davebrethauer

Woodland Springtime

Good things do come in tiny packages, don't they? If you are starting to plan some springtime greetings and need a little inspiration, well look no further! We are going to be releasing an all new collection of rubber stamps featuring storybook inspired woodland creatures. Squirrels, owls and bunnies - ready to grace the fronts of greeting cards and scrapbook pages everywhere!

Our stores have begun ordering the new images and the sample card displays, you can see who is getting the new stuff in first by looking at the list of stores on the Woodland Springtime list on the blog! Tell your store all about it if they aren't signed up!

The card above is our Project of the Month - a "not for the faint hearted" watercolor card. For those of you who participated in my watercolor workshops in the last year, this is a good way to test your skills (I am sure you've all been practicing!). This is a large area to paint in, so remember, lots and lots of water! I used Faber Castell - Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils - but any watercolor pencil will do. There are a couple of ways to use watercolor pencils - one way is to color the paper directly with a pencil and then add a wet paintbrush to it. The method here uses a technique where you pull the paint directly off the tip of a pencil with a wet brush and then apply it to a pre-wetted area on watercolor paper. The result is a smooth look that I really like.

I used the Nutty Squirrel and the "good things..." images - I think they work well together! I have been putting the jewel stickers on the corners of layers of my cards - it dresses things up a little. Here I put some of the Sky Blue Jewel stickers on the corners of the layer. Using a small pair of Judikins scissors, I have been cutting them apart on the sheet, and then picking up the jewels with tiny tweezers to place them on the card. A hint on coloring in animals - keep the faces paler than the rest of the body! If they are the same color, or a little darker, the effect is a little less "adorable". I learned this little tip last summer when teachng a colored pencil workshop using one of my fox images: if the face got as red as the rest of the body, it was the most vicious little fox you've ever seen! Not exactly the effect you would want if you were going to give the card to your grandma!

You can view the new Woodland Springtime images on the site but I am also posting them here. Read the other Memory Box blogs over the next few weeks, as we focus on this fun new release!

Woodland Springtime Images

Panda Party

We're always asked about what we have coming out next. Well, in a little over a week we have a story book collection of spring animals - which we are calling our Woodland Springtime release. I have been coordinating with our Memory Box blog designers a way to let everyone know about it. While we're getting ready for that event, I wanted to make sure that we didn't forget about one of our current releases - our Panda Party. Stamp on Over, a store I visited in Sunnyvale, California (you can see that post from a couple of weeks ago) is planning a real Panda Party celebration on February 20 (check their store schedule for any changes) and they have been stocking up big time on Memory Box products, just look at the video to see what they ordered in for their huge store!

Well the Panda samples are all about fun and whimsy. A chance to express a silly side - and best of all they can be given to anybody - there isn't anything necessarily feminine or masculine about most of them.

Here's our Club Panda, rocking out beneath our disco ball! The dance floor is our Lavender Biscotti paper and he's striking his best Saturday Night Fever pose.

Our garden panda is holding some flowers, and surrounded by butterflies. We added some sparkle with some of our new jewel stickers.

Party Panda is ready to celebrate with, what else? CUPCAKES! They are frosted with glitter and topped with little cherries (jewels).

This little playground panda is super fun too. Check out what Laura did with her airplane - too cool.

Got an athlete in your life? Here's the greeting for them (Or for anyone who's made a recent big accomplishment).

These are ideas we sent out in our recent panda party release - be sure and check our list of store participating in this release, just go to releases - some will be holding special classes teaching these fun cards!

First Signs of Spring

I realize there are many areas of the country that are still in a deep freeze, but our sunny Seattle weather this week has brought temperatures into the 50's and I noticed all of the crocus bulbs sprouting up along our walkway this morning. The sun is at such a wonderful angle this time of the year - it reaches deeper into the house, since it's path is lower on the horizon, and when it comes through one of our bedroom windows on the south side, it peeks in through the hallway, down the stairs and onto the basement floor. It only happens between late January and late February - just the right angle to reach into the basement! Our dog Biscuit and our new puppy Kip are both stretched out on the hardwood floors, soaking it up.

So I thought I would share some of the ideas that have been floating across the studio that celebrate spring - and for those of you who are still very much in the winter weather, it won't be much longer before things thaw, the birds return and flowers begin popping on branches!

I have been obsessing over birds for almost a year now - I have purchased all sorts of bird books and scientific bird catalogs, learning the structure of a bird so that I can incorporate them into my design. I guess you could say I am going through a "bird on branch" phase here - I have designed several birds on branches since last summer and this is one of my latest. I've tried drawing different species of birds - trying to find a gentle, friendly looking bird that looks good individually or as a pair of birds. I've settled on bluebirds for now - but might try doves, or chickadees (or hummingbirds?) next.

On the other side of the bird spectrum would be a more whimsical style that I applied to this little owl. I think back to my Aunt Viola who had a whole collection of owl memorobilia in the 70's - ceramic, glass and wooden owls perched on bookcases, end tables and knick-knack shelves. I am using robins egg cards for these ideas - which work perfectly with our new sweetbay 6x6 paper collections.

Our new "trimmings" section is expanding - we've been using our super tiny 2 mm jewel stickers here as "cherries" on some trees. The sparkle is wonderful - and a fun change from glitter glue.

The leafy branch pattern is again from the Sweetbay collection - the layer on the card is from our Sweetbay 6x6 paper packs, but it is also available at a larger scale in 12x12 paper. It is so much fun to use underneath a layered image!

Scrapbook Territory - Berkeley, California

I drove to Berkeley on a sunny Sunday morning - through San Francisco and across the beautiful Bay Bridge. Kelly, the store manager, helped me throughout the day with setting up (thanks Kelly!). I was greeted at the door by Wilbur the store dog (who was joined later by another dog - who had tagged along because his owner was in one of my workshops later in the day). This store was spacious, with plenty of light filtering through the bank of windows in the roof of the building. The store owner, Diane, was away at CHA so we'll have to meet next time.

My flight back to Seattle left not long after my workshops ended, so I was unable to explore the area, which looked wonderful. I will have to schedule another visit!

Lots of great energy and creative juices flowing at this store - a required stop if you are in the Berkeley area! Here's a video tour of Scrapbook Territory...

Stamp on Over - Sunnyvale, California

My trip to Stamp on Over in Sunnyvale, California was a delightful way to break up a cold, Seattle winter. I began watercolor and colored pencil workshops at 9 am and ended at 7 pm - and had the pleasure of meeting dozens of wonderful paper crafters.

Stamp on Over began as a crafters mall - where crafters could sell their wares to the community - in Sunnyvale, near the Stanford University campus. Their stamp section began as a tiny space, but has expanded, bit by bit, and now takes up a good portion of this huge store. Geri, the owner, brought out fresh, homemade chocolate brownies in the afternoon session to add some energy to the group, though I must say, the students were all brimming with energy and excitement. Nicole and Marcia (the store manager) helped me throughout the day and insured a seamless transition between workshops as we emptied and filled quarts of water for the workshops and cleared spaces for the next projects.

Here's a short video tour of Stamp on Over - next time you are in the area, this is a store to check out!