My Mind's Eye Blog

Chinese Lanterns–MME Style

Maybe it’s not having a patio in the backyard or the fact that our patio table rotted over the winter and we “donated” it to the neighborhood clean up instead of bringing it to the house when we moved.  Or the fact that the only way I can leisurely enjoy an evening meal out doors is on folding chairs with paper plates in laps.  But, I have been dreaming of romantic summer night dinners with Chinese lanterns hanging from a pergola.

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to decorate some rice paper Chinese lanterns with the My Mind’s Eye Indie Chic collections.  The papers are fabulously relaxed summer papers with a cool “Moroccan” summer feel to them.  And, they are perfect for patio décor.

Back up a bit… while talking with my Sister-in-law a couple of weeks ago to find out what I could do to help her get ready for my niece’s upcoming “landmark” birthday party, I asked her if I could do a trial run of the lanterns to add to the decorations.  I knew the Miss Caroline – Dolled Up collection would match her color scheme perfectly.  My niece was thrilled with the lanterns and even asked if she got to keep them and, of course, she did!

Here is how they turned out:

 

I tied some shimmery bridal “fabric” around the center, clustered the flowers around and added some Teresa Collins “bling” to make them even more feminine.  (My sister-in-law bought the gorgeous fabric to drape behind them.  The whole food table was gorgeous!)

It was great to have a trial run to learn from and tweak slightly.  Here’s how the Indie Chic lanterns turned out.  Aren’t they beautiful?  (I just love this collection)

 

 

For the Indie Chic lanterns, I mixed things up a bit:

• I decided these lanterns didn’t need the bling (shocking, I know *wink*).  Instead of dangling the crystals from the bottom, I cut the shimmery “bridal” fabric and tied it to the bar a the bottom. 
• Instead of clustering the flowers in the center, I swept them across the lanterns in a gorgeous diagonal line.  I made sure one of the lanterns was angled a different way.
• I also tied the lanterns together in a lantern “bouquet” and dangled them from the chandelier over my kitchen table.  There are so many cute ways you can display these lanterns (on a curtain rod (like we did for the Baptism, from a chandelier, an outdoor pergola, tree or from the ceiling in a bedroom – use your imagination).
• Indie Chic has gorgeous buttons, chipboard and brads.  They make fabulous centers to the flowers, so I mixed them up in the centers of the flowers and used the flower centers as “buds” on the lanterns.

As always, I’ve created instructions for you.  You can download them here:  Download 2012_06_29_MME_Chinese Lanterns

I’ll upload the segment here when it is available.

I had such a fun time creating these.  I have another niece that wants me to make some for her in the future and I look forward to making them for her.

Have a fabulous day!

A Fond Farewell to Anam

We are so sad to say goodbye to Anam Stubbington. Over the years she has meant so much to MME. From her flawless sketches to her beautiful layouts, Anam has shared her heart and her soul with us...not to mention her endless talent and passion.Her love for My Mind's Eye has been very apparent over the years that she has been with us.

Anam, thank you so much for your devotion to MME. We will miss you greatly, but we know that you will do wonderful things! - xoxo Stephanie

Anam has been part of the design team since before we officially had a design team.  Anam's talent is endless.  I love the way she uses products in unexpected ways.  If you'd like an example, just look at the "Family" layout Anam created featuring our twine. It amazes me how perfectly Anam's free-form style comes together. Anam has such a tender heart and truly cares about others.  I am grateful to call her my friend and will miss working with her- Amber

 

I have loved working with Anam on the MME design team for the last few years. I am always amazed by her creativity, fresh ideas, and thinking out of the box. She creates fabulous sketches for cards and layouts too (she even has created an app for them, perfect for crops). She is also the "Queen of Stamping". Some of my favorite stamping projects of hers: 

Stamping on clay and shrink plastic

Stamped cards

Stamped candles

Lost and Found stamps

We will miss you Anam!

Love, Tamara

 

I will miss Anam tremendously on the MME team. Her creative sketches were always my favorite to turn to when I was in a creative slump.

I love stamping, and learn valuable tips from Anam's stamping blog posts. Her ideas, and creative pages will be missed!

I wish you the best my friend!

Hugs,Suzanne

We wish you the absolute best in the future,Anam. We know you will do beautiful things and find much happiness.

Our Big Adventure by Tamara

Welcome to day two of our travel layout series. Today Tamara is here to quickly share a travel themed layout she made using Indie Chic. Thanks Tamara!

Supplies:Indie Chic-Ginger:Chevron patterned paper,Bouquet patterned paper,Spice patterned paper,Flourish patterned paper,Damask patterned paper,die cut,layered stickers,garland,layered chipboard;Indie Chic-Saffron:Filligree patterned paper;Indie Chic-Citron:brads

Tamara says:The patterns and colors of the Indie Chic Ginger collection have a great Spanish style that I wanted for this layout of our adventurous cruise to Mexico.  The embellishments and titles coordinated perfectly with this photo of my kids holding a giant iguana in Puetro Villarta, Mexico.  We especially got a kick out of his little sombrero!

Love to Travel by Jana

Since it's the time of the year that many families love to travel, we thought we would share a few travel layouts this week. Today Jana is here with a fabulous layout and tomorrow Tamara will be sharing her take on a travel themed layout.

Take it away Jana!

My family recently went on our first summer vacation . . . a road trip in our RV. We didn't have a planned agenda, we decided to just let the road take us where it may stopping at interesting places as they struck our fancy.

One of the places we discovered was beautiful Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho. The most amazing thing about the falls is what a hidden treasure they are. From the freeway, Twin Falls looks like any other town, but as you drive into the city you discover that it is actually nestled against a stunning valley gorge containing rivers and waterfalls. It's amazing!

Supplies:Indie Chic-Ginger:Spice patterned paper,Bouquet patterned paper, Stripes patterned paper,Damask patterned paper,Brocade patterned paper,6x6 paper pad,die cuts,decorative tape,buttons,layered chipboard,twine;Misc-cardstock,ink,stamp,paper piercer,needle and floss,scissors and trimmer,adhesives

I used the Indie Chic Ginger patterned papers and embellishments on this page. There are so many great travel elements within this collection which makes it quick and easy to scrap those vacation memories.

I created a large banner mat for the photo of my family by cutting a wide strip on my trimmer and then using my scissors to add a dovetail to the end. I wrapped a length of twine around the banner and then accented my photo with a few of the layered chipboard elements.

The decorative tapes are perfect for adding a quick border to a page or card. I used the gray chevron tape along the top and bottom edges of the Bouquet patterned paper.

 

Are you planning any summer adventures in the next few months? Try visiting places that you have never been before or rediscover the beauty of your local landmarks . . . then pull out the beautiful Indie Chic Ginger collection to document your travels.

See you next time!

 

Die Cuts with Tamara

What's not to love about MME die cuts? We have it all! From accents to titles to journaling cards...there's a die cut for everything and everyone.

Would you like to see how to make die cuts the focus of your layout? We asked Tamara to do just that and today she is here to share!

Supplies: Indie Chic-Saffron:Daisy patterned paper,Chevron patterned paper,Lattice patterned paper,Ornament patterned paper,title die cut,journaling die cut,die cut frame,brads,border stickers,decorative stickers,layered chipboard,layered stickers,trim;Indie Chic-Ginger:Mellow patterned paper;Misc-pen,sewing machine and thread,adhesive,black ink

Tamara says:Some of my favorite products from My Mind’s Eye are the die cut journaling cards, frames, and titles.  Their unique shapes add such personality to my pages and the titles always compliment my photos perfectly.  I used five die cuts on this layout – they are so fun to layer!  Try using them in different ways: the orange scalloped journaling card made the perfect frame for the photo of my daughter reading. 

The bright orange, gold and pinks of the Indie Chic Ginger collection went perfectly with these photos I took of my daughter 3 summers ago. I love how all of the embellishments coordinate perfectly together and add such fabulous dimension to my pages.

Tamara has such a gift for sharing layouts that showcase MME in such a lovely and timeless way.

Thanks for sharing today Tamara!

Thanks for stopping by on this fine Monday,MME fans. Hope your day is wonderful and that you have time to do something creative!

Twine Time!

Today Danni and Anam are sharing some brand new projects using twine. Who doesn't love twine? We love the playful vibe that twine can add to any layout or card. We love to tie it,twist it,cut it,knot it, and loop it.

What is your favorite thing to do with MME twine? If you have a project highlighting twine that you want to share...make sure to link it in the comment section,we'd love to see!

Family layout by Anam

Supplies:Indie Chic-Ginger: Flourish patterned paper,Tulips patterned paper,metal flowers,chipboard,camera die cut,buttons,twine,journal spot;Follow Your Heart-twine

Anam says:I covered a piece of flexible wire in the grey/white twine and then formed it into the word 'family'.

Next I outlined a heart on the paper and stitched it across to make a large statement with a backing image.

 

The Perfect Day card by Danni

Supplies: Indie Chic-Ginger:6x6 pad,layered stickers,twine,designer tapes;Misc-Cuttlebug butterfly die,hole puncher

Danni says:I really wanted to play with the twine as an accent embellishment on this card.  I began the card with a triangle patterned paper design, using the Indie Chic Ginger line, stitched the triangles and then punched three butterflies.  I punched holes in one of the butterflies using my hole punch and then adhered twine to the backside to “peek through” the holes.

I stitched the top butterfly to the other two and adhered the butterfly to the triangles.

 

Hello card by Danni

Supplies: Indie Chic-Ginger: 6x6 pad,designer tapes,twine;Stella and Rose-stamps;Misc-Papertrey Ink stamps

Danni says:I began this card by stitching the gorgeous MME doily stamps onto kraft cardstock.  I then used a hole piercer and pierced holes around the circles.  I threaded my twine through one of my larger needles and stitched the circles, tying off the backs and taping down.

I adhered two strips of the designer tape to the bottom.  I punched the “hello sentiment” and adhered using 3-D mounting tape.  I like that these could be mass-produced and mailed.

Wonderful Things card by Danni

Supplies:Indie Chic-Ginger:6x6 pad,twine,button;Misc-Papertrey Ink sentiment

Danni says:I was really excited when I came across this pp in my 6 x6 Ginger pad.  I loved the large floral pattern and I really wanted to stitch the large flower and created centers for the two smaller ones.  I paper-pierced the large flower, stitched the flower with my twine and adhered a button to the center. 

To create the floral centers, I used a q-tip and applied tacky glue to the centers and rolled the twine.

Hope all of you found some new uses for twine today...Have a beautiful and blessed weekend!

Using 6x6 Pads on Your Layouts

Happy Thursday folks! We are so glad you stopped by today!

Today our blog topic is using 6x6 paper pads on your layouts. Many of you have mentioned that our 6x6 pads are perfect for cardmaking. We agree wholeheartedly,but don't discount them for your layouts!

Today Jana and Tina are here to show you fresh ways to incorporate our 6x6 pads on your layouts.

Long Beach Skyline by Tina

Supplies:Indie Chic-Ginger: Mellow patterned paper,Stripes patterned paper,Ric Rac patterned paper,Tulips patterned paper,6x6 paper pad,twine,layered chipboard,stickers,layered stickers,decorative tape;Misc-Lily Bee alphabet stickers,American Crafts thickers,Studio Calico Mister Huey's,adhesive,sewing machine,thread

Tina says: Frequently, when you see the cute little 6x6 pads of patterned paper in the store, you immediately think 'cards'.  Well, those cute little pads of paper aren't just for cards, they are actually perfect for your scrapbook layouts. 

What I like most about the 6x6 pads is the cute, smaller pattern on the paper. 

Generally, the pattern on a full 12x12 sheet of patterned paper is large and works well for a larger impact.  But if you are looking for a new and different way to add color, dimension, and fun style to a layout, try one of these 6x6 pads.

The other reason I love these smaller pads of paper is that you don't feel guilty when you cutting into a small piece of paper.  If you only use 12x12 sheets of paper, you might feel guilty for cutting a small section and not be able to use the rest of the paper.  With the smaller size, you can use smaller pieces for your layout and still have your 12x12 sheets for background use.

For my layout, I wanted to create a quilt like pattern for my background.  I cut random sized squares and adhered them to my background sheet.  I added some decorative tape framing each square and stitched the entire background, resembling a quilt.

I then used each square as a mini canvas, adding embellishments, layered stickers, banners, and my title. 

This grid design is a design I go back to frequently, as it is so versatile to your photo and product choice, and it just looks great!

Toothless by Jana

Supplies-Nostalgia:6x6 paper pad,brads,chipboard elements;Follow Your Heart-Be Amazing:stamps;Misc-cardstock,spray mist,letter stickers,Cricut and cartridges,inks,pen,sewing machine and thread,adhesives

Jana says:Lately I have been using 6 x 6 paper pads on my layouts a lot! The smaller scale is perfect with the smaller size photos I like to work with and they work beautifully with my electronic die cutting machine.

 

For this page, I used my electronic die cutting machine to cut out several asterisk and artisan label shapes from the Nostalgia 6 x 6 paper pad. I layered the label shapes together to create a background for my photos and then framed each corner of my design with the asterisks.

 

I even used the 6 x 6 ledger paper as a journaling block. I added a few Follow Your Heart "Be Amazing" stamps as some decoration to the corner of the block.

Next time you are at the scrapbook store, pick yourself up a 6 x 6 paper pad by My Mind's Eye and give it a try on your next scrapbook page. You will be thrilled at how fun and easy they are to work with!

Wendy Sue Part 2!

Today we are back with the remainder of Wendy Sue Anderson's June guest design projects!

Time Together bookmark

Supplies:Indie Chic-Citron:packaging from pearl accents,Sherbet patterned paper,die cut title,twine

Wendy Sue says:Don’t forget to use the packaging from some of these great embellishments!  My kids and I have decided to read some books together this summer – I thought this title block that reads, “Nothing is better than TIME together,” was the perfect sentiment for this simple bookmark.

The base of my bookmark is actually the cardboard piece from the pearl décor embellishment.  The pattern is subtle, and the weight is perfect for a bookmark!

 

Hike layout:

Indie Chic-Ginger:Spice patterned paper,Tulips patterned paper,Stripes patterned paper,Bejewel patterned paper,garland,layered stickers,chipboard stickers,stamps,border stickers,buttons,Misc-thread,ink,letter stickers

Wendy Sue says: thought the colors as well as the themes in this collection worked perfectly with the reds and oranges of these photos of our family embarking on a little hike in Southern Utah.  The title block worked perfectly tucked underneath the top paper strip.  Oh, wait, it’s not tucked…I cut it off to use on another project!

Don’t you love when you can stretch your supplies?  Check out the bottom portion of the title block on the gift bag project! 

 

Gift Bag:

Indie Chic-Ginger:Bejewel patterned paper,Mellow patterned paper,die cut title,buttons,label stickers;Misc-label stickers,border punch

Wendy Sue says:Here’s the other piece of the title block – right on the top of this super simple little gift bag!  I love how it looks with the wooden button in the middle – now it’s just waiting to be filled with a treat to share with someone special!

Thank you so much for making such stunning projects,Wendy Sue. We are in love with every single thing you created!

See all of you tomorrow!

A Little Blog Housekeeeping.

1. First item of business-I made a mistake and forgot to put up the second June challenge. The sketch should have been a challenge but somehow I forgot to make it one. With that being said, there will only be one challenge this month. So sorry! I will make up for it with a fun surprise challenge or contest. Keep your eyes peeled!!

2. Second item of business- WINNERS!!!

* Noel Mignon gift card winner- Denise Parcells

* Ideal World winner- Karen

* Challenge winner (fussy cutting)- Leslee Barrow

Way to go ladies! Please email me at stephanie(at)mymindseye(dot)com so we can get you hooked up. Karen and Lesley, make sure you tell me your MME collection choice.

See you all tomorrow!

Introducing our June Guest Designer!

Please help us extend a warm welcome to the crazy talented Wendy Sue Anderson!

We couldn't be more excited to have Wendy Sue with us this week. We love what she does with MME!

I asked Wendy Sue to share a little bit about herself and here's what she had to say:

Hi!  I'm Wendy Sue Anderson and I am so excited to be joining you here on the My Mind's Eye blog as a guest designer!  I live in a little mountain valley in Utah with my sweet husband and our four fun kiddos. We've been married for almost 19 years, and our oldest child (our daughter) just turned 15 on Father's Day.

Our boys are 12, 8, and 6.  The kids keep me pretty busy, but I always find time for scrapbooking and paper crafting - it truly is my passion.  I am lucky enough to work as a contributing editor for Scrapbook Trends magazine and the Create: Idea book series.  I am also blessed to be on some great manufacturer design teams. 

I love recording stories and memories made as a family!  I also enjoy reading (when I can really delve into a book - usually when we're on vacation), early morning walks, and watching movies with the family.  I am addicted to Diet Coke.  I hate having cold feet.  I love sharing my hobby with others - and I am looking forward to seeing all the fun new products that are on tap for summer CHA!  Thanks for inviting me to be a part of your MME family for a few days!

You can learn more about Wendy Sue and follow her on her blog.

What did you have the most fun working with?  I truly enjoyed working with all of the collections I received, but if I had to choose a favorite, it would be the "On the Sunny Side" collection - the colors and designs are just my style and they make me happy just to look at them!

Here are three of the amazing projects that Wendy Sue came up with...we will share the other three tomorrow, so make sure to check back then!

 

Bear Park layout:

Supplies:On The Sunny Side-Parade patterned paper,Playdate patterned paper,The Sweet Life patterned paper,layered stickers,chipboard elements;Indie Chic-Ginger:twine;Misc-cardstock,letter stickers,adhesive

Wendy Sue says:This line is right up my alley – I love the bright, happy colors and the simple, clean designs.  As soon as I saw that ice cream truck I knew I wanted to scrapbook these photos of my boys taken earlier this month at a family reunion.

We were eating lunch at a park when an ice cream truck pulled into the parking lot.  It didn’t matter that it was rather chilly, the boys asked their daddy…and of course daddy agreed to buy them a frozen treat.  I love when I come across a scrapbook paper or embellishment that works perfectly with a photo!

 

Be Happy Card

Supplies:On the Sunny Side-Simple Stripe patterned paper,Happy Go Lucky patterned paper,brads,accessory sheet;Indie Chic-Ginger:twine;Misc-pop dots,cardstock

 

Wendy Sue says: Again, this line just screams “happy” to me – and that fun red bicycle with the basket brings back so many happy childhood memories (add a banana seat and it’s almost an exact replica of my first bike!) that I knew I wanted to make a simple little card with it.  The “be happy” brad was the perfect sentiment, plus it helped tie the yellow twine in perfectly.

 

It's a Wonderful Day layout:

 Supplies: Indie Chic-Citron:Festive patterned paper,Hibiscus patterned paper,Forest patterned paper,Honeydew patterned paper,journal card,garland,layered chipboard,decorative stickers,brads,label stickers,layered stickers,title;Indie Chic-Saffron:trim

  

Wendy Sue says:At first glance, this line might not scream “BEACH” to you, but it worked perfectly with the photos I had of my daughter’s first visit to the beach.  I made some adjustments to a few of the embellishments to make them work for me…I took the top layer off two of the layered stickers (placed on the top of the title card), and I cut one of the banner stickers in half – I used the left piece on the title card and the right piece on the block that says “beach fun.”

I also used foam dots in abundance…behind the banner trim on the top, behind the title block, and even behind some of the stickers – I love the subtle dimension foam dots add!

Wow Wendy Sue- you really knocked it out of the park! Thank you so much for sharing these projects with us- they are a treat!

Remember-check back tomorrow for the rest of the projects. :)

Happy Tuesday!