Spring is just around the corner…

Are you ready?

I’ll be honest I have mixed feelings at this time of year. See I love hockey which is played in winter, I love snow which is found in winter and I miss home (I’m a transplanted Canadian) which is always snow covered – ok so that one isn’t true but I do love winter and all it entails. But Spring and the joys of the first Robin, the first flowers and the green grass that my bored 6 year old can go play on without being bundled up is awesome too. What’s a girl to do?

Well this girl gets ready for spring by planning for the new MemoryWorks Catalog release and all the goodies that will bring. I, like some of you, have limited space and even though I am taking an AWESOME organizing class at the moment I realize to bring in new I have to move out some of the old to stay organized (if I ever actually reach that goal…).

So I am looking at my current MemoryWorks products with an eye to using them up to make room. Sounds easy right? Well it is except for a couple of things – I love the wonderful colorful patterned paper but often think what a shame to cover it up or cut it and ‘ruin’ the design. And I’m a simple scrapper – there I said it and am officially out of the closet. Whew that feels good and things are much brighter out here. So how do I reconcile this all?

Easy start with the wonderful Prism cardstock – it makes color matching basically idiot proof as they have done most of the hard work. Each pack comes with 3 color shades and on the front of each pack is a list of coordinating cardstock. So I grab a color that will enhance my photos then find patterned paper that works well with it. This is made so easy when you pull out the coordinating cardstock they list for you on the cover sheet and use it as a way to see if something will work with your foundation color. For example I came across pictures that just screamed they needed to be scrapped – so I pulled out my cardstock and found the perfect shades in the Herbal Garden pack. Then because the photos had my son in his dino jammies I wanted something masculine but with a fun side – that took me to my BasicGrey theme kits which took me to my BasicGrey chipboard alphas and so on. After I had placed it all on the page I realized I was missing something and thought of Rub-ons which co-ordinate with the paper line.


Supplies:
Prism Cardstock Herbal Garden Pack PR021
BasicGrey Archaic Theme Set BG174
BasicGrey Archaic Rub-ons BG112 (no longer available)
BasicGrey Undressed Chipboard - Block Alphas (carried in last year's catalog)
Making Memories Paint - Nutmeg (not a MemoryWorks product)

I dry brushed the photo mat and the journaling block with the paint to make it stand out more. The tip of the arrow and the journaling mat were also raised to give more dimension.

So although this is not what first envisioned when I saw those pictures or when I looked at that paper as ‘I can’t cut’ the lovely patterned paper because I’d ‘ruin’ the design. I am LOVING where I ended up – I have paper that complements my photos and I can see the great design of the paper. I can’t imagine having this layout any other way now.

So grab some of your stash and cut it up to go with those photos just asking to be put on paper because you have to make room for all the yummy new releases – right?

If you want to see the cards I made from the ‘scraps’ visit us on Facebook

Spring is almost here!

If you live in a cold weather climate, you know Spring is always eagerly anticipated. And this year is no exception where I live. Here in Illinois, we had snow on the ground almost continuously from Thanksgiving to February. And there were a few days in January when it was 16 below when I went to work in the morning. BRRRR!

In anticipation of Spring, I made a couple of little projects:

First, is a Spring card I made with the January Express Kit.
(The January Kit is still available for purchase if you are not subscribed.)

Supplies:
Heidi Swapp bling borders
American Crafts Blush Mini Brads
January Express Kit

Second, this little self-standing Spring countdown page was made with Basic Grey's Urban Prairie line. The pinks, teals, and greens are so cheerful! I put the numbers on with a small piece of double sided tape so I can switch the number each day without tearing the paper. And I don't wait till the official first day of Spring to say it's Spring. If we make it to March, that is Spring enough for me!

Supplies:
Basic Grey Urban Prairie BG174
Heidi Swapp Bling Borders HS039
Cosmo Cricket Get Happy Ribbon CC052
Doodlebug letter stickers DB043
Prism Cardstock Pink Pack PR009
Prima flower (no longer carried)
Glitter glue

Most of these items used in these projects are on sale right now to make room for the new releases. So hurry over to the website before they're gone! memory-works.com

If what you're looking for happens to be sold out, don't worry. Two brand new Spring theme kits by Basic Grey have just been added to the site. (Porcelain is available now and Wisteria should arrive in April.) These are perfect for all your Spring projects! Or if you're a die hard Desperate Housewives fan, make a page about the show with the Wisteria line.

Basic Grey Porcelain:

Basic Grey Wisteria:

And if you saw the sneak peak of our March kit in the Feb. 12th post, it looks like that has a Spring theme as well.


According to the Feb. 12th post, subscriptions are selling out so subscribe today if you want this Springy Express Kit.

Happy Scrappin' and remember only 9 more days till "Spring"!
Elaine
TeamWorks Member 2009

Congratulations Kolette....2009 MW Retreat!!

I just had to post a congratulations to Kolette Hall - welcoming the addition of their new little Coleman! Kolette will be the keynote address presenter at our 2009 MemoryWorks Retreat and we are thrilled that she will be sharing her inspirational message about scrapbooking and life with us! Here's a little blurb she posted on her blog about the retreat (and don't forget to check out her darling new little baby!):

Kolette Hall's Blog...

Kevin (my husband and MemoryWorks CoFounder) and Kolette Hall went to junior high/high school together and were good friends growing up so we're thrilled that she's joining us at the retreat!! I asked Kevin if he had a picture of them together back then...so if he finds one I'll have to post it to our blog!!

Retreat FYI: If you are planning on attending the retreat we encourage you to register as soon as possible! We have an ad in the next Creating Keepsakes issue that's dropping February 24 and expect to sell out of all the available remaining spots....One thing that the retreat attendees loved about the retreat last year is that we had small, personalized classes. In order to keep the class sizes small and keep that fun, personalized atmosphere we are limiting our registration applicants...so if you want a spot register ASAP!!

We're in the process of updating our retreat website, but we're thrilled to offer amazing class workshops from top-notch vendors like Pink Paislee, Rusty Pickle, BasicGrey, Fancy Pants, Sassafras/Prism, Cosmo Cricket, My Mind's Eye, Crate Paper and We R Memory Keepers. Seriously...it doesn' get any better than this!!

2009 Retreat Registration Form

2009 Event Details

2009 Retreat Webiste

A few things you'll LOVE about our 2009 MemoryWorks Retreat:

• Eight Class Projects: We have jammed 8 class workshops into this 3-day event, including state-of-the-art classes from Pink Paislee, BasicGrey, Cosmo Cricket, Rusty Pickle, Fancy Pants, Sassafras/Prism, My Mind's Eye and We R Memory Keepers.
  
• New-and-improved Creative Studio: Our new-and-improved Creative Studio event will be sponsored by 7Gypsies....you'll join the ultimate product-packed scrapbook extravaganza as you rotate from booth-to-booth to create a unique, handmade album from 7Gypsies and the Creative Studio vendor sponsors!


• Registration/Orientation: Our registration and opening orientation will be sponsored by Doodlebug Designs....just wait to see what we have in store...enough said


• Chocolate Crop: A scrapbooker’s two favorite indulgences – cropping and chocolate! It doesn’t get any better than this – scrapbooking to your hearts content at our retreat crop and a delectable chocolate bar!


• Prize and Products Galore! Handsdown retreat attendees were blown away with how many free goodies they received - whether at the crops, workshops and events there will be tons of prize giveaways, goodie bags and free products...including an ultimate $500 scrapbook grand prize giveaway!


• Early-Bird Crop: The retreat will start bright and early on Thursday morning, so for those attendees that are traveling in early we're hosting an informal early-bird crop eveing ...so come in early and receive a fun night of early retreat fun!


• Consultant VIP Meeting: If you're a registered consultants come to our VIP meeting for a special get-to-know you MemoryWorks meeting! Last year our consultants loved the chance to mix and mingle with their fellow consultants and the MemoryWorks staff!


• Keynote Address - Kolette Hall: Last year we were privlaged to hear from Stacy Julian and gave away a free book with photo session....you'll have just as much fun and inspiration this year! Kollete will inspire and empower us about scrapbooking and life - it will truly be an unforgettable event. Crate Paper will be sponsoring this Keynote Address session and we have something very special up our sleeves!

Catalog time....New Cosmo Cricket!!

Cosmo's in the house!

Before I start my official post...I wanted to announce that the new Cosmo Cricket items are now in the warehouse and ready to ship!! Their new product line is second-t0-none and is going fast...our first shipment* won't last long so get your Cosmo Cricket now! I love, love, love the "Girl Friday" line...but really all of them are fantastic. They have tons of fun new embellishments...my favorite is their new chipboard shapes!!

Cosmo Cricket "Girl Friday"






































And more good news.....our new BasicGrey items are expected to be delivered today....so of course we'll make an announcement as soon as they arrive!! Love new scrapbook products...!!

(*Don't worry if you miss out on this shipment...of course we'll be getting more!)


Shhhh....Don't tell Sue!!!
















Hmmmmmmm...what could this be? Is this the new MemoryWorks Express March kit sitting on Sues desk? Looks like some cute buttons, cardstock and darling bird paper from the new My Mind's Eye Penny Lane collection....gee if I was a customer or consultant I would subscribe right away so I wouldn't miss out on March's kit...!


(Okay....there's my shameless plug for the MemoryWorks Express kit...sorry about the bad lighting of the photo...but doesn't everything just look so cute!! Really subscriptions are selling out...so subscribe ASAP if you want one!)

Catalog Crazy!

It's starting to get crazy around here....sorry for the lag in a post but I've been out of commission for good reason! Right when we returned from CHA we started the long process of fine-tuning the new product line and fine details of the catalog. This year we are really pushing an aggressive catalog deadline so we have literally done nothing but catalog, catalog, catalog at the MemoryWorks office (if you're waiting for an email reply....that's why!)

Although it's a stressful, busy process...it's also tons of fun...here's a look at the "behind the scenes" ...

When we develop our new catalog. We go to the Winter CHA tradeshow every year....if you're not familiar with CHA it stands for the Craft & Hobby Association and this is where all of the scrapbook manufacturers showcase their new products for the year. There's literally 300,000 sqaure feet of booths we have to manevour through! We took a team of 5 staff members to scour the floor in search of the latest and greatest for our new catalog and website. That part is a blast...as you can see from earlier posts....however as soon as we arrive home that's when the work begins!

We ship 3-4 boxes of catalogs from the CHA tradeshow to our office, where as soon as receive them, we meet all day and everyday to select the final product line and format the catalog and product placement. This is easier said than done....it's not possible to carry everything the scrapbook industry has to offer (if we did we'd have the JC Penney catalog :) so we have to narrow down our selection based on sales numbers, trends, and sales predictions among other things. We always focus on the top names and top products...this year we really worked over-time to really make sure we were carrying the best-of-the-best and we're so excited about the new products and selections we've made - not to mention adding 8 new vendors!!

Once we have a rough draft of what will be featured in the catalog, we write all of the vendors, their skus numbers (how many items we're carrying from them) and how many pages their selections will need in the catalog. In order to serve our consultants and customers the best we can, it's vital that we keep our sku numbers manageable and our catalog cost-effective...so these charts help keep us in line!

We then go through this again...just to make sure we've got everything right - we don't want to miss anything so it's worth it to sit and review every manufacturer and every page. Once we're done with the selection process then we type spreadsheets for each vendor as well as type up the outline of the catalog for our graphic designer....this is also a fairly long process as we're checking the inventory SKU numbers, prices, names, descriptions,etc.

Once we have all of our spreadsheets and outlines done - we ship them all, along with our vendor catalogs, to our graphic designer so she can begin the design process....this is where the waiting game begins as it's a timely process to gather all of the images from the vendors, stage photo shoots, write text for the catalog and design the catalog. There's lots of phone calls back and forth between me and our graphic designer Melissa as she has questions, needs help or has to resolve something with the formatting of the catalog.

As soon as the first draft of the catalog is done then Melissa sends us the draft where our entire staff goes over it with a fine tooth comb to look for any typos, errors or discprenecies. By the time the catalog goes to print we've done that maybe 2-3 times...but it seems no matter how much we go over it we always miss something! :)

When the catalog is all proofed then we released the PDF version on our website for consultants and customers to download, then send it off to print. Once we receive the catalog in house at our warehouse....we celebrate the launch of our catalog and another great product line!

That's basically it in a nutshell! We'll continue to keep you posted throughout the process....but if all goes according to plan we expect to have the catalog done and in your hands in April!! Until then we will release some of the new product lines on our website....so look for emails and blog posts announcing when we receive the new product line!! This is always great becuase it gives consultants a chance to purchase most of the new items before the catalog is released - making it helpfull when making demo albums, displays, projects, etc. for their business.

Valentine Goodness!

I wanted to leave you with some photos of my little Katelyn who is head-over-heals excited for her first valentine's party in her first grade class. Here is the valentine box she made (okay...mom helped too) for her valentines party....we used the "Splendid" line from Fancy Pants...and some new glitter Doodlebug paper from their brand new release (coming soon!) Katelyn was so excited and I love how she place her sticker name...a little skiddywampus but so cute!!

















Happy Valentine's Day,
Amber :)

PS - Don't you love the ribbon....I put that on and tied it up only to find later that Katelyn had added the glitter star flowers. That's my girl...she's going to be just like her mom!!

Sweet Treats

I adore the month of February – for many reasons. It is a month full of love, laughter, joy and my birthday. I always have so many layout and project ideas and am so inspired by all the adorable products on the market. You will find many lovable scrapbooking goodies in the MemoryWorks Online Boutique. One of my favorites is the Fancy Pants: Splendid Theme Set and Valentine Cards.




There are many other items in the MemoryWorks catalog that also tickle my fancy. In the project below I used the We R Memory Keepers: Nonsense Theme Set. At first glance you may not think "Love" or "Valentines", but I definitely found a way to make you fall in love with this beautiful line of papers!



Supplies

• We R Memory Keepers: Theme Set - Nonsense (WR065)
• BasicGrey: Clear Stamps - Flourish Corners (BG134)
• Heidi Swapp: Bling - Clear Round Jewels (HS041)
• Autumn Leaves: Mini Clear Stamps - Greetings (AL063)
• Autumn Leaves: Mini Clear Stamps - Everyday Sentiments (AL064)
• American Crafts: Large Brads - Chestnut (AC131)
• Prima: Essentials - Dude (PM030)
• Mini craft sticks
  

I was also very inspired by Tammi Bennett’s February Inspiration projects. She created some lovely layouts, card, and a mini album featuring Jenni Bowlin's: Vintage Red Theme Set.

One of my favorite projects Tammi created was her "My Love" Layout (featured below). It is so simplistic and the flowers, title, and pictures pop against the background. Did you also notice that she put rhinestones in the center of the flowers? How sweet is that? I love the touch of bling Tammi! Add your own touch of bling to your projects this Valentine's day using the Heidi Swapp: Bling - Clear Round Jewels.

Make sure to check out ALL of Tammi's projects located on the MemoryWorks Home Page and Inspiration section of the website.

"My Love" 12 x 12 layout
by Tammi Bennett


And don’t forget to subscribe to the MemoryWorks Express Kit – February’s kit is stunning. MemoryWorks home office does such an amazing job putting these kits together.

If you are not a MemoryWorks consultant, locate a consult to subscribe to this fabulous kit club!

Thanks for letting me share this day with you and check back next week for more inspiration and inside scoop by the MemoryWorks Home Office & TeamWorks members! Oh and check this out - every Friday a MemoryWorks TeamWorks member will be posting to our amazing blog! So see you next week!


Lacey Igo
TeamWorks Member 2009