paper bags, Fiskars border punch

Have a wonderful week! And be sure to check back soon. I have a special back to school giveaway coming up that you won't want to miss!
xoxo,
k.