Make your own Memo Pads!

This was SIMPLY to much FUN!

Recipe for Memo Pads

Ingredients

8 1/5 X 11 Bright White Paper (regular ol printer paper)
8 1/5 X 11 Chipboard (not to thick, for backs, can even use cereal boxes)
Paper Cutter
Glue
Wooden Shims
Clamps (even binder clamps work)

Design your paper!

You can use any “typing” program you have!  Here are the directions for Creative Memories Storybook 4.0.  Now, don’t worry.  The concept I have done for Storybook 4.0, is really, the same for pretty much any software…like word..or publisher for example.  I just love love love Storybook!  I have very expensive graphic draw programs….but…..after working in IT and coming home, the last thing I want to do, is learn another program…..these graphic programs, I found hard.  Not simple to us…..I did, however, find Storybook very very SIMPLE to use….kinda like a no brainer….and the link I gave you….you can try out for free for 30 days…what more can you ask for!

Printer your design!

I print 22, so that I have a pad with 40 in it!  I get 2 pads from this print job.  I usually make 2 of one design and two of another.

Cut your paper into quarters (4 1/4 X 5 1/5)

I have to tell you….I got out my Zutter Dreamcut machine!  because, it cuts papers evenly each time.  As you probably already know, using a paper cutter, doesn’t really do this, when you are going to stack 40 ish papers together….its very hard to cut them all the same.  My dreamcut machine does this soooooooooooo nicely.  I bought it for production type activities and this was certainly one of those events!
Stack, Clamp and Glue
Notice from the first photo, I took some pieces of wood (I used shims) for 1.57 all I did was lay one, one way, and the other, the other way….you know, so that it was squared up.
Stacked my paper as even as I could get it in this order:

• blank piece of paper
• chipboard
• 40 or so pieces of my very own designer paper
• blank piece of paper…marked where the top is, so I glue the correct side….

Clamped it so I could then glue.  Now, for clamps, you can just use something very heavy and put the edge of your papers right on the end of your table so you can glue the edge….or you can clamp like I am going….or you can clamp with those big binder clips you get in the office area of stores…  the point here, is stack your paper crisply and evently, hold down the paper stack tight so that the glue only goes on the edge….(use clamps, books, anything that will hold it tight)
Now for glue.  All over the internet they tell you to buy padding compound.  Well, I could not find it.  oh, I could on line for about $20.00 or so…enough to last 5 lifetimes….heck!  then I found you could make your own…
My inspiration came from Andrea Arch, however, when I seen the glycerin, I did not even try….Glycerine…I have shopped for in the past, hard thing to find…
so, I used good ol Elmers.  Now, don’t go out and buy this one….look in your stash, look for glue that is thick not runny.  When you find it, take brush, or a sponge brush and paint the edge.  After you paint the edge add some more clamps so that the edge stays straight.
Let it dry to the touch and remove only the clamps on the edge so that you can paint another coat, then clamp back down.  Dry and there you go!
I got the biggest kick out of that notepad you see above.  We were going to my brother-in-laws for dinner.  He is a retired butcher…so, I thought, he might like a notepad….I went to google and searched butcher silloute (notice I did not even spell silhouette correctly!) and found these…to dang cute, so, yeppers, I used the one of the pig chasing the butcher.  He loved it!

When looking for images I often go to google.com, then click on images (on the black ribbon, third one from the left), then type in my search words…in this case it was butcher silloute and STILL found some images…wonder what I would have found if I spelled it correctly!  HA!