I have so many exciting events to share with you today - including a listing of my 2011 Summer Class tour (21 cities!), our new die collection and information about our upcoming Christmas in July release!
First, I'll share all the information about our new dies! We've just released a brand new collection of 11 dies - which we have titled the Butterfly Orchard Collection - and they are in stores this week! It is a completely different experience to design craft dies than it is to design rubber stamps - and I am really enjoying the design part of the process! I am trying to give a Memory Box touch to all of the new products - including the packaging. Many of you have written how much you like the minimal packaging - we simply insert the die into an envelope and bag, managing to avoid the indestructible hard shell plastic so common in imported craft products. Everything is made in the USA - including the steel used in the dies.
I made a few designs that work together, for example the Twiggy Tree (98143) and the Leaf Canopy (98142). You can see above that I punched the Leaf Canopy through some cardstock, allowing the background to show through. Then I put the Twiggy Tree in the center - it fits right inside the leaves! You can use the Flower Mound the same way with the Twiggy Tree.
I have really tried to push the limits of detail with the new dies- sometimes I may need to add a paper shim if the detail is superfine, like on the new Maribelle Butterfly (here shown in black, glued on top of the Selena Butterfly)
You can see all of the dies and the stores that bought the entire collections by clicking here.
I also have a list of the stores that I will be teaching at this summer - you can see the list on my sidebar (click on the link to see the store's website). I'll be starting the tour in Olympia, Washington and ending 7 weeks later in Boston, Massachusetts. This will be the biggest class tour I've done - I'll be traveling through Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Vigrinia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and end up in Massachussets on August 21st! Please check out the class list - I'd love to meet you if I am in your area.
July 8 - Scarlet Empress (Olympia, WA)
July 9 - Stampadeedooda (Milwaukie, OR)
July 10 - Stampin' Cat (Salem, OR)
July 15,16 - The Paper Garden (Sacramento, CA)
July 18 - County Purr Farms (Carson City, NV)
July 20 - The Cat's Meow (Oakhurst, CA)
July 23 - Stamp On Over (Sunnyvale, CA)
July 30 - My Heart's Fancy (Edmond, OK)
August 1 - Eclectica (Bartlett, TN)
August 3 - Rubber Stamp Fantasy (Marietta, GA)
August 6 - Stamper's Alley (Mooreville, NC)
August 7 - Enchanted Cottage (Lewisville, NC)
August 9 - Photo Scraps (Eldersburg, MD)
August 10 - Angela's Happy Stamper (Reston, VA)
August 12 - Great American Stamp Store (Westport, CT)
August 13 - Stamp and Scrap Nest (Simsbury, CT)
August 14 - Beautiful Impressions (Westbrook, CT)
August 15 - Inspiration Station (Stafford Springs, CT)
August 18 - Art Plus (Concord, NH)
August 20 - Ink About It (Westford, MA)
August 21 - Absolutely Everything (Topsfield, MA)
Since it is such a long trip, I am bringing the whole family (and the dogs!) to explore the country. We are so excited to see America, check out colleges for the kids and connect with the store owners who go above and beyond in supporting Memory Box. My wife Monica, who co-owns Memory Box with me, rarely gets the chance to get out of the office, but we've managed to pry her away from the business (laptop and cell phones in tow). We'll have a staff back at the office running things (we are so lucky to have a top notch team) - so we won't have to worry!
Finally, we are busily preparing to send out our What's in the Box release for July!
This is our second big release of the year. It will include new 6x6, new 12x12, new stamps and new dies - all for Halloween, Fall and Holiday projects. The stores that signed up (see a listing here), don't know what they are getting - it's all a surprise (even my Design Team doesn't know yet!). It will arrive in stores in July - and those stores will be unveiling all of the fun new products to their customers. The products won't go up on the site until the middle of July - so if you are lucky enough to be near one of the What's in the Box, go check it out!
