My Mind's Eye Blog

Mix and Match with Karen- Mother's Day Edition

This is Karen and I am back for another month of Mix and Match with Karen, the Mother's Day edition!

Mix and Match is the blog series that allows me to share how easy it is to mix old MME with new MME.

Recently I came upon a photos of my mom with her two daughters (my sister and me) and I knew I had a photo of me with my boys, so I decided this would be the perfect excuse to honor my mother for Mother's Day. I thought about how it all started with her.

Not only could I have not had my kids if she hadn't had me but I know that she taught me how to be a mom with the unparalleled love she had for me.

Since my photo was quite colorful, I decided to pick lines that were loud and happy colors. I ended up using My Girl, Boy Crazy, Hip-Hooray, and The Sweetest Thing. I have a few stickers and enamel dots from other lines, too but those are the main four I used.

Once I picked the back of the Simply Lovely Doily Paper from The Sweetest Thing, I noticed the zigzags and got the idea to cut it apart and have some colorful paper sneak up from behind.  I cut off the paper
using the zigzags as my guide and then glued some Hip-Hooray Boy Party Paper on the back. I then lay the top piece of the zig zag paper on top. I decided I wanted one more section to peek out so I cut out another line along the zig zags and this time glued the Kite Strings paper from the My Girl line. I then put down the zig zag paper on top and I ended up with something like this right before I put the top section back down:


Once I had the top part down, my paper was about 15 inches so I cut off an inch from the bottom and two from the top. I then stuck the photo of me with my boys in the red section and put my mom's photo behind a frame just below mine. And then I had fun adding my title and journaling. The rest of the layout was just pulling random chipboard embellishments, accessory sheet papers, enamel dots, and stickers from each of the lines.

This is what I ended up with:



Here's the embellishment cluster on the top left. And you can also see how I stitched along the zigzags. I used blue thread for zigzags and green thread for the frame.


Here's the photo of me with my kids and my mom with her kids:


And a mini-cluster on the top, right:


The title on this piece reads: It all began with you. Thank you for being the best mom. I am so thankful.

And the journaling says: There are many things I learned from the schools I went to and the books I read in my life. But the most important thing I ever learned came from you, mom. You are the one who
taught me how to be the best mom in the world. You are the one who taught me to love unconditionally and to support the people my kids are, no matter what. I am so incredibly lucky to have had you as my teacher. I love you with all my heart. Thank you so much, mom.

So there we go.  If you haven't touched these beautifully soft and happy lines in a while, I urge you to pull them out and play with them. I am confident you will have at least as much fun as I have had. And if you use them for a Mother's Day layout, all the better!

Classroom Valentine Ideas with Shelly and Suzanne

Welcome to the blog guys! You picked a great day to come by, we have some amazingly creative and darling classroom/child valentines to share with you all today.

Enjoy and have a wonderful Thursday!

Die Cut Valentines by Shelly Jaquet

Supplies:The Sweetest Thing-Honey:'One of a Kind' title,'Perfect' title,'Simply Lovely' title, 'One of a Kind' journal card, 6x6 paper pad,decorative brads;The Sweetest Thing-Lavender:'Cutie Pie' title,'The Best' title,'Fabulous' title, 'About Me' journal card, decorative brads, 6x6 paper pad;Indie Chic-twine;Winter Wonderland-stamp set;Misc:tag punch,Versafine black ink,sewing machine and thread

Shelly says:With Valentine’s Day right round the corner, we are starting the next round of “holiday” parties for the New Year.

My daughter just loves it when she gets to play with all my craft stuff with me, and so do I!

What could be easier than using My Mind’s Eye pre-made die cut titles and journaling cards?We flipped through my stack and together we chose our favorites. Then, we pulled out the coordinating 6x6 paper pads and decorative brads.

My daughter will be having a Valentine’s Party with her Daisy Girl Scout Troop next Sunday. So we sat down together this past weekend to create some special handmade Valentines for her Daisy Friends.By keeping to this size, the valentines will easily fit into an envelope.

We trimmed 2” strips of paper from various patterns and matched them up to each of the die cuts. Using a 4.25”x5.5” card base as a guide, we trimmed the 2” strips to size after arranging them how we wanted them.

We finished each card off by stamping “to and "from” (using the Winter Wonderland stamp set) on to white tags. I have a punch to create these, but you can also find pre-made tags at your local office supply store.

Next, we attached the tag using brads and twine from the Indie Chic Collection.With the odd shape of these valentines, I was worried that they might fall apart after all the handling they would endure with the kids, so I quickly ran each through my sewing machine. Those babies aren’t going to fall apart now!

To add a personal touch, my daughter added to the pre-printed sentiment. I have to say that I was pretty proud of how she knew just what she wanted to say to each one to make it her own message in her own handwriting. She is so excited to hand them out at her Valentine’s Party!

I hope you feel inspired to pull out your stash of die cut titles and create with your kids today!

 

Assorted Valentine's Day Treat Bags by Suzanne

Supplies: Lucky in Love:Flower patterned paper,Cupid's Arrow patterned paper:Lost and Found 3-Ruby:stamps,enamel dots;Misc:glassline bag,doily,glitter

 Suzanne says: I thought cookies would make for a fantastic Valentine treat for my children's classmates. They are easy to make, and fit nicely in these glassine bags.

I took a 5x7 glassine bag that I cut to 5" x5 3/4". Then I took an oval punch, and punched the top of the bag to add a handle at the top. Glassine bags are perfect for baked goods, and make a beautiful presentation.

I covered the middle of the bag with the Flower Power patterned paper, and added a stitched doily to the top.  A few glittered hearts, and a cute stamp (from Lost & Found 3) add fun valentine details. 

Supplies:Lost and Found 3-Ruby:Grey Quatrefoil paper,Ruby Stripes glitter paper,enamel dots,layered stickers;Misc:vellum,heart doily,glitter,ribbon

Suzanne says: I also created these popcorn pockets stitched together with vellum. The Lost & Found 3 Ruby Collection has a color palette that is so very perfect for Valentine's Day crafts. This was so easy to create...and it is a beautiful way to present special treats, notes, and cards.

These were the perfect size to add individual servings of popcorn tucked inside! An inexpensive way to ensure all 25 classmates are gifted with a treat on Valentine's Day.

And another vellum popcorn pocket example:

Supplies: Lost and Found 3- Ruby:Medallion patterned paper,Quatrefoil paper,Floral patterned paper,layered stickers,decorative brads;Misc:vellum,doily,ribbon

Supplies:

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope I've given you some different and fun ideas for your valentines!

Tags with Ronda

Happy New Years!  I hope you have been enjoying all the new incredible releases. It’s Ronda here to share some design tips for you. 

It’s no secret I love creating tags.  It’s an easy way for me to jumpstart my creativity.  The one question I am always asked is what I do with all the tags I create. 

There are lots of ways to use tags: gifts, mini albums, on the front of a card.  I’m going to give you a peek into my process and then offer you another way to use tags.\

The first thing I always do when creating a tag is decide on a color story.  Here I drew inspiration from The Sweetest Thing Honey.  I loved the grey, yellow, pink, & black color combo.  I used both paints and spray inks on the background of my tag. 

I always love adding black to my tags.  It really grounds the design.  Stamps are a great way to add in those black elements.  If you aren’t sure where to place the image, you can use the packaging image to see where it might look best. 

I love the brads in The Sweetest Thing.The cool thing about them is you can take them apart to mix and match the colors and/or designs to meet your needs.  Here I also added a bit of black ink around the edge to make it pop.

I added a few splatters of black paint along with the beautiful black doily from The Sweetest Thing-Honey 'Love' stickers.  To finish the tag, I used the 'One of a Kind' layered stickers and some bakers twine. 

Repeating design elements in odd numbers is always a good thing.  On this tag it’s the black doily design. This tag is so pretty and would be great on a gift.

But have you ever thought about using your tags on a layout?  It’s a great way to add layers to any page.

I had this photo on my desk for a while waiting on the perfect color story.  Once I completed the tag I noticed how well the photo & tag went together.  I pulled out The Sweetest Thing Honey 'Love' Bouquet patterned paper and started layering elements starting with my tag.

To make the tag stand out a bit more, I added some yellow ink on the background.  I am so happy I left long tails on my bow because they look so cute looped around the page. 

I added a few enamel dots on both the tag & layout along with a few chipboard hexagons.

I wanted a strip of patterned paper to anchor the tag to the page so I decided to use the grey stripes of the Lost & Found 3 Ruby Doily paper.   

The Sweetest Thing Honey journal card, brads and stickers look so good tucked underneath the stripes.  I inked all edges with black ink to make them stand out a bit more.   

I repeated elements from the tag onto my layout like the black splatters, the enamel dots, and the black doily design found in both the brad and chipboard piece. 

To give the brad element a little more texture, I pulled up the edges to make it look more like a flower. 

I hope today's post helped you find another use for your tag creations.  Thanks for joining me today!

Supplies: The Sweetest Thing-Honey: ‘Love’ Bouquet patterned paper,stickers,enamel dots, ‘Simply Lovely’ brads,‘Happiness” stamps,‘Perfect’ chipboard elements,journal card.‘One of a Kind’ layered sticker; Lost & Found 3-Ruby: Doily patterned paper,Misc:BasicGreey alphabet stickers, adhesive, ink, paint, spray ink, stencil, twine

Mini Albums with Monika..."Right Now"

We're just days away from a brand new year, can you believe it?

Greetings...I'm so excited to share another Mini Albums with Monika project today.

A few years ago, I recorded answers to the same questions every month for a year...similar to the "currently" journaling prompts we've all seen around.

Fun project to do and even more fun to look back to read what was on my mind back then. I thought it was time to do this project again, so let me share with you my process and the mini album page download, which you'll find at the end of the post.

Supplies The Sweetest Thing-Honey:Love patterned paper, 'One of a Kind' layered stickers, Lost and Found 3-Ruby:chipboard elements;Indie Chic:'Hanging Out ' decorative tape,Misc: sewing machine and thread, glue stick, spiral binding machine and o-wires, raw chipboard

When I create a mini album project, I nearly always design the cover last. Once I began my search for goodies to embellish the front cover, the chipboard piece "Tell Me All About It" seemed just the perfect title for this collection of "right now" thoughts.

You might notice that I added a chipboard arrow to cover the title that was already on the layered sticker. A little machine stitching (in red) highlights the red spiral binding and the red in the chipboard arrow that points to the title.

I'm still crushing on the decorative tape trend and I chose the gold polka dot tape to enhance the gold from the layered sticker embellishment on the front cover. For the back cover, a little more decorative tape to add a bit of interest. If you don't have a binding machine, use binder rings instead.

Supplies:The Sweetest Thing-Honey:Love patterned paper,'One of a Kind' layered stickers,Lost and Found 3-Ruby:chipboard elements

See those blank blocks at the top and bottom of the mini album page? Here's how I decided to kick it up a notch...add more MME paper to the project!

I printed enough pages to record my thoughts for two years, but left some pages unembellished so that I can add other MME collections to my mini album as new collections are released.

 

DESIGN TIP | When adding paper that needs to fit within a block, my go-to adhesive is a glue stick, which gives me just a bit of time to wiggle the paper around until it's in just the position it needs to be in.

Supplies Lost & Found 3-Ruby:Floral patterned paper,Lost & Found 3-Oliver:Mixed Floral patterned paper;The Sweetest Thing -Honey: 'Perfect' Flawless patterned paper;The Sweetest Thing-Tangerine: 'Happy' Sunny patterned paper, 'Hello' Wishes patterned paper;The Sweetest Thing-Lavender:'Reasons Why' Swatch patterned paper,'Fabulous' Berries patterned paper;Lucky in Love:Multi Stripe patterned paper

Here's another peek at the Right Now mini book and the link to the mini album page template for you to download. Just print the file on your favorite 8.50 x 11 piece of cardstock and trim to size. 

I would adore seeing how you used the download for your own mini album project posted to our Facebook page, so please share!

For some reason we can not get the download to work today. Just CLICK HERE if it isn't working for you below!

December Challenge #2- Use our Sketch!

We are here today with our second December challenge. And I know that all of you will be thrilled to see that our sketch challenge is back!

Ronda Palazzari is here today with a new sketch and her take on it. But before I show you her gorgeous work, I need to lay down the ground rules for you.

1.Project must be created new for this challenge. It must use the sketch in some discernable way.

2. Project must look like a MME project. We say this every month-but we are not going to give you a percentage of MME that you have to use. Just make sure that it is comprised mainly of MME product.

3. All submissions must be turned in by midnight on Tuesday,January 1. A random winner will be announced with the first January challenge on January 2. Please enter via the InLinkz form below.

4.Winner will win MME collection of their choice.

Sound good? Easy enough right? Here's the sketch and Ronda's fun layout. Enjoy!

Supplies:Lost & Found 3-Ruby:Medallion patterned paper,adornments,decorative tape,stickers;Lost and Found 3-Oliver:stamps,stickers;The Sweetest Thing:-Tangerine: 'Happy' Woodsy patterned paper, 'Wonderful' chipboard elements,'Hello' buttons, 'Sunshine' brads, 'Together' enamel dots,'Together' stickers, 'Together' designer tape;The Sweetest Thing-Lavender:'About Me' Collage patterned paper;The Sweetest Thing-Honey:'Simply Lovely' brads,'Simply Lovely' crocheted doilies;Misc: The Crafter’s Workshop stencil, Maya Road spray ink, Liquitex paint & modeling paste, Ranger Archival black ink 

Ronda says:Instagram has changed the way I take daily photos.  I love those little squares of everyday life.  This sketch was a perfect way to capture our date nights that are so very special to us. 

The background paper is so beautiful so I just wanted hints of texture that didn’t take away from the patterned paper.  I used modeling paste & a stencil to create subtle details.   I picked the bright papers of The Sweetest Thing to pop against the neutral background. 

Like the sketch there are two layers of patterned paper on the bottom left & upper right corners.  I interpreted the circles by using two kinds of doilies, one paper one and the other is a beautiful crocheted doily. 

I love how easy it is to layer in My Mind’s Eye embellishments to add details to a layout.  Washi taped adds even more pops of color.  

The enamel dots and stamped images really complement the splatters of spray ink and stenciled hearts.  I placed the journaling on the side next to the stamped images to complete my layout. 

 Note about the sketch:Layering is easy with December’s Sketch.  You can use two smaller square photos or one larger photo to layer on patterned papers.  Interpret the circle motifs as you wish.  Tuck in embellishments here and there.  We cannot wait to see your takes on this month’s sketch. 

 

Remember- link your submissions via the inklinkz tool below. I will be back later today with a winner for the first December challenge.

Have fun and good luck!

Pinspiration Friday

Happy Friday! We are so glad you stopped by today, it's Pinspiration Friday! Every day, we scour the Internet for inspiring MME projects. We find your work on your blogs, through our FB page,and in online galleries. We pin the ones that inspire us most!

Then once a month we challenge our designers to use one of your creations as inspiration for a layout or card.

This month Jana and Shelly are joining us. Here's what they came up with. Enjoy and have a lovely, creative weekend!

Inspiration Piece: Tonya Dirk

Jana's version:

Supplies: Winter Wonderland:Tags patterned paper,In the Neighborhood patterned paper,Flakes patterned paper,Presents patterned paper,6x6 paper pad,12x12 chipboard accessories,stickers,decorative brads,buttons,twine,stamps;Misc:cardstock,silhouette,Kerri Bradford word art,Cuttlebug,Poinsettia Quilling die,stamping ink,copics,paper piercer,needle and floss,adhesives,journaling pen

Jana says:For my Pinterest lift I was inspired by the oh-so-talented, Tonya Dirk, and her page titled "A Love Like No Other".

The thing that first caught my eye about Tonya's page was that adorable banner flanked with two flowers across the top. Also, I was really inspired by how Tonya used a sheet of 6 x 6 patterned paper to anchor the two smaller photos underneath.

I used the happy and bright Winter Wonderland collection for my page. To replicate the wood planked paper in the background of Tonya's page, I stacked together several strips of the blue patterned papers from the collection. 

Lately I am really love using tone-on-tone pattern papers to create visual background textures on my pages and so this was right up my alley! For the banner across the top of the page, I used the trees from the Winter Wonderland stamps. I cut the trees out after stamping them omitting the trunk and star.

Next, I flipped them over and "strung" them together with the awesome tri-colored twine from the Winter Wonderland collection. It worked out perfectly! For the poinsettia flowers flanking my banner I used a quilling die by Cuttlebug. The script word across the top of the banner was cut on my Silhouette Cameo using Kerri Bradford artwork.

Like Tonya, I anchored two smaller photos on a sheet of 6 x 6 patterned paper. Next, I cut out several elements from the Tags paper and added them around my photos. I added a chipboard house on the right and a stamped snowman to the left. The journal block is accented with more stamping, a sticker, and a decorative brad.

Thank you, Tonya, for inspiring me to try something new on this page! Be sure to check out the My Mind's Eye Pinterest page for more project ideas from our amazing fans!

Inspiration Piece:Betsy Veldman

Shelly's take:

Supplies:The Sweetest Thing:'Smile'Bouquet patterned paper,'Everyday'crocheted doilies,'Together'Round patterned paper,Tangerine stickers,Tangerine 6x6 paper pad,'Hello'decorative buttons,'Sunshine' decorative brads,'Fabulous'label stickers;Misc:string,pop dots

Shelly says:I absolutely love being part of Pinspiration! There is nothing like surfing Pinterest and finding amazing inspiration all around you. Today, I fell in love with Betsy Veldman’s beautiful card. What is not to love with those doilies and butterflies? I immediately thought it would be the perfect “sketch” for my next layout. I had these pictures of my daughter’s first year printed out just waiting for the perfect inspiration piece to come along, and Betsy’s card was just that!

 This layout is the “closer” for my daughter’s first year album. I printed out photo strips of each monthly birthday starting with her birth and ending with a 6x4 shot at her one year mark. Because I wanted to keep the photo strips on the top in a sequence, I altered the “sketch” so that there was more space on the top half of the layout leaving just enough room to place my doilies, butterflies, and the vertical picture. I loved the notched ribbon coming off the card that Betsy used to divide her top and bottom sections, so I mimicked that look with a strip of pattern paper. I trimmed down the page to 11x11 and matted it on another sheet of paper so that I could give it a faux look of coming off the page.

Next up was to play with the doilies. I decided I wanted to use the same doily sticker that Betsy used, along with a crocheted doily. After trimming the crocheted doily, I put a little Glossy Accents on my finger and tapped the edge of it in the glue to make sure that it wouldn’t unravel after pushing it around my page.  Once it was dry, I placed it on my layout and embellished the doilies with butterflies, brads, and a button. The “Wonderful” diecut was just to perfect for the title of the page.

I wanted to add a little something extra to the top portion of the page. After glancing up at the same Tangerine sticker sheet that contained the doily and butterfly stickers, I decided to get the most out of that sheet and carried the woodgrain to the top of the page with the photo corners. The ticket was the perfect little filler to add to that little space at the top right. I finished it off with a brad and a couple of buttons.

Thank you so much Betsy for sharing your creativity with us! As you can see, it was just what I needed to complete this page.

 

Ronda's Mixed Media Canvas

Hello Everyone.

It’s Ronda here today to share with you a mixed media canvas I created using a variety of My Mind’s Eye products.  This 8 x 10 canvas mixes patterned paper, brads, chipboard, and stamps with gesso, watercolor crayons, and vintage thread. 

Supplies: The Sweetest Thing-Lavender:About Me patterned paper, decorative brads, stamp;The Sweetest Thing – Honey:decorative brads, stamp, layered sticker, label sticker, chipboard elements;The Sweetest Thing – Tangerine:stamp; Misc:Ranger Archival Ink, gesso, matte medium, glossy accents; Caran D’Ache Neocolor II Watercolor crayons, Maya Road trinket pin,

I always start my canvases with a layer of gesso.  This primes the canvas as well as adds subtle texture.  I knew I wanted to use the beautiful "About Me" patterned paper from The Sweetest Thing lavender line. 

I love the script, designs, and colors and used it as my inspiration.  After laying down the first layer of gesso, I added the bits of patterned paper and scraped some more gesso over top.  I wanted just peeks of the paper showing through the gesso. 

Next I used watercolor crayons to color the background of the canvas drawing on the patterned paper as inspiration. 

Once I had the background colored the way I liked, I decided to add in bits & pieces of embellishments.  I have a love affair with brads, especially those with bold designs.

To adhere them to my canvas, I used a pair of jewelry pliers to break off the prongs from the back of the brad and glued them down.  I love layering embellishments so I used some of the die cuts from the decorative brads and the chipboard embellishment on top of the patterned paper. 

I also added some more brads around the canvas as well as some stamped images in black.  I love the crisp black images against the softer colors of the canvas. 

I inserted a turquoise leaf pin into the heart layered sticker and placed in on a label sticker and the patterned paper.  After adding vintage thread to my canvas using matte medium, I added the final sentiment stamp to the canvas.  I love the simplicity of this statement on this canvas. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope you found some inspiration to create your own mixed media canvas.

 

Please Welcome Ronda Palazzari to the team!

We are over the moon to (finally) tell you all that Ronda Palazzari is joining the MME team. We've known this news for quite some time and we were bursting at the seams to tell you. And now that we can.... we'd like to say that SHE IS AMAZING!

Ronda is a talented artist who makes beautiful,beautiful things. We just know she will bring so much to MME and we couldn't be happier that she is joining the team.

Ronda is an author, mixed media artist, scrapbook designer, and an instructor living in the burbs of Denver.  Her first book Art of Layers with North Light Publishing/F&W Media was released in March 2012. She has published in several magazines and idea books including Artful Blogging, Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers, Scrapbook Trends, and Somerset Magazines.  She’s best known for combining her mixed-media techniques with scrapbooking, but Ronda is one to follow because you never know if she will be sewing or getting messy with paints; her craft changes day-to-day.  She continues to teach worldwide as well as providing inspiration and telling her dorky stories on her blog HelpMeRonda.

Ronda will be using MME in ways you've never seen before (like in this fantastic layout!) and we love what she does.

 

And...now that we've finally made the big announcement, here is Ronna's first post! So much goodness in one day, can you handle it?

Happy Thanksgiving week everyone! I know that Thanksgiving is traditional a US/Canadian holiday but the beauty of this holiday is that everyone can celebrate and express gratitude.  Being thankful for the big things as well as the small things is important every day.  I have learned so much these past few years about being thankful for the small things since my husband is currently living overseas.  Things like holding his hand, dinner time together, or even the bigger stuff he took care of so I didn’t have to.  Being grateful lets people know how much we love & care for them. 

Supplies: The Sweetest Thing-Tangerine:crocheted doilies,buttons,enamel dots,chipboard elements,label stickesr,tiny word stickers,The Sweetest Thing-Bluebell:decorative tape;Misc:Ranger manila tag,gesso,Maya Road spray inks,twine

This Thank You tag is a fairly simple tag that can adorn any gift for family or friends.  Like all my tags, I start with a color story.  I was really inspired by the Sweetest Things Tangerine line, specifically the Hello buttons. I used gesso and spray ink on the background of the tag in teal, aqua, and yellow and then I cut a piece of decorative tape for the top of the tag adding in more yellow. 

Next I layered the crocheted doily with the wooden button.  I really wanted to add in another color for that pop so I used the tangerine chipboard buttons and tiny word sticker.  The final touch is adding a few enamel dots around the tag along with the “you are the best” sticker. 

Supplies:The Sweetest Thing-Tangerine:journal card,buttons,stamps,chipboard elements,layered stickers;The Sweetest Thing-Bluebell: enamel dots;Misc:Ranger manila tag,archival ink,gesso,Maya Road spray inks, twine,Doodlebug letter stickers

This next tag could adorn any Thanksgiving gift or any layout documenting this festive holiday.  Again I used gesso and spray ink on the background of the tag, this time working ink yellow, brown, pink, and red.  The brown stamped image on the background adds a cool decorative touch without overpowering the tag. 

Next I layered the journal card onto the background and then added a layered sticker.  More chipboard stickers around the page (both by the layered sticker and over the word happy)  make it stand out more and add dimension to this tag.  I want to use this tag for a Thanksgiving page so I added the stickers to the bottom of the journal card.  I absolutely adore using enamel dots to add that final touch of color. 

Supplies:The Sweetest Thing-Lavender:"The Best" Impressions patterned paper,chipboard elements,buttons,decorative brads,stamps,stickers;The Sweetest Thing-Bluebell:chipboard elements;Misc:Ranger manila tag,archival ink,gesso,Maya Road spray inks,twine,pop up adhesive

I really love the layers of this thank you tag.  It all started with gesso on a manila tag along with some painted spray ink in yellow, brown, and pink.  Next I layered on some patterned paper to the background of the tag.  These circles from the Impressions patterned paper were perfect.  Next I stamped in black ink the doily images around the page.  Three is always a good number.

Adding similar designs creates harmony on this tag.  I added some chipboard elements to reinforce the circle shapes around the tag.  By layering them, I also added dimension to the tag.  For the flower, I stacked the chipboard element with a wooden button and two more chipboard buttons.  I also added a brad to the center of the doily chipboard piece.  Lastly I used 3-d adhesive behind the sticker to pop it up on the tag. 

I love keeping these kinds of tags in my stash for a nice homemade touch to any gifts or any page.  Thanks for stopping by today.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Wow. To say we are in love with Ronda's first assignments would be a massive understatement. We are THRILLED! We hope you'll join us in welcoming Ronda to the team! See you all tomorrow!!

Thank You (a Veteran's Day layout)

Happy Friday, y'all! This is Stephanie and today I'm here to talk about something very near and dear to my heart.

As most of you probably know, Sunday is Veteran's Day.

I happen to be married to a veteran. My husband has served this country since 1997 when he attended West Point. He has now deployed eight times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He has lost many friends and many colleagues. He has served selflessly. He has missed years of his children's lives and sacrificed many luxuries. And he has done all of this not expecting anything in return. As have all the men and women that have served this amazing country throughout the years.

And I will never stop telling him thank you. I will never stop telling all of our servicemen and servicewomen thank you.

Supplies: Lost and Found 3-Ruby:Grey Quatrefoil paper;Lost and Found 3-Oliver:Lace Fan patterned paper,chipboard elements,decorative tape;The Sweetest Thing-Bluebell:layered stickers,decorative brads,The Sweetest Thing-Honey:layered stickers;The Sweetest Thing-Tangerine:chipboard elements;Misc:American Crafts thickers,adhesive,precision pen

This is a pretty straightforward design. I used Lost and Found 3-Oliver and The Sweetest Thing-Bluebell to form a cluster of elements under my photo.

Something fun and simple I did (I am NOT a technique-y person but I do like to add details to my layouts) is embellish the gold chipboard piece with designer tape.I cut the tape to form an "arrow" on the chipboard".

But to me, the reason behind this layout was the journaling. It reads:

10 years ago I knew I was proud of you. But I never could have imagined the pride I feel today. Thank you for being my hero. Thank you for your selflessness and bravery. Thank you for doing what I'm not strong enough to do. Thank you for your service. Thank God for you coming home safe.

Are you wondering how you can show your gratitude today? Well...the easiest way is to simply say "thank you" to someone that serves our country. A "thank you" and a handshake is so very meaningful.

If you don't know anyone you can thank in person, there are many wonderful charities and services that can convey your gratitude.

Wounded Warrior Project

Fisher House Foundation

Special Operations Warrior Foundation

National Military Family Association

Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust

and countless others. Please click here to read more. I can tell you firsthand that these charities change peoples lives. I have seen it happen and I believe in the power of giving with all of my heart.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. And please make sure to thank a veteran on Monday.

Enamel Dots in Action with Suzanne

Hi, everyone! Suzanne here with you today, and I am sharing a recent page featuring The Sweetest Thing collection.

Today it is all about the enamel dots! They are so easy to use. They remind me of a brad...but all you have to is lift and adhere to your pages!

This page features my darling girl who is no longer ten! But oh was I happy to discover the photo in my library.

I chose the Best patterned paper as my background, making this page complete in thirty minutes. It already has the gorgeous graphics on the left side of the paper, so all  I had to do was build to the right.

A few border strips from the coordinating papers, stickers, and a few diecuts make this page complete. The little details are simply created using the enamel dots. On the package you will find a variety of sizes, and colors to choose from. Here are a few details of my page:

Here I embossed the "perfect day" diecut, and added a large embossed vellum  circle behind it. A little detail to the diecut is the vellum circle, simply embellished with a medium sized enamel dot.

Check this out... quick and easy way to dress up the bees on this paper! Simply adhere enamel dots to the top to add a bit of dimension!

I knew I wanted to incorporate more enamel dots on the page. So you will see them in three different places in clusters of three.

I punched three holes into my paper, and layered a strip of vellum to the back of the page. Then adhered the enamel dots on top of the punched circles.

A final look is at my journaling. I cut the ten block from my favorite paper from this collection...the Notable patterned paper.

I adhered it next to my flower, and cut the everyday word using my Cricut.

 

Thanks for taking a peek at my page! Hopefully you are inspired to use the enamel dots on your next page!