CHA Winter 2013 :: BasicGrey
Lots of work done and some decent internet found, so on we go to a few more booths at the winter CHA trade show. Next up is BasicGrey. (You can find their current collections here, and almost everything is at least 25% off while it lasts.)
BasicGrey have four new collections, and the first two are companions: Knee Highs and Bow Ties. Though interestingly enough, there are neither socks nor dapper neck accessories included in the motifs. Go figure. (Also, if it’s not already, I’m sure Knee Highs and Bow Ties should be the name of some adorable tap dancing boys and girls somewhere, yes?) Knee Highs is the girly collection and Bow Ties is BG’s boy option this spring.
Pretty chipboard pieces. Glitter Girl is rather fond of all the hot pink + turquoise going on in the Knee Highs collection.
Three Knee Highs stamps – two clear on the left and one red rubber background stamp on the right, which looks promising as I’m not sure how on earth I’ve never seen a background stamp in something so lovely as a heartified polka dot. (Polka heart? Again, it sounds like a dance troupe.)
Brads and some fancy bottle cap-inspired embellishments. (Sorry I didn’t get a better photo of those as the booth is always quite crowded!)
Um, why, yes: those are lyrics from One Direction. I am somewhat speechless, but every girl under the age of about twenty probably just jumped for joy. Or nodded ironically.
These little embellishments are always my favourite part of the BG booth. It makes me want to start crafting instead of keep working though!
Both Knee Highs and Bow Ties have alphabets I like a lot, and this 12×12 sticker sheet looks really useful. It’s only the owl that will take some creative thinking, but owls work great on cards if they don’t fit your scrapbook look. I have a friend who seems to be collecting quite a stack of notebooks with owl motifs so perhaps that’s a project I need to remember!
Knee Highs papers – lush colours.
Exemplar pages and a few cross-over embellishments that link the two collections – wood veneer banners, a printed notepad, and metal tabs in the style of bookmarks.
This is something new at BasicGrey – the 6×8 minibook with a ring binder and woodgrain-embossed chipboard cover. The spine is patterned (there’s another pattern option in another collection coming up) and there are a variety of tabbed dividers and pocketed page protectors to fit.
Which leads us to the Bow Ties collection!
The paper flags in this collection are very sweet and I think they would work for any age really, depending on the other page elements you chose.
Two stamp sets with this collection – a background of old cars or a clear set of rocket ships and comic book POW!s.
If you never scrap boys there is one thing you still need from this collection – the letter stickers. They are notebook paper with a stitched detail at the edge (printed stitches rather than actual stitching). My picture doesn’t make them look nearly as cool as they are, I’m afraid. They are on my must-have list.
And the papers to round off the collection.
Hipster is the darkest colour palette for BG this show, and it’s not too dark – and will easily mix with brighter colours, I think. That sounds good to me.
I’m pretty sure there are no One Direction lyrics in a line called Hipster, by the way.
…though there may be plenty of moustaches. (But I know some of you are not fans of this motif and I can safely say there is plenty in this collection without carefully curated facial hair so don’t skip it completely!)
This last board even shows how Hipster can look quite feminine.
File folders and chipboard buttons…
Brads and a die-cut acetate alphabet…
and printed chipboard pieces.
But the stamps are my absolute favourite! I always wanted an excuse to stamp ‘rad’ on every third layout! I look forward to this new phase of my scrapping. (No, really: in real life I say ‘rad’ far too often, so I’m not even being sarcastic.) I like the distressed touch to that Polaroid frame stamp too.
And three more – five sets of stamps in total for Hipster! The two backgrounds are red rubber, the other three sets are clear.
Hipster has the ransom-style alphabet with the two smaller fonts at the bottom, and the 12×12 sticker sheet includes things like mix tapes and vinyl, which could be just what you need for those no-photo pages telling stories from the days before digital cameras. (Because you know if there had been camera phones in 1985, we all would have been Instagramming every mix tape we ever made, received, or tore piece by piece from the failing car stereo.)
And the papers… I like that last one with the boxes especially. BasicGrey don’t really do cut-apart sheets but this one could definitely work that way as a less expensive form of embellishment.
I also look forward to the day when researchers wonder why circa 2013, there were so many people in the world suddenly named Awesome. (The name badge trend is still going strong!)
And here’s the final collection from BasicGrey at this show: Mint Julep. Light and sweet and delicate… and there are deer.
Told you. (Also: check the bottom right badge. Love it.)
Interesting die-cut patchwork pieces, plus two kinds of brad embellishments.
All sorts of prettiness, actually!
Five stamps in this collection too – three backgrounds and two clear sets. All the deer are in one set so you can be pro-deer or anti-deer with ease. (I say embrace the deer! But if we have deer with moustaches and name badges next season, that is GOING TOO FAR. Anything other than that is acceptable.)
The stickers are surprisingly primary coloured, but they do look very lovely with the papers, I promise.
And there are the papers, by the way!
Card inspiration!
And ahem: enamel dots in every colour needed to match all these lines. Perfect for stocking up.
And one last look at the BG binder – so you can see both paper options: one for Hipster and one for Bow Ties.
Now… when will all this actually be available to buy? Soon:
Knee Highs and Bow Ties will arrive in stores in mid February.
Hipster and Mint Julep is available in April. Enjoy!
Click here to shop for BasicGrey products and here for the inspiring BasicGrey blog.
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