My Mind's Eye Blog

Anatomy of a Double Page Layout | August 2014

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

The kids are heading back to school, and summer is coming to a close. In honor of saying goodbye to another summer, I thought I would bring you guys some summer inspiration to get those memories documented. If you happen to follow my series here, you know that I am a big fan of season summary pages. There is nothing better than piling all those memories onto one page to see it all at a glance.

Supplies: Jubilee: Tangerine – “Story” Triangle Paper, “Adventure” Be Darling Paper, “Story” Wonderful Paper, 6x6 Designer Paper Pad, “Honor” Label Stickers, “Honor” Decorative Brads, “Awesome” Enamel Dots, “Awesome” Mixed Bag; Wild Berry – “Hey You” Gardens Paper, “Life” Tribal Paper, “Hey You” Rub-ons; Other – Alphabet stickers, cardstock.

As always, I started off with a sketch. With these summary pages, my go-to sizes are almost always 2x3 and 3x4. These are the perfect sizes to get lots of those memories on a layout! Summer is almost always the season with the most pictures. I guess the outdoors brings out the photographer in me; that and the fact that daylight seems to be endless. Oh summer!

I did section out my pictures into two categories this time around, everyday summer and our family getaway for the Fourth of July. Instead of trying to put all of those pictures on this summary page, or creating a second one, I printed my favorite shots from that week as 4x6 so I can slide them in simple pocket page protectors.

When it came time for color choices, Jubilee’s Tangerine jumped right out at me with a touch of the Wild Berry too. The aqua, yellow, and orange were all calling to be on this page.

I started off with the yellow “Adventure” Be Daring paper first. It has a fun pattern and the subtle color between the yellow and soft white would let the 3x4 pictures take center stage. Next I pulled the line of 2x3 photos on the left side up because once I placed the patterns and colors they weren’t anchored enough on the page. They were competing too much with the patterned papers. Once I pulled them up against the yellow, my eyes were happy.

Knowing I was going to have a pocket page insert in between my layout, I wanted each side to be able to stand alone, yet still work perfectly together too. I mirrored the horizontal lines on both sides; whether it be with pictures or patterned paper.

Using some strips of patterned paper, I created a banner cluster to draw your eye in on the left side of the page.

Keeping a big blog of smaller pictures is my go-to. Like I said earlier, I wanted each side to be able to stand completely alone on its own but flow with the other side as well. Switching up the horizontal lines from patterned paper to a cluster of pictures and vice-versa helped me achieve the look I was going for.

The new rub-ons are the bomb! I was pretty excited when I first saw them, and knew I could have some fun with those babies. They were the perfect touch for the haphazard graffiti looking title. It also allowed me to have a title on both sides of my layout that would look great together or separate too. A win-win in my book.

When I do something to one side, I like to do it on the other side as well. This is a great way to bring both sides together. This bottom corner was the perfect spot for some more 3x4 photos with white borders and a banner cluster too.

 

For the pocket page, I simply slide my pictures in with a label sticker for a short title. The pictures tell the story, so no extra words were really needed. This is something we do each and every year, so sometimes it is good to just let the photos tell the story from time to time.

We spent lots of time at the beach and play ground during our week of vacation. I grabbed a couple of my favorites that told the story for each of those adventures.

This insert couldn’t be all business. I trimmed down the same blue stripe “Story” Triangle paper from my layout, printed a quick phrase, and embellished it with an enamel dot from the Tangerine Decorative Brads. That’s simple, but sweet in my book.  The best part is that I got the entire summer documented and recorded.

I really love the concept of mixing quick and easy pocket pages with my traditional pages. I get to have fun and be creative, yet I am practical and realistic with my time management. It feels really good to get these memories documented for my children without being overwhelmed with several layouts. Pocket pages aren’t just for my family Project LifeⓇ  albums any more. I can mix and mingle them with my creative side too.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Shelly

 

Mini Canvas Created with Jubilee Rub-ons

Hello! Valerie today with a fun mini-canvas project. I was so excited to see rub-ons included with the new My Mind’s Eye collections, so naturally they were the first thing I grabbed to play with after I unpacked the new collections. I love how you can layer them on top of just about anything. I’m using the white “Story” rub-ons from the Jubilee Tangerine color scheme for this project. The Jubilee collection also has black, gold, and silver rub-on options.

Supplies:Jubilee -Tangerine: “Story” rub ons,  “Adventure” flair pins, “Awesome” enamel dots “Adventure” enamel shapes. Other: Canvas, Liquitex Matte Gel Medium, Studio Calico Mister Huey.

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t take step by step photos, but I will walk you through my process.

 

It’s a very simple, repetitive process. I picked up this gallery wrapped canvas at a local craft store. It’s 5 x 5 inches and is 1 1/2 inches deep—much deeper than a basic back stapled canvas.

 

1. Choose 3-4 mist/ink colors that coordinate with the collection you are using. 

 

2. Spray your canvas with water. 

 

3. Splatter one ink color on one area of the canvas and spray with water again to make it spread.

 

4. Let dry or speed up the process with a heat tool.

 

5. Repeat steps 2-4 with each color you are using, and continue to repeat this process until you get the desired effect and intensity of colors (and don’t forget about the edges).

6. Once dry and you are satisfied with the finished ink effect, I recommended brushing on a thin layer of matte gel medium (or Mod Podge) to keep the color in place. The rub-ons also adhere to the canvas better after the gel medium is applied. Let the gel medium dry or use a heat tool to speed up the process.

 

7. Apply rub-ons with included popsicle stick. You may need to place something hard like a book under your canvas between the stretcher bars if you are using a larger canvas size.

 

8. Once all your rub-ons are applied, add another layer of gel medium over the entire canvas. 

 

9. Add a flair badge, enamel dots/shapes, or other embellishments. I used hot glue to adhere the flair.

 

10. Hang on wall and enjoy!

So there you have it, a really fun canvas in ten basic steps. Totally doable, right?! I can’t wait to see what everyone makes with the rub-ons from Jubilee! How will you be using them?

Collection Spotlight | Just Sayin'

Hey there, everyone!  Lea here today with a couple of cards to share with you.  I recently received a box of all the amazing new goodies that My Mind's Eye has released.  It is always such a fun day when this lands on your doorstep....I love going through everything & looking at it piece by piece. 

 

I love EVERYTHING that MME has come out with (who am I kidding..I always love everything), but for today I decided to work with the new Just Sayin' line by Rhonna Farrer.  Rhonna never disappoints, and Just Sayin' is an AMAZING collection! 

 

I created two cards full of layers, & dimension & off the edge fun!!  I've always felt like cards don't have to be flat & easy to put into an envelope.  I love to decorate gift packages & bags with cards, so the more layer & dimension, the better!

 

Supplies:Just Sayin: "Belong" 12x12 paper, 6x6 paper pad, Chipboard Elements, Transparent Frames, Mixed Bag, Decorative Brads, & Enamel Dots.

 

In order to not waste that gorgeous & glittery triangle paper....I've used it as the background on both cards.  That combined with the colors & love theme give the cards a nice cohesiveness. 

 

On the first card I've added diecuts & papers & chipboard to the left side of the card, not worrying if they overlapped past the edges.  If you wanted to put this card in an envelope, just use a slightly larger, padded envelope.

 

For the second card I didn't put anything over the edges, but I did pop almost every layer with foam adhesive. 

 

I love all the dimension it gives, and the ability to tuck accents under each layer so they just peek through a bit.  This card could definitely be put into a normal envelope, but it will most likely still require some extra postage. 

 

I hope this post makes you feel inspired to add dimension & layers, and adding accents that go off the edge a little bit!  Thanks for checking out my cards today!

 

Lea

 

Product Spotlight | Decorative Tapes- Market Street

Hi!  Tina here today with a great way to use decorative tape to create a frame on a scrapbook layout.

Supplies:Market Street-Nob Hill:Chipboard Elements, Flair, Foiled Mixed Bag, Enamel Dots, 6x6 Paper Pad, Decorative Tape,Journal Card Packs; Other:Cardstock:  American Crafts Twine: American Crafts Adhesive: Tombow (tape runner)

I have a confession.  My love for decorate tape was starting to wane.  I have loved decorative tape for so long and have been inspired by the amazing patterns, colors, and sizes, but had felt the time had come to de-stash myself of my decorative tape collection. 

I felt that feeling of defeat up until the new decorative tape appeared in the Market Street and Essentials collections.  The decorative tape in these 2 collections made me fall in love with washi all over again, and I am again obsessed with adding tape to every project. 

Instead of using decorative tape for hints of color, layers, and pattern, why not make the decorative tape the star attraction?I created a frame around my cardstock with 2 tapes.  I trimmed the corners to mimic the look of a wood frame. 

Using some of my favorite chipboard, sticker, and die-cut embellishments, I layered more goodness across my page.  I even used a journal card for fun.

Tie it up with a bow!

Do you still love decorative tape?  What is your favorite use for tape?  I’d love to know.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Tina

Mixed Media with Karen | August 2014

This is Karen, back with a Mixed Media with Karen for August

This month, I decided to couple my Mixed Media page with my assignment for May's One Little Word homework. Our assignment in May was to make little cards to fit into 2.5  by 3.5 pockets. To just have fun with them and then journal on each of them with the "i am" prompt.

So I went back to my trusty cards from My Mind's Eye and picked a collection that spoke to me. I then cut them all down to 2.5 by 3.5. One  of the cards I pulled had a camera and some hearts coming out of it. Because the cards are 3x4, I lost some of the camera, and decided I didn't want the rest either, so I pulled out some tape and covered it.


I just want to make sure to remind you that embellishments can be altered to your heart's content. I mess with mine all the time. I then pulled out some ephemera from my Mixed Bags and lay it all out randomly.

I moved all the stuff around back and forth until I ended up with something I liked.


I then decided to move on to my second layer, which is where I added paint. I pulled out yellow, red, green, and gold paint. I added some to the edges and sometimes all over. At the end of this stage, my cards looked like this:

and then I stamped each card with "i am", added a few lines of journaling and stitched around the whole card. After which I ended up with these:


And finally, I put them in my album into their pockets:


I also wanted to show you a side view since it shows the shimmer so much better.


This was a fun project that can be as time consuming as you want it to be. Mine took a while mostly because I was having a good time and wanted to just play. I could have left the cards in the first stage after ephemera and they would have been wonderful just that way. So your taste might vary.

I hope you pick up some of these cards and play just to see how much fun it can be!

Thank you for letting me share and see you next month!

Sister Sunday // Scrapbook Layout

Supplies: Just Sayin': Beauty patterned paper, Belong patterned paper, Posies patterned paper, 6x6 paper pad, transparency, alpha and word stickers, chipboard, decorative brads, mixed bag; Misc: black ink, thread, and pen, pop dots, large corner rounder.

 

Sunday, August 3rd was "National Sisters Day".  My two daughters got all dressed up for church, then asked me to snap a photo of them.  Sometimes the quick snapshots you take with your cell phone capture precious moments.  This was one of them.  I love how these two are just radiating happiness - you can feel their sisterly love.  It illustrates how much their relationship has blossomed over the years.  I love that they are finally the close friends I have hoped they would become.

 

The new "Just Sayin': collection by Rhonna Farrer has such a fun feminine look and the colors coordinate perfectly with this photo. The gold glittered elements reflect their golden hair and sparking spirits.

 

I chose the pink "I belong with you, you belong with me" paper for the foundation of my page.  I love the star-burst pattern radiating from the title. I placed a strip of the triangle glittered paper along the bottom, rounded the corners, and stitched around it. 

 

I trimmed a striped piece of 6x6 paper for a photo mat and layered the triangle transparency over it.  I adhered three circles along the left edge of the photo.  I used pop dots to give the paper circles dimension to match the chipboard.

 

For the title "Sister Sunday", I used the teal and white alpha stickers and Sunday arrow die cut with a large gold-trimmed brad. I finished the page by layering the gold glittered chipboard Today is the Day" and "having Fun" 

 

I am just LOVING the new Just Sayin' Collection - I can't wait to play with it some more! :)

 

Tamara

She Makes 70 Look Pretty Fantastic // Scrapbook Layout

Welcome to the My Mind's Eye blog today, Tonya here with you.

Last month my beautiful mom turned the big seven-oh and for her party she wore an aqua and navy striped dress. When I received my design team box the other day with all of our new product in it and saw Jubilee-Tangerine I immediately knew it was going to be put to use for some of the photos from her celebration! The aqua, blue, orange, yellow and little pops of red were perfect!

Supplies: Jubilee-Tangerine: "Adventure" Be Daring Paper, 6x6 Decorative Paper Pad, "Awesome" Die Cut Mixed Bag,  "Honor" Decorative Brads, "Awesome" Enamel Dots, "Adventure" Flair, "Story" Rub Ons, "Fantastic" 12x12 Chipboard Elements

For the title work I cut the words and the large numbers with the Silhouette, then I layered behind the numbers with different strips of patterned paper from the 6x6 decorative paper pad.I separated the "busier" pieces of paper with little strips of the subtle blue patterned paper and some stitching.

I printed up two 2x2 photos to use in the instaframe die cuts and then embellished with many other die cuts in the mixed bag. Oh and see the 'xoxo'? RUB ONS!!!!! I was so excited to see these! They are also in the corner of the photo above, the three little hearts.

Originally my title was going to say "She makes 70 look good", but then I spotted the 'fantastic' piece of chipboard and altered my title to accommodate it.

Another detail I love with this line is all of the handwritten touches and sayings! My Mind's Eye always keeping up with the trends! Thanks for stopping by the blog today hope you leave with a little bit of inspiration!

Tonya

Collection Spotlight | Now and Then Milo

Hi everyone, Laurel here with a layout I created using the Now and Then: Milo collection.

Supplies: Now & Then Milo: This Week Shimmer; Little Things Doilies; Little Things Anchor; Inspired Forest; Little Things Brads; Friends Journal Cards; Friends Stickers Other products: Unity Stamps

We have only had Ringo for a couple of months as we was a rescue dog. He had never been camping before.... I must say he adapted very well!

My favorite thing to do lately is non-symmetrical layouts and stacking similar photos as I have done here. It works for me and it is also a way to appease my daughter who I made this for... she doesn’t like layouts with only one photo!

I also seem to use Silhouette on every project, I love to do my titles with it! How about you? Do you own a die cutter, which one is your favorite?

Laurel

Rebecca Part 2

Yesterday we introduced Rebecca Keppel and shared some of her AMAZING projects. If you missed it you'll want to take a look...Click HERE!

Today Rebecca is back and she's providing another blog post full of eye candy. Enjoy!

 

Supplies: Market Street-Nob Hill:Foiled Mixed Bag, Decorative Stickers,Enamel Dots, 6x6 Pad,Brads,3x4 Journaling Card Pack,Washi Tape,Flair Pins,Chipboard Stickers;Necessities-Teal: vellum

Rebecca says: I loved using the Journal Card Pack as a base for a pocket page spread. I used some cards as is and others I embellished with enamel dots, chipboard, Mixed Bag pieces, Flair Pins, Brads and more. For my row of 3x4 slots I alternated photos and Journaling Cards.

For my 4x4 pockets I used photos in every other pocket. For the rest I cut down pages from the 6x6 pad, cut a piece of Teal Necessities Vellum into 4x4 and cut a Ready To Frame 8x10 into 2 4x4 pockets. Those 4x4 parts were also embellished.

 

 

Supplies: Necessities-Teal:all Papers,Glitter Monogram Alphas,Alpha and Word Stickers,Enamel Shapes,Washi Tape

 

Rebecca says:I used the large dots paper as the card base. I sewed a slightly smaller piece of vellum on top. I wrapped washi tape around 3 parts of the large alphas and adhered them to the vellum. I added a piece of washi, word sticker and several enamel shapes.

 

 

Supplies: Market Street-Nob Hill:"Sparkle" Foiled paper,"Starburst" Foiled Paper,Washi Tape,Flair Pins,Chipboard Stickers,Foiled Mixed Bag,Enamel Dots,6x6 Pad,Brads,Decorative Buttons,Decorative Stickers;Necessities-Wood: Wood Shapes; Misc: Silhouette Cameo,Therm O Web Adhesive,Heidi Swapp Color Shine Mist

 

Rebecca says: My FAVORITE layout with Market street is coincidentally called Favorite!I started with the Nob Hill "Sparkle" Foiled paper as the base of my layout. I cut a smaller piece of black cardstock and splattered it with gold mist. Then I took the Nob HIll "Starburst" Foiled Paper and using the new PixScan technology with my Silhouette Cameo I was able to cut out several starbursts from the patterned paper.

I also cut several small circles from within other starbursts using the same technique. I printed small favorite photos in black and white and placed them behind the cut outs.

Once all that was adhered down I just had fun embellishing! I popped up some of the cut out starbursts on top of others. I used Brads and Flair Pins, chipboard, Enamel Dots. I had a blast!

 

You did it again, Rebecca- left us speechless. Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us this month, you really made MME shine!

Introducing our August Guest Designer!

Please extend a warm welcome to our August guest designer...Rebecca Keppel!

 

Here's a bit about Rebecca, in her own words.

Once upon a time I was a corporate attorney living in San Francisco. Then my husband and I moved out to the suburbs outside of Phoenix, Arizona. We have a daughter who is 9 and a son who is 7. I started scrapbooking in the traditional sense around the time my daughter was born and never stopped! I love traditional layout scrapping and card making, but I've also gotten hooked on pocket page scrapbooking. I love to learn about photography and have enjoyed storytelling since I was kid. Scrapbooking is my creative outlet, my relaxation and my way of showing my family how much they mean to me. I have had the opportunity to be on design teams and currently serve on Simple Stories, Therm O web and Scrapbook Circle teams. I have also had the chance to be published in Scrapbook Trends, Create publications, Jot Magazine and Scrapbooking and Cards Today. My Mind's Eye has been a favorite of mine for YEARS so I am incredibly honored and grateful to be here!

You can follow Rebecca via:

BLOG // INSTAGRAM // PINTEREST // FACEBOOK

 

Q: What is your favorite MME collection of all time and why?

A: I think my favorite of all time would be On the Bright Side. I remember those aged wood papers and I think My Mind's Eye was one of the first to use them. I LOVE that look combined with the....well the BRIGHT colors in On the Bright Side. Market Street is quickly becoming an all time favorite though! ;)

 

 

 

Supplies: Market Street-Nob Hill: "Stripes" paper,"Stache" Paper, Foiled Mixed Bag,Enamel Dots,6x6 Pad, Brads, 3x4 Journaling Card Pack, Washi Tape,Flair Pins,Chipboard Stickers; Necessities-Teal:Alpha and Word Stickers

 

Rebecca says: I started with a gray cardstock base. Then I mounted the Nob Hill "Stripes" paper on a piece of black cardstock. I machine stitched a border around that and adhered them together. I used a photo of my son when he was a baby and a photo taken recently (seven years later). The clock die cut from the Mixed Bag was perfect for the theme of time passing. The fox chipboard and mustache Flair Pin were masculine elements I added since it is a boy page.

 

I used a 3x4 Journaling Card, fussy cut out the heart and backed it with a piece patterned paper from the 6x6 pad. I used up a bunch of the gold glitter enamel dots and other chipboard shapes. I hand cut a long banner to use as the base or bottom of the layout. I layered a die cut over a strip of washi, layered chipboard over the die cut and an enamel dot over the chipboard. That is one of my favorite things to do, use various textures and layers from different embellishments to create something new.

 

 

 

Supplies: Necessities-Teal: all patterned papers,6x6 Pad,Glitter Monogram Alphas,Alpha and Word Stickers

Enamel Shapes,Washi Tape

 

 

Rebecca says: I started with the Glitter Monogram Alphas for a LARGE title. Then I punched squares of the vellum and pattern papers and mounted small phone photos that featured the color blue on top.

 

I cut the "color" title word from a 6x6 paper B side. I find that 6x6 pads are perfect for title cuts. I added some machine stitching and spray mist and bits of washi tape too.

 

 

 

Supplies: Market Street-Nob Hill:"Glow" Foiled Paper,Sparkles" Foiled Paper,Foiled Mixed Bag,Decorative Stickers,Enamel Dots; Misc: Therm O Web Adhesives,The Twinery Twine

 

 

 

Rebecca says: I used the gold foil striped paper as the card base. I cut a smaller square of polka dot patterned paper and rounded the corners. I machine stitched a border around the square. I used 3 dimensional adhesive and popped up the doily die cut on top of the square. Then I used 3 dimensional adhesive and popped up the thank you sticker on top of the doily. I tied twine around the popped up thank you sticker and topped it with 2 enamel dots.

 

 

 

WOW! Rebecca totally rocked the Market Street + Necessities collections and we couldn't possibly love her projects more!

Thanks so much Rebecca. Y'all make sure to come back tomorrow, we have even MORE Rebecca inspiration to share with you!

 

Happy Monday-