Articles : Creative Team Reveals

Basic Grey Lemonade

Making the Most of this Gorgeous line

I was so excited when I found out I would get to work with the Basic Grey Lemonade line this month.  The colors are gorgeous, the patterns are fun and the additonal products are fabulous.  This line is perfect for so many of my photos.  It was an absolute pleasure to scrap with.  The colors work with so many other manufacturer's, the quality is high (as it always is with Basic Grey) and all of the products were just as pictured in the shop. 

I approached my reveal a little bit differently this month.  We recently had a discussion on the message board about whether most of you would purchase a piece of paper for scrapbooking that retailed at $3.  I was surprised that most people wouldn't invest that much in a single piece of paper.  This line has several diecut pieces of patterned paper that retail for $2.99.  If I told you that you could use these papers on more than one layout, would that change your mind?  I will show you some quick and easy tips to make the most of this line. 

Diecut Doilies

Before I started any of my pages, I cut up 2 of the specialty diecut doilie papers.  I wanted to make the most of these papers because of the price and show you how easily to do the same.  I used a glass cutting mat and my trusty exacto knife.  I started with the flower doilie diecut paper:

I knew I wanted to use the outside of the paper as a border for one of my pages.  Using my exacto knife, I cut around the outside of the flowers and leaves that were attached to the border of the doilie. 

 I then cut the middle up into 3 large accents for additional pages.  I used to spend so much time cutting flowers like this out of patterned paper.  What a quick and easy accents for my pages.

I also cut the Swiss dot diecut doilie into 2 pieces for different pages.  I used the Berry colored one but this could also be done for the othered colors:

I used the precut dots as my guide to know where to cut.  I used the inside square and followed the dots with my exacto knife. 

Here is the finished product:  I planned on using the outside for the border of a page and covering the middle with patterned paper.  I knew by cutting out the middle, I could use the inside for another page.  I did trim the middle square so that it had a straight edge.

Lemonade Take Note Journaling Spots

This is another product that I wanted to mention before showing you my layouts.  I didn't realize how versatile this product was until I opened the package.  There are four journaling spots along with a coordinating color transparency for each one.  They can be used together or separately.  Throughout my reveal, I will mention if I use one of the pieces and which one so you can get an idea of their versatility. 

Seven

This was the first page I made.  I wanted to do a layout with a recent photo of my daughter because she just turned seven.  I think I will probably frame this page and this may become a yearly tradition. 

I used a large flower cut from the middle of my flower doilie as an accent on my page.  I also used the transparency from the Take Note Jouranling Spots and saved the journaling paper.  I decided since my picture would be covering up the middle of the journaling spot, that I didn't want to waste it.  I laid the journaling spot face down on a piece of blue pp from the 6x6 pad of paper (that was also face down.)  I traced the outside of the journaling spot with a pencil and cut it out using my handy Cutterbees.  The result was a piece of paper that fit perfectly behind my transparency without using up my journaling spot.  I can use it later on another page. 

Here's my finished layout:

Annabella + 10

I love the witty things my daughter tells me.  This was a fun page that I made telling the story of one of those witty things that I don't want to forget. 

I used the outside of the Swiss Dot Doilie for this page.  I cut out the center (as shown above.)   I cut out a piece of patterned paper for the middle and added lace behind the paper before stitching it down.  The lace reminded me of the tulle skirt my daughter was wearing in the photo.  I also used one of the Take Note Journaling spots on this page.  For this layout, I only used the journaling spot.  It was the perfect size for my title.  I could have easily adjusted the size of the journaling spot by scanning it and printing at a larger or smaller scale depending on my title font.  I saved the transparency for later.  This page was so easy to put together.

7 Things You Love at 7

This is another page that I try to do yearly and it documents 7 things she loves at the age of 7.  I often get caught up recording events or moments but want to look back and remember these things, too.  It was easy to ask my daughter what things she liked and she loves being involved in a page.

I used the outside border of the flower doilie for the border of my page.  The design came together so easily once I had the border glued down on a piece of cardstock and my picture picked out.

Birthday Present

For this page, I used another one of the flowers from the middle of the diecut flower doilie.  I also added the center of the Swiss Dot Berry Diecut paper.  When you already have 2 items, such as the diecut flower and the diecut dot square, my page tends to come together so quickly.

Birthday Wishes Card

I also made this pretty birthday card for one of my best friends with this line of paper.  They were the perfect colors and patterns to make a birthday themed card.

Butterfly Round Tin

I also used this line to make this altered project.  I found a cute, round tin in a dollar bin at a craft store.  I thought it would be perfect to alter and maybe hold a present.  It could be used to store some scrapbooking supplies.  Or, I could also just set it on my desk to look at because it makes me so happy.

Products Used for this Reveal

About the author ...
Beth has been a member of the ACOT Creative Team since August 2007. She is currently a SAHM and lives with her dh, 6 year old dd, and 3 cats in Florida. She started scrapbooking over 3 1/2 years ago and has become completely obsessed with the hobby and loves the creative outlet it provides. She was a finalist in the KI Memories Celebrate Life with Color Contest and has been published in Memory Makers, the KI Memories Idea Planner, and Creating Keepsakes. In addition to being an avid scrapbooker, she loves reading, photography and baking.

Published on 08/26/2009. Submitted by Beth-W