{behind the pages.}: March 2012

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

WINNERS + Another FREEBIE

Hi, all!

I hope you're having a wonderful Tuesday! I'm sorry I wasn't back to you yesterday as promised (sidetracked as usual) but I'm here to post the winners of the autographed copy of Kimber's amazing book 100 Fun & Handmade Cards and SCT's CardMaps Today!

So without further ado, here you go! Huge congratulations to:

Lynn and Diane!

Ladies, please email me at kelly(dot)goree(at)gmail(dot)com so I can get your names to the appropriate person! :)

And now for the freebie. My sweet friend, Kayla Aimee, has written a FREE e-book detailing how to get published in the papercrafting industry. I know this is a question that gets asked of me frequently and I was delighted when Kayla asked me to give her some of my best tips when she sat down to write it.

But don't worry! There's not only my thoughts, but many many more from some of the best in the industry all compiled in Kayla's delightful writing style and sense of humor! It's an extremely helpful little book if you're wanting to take your scrapbooking to the next level and are looking to get published in magazines and books.

One more reminder before I go, the blog hop for Vicki's book Creative Foundations is still open in the post below through tonight so make sure you get in on that too! :)

xo,

Monday, March 12, 2012

Introducing CREATIVE FOUNDATIONS by Vicki Boutin

Hello and Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic (And WARM like we did!) weekend and are all geared up to face this brand new daylight savings time! *yawn*

The giving keeps continuing here into the new week! I'm so excited! So let's get right to it today, shall we?! Today I'm helping my amazingly talented friend Vicki Boutin give away a couple of copies of her new book, CREATIVE FOUNDATIONS!

Let me just scratch the surface of why this book is a must-have! I'll begin by mentioning that I was an art major in college. I absolutely loved getting my hands dirty with paint, ink, canvas primer (gesso) and anything else I could think of. It was my life for those four years. Then enter working a "real job" and marriage and kids and my creative outlet disappeared. I never could figure out what was missing in my life until scrapbooking came along and once again I had an outlet for my artistic endeavors. But I never even THOUGHT to marry my love of inky, painty type stuff with my scrapbooking. And that's where Vicki comes along. When I say this girl is creative it's only because I don't have a stronger word to use to describe the incredible ideas that come out of her cute blonde head! She's a total rockstar and what's even better? She MAKES IT EASY!

Oh yes! Those of you that are reading this and thinking to themselves right now - "But *I* wasn't an art major and *I'm* not artistic!" - I'm here to say oh YES YOU ARE and Vicki will show you how....simply. (And another bonus? These techniques don't HAVE to be confined to a scrapbook page!)

Here is just a peak at one of my projects I contributed to Vicki's book. For this I not only stamped on vellum, but I also used mists for masks and several other cool techniques. Vicki helped make it approachable and ever step is SO well illustrated! I promise you NEED this book. So here's how you can get one:

Vicki is doing something creative (of course!) to give away some copies of her fabulous, must-have book. She is having everyone collect a word at each blog they visit to complete a phrase to be entered to win!

My word is "A". Simply leave a comment here to consider it "collected" and then hop on over and visit the talented Bethany Kartchner HERE to collect the word "COPY" and you're almost there! Remember, once you're done, stop back to Vicki's blog and let her know you collected all the words to "I'd LOVE A COPY OF CREATIVE FOUNDATIONS!" and you'll be entered to win one of TWO copies of her book! Fabulous, right!?! And for those of you that are impatient like me, here's a link to Amazon to buy a copy NOW!

So what are you waiting for?! Get hopping!

I'll be back a bit later to announce the winners of CARD MAPS 2 and Kimber's 100 Fun & Handmade Cards!

Have a fantastic day!

xo,

Friday, March 09, 2012

100 Fresh & Fun Handmade Cards - it's a BLOG HOP & Giveaway(s)!

Hello, everyone! Happy Friday and welcome, especially, to those of you that hopped here from Rae Bartel's blog! HELLO to you!

I told you it was going to be a good week around here with quite a few giveaways and I wasn't kidding! Today's wonderful giveaway comes to you courtesy of my amazingly talented friend, Kimber McGray! Those of of you that know Kimber and her incredible work know that she's the Card Making Queen...and she has several books under her belt to prove it!

Her latest one - 100 Fresh & Fun Handmade Cards - has just been released and we're helping her celebrate with a fun blog hop....AND a giveaway of a signed copy on each of the blogs! How's that for an awesome way to start a Friday?!

I absolutely loved being a part of this book. Kimber always stretches me to my creative limits - this time by asking me to make cards with INTERACTIVE elements. Yep, that's right. This book has slider cards, shaker cards, pop up cards - you name it, it's in there! It's been so beautifully created with step by step instructions which absolutely makes this book a must have. I didn't think she could top her last one, but she really did!

This fun card is probably my favorite I created for the book. It's a pull-up gift card holder where the roof lifts up to reveal a gift card for a home improvement store. But don't worry. If the interactive part completely overwhelms you, this book shows you how to make a simple version of the card as well! There's truly something for everyone. Just click right HERE for the link to the book on Amazon if you just can't wait to see if you win a copy - and if I were you I totally wouldn't be waiting!

So let's get to the good stuff as I know you're itching to! All you have to do is leave a comment here telling me why you NEED a copy of this book (and you do!) to be entered to win. The you need to hop on over to the awesome Kim Hughes of Paper Smooches blog to visit her and be entered to win there too! We'll all be drawing the winners on Monday so there are several chances to score a copy for yourself!

One more reminder - I still have the giveaway for CardMaps Today 2 open a couple posts below until midnight tonight! Get in on that too while you're at it and double your chances of winning something amazing!

Have a great day!
xo,

Thursday, March 08, 2012

BG to GO: The ReaDeR

Good Morning! Happy Thursday, everyone!

Today I have to share with you a layout that I did for BasicGrey's blog. It feature one of my favorite lines ever - Oxford - and includes step by step photos and instructions should you want to create one of your own!

SUPPLIES: [OXFORD] OXF-3363 Fencing,
OXF-3362 Midterm, OXF-3368 Deans List, OXF-3372 University, OXF-3377Element Stickers, OXF-3378 Alpha Stickers, OXF-3388 Chip Sticker Shapes.

This is my sweet Carson falling in love with his very first book - Big Nate. He even stayed up and read by the light of the night light when he first got it. I love that the reading bug has bitten him and I had to document it :)

So hop on over to the BasicGrey blog to get all the how-tos and I hope you enjoy! My giveaway for CARDMAPS TODAY 2 is still open in the post below! Don't forget to get entered for that! (And there just MIGHT be another fab giveaway in the works coming tomorrow!)

Have a great day!

xo,

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

CardMaps Today 2 - GET YOURS NOW!

Hello, all! Happy Tuesday to you which is my Monday due to an unexpected snow day yesterday! But boy do I have a week for you this week! I have several giveways you won't want to miss out on and I am so excited to share them with you.

Today's giveaway is a must have for all you cardmakers out there!

You might remember the amazing special issue that Scrapbook & Cards Today put out last year featuring the best of Becky Fleck's CardMaps! Well it was such an amazing hit that they did it again! Oh yes, that's right! CardMaps Today 2 is just about ready to hit store shelves! With 45 brand new, never-before-seen card sketches, CardMaps Today 2 includes 80 beautifully-designed cards by 15 talented cardmakers all with instructions! New to CardMaps Today 2 this year are eight trend-setting techniques featured in photographed step-outs! This limited-edition, special issue is a must!

I was honored to be one of the designers working on this issue. I love working with sketches and Becky's are the best there are. Here is a peek at one of my favorites to give you a small taste of what you'll find inside:

For more information on this must-have book and to order your own copy of CardMaps 2, please visit this link: http://www.scrapbookandcards.com/cardmaps-welcome-2012

Of course I share this exciting news without giving you the chance to win it before you can buy it! Simply leave your name and what excites YOU about this CardMaps issue and you'll be entered to win. Please only one entry per person. Comments must be received by Friday, March 10th at 11:59 pm EST.

Have a wonderful day!

xo,

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Old New Borrowed Cool - March's "Feeling Lucky" edition

So March definitely wants to come in like a lion (and I'm strongly hoping it's going to go out like a lamb), but I'm feeling very fortunate and lucky today to have weathered the...well...weather. It's been a crazy mixed bag of severe thunderstorms, lightning, hail and tornadoes in my area and the destruction has been great. My prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones or suffered damage.

So express my thankfulness, I am excited to share something with you today. Once again I find it the first of the month (seriously!) and time for my OLD NEW BORROWED COOL challenge at Scrapbook & Cards Today. This month is *all* about the luck - and letting those you love know just how lucky you feel for having them in your life. Hop on over to the SCT blog where I will walk you step by step to make a set of these adorable St. Patty's Day cards for yourself. The best part? It is a great way to use up a bunch of scraps of your favorite green-hued papers!

Have a wonderful day and Happy MARCH!
xo,