Easter Bulletin Board in Full Bloom!

Since this month is "Bloom in June" at Memory Bound, we couldn't wait to share with you this incredible bulletin board created by our customer Mary Warford for the Easter season at Ankeny's Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

We are amazed by all the wonderful details Mary incorporated into this beautiful project!

Mary used her Cricut to make this Easter display. She used the Walk in My Garden and Accent Essentials cartridges to make leaf shapes, tulips, and other flowers.

I love the details she added to the center of each blossom!

Notice the pretty curled petals on the red flowers!

Mary used the Home Décor, Home Accents, and Walk In My Garden cartridges for the butterflies and the bluebirds. (Mary points out that the bluebird is actually a hummingbird on the cartridge!)

She also used the Wedding/Marriage, Accent Essentials, Plantin School Book, Just Because, and Winter Woodland cartridges for additional flower shapes. She cut the grass from the Plantin School Book cartridge.

Mary incorporated many techniques into her garden of layered flowers. She used her Cricut to create blooms which were inspired by the Tim Holtz roses. She also used the McGill Paper Blossoms and Paper Tool Kit to shape the flowers.

Thank you, Mary, for sharing your beautiful work with us!

Janet

Staff Project: 4th of July Decorations

I don't know about you, but I think summer is going by awfully quickly! July will be here before we know it, so now is the time to make decorations for your 4th of July holiday gatherings. Any celebration can be made extra special with handmade decorations!

Our talented (and organized!) staff member Maggie is already thinking about decorating for the holiday. Last week when I was at Memory Bound, she was busy whipping up a Patriotic Star using this pattern from the We Are Memory Keepers website.

Isn't this the cutest thing ever? Maggie is planning to make several more to use as holiday decorations, either hung on her door or scattered on her table. Imagine several made with coordinating papers!

Here is what the "tummy" of the star looks like. You can see how each of the points has a score line. The Martha Stewart Scoring Board would make quick work of this project!

Maggie told me that she's also been busy making napkin rings using the same line of paper! She cut and covered toilet paper tubes with patriotic paper, then added ribbon and stars to finish them off. They look really festive with her matching napkins and plates!

If you want to make Maggie's napkin rings for your holiday gathering, now is the time to start squirreling away those toilet paper tubes! Even husbands can help with this part of the project! :)

Make plans to stop by Memory Bound soon so you can pick up patriotic products to make Maggie's adorable stars and napkin rings. We have tons of red, white, and blue goodies -- all ready to inspire you to decorate your door, patio, or 4th of July table!

Janet

Is this Starbucks? No, it's Memory Bound!

There's one important thing you need to know about the gals who work at Memory Bound: WE LOVE OUR STARBUCKS!

Did you know that a single Frappucino or Caramel Latte can provide the fuel for up to ten (10) scrapbook pages?

Okay, I just made that up! But really...what's better on a hot and humid Iowa day than a cool Starbucks Frappucino?



What a great photo of Dawn and Kellie! (Another thing you should know about Memory Bound: We always have a camera on the ready!)

And here are Jana, Kayla, Bonnie, Pat, Dawn, and Diana, enjoying an afternoon treat.

All of these yummy Frappucino photos made me think about a few of my favorite coffee quotes, which would be perfect for your caffeinated layouts:


A morning without coffee is like sleep.


Hand over the coffee and no one gets hurt.


If it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever.

Life is too short for bad coffee.


Here's to great coffee
AND
great scrapbooking friends at Memory Bound!

Janet

BLOOM IN JUNE

Gather your friends and head to Memory Bound for our Make-N-Takes every Friday in June. We will cultivate a garden of paper blooms you won't want to miss!

Our next make-n-take will be FRIDAY - JUNE 17, 1 - 6PM. Back by popular demand - it's the paper rose! And you won't believe how it's made. For a summer feel, we added layered butterflies.
Materials fee: $2.

Upcoming Class: Warm Wishes in a Box

Don't miss our super-creative staff member Diana's next class, Warm Wishes in a Box! This project is absolutely adorable in person. Boxed card sets make the perfect gift!

Here's the scoop:

Warm Wishes in a Box

Thursday, June 16, 1-3pm / Instructor: Diana Tuttle

Fee: $15 / Skill Level: Any / Bring Basic Class kit plus glue dots, pop dots, corner rounder, brown Cat’s Eye Chalk, Zip Dry liquid glue, & tweezers

See how easy it is to create a gift box to fill with cards! Once you create the box, you’ll continue with stamping, punching & embellishing to complete the box & cards to put inside. We’ll have you making boxed card sets for all your friends!

Give us a call to register!

Janet

Staff Project: Father's Day Album

In the ten years I've been teaching at Memory Bound, I've had the good fortune to be around the most talented staff members anywhere. Every time I visit the the store, I see projects that our staff members have been creating. We all love sharing what we're working on, so I often see glimpses of projects as they are taking shape.

Such was the case a couple of weeks ago when I dropped by Memory Bound. Jean showed me the most amazing album she had been making about the dads in her life -- her own father, her husband, and her son-in-law. I could tell that the album was going to be a treasure!



The next time I caught Jean at the store, the album was complete and even included several black and white photos. I loved seeing pictures of Jean as a little girl. She has not changed a bit! :)

I was honored that Jean found inspiration for her Father's Day album from the Mother's Day album class I taught earlier this spring. After completing that project, Jean used the same album design and adapted it using masculine products. Now she has two keepsake albums!

Jean used the Bo Bunny Timepiece collection for her project. The papers are beautiful and include a pocket watch image, which many of us associate with our fathers or grandfathers. It was a wonderful choice for this type of project! And the Tim Holtz pocket watch matches it perfectly.

The most amazing part of Jean's project is the pocket watch she attached to the front. One of the Bo Bunny clock face images fit perfectly inside it! It looks like a real watch.

As you can see, the back side of the pocket watch is slightly rounded. Jean removed the back and adhered just the watch front to the album cover. Removing the back also made the watch a little less heavy.
Jean used Ranger's Multi-Medium Matte to adhere the watch front to the album. This thick gel dries with a clear matte finish and is perfect for metal objects.

Finally, Jean used a Tim Holtz chain as the binding for the album! I absolutely LOVE how she did this -- beauty AND functionality! (Do you see why I'm so inspired by the talented staff at Memory Bound?)

So the next time you're at Memory Bound, be sure to take a look at all the projects around the store which have been created by our talented staff. You are sure to find inspiration in the mini-albums, scrapbook pages, and home decor pieces on display. And don't hesitate to ask us questions about our projects. We all love to share the inspiration!

Janet

June Page Kit

When I think back on the summer days of my childhood, I remember riding my bicycle with the white wicker basket, hula-hooping (is that a verb?) on the front porch, and running through the backyard with my neighborhood friends. We often played with colorful plastic pinwheels that you could buy at the local dime store. It was so fun to twirl around in the grass and watch them spin in the breeze!

Since summer is now upon us, I thought it would be fun to include a few pinwheels on our June Page Kit. Paper pinwheels are fun and easy to make!

This month's kit has a "fun in the summer sun" theme and features warm colors which will be great for your outdoor pictures. The page kit comes with everything you see and printed instructions. It's $10 or free with a $100 merchandise purchase, while supplies last.

Here's to making new backyard memories this summer!

Janet