My Mind's Eye Blog

Clustering Elements

Welcome! Today we are talking about a skill that is sometimes hard to master...clustering elements.

It's hard to know what is too little, what is too much,and what is juuuuuuuuuust right. But we have some gorgeous examples from two designers today.

Don't you fear...Karen and Tina are here to show you how to pull off this technique with style.

First up is this vibrant,happy,and fun layout by Tina:

Supplies:On the Sunny Side:In Bloom patterned paper,Happy Go Lucky patterned paper,Parade patterned paper,Flutter patterned paper,brads,layered stickers,die cut banners,chipboard elements;Misc:doily,October Afternoon alphas,Jenni Bowlin acrylic paint,adhesive

Tina says:

Clustering is a easy, fun way to add visual interest to your layout.  When clustering, using coordinated embellishments makes it super easy.  I like to cluster in odd numbers, such as three. 

As you can see from my layout, the houses and brad banners are clustered together in threes.  Using similar design elements, such as circles, squares or layers, you can also achieve a clustering effect.  For example. I've punched 2 circles from the 'On the Sunny Side' collection, and added a circular chipboard element to create a circle cluster.


You can also cluster photos, patterned paper, or embellishments by arranging them on one side of the paper.  Clustering them in this manner creates a linear feel.  By clustering elements on your layout/card, you connect all parts of the layout or card to create a cohesive project.

 

And next we have an adorable layout by Karen:

Supplies:On the Sunny Side:Flutter patterned paper,Parade patterned paper,Simple Stripe patterned paper,Play Date patterned paper,brads,12x12 chipboard,layered stickers,accessories sheet;Follow Your Heart:be happy rhinestones;Lush:alphabet stickers

Karen says:

I love to cluster small and medium-sized items on my layouts. I also love creating my own borders so I have edges I can tuck things under.

I tend to cluster on three edges of the page. I feel like this draws your eyes back into the layout so they don't wander off. I also love to cluster around my photo. Little bits of punched paper here and there makes the layout more fun so you notice more details each time you look.

Now they make it look easy don't they? Wow!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, we hope your day is beautiful and blessed!

mother's day layouts

As Mother's Day approaches, we thought we would share some layouts on the topic of motherhood. The designers were encouraged to look beyond the usual "being a mother" theme and come up with a creative spin.

Karen gives advice to a younger version of herself and Tina talks about being a "little momma" to a younger sibling. Tamara shares her relationship with her mother,as she is the only daughter. Their takes on a classic theme are fresh and inspiring and we know you will think so too.

Little Girl You Will Love Being a Mom

by Karen

Supplies:Miss Caroline-Beautiful Roses patterned paper,Happy Beach Stripe patterned paper,Like Wildflower patterned paper,Favorite Decorate patterned paper,Favorite stickers,Princess layered stickers,Cute brads,Curious rhinestone swirl,Story stickers,Like brads,Beautiful layered stickers,Baby stickers,Day pins&buttons;Follow Your Heart-Be Happy paper clips

Journaling:
I was never one of those girls who grew up dreaming about her wedding day. But I did often imagine having kids, taking care of them and loving them. What I could have never known then was how much having kids would change my life. How much more confident, calm, and deeply happy it would make me. My life got so much better as soon as David was born. Now with Nathaniel, too. It's as if I feel complete for the first time in my life. Thank you my boys.

As a little girl I often remember feeling sad and alone. And over the years, there were many times I worried about being a mom and being able to do right by my kids. I used to be a negative and sad person and I worried that it would rub off on my kids and make them worry that they caused me to be the way I am.

What I didn't know at all was how much peace and joy having kids would truly bring me. I distinctly remember that when my son was born, I felt like a chapter of my life was over and a new, much better one, begun.

I often wish I could tell the little girl that I was not to worry and that life is going to work out for her in magical ways. And one of the most special of these is having the amazing kids she will have. So I took this opportunity to "tell her."

Little Momma

by Tina

Supplies: Nostalgia-Roses patterned paper,Scallop patterned paper,Jacks patterned paper,Chevron patterned paper,chipboard elements,die cuts;Misc-twine,Martha Stewart sunburst punch,lattice punch,EK Success scallop border punch,October Afternoon letter stickers,sewing machine,thread,pen,adhesive,silhouette tags

Tina says:

I love the new Nostalgia line.  It compliments perfectly with vintage and black & white photos.  The colors are muted yet colorful.  In celebration of Mother's Day, I thought I'd create a non-typical layout, showcasing my 'motherly' instincts when my little sister was born. 

Journaling reads:
"The year was 1970, but I remember it like it was yesterday.  We are 7 years apart, so naturally when you were born, I became an instant 'little momma'.  You were a sickly baby, so I was always helping mom take care of you.  I like to play 'momma' to you.  :)
love,
your big sister"

This layout was fun to create.  I used scraps and little strips of paper that were left over from punching.  I stitched them in place and added several of the great chipboard elements to continue the vintage theme.

I snuck the journaling on a tag behind the smaller photo.  The tag was too small for the journaling, so I typed up my journaling on a larger piece of paper, then adhered the tag to the paper.  It's hidden, so you can't tell.

 

You are Sunshine in My Soul

by Tamara

Supplies: Indie Chic: Ginger-Tulips Patterned Paper,Spice patterned paper,flourish patterned paper,damask patterned paper,Jewel patterned paper,label stickers,adventure journal card,layered stickers,pearl medallion,decorative tape,wood label,layered chipboard,garland,metal medallions,relax title;Citron-trim;Nutmeg-brads;Lush-red rhinestones;Misc-adhesive,pen

Journaling Reads:

“My Mother taught me: to believe in myself, Love the Lord, be honest, true and kind, serve others, to work hard, embrace creativity, how to cook and sew, to love reading and learning, cherish music and nature, to be a good mother.”

When I saw the bright yellow and red colors of the fabulous new Indie Chic Ginger line, I knew the perfect photo to use. 

I adore all of the embellishments in this collection: the gorgeous metal flowers, pearl medallion, wood label, stitched garland, beautiful brads, title, and journaling cards.  The decorative tape has to be one of my most favorite things ever, perfect for borders and a quick accent of color.  I can wait to use it on other projects. 

I love this photo of my mom and I, it just captures the warmth and love I felt in my childhood.  My dad took it on a sunny summer day in our backyard when I was just 5.

I am the only girl in the middle of 4 brothers, so my mom and I have always been very close.  She has always been a wonderful friend and the greatest influence on my life. The wood label title was perfect “You are the Sunshine for my Soul”.

We hope you enjoyed these beautiful layouts today. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Something Old+Something New

Welcome to Old+New Wednesday guys! Today we are going to show you how to mix and match your old MME and your new MME to make something beautiful!

We've noticed that many of you talk lovingly about "hoarding" your MME. And that can be dangerous. Because we come out with a LOT of new product.

We don't want to see you on Hoarders because of a MME addiction. So today...we are here to help.

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

If you are nodding your head right now then fear no more. Today Karen and I are sharing examples of how to combine old favorites and new loves.

I had so much fun looking through my stash and pulling papers and embellishments that spoke to me. I was looking for happy and bright colors and playful accents.

I ended up using Lime Twist, Nostalgia,Kraft FunDay,On the Sunny Side,12 days of Christmas, and Good Day Sunshine.

The result is one happy layout! And I feel that everything ties together timelessly. All of the collections work together so beautifully and seamlessly.

Supplies: Nostalgia-Chevron patterned paper, Random patterned paper,brads,layered stickers;On the Sunny Side-In Bloom patterned paper;Kraft Funday-wood banners,rhinestones,twine;12 Days of Christmas-12x12 chipboard;Lime Twist-Zig patterned paper,Bubbles patterned paper,Sweet accessories sheet;Good Day Sunshine-Bold Dots patterned paper;Misc-shipping tag, American Crafts precision pen,Making Memories Slice,adhesive

The patterns and colors of Lime Twist, Good Day Sunshine,Nostalgia, and On the Sunny Side work well on these playful butterflies.

 

Karen also took on the old+new challenge today.
Here's the fabulous layout she came up with:

Supplies:Fine and Dandy-chipboard accessories,bling;Alphabet Soup-girl and boy adhesive chipboard elements;Follow Your Heart-Be the Best patterned paper,Be Adored patterned paper,Be Amazing chipboard,brads,paper clips; Miss Caroline-buttons,twine,rhinestone swirl,brads;Lost and Found 2-Sunshine Lovely layered stickers, Rosy Ordinary stickers;LoveMe-accessories sheet

Here are some thoughts from Karen on how she felt about mixing collections:

One of the things I love most about My Mind's Eye is how well their lines mix. The colors always match perfectly which means that you can use an older line right alongside a new one.

Look how well Fine and Dandy goes with Follow your Heart. It's as if they were designed to match.

If you're like me and can't stand to part with your older stash, make sure to pull out some of those beautiful supplies you've been saving and use them with your new purchases, you'll be amazed how well they work together.

 

That's it for today, folks! I sure  hope you are inspired to go mix it up...and as always, if you do...make sure to share!

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!!!

Karen's Project Life

Hi everyone!

As many of you might have already noticed, Project Life is really popular this year. One of the greatest things about this project is that it can be interpreted and executed many different ways. My word for this year is savor. And as part of my goal to savor my life as it happens, I decided to use the Project Life system to highlight four to six stories a week. You can read more about my project here <http://www.karenika.com/archives/21354>.

I create mini scrap pages 6x8 scrap pages and then cut and put them into my pockets. For this week's layout, I decided to use a lot of my new My Mind's Eye products and walk you through my process.

The first thing I did was grab my 6x6 pads. Since I make small pages, I prefer the smaller patterns.

I picked a bunch of papers I liked and cut them off. I don't care if they are all from the same line. I like to mix and match. I also make sure to pick some papers with lines or graph paper on them so I have some journaling space.

The next thing I did was to cut and layer them, and use punches to create strips and interest, so that I had four 8x6 sheets.

Then, I stitched on them for fun and cut them into two so they created eight 4x6 pieces.

And here's a closeup. You'll see my stitching is far from perfect. Especially since my sewing machine was being extra-uncooperative this time.

Then, at the end of the week, I printed photos of the stories I wanted to tell for that week. I use a small Polaroid printer for this project. It prints small photos that are also stickers. I printed them and organized them by story. For this week, I had five stories.

After that, I stuck the photos to the 4x6s and wrote all my journaling by hand. I also added a few embellishments but kept it pretty simple. Here's the final set:

And a close up of each:

This first one tells a story of my son putting grass seeds in our backyard:

The next one is both my boys coloring paper airplanes we created during family night.

This one is two different stories. On top is my youngest looking at his Legos using the binoculars and having fun. On the bottom is a soul-exercise I did for my Body Restoration class. It involved writing a letter and burying it in my backyard.

And then the final one is about my older son learning how to tie his shoe laces.

You can see that most of my imperfect stitching is covered up. And you can also see that I keep the embellishments to a minimum. This project, for me, is about the photos and stories.
And here it is in my actual Project Savor binder:

The stories occupy the big 4x6 inserts and I use the bottom part to display the art I created that week and for the family photo we take each week.
That's it. Thank you for letting me share my process and project. I hope you liked seeing how it works. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask and I will do my best to respond.

Karen Grunberg

Love Layouts

There are many different types of love and relationships to be grateful for.  We wanted to share a few of our “loves” with you.

I absolutely ADORE you

by Lisa Spiegel 

Featured collection: Follow Your Heart – be happy

I added the "You are my Sunshine" banner from the "Follow Your Heart- be amazing" line because it's "our song". :)  This photo made me think of our song because the sky was a little grey that day...and they make me happy when skies are grey. :)

I sewed a pocket for my photo behind the transparency...the journaling is hidden behind the photo and visible when the photo is pulled out. :)

 

You are the one Constant in my Life

by Karen Grunberg

 

Featured Collection: Love Me

 

A Half Dozen Roses by Jana Eubank 

Featured Collection: Love Me 

This year was an eventful Valentine's Day at our house. My daughter received her first roses from a boy as part of a Valentine's fund raiser at her school. Instead of sending my daughter just one rose with a card, her crush bought her six! She was beaming for the rest of the day! Her dad wasn't too keen on the idea and vowed to keep "those boys" at bay for a few more years by guarding the house with a shotgun. LOL! I used the Love Me collection for this page. I love it's soft hues and the way the bright red roses pop off the muted colors, allowing this memory to become center stage. The die cut bingo number border anchors my photos. I added a pink, glitter bookplate from my stash to highlight the date on the border and added a hand cut doily from one of the patterned papers. The rhinestone brads are from the Lush 2 collection and add just the right amount of sparkle. My journaling becomes more interesting with the addition of a couple of stamped chandeliers in light gray ink (Lost & Found stamps).

 

Family Love by Anam Stubbington 

Featured Collection: Lost & Found Christmas 

As I have already done a Love Me Layout for myself and Ian, I went with a Family photograph to celebrate love. 

I loved the Lost & Found Christmas colors but wanted to use them for a non-Christmas layout as the combination of the browns and golds just inspired me to do a love layout. It took a little fiddling with placements but I think I made it work like it looked in my head.

Supplies:

Lost & Found Christmas Papers: Bright, Boughs, Holly

Lost & Found Christmas chipboard

Lost & Found 2: Sunshine Burlap Trim

Other: Heart Punch, Foam Adhesive, Distress tool.

 

Love your Smile by Amber Packer 

 

Featured Collection: On The Bright Side – TWO

My Riley’s smile can light up a room.  It brings joy to my life and melts my heart!

November Word of the Month

Sunshine by Jana Eubank 

"Sunshine" seems like a strange word of the month for November considering it's the month the weather really starts to turn cold. :) But when I saw the quote on the Lost & Found Two die cut card, it is exactly how I feel about my kids. They truly are the sunshine in my life, and I am so thankful for them. They brighten my day with their funny antics and unique personalities. They make life interesting and a joy to live! I used the beautiful Lost and Found Two collection for this page. The yellow, natural, and black color combination of the Sunshine range complimented my sepia-toned photos wonderfully. The papers have such a classic and timeless appeal about them. They make the memory I'm recording that much more "special" and "important" with their beautiful design. I can't help but reach for this collection again and again. It's just BEAUTIFUL!

Family by Karen Grunberg