1. Plug in your iron on the hottest setting, and your glue gun.  Be sure the steam is turned off on your iron.
2. Set your vest on the ironing board and decide where you want each patch placed.
3. Once the hot glue gun is ready, put a fine bead of hot glue all the way around the back of the patch near the edge. If the patch does not have an embroidered edge be careful to stay back a bit to prevent the glue from squirting out.
4. Cover the back of the patch with a zig-zag pattern of hot glue.  If the patch is not an iron-on patch, don’t be afraid to use extra, it will soak into the patch and the vest (note we’re talking about our open-grain Guides vests, I don’t know if this would work the same on finished leather).
5. Set the patch aside on the newspaper to cool.  Repeat with all of your patches.
6. Make sure there are no “strings” of hot glue hanging off of the patches, these will leave dark lines on your vest.
7. Use the iron to pre-heat the leather where you’re going to place your patches.
8. Place the patches on the vest and cover with the rag (this keeps the bottom of the iron clean).
9. Press down on each patch with the iron for a full minute and a half.  Periodically move the iron slightly to avoid cooking an iron shape into your vest.
10. Remove the rag and let the vest sit without moving while the hot glue cools and sets.
11. Press on the patches with your fingers. If the patch got hot enough to melt the glue, you shouldn’t be able to feel any ridges from the hot glue zip-zags. If you do, bring back the iron and try again.
12. Once the patches cool several minutes, gently check the edges to make sure they are adhered.  Particularly with irregular edged patches (like the campfire flames) the tips may need an additional dot of hot glue and a quick hit with the iron to adhere.
13. Set the vest flat until completely cooled so the edges don’t pop loose.

If you have any comments or suggestions please leave them below.

Yearbooks are IN and will be available for $5 at the end-of-season event at Beachwood!

For 2009-2010 we’re bringing back the Adventure Guides Yearbook. Every circle should prepare up to four full-color 8.5×11 pages (single sided) covered with pictures, art – whatever you decide.

Any circle that sponsored an event should feel free to create one or more event pages.

Finally, if you have any great group or event pictures that you’d like to share, please mail them to yearbook@advguides.org and we’ll try to find a spot for them.

Pages should be delivered to me either scanned in 300DPI full color (TIFF or BMP is good), or as hardcopy pages, no later than May 19th. We’ll create a 300dpi color PDF as the document master, and have it printed into a saddle-stitched glossy color booklet. We’re planning to have the yearbooks available at the end-of-season event in mid June.

Update: Dave scanned the 06/07 Princess yearbook for us. Anyone who hasn’t seen one, this is a good example (although future yearbooks will be guides/princesses combined).
PrincessYearBook2006-2007

We’re going to be using Dazzle Printing in Madison Heights to print the yearbooks. As a local non-profit, Ann O’Brien offered us a super discount on top of their already competitive prices. If you find yourself in need of any printing, please give them a call and let them know you were referred by the Troy Birmingham Adventure Guides.

Here’s some notes for next year:
Image Resolution
All graphics in your file should be 300 dpi (dots per inch). Images on computer screens look great at 72 dpi (that is the maximum resolution of a computer screen), but will look very jagged and fuzzy when printed. Enlarging graphics can reduce resolution and print quality. If you double the size of a 300 dpi image, the resolution will be reduced to 150 dpi. On the other hand, you can increase the resolution of an image by reducing the size. A 72 dpi image reduced to 25% of its original size will have a 288 dpi resolution.

Most images on websites are 72 dpi to allow for fast transmission over the Internet and look fine on your computer screen. However, the low resolution will look grainy when printed.

CMYK vs. RGB
All graphics and colors used in your document should be converted to CMYK. If you design in RGB or Pantone, be sure to convert everything to CMYK before submitting your file. Converting by Dazzle Printing can cause unexpected color shifts, so it is better if you do the conversion. Color changes are less noticeable in photos and more noticeable in background colors. Please note that we cannot match Pantone or PMS colors. One of the reasons our prices are so low is because we print all files in CMYK with digital presses, using a pleasing color standard for printing.

Keep in mind two special issues when working with colors:

Blues — It is not unusual for a color that looks very blue on your screen to print with a purple tint to it. To avoid this issue, make sure that there is at least a 30% difference in your cyan and magenta values.

Black — If you are using large patches of black in backgrounds or images, it is best to use a rich black. Rich black is comprised of some portion of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. If you use just 100% black for large black backgrounds, they will tend to print a muddy gray color. We recommend the following values:

Cyan 60, Magenta 40, Yellow 40, Black 100

When using a rich black, be sure to use the same values for all graphics, backgrounds, and text. While you will not see a difference on your computer screen, the blacks will print differently.

Page “Bleed”
In order to print edgeless (with no boarder), the pages need to be sized about 1/8 inch larger than 8.5×11. This extra space is called the page bleed. This gives the printer space to cut away the edges of the paper after printing and before binding.

Meetings are started and ended on time, and do not go longer that 1 1/2 hours.

The dads should agree the calendar and hosts at least 3 months out (preferably for the whole year) so everyone knows the schedule. Example: third Thursday of the month.

The hosts should send reminders at least a week in advance, with directions if needed.

Refreshments are served prior to closing ceremony – giving an official ending to the meeting.

Activities are planned which are understandable to the girls. (The dads can then understand as well).

Circle size is best kept between six and twelve pairs. Large Circles become unmanageable in most homes.

The Circle Navigator (or delegate) attends all Expedition meetings and maintains contact with the Expedition Navigator.

Dads Meetings are called whenever needed, but at least 2-3 times per year.

Dads and daughters sit together during meetings and refreshments.

A Circle has at least one activity and/or meeting each month.

Dad/Daughter pairs work as a team wherever possible (i.e., crafts, games, skits, etc.).

Business and planning should be kept to a minimum during Circle meetings (use email to keep the dads up to speed, and then for the girls, hit the major events like a campout, or parade, or late nighter, but keep it short).

Try for a Circle outing for the entire family at least twice each year. Many of the Federation and Expedition activities are for the whole family.

Circle members evaluate their Circle program and progress as a group regularly.

The Circle has varied activities. For example, Circle meetings may include cooking, 1st Aid Instruction, Scavenger Hunts, and Gift Making. Circle outings may include trips to parks, museums, tours, movies, sporting events and Nation/Federation Events. Circle projects may include service projects, scrap books, photo albums, Circle banners and tribal property. The Circle may also participate in other YMCA programs such as swim lessons, gymnastics, youth sports, or day and resident camping.

Members develop an enthusiasm, esprit de corps, and pride for their Circle.

The Circle accepts and appreciates each member. All members feel needed and important.

Leadership is shared by all dads in the Circle.

Update: I ran a broken links report, pdf here
advguides broken links 20100203

I’m not too worried about any on the archived site but the links page needs some help.