My Mind's Eye Blog

Banners with Anam

Banners are a trend that is still going strong. From home decor to layouts to cards...banners are appearing all over the place.

Today Anam shares a couple of ways you can incorporate this trend using our products.

Banner Desk Display:

Anam says:I cut a paper strip 12” by 2” and folded it into 2 ¼ “ widths. I adhered the overlap behind the large diecut.

I then covered the two wooden banners with the paper. Next I added the paper strip between the two.

I adhered the paper folded sections together to make it more like a book as that helps it stand on its own.  I added relevant diecuts and chipboard pieces to the cover.

I cut two photos 1.5 x 1.75” and added them to the middle pages as this is what will be visible when it is displayed open on a desk.

I then outlined it with the black pen to make it more masculine.

I left the last page blank as Fay and Lily want to put their own message on it for their daddy and Lily has a tendency to scrawl over everything.

Banner Card (bonus with leftover scraps from die cut sheet):

Thanks so much for sharing Anam!

Have a wonderful Monday, everyone!

Our New Stamps in Action!

Happy Friday to all of you! This is Anam and I'm here to share some inventive ways to use the new MME Indie Chic stamps!

First Disco

Supplies: Indie Chic Ginger stamps;white cardstock, Banded Ink and Paper Clay and Ranger Shrink Plastic,chalks,Stazon ink

Stamping doesn’t have to be restricted to paper. I used my stamps on air-drying paper clay and shrink plastic to make embellishments.  Make sure you follow the instructions on your products otherwise you might set them on fire!

I went with the rainbow glitter colours and used my banded inkpad to make the rainbow effect.

Making Family History

Supplies: Indie Chic -Nutmeg ‘Hanging out’ Stamps, Nutmeg ‘History’ Medallions (reverse) Paper, Nutmeg ‘Memories’ Rose Patch Paper, Nutmeg ‘Boy’ Checker Patch Paper, along with the Nutmeg layered Cardstock stickers, the Lazer Cut Wooden Title and the trim stickers.  I added Ranger Shrink Plastic and used Stazon ink on the Shrink Plastic. I also used a Martha Stewart edge punch.

Stamping doesn’t have to be restricted to paper. I used my stamps on Ranger Shrink Plastic to make embellishments.

You can alternate the final effect of the shrink plastic depending which way up you put the final embellishment.  I also toned down the wooden title with some brown ink to make it match better.

I wrote on the shrink plastic frame i made with the stamp border with a sharpie before i shrunk it in the oven to make my own little journal block.

Remember that the shrink plastic wont shrink perfectly so allow yourself some tolerance on the final outcome (like my wobbly journal spot).

Hope you've enjoyed my projects today. Have a wonderful weekend!

May Challenge #2-Masculine/Feminine Products

Goodness gracious how is it already mid-May? Time flies when you are creating beautiful things, doesn't it? :)

It's time for our second May challenge. Note: look for the winner of the "unique brads" challenge later today!

Our second challenge for this month is all about mixing it up.

Many times we hear that our color schemes are gender specific. Clearly when you see a product called "girl brads" it seems that this product would only be for girls. But we beg to differ!

The challenge is simple: use "masculine" colors or embellishments on a girl page, or use "feminine" colors and accents on a boy page.

Here are a few examples from our designers.

Anam used "boyish" patterns and colors to create this girlie layout of her daughters:

Supplies: Indie Chic Nutmeg-border stickers,chipboard die cuts,6x6 paper pads

Anam says: Add some girlie touches with punches – I used a lacey edge punch for the Photo matt and Jewels also can give a more feminine touch to a layout.

Next is a card from Danni. Danni used floral paper and "girl brads" to make a golf card for her dad.

Supplies-Indie Chic: Peony patterned paper,What a Day patterned paper,Girl decorative brads,decorative buttons;Misc-pacifico and another typewriter fonts,papertrey ink script alpha dies

Danni says:I wanted to create a father’s day card using the fun MME Citron line.  We are giving my fil a golf gift certificate and wanted a card to go with it, this was the perfect challenge to create one for such a special day.

One more layout from Anam! She used darker colors from the Nostalgia collection for this feminine layout.

Supplies: Nostalgia -Classic and Diamond patterned paper,chipboard accents,layered cardstock stickers,die cuts;Misc-doily punch,alphas

Anam says:any layout can be made more feminine with a heart.  The addition of punched edges can also lean a design towards a more girlie style. I used a doily edge punch for the trim which I folded to give it more definition and then added some adhesive jewels. I also took single parts of the chipboard titles and the layered stickers to make more sense of the clustered parts.

 

So there you have it! Do you accept the challenge?

I'll remind you of the rules:

1. You can submit a layout,card,album,altered item,etc.

2. The project must consist of mainly MME. It must "look" like a MME layout. :)

3. The project must be created new for this challenge.

4.Upload the layout to the comments by the end of the day on May 31. I have enabled InLinkz on this challenge so you can see all the entries.

5. A random winner will be chosen and announced with the first June challenge on June 1. The prize is any MME collection- the choice is yours.

Can't wait to see what you create...have FUN!!!

 

 

Pinspiration Friday

We have pinned SO many beautiful layouts and cards to our Pinterest boards. You could say we are obsessed!

It was high time to put these pins to use, so our designers used them as inspiration for today's assignments.

Today Anam,Jana,and Danni are here to share some pinterest inspired layouts and cards. Enjoy!

Designer: Jana Eubank

Pin Chosen: All Smiles by Aphra Bolyer 

Original Layout:

Jana's version:

Supplies: On The Sunny Side-Happy Go Lucky patterned paper,Sweet Chevron patterned paper, Simple Stripe patterned paper, In Bloom patterned paper, Flutter patterned paper, 6x6 paper pad,12x12 chipboard,layered stickers,accessories sheet;Good Day Sunshine (Girl)-Head in the Clouds patterned paper;Miss Caroline(Dolled Up)-stamps;Misc-cardstock,rhinestones,green letter stickers,cricut,cartridges, trimmer,scissors,ink,pen,acrylic block,adhesives

Thoughts from Jana:

The first thing that attracted me to Aphra's page was the layout of the photos with the three photos stacked on top of each other along with one larger photo. I love using wallet size photos on my pages and I am always looking for new compositions where I can incorporate multiple photos.

I kept the same general layout as Aphra's page, but moved my title underneath the photos and added the row of chipboard houses to the lower left corner. I adhered the houses from the Layered Stickers on top of the smaller houses in the chipboard piece to add variety.

 A few chipboard flowers with rhinestones also add a bit of fun. The title block and word "Village" were cut using a die cut machine. I embossed the letters for more texture before adding them to my page.

A couple of the butterflies are from the chipboard and accessories sheets, but the rest have been handcut out of the Flutter paper. I love handcutting elements from patterned paper! I get a lot of bang for my buck that way.

Finally, I added journaling to the left of my photos and used Miss Caroline stamps to add the place and date to the lower right hand corner of my page.

  

Designer: Anam Stubbington

Pins Chosen:For the Record by Lynn Warner and Our Neighbor by Aleksandra Gadji

Original Layouts:

 Anam's version:

Supplies: On the Sunny Side-Parade patterned paper,Sweet Chevron patterned paper,Happy Go Lucky patterned paper,Playdate patterned paper,12x12 chipboard,layered stickers;adhesive jewels,heart punch

Thoughts from Anam:

I went with the very happy feeling of the On the Sunny Side release to play up the emotional feeling I wanted from the photograph – hence the photograph being in black and white.

I went with the punch ‘waste’ strips from Alek’s layout and combined it with the set of 3 tags/shapes from Lynn’s layout  along with the yellow/B&W photo combo.

Instructions:Cut strips slightly wider than your punched shape and proceed to punch out shapes from the strips. Adhere gently to page – I sewed through the middle to add some extra dimension.

I worked it so the hearts on the right hand side lined up. I then added the upright strip – I put sewn zigzag edges on it for an extra touch. I then added the chipboard trim and the 3 tags which I hand cut.

I added the three large hearts and the chipboard. I arranged the bird piece to cover the bird on the chipboard title. I then added a banner from the brad pack and added my Title word on top of it.  

The final touches are the little chipboard flowers and some jewels along with the layered butterfly sticker.

 

Designer: Danni Reid

Pin Chosen: card by Tracie Claiborne

Original Card:

Danni's version:
Supplies:Indie Chic-designer tape,ginger layered stickers,buttons;Misc-twine

Thoughts from Danni:

There are so many creations that inspire me on our Pinterest page, it was really hard to choose just one to share. I finally decided on this card from the incredibly talented, Tracie Claiborne.  I was instantly inspired by the incredible design and kept coming back to it as I was perusing the gorgeous creations.  One of my favorite things about MME papers are the beautiful assortment of patterns in each line.  It makes creating with them so easy and the end result, as you can see by her card, so beautiful!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today guys- hope you have a beautiful and blessed weekend!

Altered Baking Tray by Anam

Hello everyone! Anam here with a special Mother's Day project.

I took an everyday kitchen item and made it into something pretty for my kitchen – you could use it for photographs, memories, recipes or even your never-ending to-do list.

I also made a matching clipboard to write down those one liners you hear that make you smile – like my little one who “doesn’t want to be a sister:  I want be a super hero because they are better than sisters”.

Supplies:

I thought the Nostalgia release would be perfect for the vintage feeling I wanted for the tray. I used the chipboard, brads and the paper pack.

I used a baking Tray (I got mine from the dollar store) and some magnets. I chose to use E600 to adhere them but you can use a hot glue gun.  I added some Ranger Glossy Accents and I found a badge maker kit that I made into a magnet instead. I used Martha Stewart punches for my decorative edges.
Directions.

Cut your paper to fit into the tray – I pressed mine into the corner to make sure I got the correct inner shape. 
Select some papers to make the upright paper strips. I used a punch to make since borders.

Arrange your diecuts to make a cluster than works for you – I adore buttons so I went for the button packaging.

 I then added the layered cardstock stickers and some chipboard elements. I added Glossy accents to areas to give them more texture.

Pick our your pieces to turn into magnets – I used brads and chipboard diecuts. Snip the prongs off the brads to make them into magnets.  Make sure your magnets are strong as more paper reduces the strength between the tray and the magnets.

The diecuts I covered with glossy accents and left to settle. Once it was dry I added a second layer of glossy accents to give it a more epoxy glass look.

The giant magnet was one of those kids badge kits I found and all I did was use a diecut from the paper pack and a circle of paper behind it – you could even put a photo in there if you wanted instead.

I have actually put some big magnets on the back of my tray so that it sticks to the side of my fridge!

The clipboard is exactly the same – find a clipboard and cover it as you fancy. 
So there you have it- how to make a kitchen item into a Mother's Day treasure. Thanks for stopping by today!

 

April Sketch Challenge

Time to reveal the April sketches! The original plan was to just post these as inspiration, but instead let's make it a challenge. Many of you said on Facebook that you'd like to see a challenge bi-weekly...so we might as well start this month!

Thanks to the wonderful Anam for these sketches, as always they are just fabulous!

Here is the April layout sketch:

And a little inspiration from Anam:

Supplies- Follow Your Heart:Be Amazing Geo Star patterned paper, Kraft Unique patterned paper, Honey Blue patterned paper,Soulful patterned paper,adhesive jewels,metal bookmarks,die cut chipboard,photo overlays

And one from Karen:

Supplies-Miss Caroline:layered stickers,like brads,princess layered stickers,Token patterned paper;Follow Your Heart: Be Happy brads and layered stickers;Lush 2:orange trims;Fine and Dandy:tickled pink trims;Stella and Rose:Delightful Blossom die cut paper;Lush:chipboard alphabet stickers

Next up is the April card sketch:

And two examples by Anam:

Supplies-Miss Caroline:Dilly Dally 6x6 Paper Pack and  Dilly Dally Layered Cardstock Stickers; Follow Your Heart:Adhesive Jewels

Supplies-Miss Caroline: Dolled Up 6x6 Paper Pack,Howdy Doody Layered Cardstock Stickers

Now it's your turn! Link us up to a layout or card you've done using our April sketches, and you will enter your name for a chance to win a 12x12 paper collectoin+ 6x6 paper pad of your choice!

Share the link in the comments by the last day of April and a random winner will be announced along with the first May challenge.

The rules:

1. Flip it, change it, do what you'd like. But we need to be able to see that you used the sketch as a starting point.

2. The layout or card must look like it is a MME layout. I'm not going to give you a percentage here (I mean,how does that even work anyway?Ha!). Let's just say to use your judgement. :)

3. Please upload your entry to Flickr, your blog,or any online gallery and leave the link in the comments by April 30

Have fun!!!

Share Your Wealth by Anam

In our culture, Friday the 13^th is a date with Karma attached to it. A day when good Karma or Bad will come your way based on your actions.

To avoid any bad karma, we pay it forward by sharing what we have – be it goods, foods or actual money. We’ve had parties to share food or given away clothes we’ve outgrown.

We often try to share what little we have to help others realize their dreams and one of the ways we do that is through Kickstarter which is a US based crowd funding platform where a little goes a long way. It is full of Geek Nerd love which is a bonus for our family. In my opinion, making something positive out of a negatively viewed thing is always good!

Here's a layout about how we celebrate Friday the 13th:

Supply List: Miss Caroline - ‘DillyDally’ – “Celebrate”: Token Paper (front & reverse);Miss Caroline - ‘Dolled Up’ – “Living”: Blooms Paper (reverse);Follow your Heart – ‘Be Amazing’ – “Emphemera” Paper (reverse);Follow your Heart – ‘Be Amazing’ – “Wander” Paper (front);Miss Caroline - ‘FiddleSticks’ – “Home”: Diecut Title;Miss Caroline - ‘DillyDally’ – “Hello”:  Rubons;Miss Caroline - ‘DillyDally’ – “Adventures”: Sticker Tags;Miss Caroline - ‘DillyDally’ – “Curious”: Layered Cardstock Stickers;Miss Caroline - ‘DillyDally’ – “Celebrate”: Brads;Follow your Heart – ‘Be Amazing’ – Chipboard DieCuts;Follow your Heart – ‘Be Amazing’ – Metal Bookmarks; (Photo is of http://www.advancedterrain.com/ products)

Journaling:“For us, we make sure we celebrate on Friday the 13^th by sharing our wealth, even as small as we have, because by sharing what we have means we avoid any bad luck. Kickstarter is one of our favourite ways to share and keeps our geeky nerd side happy while making other’s dreams come true. These gaming terrain pieces were one of the first projects we were part of. It is amazing to see the end results of us sparing our ten or twenty pounds with others”

I used most of the embellishments as they came except I made a new word from one of the layered cardstock stickers – I changed “friend” into “nerd” because it worked for my layout – remember to always looks outside the box with your supplies for those hidden gems.

Another tip is to cut your paper to emphasize any images or sayings on it – one of our favorites is the JRR Tolkien one on this sheet.

Hope you've enjoyed my perspective on this day and how we celebrate it!

 

sets by six

My Minds Eye Stamp releases are always filled with cute and classy images - so versatile - which makes every set a wanted one.

Armed with some foam adhesive and some My Minds Eye's embellishment, I had an evening of stamping and coloring fun and a bonus was the fact that this week I also got to play with some of the new Tombow Stamping marker sets.

This is the same stamp but I went for a washed stroked background with the brush pens instead.

I cut up some of the cute adhesive jewels to get the pearls for the banner.

I loved the bright colors in the Tombow pens and the blender pen was awesome to work with.

I used the pens for the little details in the flowers.

I think my favourite from this release is the 'recorded' badge stamp.

Followed closely by the 'domino' stamp...

And my favourite phrase stamp in the sets is the "whole heart' one... I ended up making a lot few cards with it :)

Having the two nibs makes the pens so useful for fine and wide coloring.

The phrase and rose stamp are both from the Miss Caroline release.

I hope you check out the awesome new stamp sets form My Minds Eye, and have a play with the Tombow products at your local store.

Mothering Sunday

Most countries celebrate Mothers Day in May, but in Ireland and the UK, the third Sunday in Lent in known as Mothering Sunday, basically Mother's day. So as I am now based in the UK, within a few miles of the seaside, I thought I'd share some mother layouts for our UK fans and give everyone else advance inspiration for their upcoming Mothers day.

This layout was inspired by the On the Bright Side diecut "They are everything to me"

 

Text: I am a mother to these two amazing girls. Days like this where they express their love of the sea, the waves and the sounds. show me that they share parts of me that make me know that I am their mother.

Supplies: 'On the Bright Side' Two Paper Pack - including the diecut sheet,  Miss Caroline Dilly Dally Curious Adhesive jewels, FiddleSticks Cardstock Sticker and Follow your Heart 'Be amazing' bookmarks & Twine. I added the wooden alphabet.

I am very lucky to have an amazing Mother-in-Law. This woman is nothing like the tales I hear from others so I know I have been blessed to have such a strong and understanding woman in my life and for my children, she is a wonderful Grandma. 

Text: This woman is a huge blessing in my life and I am proud to have her in my life and to know she will influence my children as their Grandma.

Supplies: 'On the Bright Side' Two Paper Pack - including the diecut sheet, Follow your Heart 'Be amazing' bookmarks, Adhesive Jewels and Twine. I added the heart punch and the glitter alphabet.

I hope you enjoy these layouts and cherish those in your life who help you be a mother or provide you with the positive aspects of mothering.

 

Luck of the Irish

I was born and lived in Ireland until 1996 when I moved to England to be with my now husband so i've earned my Green stripes with many years of Irish Dancing and Pub Music nights so i've taken today to share some of those with you.

One of my favourite Irish wedding blessings is this one:

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain,
tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you,
those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.

So I thought on this very Irish day that I would share some cards and layouts with you that ran with the Lucky or Irish theme.

I wanted the card to be very masculine, so I bent the die-cut to hide the flower and added the button on the other end. I used the awesoem scalled down 6x6 papers as they add so much depth to a card.

Supplies: Miss Caroline 6x6 Dilly Dally Paper Pad, Dilly Dally curious & best DieCut, Dilly Dally Hello Rubons, FiddleSticks Title DieCut, FiddleSticks 'love' buttons and Follow your Heart 'Be amazing' Twine.

This is a really simple card but the awesome MME papers make it special. I took inspiration from today's sketch at Twisted Sketches and went with the yellow theme.

Supplies: Miss Caroline 6x6 Dilly Dally Paper Pad, Dilly Dally Curious Layered cardstocker sticker, Dilly Dally Curios Adhesive jewels, FiddleSticks 'love' buttons & Pins and Follow your Heart 'Be amazing' Twine.

I learnt Gaelic (Irish) in school but a lot has fallen to the wayside over the years - it is a beautiful evokful language full of melody and descriptions.  So I thought I'd share the famous blessing 'Go n-éirí an bóthar leat.' There are many translations and meanings but this one is my favourite.

May The Road Rise To Meet You,
May The Wind Always Be At Your Back,
May The Sun Shine Warm Upon Your Face,
May The Rains Fall Soft Upon Your Fields,
And May The Roads Always Lead You Home.

Text: You get this smile from me - and I like to believe that its some of the Irish in me that passes on to you than means you always bring sunshine to the lives you touch.

Supplies: 'On the Bright Side' Two Paper Pack - including the diecut sheet,  Miss Caroline Dilly Dally Curious Layered cardstocker sticker, and Follow your Heart 'Be amazing' Chipboard Phrase, bookmarks and Twine. I added a heart punch and the wooden alphabet.

And this both is the perfect Drinking Toast and a description of Lily somedays...

May your glass be ever full,
May the roof over your head be always strong,
And may you be in heaven Half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.

text: You love looking for wishing flowers on our walks. I hope you always have hope and wishes in your life.

Supplies: 'On the Bright Side' Two Paper Pack - including the diecut sheet,  Miss Caroline Dolled up Princess Adhesive jewels  and Follow your Heart 'Be amazing' bookmarks & Twine. I added the wooden alphabet.

So I wish you all the Best of the Irish Spirit and may you keep your luck throughout the year...

Sláinte!

ps. for those wondering about the difference between USA and Irish abbreviations of St Patricks Day: in Ireland it is known as Paddy's Day (as Patick is Padraig in Gaelic) but when the Irish emmigrated to the USA, it became St Pattys Day there as to call any Irish person a 'Paddy" was considered offensive.