The Pink Mini

Good morning all!

Welcome to Day 3 of my self-claimed mini week :)

Today I wanted to share an album I developed for BasicGrey in celebration of Scrap Pink. For those of you that don't know Scrap Pink is the scrapbook community's way of raising money and awareness for Breast Cancer Research during the month of October. It's such a wonderful celebration and I really enjoy being a part of it.

For our contribution this year, BasicGrey had me develop an exclusive album for retail stores that would just be available for Scrap Pink celebrations. They asked for a project celebrating friendship, and for me that couldn't have been easier.

I'm so incredibly fortunate to have had my best friend in my life for (she'll kill me for saying this!) 20 years this coming January. (Excuse me, I just fainted!) This mini was the perfect way to document some of my favorite memories/quirks about us. She deserves an entire book for putting up with me this long, trust me, but it was wonderful starting with this!

This project uses BasicGrey's Perhaps line (so soft and feminine) along with their adorable scalloped mini. And since this class was going to be a fairly short one, I wanted to avoid some of the fussy cutting that would be involved if I covered the album in it's entirety around all those scallops. I decided to leave the scallops plain and focus on the center of the book, so I made everything with a square base to fit right in the middle.
But as I hate leaving things looking "unfinished", I came back at the very end and added a little inking and pen work as you see here to dress it up a bit. I also used my Crop-a-dile punch to put holes in the center of the scallops for a lacy look.
Again, I'll tell you I love making things as easy as I can so I used alot of punches here - circle punches, heart punches - anything that could speed up the process. I came up with a basic pattern and then just varied it from page to page for interest.
You can see by looking at these pages, I just kept flipping my photo page and journaling page every other time throughout this mini and just changed a few things around. It really makes the process much quicker and then a mini can be a project you can finish in an afternoon.
And because I love texture, I added a few things with dimension to my album from the buttons to the ribbons and a few chipboard pieces, but nothing to elaborate. I wanted to keep it fairly simple.

The end result ended up being a cherished keepsake and something I look forward to giving Ann Marie (once I get it back)! Thanks again for letting me share and I hope if any of you get so motivated to create their own albums this week, you'll share it with me by posting a link here.

Happy Grey's Thursday, all!

Day 2

Good morning and welcome to Day 2 of my mini mini-week!

This little mini is by Scrapworks and is truly a mini, mini! It's an adorable 2" x 3" size with a postage stamp border and the perfect way to get into doing an acrylic album if you're a bit intimidated by the whole "see-thru" thing like me!

I did this originally for Tarisota as a guest designer there in September. Tamar puts together absolutely amazing kits and this one had my jaw on the floor. It was unreal. I love guest designing because it gives me an opportunity to play with things I normally wouldn't have and this little album was one of them.

The original mini includes five acrylic pages and because I wanted to make it a little more substantial so I added solid pages in between each of the acrylic ones. As I mentioned yesterday I'm all about a pattern, so it was acrylic page, solid page, acrylic and so on until I finished with an acrylic page.

The fun of a clear acrylic album is getting to see hints of things to come on the following pages, but it makes page planning completely necessary. I laid out the base for the entire album until I had the look I wanted before I ever started adhering anything down. The great thing about this particular album is that it's tiny size allows for a fairly quick assembly, even with having to page plan.

I started with chipboard letters on the front cover (only the RU). The next page is solid and I deliberately cute the paper so that the owl was visible as the main component to the cover, then I added the rest of the title directly onto that solid sheet as you can see here.

The backside of the title page was my first photo and next to it on the acrylic page was just a little strip of paper with some journaling so you could see the photo coming up. It might be good to say now that this little album was about my oldest son and all the the things I think make up who he is...Funny is most definately one of them (silly might be more accurate!) The next pages are just a repeat, but in reverse. It's that pattern thing - what can I say?!

The photo on this spread is actually mounted on top of the acrylic sheet. As you'll see in the next image, I actually mounted the photo onto black cardstock then used Glossy Accents to hold it down invisibly. I also love to add little elements that hang off the page. I think it gives it a bit more visual interest. You'll notice that I did notch all the edges to mirror the border of the album. I did this simply by lining the pages up and using a hole punch. Super easy!



Here you can see the black cardstock I used on the backside of the photo...I then added a sticker and another little chipboard piece to the acrylic side. The other side is another solid page made mainly of the photo. For fun, I added a bit of pen work around the photo borders rather than stitch. Besides pattern, I'm all about speed and ease! (Surprised?!)

I think this next page is probaby my favorite in the entire album because it uses one of my favorite techniques when it comes to acrylic - RUB-ONS!! Rubons that can be read both directions are perfect for acrylic albums. I picked this cute little owl - and when you see the other page through it - it almost looks like my son's eyes are the owl's eyes. Too fun!



Because of that cool owl was so cool (hee!), I didn't add anything to the other side of the clear page - I wanted it to stand alone so to speak. The next page is the final photo page and finishes up the journaling. By the way - these minis are great for those extra photoshoot pics you might not know what to do with. These little albums make great brag books or keepsakes! Moving on...

The final page was one more owl (in keeping with the WHO theme) and then it was finished with a ring and a few ribbons. This took only a brief afternoon and was such a fun project. The best part is that when you get these albums, they come two to a pack so you can make one and give one away!

Enjoy and thanks for letting me share. I'll have BasicGrey's Scrap Pink album tomorrow :)
k.

mini Week

I love minis!

And no, I'm not talking skirts! HA!

I love mini albums.

Love them.

Adore them.

Want to marry them. (I'm only 1/2 kidding on that one!)

I actually do alot of minis for different things from trade shows to classes and rarely do I think to post them because it's hard to show them in their entirety and let's be honest - seeing all the details is what makes them fun, right? So I thought I might try a weel of minis here to have a place to show them and also to perhaps inspire some of you to try one of your own.

I definately subscribe to a "simple" philosphy when it comes to my mini albums. I come up with a page idea/concept and then repeat it in varying formats for all the pages. That makes them sooooo easy to complete because once the intial design is developed, the rest just falls into place.

This one is one of my favorites. I did this album about my neighbor Jessica for CHA Summer back in July. It features BasicGrey's Urban Prairie line and one of my fave mini shapes - Lotus - in dark chocolate chip (black) - yummmm!

I love this shape because not only is it so different, it's also not overly complicated that fussy cutting around the edges is difficult should you want to cover it. Personally, though I don't like to cover all of these beautiful albums because I like when the bare chipboard color to come through. And with these albums, since the color is in every layer of the chipboard, the color stays beautiful and bold no matter how much work you do to it! Also fun is adding pen work with opaque pen to these albums like I did here. The dark colors really make the brights and whites pop out.

These albums make wonderful handmade presents for loved ones and it's not to late to get started for someone special you know. In fact, at the end of the week, I'll give away one of BasicGrey's new minis so you can do just that! Keep watching for details!

And one more thing before I go...

This Thanksgiving, BasicGrey is releasing a brand. new. line. and just in time for the new year! (It should begin shipping by Mid-December.) Wow, is it gorgeous! To get you thinking about it, the powers-that-be over at BasicGrey (Hi, Maddy!) have agreed to let me give away an entire collection back to the person who first accurately guesses the name of this new line.

And here's a hint....it starts with a "B" - now GO! Go forth and guess! :) I can't wait to hear what you come up with!

Happy Tuesday, all!
k.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

(Thank you, Maurice Greene, for the phrase which now will never leave my head!)

The random number generator picked lucky #114, so that means:

DWaye said...
A work colleague invited me to a crop at a LSS, that's what got me started.

11/14/2008 5:58 AM

You're now the proud owner of some new BG Stamps and card kit and whatever else I thought to throw in there :) Congrats!! Email me at kelly.goree@gmail.com with your addy and I'll get that out to you!

Unfortunately I'm buried under work today and don't have much to share, but I always hate posting without a picture, so here you go. It's cold, rainy/snowy and icky here, so this reminds me of why I love fall. ;)

Happy Monday, all, and Congrats again, DWaye!

Reminder!

***THANK YOU! CONTEST IS NOW OVER. STAY TUNED FOR WINNER!***

It's a crazy day of housework and scrappy work around here, so no real time to post, but I wanted to put out a reminder that the drawing for the Wassail goodies ends tonight at 11:59 PM EDT! Give me a comment in the post below to be entered to win!

Happy Saturday, all!
-k.

Hap-PEA Anniversary to me!

***THANK YOU! CONTEST IS NOW OVER. STAY TUNED FOR WINNER! ***

Saturday will mark five years (and 12,000 posts!) as a Pea for me. Has it really been that long??! I find it hard to really put into words what the TwoPeas community has done for me. I give the site and the wonderful members and friends I've made there all the credit for evolving my scrapbooking into what it is today - whatever that is! But seriously, it's so true. When people ask me how I got started scrapbooking, I mention two things...one was my group of online mom's that I met when Ethan was born as they were the ones who directed me to 2peas and motivated me to actually pick up some scissors (Hi, Jan '00 Moms!), and then of course, 2peas itself.

The very. first. time. I visited, I managed to find my way to Ali Edwards' garden seeds. I was so blown away (and greatly intimidated!) that after looking at a few pages, I shut the window down on my computer and didn't go back for months. True story! (Betcha didn't know that, didja, Ali?! lol)

When I finally did go back, I just drank it all in like a sponge. I'm quite sure I didn't post a darn thing except for praise for months on end. I watched and looked and tried to learn as much as I could. It was at least 2 months after that when I finally had the nerve to post my very first page. Since then, there's been no looking back! I've had so many amazing opportunties that I couldn't have dreamed of just by being a part of 2peas. So today, to Kristina and Jeffrey, I want to give my heartfelt 'thank you' for helping me find my passion. I was forever changed and I am forever grateful!

So you know I couldn't leave this post without a little giveaway to celebrate...ok a BIG giveaway! If you leave me a comment by 11:59 EDT SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15th telling me what made you start scrapbooking or the biggest influence on your scrapbooking, you'll be entered to win not only a Wassail Card kit but 3 sets of Wassail stamps. And let me tell you why this is huge...those stamps and card kit are now SOLD OUT!! at BasicGrey (YAY!!!!) so once they're gone from stores, they're gone. (This is also true for my baby - the 2009 Calendar kit! We were amazed at the response it got! And I'm so excited it did so well!) So this is your chance!

Do a little celebrating for me today, ok?!

k.

The one where I enable

I know I'm about to make some sew-y, crafty gals realllllly happy with post!! BasicGrey's amazing line, Sultry (one of my favorites EVER!) is now in fabric form at Moda! You can see more details here. (You may have to click on the link twice to refresh it.) Isn't it incredible? Boy is that jelly roll calling my name....if only I sewed. But those of you that do, these beautiful fabrics are availble directly at Moda NOW and should be coming to stores near you in February. Go get you some!


Oh and since I'm enabling....I just saw this over on my friend, Mel's blog. "HOLY WOW" is what I said to her! I'm sure you'll agree. 165 pages of sale items??! Go forth and shop I say to you. And enjoy!

And one more thing. BasicGrey is in the process of revamping their website and we'd love to see your magazine covers that feature our products predominantly. If you have done a magazine cover (or know of one) using mostly BasicGrey products, will you drop me an email at kelly@basicgrey.com? I'd love to see it!

Happy Wednesday, all!

Happy Holidays!

Look what I found in my inbox yesterday! This is the December, 2008 issue of Scrapbook Trends and just check out those sweet boys on the cover! I can't believe how tiny they seem, especially Mr. Carson. (And don't we have an amazing Santa??!)

While I am thinking of it (and before this holiday hits me at warp speed and I am completely consumed), I want to wish you all the happiest of holidays and may Santa grant each of you your fondest wish.

XO,

k.

It doesn't get much better than this...

...a beautiful, crisp fall afternoon and a huge pile of leaves. Happiness in leaf form! :)

Quick Share.

Hi all!

I just want to take a quick minute to share with you some layouts I did for BasicGrey's November newsletter. I know I haven't talked about it much, but doing the newsletter is something I look forward every month. It's so fun working with other designers and together creating a great resources of new ideas. Not to mention it always includes a fabulous sketch by Becky Fleck and tons of user inspirations. If you haven't yet seen our newsletter and are interested in subscribing, we'd love to sign you up. All you need to do is fill in your email on BasicGrey's home page by clicking here.

This first layout features Granola - our featured paper collection this month. This is Carson being his usual exuberant self!
Supplies: BasicGrey Granola: papers (Seed, Trailmix, Wholesome, Vanilla Bean, Honey, Flax), Chip Sticker Shapes, Element Stickers, and rub-ons.


This next layout is based on Becky's Sketch (found below) and features Offbeat - one of myfavorite lines from our most recent release. I love how versatile this line can be. Simply by omitting the red and orange papers in this collection, I was able to achieve an entirely different look for it.

It is mostly about a conversation between Carson (my 5-year-old) and his Daddy. I thought it was too cute not to document. I found some older photos that I thought would work beautifully with them the end result is one of my personal favorite layouts in a while. I love it when I'm able to get down a special story that I know would so easily be forgotten in a few years. It's the most passionate part of scrapbooking to me. :)
Supplies: BasicGrey Offbeat: papers (Casual, Unordinary, Carefree, Unexpected, Lighthearted), and Element Stickers

And just one more thing I wanted to put out there for you. BasicGrey is always looking for Eye Spy projects/layouts to be featured in our newsletter. The #1 place we find those is our gallery. So please - submit your gorgeous, unique projects so that we can see your work! The next Eye Spy just might be you!!

Vote.

Please!

I'm not overly political and I won't share my views here, but I do subscribe to the philosophy that you can't complain if you don't vote. It's the single most powerful thing you can do as a citizen of this country. Please don't take the right lightly.

Vote! Be a part of history.

You'll be glad you did! :)

(And a Happy Birthday/Election Day to my Sis-in-law, Traci - I hope it's a wonderful day for you!)

Celebrate Good Times

Come on! (Admit it - you're singing now, too, aren't you? ;)

Thank you so much for all the awesome birthday wishes. I really had a wonderful day! My boys made me breakfast and homemade cards, I heard from alot of my friends and family, and my husband surprised me with a dozen roses and an evening out with my girlfriends (which was MUCH needed and MUCH fun! Thanks, girls!)

But the highlight of the day was another Championship Football Season for Ethan! Their AFB Colts went undefeated all year long (unbelieveable!) and then won their championship game yesterday, 34-0! It was a spectacular afternoon, an amazing game, and a great way to celebrate my birthday! I couldn't resist a repeat of this picture from last year! ;) So so SO proud!

Trick-or-Treat

I love. love. love. love. loveeeeee Fall and everything associated with it, but especially Halloween! Perhaps it's because it's so close to my birthday which always made for one long party growing up which has carried over because I haven't grown up, I dunno. I only know I love it - the candy, the costumes, the childish wonder, all of it! Good times!

And let it be known that I love themes for costumes. Yep, I said it. It's the scrapbooker in me, but I just can't help myself. The boys have always been pretty cooperative about it, but it sure helps when we come up with themes they can get into!

So, the inital thought was to do the Star Wars them the boys suggested, but after checking out the horrid (read "costly" and/or "cheap-y looking") selection at both Target and Wal-Mart, we decided somewhere along the way that we (and by "we" I mean "me!") were going to assemble the costumes our(my)selves. We hunted all over the house and managed to pull every costume we had from under the boys' beds, closets and toy chests. Sadly, there wasn't much there to choose from either that hadn't been ripped, destroyed or grown out of. But under it all, there was a fairly newly aquired Batman costume that just might work. So my brilliant husband came up with the idea to do Batman...with Robin and the Joker.

Ethan was all over the Joker idea (he wanted to do the darker Heath Ledger-ish version) and while Carson had to be coaxed a little into Robin, when he finally saw his costume finished, he was so excited he shouted, "YEAH, ROBIN! That's what I'm talkin' about!" lol Crazy kid. Anyhow, a bunch of felt, some curse words under my breath, and alot of handsewing and we ended up with a pretty awesome looking crew if I do say so myself! OH! And also let it be known that these costumes were finished sometime close to 3:00 - when TOTing was at 5:30! Oh yeah, baby! That's what I'm talkin' about! ;)

For the main event we always head over to Amy's house, one of my friends from High School. (These are her two - almost grown! - cuties with their baby cousin.) Every year she has an awesome Halloween get-together that we've gone to since the boys were small. We trick-or-treat our hearts out in their awesome neighborhood, and then Amy completely outdoes herself with a huge chili and hotdog feast to combat the sugar-rush afterwards!

We always we seem to have quite the group of kids gathered to head out together. The adults do their best to keep up with them as they run screaming from one door to the next.

Somewhere along the way I became the designated photographer, though I tell them the get what they pay for when it comes to shot quality! ;) I was fortunate this year with spectacular weather and lighting so I ended up with a lot faves than I usually get.

I love watching the kids fly down the street and catching them in mid-run! It always was a race to see who could get to the door first. Love that some things never change!

Here are my three - sometimes they traveled together, but mostly not (yeah, I get the irony of my theme not working so much when they don't stick together ;)).
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this shot of Turner under this gorgeous tree. The red was soooo spectacular and I think it looks like he's just some mystic creature wandering through the woods.
Bless him - Carson was always running his heart out to keep up with the bigger kids, but not before checking out his candy and making sure it was all there!
And the Joker - my big guy. he absolutely got into character and was a riot all night. He loved it and I ccouldn't get over that green hair!
















These three belong to Amy's sister, Jen - Her son Nathan and Turner are the same age and have grown up together. I don't know about you, but I could eat that Mickey up! (His ears squeeked and he couldn't stop laughing at them all night!)

And a few more random ones from the night - I took close to 300 pictures and have had a hard time narrowing it down! The adorable Egyptian is my friend Laura's daughter...her brother is the wizard you'll see in one of the trick-or-treating photos. Then a random group shot of some of the kids and finally my Batman and Robin off to fight some dastardly deed!

It's getting late here and I have to crash as it's a big day tomorrow with Ethan's Championship football game and my birthday (secondary, of course!), but I had to wish my sweet baby girl - my niece, Lydian Jane - a VERY VERY Happy 1st Birthday! Your Auntie loves you and wishes she could be there!