davebrethauer

Color of the Month - February 2011

February's special card color is Mint! This classic blue-green works beautifully with our new patterned 8 1/2 x 11 papers in Squash and Key Lime. We used the Moroccan patterned paper to create layers on the front of the card - building up color towards the center where we put our main design.

The Moroccan pattern in these 2 colors has an intricate pattern that makes a beautiful layered background - the lines of the pattern are so tiny that they fade into the background without making things too busy. They are available in 12 colors this year, and you can see them here.

The stamping involved 3 great images - the Distressed Flowers background (D858) stamped in Versamagic Aquatic Splash ink (this pale green coordinates beautifully with the Mint Notecard). We stamped the Violet Stand (B1015) on top of the Distressed Flower Background...

... and colored it in with some Prismacolor pencils (PC916 Canary Yellow on the tray and PC1003 Spanish Orange on the pots) and Copic Markers (RV25 Dog Rose Flower on the petals and YG01 Green Bice on the leaves).

We ran the Squash and Moroccan layers through the sewing machine to give them a straight stitch along the edges - the thread only goes through the layers, not through the front of the card.

Finish it off with the Thank You script stamp (B832)...

The beautiful Mint green is a one time only printing - available for the month of February at the stores listed under Color of the Month. Pick up a pack all you paper lovers - and send us a picture of something you created with it!

 

Prizes Announced - Create for a Cause

It's time to announce the winners of the Create for a Cause post! Thanks to everyone for posting your charity of choice - I am sure everyone was thrilled to see so many ways to pay it forward. Only comments that mentioned a charity were counted, in order of entry.

The prizes are as follows:

The 50th comment will get: 1 each of the new 8 1/2 x 11 papers (36 sheets total - 9 colors in 4 different patterns)

The 100th comment will get: 1 Birch Branch stamp (G1720)

The 200th Comment will get: 1 Journey Collage stamp (G1733)  and 1 Eiffel Tower stamp (D1723)

The 500th comment (this might be a long shot!) will get: 1 each of all our 6x6 packs (Brioche, Minuet, Tinsel, Gossamer, Pixie, Spooky, Mistletoe, Rhubarb Tart) and the Fine Fern Print Stamp (G1719)

And (drumroll....) the winners are:

50th comment was made by Linda Collins on January 24 at 7:27 PM and she said,

"Love your stamps, I also love Childrens Hospital Boston."

100th comment was made by Zene on January 24 at 11:34 PM and she liked,

"the Crisis Clinic of Thurston and Mason Counties."

the 200th comment was made by Pat Kinon on January 25 at 4:17 PM and she said,

"What a wonderful gesture. My pick for the charity would be St. Jude's Research for Children. Your work is beautiful!"

I think the 500th comment might be awhile! So we'll save that for a later date.

Linda, Zene and Pat - email us at info@memoryboxco.com to claim your prizes! And thanks everybody for playing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create for a Cause - Special Class with Dave

We have officially released the What's in the Box 2011 products - you can check out all the new papers and stamps here!

There are brand new 8 1/2 x 11 papers! 

Plus brand new 6x6 and 12x12 paper collections:

There are lots of events going on at all of the stores that received our new collection - you can see the list of stores here.

But I was wanting to do something to help launch everything as well! And my kids got me inspired to do it in a brand new way.

My kids have been actively trying to make their community a better place since they met Jane Goodall last year. They started their own group, the Purple Polar Bears, through the Goodall Institute's Roots and Shoots program. So, in keeping with that idea, the kids and I came up with a plan to do a class at a stamp store, where all of the class fees will be donated to a cause. And since we just released our new products for 2011 in the What's in the Box program, we thought we'd combine fun new products with a fun class!

I am looking forward to it, and hope that if you are in the Seattle area, (or are planning a trip the weekend of February 12th to the Seattle area!), you can stop by!

The class info is:

Create for A Cause

Location: Impress Rubber Stamps - (Tukwila location)

120 Andover Park East Tukwila, WA 98188

To sign up give them a call! Phone 206 901 9101

Cost: $10 - will make 2 cards in one hour, using new stamps (see the cards above and below on this post) and 100% of the fees will go to charity

Class times:

10-11

11:30-12:30

1-2

2:30-3:30

4-5

As you can see, we are trying to make it an all day affair (I'll eat my Wheaties - and might bring along some little helpers). I promise it will be a good time - and who knows, there might be a few prizes during classes!

The Paris card (inspired by a project from our Design Team member Jenny Griffiths) is the 2nd card we'll be making - and it uses our new Birch Branch, Eiffel Tower and Journey Collage stamp - for a look that really makes me think of spring.

So, tell your friends.

Tell your family!

Come on down - and make some cards! Only $10!

And, as an incentive to get the word out, I am giving away a prize!

I'd like you to leave a comment on this post, telling me the name of a worthy cause. It can be a charity in your little town, or a nation wide organization, or a global organization. You can leave as many comments as you want, but can only name a charity yourself once. So if you leave two comments, it has to be 2 different charities. If you leave 3 comments, it has to be 3 different charities, etc.

Prizes will be given as follows:

The 50th comment will get: 1 each of the new 8 1/2 x 11 papers (36 sheets total - 9 colors in 4 different patterns)

The 100th comment will get: 1 Birch Branch stamp (G1720)

The 200th Comment will get: 1 Journey Collage stamp (G1733)  and 1 Eiffel Tower stamp (D1723)

The 500th comment (this might be a long shot!) will get: 1 each of all our 6x6 packs (Brioche, Minuet, Tinsel, Gossamer, Pixie, Spooky, Mistletoe, Rhubarb Tart) and the Fine Fern Print Stamp (G1719)

OK - start commenting! And feel free to put links in your comments to your charity of choice!

What's in the Box 2011 - Blog Blitz

Our launch of new products for 2011 is off to a great start! There are still some shipments in transit to stores that are launching our entire line - so it may still be a few days before things show up in stores near you (to see a list of stores that are carrying our entire What's in the Box 2011 program, click here).

I decided to try and give a theme to Memory Box's 2011 line of products - so I decided to build everything around the idea of a "journey". 

I started my journey in this industry back in the 90's on a weekday when I walked into a stamp store in Seattle (the wonderful Impress Rubber Stamps). Over the years, I have met lots of interesting people and visited about 100 stamps stores across the United States. My career has changed over the years - from demos and classes to designing and creating lines of products). I've "journeyed" to so many different places - and my artistic journey continues this year.

I'd like to encourage all of you to continue along your own creative path. For some, it may be a weekend hobby that parallels your busy life. For others, you may be able to dedicate most of your time to scrapbooking, cardmaking, painting or whatever inspires you. Regardless of how much time you have, the outcome is equally rewarding!

What's in the Box 2011

Thank you to everyone who has emailed how much they like the Valentine's release! Our Design Team and instructors across the US have been coming up with so many brilliant ideas using the Valentine Delights collection and the new Pixie papers!

Back at Memory Box, we are gearing up to launch our What's in the Box program - our first big release of 2011. Stores that sign up to receive this program don't know what they are getting - it's a secret until they open the box. The fact that they are pre-ordering our release without knowing what they are getting is a big leap of faith! We are so thankful for all the support we get from our stores and Memory Box fans.

We have been busy as all get out here in the warehouse and studio - making hundreds of samples and a special printer's tray display to go with the program. For those of you lucky enough to be near a store that is signed up to receive the program (you can view the list here), you can expect to see all the samples and new merchandise within the next week. If you aren't near one of the stores, we will be posting the new products on our website in just a few weeks.

Well, it's back to work for us - I posted a picture above of some of the 60 butterflies I painted and cut out from watercolor paper - just one element of the beautiful display we are putting together! If you see the display in person, we'd love to hear what you think! Just email us a comment or picture of you at a What's in the Box event!

 

Valentine Delights Collection

We are so pleased to announce the arrival of our newest collection - Valentine Delights - in stores this week! We have 12 new rubber stamp images for you to create handmade greetings...

Our Valentine's collection is inspired by nature - birds and florals - and we added a few graphic elements too (like the giant scalloped polkadot!). To see who is carrying the entire collection of this latest release, click here.

We just sent out an email with pictures of the samples that were included in this collection - if you aren't near one of the stores that received the entire collection, below are close-ups of those ideas. (And if you aren't signed up on our email newsletter, click here to start getting advance notice of new ideas and special announcements like our blog blitz and giveaways!)