Welcome Kimber McGray!

We are so excited that within only a few short weeks, we've had the opportunity to welcome two well known celebrity scrapbookers to Bloomin Scrapbooks! If you didn't get a chance to meet Kelly Goree a few weeks ago, you won't want to miss the chance to take a class from Indiana's own Kimber McGray. Kimber's clean, bright and graphic style earned her a spot on the Creating Keepsakes Magazine Hall of Fame. She has designed for several industry manufacturers including Jillybean Soup, Core'dinations, We R Memory Keepers, and Unity Stamp Designs.

So be sure to mark your calendar for her class on Saturday, September 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. As an added bonus, lunch is included in the cost of the class. Just take a look at the fun pages she will show us how to create using new products from Jillybean Soup:

Kimber has recently authored "Scrapbook Secrets", a true inspiration for creating amazing scrapbook pages. We do have copies of her book available and we're sure she would love to autograph one for you!

Please call or stop by soon to reserve your spot. Hope you can join us!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Linda Connolly for winning the Grand Champion award in scrapbooking at the Monroe County Fair! Stop in to see Linda's winning entry currently on display at Bloomin' Scrapbooks.

Support our troops

Calling all card makers---we've learned of an exciting opportunity to help our service men and women currently stationed overseas. As you might imagine, access to many items we take for granted each day are limited in the countries where they are serving. One of those items is greeting cards for when they want to send a note or something special to a loved one back home.

So, here's where we come in! Bloomin' Scrapbooks is collecting handmade cards to send to a division currently stationed in Afghanistan. If you would like to contribute, please bring your cards into the store by September 15. We will provide envelopes for each card, so we ask they be standard size, either 3.5 by 5.5" or 5" x 7". The cards should also be white inside so the soldiers are able to easily write notes or letters inside them.

It's an amazing thing when a hobby we love can make a difference in the lives of others. And in this case, it's a "double bonus." The soldiers will appreciate being able to send a beautiful card to their loved ones, and no doubt the final recipient will cherish it!

Only two more weeks until Kelly Goree is here!

Don't forget to mark your calendars and sign up for one of our few remaining slots in the classes Kelly Goree is teaching here on Friday, August 14 from 4-9 p.m. Even if you may be unfamiliar with Kelly, you've likely seen her work in scrapbooking magazines (including the recent cover layout of the April 2009 Creating Keepsakes magazine.) Here's more about Kelly:

Kelly Goree lives in the beautiful horse country of Kentucky with her husband of 11 years and her three rambunctious little boys. She was introduced to scrapbooking in early 2000 just after her oldest son was born and it quickly became a favorite hobby then all-out passion. She'll tell you if she's not out chasing her boys, you can find her scrapping! Kelly is a full-time staff designer and instructor for BasicGrey where she is a driving force in designing work for classes, tradeshows, catalogs, and special events. In 2006 she had the honor of being a Memory Makers Master and has over 300 published works that can been seen in the pages of Memory Makers, Creating Keepsakes, Better Homes & Garden's Scrapbooks Etc., Scrapbook Trends, Paper Trends, Scrapbooking & Beyond and other scrapping and paper arts publications.

We are so fortunate to have Kelly here with us to teach two 2-page layouts using two of the newer lines from Basic Grey. Kelly has lots of techniques to teach us including:

• using Basic Grey Olio full color rub ons
• paper piecing
• how to create fun title and journaling blocks
• make your own notebook paper
• how to cut apart stickers, rub-ons and paper to make your own personal design
• adapting layout sketches to fit your photos while keeping the design cohesive

Here's a look at one of the layouts Kelly will be teaching using the Basic Grey "Lemonade" papers. Just beautiful!