BasicGrey Paper Scrapbooks

The Beginning of BasicGrey Paper Scrapbooks

BasicGrey is owned by Rachel and Greg Brenchley. Rachel, a former graphic designer, was looking for a creative outlet after she left her job to become a stay-at-home mom. Greg put his accounting background to work as the company’s chief financial officer.

In July 2004, BasicGrey introduced scrapbookers to its unique product line. The Sophie and Dawson paper collections (named for Rachel and Greg’s children) were instant hits. Sublime and Motifica were also quite popular, later inspiring a line of complementary albums and embellishments by K&Company.

Paper Collections

BasicGrey’s paper collections are by far the company’s best-known products. BasicGrey paper is rather unique in that it works equally well for both masculine and feminine layouts. BasicGrey can be used for baby pages, as well as layouts to commemorate birthdays, weddings, proms, graduations, and other special occasions. In fact, the Blitzen, Dasher, and Fruitcake collections are a popular choice for Christmas and winter-themed pages.

BasicGrey paper designs can be purchased by the sheet or as part of a larger kit that also includes tags and letter stickers. There are also smaller kits designed to help you make lunchbox or matchbook gift albums.

BasicGrey paper is thicker than most other patterned paper, making it suitable for use as background on your layouts. Some of the newer lines feature double-sided paper for additional versatility.

New BasicGrey designs are released several times per year to phase out older paper lines. BasicGrey’s releases for Spring 2007 include Perhaps, Stella Ruby, Scarlet’s Letter, and Pheobe. If you’re having trouble locating paper from an earlier collection, try searching on eBay.

Embellishments

While BasicGrey has made a name for itself as a manufacturer of cutting-edge scrapbook paper, this unique company has a number of other products you may want to add to your supply stash. For example:

• Letter stickers can be used to add journaling and titles to your BasicGrey paper scrapbooks.
• Monograms are a perfect way to add dramatic lettering to your scrapbook layouts.
• Tag sheets let you add small dashes of color to your BasicGrey projects.
• Ribbon sets are available to coordinate with the most popular BasicGrey scrapbook designs.
• Rub-ons make it easy to add themed elements to your layouts.
• Metal book clips and book plates can be used to add dimension to your pages.

Tools

BasicGrey’s scrapbooking tools are high-quality products that are designed to help you make the most of your cropping time. For example:

• The BasicGrey Notch and Die Cutting Tool makes it easy to create photo corners, closures, journaling holders, and pocket notches in paper, cardstock, leather, fabric, chipboard, and thin plastic.
• The BasicGrey Precision File Set lets you achieve a trendy distressed look on your layouts by combining a variety of small files in one convenient carrying case.
• The BasicGrey Magnetic Precision Mat Kit helps you trim and mat your photos by combining super strong magnetic tacks with a stainless steel beveled ruler and a magnetic cutting mat.

Buying BasicGrey Products

Supplies for BasicGrey paper scrapbooks can be purchased at your local scrapbook store or online from the following websites:

• Scrapbook.com
• Create My Keepsake
• Jordan Paper Arts
• Memory Villa
• Croppin’ Paradise
• Home Shopping Network

The direct sales company MemoryWorks also carries a number of BasicGrey items. Contact a consultant in your area to learn more.

Additional Information

• BasicGrey website
• An interview with the founders of BasicGrey
• Layouts using BasicGrey paper and embellishments