My Mind's Eye Blog

Mixed Media with Karen...Gratitude

Good morning!

It's Karen and I am back with another mixed media page. One of my focuses for this year is gratitude. I have designed a few projects for myself and my kids to keep gratitude front and center in my life.

Since I like doing mixed media, I thought combining the two would be the perfect opportunity to create some art and practice daily gratitude at the same time.

I bought myself a Moleskine sketchbook in the A4 size (a little longer and thinner than 8.5x11). I am creating a simple piece of art on each page and then recording my daily gratitudes all week long (I
also record one for my older son each day.) At the end of the week, my page is full of wonderful things to remember from that week. You can read more about my project here. (http://www.karenika.com/archives/26444)

Here's one of my pages from this month. The first thing I did was to take the Lost and Found 3 Ruby Collage Stripe paper and cut some strips out.

I then glued them down on my page and added the doily sticker from the Ruby Stickers page. (I cut it up and added one section on either side.) I also added a few word stickers that say "never forget these beautiful moments" and stickers to denote the first day and the last day.

And I started to paint my page a little.

Then I just went crazy with the paint. No rhyme or reason, just fun. The best kind of art, if you ask me.

I purposefully decided to only use one side of my book this year so I could stitch on my pages if I wanted to. So I grabbed my book and put it through my sewing machine. It required some creativity but I managed it and I always love the texture stitching adds.

Then I added a few little stamps just to pull the whole page together. Love how the birdcage dangles down and the bodyform stands up to anchor my page on both ends.

And then the last thing I added was a message. I always like to have a message. This one says: You are so very lucky right now (always good to remember.)

And there we go. If you'd like to see my filled page you can visit my blog  on Monday when I post the full page.

Thanks so much for sharing another mixed media adventure with me. I hope you create a gratitude journal of your own this year; it's proven to bring a lot of joy into one's life!



Supplies: Lost and Found 3-Ruby:Collage Stripes patterned paper,stiicker sheet,stamps;Lost and Found 2-Blush:'Princess'

The Anatomy of a Double Page Layout by Shelly

Happy Monday, guys! Today we are introducing a new blog series...The Anatomy of a Double Page Layout by Shelly Jaquet. We know you guys will LOVE this series. Shelly is such a talented scrapbooker and her two page layouts are always awe-inducing.

In a world dominated by one page layouts, one scrapper dares to buck the trend.

Supplies: Collectable-Notable- 'Silly' Cheery patterned paper, ''Love This' Devoted patterned paper, 'Memo' Reminder patterned paper,'Cute' Petite patterned paper, enamel dots, decorative tape;Collectable-Remarkable:decorative tape;Collectable-Memorable:decorative tape,6x6 paper pad;Collectable-Unforgettable:'Happiness' Delight patterned paper, decorative pins;The Sweetest Thing-'Sunshine' die cut title;Decorative Tape Sets- Red/Turquoise,Yellow/Grey,Pink/Orange;Misc:pop dots,zig pen,vellu,Marvy Uchida heart punches,EK Success leaf punch,Fiskars star punch, Martha Stewart tag punch

Okay. In all seriousness, I read over and over on message board and blogs that double page layouts are a challenge, but for me it just gives me the ability to really tell a story with lots of pictures.

I am here today to give you a little inside look of how I pull a doubler off.

After pulling my pictures together, I put pencil to paper and sketch out an idea of where I want my page to go. Sometimes, I might have a couple of ideas.

As you can see, I have two different ideas for this layout. Once I have my pictures back from the printer, I lay then out on two sheets of white cardstock and push my pictures around until something clicks for me.

By using the white background, I am really able to see what colors pop from my pictures giving me a great starting point for choosing paper.

I actually had these pictures of my kids’ month by month summary sitting on my desk, when the new Collectable Collection showed up on my doorstep.

Once I saw the bright rainbow of colors, I let those pretty little papers guide the way. It was only natural to go with the sunburst sketch.

I kept my white base and I was able to easily draw out my lines.

I wanted even strips for my burst. I had my protractor handy. Yes, I have plenty of rulers and my protractor right next to me at all times. It must be the engineer in me.

I had six colors I wanted to use, so at each 30degree interval, I marked it out.

Then, I took my ruler to draw out each of the bursts.

Cutting the burst is pretty easy. I started with the top. That burst was small enough to use a 6x6 sheet, so I pulled out my paper pads instead of cutting up a large sheet of 12x12.

I placed the sheet on top of the white paper and marked the edges of the burst onto the pink paper.

I aligned those pencil marks on my trimmer, and holding my paper tight, I could easily cut my triangle burst.

This will be the only burst that you will have to measure and trim exactly until you get to the bottom section.

The next two burst are just two strips of paper in which I could layer under each other to create their own triangle without having to try to line up and trim perfect triangle bursts.

I then repeated this same process with the bottom section, starting with the bottom burst this time.

Once I had my paper into place, I was then able to add to it. With the new decorative tapes sitting next to me on my desk in a rainbow of colors, I decided to use some of those pretties!

I finished the burst off with the sunshine die cut from The Sweetest Thing collection.

I wanted to bring the rainbow to the left side of the layout, so I used those open spots to embellish with patterned paper. With so many pictures keeping that side busy, I wanted to keep those spots fairly simple. I punched some shapes out of the same patterned paper for a tone on tone look using pop dots to make them stand out.

I felt they still needed a little more pow, so I pulled out my enamel dots in matching colors to place on each of the shapes.  Yep, that is just what they needed!

Since each of these pictures was taken one month at a time, I wanted to include the names of the month. I tried putting them on the picture, but that was a too busy.

I decided to print out the names of the months on strips of white cardstock and add that to the embellished spots.

So...there you have it; just one view of how my brain works when creating a double page layout. If you’ve made it this far, thank you for joining me today!

Hopefully someday, a double page layout won’t be so intimidating for you.

Lucky in Love Cards with Danni

Good morning, Danni here with you today. 

I am absolutely smitten with the new Lucky in Love collection and will be creating with it A LOT in the next month or more.  I say "more" because I love to create cards long after Valentine's Day for my loved ones. 

This new line allows you to create "love" cards for your loved ones all year long.  Whether you are creating for an anniversary, missing you, thinking of you, love you, happy birthday, these papers are PERFECT.  I know we will also have lots of Valentine inspiration using these papers in the next few weeks, but let's go ahead and create a couple of "fun" cards, just in case you need to tell that special someone you love them before Valentine's Day.

On my first card, I had to create with that dual bike for my beloved.  Yes, we have one, we ride one, we love one and it brings up so many memories of very happy times for us. 

I plan to sneak this card into his lunch one of these mornings and can't wait to see his reaction.   I love that you can block/quilt the papers in this line to create a gorgeous array of color and patterns. 

And, the new Collectable 'Today'  stamps from are perfect to pair with the Lucky in Love line, they are incredible stamps.

Supplies: Lucky in Love:Cupid's Arrow patterned paper,Multi Stripe patterned paper,Chevron patterned paper,Roses are Red patterned paper,enamel dots;Collectable;'Today, stamps;Misc:Papertrey Ink die, Jenni Bowlin Cough Syrup ink pad, machine stitching, Bazzill cardstock

On my second card, I wanted to show that you could use these gorgeous papers to playfully and beautifully tell your loved one how much you love them with a play on words in the sentiment sticker. 

One of my favorite things about MME products is how beautifully they mix and match from previous releases.  I paired a sticker from The Sweetest Thing line with the gorgeous new Lucky in Love line. 

And, if you do not have a numbers die in your stash, you could easily use number stickers or number words that come in your Tiny Word stickers packs. 

Supplies: Lucky in Love: Flower patterned paper,Chevron patterned paper,Cupid's Arrow patterned paper,The Sweetest Thing-"Reasons Why" stickers;Misc:Papertrey Ink number dies,Bazzill cardstock, Martha Stewart heart punch, machine stitching

I hope I have inspired you to take a look at Lucky in Love for ALL it's possibilities, for layouts and cards beyond Valentine's Day, and don't be afraid to pull The Sweetest Thing together with it...wink. 

Thank you for visiting us today, we can't wait to see what you will create with this fun, new Valentines line.

Another Quick Sneak of Collectable by Suzanne

Good morning!

This morning I want to share Suzanne's gorgeous layout with you. It is made using the Memorable color scheme from Collectable.

Enjoy and we will see you tomorrow!

Gina Part Two

Yesterday we introduced you to our fabulous January guest designer, the crazy talented  Gina Rodgers.

Today she is back with two more layouts, and we couldn't possibly love them more. We know you will love them too. Enjoy!

 

Thirteen

Supplies: Lost & Found 3-Ruby:Pink Lace patterned paper,Doily patterned paper,Honeycomb patterned paper,Collage Stripe patterned paper,Floral patterned paper,Postcard patterned paper,Medallion patterned paper, cecorative brads,adornments,decorative buttons, enamel dots,chipboard elements,decorative tape,sticker accessory sheet

Gina says:This layout is of my 'baby' who is thirteen, she looks like she's going on 18 in the photo and it's a bit scary! I've used some layering, paper and decorative tape strips and added a
border using strips from the Ruby Doily paper.

 

Circle of Friends

Supplies:Lucky in Love:Hugs & Kisses patterned paper,6x6 paper pad,Multi Stripe patterned paper,Floral Stripes patterned paper,sticker accessory sheet;Lost & Found 3 -Ruby: decorative Brads,sticker sccessory sheet,decorative tape,6x6 paper pad,decorative buttons,

Gina says:I had so much fun scrapping this photo of my youngest daughter Jem with her fabulous group of friends. I love how the Lucky in Love collection goes so well with the Lost & Found 3 Ruby line!

I've run 3 narrow strips of paper through the center of the page with the top and bottom strips overlapping on angles which helps to draw the eye to the photo.

I also added some dimension to the decorative brad below by pleating a couple of strops of paper from the Lost & Found 3 Ruby 6x6 paper pad.

Thanks SO much for sharing your creativity with us this month, Gina. It's been a pleasure and a treat!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!

Introducing our January Guest Designer!

Please help us welcome Gina Rodgers to the MME team for the month of January!

We discovered Gina when we realized we had been pinning a LOT of her layouts. She has an amazingly cool and artsy style. We know you will love what she has to share this week.

 

Hi there, I'm thrilled to be guest designing for MME this month! I live in Tasmania, Australia with my partner Mark and our two gorgeous teens Rhiannon and Jemma. 

I've been scrapping for almost 6 years now and just love the creative journey this hobby is taking me on. I've been a big fan of MME products for a long time so this is dream come true!. I always struggle to define my style but I guess it could be described as fairly detailed with while still maintaining quite a lot  of white space.. 

I like to build up layers and play around with paint, mists and other mediums to add texture to my layouts. I design for a few companies including ScrapFriends (Australia) Citrus Twist Kits (USA) and I'm also a Jenni Bowlin Studio Ambassador.

You can keep up with Gina through her wonderful BLOG.

Q: what did you have the most fun working with?

A:I loved working with the Lost & Found 3: Oliver as the rich, warm colours really appealed to me...and how much fun are the enamel dots in both the Oliver and Ruby lines? I think I am addicted!

Q: what is your favorite MME line of all time and why?

A:It's very hard to narrow it down to one favourite, but I had so much fun creating with The Sweetest Thing 'Bluebell' collection, in particular the gorgeous mix of blues, yellow and neutrals.

 

Always and Forever

Supplies: Lost & Found 3-Oliver:Collage patterned paper,Mixed Floral patterned paper,6x6 paper pad,decorative brads,chipboard elements,decorative tape,enamel dots,decorative buttons,sticker accessory sheet,stamps

Gina says:I created this page using one my favourite photos of my girls spending time together. The message is a simple one but I wanted them to know how much they mean to me.I've layered papers, tape, stickers and also some 'decorative buttons' packaging behind the photo. 

 

 

A Special Kind of Friendship

Supplies:Lost & Found 3-Oliver:Yellow Floral patterned paper,6x6 paper pad,decorative tape,enamel dots,decorative brads,sticker accessory sheet,decorative buttons,chipboard elements

Gina says:Here is a second layout using the gorgeous 'Oliver' line and it's of my eldest daughter and a friend.I've used some banner style chipboard elements under the photo and double stitched them in place. 

The cotton scraps have been used under a couple under of buttons to add texture to the layout.

How AWESOME is Gina? We are so happy to have her joining us this month! Check back tomorrow for two more equally stunning layouts.

Thanks so much for coming by today!

MME at CHA- Part One

The first two days at CHA were a busy, fun, crazy BLUR! We saw so many of our favorite people and made amazing new friends.

Here are some of the people we saw and caught up with.

hanging out with Kathy and Jayne from Personal Impressions

Virginie from Scrapbook Werkstatt

Yamille from Memory Box

 

Jennifer and Malika from The Scrapbooking Studio

Jana from The Steal Network

If you stopped by the booth and took photos please share them with us! We will be back soon with product and layout photos!

Have a wonderful Monday!

MME at CHA

Good morning, MME fans!

We have a little CHA dish for you this morning!!

We worked hard yesteday to get the booth ready...

See that cute bike?

It's covered in washi and we are giving it away in the booth today!

but don't worry, we also have PLENTY planned for those of you at home.

Today and tomorrow I will be live blogging CHA and there will be fun games and contests (both for those of you at home and for those of you at the show).

Here are the different places that you need to be following us in order to see all the contests.

Here on the blog (of course!)

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram.

If you are an Instagram and Twitter follower, be looking for #MMEatCHA posts and make sure to use that hashtag.

If you take photos at the show please use the hashtag as well. We want to see what you like!!!

And we also know...what do you want to see? Product photos? The people who visit our booth? We'd love to hear what you're interested in seeing.

Be back soon!

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

I Spy with MME- January 2013 Edition

Good morning blog readers! Today it's time for another installment of I Spy with MME. Every day we scour blogs, online galleries, Facebook, and Twitter to find examples of layouts, cards, and other projects using our products.

Once we find eye-catching,inventive projects...we pin them to our "Inspiring Cards and Layouts" Pinterest board. If you need some majorly inspiring eye-candy to get your mojo going,then head on over! We promise that it will be just the thing to get you creating this weekend. We have some RIDICULOUSLY talented customers and fans! :)

Today we have six projects that we wanted to share with you. Each designer's name is linked to their blog. So make sure to stop by, say hi, and see more of their talents!

 

Designer: Katarina Damm-Blomberg

Katarina says: The LO is about my daughters stubborn personality, and the title says: It´s you who decides who you are. 

Why it caught our eye: We LOVE the alternating strips of paper,chipboard, and tape. The sweet scattering of buttons, brads, and enamel dots add the perfect finishing touch to a vibrant and beautiful page. This scrapbook page made us happy as soon as we saw it, and happy is always good.

 

Designer: Lynette Jacobs

Lynette says: I wanted to showcase this photo of my grand daughter in a special way and when I found the chevron background for the Silhouette, I knew it would be perfect to use with My Minds Eye papers.

Why it caught our eye: Well...just LOOK at it. This page rocks. Every detail is just perfection and if this was our page, we'd frame it instead of putting it in a scrapbook. Lynette has really been using MME to perfection lately...we've pinned a million of her layouts!

 

Designer: Laurie LaRiviere

Laurie says: I created this layout to highlight this super sweet photo of my cousin Vinny and his girlfriend Sara, I love the photo and these My Minds Eye papers showcase it nicely.

Why it caught our eye: We love the grid design coupled with the awesome layering. Another happy layout. The color and pattern combinations are sweet and the embellishment choices are perfect.

 

Designer: Cheryl Ashworth 

Cheryl says: When I decided to do a 2012 December Daily, I knew I had to use All is Bright. I love the colours, patterns and overall feeling of the collection. I made the album from kraft cards and envelopes, with all sorts of tags, flaps and pockets to fill with my favourite MME patterns and embellishments. I love how well the blue and red teamed with the kraft.

Why it caught our eye: We LOVE seeing projects featuring our products, and right now we love seeing December Dailys using our papers and embellishments. Cheryl created one awesome album and she really made MME shine.

 

Designer: Sherri Funk

Sherri says:The Indie Chic collection provided the perfectly cheerful with a hint of masculine touch for this layout of my nephew.  Stitching the pinked circles together grounded the layout and really helped the b&w photos to pop off the page.

Why it caught our eye: Sherri used Indie Chic beautifully here. Such a masculine, perfect layout. The pinked circle grid + stitching made this page jump right off of the computer screen. Just lovely.

 

Designer: Christin Gronnslett

Christin says: This is a layout that was made for the Cocoa Daisy Midway crop where one of the criteria’s was to create movement with the journaling, so that is why my journaling is a little bit here and there.

Why it caught our eye: In a word...STUNNING. The layering, the pops of color, the delicate female touches. We just love this one. The details could keep us looking forever. This is another one that belongs on an easel or on the wall.

 

Thanks for stopping by today, MME fans!

I am headed off to CHA today. I will be live blogging and there will be MANY interactive contests and games. Make sure you are following us on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

See you soon!