Abstract: An improved method of bonding a layer of material to a substrate is provided in which a laser beam is used to generate heat in a local area on the composite. The heat from the laser beam activates an adhesive to bond the layer to the substrate. Alternatively, the heat from the laser beam locally melts either or both of the substrate and the layer to create the bond. When the bond is created along a closed path, the heat from the laser may also cause the layer to puff away from the substrate. The invention can be used for a variety of purposes such as creating decorative features on greeting cards to give them a novel look and feel.

Abstract: The memories product generation system provides a customer with the capability to input and edit various memories materials for use in generating memories products. The customer also defines at least one topic that is used to organize the received memories materials and at least one “story”, which consists of a recipient's point of view of or interest in the memories materials. The memories product generation system then automatically organizes the received memories materials and integrates these materials with finishing touches, such as: background, borders, captions, titles, sentiments, dates, additional materials, animation, and the like. The memories product generation system identifies the various memories products that can be generated from the received memories materials and the customer can preview and edit these memories products prior to purchasing these memories products, each of which can be customized to correspond to the interests of a selected recipient.