My Mind's Eye Blog

Mini Albums with Stephanie | July 2014 Edition

Hi there!!  Stephanie here with you today!  I am excited to share this month’s mini album tutorial, but it’s also pretty bittersweet to me!  This month will be my last month here at My Mind’s Eye.  It has been such a pleasure and an incredible honor to be a part of this amazing team.  The company, products, staff and design team are so awesome and I am humbled to be a part of this journey with them!  Thank you so much for joining me this month, as well as every month!!

 

Ok….onto the mini album!  This month, I decided to focus on all of the millions of Instagram photos I have on my camera roll!  I am a big fan of Instagram and their square photos and thought a little album of our "insta days" would be fun to look back on years from now.

 

Let's get started!


1. Print out those photos.  
I printed mine at 4x4 inches, which is also the size that I will be using for my album.  I like to print my photos with a small white border around the edges and just use my normal print settings to select the "bordered" option when printing.


2. Trim your papers and gather journaling cards.
After you have your photos printed, the next step is to trim your favorite My Mind's Eye papers to 4x4 inches.  While you have your supplies out, shuffle through the journaling cards and pick the ones that coordinate with your papers.  I chose one card for each photo since I am planning on have a photo and a journaling card on each spread.


3. Attach the journaling cards to the base pages.
Easy peasy!  Now your base pages are all ready to go!
 

4. Adhere the photos to the back of the base pages.  
Be sure to pay attention to the orientation of the journaling cards to make sure they are facing in the correct direction.  Now is also the perfect time to coordinate your photos with the sayings on the cards.


5. Embellish!
Grab your MME embellishments and add a little pop and dimension to your photos and journaling cards.  As you will see, I kept my pages rather simple, but really, anything goes here!  


6. Bind your mini album.
I wanted to do something a little different than book rings, so I decided to use my Bind-It-All to bind my pages.  You could easily use ribbon, book rings or twine to hold your pages together.

And now your mini album is complete! Yay!
Here is a look at my finished book:

 

So fun and so easy, right?  Thanks so much for joining me this month!!  I hope you enjoyed this simple mini album tutorial and are inspired to record those Instagram memories!!

Anatomy of a Double Page Layout | July 2014

Hello everyone! This is Shelly returning again this month’s dose of the makings of a double page layout.

I was sitting on a bench watching my kids play in the sand and splash in the waves. That is when it hit me. OH! This would make the perfect memory to be scrapped using the new MME Necessities line! Yes, that was me. I like to think I am not the only one out there that is living in the moment and enjoying it, but then a creative idea pops into your head of how you want to get this memory on paper. Right?!? Please say I am not alone.

So, here it is... fresh off of my scrapbook table, our annual beachy memories that were captured over our family Fourth of July vacation that happened only a few short weeks ago. This has to be a world record for me to get a memory scrapbooked this quickly. I guess when the creative impulse hits, you better run with it!

Supplies: Necessities: Blues –  “Confetti” Vellum Paper, Foil Monogram Alphas, 6x6 Paper Pad; Reds – “Stripe” Vellum Paper, “Triangle” Paper, Glitter Monogram Alphas, Decorative Tape, 6x6 Paper Pad; Wood – “Light Wood” Paper, 6x6 Paper Pad; Metallic – “Dot” Vellum Paper, Metal Dots; Other: String

You will notice throughout my process, I tend to switch out different pictures along the way. I almost always order a few extras for that “just in case” moment, which I inevitably always have. You will also note that I continuously switch the “Elsie” picture too. Why is it that I couldn’t get a grasp on how I wanted that to be? The funny thing is, after taking pictures of the layout for this post I realized I needed her name to be upside down just how I took the pictures.

Here is my sketch I worked with. What kicked started my process this time around, were the two horizontal detail shots. I wanted those to shine on my page by printing them 4x6. I still wanted to have a 4x6 shot of the typical kid face picture too, and that is when I decided to print the two vertical shots of each of my kids. Having those (4) 4x6 photos pretty much dictating my design, the rest of it just flowed to have a few smaller shots.

I pulled out the Necessities Blues and Reds just how I had envisioned while sitting on the beach watching my little ones play. The light wood patterned paper was just meant to be for the background. I was so happy that it worked beautifully with the color of the sand.

After having those on my desk, I added in a pop of gold. I wasn’t sure how the role of gold would play just yet on my layout, but I knew this layout would need a pop of it somewhere along the way. Maybe the letters? A gold vellum sun? A brad or two here or there? Only time would tell!

After pushing around pretty papers and cutting a few up, I had a plan that I loved. It was great how the woodgrain background gave the vellum papers a beautiful soft feel. For the title, I opted for the blue with a touch of red. I tried on the gold letters for size, but it just didn’t give enough “wow” factor to the title for it to stand out. So the quest for gold continued…

Then it was time to fill in some of that open space. I know the banner craze started a long time ago, but come on, they are just too fun and versatile not to bring them back into play every once and while.

Swooping them across each side of my layout created a path for my eye follow and let me add in a little more texture and color too. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to bring in that pop of gold I was itching for.

To create my banner, I got out a couple of my trusty circle punches; creating a stack of colorful circles from the 6x6 designer paper pads and a shiny gold stack of circles from the gold dot vellum. Then I simply folded them in half and wrapped them around white string.

Thank you for stopping by for another glimpse of what happens inside my head while I create a double page layout. I hope I have given you a little bit of inspiration to create one of your own. Have a wonderful day!

 

Vacation Favorites

Supplies: Market Street – Nob Hill: Striped patterned paper, 6x6 pad, chipboard elements, decorative brads,  Market Street – Ashbury Heights: journal card pack, mixed bag, decorative brads,  6x6 pad, decorative tape; Misc: black ink and pen.

Have you taken a family vacation this summer?  Do you have tons of photos of your trip and just don’t know where to get started documenting the events?  How about creating a “Vacation Favorites” layout?  I was inspired by the colorful days of the week tags in the Market Street – Ashbury Heights mixed bag and “favorite” chipboard word. The gold foiled words reminded me of the beautiful California sunshine of our last family trip.

First, my kids and I wrote down our favorite events of each day.  It was so fun to recall and re-live the details together. I narrowed down each day to 6 lines of text.  I formatted the columns to 3” wide and printed them on watercolor papers from the Market Street 6x6 pads.  I wanted to capture the different shades on the papers – going from light to dark.  I printed one column, then turned the paper upside down and printed the other side.

Then I started selecting photos for the highlights of each day.  I formatted them to 2.8” wide so they would be 3” with a small white border.

I created a column of each day and alternated the photos and lists under the day of the week tags.  I cut two 1” strips of the diagonal striped paper for the foundation of the layout.  It ties in all of the bright and fabulous water color papers.  I tucked a 3x4 card “Just be Happy” under the first column and layered the gold foiled “Favorite” chipboard title over it, then added a foiled “the best” medallion.

I added a strip of gold decorative tape along the striped border.  I finished off the page with a cluster of chipboard elements, sticker, and large brad.  I alternated small and medium brads along the days of the week tags.

It is fun to see our entire vacation week at a glance – it makes my heart so happy as I reflect on our precious memories together.

Tamara

Market Street Cards

Hey there, everyone!  Lea here today with a couple of cards that are full of layers.  I've used the Market Street "Ashbury Heights" collection for these cards, which is one of my very favorite collections as of late.  I just love the color combo, and addition of gold to it.

 

Supplies: Market Street "Ashbury Heights": 6x6 paper pad, chipboard buttons, decorative brads, label stickers, flair pins, mixed bag; Necessities "Teal": washi tape.

 

Other than the colors & products matching, these cards don't really have a sentiment in common.  One is more of a day to day, encouraging sentiment....and the other is more love/friendship themed.  They would be perfect to add into a card set!!

One of my favorite ways to create cards is to gather up some favorite sketches from past challenges, and then pull out all of the different items from the collection(s) I want to use.  Then I just start pulling papers & products, and layer them to the card base as I see fit.  My Mind's Eye makes it so easy to for me to create cards this way by offering so many amazing embellishments & accents for each collection!

I also wanted to share how I use "daily life" product on my cards quite often as well!  As card makers, they might not be the first thing you would grab for...but I don't like to waste anything in my supplies.  Daily Life product can also add such a fun & more personal touch to your cards, and isn't that exactly what giving handmade cards is all about?

Thanks for checking out my cards today...I hope you've enjoyed my post!!  Have a wonderful rest of your day!

Lea

Mixed Media with Karen | August 2014

 

Hi everyone!

This is Karen, back with a Mixed Media with Karen for August. For this month's assignment, I wanted to do something completely different. Ever since I saw the Real Wood Veneer paper in the Necessities line, I knew I
wanted to play with it. I wanted to paint on it and see how it would look.

So I grabbed the paper, glued it down in my journal and used a pencil to start drawing on it. I was worried the pencil wouldn't work but it had no problem. Once I'd drawn one layer, I went over the main lines with my  Stabilo All pencil and I was even able to go back and erase the mechanical pencil lines without any problem


I then started painting using my acrylic paints. It took a few rounds to cover the wood but I was able to do it without much of an effort. I also loved how the paint got into the grains of the paper and gave the whole thing a rough look.


I then added the big chipboard Today and a "carpe diem" sticker and another chipboard embellishment with some twine. I painted my edges brown and black and finally painted my whole background gold.


Here's a side view so you can see the shimmer.


My final step was to add journaling lines. I was worried it might be problematic to write on the wood page, but it was no trouble at all. My usual Micron pen worked just fine. (So did my Sharpie.)


And here's a final look:


All in all, I loved the way the wood page added so much personality to my painting of the girl. If you haven't used your wood grain page yet, I highly urge you to try some paint on it. The results are magnificent.

As always, thanks so much for letting me share my page, and see you next month!

Collection Spotlight | Just Sayin'

Hello, and happy Thursday! This is Amber Packer and I am excited to be joining you today to share a layout I created using our new "Just Sayin'" collection by the amazing Rhonna Farrer.

Aren't the bright colors and patterns in Just Sayin' to die for!? And perfectly timed for the bright, hot weather we are experiencing in this part of the world.

As I was creating projects using Just Sayin' (including those shown in this post), I knew I had to embrace the femininity of this collection. Having all boys in my house meant I needed to borrow one of my beautiful nieces for this layout. There are plenty of patterns that will make fabulous boy layouts. I will do that at a later date.

This time, designing was all about being a girl!

Supplies: Just Sayin’ Garden Party paper (x2); Just Sayin’ 12x12 Chipboard; Just Sayin’ Decorative Brads; Just Sayin’ Enamel Dots; Just Sayin’ Transparent Frames; Just Sayin’ Mixed Bag; turquoise twine

I used my favorite paper: Just Sayin’ Garden Party. It has the beautiful floral on the front and the “to die for” glittered stripe on the back! I will be using this paper on every project.

I can’t wait to see what you create using Just Sayin’. Look for it at your favorite store. If it’s not there now, it will be soon!

I hope you have a fabulous Thursday.

 

Birthday Scrapbook Layout + Bonus Card | by Valerie O'Neall for MMME

Hello! It’s Valerie with a multi-photo birthday layout and a card for you today. My son’s birthday party photos are one of my favorite things to scrapbook. I love comparing year to year and always can’t believe how much he has grown and changed.  

Supplies:My Mind’s Eye Necessities Teals and Black & Gray 6x6 paper pads, Blues enamel dots & enamel shapes, Teals enamel shapes, Reds alpha & word stickers, Teals alpha & word stickers, Blues alpha & word stickers, Blues decorative foil tape.  Market Street Ashbury Heights 6x6 paper pad. Now & Then Dorothy “Lovely Day” enamel shapes. Other: date and phrase stamps, paint, mist, Silhouette Cameo (font: Barrio).

I grabbed a couple 6x6 paper pads and picked some patterns I thought coordinated well with my photos. I love playing around with typography and decided to make a big, emphasized, repetitive title. I adhered my photos to the page with some decorative foil tape from the Necessities collection. And then a birthday layout doesn’t seem complete without some splatters of paint—like confetti.



I took the birthday layout, and using a sketch of it, created this card from the sketch. I had extra letters left over because I cut out some extra knowing I’d create a card too. Who doesn’t always need a stash of extra birthday cards ready to put in the mail for friends!?

Anyone else ever use their layouts for card inspiration? I challenge you to try it next time you sit down to scrap.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Every Picture Records a Little Story | Scrapbook Layout by Laurel Seabrook for MME

Hi everyone, Laurel here.  We just got back from vacation and when going through my photos I just loved this shot as it captures the essence of my daughter so perfectly.

 

Supplies: Market Street-Nob Hill: Stache, Framed, Streamer, Glow ‘foiled paper’, Sparkle Foiled Paper, Chipboard Elements, Enamel dots, Journal Card Pack, Decorative Tape, Foiled Mixed Bag

 

She is 16 and still young at heart.  She gets so much joy from animals and could just be with them all day.  Although she missed her pets, she loved visiting the zoo. My favorite type of layout to do are those that convey a story but are not posed pictures.  Just a good snapshot of a great moment.

 

I love how the colors and patterns of the Market Street Nob Hill collection perfectly compliment the sereneness of the photo. 

 

A little bit of clustering of elements along the side of the enlarged photo help to convey the message that I wanted to get across. 

 

 

Of course, as always, it needs to be finished off with some stitching, staples and twine !

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a wonderful day!

Laurel

 

 

Pie Chart Scrapbook Layout | by Missy for MME

Hey there, friends!  It’s Missy here with you today.  I have been really inspired lately by die cuts.  If you own a Silhouette Cameo or another type of die cutting machine, you know how easy it is to get almost any shape you want. 

I love this pie chart shape, and I decided to use it in several places on this layout.  I love the colors and patterns in the Ashbury Heights Market Street line, so I decided to back the pie charts with various pieces of patterned paper. 

I love the shiny gold in this collection, so I incorporated the Metallic tape in gold to the mix as well.  I cut a few smaller pie charts that I didn’t back with paper to add some texture an interest to the white space.  This collection is so versatile and can be used for so many different types of photos.

Supplies : Market Street-Ashbury Heights:Dotted Paper, Shine Paper, Flowers Paper, Label Stickers, Chipboard Elements, Decorative Brads, Flair Button Pins, Mixed Bag, Decorative Tapes, 6x6 Paper Pad; Necessities-Metallic: Decorative Tape; Other—cardstock, Golden Modeling Paste, Crafter’s Workshop Template, Watercolors, Stampendous Ink, Gold Thread, Silhouette Cameo, Dear Lizzy Date Stamp, StazOn Ink, Black Sharpie Pen, Heidi Swapp Color Shine.

The chipboard words are amazing in this line.  The colors are just so pretty, and the fonts are really nice.  I layered one of the mixed bag banners with chipboard here as part of my title.

Don’t these colors and patterns go so well together?  I love how they all look up next to each other like this.  That gold metallic glitter tape…I can’t stop using it!  It adds such a brilliant sparkle anywhere you use it.  I added in some gold thread underneath my photo.  I love the look of a neat page mixed with a bit of a messy factor.

Lots of layering going on here…chipboard, stickers, paper, thread.  Everything coordinates so well together.  I like making sure all the colors in my layout are sort of evenly distributed around the page, and the chipboard pieces make that easy to do.

I hope this inspires you to incorporate die cuts in your projects.  The really do add that little something extra to your designs, and it’s fun to play with them.  They make great layers as well as focal points. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

 

 

 

 

Just Sayin' Tablescapes

When our in house photographer shared these gorgeous, gorgeous photos of Just Sayin' with me...I clapped in delight. And immediately realized I had to share them here on the blog. These tablescapes are simply to die for.

I know you will all love them just as much as I do. They are absolutely delectable.

All projects are by the incomparable Amber Packer!

Enjoy!