Euphoric!

Here's your fair warning: I'm enabling right now!
(Don't say I didn't warn you! ;))
I just had to pass the word that Scrapbook.com is offering an absolutely amazing deal on a collection of BasicGrey EUPHORIA goodies! Included in this kit is a full collection pack (including 18 papers, 1 sheet of alpha stickers and a sheet of element stickers), Olio Rub-ons, glazed brads, and chipboard alphabet as well as an instruction sheet detailing how to make two 12x12" layouts (one of which is shown above), 1 mini album and 4 cards all designed by me. The regular retail price for this is $36.99 but Scrapbook.com has it for just $22.99! (ETA: And they're almost GONE! Only 4 left!!)

Hurry and get yours before they're gone!
xoxo,
k.

New Zealand in a Nutshell

I just couldn't let the rest of the week go by without doing a little tribute about my New Zealand excursion to see my gal Nic Howard and teach at her awesome event, Autumn Escape. It was truly a whirlwind - only 8 days from start to finish - but we jammed in quite a bit in that little amount of time.
The first 24 hours were spent on a plane...oh yes, a plane. Three different ones to be exact. And not even the ones I was originally scheduled to be on. But I made it to my final plane, a huge Qantas 747. My boys would have loved that it had an upstairs! I actually don't remember much of that flight as I was so over-tired so I slept most of way to NZ (it was the shortest long flight I've ever been in ;)) but when I woke up, I woke up to this....

This was my very first glimpse of NZ coming in over the bay into Auckland. To say I was excited was an understatement. (I was even MORE excited when my luggage arrived when it took a different plane than I did to get there!)
Nic and her partner-in-crime, Lucy picked me up at the airport and they kindly worked me through my jetlag packing kits for the event! They tucked me into bed around 8:00 that night so we'd be raring to go in the morning. After getting the final things together, we headed on the road to the Taupo and the resort venue. Holy WOW was it amazing! The trees were just turning and the scenery was so idyllic. Just check out that photo to see what I mean!

I begged Nic and her husband Paul to pull off along their major motorway (1) and let me snap a few pictures of these sheep. Have you ever seen anything so picture postcard perfect? They didn't exactly know what to think of some strange foreigner baa-ing at them, but they generously let me get a few shots anyhow!

After we unloaded a trailer-full of supplies at the resort, we hit the road again to Rotorua to see a Maori show and the amazing geo-thermal features the area has....and the sulfur. Can't forget the sulfur! Kirsty, one of the attendees at AE, was kind enough to be our personal tour guide for over 2 hours as she patiently explained all about the geo-thermal area and the Maori culture. We even caught a rare glimpse into some active (for them) Kiwi birds. I have to say, they are a bit odd looking, but so very cool to see the New Zealand national bird up close. The highlight for me was actually this beautiful geyser who was shooting many feet into the crystal blue sky. It was awesome! (That would be "O fa Orsome" to some of you ;)).

The night ended with the most incredible meal at a stone grill restaurant called "Triple 1" 5. It was truly divine and hilarious watching Nic's face as the waiter cut her meat for her! Back to the resort we went for a good night's sleep before waking up early Thursday head down to Taupo for a few minutes to see this:

My first question (and I'm sure yours too...) was "WHAT did they put into the water to get it that blue?!" Incredibly enough, that's nothing but naturally oxygenated water that flows from Lake Taupo to the ocean via this heavy river current. I was dying to hop on the jet boat to see it up close and personal, but Nic said we had to get back to start getting our venue set up. I mean, after all, we couldn't NOT have this:

This incredible candy bar (Lolly bar) was courtesy of the beautiful Rachel Tucker and her vivacious friend, Kate. They slaved away getting this gem ready for the ladies and it was by far one of the many highlights! I even developed a new appreciation for milk bottles! (A vanilla version of Tootsie Rolls!)

The next morning had me teaching my very first class to these talented ladies. I'm not kidding when I say the Kiwi crew were some of the best students I've ever had. They were ready to attack anything I gave them and trust me, I put their trimmer through some paces!

These are all the behind the scenes ladies along with Nic, Lucy, and Rachel (the other tutor and candy bar lady ;)) Don't they look like such a fun group?!

Finally it was time to begin my trek home. Another huge 747 to fly me home to these waiting guys...

who as excited as they were to see Mama, might just have been slightly more excited to get the treats I brought back! ;)

So there you have it! That's NZ in a nutshell! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Only 4 more sleeps until REFLECTIONS!
xoxo
k.

Reflecting...

on REFLECTIONS coming up next weekend! Reflections is a weekend retreat at Newport Beach, CA and I'm super excited to be one of the instructors along with the amazing Elizabeth Kartchner, Kelly Purkey, Maggie Holmes, Katie Watson, Debbie Campos and Danielle Flanders!

Since it's coming up so quickly, I thought I'd post a few sneak peaks of my layouts for my class. We'll be doing 3 single page layouts and 1 double page. It'll be jam packed but tons of fun!





And for those of you going and wanting to get a little head start, here is what I would like my students to bring for this class:
Photos for the layouts -
Layout 1 - 1 VERTICAL 4x6 photo - SUNSHINE/SONSHINE theme (lt. blue, pink, yellows)
Layout 2 - 2 VERTICAL 4x6 photos - ANY Theme (YOU) (kelly green, pink, cream, little brown)
Layout 3 - 1 HORIZONTAL 4x6 photo, 2 VERTICAL 4x6 photos - Birthday Theme (lt. blue, pink, yellow)
Layout 4 - 1 VERTICAL 5x7 photo - I Wish Theme (orange, cream, kelly green)

Tape Runner, Glue Dots, Foam Dots
Trimmer or Craft Knife/mat
1" circle punch (VERY IMPORTANT)
Fine tipped scissors
Corner Rounder
Small Scallop Scissors AND scallop border punch
Crop-a-dile OR 1/8" hole punch
Paper Piercer
Rub-on Roller tool
Ruler
Brown Journaling pen (Zig)
Pencil
White Opaque Pen
Coordinating chalk inks (optional as desired)

I can't wait to see you all there!
Happy Thursday!
xoxo,
k

April's Sponsor GIVEAWAY & WINNER

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR PLAYING ALONG!! AND THE WINNER IS...............
Congratulations, Renee! Please contact me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail.com so that I can get your information to Shary at live2scrapbook.com!



Hi, everyone!

I literally just walked back in the door from a 24-hour flight marathon to get back home! And after tucking my little crazy men in bed for school in the morning, I didn't want to make you wait any longer to see the awesome giveaway my April Sponsor, Live2Scrapbook.com put together just for you -and wouldn't you know it is oodles of BasicGrey??!!



Here's what it includes:
12 sheets Green at Heart Paper
1 sheet Maya Road Petal & Leaves Sheers
Green at Heart Cozy Posies
Green at Heart Woolies
Green at Heart Buttons
Bling It Designer Green Rhinestones
Sparking Rubs
Undressed Thickset Chipboard Letters
Smooch Spritz Ink
Eclectic Milk Chocolate Chipboard Album
2 yards coordinating ribbon
with a Retail Value of approximately $60!

Just leave your name and your favorite product from Live2Scrapbook.com by 11:59 pm Eastern Wednesday, April 21st to be entered to win!
Have a wonderful day!
xoxo,
k.

Waving HI from New Zealand!

Good morning, all!!

Ok, so I know it's actually like 6 p.m. or so Tuesday evening in the States, but for me, it's just time to get up and get at 'em this Wednesday morning! (I'm still adjusting to that crazy international date line/time change thing!) I arrived in beautiful New Zealand yesterday morning and was met by the amazing Nic Howard and her equally spectacular friend Lucy. They kept me busy yesterday getting thing ready for Autumn Escape! They worked me right through jet lag so I am ready and raring to go today!



In just a short bit, we're hoping to set of toward Taupo stopping at some points of interest along the way. I can't wait! I'm looking forward to seeing all you AE ladies in just a day or so!

And just to give you a fair warning, my awesome blog sponsor Live2scrapbook.com will give hosting a giveaway as soon as I get back - all kinds of awesome BasicGrey goodies and more. You won't want to miss it!

Have a fanastic week!
xoxo,
k.

I've always loved the Christian legend of the Dogwood Tree. It's a beautiful story and as the trees are in flowering in beautiful abundance right now, I am getting the reminder on a daily basis of God's love and Christ's dedication to us all. I have been fascinated with capturing the tree right next to our house in every phase imaginable from new buds to dripping with rain. While I share a few of my favorite images, I also thought I'd share the story with you for those that haven't heard it and for those who love it as much as I do.

"According to legend the dogwood was the size of the oak and other forest trees. Being firm and strong, it was chosen as the timber for the cross, during the Crucifixion of Christ. According to stories, the tree was distressed for being used for a cruel purpose, and Jesus being nailed to it sensed this and told the tree, "Because of your regret and pity for my suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a cross. Henceforth it shall be slender and bent and twisted and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross, two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints, brown with rust and stained with red, and in the middle of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see it will remember ..."

I am heading to the beautiful country of New Zealand tomorrow to hang with Nic Howard and teach at her awesome event Autumn Escape!! I'm both beyond excited and beyond nervous! Ha! I can't wait to meet all you awesome ladies down there and have some fun creating! (But don't you even try to get me to eat Vegemite ;)) I doubt I'll have a chance to post again before I leave so I want to wish you all a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,
k.

What?

You don't dress like this to play football in YOUR front yard? ;)

Happy Tuesday, all! Enjoy this gorgeous day!
xoxo,
k.

Hello, APRIL!

HAPPY APRIL, EVERYONE!!!

I hope that you don't end up fooled too badly today! My oldest is already preparing his tricks so I need to be on-guard for the duration of the day lest he "gets" me. Gotta love the 10-year-old!

What's not a trick today is my new April sponsor, Live2Scrapbook.com! I want to give them a huge welcome let you know all about them. Here is what the amazing Shary says about her store:

"Our mission is to provide great scrapbooking supplies to your door, wherever that may be, at a great price. We pride ourselves on the level of personalized service we are able to provide our customers. We read and respond to all emails quickly. If we can reasonably accommodate a request, we will do so. Our goal is impress customers with our service and win friendships and repeat business. In short, we want to be the 'go to' place for scrapbooking supplies!

We've been in business since 2004. We carry a great selection of products for scrapbookers, cardmakers and stampers. We carry the latest releases of many popular brands, as well as classic favorites, including Basic Grey, Making Memories, Fancy Pants and more!. We ship fast and offer flat rate shipping...$4.99 for domestic shipments.. $15 priority to Canada.. $25 priority to all other countries."

What Shary didn't mention above but what I think is so great about her and her site is her Green commitment. Here are just a few words about that from her site:

• We generate our own electricity from Arizona's abundant sunshine! In truth, our 540 sqare foot solar array produces several times more electricity than Live2scrapbook can use!
  
• We put considerable effort into packing to ensure all outgoing packages are properly sized and as full as they can be. This takes time, but the denser package uses less energy to ship, contains less packing material for you to recycle, and the increased efficiency helps us keep our prices low.
  
• When requested, we will remove bulky bubble packs from individual items to further improve efficiency.
  
• We re-use incoming dunnage first, then use mostly paper dunnage of our own.
  
• We recycle.
  

I am so excited and proud to have Shary and Live2Scrapbook.com as a featured sponsor this month. I hope you'll take a minute and visit and see all she has to offer (like her amazing selection of BasicGrey ;)) and so much more! And later this month, Shary will be hosting a fabulous giveaway just for one of you awesome blog readers!

Have a glorious first day of April, all!

xoxo,

k.

Bye Bye, March!

YAY! March did indeed go out like a lamb as the old saying goes. It was a gorgeous 78 degress and just beautiful here today. The entire crew celebrated by spending all evening outside playing football, jumping on the trampoline, grilling out...and even a little sidewalk...er, driveway...art :)

Here's to saying good bye to March and hello to April! Hope you all had a wonderful day!
xoxo,
k.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Congratulations to Pegg S!! You are the lucky winner of the JetPens.com's gift certificate! YAY! Please email me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize!!

Spring is spring-ing!

How I love Spring! And trust me (or my allergies) when I say Spring is really springing up all over the place around here! And I'm enjoying documenting every bit of it I can in my 365 photos! The color has been just amazing - the sky is a vivid blue, the grass an emerald green and bright flowers are everywhere! (Ahhh-chooooooo!) Ahhhh, spring!

I hope you all are having an amazing spring-filled week as well!
xoxo,
k.

FAQ: What white pen do you use?! (Do you want one of your own?!)

****CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Thank you.*****
One of the most frequently asked questions I get about my scrapbooking work is what white pen do I use to do all my handstitching and journaling. Trust me when I say I've tried them all, but for me there's only one choice:

The Uni-ball Signo UM-153

Now I'm being really specific with this model number because Uni-ball also has another white Signo out there (the UM-120) but there is a difference. The 153 version is a bit wider. It's a 1.0 ball width so the color comes out nice, opaque and smooth. It's truly a divine pen and now the only one I use for writing in white.

So while the wide 153 is the only pen for me, I do have to tell you a bit more about the Uni-ball 120's - these pens are almost as fantastic and only a bit smaller in ball width (.7). The benefit to them is that they come in all kinds of softer range colors - from soft blue, lavender, pink, etc. So for those of you that love to journal in all kinds of colors, these are the pens for you! Pretty great, huh? But it gets better! (Keep reading!)

Unfortunately for all their greatness, these pens can come with a pretty hefty price tag and even worse, sometimes they are hard to find or hard to find in stock. I've searched high and low for a great place to get my pens and I haven't found any place better than JetPens.com. They not only carry my beloved Signo 153, but they do it at such an amazing price. Because they are a Japanese company, they don't have the import cost and thus really pass the savings on to you. Most US retailers charge around I think $4 for this pen, but they are only $2.25 at JetPens. (They also have COPICS and hard to find extra-fine point pens in unique colors and so much more). I truly love their site and love even more that they ship the next business day AND offer FREE SHIPPING on orders of $25 or more (Shipping starts at just $5 for US and Canada).
(Now here's where it gets really good!) Because I love their pens so much, they have generously agreed to give one of my lucky blog readers - that means YOU!! - a $25 Gift Certificate to their site. You could be like me and order 10 Uni-ball Signo 153's ;) or perhaps some Copics or try out one of the combo packs of Souffle pens or anything your little heart desires! SOOOO excited to be able to share this with you!



Simply leave me a comment between now and 11:59 pm Tuesday, March 30th, telling me what you would order from JetPens if you win the certificate! I'd also love hearing what kinds of pens and markers are YOUR favorites and why!

****CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Thank you.*****

Also, if you might be interested in being a sponsor here on my blog, it's not too late to get in for April. Please email me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com for all the details!

I hope you have had a wonderful weekend!
xoxo,
k.

P.S. I leave for New Zealand two weeks from today! SO excited but SO much to do before then!

Florals, and Dots, and Stripes! Oh my!

Hi, all!

As I sneak peeked in yesterday's post, my article on patterned paper with Scrapbook & Cards Today went live this morning! I'm thrilled to get to share it here with you and I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it and putting it together. I had some fantastic help on this article from the talented Lisa Kisch of the SCT creative team who contributed two lovely layouts to help illustrate my topic points as well as editor, Kerry McRorie, who is a genius and almost made me sound like one, too! ;)

Please click on the spring cover (by the amazing Kimber McGray) at the left, to download the entire issue. My article starts on page 21, but this issue is jammed packed with so much eye candy and creative artists that you absolutely must read it cover to cover! I'm particularly thrilled to see my girl Becky Fleck teaming up with Scrapbook & Cards Today and bringing her awesome PageMaps to us in yet another format on a regular basis! So exciting!

Have a happy Friday!
xoxo,
k.

The layout above is the article's opener and one of six different projects included!

SO excited!

I am so beyond excited! This photo is the opening page to my very first full article! I've been floating on a cloud since it arrived in the mail today!

I cannot WAIT to share the entire article with you all when Scrapbook & Cards Today's spring issue officially hits the newsstands tomorrow! The best part of this magazine is that it's FREE. Free. Yep, I said FREE! So tomorrow, I'll get to share the downloadable link for you right here and you can soak up all its goodness anytime you want!

In the meantime, here's a couple of sneak peeks from my projects for the article. Oh...and did I mention, this article is all about PATTERNED PAPER??!!



Have a wonderful Thursday! Until tomorrow....
xoxo,
k.

March 365

I know I've talked briefly before about my participation in Project 365 this year. For those of you not familiar with it, the concept is taking a photo a day, everyday, about your daily life. It seems easy enough, but let me tell you, it's not! I have been watching people do this for the past couple of years from afar because, well, honestly, I lack long-term commitment. If you ask some of my close friends, they'll tell you I have adult ADD (and it's probably very true though not diagnosed officially ;)) and bounce from one thing to another all. the. time. But I have loved the idea of this project and so I was determined this year.

And I'm proud to say we're toward the end of March and I've only missed a day or two here or there. The most remarkable thing about this project is that with these photos I've captured (good, bad or ugly), I've caught moments of my daily life that I NEVER would have stopped to capture before. That's the exciting part for me! I LOVE that! Those photos above are just a couple of moments that would have been long forgotten if I hadn't taken the time to stop and capture them. Again, I know it's the end of March, but it's not too late to get started! You don't have to wait for a new year, or even a new month. START TODAY! I promise you, even if you don't get a photo EVERYday, the ones you do get you'll cherish!

And to help you keep track of them all, there's a great little site that I've been uploading my images to that was just made for this project. It's called ShutterCal and it's fantastic. It's a free site that relies completely on donations (but you don't have to donate if you don't want to/can't). You can find more of my images there by clicking HERE. I'd love it if you to sign up and post your own pictures! I think you'll be so glad you did! And I'm going to keep posting a few of my images every week as encouragement (and accountability for me!!). I love sharing them and hope you like seeing them, too!

Have a beautiful Tuesday!
xoxo,
k.

And the Winner is....

ME!! for getting the majority of my cleaning and purging done over the weekend despite fighting horrid allergies. I can't tell you how much weight just lifted off my shoulders simply by living lighter and getting rid of things I don't absolutely love.







But seriously! The *real* winner of my endeavors is BRENDA JOHNSTON! Congratulations, Brenda! Just email me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize!

Thank you to all who entered and have a fantastic Monday! :)
xoxo,
k.

First day of SPRING = Free Stuff!

****CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON. THANK YOU SO MUCH!*****
Can you hear me hollering wherever you are??! It's the first day of SPRING!!! Oh yes, it is! And because of that I am frantically spring cleaning (and spring planting with the boys :)) because I just don't function well with clutter. Let's not even mention I have the looming deadline of Taxes and an upcoming LSS yard sale next weekend. So much to do and it all starts with cleaning and purging! As much as I hate the actual process, I love the end result of organized space and I think you will, too!

****CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON. THANK YOU SO MUCH!*****

In my efforts, I came across an extra collection pack of the new BasicGrey GREEN AT HEART (a perfect for spring collection!) that I am willing to share with one lucky reader! Just leave a comment here telling me what Spring has you doing (PG-rated please ;)) by Sunday night March 21 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time and you'll be entered to win!


Have a fantastic weekend, all!
xoxo,
k.

Emerging from my cocoon!

Whew!

I think I can safely say that spring has finally arrived here in Kentucky and with it, I'm slowly coming out of my winter-induced hibernation. Whoo hooo! I suppose I should have warned you, but after the holidays are over, I'm not good for much of anything until about this time in March when the sun starts shining and the flowers start peeking out of the ground. It just makes me feel alive again! YAY for that!

Because I was feeling particularly happy with the sunshine and nearly 70 degree temperatures AND because I had an errand to run (for white cardstock of all things - why is it I always run out of white cardstock?), I snagged my husband and we ran off for lunch! So fun and so yummy! And let's just say this photo? Well it's my 365 photo of the day. I think it says it all! ;)

Happy Spring & Friday, all!
xoxo, k.

Ask me anything

Ok, well almost anything ;)


I've been getting quite a few emails lately asking questions about this or that and never quite know where to best answer them. So I'm taking a cue from some of my friends and giving formspring a try! Simply post your question in the box on sidebar to the right and ask away!

Happy Wednesday!
xoxo,
k.