It's a Silhouette Christmas Countdown.

Hello there! 

Happy Friday & Happy Last Day of November! What!?! I swear time hits warp speed once Thanksgiving has passed! And even though it was an early one this year so there "should" be more time to get things done, I sure haven't seen or felt it! (Seriously, where did it go?!)

In a valiant effort to stay on top of things, every chance I get I've been burying myself in holiday prep so that I can actually enjoy the wonderful festivities when they do get here! And this is just one project that I was so excited to complete!

Count down to Christmas with the Silhouette advent calendar. This limited edition advent calendar kit comes with a full set of shapes that can be arranged any way you like. Use your Silhouette and your favorite paper to customize the calendar in your own style. With different decorations, the advent calendar can be used for any occasion.

The fabulous folks at Silhouette generously offered to send me one of their new Limited Edition 2012 Advent calendars to play with. I was so excited as I absolutely loved the one I did of theirs last year, but that one was a bit bulky and I was looking for something more streamlined. This one is just PERFECT! I especially love that this year's calendar is more "activity" related than filled with treats. Anything that gets me spending more time with my family is awesome in my book! And of cours this is still going to look adorable holding some Instagram pics AFTER the holidays! I love giving things dual purposes. 

I admit I opted for a non-traditional holiday palette, but I really wanted this calendar to hang in my family room that has lots of kraft, aqua and chocolate browns. By picking limited colors I was able to keep a nice clean look to the project. 

Supplies: Bazzill & BoBunny cardstock, BasicGrey stickers, Stampin' Up Snowflake punch, Fiskars star punches, EK Success circle punches, Bazzill brads, Jute, Silhouette files (banners, etc.)

Isn't it so fun!? Each little pocket or envelope holds a little note with an idea for a family activity for the day. So perfect! Now I have to admit I didn't have the easiest time coming up with 25 holiday inspired things to do, but I gave it my best effort...me and some of my close friends on Pinterest (how I love that site!).

Here's the list I compiled that fits into our Christmas plans. Please feel free to incorporate some (or all) into yours!

1. Participate in our town's Christmas Parade.
2. Take time to appreciate the true meaning of the Season. For unto you a Child is born...
3. Drink Hot Cocoa while watching a favorite Christmas movie.
4. Write letters to Santa.
5. Set out shoes for St. Nicholas to fill.
6. Have a family game night.
7. Spend time deciding on a family service project.
8. Make chocolate peppermint cookies with mom.
9. Do something nice for someone...just because.
10. Pick your favorite Christmas carol and sing it at the top of your lungs.
11. Visit Santa.
12. Take a trip around town to admire the holiday lights.
13. Kiss someone special under the Mistletoe.
14. Host a cookie exchange.
15. Attend a Christmas pageant or play.
16. Go ice skating.
17. Make handmade gifts for neighbors and friends.
18. Decorate a gingerbread house...with EXTRA candy.
19. Have the kids (and adults) donate to a bell-ringer's bucket.
20. Wrap presents for each other. 
21. Dinner by Candlelight on this, the longest night of the year!
22. Camp out under the Christmas tree.
23. Open one present from a brother of your choice.
24. Read the full Christmas Story from the Bible.
and
25. ...who is Christ the LORD. Merry Christmas!

So as a special offer to my awesome blog readers, you can get one yourself for 40% off if you order TODAY and use the code BLACK at checkout!
Here's to a wonderful Holiday Season!
xoxo, 
k.

It's the start of the HOLIDAY Season!

Hello!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. friends! I hope it was a wonderful one for you and that you were able to spend it with those you love. We had a spectacular 60+ degree day and spent a great deal of time sitting outside chatting with family. It was perfect. I truly adore Thanksgiving - it's one of my favorite holidays because it focuses on gratitude, family, friends...and food! It doesn't get much better than that....unless you count the kicking off the HOLIDAY SHOPPING season! ;)

Anyhow, in the spirit of the gift-giving, I wanted to share with you what could be a really fun and "not too difficult" project for you to tackle that I'm sure anyone would love. Recently I spent a couple of days over at the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog talking about Pinterest and how I spend way too much time pinning all the eye candy and not nearly enough time "doing." So I decided to fix that. I challenged myself to make at least one item from my many pins that I've been meaning to make for a while. 

This is what I came up with:

After searching in my  “one day when I have time” pin folder I came across these gorgeous stretched burlap letters.  I had hoped that it would be a tutorial, but when I checked further, it turns out that those lovely letters are by a talented Etsy seller by the name of The Virginia House. So I did a little research on her blog and found out a bit of info to help me make some of my own.

Here is what I found I needed:  

Burlap (I went to our local feed store and bought an actual burlap bag for 1.99. I think I’m going back to buy more to turn into pillows using the cool print you can find on them!)

Wooden frames

Scissors

Reynolds Freezer paper (WHY hadn’t I known about this stuff before?)

Black paint

Sponge brush

Pencil

Staple gun

Craft knife

Iron

Before I get going any further, I just have to talk about this freezer paper. I had NO idea it existed but check it out – right on the packaging it mentions its specific uses in the crafty area! How cool right? It’s basically got a paper coating on one side and a waxy coating on the other. It makes perfect stenciling templates as I’m about to show you!

First, I printed the monogram I wanted onto a sheet of paper. I checked the size to make sure that’s what I wanted, then I laid the freezer paper over it (paper side up) and traced it.

After tracing, I carefully cut out the letter using a craft knife.

After the monogram is cut out, lay the freezer paper (paper side up) onto the burlap cut large enough to wrap around the wooden frame (Trust me, this is important as with my first attempt I cut a piece way too small!) then iron it on. Do not use steam and make sure to really hit the areas that have the fine cuts so that they are extra secure.

Using a sponge brush, paint the letter with paint color of choice. I think a thicker paint would work better so that it doesn’t get the chance to run. However once I did that, I came back with a slightly thinner coat to really make sure the letter was covered. Take caution at the finer areas so that they don’t get over-saturated. Let dry completely. I used a hairdryer to help speed this up a bit as I’m not very patient!

Remove freezer paper template once the paint is completely dry then stretch the burlap onto the wooden frame and secure with the staple gun.

Then display your piece of artwork with pride! (This is a shelf in my scrap room, of course!)

What I learned in the process:

1. Most of this went beautifully, but I didn’t cut the canvas large enough the first time and therefore it was extremely hard to stretch. Give yourself plenty of working space.

2. It can be a little tricky to center your monogram onto your frame once it’s been painted. Practice patience!

3. Gallery wrap the at the sides of the canvas rather than at the top and bottom so that if you want it to sit on a shelf, it sits a little flatter.

4. MAKING CRAFTS IS FUN!

I hope this has inspired you to get your creative mojo going and I can’t wait to see what you’ve created! Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo, 

k.

***Giveaway CLOSED***It's MY Birthday, but I want to give YOU a present...

***CONTEST NOW CLOSED***WINNER ANNOUNCED AT BOTTOM OF POST

Good morning!

I hope you are having a wonderful day! It's been a bittersweet one for me already as I have just sent my oldest out on his first class trip and on my birthday, too! The house is eerily quiet without him and I think I miss him already!

But speaking of my house and my birthday (what a segue, I know), I am excited to share a little of both with you today. Recently I have had the honor of working with Little Yellow Bicycle and my amazing friend Courtney Walsh in promoting LYB's new release, Acorn Hollow, and celebrating Courtney's brand new Sweethaven book series. 

Courtney's heartwarming novels include themes including friendship and scrapbooking (Hello!!)  and they pair so amazingly well with Little Yellow Bicycle's fall line Acorn Hollow so I absolutely jumped at the chance to work with them both.

 
Here's a little bit about my challenge from Courtney and what transpired:

From Courtney---One of the most important things in my life is that sense of "home." Perhaps that's why it was so important to include the word "Homecoming" in the title of my second novel... because I think there's something universal about that feeling of belonging that you only get when you're home. It's a common theme throughout the novels as Sweethaven is the place my characters can go and truly feel like themselves...

Having moved around a LOT the past few years, Home is more important to me than ever...which is why for this second Sweethaven-inspired prompt, I asked my sweet and hugely talented friend Kelly Goree to create an Acorn Hollow layout that highlights the things she loves most about her home.

I didn't expect that topic to strike such a chord, but for Kelly, it's the home itself that has the most meaning. Having been in her family for four generations, there's something special about those four walls...and what better way to document it than in the pages of her scrapbook?

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And here is the page I created with Acorn Hollow based on Courtney's prompt:

One of my favorite things about my home is my home itself. It was once my grandmother's and four generations of my family have lived here. The layout is a replica of my house and the doors and windows all open to show features of the house as well as provide journaling about why this house is special to me.

The detail shot of the front door pretty much shows you exactly what you see when you open my front door which I thought was fun.

And a couple more images:

And as I mentioned, I can't share pretty paper without having a giveaway. Besides it's my birthday and I want to do something nice and fun for you. So what is better than ONE giveaway? Why, TWO of course! So here is how you can win:

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And the WINNER IS:

Congratulations! PLEASE Contact me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize!
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 GIVEAWAY 1 - Hop on over to the LITTLE YELLOW BICYCLE BLOG where they are giving away a copy of Courtney's book A Sweethaven Homecoming. Just tell them what home means to you and they'll will choose a lucky winner from the comments left on their blog.

GIVEAWAY 2 - RIGHT HERE!! Just leave me a comment letting me know what you love most about fall and you'll be entered to win your own collection of Little Yellow Bicycle's ACORN HOLLOW!

Have a wonderful day!

xo, 

k.

Happy Halloween & WELCOME NOVEMBER!

Hello, all!!

Welcome to NOVEMBER!! Whoot! So glad to see October its way out the door. It was one doozy of a month, but before we let it go, the Goree family sent it out with a bang - Halloween style!

It's long been known that I freaking adore Halloween!I love the colors, I love the crisp air, I love the falling leaves, and I have the most fun making coordinating costumes for the boys! Unfortunately as always, I was running behind in getting these made and they may or may not have been completely dry when we headed out the door! ;)

This year's theme as thought up by my husband - and executed by me (I have to get that in there!) - was PAC MAN. I have to admit as a true child of the 80's I was a Pac Man champ! It was my game - even above Centipede and Donkey Kong - so this was SO much fun (and relatively easy) to do. 

A couple of moving boxes, a few cans of spray paint and some of my cardstock stash and voila - a video game come to life. Wocka, wocka!

Even Ms. Pac Man got in on the deal. Looks like I got run down by the red ghost, Blinky. Better go eat my large white dot....

And now I get to chase them!

It was chilly, but at least the rain stayed away. It reminded me of my Halloweens of childhood!

 LOL I loved seeing the back of their costumes walking down the street. It made me smile!

I hope your Halloween was just as festive and that everyone stayed safe. Please come back tomorrow because even though it's MY birthday, I'm giving one of you special people a gift and sharing some more fun with Little Yellow Bicycle's Acorn Hollow & the amazing Courtney Walsh!

Here's to NOVEMBER! (here here!)
xoxo, 
k

Wow. Catching up. Big Time. Meet Scout.

Well, hello out there!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! It has been brought to my attention (sometimes not so subtly ;)) that I haven't really posted about anything to this old blog except for work-related stuff and I know even that's been limited. That's been somewhat intentional, but as I got to thinking about it, I realized that I really do love looking back at past posts and seeing what had been happening in our lives at that moment. 

So in a *small* effort to fix that situation, let's start with one of the biggest things that happened to us this summer. 

Meet Scout! 

(Scout is very fitting name for this pup since all my boys are scouts and my husband is a Scout Master! I just can't get away from it!)

Scout is our (at the time) 11-month-old chocolate lab rescue pup. 

Isn't he the cutest?! The story of how he came to us is really very serendipitous (and long!) but I'll condense it by saying both our family AND Scout got really lucky when we found each other. Scout was adopted through the WAY HOME RESCUE ALLIANCE and they and his foster mom, Lori, were amazing. 

Ethan and Me on one of our first visits with Scout.

 He fit right in with the crew if you couldn't tell. In this photo he'd just been with us a few days and already owner & pup were starting to look alike! ;)

One of the first activities we did with Scout was canoeing. I think at this point we had only had him for a couple of weeks. We weren't sure how he'd do, but he was amazing - or at least he didn't roll the canoe which was all we could ask for! 

  I swear this photo should appear in an outdoor magazine which is really comical since I am so NOT an outdoorsy person! This is Dad, Turner and Scout as we first set out. I was in another canoe with Ethan and Carson and trying to take pictures. (Er, that didn't always work out so well.)

This was the day, though, that led to us realizing that we couldn't have gotten a more perfect dog for us. Not long after the photo above was taken, Scout decided he needed to use the restroom. The only place we could find that had a bank for him to get out on also had a giant rope swing. So while Scout did his business, the boys took turns jumping off the swing and into the water. It was great fun! At least the boys thought so. 
But Scout? He wasn't so happy. 
He was so anxious that his boys were in the water and the next thing we know, this happened:

The pup started jumping in the water and "rescuing" them from the river! He grabbed Carson by the shirt first and dragged him back to shore. Turner was next on his list. Just look at the determination in his eyes! Bless him. We stopped after this because we didn't want to give the pup pure fits, but I was so proud of him!

Now he's a true part of the family. The boys love him and he loves them. It's crazy. I guess it really is true that every boy needs a dog and every dog needs a boy...or three.

We celebrated his birthday complete with balloons (okay, so it was really the neighbor's birthday, but we took good advantage of the timing!) and belly rubs around. 

I'm sure you'll be seeing much more of him in future posts and pictures. And before anyone asks, yes, now I have FIVE boys - my boys, the husband and now the dog. sigh.  

It never ends!

xo, 

k.

Welcome to the BasicGrey Serenade Blog Hop **CONTEST NOW CLOSED**

****CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED AT BOTTOM OF THE POST****

Welcome to the BasicGrey Serenade Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from the blog of the talented Shannon Tidwell and I know she had something amazing to share with you!

The Serenade Collection captures the refinement of bygone years, where tea was served with crumpets and your dinner guests retired to the parlor for sparkling conversation. Full of refined grace and delicate simplicity, you’ll love adorning your projects with Serenade’s layers of petticoats, bustled tea gowns and prim parasols.

Supplies: Serenade Patterned Paper, Mixed Brads, Petals, Element Stickers. Other: Pen, Adhesive, Mod Podge, Scalloped Heart Punch

Photo by Emilie Ahern. 

I made this super-fun project using the gorgeous SERENADE Collection and one of the BasicGrey unfinished 7x7 frames. As a side note I adore these frames anhd have several in both the 7x7 and 12x12 sizes! And while I'm not usually a home-decor type, I absolutely adore the colors in this line (that that they match my office/craft room is a double bonus!) and wanted to give something different a try. I created the rosette from the Petals package and clustered them with a few more Petals flowers for a totally feminine feel - See! VERY different for me! ;)

And I can't share a "coming soon" project without giving you a chance to win some of your own. So how about the chance to win a full Serenade collection pack  or 6x6 paper pad + embellishment of your choice if you prefer! Simply leave me a comment here in the comments section to be entered to win!

If the chance to win a collection pack is exciting, what about the chance to win one of each product in the Serenade collection?  We thought you might be interested!  Simply head over to the BasicGrey Facebook page and let us know your favorite product in the Serenade collection!  A winner will be selected at random from all comments received today.

Next, it's time to hop over to our last blog for the day, the amazing Shari Carroll and see what she has in store. Remember, if you find a link that doesn't work, you can always hop back to the BasicGrey blog for a list of direct links to all of the blogs in the hop.

Have a wonderful day and good luck!

xoxo, 

k.

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ETA: Congrats to the winner: 

Congratulations! Please email me (through the link at the sidebar) with your addy and we'll get your prize out to you!

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Crop & Create: MARKHAM

Good morning!

I'm so excited to let you all know that the fantastic CROP & CREATE event is coming BACK to Markham in February! We had an absolutely fantastic time last year and are thrilled to be returning once more! Even more exciting is that besides having me and incredible ladies Becky Fleck and Vicki Boutin returning, we will also have the awesome Kelly Purkey and Carmi Cimicata as well as special guest Caroline Lau from Maya Road! 

Some of the event highlights include 24 hours of cropping time, a delicious dessert buffet, two gourmet soup/salad/sandwich lunches, AMAZING prizes, special make n’ takes, challenges and a goody bag you will be talking about for a while! Trust me, you will not want to miss it! Crop & Create Markham is going to be a very special and inspirational event where we celebrate papercrafting...together! 

Now for the full details:

REGISTRATION:  October 22, 2012 @ 8:00 p.m.  EST

with Crop & Create ALUMNAE getting the jump and being allowed to register at 8:00 p.m. EST TONIGHT, October 21st!

Event Date & Location:

February 9 & 10, 2013

Hilton Suites, Markham, ON

All this for only $149!

Classes 3 for $109, 6 for $199 or 1 for $45!

All Day Album Class** for $89!

** 3 or 6 class packs do not include the All Day Album Class 

(Please note you must be registered for the event to register for classes)

We can't wait to see you there! I promise it will make memories you'll keep for a lifetime! And as an added little incentive, here's just one small peek at one of the classes I'll be teaching - My Inspired Sketches class!

Don't forget to get full event and class information HERE! Have a great day!

xoxo, 

k

Little Yellow Bicycle, Friendship, Scrapbooking & Courtney Walsh

Good morning, all!

Today I have something very exciting (for me especially!) to share with you. I have had the honor of knowing and calling the talented Courtney Walsh a friend for a very long time. We met ages ago in the scrapbooking world and I even worked with her on one of her first books - The Busy Scrapper. I have always loved her writing style so when she took on her latest endeavor - novelist - I was one of the first in line to gobble each book up as they came out. I have to admit I would have read them anyway because they were Courtney's but because they were about friendship and scrapbooking, it was a no-brainer!

So the other day Courtney asked me if I would work with her and Little Yellow Bicycle (who's gorgeous new collection ACORN HOLLOW resembles the cover of Courtney's 2nd novel, A Sweethaven Homecoming) for a special promotion I jumped at the chance.

From Courtney---One thing that's always fascinated me is the female friendship. It's one of the most rewarding--yet challenging--relationships of all, and that's why I chose to focus on this theme when writing my Sweethaven series. I also wanted to pull in the idea of a beautiful old scrapbook bringing friends back together after too many years apart...In my mind, friendship and scrapbooking go hand-in-hand...after all, many of my favorite friends are those I've met because of this wonderful hobby.

I asked one of those friends, the wonderful Kelly Goree, to create a layout inspired by my books, more specifically, on the idea of friendship and she used a little Acorn Hollow to do just that. This layout is as fun as it is meaningful, and I'm sure both Kelly and her best friend will cherish the sentiments (and the layout) forever.

Scrapbooking is such an important part of my life--and such an important part of the whole Sweethaven series. I think (and hope) you'll be able to relate.

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And here is what I created. This is my best friend and me in some of our fun photo booth photos from the 90's (Yes, big hair and all!)

Journaling: "To say I was blessed the day you walked into my dorm room almost twenty-five years ago wouldn’t even begin to describe it. There was no way of knowing that you, my mid-term replacement roommate freshman year of college, would become my lifelong best friend. I know physically we’re as different as two people can be (and you got the good end of that deal!) but we were soul sisters from the very start. We complimented each other. I talked you into trying things you never had done before (including coloring your hair for the first time – sorry!) and you taught me what true friendship was all about. I am so grateful and humbled that you are my “person.”

I hope you'll hop over to the LYB blog and then on to Courtney's for the chance to win some Acorn Hollow and Sweethaven magic of your very own! I promise they are two things you won't want to miss! And stay tuned in the weeks to come for even more from me, Courtney, Little Yellow Bicyle and Acorn Hollow!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo, 

k.

Love is in the Air: Introducing BasicGrey's TRUE LOVE Collection

Good morning, all!

Check out what went up on the BasicGrey blog today!! That's right, the 2013 Valentine's line is making it's debut! Introducing TRUE LOVE (and as you'll see - it's not just for the girls!)

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Look out, crafters! Cupid’s arrow is about to strike creative hearts everywhere with BasicGrey’s True Love collection, releasing in December 2012. It’s a classic tale of romance, but rather than boy meets girl, vintage meets geometric in this patterned paper love story. On the vintage side, prints include soft florals, lovely lace, and romantic roses, while its geometric companion offers diagonal stripes, colorful herringbone, and lined-up ledger.

Of course, BasicGrey doesn’t stop at patterned paper. True Love offers a full symphony of crafting supplies to make the creative heart sing. New to the embellishment line-up are the absolutely adorable Mini Bottle Cap Epoxy Stickers—a sweet treat for any project.

Additional adoring accents include:

Wax Seals: No heat required to seal this conversational deal, QTpie!

Chipboard: With letters and shapes now packaged separately, crafters can choose just what they want.

Alphabet Stickers: An impressive assortment of three fonts, colors, and sizes makes it easy to spell out all of those sweet nothings.

Die-cuts and Transparencies: See through all the facades and go straight to the heart with this impressive assortment.

Element Stickers: From trendy tabs to bitty banners, this 12” x 12” sheet of sentimental stickers will add charm to any love note.

Layered Stickers: These dimensional designs will add deep and adoring statements to every project.

Snippets: Back by popular demand, this bundle includes 24 versatile scraps in an easy-to-store 4” x 6” pad.

Mini Envelopes: Send micro messages in bitty envelopes that are sure to make a big impact.

Stitched Brads: When it comes to stand-out projects, texture is the trick, and these brads are just the ticket.

Title Stickers: Whether it’s a sentiment on a Valentine or a loving statement on a scrapbook page, this sheet has everything needed to write the book of love.

Woven Labels: In this case, being labeled is a very good thing!

Garland: Don’t let the smaller (6” x 12”), more convenient package fool you; this giddy garland assortment still includes six double-sided designs to adore.

And what True Love story would be complete without a great big hug and kiss? BasicGrey is tickled to add its XOXO Chipboard Monogram Kit to this heartfelt collection, which includes everything crafters need to make a heartfelt, handmade statement in the home. (This is one of my pet projects! You will definitely want one of your own!)

See what I mean? This line is SO versatile. This is my sweet Turner making out his Valentines in kindergarten. Have you ever seen cuter cheeks?!

And my little monkey man - They made these mailboxes in pre-school and he loved it. He was all about the mail and the Valentines!

Of course you wnt a chance to win some True Love of your own! Simply hop over to the BasicGrey blog and find out how to get entered!

Have a wonderful day!

xoxo, k.