Memory Box

While in Salem, Oregon, Jan took me to her local stamp store, Stampin'Cat Studio. We went in on Monday for the MITI. I had met the owner, Lisa, at the Petersen Arne event I was working at in Portland, so it was good to see her again.

Like me, Jan loves die cuts. One of her favorite lines of die comes from Memory Box. I was not familiar with that line until this trip. While in the shop, I found that Memory Box has the cutest little set of monkeys!

Allison is doing her nursery in monkeys. I thought of birth announcements, etc., and before I knew it, I was getting monkey stamps and paper (from the Paper Zone there in Salem). Lisa told me there was a die for the monkeys but she was out of stock. I thought, well, I can just cut them out.

I checked out the website for Memory Box and then Dave's blog, and saw that he was making a cross country trip and would be visiting a shop in Atlanta, Rubber Stamp Fantasy. He had actually been there at Lisa's shop on Saturday, but Jan and I were too busy on the Oregon coast, which I have already shared.

A baby shower was planned in honor of Allison and she asked me if I could make the invitations. I began cutting out monkeys and then I thought, maybe I do need the die for the monkeys. I called Rubber Stamp Fantasy in Marietta and the owner told me yes, they did....they had the whole box. Well, when I arrived at the shop, I say, they did indeed have the whole box! They had A LOT of Memory Box product as well as Dave who was there teaching classes.

Above is a portion of the product they had along with more on the opposite side of this rack and more near the register. I found the monkey stuff also mixed in with the baby stamps. Memory Box also has a line of papers and cards to use with the products.

Dave, below, commented on the cooler weather we were having on Thursday....the rain had cooled things down and we didn't have a heat warning on this particular day! He was here two days and was teaching colored pencils and watercolors on Thursday.

Below, Dave is talking to a customer from the NW and Debbie, one of the owners at Rubber Stamp Fantasy.

Dave is signing his book for another stamper from Lawrenceville, GA, (where I live). Lawrenceville is on the opposite side of Atlanta from Marietta....probably a good thing, as I would spend way too much at Rubber Stamp Fantasy if it were convenient! I think I will do a post on the shop later.

Dave getting ready to teach colored pencil class in Rubber Stamp Fantasy large loft classroom...

The die and stamps coordinate with each other as you can see in this holly stamp....of course, I had to have the holly stamp! I like the little border that is made and the cut looks so much better than hand cutting!

The shop owner gave me a quick lesson on using the die cuts and stamps and I snapped some photos:

1. Stamp the image:

2. Cut a die on a piece of card stock and save the outside portion. The die work in most leading brands of die cutting machines. Lay that outside portion over your stamped image.

3. See the little holes that are cut? Use those as registration points. Use a pencil to go around the circle and then draw a dot in the center or cross hairs through the pattern on to the area around your stamped image.

4. Remove the pattern and place the die over the stamped image. Now you line up the circles you traced through the little holes in the die. Make the dot or cross hairs appear in the center of the circles. Use repositionable tape to secure the die over the stamped image and then run through the die cutting machine.

Thus, you are stamping first and then die cutting. You can save the pattern in the nice envelope in which the die comes. I think it would be possible also to diecut first, mount the die cut down and then position the stamp over the die cut using a stamp positioner. I will try that out and let you know, but the process shown here is very easy. Since I like to use foam tape to give the die cut dimension, I would have to mount the die cut so it was repositionable, stamp & then pop dot it.

Below is a mock birth announcement I made and hand cut the monkey. The leaves are a discontinued die from another company.

I always love when block lettering is mixed with script. Memory Box has several word stamps like the "Welcome Little One" and "It's a Boy!" stamps I have used here. Often the words stamps will also have a little "bonus" stamp on the end, like the baby bottle shown. The other one has baby footprints.

Once Clayton is born (hopefully not too soon!), I will add the date and weight and a photo on the opposite side of the opening.

Allison has been on complete bed rest since May. She is now 28 weeks so still has a way to go. We are hoping and praying little Clayton will wait to be born as long as possible.

Below is one of the forty invitations I made this week using one of the monkeys (there are three different monkeys) and the new die cut I have.

As I shared with you yesterday, I introduced Jan to MBT Shoes and now she has introduced me to Memory Box. I guess we are even! Both of our pocket books a somewhat lighter but we are both very happy with our new items!

Be sure to check out Memory Box!