A Happy *Bazzill* Halloween!!

Hi all and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

I have to tell you - Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! I love the colors, the fall air, the pumpkins, the costumes, everything. And it makes sense that it would be my favorite holiday to scrapbook about, too! Unfortunately I haven't had much of a chance do that lately since it's been a couple of years since BasicGrey's Eerie line (hint hint!) so I was really excited when Bazzill asked if they could send their new Spooky & Kooky line for me to play around with... and in true Bazzill fashion to GIVE AWAY!

I really loved the pure colors and fun, quirky designs in this line and quickly created a few layouts with it. By far my favorite product though were these fantastic stitched pleated borders! I fell in love with them. They are amazing and add so much texture to the page.

This is my silly middlest and his pumpkin last year. He was so excited to carve his own completely for the first time (if you couldn't tell)!

Supplies: Bazzill Basics PP, cardstock, stickers, buttons; BasicGrey glazed brads and brads; Doodlebug alpha stickers; Uni-ball pen; Fiskars border punch; EK Success circle cutter

And the youngest with his pumpkin. He's a traditionalist (if you couldn't tell)! ;)

Supplies: Bazzill Basics PP, cardstock, stickers, buttons; BasicGrey glazed brads; Doodlebug alpha stickers; Uni-ball pen; Pentel pen; Fiskars border punch & star punch; Jillibean Soup twine (based on a sketch by Becky Fleck @ Pagemaps)

And I couldn't leave out the oldest. Note the "cool" sports themed pumpkin. No kiddie stuff for this boy :P

Supplies: Bazzill Basics PP, cardstock, stickers, buttons; BasicGrey glazed brads, brads, alpha stickers; Pink Paislee number stickers; Pentel pen; Fiskars circle & star punch

So now here's what this all means for YOU! The folks at Bazzill are very kind and generous and have sent one extra of everything to giveaway. Check it out! So cool, right?! So here's what you have to do to get entered to win these goodies of your very own: Simply leave a comment here before midnight (eastern) tonight letting me know of your Halloween plans and you're golden! I'll choose a winner on my birthday (I just had to throw that in there - Nov. 2nd).

Oh....you thought I was done? Oh nooooo! There is more than ONE opportunity to win! Yep, no tricks here, just TREATS! Just hop on over to the SCRAPBOOK & CARDS TODAY's blog by clicking HERE and enter to win on their post there!

Have fun and Happy Halloween! Stay safe!
xoxo,

k

Sharing is Caring...CONTEST CLOSED (winner announced)

...and because I love all of you, I have so much I want to share with you today that you won't want to miss out on!!

First up - Look what goes on sale TODAY!!! Wheee!!

I'm so excited to to have been asked back to be a part of Scrapbook & Cards Today + PageMaps' new 2012 calendar! I loved last year's version and being a part of their stellar line up and believe me when I say this one is even better...AND it has a real cutie on the cover that I happen to know pretty well! ;) Once again the calendar will offer 13 months of inspiration, tips, tricks and techniques.

But brand new for 2012 they have included additional technique photos each month to get you trying some new things. There are also bonus PageMaps, CardMaps, photo tips and more. And the best part, it's only $9.95! A fabulous gift to yourself

and an even more fabulous holiday gift for your papercrafting friends! Visit Scrapbook & Cards Today's website at www.scrapbookandcards.com and be sure to order yours today!

And then there's this:

Crop & Create Markham - January 13/14

Get ready! Registration for classes for Crop & Create Markham, ON goes live today and registration for the event will open Monday, Octob

er 17th at 7:00 p.m! We have Becky Fleck, Vicki Boutin, me, Sarah Hodgkinson and Angela Urbano combining forces for this one-of-a-kind education event! Of course, there will be surprises in store ~ some small and one really big ;) Attendees will have 11 amazing classes to choose from, 2 on-site stores to shop in, a fun 2 hour make n' take session for everyone, dessert buffets each night, a gourmet sandwich lunch, coffee/tea Saturday morning and a really good goody bag to enjoy! There are only 132 spaces (trust me, this is NOT a lot!) so don't miss out!

Let's see...what else is there?

Mmmmm. How about a giveaway! I love doing posts with giveaways! Not only am I thrilled that I to get to join them in their class as a guest designer, but I have a spot to giveaway to my friends' Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner's amazing HOLIDAY CARD BOOT CAMP!! Oh yes! What generous girls and you definitely don't want to miss this!! Get your holiday cards done and out of the way in early NOVEMBER! Won't you feel so accomplished?! Registration is already open so here are the deets:

Have you taken a peek at your calendar recently? The holidays are just around the corner! We're here to help you check hand crafted holiday cards off your to-do list!

Join Jennifer McGuire, Kristina Werner and 12 of their most talented friends as they walk you through how to create your own 2011 holiday card in Holiday Card Boot Camp. Whether you're hoping to create a card that includes photos, a newsletter, a gift card or more - you're sure to be inspired. This class includes easy to mass-produce cards, 16 videos, card sketches, and stamping and cardmaking techniques.

Holiday Card Boot Camp runs November 7-21, but all content will always be available after signing up! This fabulous class is only $29 and includes many prizes, along with discount codes to favorite online stores.

For more class information or to register, click here.

To win a spot of your very own, simply leave a comment here te

lling me what you'd do with all your free time this holiday season knowing your cards were already taken care of! ;) I'll leave the contest open

over the weekend and will announce the winner sometime on Monday so be sure to get your entry in now! Please only one comment per person.

And please - go ahead and register to make sure you get in on this amazing deal. If you win my spot, Jennifer and Kristina will gladly refund your money or let you pass the class on to a friend! So there's nothing to loose!

Have a wonderful Friday!

xoxo,

kg

And the WINNER OF THE HOLIDAY CARD BOOT CAMP giveaway is:

(And this girl REAAAALLLLLY needs to buy a lotto ticket TODAY!)

KRISTIN HAYNE!

Stamping A to Z

October?

Really?

Really.

Sheesh. From now until the end of the year, everything is going to be on fast forward, isn't it? Yikes!

So sorry I've been MIA, but I've been trying to enjoy as much of this incredible autumn weather as possible. I hope you don't blame me! But before my poor old blog starts to develop cobwebs, I figured I better post an update and what could be better than a stamping tutorial?! (And a winner, too - announced at the end of this post!)

I had the honor to be asked to contribute to Two Peas in a Bucket's Stamping A to Z event for the month of October. I am *so* not a huge stamper, but I've been loving it more and more lately thanks in large part to our affiliation with Hero Arts their gorgeous stamps based on our BasicGrey designs.

Supplies: BasicGrey Life of the Party patterned papers, stamps, transparency; Wander alpha stickers

Other: American Crafts Zing Embossing powder, Versamark ink, Bazzill cardstock & buttons, Jillibean Soup twine, Fiskars punches.

For this layout, I used BasicGrey's Life of the Party papers & rubber cling background stamps. The stamping is on the tickets that are to the left of the photo as well as the little ticket "parts" that are used as accents.

In these close ups, you can really see the fun I had with the details on this page especially that embossing. Have I mentioned I loveeeee embossing especially with all the fun colors of Zing! that there is and how beautifully and crisply the BG/Hero stamps...well...STAMP!

Tickets patterns and shapes have been a huge trend in scrapbooking for the past six months or so and I can't get enough of them. A handful of tickets is so fun but even MORE fun when you can customize them and make them your own. And that's exactly what I did for this layout of Turner's 9th birthday. And here's how I did it:

This is what you'll need to get started: a clear embossing pad/ink, embossing powders, a favorite stamp, a heat gun and some cardstock. (This is a FANTASTIC way to use up your scrap bits and pieces!) P.S. Please ignore the totally wrecked BG cutting mat. I use mine daily and it is much loved...and very old ;)

Ink up your stamp with the clear embossing ink.

Stamp onto smooth cardstock (or the backside of textured cardstock). Be sure to press nice and firmly all the way around. (I didn't do this as well as I should in my hurry to take these photos and you'll see that in the next image - oops!)

While your image is still wet....

....sprinkle desired color of embossing powder over your design making sure to cover it completely.

Heat your design from underneath until the powder melts forming a smooth image. I heat from underneath to keep my image from "burning" - those heat guns get crazy HOT!

Once your design has cooled, cut scraps into ticket shapes. I used a variety of sizes, but for this particular one, the measurements are 1.5"x3".

Using a small circle punch (or even a hole punch), snip off the corners of the rectangle to make it look like a ticket. Experiment and play around to give each one a unique look.

And there you have it! Ta-da!!

I hope you'll try making some of your own. If you do, please link me up. I'd love to see them!
And finally the winner of the BasicGrey PICADILLY and the Fall issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today...Come on down, KRISTIN HAYNE!!! Congratulations, girl, and please email me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize!

Have a great week!
xoxo,

kg