I'm not just *happy*, I'm absolutely JOVIAL!

How about a little Christmas in July??!

Introducing JOVIAL, a new collection by BasicGrey:
Snuggled in a flannel blanket by the glow of a fi re, watching the snow falling through the frosted window, BasicGrey’s Jovial collection is a warm celebration in white snow, velvet black, pomegranate, evergreen, and emberglow. A tapestry of holiday tradition—just like we always dreamed it could be.




For these layouts, I selected two entirely different color sets so you can see how versatile this line can be. This first one (of my precious boy under our tree this past Christmas) uses the more traditional and elegant papers in this range. The poinsettias are classic as are the beautiful reds, greens and ornament accents. (And I'm dying over how that green paper looks quilted! so cool!)


This second layout I went with a little more kitschy feel. I adore (read: love love love love looooove! I think it's the eyes that get to me?! Anyhoo...) these snowmen and wanted to put them front an d center in this layout about my boys' snowman, aptly named "Frosty." I know, clever, right?! I think this blue ight just be the most heavenly we've ever put out (next to the one in Marrakech!) and I find myself using it over and over again! And did you see that stitched brad? Serious cuteness!



Check it out! You get the snowmen on the element stickers! Love that - and like I said, the cute little faces on these stitched brads make me giddy! Truly there's so much about these releases that just make me happy (er, Jovial?!)


And those stamps? Build your OWN snowman? Come on! Love! I also these these office tabs are beyond precious and while they're holiday-ish, they aren't overly "Christmas-y" which extends their versatility.




And can you believe we're just half-way done with these sneaks?? Soooo much more to come. Stay tuned for Marjolaine and Curio!
I hope you're having a fabulous CHA kinda day!
xoxo,
k.

Pick a PEAR of PYRUS!

Introducing PYRUS, a new collection by BasicGrey:
With bountiful colors refl ective of the change of seasons, Pyrus™ is the perfect flavor for fall. Ripe apple red, nutmeg brown and pear green, baked with warm orange rind and yellow squash in a bold collection of zesty patterns and delightful details sure to spice things up.





I can't get over the warm, rich colors in this lines. I'm normally drawn toward intense brights when it comes to my scrapbooking palette, but this one just calls my name (screams it really, but don't tell!). I think it might just be my favorite of all the lines this release and that's saying a ton!! This is my little pumpkin at the patch last fall. This super-fun design was based off an amazing PageMaps sketch by Becky Fleck. (How I love that girl's sketches!)
Again I mixed this line with some Basics (that gorgeous clip, the office tab and the lined notebook paper? And seriously, how cute are those birds?



I can't get over these glazed brads! LOVE LOVE them! So stinkin' cute!






Look at those lace doilies - yes, those are little pears and flowers in that honeycomb! Gasp! And I think I need 50 of those albums! The design is just adorable and the colors make me drool!

Are you getting excited yet?! Don't you worry, I'm just getting started! More to come! (How I love CHA Debut Day!)
xoxo,
k.

No matter *where* you WANDER...

Introducting WANDER, a new collection by BasicGrey:
Pack your bags and hit the road, seas, rails or sky and fi nd the joy in the travel, not the destination! Document the journey with Wander from BasicGrey, a lighthearted collection in adventurous red, sunny yellow, road sign green, and jet white. With sprawling cityscapes, convoys of cars and a myriad of maps who needs to leave home to have fun?





Now this layout is definitely travel themed (and about a dream trip to Australia!), but the fantastic thing about Wander is that there are enough gorgeous papers that it doesn't have to be - think night out on the town, first bike ride, geo-caching....you get the idea! The list can go on and on! I even included a little Basics in there to show you how versatile both lines really are!



Check out those RED alpha stickers and the divine stitched brads! Oh. My. Heck. Love them...and those element stickers are quite possibly the cutest we've ever put out...but oh how it gets better!





It's enough to make you want to take a trip just to use these papers, doesn't it?!
This release is sooooo large I'm staggering it in several posts. Stay tuned for one to come about PYRUS!

Happy Scrappin'!
xoxo,
k.

Vintage BasicGrey

And no, I don't mean our original collections like Sophie and Dawson! BasicGrey has gone VINTAGE! Now you don't need to scour a flea market or raid your grandmother's hope chest for wonderful goodness! Now all you need is CURIO - a brand new collection by BasicGrey debuting July 27th at CHA-Summer! This collection of your favorite finds awaits you - quaint pink, timeless blue and antique mahogany round out this heritage treasure trove of delicious designs!

I hope you have enjoyed these week-long peeks from BasicGrey! Full releases start Tuesday, July 27th! I can't wait to share them with you!

Have a wonderful Sunday!
xoxo,
k

Marjolaine

Surround yourself in gorgeous greens and beautiful blues and let them take you away to your favorite place! Introducing MARJOLAINE by BasicGrey debuting at CHA-Summer July 27th!



Stay tuned tomorrow for the last of our teaser sneaks and then be SURE to be back TUESDAY as the CHA-Summer show opens and I'll be posting the full lines right here along with some samples to go with them!

I hope you have a wonderful Saturday!
xoxo,
k.

What's better than Christmas in JULY?

JOVIAL, that's what!

Introducing JOVIAL, the new holiday line by BasicGrey debuting July 27th! I sure hope Santa puts these goodies in all your stockings, but if he doesn't, take matters into your own hands and get them while you can!

xoxo,
k.

You + BG = Quite the "Pear"

Ok, so pardon my play on words, but I couldn't help myself because it's so true! You + BasicGrey = quite the pair with PYRUS, one of the new lines to be released by BasicGrey at CHA - Summer! And I have to say, though I'm normally drawn to uber-bright lines, this one had me at "hello!" I love the subtle greys, pops of orange and that gorgeous blue! I could seriously eat it up!



Enjoy this peek and Happy Thursday!
xoxo,
k.

It's CHA Week!!

For those of you that are curious as to what CHA stands for, it's CRAFT & HOBBY Association and their annual summer trade show will be starting this week in Chicago!

Previews of the amazing things to be seen at the show are going up all over the place and we're bursting to share our excitement with you. Only a few days more until all is revealed, but in the meantime, here's a little sneak to get you started!



Introducing WANDER by BasicGrey! No matter *where* you wander, you'll need these papers to document your wonderful time!

Stay tuned all week for peeks at even more of our exciting product lines! Happy Tuesday!
xoxo,
k.

This & That Friday + Winner!

Happy Friday, all!

I don't know about you, but I am SO excited it's almost the weekend. I'm looking forward to a little R&R and soaking up some sunshine.

I have a bit of odds and ends to share with you today.

First, I wanted to share that the latest BasicGrey newsletter, Just the Basics (July, 2010), is available for viewing! There are tons of good things to see in there and this month's featured collection is OLIVIA! For my part, I did a fun little twist on such a girlie line using my boys, cupcakes and a fab sketch from PageMaps by the awesome Becky Fleck! I absolutely love all the fun details in this line from the banners to the ribbon sticker and everything in between. My boys on the other hand just loved the cupcakes!


Supplies: BasicGrey Olivia PP, Small Details, Element stickers, alpha stickers; Fiskars border punch; Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

And as always, we featured our regular sketch column. This month's sketch came from our digital template section of basicgrey.com where they are available for just $1.00 each! Since banners are all the rage right now in the craft industry, I thought this adorable sketch was particularly appropriate! There I was joined by three other fabulous designers - Candice Greenway, Jamie Haley and Cari Locken. I really hope you'll check out their work here as well!


This is my take on our sketch. It features the fabulous Oliver line (a new fave!) and my new advanced scouts.


Supplies: BasicGrey PP, alpha stickers, Pieces, Element stickers, clips; Fiskars border punch; Uni-ball signo pen; Pentel pen; Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L


Moving on...I am also thrilled to announce the lucky winner of the super cool Green at Heart Canvas & Candle kit from Paper Fashions Boutique. A huge congratulations goes to: Kelly (from Minnesota)! If you would email me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com, I'll send your information right on to Lisa! Enjoy it!

But don't feel discouraged if you didn't win! I have something that will cheer you up - a little something JUST for YOU from BasicGrey. Right now, for about the next 4 weeks, BasicGrey is offering FREE downloads of all our blog backgrounds and blog headers! Yes, I said FREE! How fun is that?! Simply click here and load up your cart...and have a ball blinging out your blog!

And finally a little PSA:
BasicGrey (or at least the Maddy, our Sales Manager and I part of BasicGrey!) will be at Archiver's Scrapfest at the Mall of America on September 17th & 18th! We would absolutely love it if you could join us. From what I understand we'll be doing make-n-takes as well as full classes. I'll be teaching a three single-page layout class featuring the awesome Max & Whiskers line and on rinse & repeat for the two solid days! Here is just one of the layouts that Archiver's featured on their blog:



Oh...and you didn't think I would go without adding this, did you? :)


Have a fantastic weekend!
xoxo,
k.

A Tutorial of Sorts...

Happy Thursday, all!

Last week I had the pleasure of guest blogging over at the fantastic Scrapbook & Cards Today blog (I know, I know - trust me, I see the irony here, but at least I blogged somewhere!) where I got to share a little about using themed papers in ways vastly different than how they were originally intended. I had such a great time working on it that I thought I'd repost it here for those that might have missed it. I hope you enjoy it and perhaps get a little something out of it, too!

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Since I’ve been talking to you this week about the wonders of summertime, I wanted to expand that just a bit and focus today on all seasons – or more specifically seasonal or themed scrapbooking products. While I am the first to admit I completely hoard Valentine’s themed papers (I can’t get enough of them. It’s a sick addiction, really!), I mostly do just that – hoard them. After all, there are just so many Valentine’s parties or love-dovey things you can scrapbook about, you know? And sadly I find the same holds true for Christmas, Halloween or any other holiday. Yet I can’t stand to let those seasonal or themed papers just sit there and not get used, it completely goes against my nature as a paper conservationist! So my solution to that problem is to challenge myself to use the line completely contrary to the way it was intended - a pet-themed paper line becomes a page about teenage girls, a Christmas line becomes a baby layout. You get the idea! It’s a lot easier to do than you might think and it gets those papers we love off your shelves and into your scrapbook albums!

Here are a few of my favorite examples to inspire you and get you started:

This first page is about my beautiful nieces. They are 13, 15, 17 and 19 (at the time) and I just love them to pieces. They aren’t overly girlie girls so I couldn’t see scrapping this picture in pinks and frills. Instead, I went with the gorgeous, rich colors in BasicGrey’s Max & Whiskers line – a very PET themed range! While I purposely chose papers that didn’t have animals on them (a huge benefit to double-sided lines), if you look closely, you can still see the “pet” influences where the flower leaves have dog bones or the “best friend” writing on the chipboard around the title and so forth. But all this is secondary. The focus is on that photo and the beautiful girls in it.

Supplies: BasicGrey patterned paper, Lace Doilies, Take Notes, Bloomers, buttons, brads, chipboard shapes, chipboard alphas, alpha stickers; Uni-ball pen (white); Pentel pen (black); Colorbox (Clearsnap) chalk ink.

Here’s another fun example using BasicGrey’s Halloween line, Eerie:

While the Eerie line has a plethora of cobwebs, skull and pumpkins adoring it’s papers, I choose the more subdued patterns (can you find the spiders?!) to scrapbook a layout that was all about me. Notice how I still managed to keep the tradition “Halloween” hues of orange and black present without making it scream “Halloween!” (As a side note, this layout was done based on one of Scrapbook & Cards Today’s own Becky Fleck’s Page Maps. Becky does an amazing job with her sketches and they are such an excellent resource into getting your photos scrapped!)

Supplies: BasicGrey patterned paper, chipboard shapes, alphabet overlays, Lace Doilies, Olio rub-ons; Pentel pen; Fiskars scalloped scissors; Creative Memories corner rounder.

And finally, one last project before I go.

This page features Wassail, BasicGrey’s holiday offering a couple of years ago. Wassail has wonderful vintage images of holly, partridges, candy cane stripes and more. But here, rather than Christmas, I used it to scrap the six-month portraits of my youngest son. I love how the vintage feel of Wassail gives the photos such a timeless feel and quite frankly I almost think I like it better for these types of photos rather than ones from the holidays!

Supplies: BasicGrey patterned papers, Element stickers, Opaline pearls, chipboard alphabets; Zig pen; Colorbox (Clearsnap) chalk ink; jute; Miss Elizabeth’s scallop scissors.

So let’s see it! Make a graduation page from baby-themed papers, change Birthday papers to a layout about your pup! I hope I’ve shown you that anything is possible!

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As a final reminder, you have until midnight TONIGHT to enter into the giveaway a couple of posts below! Be sure to leave a comment if you're interested!

Have a great day!
xoxo,

k.

*Enabler Alert*

Hello, everyone!

A very Happy Wednesday to you all! (Wow! Here I am, two days in a row!) In my true effort to be better about blogging, I had to share a small enabler alert with all of you!



BasicGrey has been very fortunate to team up with Northridge Media to bring you two separate technique-based kits, one in the gorgeous Origins line and the other in the playful Sugar Rush range. These kits are designed by me and are jam-packed full of enough BasicGrey goodies to make the three layouts shown as well as plenty of extra for any other projects. All kits come with full-color, step-by-step instructions as well and are just $18.95! This is a limited supply offer and when they're out, they're out, so hurry and get yours today!

One quick reminder - the giveaway in the post below is still open until midnight tomorrow night! Good luck!

Happy Scrappin'!
xoxo,
k.

Quick Giveaway!

Hello, everyone!

I know, I know, I've been horribly absent lately. I hate to play the "busy" card, so I won't as we've been having a lot of fun while I've been missing! Let's just say that for a work-at-home mom that has her three boys home all summer, something has to fall a bit behind and apparently it's been this! Ugh. Soo....I'm going to *try* and be better (no promises, though!) and to play nice, I have a little something for you!

I recently met a lovely lady named Lisa who is starting her own project-oriented kit club called Paper Fashions Boutique (I know, cute name, right?!). She has generously agreed to give away this beautiful kit you see above - her canvas and candle kit - featuring BasicGrey's Green at Heart line to one of my awesome readers.

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Here's a small bit from Lisa about what makes her club so special:

1. I do all the shopping for you.

2. I have pre-cut some of the items in the kits.

3. I spend all the time coordinating the materials in the kit so you don't have to.

4. I have done all of the design work for you.

5. I have created a complete set of step by step instructions including photos.

6. I carefully packed each supply needed to create the project shown so it is all in one convenient place for you.

You simply order the scrapbook kits you want and I carefully pack them up and ship them to your front door so you can sit right down and begin creating! Each month I release new kits on my site. There will be a variety of mini albums, layouts, altered items/home decor, and card kits. So a little something for everyone!

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So what do you have to do? Simply pop in over at Paper Fashions Boutique and browse around the site, then come back here and post a comment telling me which Basic Grey Green at Heart kit you like the best! Please leave your comment by 11:59 PM Eastern Thursday, July 15th (I'm sorry, US and Canadian addresses only) and I will draw a random winner on Friday, July 16th from all of the comments posted in this thread. Enjoy browsing and come back to see if you won next week!

Happy Tuesday!
xo,
k

My Summer Cover Boy

Hi all!
Just popping on for a few to share some really fun news! Check out my sweet (but incredibly scruffy!) boy on the cover of the new Scrapbook & Cards Today's summer issue!! I'm so excited. A huge thank you my uber-talented friend, Summer Fullerton, for making him look so good with her fantastic cover. Be watching for it to hit newstands (and downloads) the 25th of this month!

Happy Thursday!
xoxo,
k.

"Just the Basics" - June edition

Hello, everyone! I hope you're having a fantastic Friday!

I have a few things to share with you today, the first being that our June edition of BasicGrey's "Just the Basics" is now available for your viewing pleasure. :) Simply click here or if you prefer, you can get the newsletter directly to your inbox starting next month. To do that, either visit our Facebook page and click the "Newsletter!" tab or visit our website and sign up there. Any back issues you've missed can also be accessed at our website via the link provided.

This month we featured the gorgeous wedding-inspired line, Cappella. But I want to show you that it doesn't just have to be limited to weddings or special occassions. For my sketch, I used it to scrap Turner's 1-year smash cake portraits. I love how this line looks with black & white photos. So very rich!

Here's my Layout:

Supplies: BasicGrey Cappella, Bling it on, Element Stickers, Mini Mono Stickers, Micro Mono stickers, Lace doilies, and chip sticker shapes; Pentel pen.

And the BasicGrey Digital template it was based on. There are about 15-20 digi templates in our digital section and they're awesome. We even include a tutorial in BGTV for those of you new to using templates.


I also wanted to put out there that my friends at Bazzill have let me know that they still have some spaces available for this year's Creative Escape. By visiting www.creativeescapeaz.com it is easy to find out info about the event and how to sign up. They have some absolutely spectacular teachers, fabulous projects, unbelievable sponsors, delicious food, wonderful surprises, and really good times. As a past teacher, I can tell you that this is an experience of a lifetime! You'll love every minute and I do hope they'll see you there! :)

And last but not least, I'll be teaching locally this weekend and there are still a few spots available. If you're in the Louisville/Lexington/Frankfort area in Kentucky, I hope you'll come join us at Memories ala Mode - the best little LSS around! You can contact the store at (502) 695-3477. Tonight's class is a Boy's Triple Double - three double-paged boy-themed layouts featuring BasicGrey's Max & Whiskers. Tomorrow is an all-occasion card class and an all-about-me mini album class!

Have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo,
k.

So sorry for the delay! And the WINNER IS....

Hi, all!

Happy Thursday! (It took me three times typing that to get the day right, THAT'S how things are going here! Ha!) I'm so sorry for the delay in announcing my "Welcome Summer" giveaway winner. I'm still going nuts adjusting to our new schedule of having all the boys home full time again. Insane doesn't even begin to describe it!

So without further ado, a huge CONGRATULATIONS goes out to JENNIFER MOORE!!! Please contact me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize!

xoxo,
k.

Last Chance! (CONTEST NOW OVER)

******************CONTEST NOW OVER. WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! THANK YOU! ********************

Hi, all!

Just a quick reminder that tonight (at 11:59 pm Eastern) is the last chance get in on winning a huge goodie box especially for you from me! :) You can get entered on THIS POST! Good luck!

Happy Friday!
xoxo,
k.

Ella Cover Girl

Supplies: Fancy Pants patterned paper, diecuts, buttons; Fiskars border punch; BoBunny Cardstock; Colorbox (Clearsnap) ink; Uni-ball pen (white), Zig pen (blue)

Hi, all!
This month I had the huge honor of being the June cover girl (or, um, Carson the June cover boy :)) for Ella Publishing's eZine, Scrapbook Ellaments. I had such a wonderful time working with Wendy and Angie over at Ella. Those gals really know how to put together an amazing magazine each month. This one is a tribute to Summer and all that makes summer fantastic so I hope you'll take a few to check it out here. You can even learn a bit more about me and some of my favorite layouts if you're so inclined as they put me through a little quiz to share with you all.

Have a wonderful and happy Thursday!
xoxo,
k.

Let's here it for SUMMER!

******************CONTEST NOW OVER. WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! THANK YOU! ********************
So sorry for being missing in action lately! The end of May/first of June means the end of school and an insane (if fun!) schedule. And even though my kiddos are still in school (until the 8th thanks to all the snow we had here in Kentucky this winter!), we're getting into summer fever here! That includes trips to the pool, home improvement projects, popsicles, sprinkers AND spring, er, SUMMER cleaning!

Which means - I have a huge box of miscellaneous goodies that are looking for a good home! They range from BasicGrey to Lily Bee and then some!

To make this box yours, just enter your name along with what you're summer plans on in the comment section by Friday, June 4th at 11:59 PM Eastern! I'll draw a winner no later than Monday morning!

Have a fantastic (short) week!
xoxo,
k.