Hey kids! Don't miss out on this weeks' Story Line. Just call 989-323-3881 to listen to a new story each week. This week's story is about a radish who get's a chance to go into space. Be sure and listen to the adventure he has.

Girl Scout Troop 30787 needed personalized hangers for their "Bridging" ceremony. Kristen Perrine came in and used the library's Cricut Maker to make the custom lettering for each girl. Great job Kristen!

Remember the Cricut Maker is available for patrons to use after a introductory training session. We also have two 3d printers, an 11x17 laminator, VHS to DVD archiving equipment and more available.

STEAMspace Rocket Module registration is now closed! You can still register to be on the list for our Video Editing and Chroma Key (Green Screen) special effects Module starting in January. Register online or call the library.

Already used up your 4 borrows from Hoopla this month? Welcome to "Bonus Borrows". Each month Hoopla offers free borrows in selected categories. Here are some of them for August.

• Comics - https://www.hoopladigital.com/collection/16424
• Audio Books - https://www.hoopladigital.com/collection/16423
• eBooks - https://www.hoopladigital.com/collection/16425
• Movies - https://www.hoopladigital.com/collection/16290
• Television - https://www.hoopladigital.com/collection/16289

Remember you can borrow as many of these as you want in August and they don't count against your 4 item limit.

Online books and media

Borrow and enjoy audiobooks, eBooks, comics, movies, TV, magazines, or music everywhere you have a screen-your computer, your phone, your car, even your TV. All you need is your River Rapids library card. hoopla syncs across all your devices, so you can stream titles immediately or whenever you're in the mood. Most titles can also be downloaded to your phone or tablet. hoopla offers more content, in more places, than any other digital library platform and it's all FREE thanks to River Rapids Library!

Find out more at https://www.hoopladigital.com/

hoopla is available on

We needed a bulletin board for our upcoming summer reading program. This year the theme is "Oceans of Possibility". I created and printed a tiled background and then hung fish and other aquatic creatures in front of it using fishline attached to the ceiling tiles. Scroll down to find out how I did it using free software and public domain images.

1. I searched https://freesvg.org to find a cartoon style underwater scene.

2. I used inkscape (a free vector image editor) to remove the objects I didn't want) and added the text "Oceans of Possibility". I added a gradient color to the text and then modified the shape with Inkscape's tweak tool to make them look wavy.

3. After I finished the background scene in Inkscape I used Plakativ (another free open source tool) to resize the image to the size of the bulletin board and divide it into overlapping tiles so I could print it out to individual 11x17 inch sheets of paper.

4. I trimmed and then stapled the tiled sheets to the bulletin board.

5. I found cute cartoon fish and sea creatures on freesvg.org

6. I used our Cricut to "Print and Cut" the animals on cardstock. I printed two images of each fish with the second one being mirrored so I could glue them back to back.

7. I punched a small hole in each of the printed sea animals and attached them to a length of fishing line. Using a paper clip at the other end of the fishing line I attached them to the ceiling tile framework just in front of the bulletin board.

That's it! Would you be interested in a workshop at the library on how to make your own tiled bulletin board backgrounds? Let us know and if we get enough interest we will schedule a hands on workshop so you can learn how to create your own posters, bulletin boards or other large scale images.

We needed a hook to hold one of the keys at the library. We wanted it to fit in one of the adjustable shelf peg holes. Rather than try to find something to purchase, our 3d printer came to the rescue. It took about 15 minutes to design and 6 minutes to print a custom hook that fit tightly in the peg hole. Quick and Easy!

Remember our Prusa Mini Plus 3d printer is available for patron use. Schedule a training time with James and start on your first 3d project.

Our Cricut helped make another crafting success story. With an upcoming Bridal Shower what to do for the invitations? With the help of the Library's Cricut craft cutter these invitations were quickly created in plenty of time to mail them out. A simple curved edge design with cutout flower silhouettes made just the right look for the Bride.

Remember our Cricut is available for patron use. Just schedule a training session with James to start creating your own craft projects.

This display shelf needed something else to finish it off. Using the Library's Cricut our patron was able to take a dollar store galvanized metal sign and add appropriate text. One colorful daisy later and it was ready to be placed beneath the shelf.

Remember our Cricut is available for patron use. Just schedule a training session with James to start creating your own craft projects.

We recently received an ION VCR2PC unit on loan. This makes converting VHS video tapes to DVD's much easier and faster. It also captures the color better on older video tapes. Interested in converting some of your old family memories on VHS to DVD? Schedule a time with James to learn how to put your old VHS tapes to DVD.

For those of you who have already used our old hardware and software you will be excited to see how much easier and quicker this is to use. If you know the length of the video tape you want to convert you can simply put a blank DVD-r disc in the laptop, start the video tape and press Record in the software. Your DVD will automatically be burned. No more babysitting the unit. Just start it and let it record, convert and burn your new DVD. It is also about 25% faster to complete then before.

Don't risk losing those old memories. Call and schedule an appointment with James to learn how to use this equipment.