davebrethauer

Paper Garden Ideas

A few last pictures of the Paper Garden - Stephanie had the store decorated so beautifully for the class party (everyone enjoyed some food while we got to know each other better!). The samples hung on white lacquered branches that perched above one of the tables. A visual treat!

There were also card ideas hung above the stamp shelves - literally hundreds and hundreds of ideas! 

Even table decoration ideas - like this topiary made of shape punched flowers! Plan on spending an afternoon going through the Paper Garden - it's beautiful!

 

Even the Dogs Got in on the Act!

There was enough space in the classroom area at the Paper Garden for our dogs to come in periodically throughout the session! One of my friends who took classes at the store, Miko, asked for the autographs of Cooper, Emma and Monica for her Paper Garden bag. The kids thought that was pretty awesome - and then she wondered if we could somehow get the dogs pawprints on there!

Biscuit, our 5 year old Cairn Terrier, was not cooperative in the least - but Kip, our 3 year old Cairn, is always up for anything!

We carefully dipped his paw into a Versamagic Gingerbread inkpad - making sure that we got the ink on his pads evenly. I can only imagine what he was thinking!

We then gently pressed his paw onto the canvas pad - that's Cooper helping me - so that we could get a pawprint.

And voila! The Memory Box 2011 Tour includes Dave, Monica, Emma, Cooper, Kip and Biscuit - all signed personally (well the paw print counts for both dogs). 

We rinsed his paws afterwards - and in case you are wondering, it came right off!

Paper Garden - 3 Days of Classes!

I was fortunate to have the kids and my wife Monica along with me to help teach classes at the Paper Garden! We did 8 sessions over 3 days for a total of 150 students!

I saw many familiar faces - students who had come to classes before (and I've gotten to know them over the years).

Here is a student carefully adding another layer of paint over a yellow wash, as we slowly fill in the G1795 Autumn Collage.

The watercolor session requires a lot of patience - we'll complete one layer on a piece, then allow it to dry, and then add another layer later. It came as no surprise that the projects dried much quicker in Sacramento than in Seattle! Everyone laughed when I told them it might take a few hours in Seattle, but in sunny California, it only takes a few minutes!

The students learned all the tricks and techniques of working on different watercolor paper types with watercolor paints as well as watercolor pencils! Cooper helped teach the Colored Pencil class - he sharpened pencils and helped everyone use the die cut machines, while Emma helped teach the last sessions. It was funny to hear them repeat some things they have heard me say before to the students - "That was stamped in Brilliance Graphite Black" or "The pencil sharpener works best this way...". Maybe some day they'll take over for me!

 

The Paper Garden - Sacramento, California

I have been visiting the Paper Garden for so many years now - and I always am impressed with how Stephanie Nishikawa (the talented store-owner) runs her wonderful store. It is definitely one of those locations that you remember - paper flowers dangling from the ceiling, shelves bursting with stamps, inkpads, washi papers and almost every craft product you can imagine. There are literally thousands of sample cards and projects - each located next to the products to make the samples. Stephanie has the store so well thought out, so shopping and getting ideas are super easy.

She had all of the new Memory Box products arranged around a wired tree display - all of the new stamps arranged like presents at the base and the branches displayed the sample cards and ideas. Her displays are unique and delightful - and she can talk you through any project, simple to complicated. We have been good friends for quite awhile now - and everyone who meets her knows how warm and friendly she is!

When she isn't teaching a class, or stamping out 250 custom wedding invitations for a customer, or ringing up a purchase, Stephanie is busy keeping the store neat as a pin (above) with help from Kelly, Chelsea, Laurie and her husband Ken (above). I posed with Stephanie and Ken's son Miles, who refers to me as Uncle Dave (we're buddies, but this time I think he liked hanging out with my son Cooper a little more than me!) - Miles has been my class helper over the years, and each year becomes more grown up (and even more helpful).

The store was decorated with beautiful washi paper banners and sculpted paper flowers, and Stephanie hosted a special party to celebrate the release of the What's in the Box program. The store was full of customers and we all got to know each other as we talked about our favorite ideas and I explained how to use some of the new dies and stamps. Stephanie's Mom catered the event with Honey Fried Chicken, dumplings, tossed salads, home baked cookies and treats as customers browsed and shared their creations and ideas. 

I have lots more to share of my visit to the Paper Garden - we filled 150 class spots over a 3 day period and I got to know so many new faces! Stay tuned for more!

Bakeries of America - Chico, California

We had a few days in between stamping classes and stayed in Chico, California before moving on to Sacramento. Of course, we always make it a point to try out beautiful bakeries in whatever town we are in - and the first thing that caught Emma's eye at the Tin Roof Bakery was their incredibly delicious Strawberry Cream cupcake. Strawberries were blended into the whipped cream frosting - and a spoonful of fresh, slightly mashed strawberries were hidden in the middle of each cupcake.

Light and airy, the cupcake was wonderful - and beautifully done. On the other end of the spectrum, we bought some ultra rich Fleur de Sel tarts - crumbly crusts, a bottom layer of caramel, a top layer of dark chocolate ganache and a sprinkling of sea salt. 

Amazing.

Afterwards, we were ready for some more classes - and to try out some more bakeries! Next stop Sacramento, California at the Paper Garden!

Stampin Cat Studio - Salem, Oregon

I finally got to meet Lisa, the owner of Stampin Cat Studio in Salem, Oregon! We have emailed and talked for along time now, so it was nice to match a face to a voice!

She has a LOT of Memory Box in her store - samples, stamps and papers everywhere - and I was fortunate to have one of her instructors, Theresa, in class. Theresa gave me a gorgeous card that used our dies:

Isn't it beautiful? - and notice the Spring Border die across the bottom!

So many other goodies and Memory Box cards too...

Yep, that's our Blooming Rosette die!

 

Lot's to see here and plenty of friendly faces! The students were nice enough to come out on a Sunday afternoon and evening to attend classes!

Stop by Stampin Cat Studio!

 

Stampadeedooda - Milwaukie, Oregon

We all arrived bright and early for a day of Saturday classes at Stampadeedooda in Milwaukie, Oregon - located just 15 minutes or so south of Portland. The dogs were awake (but not much help unloading boxes) and the kids were still sleepy from a 5:30 AM wake up call.

All of the new stamps and papers were on display at the front of the store!

Patti, the charming and talented store owner, was celebrating her birthday - and Maggie (one of the employees at the store) arrived with balloons!

Patti has a beautiful classroom space - and a "neat as a pin" store with lots of goodies. It was a great treat to teach there again (I think it has been a couple years since I was there last) - and especially nice to eat some birthday cake while we were coloring.

After a Saturday full of classes, I got picked up in the Memory Box van, ate at Little Big Burger (don't miss the fries with white truffle oil!)- and got ready for the next stop!

Winners!

Sorry to keep everyone waiting today! When we decided to do a 2 month tour this summer, we knew we would have to bring the office with us, so to speak. We are lugging around a laptop, ipad, iphone, camera, extra hard drive, etc. to try and complete the tasks that we normally keep up on - but getting through phone calls, emails, digital uploads and downloads, etc. is sort of challenging in a hotel!

Anyway, on with the winners - I see 201 comments on the blog - which means...5 prizes! Random.org gives me the following random numbers:

132	20	36	161	71

Timestamp: 2011-07-14 02:19:02 UTC

Winner #20 is Suzanne who will win the Holly Vine Die. She commented:

So far I've been looking at the holly vine die. I can see it being cut in short pieces to make a wreath, using it as a border on a card's edge, using it as a break between two lines of greeting- Merry Christmas on top of it- enjoy the holidays below it.
I bought the butterfly stamp and die and the tree stamp and die when I was at Buffalo Stamps and Stuff last month. Love these dies.
Thanks for the chance.

Winner #36 is Mary! She'll win the sheep stamp -she commented:

I simply MUST have the sheep and fleece NAVIDAD stamps. I would love to make a screen door card and put the sheep either behind the door with fleece Navidad on the outside of the card, or put the sheep on the outside with fleece Navidad on the inside! What fun:)

Winner #71 is Laurie Napa! She'll win the Autumn collage stamp - here's what she said:

I'm a huge fan of the word collage stamps, and the autumn stamps with the oak leaves is goooooorgeous!! I need to add it to my growing collections of Memory Box stamps and dies.

Winner #132 is Linda B! Another fan of the Holly Vine, she says:

I'm loving the holly vine die. That would really add a nice touch to cards and LO's.

and finally....

Winner #161 is Kim L. She loves the "On the Lake" stamp - maybe she'll color it so it looks frozen for winter? She wins the On the Lake stamp! She commented:

On The Lake is one of my most favorite stamps. I grew up on a lake and love to go back to visit during the summer.

Congrats to all of the winners - email us at info@memoryboxco.com with your shipping info!

 

I noticed lots of emails from students signed up for my classes - can't wait to meet you somewhere in America!

 

 

Scarlet Empress - Olympia, Washington

So the Summer 2011 tour begins! After a few days of panicked packing and not a lot of sleep, we rolled out of Seattle for our first stop in Olympia at Scarlet Empress - to two full classes of 18 students each! Teri, the lovely and warm shop owner of Scarlet Empress, is wonderful and friendly, and I am lucky to know her as a a friend. Teri has been a terrific Memory Box supporter - she even attended the wedding of one of our Memory Box staff last year (see the entry here)! (Above picture shows one of the class samples for watercolor using the G1795 Autumn Leaf Collage).

In class, everyone gets a catalog of all the latest goodies - to use as a wishlist of things they might need (smile) and a packet of supplies. Look at the die cut from the 98188 Holly Vine!

Here's one of the What's in the Box samples, that came with the special program that arrived in stores last week! It features the G1802 Vintage Halloween Words, B1798 Cat and Moon and the 98164 Wrought Iron Fence.

Teaching the classes is the best part of my job - and being able to hit the road for a couple months, with Monica, Emma, Cooper and our Cairn Terriers (Biscuit and Kip) will be a terrific adventure! Please check in and see where we go each day - and see America and all the wonderful places and stores we visit.

I thought I would make the first entry of the tour a little fun - so, how about a contest? For every 50 comments, I'll give away a prize to a random winner!

50-99 comments = 1 prize

100-149 comments = 2 prizes

150-199 cooments = 3 prizes, etc.

All you have to do is leave a comment, naming your favorite new product (stamp or die) and an idea for using it. If you are selected, you'll get that prize!! You can leave as many comments as you like (let's reach 1000 comments!) but you can only name 1 product per comment, and you can only win once. If you have visited one of the stores that pre-ordered the Whats in the Box collection, you have seen all of the beautiful new dies and stamps (see a list of stores here) - but for those of you not near one of those stores, check out our Outside the Box blog to see some of the new products.

So enter a comment now! Or two!! Or three!!! All comments must be posted by tomorrow, Tuesday July 12 11:59 PM Eastern. We will list the winners on Wednesday July 13! Good luck - and be creative on your journey!

What's in the Box 2011 and Summer Class Tour

It's official - the What's in the Box Holiday 2011 has begun arriving in stores today (we've even been getting re-orders from stores who are literally letting people shop right out of the boxes!). I can say with confidence that this is our biggest release to date! 

The collection includes 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), didn't know what they were getting - it's all a surprise! 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!

Aside from that, it has been a busy month for me as I plan a 2 month tour of the US - traveling to 22 stores to teach watercolor and colored pencil techniques using the new stamps and dies! I love this part of my job! My wife, Monica, is coming, along with the kids and dogs, to be "Memory Box on Wheels". We are loading a van with all the goodies from the release - rolling into the store's parking lot and setting up shop for the day, before moving onto the next stop. We even have Memory Box T Shirts to wear! We'll either look really professional...or silly!

I'll be at the following stores - hope to see you!

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)

Just a few last details to get set before we go - house sitters, gardeners, etc. - and lots of maps! I think we'll be driving through 25 or 30 states round trip!

Be sure and stay tuned to the blog - I will be posting pictures of the stores I visit!