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Simple Stories Mid-Release: “100 Days of Summer”

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on April 3, 2011April 3, 2011

ETA 4/3/11: This layout is from the Simple Stories blog. I think it was made by Memory Works co-owner, Amber Crowell. (Those look like her gorgeous girlies).

Simple Stories announced their latest line on April 1, 2011. It’s called “100 Days of Summer” and it follows the same concept at their PREVIOUS SIMPLE STORIES LINES, “Life Documented”, “ele.ment.ary”, and “Destinations”.

Since we first introduced our innovative Simple Stories brand to the scrapbook world in January 2011…we have received an incredible response to our product line. We are so excited for the future of Simple Stories and are so grateful to our fans, customers and scrapbookers who have fully embraced our designs, products and the Simple Stories concept! So of course we are beyond thrilled to introduce our first-ever mid-release, 100 Days of Summer. This new release is all about scrapbooking your summer memories and photos in a fun and simple way. There are approximately 100 days of summer…and there’s plenty to keep you busy! So whether you’re soaking up the sun, exploring outdoor adventures, enjoying summer celebrations…or simply resting, relaxing and chill-axing, 100 Days of Summer is the perfect way to capture your fun-filled, carefree lazy days of summer!

$20.99

$3.00

* These are included in the Collection Kit and that’s the only way you can get them :)

$5.50
(6) 12×12 sheets, double-sided

$6.00
(6) 12×12 sheets of pre-designed, double-sided cut-apart element pieces

The planned release date for “100 Days of Summer” is APRIL 25, 2011.

I will take pre-orders from now until the release date. The benefit to placing a pre-order with me is that, when the line becomes available, you will have already paid and your order can be processed lickity-split! Anything that gets scrapbook supplies to you faster is a very good thing in my book :)

Here is how the pre-orders will work:

I’ll collect and process payments until the release date. When the “100 Days of Summer” kit and additional items become available, I’ll e-mail you with instructions on what to do then. If you subscribe to my blog, you can follow the progress that way as well.

{Which will be to log into my Memory Works WEBSITE, place the pre-paid for items in your shopping cart, enter your shipping address, and submit your order. I will be automatically notified that your order has been placed and, instead of having to wait for your payment to be received, I’ll be able to approve your order for processing immediately … assuming your payment has been received and processed already}.

To place your pre-order now, e-mail me at scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com. Please include:

1. Item(s) requested and cost
2. Shipping address
3. Total due including items, tax*, and shipping/handling**
4. Payment method – check, money order, or Paypal
~ I prefer Paypal, and will e-mail a Paypal invoice to you ASAP
~ If paying by check or money order, I’ll e-mail you back with my address. Please be aware that I can’t approve your order until the check/MO have been received and cleared.

* Sales tax amount is based on the tax rate for the address you’re shipping to. There is a really cool sales tax rate lookup and calculator HERE.

** Please see THIS post for information on Memory Works shipping/handling information and costs.

Let me know if you have any questions :) If you know of anyone who plans to order Simple Stories “100 Days of Summer,” please send them my way!

PS: Please see my SHIPPING page regarding placing non-U.S. orders.

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Memory Works: Simple Stories New Lines … We’re Getting Closer!

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on March 4, 2011March 3, 2011

If you’ve been waiting for the new Simple Stories lines ~ Life Documented, ele.ment.ary, and Destinations ~ you know that I’ve been saying they were predicted to be available in late February or March. Well, late February kinda slipped right by me … but then March slapped me in the face and woke me up, LOL! I got to wonderin’ about Simple Stories …

… So I posted on the MW consultant board asking for an update on the release date. One of the owners, Amber, posted right away to say that they’ve been very busy at the MW offices.

She said the consultants can expect an e-mail on Friday (tomorrow, 3-4-11) with all of the details on the new Simple Stories!! But “basically the new collections will be available for consultants to purchase from the website sometime on Friday and we will begin shipping next week!”

So if all goes as planned, it sounds like those of you who have placed PRE-ORDERS with me should be able to go on MY WEBSITE and place your actual order TOMORROW!!!! {Geesh, can you tell I’m a might excited?} And you are pre-PAID, baby! As soon as I see your order, I hit “approve” and off we go.

Note: Pre-orders are now closed. As of Friday, March 4, you can order Simple Stories items straight from my website with no need for a pre-order :)

I have a busy weekend … ironically, I’m leaving Friday for a weekend scrapbook retreat ~ HOLLAH! But I’m taking my laptop with me and will keep you updated, m-kay?

I’m not just excited for YOU ~ although I AM very excited for you ~ but I’m excited for me because I’m ordering at least one set of each new Simple Stories kit and accessories for myself. I have the “first edition” kits of Life Documented and ele.ment.ary … and LURVE them … but they have been re-issued per se with more elements this time.

And one thing I’ve found to be true about Simple Stories: You can never have too much. All of the papers are double-sided so the options are endless, not to mention the style that’s so versatile and colors that look good with pretty much any photo you put near them. With the divided page protector method, I love using these kits to get lots of scrappin’ done in a shorter amount of time.

And if that’s not enough … Destinations is completely new so I’ve never even seen it in person before. I know I’m going to love it, because it retains the Simple Stories style I already adore … and it adds the fun new topic of travel, along with some black accents that are going to look rockin’ with my plethora of Disney photos and other travel photos.

People, can I get a “squee”?

“SQUEEEEEE!!!!”

Ta ta for now … talk soon :)

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Memory Works: Now Taking Pre-Orders for Simple Stories “Destinations”, “Life Documented”, and “ele.ment.ary”

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on February 8, 2011February 8, 2011

So now that I’ve explained all about the Simple Stories lines by MEMORY WORKS and teased you a bit in my LAST ENTRY, it’s time to talk about what’s next … a new line, two revamped lines, and PRE-ORDERS on all three!

The newest Simple Stories line is called “Destinations” …

DESTINATIONS COLLECTION KIT

Collection Kit – MSRP $20.99 (includes entire collection components, plus bonus transparancy overlays exclusive to kit)

Collection Kit contents:

{6} sheets of 12×12 double-sided, designer cardstock paper
{1} 12×12 sheet of Fundamentals cardstock stickers
{1} 12×12 sheet of Expressions cardstock stickers
{30} double-sided, cut-apart element pieces; sizes 4×6, 6×8, 2×12, 4×12, and 6×12
BONUS: {6} 4×6 transparency photo overlays exclusive to the Collection Kit

*The Collection Kit has all of the elements listed below in one kit, or you can buy the elements separately … except for the 4×6 transparency photo overlays, which only come in the Collection Kit.

DOUBLE-SIDED DESIGNER CARDSTOCK {6}

Designer Cardstock Paper Pack – MSRP $5.50
(includes six 12×12 sheets of designer cardstock paper; one sheet of each design)

12×12 FUNDAMENTALS STICKERS

Fundamentals 12×12 Cardstock Stickers – MSRP $3.00

12×12 EXPRESSIONS STICKER SHEET

Expressions 12×12 Cardstock Stickers – MSRP $3.00

12×12 DESTINATION ELEMENTS {6}

Signature Elements Paper Pack – MSRP $6.00
(includes six 12×12, double-sided sheets of signature cut-apart element pieces; one sheet of each style)

4×6 TRANSPARENCY PHOTO OVERLAYS {2 of each 3 designs}
* Exclusive to Collection Kit

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A revamped version will be out of our first Simple Stories line, “Life Documented” …

Collection Kit – MSRP $20.99
(includes entire collection components, plus bonus transparancy overlays exclusive to kit)

It will be like the existing “Life Documented” kit, but it will include 2 new double-sided cardstocks (4 new designs):

And 2 new 12×12 cardstock sticker sheets:

Fundamentals sticker sheet

Expressions sticker sheet

Specifically, the Collection Pack includes:

{6} sheets of 12×12, double-sided, designer cardstock paper
{1} 12×12 sheet of Fundamentals cardstock stickers
{1} 12×12 sheet of Expressions cardstock stickers
{30} signature pre-designed, double-sided, cut-apart Element pieces in a variety of sizes including 4×6, 6×8, 4×4, 2×12,
4×12 & 6×12
{6} bonus 4×6 transparency photo overlays exclusive to Collection Kit.

Note: The price on the “Life Documented” kit did go from $16.99 to $20.99, due to the 2 additional designer cardstocks and 2 additional sticker sheets. So a $4 increase but the additional items are worth about $8 … not bad.

Designer Cardstock Paper Pack – MSRP $5.50 (includes six 12×12 sheets of designer cardstock paper; one sheet of each design)

Signature Elements Paper Pack – MSRP $6.00 (includes six 12×12 sheets of signature cut-apart element pieces; one sheet of each style)

Fundamentals 12×12 Cardstock Stickers – MSRP $3.00

Expressions 12×12 Cardstock Stickers – MSRP $3.00

A revamped version will also be out of our second Simple Stories line called “ele.ment.ary” …

Collection Kit – MSRP $20.99
(includes entire collection components, plus bonus transparancy overlays exclusive to kit)

It will be like the existing “ele.ment.ary” kit, but it will include 2 new double-sided cardstocks (4 new designs):

And 2 new 12×12 cardstock sticker sheets:

Fundamentals sticker sheet

Expressions sticker sheet

Specifically, the Collection Pack includes:

Note: The price on the “ele.ment.ary” kit did go from $16.99 to $20.99, due to the 2 additional designer cardstocks and 2 additional sticker sheets. So a $4 increase but the additional items are worth about $8.

Designer Cardstock Paper Pack – MSRP $5.50 (includes six 12×12 sheets of designer cardstock paper; one sheet of each design)

Signature Elements Paper Pack – MSRP $6.00 (includes six 12×12 sheets of signature cut-apart element pieces; one sheet of each style)

Fundamentals 12×12 Cardstock Stickers – MSRP $3.00

Expressions 12×12 Cardstock Stickers – MSRP $3.00
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Now that you’ve seen the new “Destinations” kit and the revamped “Life Documented” and “ele.ment.ary” kits, now it’s time to talk pre-orders. The word I’m getting from Home Office is that Destinations and Life Documented will be available in late February/early March, and ele.ment.ary some time in March. If you place a pre-order now, please understand that I can’t promise when these items will be available. But when they ARE available, I’ll be posting here on my blog to let you know (so please Subscribe to my blog, if you don’t already). If you pay for a pre-order, I’ll e-mail you when the time comes to place your actual order. Sound good?

Here is how the pre-orders will work:

I’ll collect and process payments until the release date(s). When the kits and additional items become available, I’ll e-mail you with instructions on what to do then.

{Which will be to log into my Memory Works WEBSITE, place the pre-paid for items in your shopping cart, enter your shipping address, and submit your order. I will automatically be notified that your order has been placed and, instead of having to wait for your payment to be received, I’ll be able to approve your order for processing immediately … assuming your payment has been received and processed already}.

{But don’t worry about that part right now, LOL}.

To place your pre-order now, e-mail me at scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com. Please include:

* Sales tax amount is based on the tax rate for the address you’re shipping to. There is a really cool sales tax rate lookup and calculator HERE.

** Please see THIS post for information on Memory Works shipping/handling information and costs.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns :) If you know of anyone who plans to order Simple Stories “Destinations”, “ele.ment.ary,” or “Life Documented,” please send them my way!

Memory Works scrapbook blogs scrapbook consultant scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites

Memory Works: Simple Stories NEW “Destinations” Line … and “ele.ment.ary” and “Life Documented” too!

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on February 6, 2011February 6, 2011

Yeah, this gets kind of confusing even to me, and I’m a MEMORY WORKS consultant, LOL!

Here’s the scoop … and I’m gonna’ go back to the beginning:

Memory Works is a direct sales company from Utah (kind of a “mom and pop” if you will) who for al has sold scrapbooking products from a variety of popular companies, including BASIC GREY, MY MINDS EYE, BO BUNNY, PINK PAISLEE, and more.

I joined Memory Works as a consultant in February 2007, when all of my local scrapbook stores closed and I was no longer able to get my fix of the “latest and greatest” products … so I decided to become a Memory Works CONSULTANT to support my habit (yes, I am purposely making a drug reference … ‘cuz it’s all so addicting!)

In 2010, Memory Works began producing their OWN line of products called Simple Stories. Here is the philosophy behind it, from the SIMPLE STORIES BLOG by Amber Crowell, the co-owner (with her husband Kevin Crowell) of Memory Works:

About Simple Stories
A Simple Solution

As a busy mom and scrapbook business owner who is passionate about telling our story, I became frustrated, stressed and guilty with the hobby that I loved so much. Instead of scrapbooking as a creative outlet or something that brought me joy – it started to become just another job on my to do list. It seemed I never had enough time to scrapbook. I put creative pressure on myself to make every page perfect or to compose the most eloquent journaling. I felt guilty for being so behind, and was overwhelmed with so many photos.

In fact, as my children grew it become disheartening as they wanted to see photos or look through albums. I had piles of half finished layouts, photos still on my computer and incomplete albums – but nothing to really tell our story!

With all my supplies, years of scrapbooking, and passion for preserving our memories I had very little to show for it. Thanks to Stacy Julian and Big Picture Scrapbooking, I started storing my printed photos in divided 4×6 page protectors in a 12×12 album – just so my children could view our photos before I scrapbooked them. I’ll never forget the first time we looked through our “album” together – It was amazing to see our children laughing, smiling, and remembering. No patterned paper, no embellishments, no perfectly designed layouts – just our memories and our story. At that moment I realized what my hobby was all about.

I loved the concept of simply inserting photos into divided page protectors, along with decorative scrapbook elements, for quick and easy scrapbooking and instant gratification. However, I wanted an even simpler solution for my busy life. Instead of cutting, cropping, embellishing and creating my own handmade elements from scratch I wanted a product that featured stylish, pre-designed element pieces in just the right sizes (to fit those page protector pockets perfectly!)

That’s where the Simple Stories concept was born and we’re thrilled to now share our solution with other scrapbookers: A system that would allow them to balance their hobby with their busy lives and products that would help them share their memories in a simple, yet beautiful, way! It was a dream come true to finally be able to launch our Simple Stories concept in January 2010 when we introduced our signature kit Life Documented.

Needless to say, Amber is SO not alone and the Simple Stories concept took off mightily, with crazy-good sales for the first SS line, “Life Documented.” I was one of those anxiously in line to purchase this amazing kit, as I planned to use it for my first go at PROJECT 365.

With all the buzz about Life Documented, I decided to take pre-orders for the kit so that it wouldn’t sell out before I and my customers got one, LOL. And since it was already January and many of us were using the kit for a project that started January 1, everyone wanted their Life Documented kits ASAP. The pre-orders worked out famously, as we all got our kits quite quickly and, after anxiously awaiting them, were so impressed with the quality and design of the product.

Note: If you go to the Simple Stories section of my WEBSITE currently, it does show a listing for the (original version) of the Life Documented kit. However, it has been out of stock for a while and, to my understanding, will not be re-stocked. But don’t despair … a new and improved version is on the way!
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Now fast forward to Summer of 2010. Based on the huge success of the Life Documented kit, Memory Works decided to launch a second kit in the Simple Stories series. It’s called “ele.ment.ary” and it uses the same simple scrapping approach but this time to make School Days albums or just to make layouts for all those school photos.

As MAY FLAUM from SCRAPBOOK UPDATE showed HERE, with the Simple Stories lines, you don’t have to stick to the divided page protector method … you can also use the products on regular layouts, card, and other projects. One really cool thing about ele.ment.ary is that, unlike the bright-bright colors of most school lines, it’s kind of distressed and mellow looking … which means it looks GREAT with old school photos. Now I’m not calling you “old” but you could certainly scrapbook some of YOUR school photos with this, couldn’t you? {If it makes you feel any better, I’m “old”, too, LOL}.

I could tell that “ele.ment.ary” was going to be popular, so I also took pre-orders on it. Again, all went very well … my customers and I were able to get our kits and accessories quickly. And again, we were very happy with the quality and design of the ele.ment.ary products.

If you’re interested, there are still some (original version) ele.ment.ary kits available HERE along with some of the matching accessories. For the reason I say “original version,” you have to stay tuned, silly …
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Now we’re in 2011 and it’s time for yet a third Simple Stories line … “Destinations.” This new line will be perfect for scrapping those vacations, past or present. I know that when Memory Works asked its consultants and customers what topics they would like to see covered by Simple Stories, “vacations and travel” was at the top of the list. Ask, and you shall receive!

I think Destinations is going to look beyond awesome with Disney photos, with it’s mix of primary colors along with black touches to bring out the “Mickey” and “Minnie” in all of your photos. It’s also, like the other Simple Stories lines, so stinkin’ versatile that you’ll be able to use it on many, many layouts. I’ve started scrapping all our trip photos using the divided page protector method, for three reasons:

1. On vacations, I take TONS of photos. If I were to scrap my usual layouts for all of the photos I want to include, my travel scrapbooks would take forevah! to complete, and they would weigh more than a cruise ship.

2. I want my travel books completed quickly, while the memories are still fresh for my journaling, while the ticket stubs are still handy, and we can enjoy reliving the trip and sharing it with others right away.

3. It’s so easy! Develop photos, slip ’em in the pockets, journal on a 4×6, pop that in, add some pretty paper and accents … DONE. Not as fancy as usual but DONE.

Anyhow, I was one of the many who asked for a Simple Stories travel line, so of course I *need* to order some Destinations! For one thing, I have a stack of Disney photos just waiting to be scrapped. I also think this line will look great with pictures from our Seattle trip, don’t you? Not to mention school field trips and other random events throughout the year.

All 3 Simple Stories lines have a unique, kind of colorful, kind of shabby look that so many of us love. I know that many people, while they love the concept of PROJECT LIFE by BECKY HIGGINS … just don’t care for such a clean, linear, precise look in their scrapbook products. Well, if that’s the case, be sure to check out the Simple Stories line. I think you’ll really like it.

So where does that leave us today? Why, anxiously awaiting the release of – as my post title indicates – the NEW “Destinations” line and ~ could it be? ~ a re-release of the popular “ele.ment.ary” and “Life Documented” lines!

Stay tuned … more information is right around the corner :)

{I mean, really, STAY TUNED! My next entry will tell you about how to PRE-ORDER “Destinations” … and some other things …}.