This post has been updated on May 19 with hopes that the video is working for everyone now since we had issues with the original posting.

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I have been practically bursting at the seams with excitement to share this news with you.

Watch the video and THEN … read on.

 If you have difficulty viewing the video here in my blog post, watch it on Vimeo HERE. 

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{ what’s new. what’s different. what’s better. }

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1. Instead of a chunky Core Kit box, it’s now going to be a flat box (approximately 12.25″ x 11.25″ x 1.75″), which is not only better for shipping, but so great for tucking in a drawer. Plus all the cards lay perfectly flat.

2. The plastic tray is super slick for so many reasons. This is packaging engineering at its finest.

3. Every part of the packaging is 100% recyclable.

4. You caught the whole Made in the U.S.A. part about this, right? That means we have more control over the whole process and the nitty-gritty details. The control freak side of us likes this, and the end result means a better quality product showing up at your front door.

5. Reprints of anything is sooo much faster here than overseas. So when we are running low on something, we’re talking weeks instead of months to get those orders rolling and delivered.

6. Please note that getting the ball rolling for U.S. manufacturing has taken a significant chunk of time upfront because of so much research that David and I had to do. There are so many more variables in the process than we realized could be possible. Hence the delays. But now that our projects are actually in the works, and we’ve learned sooooo much … the wait is almost over and we won’t have big sold-out gaps like that again.

7. We are reprinting all 5 editions of Project Life: Cobalt, Clementine, Amber, Turquoise, as well as the Original Edition which now has a real name: The Cherry Edition! Here is a glance of the Cherry (original) digital elements so you can see the overall style and colors:

8. The paper weight is the same, but the paper quality is better and the printing is awesome and the graphics are cleaner and brighter and detail shows up better. Overall much better quality.

9. Each Core Kit will now have 500 Journaling Cards and the back of every journaling card is a filler design. This allows for so much more versatility, instead of having separately printed filler design cards.

10. Each Core Kit will now have 40 Bi-fold Cards (used to have just 24).

11. Each title card will now have a vertical version printed on the back. Exact same art but flipped on its side. This is super exciting, making it completely flexible for you to have that title card be in the orientation of your choice, based on whatever Photo Pocket Page you want to use.

12. NOTE: It is very, very expensive to print stickers here, so we opted to eliminate the stickers that used to be included in the Core Kits. We’re looking into options for printing these elsewhere so that we can offer them as an add-on for those who may want them. More details forthcoming.

13. We’ve made many of the journaling cards versatile for either horizontal or vertical use so you can flip those cards any way you’d like!

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I think I’ve given you enough to chew on for now. Let us know what you think! Plus, if you have an opinion about stickers – knowing that they will not be INSIDE the Core Kits now, but rather a separate item – we’d love your thoughts on that. Do you love the day stickers? Number stickers? Arrow stickers? All of them?

If you are outside the U.S. and can’t view this video (because sometimes specific music causes videos to be blocked in other countries) … please let me know which country you’re in. I’ll see what I can do.

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{ Added Notes . May 19 }

14. So much feedback already – wow! I’m sorry about the video viewing issues. I posted the video and then was gone for 2 days and unable to trouble-shoot remotely. Hopefully the Vimeo video works. In the meantime, we appreciate all the feedback you’ve given us so far.

15. Timing: We expect all the Core Kits to be back on Amazon sometime in June. There are far too many variables to be able to predict which part of June. As we get closer and I have a better idea, I will gladly keep you in the loop. If you’re ever wondering about when to expect ANY product, check out our Products page and click on any product, which has a date with it. Anytime expected arrivals shift around, we update those on the website.

16. Pricing: As you know, U.S. manufacturing is more expensive. BUT … we have been working very hard to prevent raising the price of the Core Kits. This is part of the reason we’ve eliminated the stickers (including stickers would raise the price significantly – they’re that expensive – and by reading through your comments, we can see that most of you are A-OK with them being offered as a separate item so you can have that option). Back to pricing … we don’t have that 100% confirmed yet, but I think things are looking in your favor, U.S. customers. International customers, there is still a lot we’re figuring out but your local distributor should have pricing information soon as well.

Bottom line: We’ll keep you informed as we get closer. Please know that we’re in the business of making scrapbooking more affordable for everyone. This hobby is about your pictures and your memories – not the products. You shouldn’t have to break the bank and spend endless amounts of money in order to have beautiful albums.

17. Yes – First + Last Page Cards are still included – absolutely.