Happy Monday! Why not kick off the week with a giveaway!!! I’m super excited to be a FINALIST for the Basically Bare Design Team! If that’s not cool enough, Basically Bare is generously giving away a huge prize pack of Basically Bare goodies! All you have to do is leave a COMMENT on this post for a chance to win!!

Have you checked out Basically Bare? They are a relatively new company that offers alterable items for paper artisans! I discovered their products at CHA Chicago last summer and have been a huge fan since! You’ve probably seen a few of my projects here on the blog – Orrin & Shawndene’s Engagement Album, Hooey’s Brag Book, Hey Cupcake, Jeff & Sue’s Anniversary Album, Baby Evanna’s Album and Kim’s Family Brag Book.   

I thought I’d share a few of my favorite Basically Bare products AND some inspiration of what you can do with these awesome products!! I’d love your ideas on what you would do with these fun products if you win the giant prize pack which includes all of their brand spankin’ new releases!

First up — Tiny Tabs Mixed Media Album! Ok – first off – this album is $4.99. Ummm… yes, please!! Ever since I first laid my eyes on this cutesy album I’ve been thinking about how it will be PERFECT for my growing obsession with Instagram photos!! (You can find me on Instagram @beckylaunder) I think it will also coordinate with Bella Blvd’s Sunshine Hapiness collection.

Meet Polly’s Pockets! This amazing little Basically Bare booklet has POCKETS. Who doesn’t love pockets? This album inspired a travel-themed album. Having little pockets for additional photos, ticket stubs and maps is not only super functional, but really cute, as well. I picked a few coordinating products from Glitz - I love the vintage-inspired travel embellishments. This album is paired with a few photos from a cruise to Mexico that we took last year.

My third Basically Bare product to show off today was a tie — I love the Betty’s Brackets booklet and embellies. I was especially drawn to Betty’s Brackets because I’m learning more about all the fun things I can do with canvas so this album really jumped out at me. The Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist works perfect with the canvas. Who doesn’t love a little “glam” on their albums?  I also LOVE the Basically Bare embellies — the “celestial” theme is adorable and will convey a bright, sunshining day! One of my favorite releases from CHA is the American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection with mason jars, banners and clouds – it would coordinate perfectly! For this album, I picked out a few “fun in the sun” photos from my sister’s bachelorette party last summer. Cake pops and lemon sliced jello shots- how can you resist?

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. Don’t forget to leave a comment so you can win an awesome prize pack! Winners will be announced Friday, March 16. Also, be sure to follow Basically Bare on facebook for more inspiration and great products! Happy Crafting!!

Happy Wednesday! I’m finishing up a beautiful vacation in Hawaii and thought I’d pop in for a quick update! First off, I’m SO excited to be featured over at Basically Bare again today! Woo hoo! There’s a really fun recap of a lot of the Basically Bare projects that I’ve been working on lately!

Also, I thought I’d share this ADORABLE apron that my mama made me for Christmas. Isn’t this just the cutest? I love the fashionable, halter top apron with the fun, retro colors. I’m going to have to get in the baking mood and put this apron to good use! I thought I’d have some fun modeling the apron over the holidays at our Christmas dinner. Pssst – I’ll tell you a secret. I didn’t really make the pie. Grandma did!

Isn’t my grandpa so cute? His 80th birthday is Saturday! He’s looking good!

We thought we should let mama in the photos since she made the awesome apron!

And of course – me and my sister being silly!

Oh, and cute!

After mom made me such a cute apron, I decided that I’m going to need to learn to sew. Adding it to the to-do list!

Today I thought I’d share a few snapshots from a brag book that I put together over the holidays for my sweet friend Christina. This was a gift for her mom “Hooey” of her adorable son, Auggie. She had the most fun photos of her little family to play around with! Enjoy!

I’m SO EXCITED to share that one of my most favorite brag books is featured on the Basically Bare blog today! I absolutely LOVE their products and feel SO honored to show off this adorable engagement album made just for my good friends Orrin & Shawndene! Their engagement photos from Kristina Cazares Photography are absolutely stunning! Hop right on over to their blog and check it out! Here’s a little teaser of the eye candy over there…

I was so excited to put together a brag book for the Delos Reyes Family for Christmas! Their adorable daughter, Evanna, is SO cute… I knew this album was going to turn out oh-so-fun! I was also super excited to use a new 8×8 Simply Shapely album from Basically Bare for the project! Here are a few snapshots from this cute album. I’m super bummed because I took some great photos of the acrylic, canvas and felt pages, but I accidentally deleted them on my digital camera (ahhh!!)… luckily, I have a few shots on my iPad to share!  

What a cutie — and she’s only 6 months old!!

More Eye Candy for YOU! This is part 2 of Kim’s Family Brag Book. Again, it was absolutely a pleasure designing this beautiful album! Kim, I hope you and your family cherish the brag book for years to come!

Also, I had to include a few detailed shots of how awesome the texture is of these fabulous Basically Bare album. With the kraft envelopes, I was able to add in the extra photos that were not on a page. I simply hole-punched the photo and tied a ribbon on it. This made it look like a little tag that you could pull out of each envelope. Most pages I covered with patterned paper, but I occassionally let the fun brown, kraft paper shine through.

PS – We are having a sale on Etsy - 10% off this week only! (Oh, and the last few 2012 calendars are still just $30 – score!!)

I can’t wait to show off this adorable album. I absolutely loved working with Kim on this project. She is such a sweetheart. She’s currently away home in the Coast Guard. When she ordered this custom brag book for her parents for Christmas, I knew it needed to be extra special. Using a Basically Bare mixed media album, we put together photos of the family together – including the pups! This is just the first part… more photos coming on Monday!

Have I mentioned how incredibly IN LOVE I am with Basically Bare products? I’ve had so much fun creating and designing albums with these little mixed media beauties over the last few months. I can’t wait to see their new products coming out at the big Craft & Hobby Association Show in Anaheim. It’s less than a month away… eekkk! Can’t wait!

In the meantime, I have these adorable kraft envelope mixed media albums for just $6 on our shop! What a bargain!

Here’s a little “before” and “after” of what this album can look like… Check back tomorrow to see the full “Family” album that I designed over the holidays!

Have you seen this super fun mixed media album from Basically Bare? I’ve primarily used this album for custom orders, but I do have a handful in stock for my crafty chicks out there.

Here are the details:  This Basically Bare alterable album is perfect for paper artisans looking for a unique “bare” album to get started. This album measures 4×9 and is spiral bound. This mini album includes 10 pages of different paper items.

Page 1: Chipboard
Page 2: Cardboard (one side is bright white)
Page 3: Kraft Envelope
Page 4: Acylic (with a fun tab)
Page 5: Canvas
Page 6 & 7: (2) Mini Kraft Paper Envelopes
Page 8: Cardboard (one side is bright white, also includes a fun tab)
Page 9: Chipboard

It’s definitely my new favorite mixed media album. Super high quality!! It is just $9 and can be purchased on our online shop.

I have a few upcoming blog posts including a tutorial on this mixed media album coming soon. Stay tuned!