Memory Bound's Elves Prepare for our Open House!

 Hello, Memory Bound friends!
Did you know that some of Santa's craftiest elves have been hanging out at Memory Bound? They're getting ready for our upcoming Crafty Christmas Open House! I'll give you a sneak peak of what they've been up to in this post.

Our Crafty Christmas Open House on November 2 and 3 is going to feature over 100 holiday projects that you can create for your home, family, and friends. Stop by on Friday, November 2, 9am-9pm and Saturday, November 3, 9am-5pm for holiday craft inspiration -- straight from our own Memory Bound elves!

  I found Diana, one of our most productive elves, working on a beautiful banner using family photos and flash cards.

 

 

 Here's a sneak peek at the banner before she finished it. You'll see this and many more wonderful projects at our Crafty Christmas Open House!

 Here's just a tiny sampling of only SOME of Diana's Advent calendars. Many of our staff are making Advent calendars this year and I guarantee you will be amazed by the variety and the creativity! Many would make perfect family projects.
 

 I found Dawn hard at work on a home decor letter project. See that little lantern hanging from her finger? It lights up!

She painted and stained the letters...

....then traced them and cut paper to fit on the fronts. Here, she's getting ready to attach her lantern.

 

Here's a sneak peek of the project before she finished it. Dawn planned to add family photos and small bottle-brush trees. It's going to be beautiful, and you'll be able to see it at the Crafty Christmas Open House!

You can see that our Memory Bound elves have been hard at work creating incredible and inspiring projects to share with you! So gather your friends and make plans now to get into the holiday spirit at our Crafty Christmas Open House. Our elves look forward to sharing our projects with you!
Janet

Upcoming Class: 25 Days of Christmas Journal

 Hello, Memory Bound friends! 
Today I would like to tell you a bit about a fun class that you won't want to miss: Katie's 25 Days of Christmas Journal. Katie is teaching this class next Friday, October 26, 9:30am-12:30pm AND Saturday, November 10, 1-4pm. Haven't heard of a Christmas Journal? Read on! :)

 
What's a Christmas Journal? A Christmas Journal (also called a December Daily or December Journal) is a small eclectic album you prepare ahead of time with a page designated for each day in December leading up to Christmas. When December comes, you simply add a memory for each day -- it could be a photo, story, concert program, recipe, or anything meaningful to you and your family. By the end of the month, you've got a wonderful keepsake detailing all the special moments of the holiday season. Many of our Memory Bound staff members have made amazing Christmas Journals. You can read more about them and see lots of photos here.

Here's Katie getting ready for her class!

Join Katie in class and your beautiful album will be ready and waiting when the first snowflake falls! Get the details below, then give us a call to register today!

25 Days of Christmas Journal

Friday, Oct 26, 9:30am-12:30pm

Saturday, Nov 10, 1-4pm 

Instructor: Katie Belding / Fee: $29 

Skill Level: Any / Bring Basic Class Kit, Crop-A-Dile, pop dots, glue stick, and 1.5” circle punch. Optional: Vintage Photo Distress Ink pad + blending tool.   
Have you ever wanted to participate in the popular December Daily Album, but once December rolled around you couldn’t find the time? Join Katie to make your December Daily journal in advance, giving you time to document the busy season leading up to Christmas. Using the popular Simple Stories Christmas collection, the album will have plenty of room for holiday photos and journaling!

Upcoming Class: Family Album

 Hello, Memory Bound friends! 

In today's post, I'd like to share a bit about one of Pat's great classes, Family Album. Pat has taught this class multiple times and customers always love the project! The latest version of her project is created with the classic Simple Stories Generations line. This 8x8 album opens up for display, revealing several flaps for holding favorite snapshots, then closes for compact storage. You can see other versions of Pat's album in this post.

This project would make a PERFECT gift for someone special. In fact, once you learn how to make one, you'll be able to make others on your own and even customize them for everyone on your holiday gift-giving list! Check out the details below, then give us a call at (515) 965-1102 to register for Pat's next class. You'll see why it's a customer favorite!

Janet 

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Family Album

Sunday, October 21, 12:30-3:30pm

Instructor: Pat Ferin

Fee: $20 / Skill Level: Any

Bring Basic Class Kit, Vintage Photo Distress Ink pad + blending tool, splat mat, large glue stick, and 1/4" Scor-Tape.  

Join us to create an 8”x8” family treasure using the Simple Stories Generations papers and more to embellish our flip and fold book. This unique book stands up to display your favorite family photos or folds into a mini-book. Don't miss this fun class!

Get Ready for Christmas at our "VERRY MERRY Holiday Craft Day!

Hello, Memory Bound friends! 

I've been waiting since August for mid-October to get here, and now it has finally arrived! In just a couple of weeks, we'll be off to visit our daughter at college. Since August, I've been accumulating a growing pile of things to take to her, including boxes of Christmas decorations. While it may seem early to think about ornaments and twinkling lights, she plans to do her holiday decorating as soon as she has a spare minute. She knows from experience that if she waits until the snow flies, she'll run out of time!

Preparing EARLY is good advice for all of us! So many extra events occur during the holiday season that it really pays to start sooner than later. Bake cookies and freeze them now. Take one of our Christmas card classes (click here for info!) and finish your cards in November. And make your gifts NOW while you have the time! When the holidays come around, you can relax and enjoy the season -- AND pat yourself on the back for being so organized!

With that in mind, we'd like to invite you to our "VERRY MERRY" Holiday Craft Day, coming up this Saturday, October 20, 9am-5pm. This is a new kind of holiday event where you'll make four great projects at your own pace in our workroom. Drop in at your convenience during those hours -- plan on 3-3.5 hours to finish them. We'll have staff available to assist you if needed as you enjoy holiday music, cookies, and our crafts! You'll leave with a count-down calendar, notepad portfolio, mini-book, and a recipe folder. That's FOUR gifts you can cross off your list RIGHT NOW!

See details below, then call your friends and make plans to join us Saturday. Give us a call at (515) 965-1102 to register! 

Hope to see you then!
Janet

"VERRY MERRY" Holiday Craft Day

 Saturday, October 20, 9am-5pm (drop in at your convenience; allow 3-3.5 hours to complete the projects)

 Fee: $50 / Skill Level: Any

Bring Basic Class Kit, Tacky Tape, scoring board or blade, and stapler.

It’s a kit… it’s a class… it’s a make-n-take…

It’s new!  It’s a day when you create pre-designed projects in our classroom at your own pace, when it works for your schedule. Make 4 wonderful holiday projects: a count-down calendar, notepad portfolio, mini book, and a recipe folder! The instructions are included, a helper is available, and you’ll get into the holiday spirit with cookies and Christmas music

 

Close-up of the notepad portfolio

Close-up of the mini-book

Dawn's Canvas Project

 Hello, Memory Bound friends! 
In today's post, I want to share with you a great project Dawn, one of our store owners, created using several small canvases. If you'd like to create a unique and personalized wall decor piece, you should consider a project like this. It's very striking and really makes an impact in a room!

Dawn used small pre-made canvases (in a variety of sizes) for the foundation of her project. She adhered black and white photos from her daughter's recent wedding to most of the canvases, along with some patterned paper and embellishments. Then she hot-glued the canvases together in a circular form -- almost like a wreath -- by overlapping some of the pieces.

Dawn created the letter "J" by cutting it from heavy black chipboard using the Typewriter font from our Accu-Cut die cutting center. She covered the chipboard letter with Glossy Accents to give it a shiny finish. I love how the letter looks!

Dawn used the Documented line to decorate her canvases. The 4x6 text pieces in this line ("These are the Moments...") fit perfectly on the canvases. The muted colors work beautifully with her black and white photos and blend well with the textured canvases. Of course, you could choose any paper line which matches your home decor.

With the holidays coming up, a canvas project like this would make a wonderful gift! If you'd like to make one, stop in and take a look at how Dawn put her project together. We've got everything you need and would love to help you get started! 

Thanks, Dawn, for inspiring us with this beautiful and meaningful project!
Janet

Maggie's Embossed Foil Card

Hello, Memory Bound friends!
When I was a Memory Bound recently, I immediately noticed this beautiful card Maggie created. And while it may look complicated, it was surprisingly easy to create!

 

Maggie started with an Inkssentials Foil Tape Sheet in orange (shown below in silver). These adhesive-backed foil sheets have a multitude of uses -- including embossing! She ran the foil sheet through her Texture Boutique to create the embossed leaf design.

Next, Maggie rubbed black StazOn ink over the surface of the foil sheet. StazOn ink adheres to most any surface, including slick surfaces like the foil sheets. Regular stamping ink would not adhere.

To finish her card, Maggie simply adhered the completed foil piece to a black mat. She stamped a sentiment with embossing ink, then used rust-colored embossing powder and a heat gun to emboss it. Finally, she adhered the black mat to her card base.

Thanks, Maggie, for showing us a wonderful use for embossing folders and foil sheets!
Janet

Upcoming Class: ABC Book

Hello, Memory Bound friends!
 I recently ran across an old photo album I put together for my daughter (now 19!) when she was learning the alphabet. It was filled with photos and drawings of apples and dinosaurs, animals and houses. As I paged through the album, it was like looking through a time capsule of people, places, and things which were important in our lives during my daughter's early years. I remember that the album was one of her favorites -- and that fact was evidenced by the well-worn cover and pages!

An ABC book is a time-tested way to help a child learn the alphabet and be introduced to phonics, storytelling, sequencing, and many other important skills. If you've got a young child in your life, you'll want to join Maggie for her upcoming ABC Book class. You'll create your book in class, and it will be ready for you to add photos when you get home. You can choose your own pictures, or let the lucky child help you find photos for each letter of the alphabet! 

You'll find details about Maggie's fun class below. Give us a call at (515) 965-1102 to register!

Janet

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 ABC Book

Sunday, October 14, 12:30-2:30pm

Instructor:  Maggie Benge / Fee: $22 

Skill Level: Any  Bring Basic Class Kit , 1/8” and 1/2” circle punches.

Wanted: Grandmas, moms, or anyone with a child who would love their own personalized ABC book! You’ll create a cute book that works for boys or girls and is picture-ready. You’ll even get an idea list for each letter – add your own photos and it’s done!