Wedding Bells in the Memory Bound Family!

Wedding bells will be ringing next summer for Dawn's daughter, Amanda Johnson!

Amanda is engaged to Sean Hagan. They are planning a July 14, 2012 wedding at the beautiful new Enrichment Center on the DMACC campus in Ankeny. It will be a colorful wedding in shades of coral, pink, and orange with a little bit of yellow!

Amanda and Sean met while swimming for the University of Iowa. Amanda is a pharmacy student at the University of Iowa and will graduate with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in May, 2014. In addition to her studies, she currently works in the Walgreen's pharmacy. Sean graduated this past spring with a degree in Management Information Systems. He is currently on an internship at All Steel in Muscatine in the IT department.

It’s clear that Amanda and Sean are the perfect match! They are looking forward to a lifetime of happiness. We at Memory Bound wish them all the best!

Congratulations, Amanda & Sean!

Go Fly A Kite!

Yesterday afternoon when I was cleaning out the garage, I took an unexpected side trip down memory lane: I opened up a cupboard and found buckets of pastel sidewalk chalk, colorful sandbox toys, a pair of tiny roller blades, pink flowered knee pads, and two rolls of yellow kite string -- all sweet mementos of my daughter's childhood.

The string reminded me of the times we flew kites when she was a little girl. There is nothing quite like the feel of a kite tugging and swooping at the end of a string! I had just started scrapbooking back then and remember making a page about one of our kite-flying days in her grandparents' backyard.

Speaking of kites, the gals at Memory Bound put up the cutest kite display this past week! The large kites are made from a full sheet of double-sided paper. They added kite "tails" made of twine and tied with matching ribbon and also made a tiny kite for a card. I think the kites would be a super cute decoration for a summer party or even a child's room. And of course, small kites would be a perfect embellishment on a spring or summer scrapbook page!

Instructions for the kites are posted with the display, so you'll be making kites in no time! The idea came from Card Creations Volume 9 ($14.99). It's full of new designs for every occasion and holiday.

Back to that cupboard I was telling you about: It's been a very time since we have used the things I found there, given that our daughter just finished her freshman year in college! But being an overly sentimental mom, I'm not quite ready to part with them yet. So I closed the cupboard and left my memories inside.

Then I took a deep breath and turned my attention to my husband's part of the garage where, I might add, I found PLENTY of things to part with! :)

Janet

Our Favorite Things: Adhesive

Here's a true confession: My kitchen pantry isn't very well-stocked. Every time I need to cook dinner (which is basically every day!), I have to run to the store to buy the ingredients. In fact, I don't think you could make anything (except for maybe Play-Doh) from what you'd find on my shelves. It's not very convenient (and it's actually kind of embarrassing when the check-out guy recognizes me...) to have to run to the grocery store every day, and it's certainly not very efficient!

But believe me, the opposite is true in my crafting area! (You can see where my priorities lie! LOL) Unlike my empty pantry, I keep an ample stock of all the basic supplies I know I'll need every time I work on a project. For me, that includes cardstock, striped paper :), and...ADHESIVE! I make a point NEVER to run out of adhesive. In fact, I buy it almost every time I go to Memory Bound!



These days, crafters are very fortunate to have a wide variety of adhesives from which to choose. In fact, there are so many adhesives -- for so many purposes -- that we all have our favorites! I asked our Memory Bound staff members to tell me which one is their "go to" adhesive and why. Maybe you'll see your favorite on this list or notice a new one to try!

Amanda: I use Tombow for my everyday scrapbooking. It comes out nicely and holds very well, yet if I needed to I could still pull a photo off of my layout without damaging my paper. I use the UHU Glue Stick anytime I am covering something with scrapbook paper. I use Tacky Tape when I am creating a project where I want a very strong hold, such as home decor projects, shadow boxes, and printer trays.

Bonnie: My favorite adhesive is E-Z Runner by Scrapbook Adhesives. I like it because it is easy to use and it sticks well. It is not refillable; just throw away the empty container and start a new one.

Dawn: My favorite is the Glue Glider PRO. I can change to any type of refill just by pulling out the refill and sliding the next one in. With so many types of refills, I have the exact one I need for any type of project. The Glue Glider PRO is designed to be the most comprehensive adhesive in the craft industry. Refills include PermaTac, PermaSquares, HighTac, ExtremeTac, Fabric Bond, Repositionable, and Wall Art.

Diana: My #1 adhesive is the Xyron 150 for everything small. I use Zip Dry glue for all things big. It drys flat without air pockets or waves. I like Glossy Accents for bigger embellishments and Glue Dots or Pop Dots for buttons.

Diane: My favorite adhesive is the Click 'n Stick white mounting squares from 3L. They are inexpensive and always sticky.

Janet (that's me!): My favorite is also the Click 'n Stick (and I'm not just copying Diane!). Actually, after my favorite adhesive was discontinued awhile back, Diane suggested I go back to using the Click 'n Stick. It's easy to use and control -- I use it each time I scrapbook. I also could not live without my Xyron 150 for small items!

Katie: My favorite adhesive is the Therm O Web. It's inexpensive, easy to use, plus it adheres cleanly (without breaks in the adhesive line) and it's easy to refill.

Kellie: I like the Therm O Web tape runner for several reasons. First of all -- it rolls on nicely and sticks great. It's easy to refill with a snap-in cartridge. And it's the best value because you get 50'. The dispenser is only $4.99 and refills are $3.99. Glossy Accents is my favorite liquid adhesive.

Michele: One of my favorites is the Glue Glider PRO. I like it because it holds a large amount of adhesive, so when I am working on a large project, I don't have to stop to reload adhesive as often. It also is very easy to switch between high tac and repositionable adhesive if needed for different projects.

Pat: My favorite is the Tombow Mono Dots Permanent Adhesive. It is super easy to refill and the shape is such that you can always tell which side is up and which side is down. AND best of all, it sticks really well!!

Tess: I like the Thermoweb tape runner. It doesn’t gum up on the dispenser!

I didn't ask these ladies about the contents of their pantries (maybe I SHOULD, huh?), but you can see that their adhesive bins are very well stocked. We each have at least one "go to" adhesive. So how about you? What's your favorite and why? Leave us a comment. We'd love to hear what you think!

Janet

Time Flies!

Anybody feel like this? LOL

Here's to a productive week of scrapbooking!

Janet

P.S. I think Jeremy's mom needs to stop by Memory Bound for some acid-free adhesive AND some inspiration! :)

Staff Project: Bonnie's Shower Invitations

I recently ran into our very talented staff member Bonnie at Memory Bound. (I'm sure most of you know Bonnie -- she has been with Memory Bound since Day One!) On this particular day, she was elbow-deep in shower invitations. But not just ANY shower invitations!

Bonnie was making truly stunning invitations -- so elegant that I could not wait to get a picture to share with you! And, because I'm kind of a Roving Reporter now :), I had to get the scoop about how she made them. (Did you know that I am now carrying around a little spiral notebook for recording Important Information? I am serious! If you see me whip out my notebook, watch out! You could be blog material!)

So here are my notes about these beautiful invitations:

Bonnie used Bazzill Green Cardstock for the invitation base, then she traced and cut the dress design from Bazzill Diamond Bling to give it just a little bit of shine. (Tracing a design is a great option if you don't have a die cut in the shape that you need for a project!) Next she placed the dress inside the Sizzix Swirls embossing folder and ran it through her Big Shot machine. I love how the swirls look on the dress!

Bonnie added just the perfect touch of bling to her invitations. First she adhered a short length of May Arts silver ribbon to the dress waist using Score Tape. Bonnie says that Score Tape tears easily, so you don't have to cut it with scissors. (This makes the job a LOT easier if you're making lots of invitations!) Then she adhered a short length of the black/silver beaded ribbon on top of it, again using the Score Tape. Finally, she adhered the dress to the invitation base using pop dots. The beaded ribbon is the perfect accent for this invitation! And layering it with the silver ribbon adds a bit of depth and interest.

To finish the invitations, she printed "You're Invited", matted it, and adhered it to the corner of the card, then adhered the shower information to the inside.

I hope Bonnie's gorgeous invitations inspire you as they did me! You can see how she really made the most of Bling cardstock, embossing, and that beautiful beaded ribbon. In fact, I can't wait to add that ribbon to my next project.

Hmmm...I wonder how it would look on my spiral notebook? ;)

Janet

Upcoming Class: Travel Light Mini-Album

The new WRMK Travel Light line is one of my all-time favorites! This retro-look line includes double-sided paper, 4x6 journaling cards, embossed die cuts (which we all LOVE!), stamps, and more. It will inspire you to scrapbook your summer road trip!

Here are just a few of the adorable embossed die cuts which have become a signature of the WRMK brand. I look forward to seeing the creative die cuts with each new line they produce!

I'm so excited to be using the Travel Light line for my upcoming mini-album class. For the past several months, I've been teaching a new mini-album class each month based on the WRMK 4x6 journaling pads. The Travel Light album is the latest in this little series! :)

I love this particular project because it is small enough to take along on your trip and add to it as you go. But don't let the small size deceive you -- it has over 25 pages and will hold lots of 4x6 or smaller photos. As an added bonus, we'll be trying out the matching stamps to add a few custom embellishments to our album. Plus I'm sure we'll have time for a few funny vacation stories as we put together this little project!

It's going to be a great time! Give us a call to register.

Janet

* * * * *

Travel Light Mini-Album - Saturday, July 2, 9:30am-12pm

Instructor: Janet Petersma / Fee: $19

Skill Level: Any / Bring Basic Class Kit plus pop dots, glue dots, Crop-a-Dile, Xyron, corner rounder, Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot), blending tool, splat mat

Celebrate summer vacation with the adorably retro 4x6 Travel Light tablet. This album is small enough to take on the road & is the perfect place to capture your family’s vacation memories.

Miss Sixteen Contest: Good Luck, April!

If you stop by Memory Bound anytime in the next few weeks, you'll see a photo of a lovely young woman, April Rush. April is the daughter of our staff member, Michele, and is a contestant in the Miss Sixteen Competition at the 2011 Ankeny SummerFest. Memory Bound is sponsoring April in this competition!

April Rush, 2011 Miss Sixteen Contestant
Photo by Jamison Studios

April will be a junior at Ankeny High School in the fall. She is a basketball cheerleader and also enjoys tennis. Math is her favorite subject in school. Her favorite summer activity is hanging out at the pool. (We hope the weather improves so she can do a little bit more of that this summer!)

SummerFest is Ankeny's annual summer celebration. It will be held July 7-10 this year and features all kinds of activities for the entire family, including a carnival, parade, music, food vendors, and much more.

This year, there are 80 girls competing in the Miss Sixteen competition. There are two categories for recognition: Miss Photogenic and Miss Scholastic. All the contestants wrote an essay which will be judged as part of the competition. In addition, all the girls will ride in the back of a convertible car during the parade on Saturday morning. (What a great scrapbook page that will make!)

You can find out more about the Miss Sixteen contest here. The contest results will be announced at the event on Saturday evening, July 9. Memory Bound is proud and excited to sponsor April. We wish her the best of luck!

Janet