My Mind's Eye Blog

First Kiss

Valentine's Day is a special time of year for me.  My husband and I met 20 years ago and fell in love right around this holiday. I thought this Cupid's Arrow collection was perfect to document the anniversary of our "First Kiss".  

 

Supplies:Cupid's Arrow: Confetti Heart patterned paper, Love Journal Cards Foiled patterned paper, Love You Foiled patterned paper, 6x6 paper pad, sticker sheet, decorative tape, chipboard hearts, enamel shapes; Misc: Black ink, pen, and thread, foam letter

 

Fun note: This photo was taken during our recent family portrait at the same location we had our engagement photos taken. Even though we have 4 kids (3 are teenagers) - I feel like my husband and I are still just a couple of crazy in love college students. 

 

I love the blue background paper - it feels like the lines are radiating from the two of us.  I matted the 5x7 Black and White photo with red paper and a black text paper from the 6x6 paper pad.

 

 I anchored the bottom of the layout with a long strip of white patterned paper and two wonderful decorative tapes. I added the title, a beautiful red and white chevron chipboard heart with fabulous FOIL, a "Love is All You Need" circle sticker, and an enamel arrow.

 

I rounded the corners of the title card and some of the papers to give it the layout a more contemporary feel. The little red heart in "True Love Always Wins" title card is also in foil.  I layered some banner stickers and a fun "Kisses" ticket under the right side of the photo.

 

I hope you have fun using this amazing "Cupid's Arrow" collection to document the relationships in your life.

 

Mix and Match with Karen | February Edition

Hi everyone!

This is Karen and I am back with another Mix and Match for February. I have decided to continue my attempts at telling the longer stories and combining the two 6x12s to create something that's interesting to me.

For this month, I decided to take the journaling from this blog post on my core desired feelings.

Something I want to remember all throughout 2014 and hence a great layout subject. Like last month, the journaling took up an entire page, and here's what I ended up with:


This page brings together several lines that I love: I cut out the hearts from the Cupid's Arrow - Chevron paper and I also used the back of the Love You Foiled paper from the same line. 

I added some bright pink from Find Your Wings and Fly's Up and Away Big Top and the bright green of Krafty Floral's back side from the same line. The final paper comes from Kate&Co's Cambridge Court "Striking" paper. Who knew you could mix all those colors and end up with something lovely?

I also added little tidbits here and there, including these chipboard arrows I love and adore.


Since this page is about me and how I want to feel, I decided these photos of me with my kids would be perfect since I look so happy in them. I am feeling how I want to feel for all of 2014. I added some word stickers on the photos. Word stickers make me happy, too.


On the left side, I only put a few little embellishments since it's so text heavy and there isn't a lot of room. The colors and shapes of these allow the left page to tie in with the right page, making the layout come together. I also wanted a little more green on this side so I decided to add a strip of tape, simple, easy, and exactly what I wanted.


A full frame of tape brought the whole thing together and I was done. In case you're wondering how this goes inside a page protector, I can show you that the two sides fit together really nicely to create a 12x12:


So I can just slip it into a normal 12x12 protector. If the looseness will bother you, you can also tape them together in the back, but I like it better this way.

So here you go, that's my Mix and Match for February. I look forward to seeing you in March!

Valentine's Cards

Good morning everyone, Tonya here today. Valentine's day is very close on the horizon and I have some cards to share with you…all using Cupid's Arrow! This collection is simply perfect for this holiday. I love the fact that there is plenty of black and blue mixed in with the red…makes it super easy to make cards for that special someone in your life!

Supplies: Cupid's Arrow- 6x6 Decorative Paper Pad, 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Chipboard Hearts, Enamel Dots

 

  Supplies: Cupid's Arrow- "Chevron" Foiled Paper, 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Enamel Dots, Chipboard Hearts

 

 

Supplies: Cupid's Arrow- "Love Journal Cards" Foiled Paper, Decorative Tapes, 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Enamel Dots

 

 

Supplies: Cupid's Arrow- 6x6 Decorative Paper Pad, 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Enamel Dots

 

See what I mean?!  The perfect collection.  Not too feminine and not too masculine! Now I just have to decide which of my four kiddos is getting which card!!!!

 

Tonya

February 2014 Challenge- All You Need is Love

Hey there, MME friends!  Missy here with you today to share our February Challenge.  What better way to celebrate the month of love than with a challenge related to just that.  Our theme this month is "All You Need is Love.”  And you can interpret this anyway you’d like.  You know MME has plenty of beautiful collections that showcase LOVE, so pull them out and dig in!

 

I created this layout featuring a photo of me and my husband from a few months ago.  I used the Cupid’s Arrow collection because it’s so perfect for a layout about love.  I really love this blue sunburst paper, so I began there.  It reminds me of light just bursting from the photo, and I love the effect.  I wanted to cover up the design on the paper, so I used some gesso to blend over it.  I just took an old credit card and spread it around in various places.  The layers behind my photo add dimension over the gesso.  I love the red, blue, black and grey combo in this line, and I wanted to use them all around the photo.  Between the papers, the stickers and the washi tape, it was easy to pull in all of those colors.

 

Supplies: Cupid’s Arrow: “Confetti Hearts” & “Chevron” Paper, 6x6 paper pad, Decorative Tapes, Sticker Accessory Sheet, Enamel Shapes, Chipboard Hearts; Lost & Found Record It “Antiquie” Collection: Alpha & Word Stickers, Enamel Dots; The Sweetest Thing Collection: Decorative Stamps; Decorative Tapes Sets: Pink & Charcoal, Mint & Grey; Other: Heidi Swapp Template & Color Shine, Liquitex Gesso, Sharpie black pen, watercolors, drywall tape, vellum, Stampabilities ink, thread.

 

I cut the word “together” on my Silhouette Cameo.  In this close up, you can see so many elements going on.  The washi tape, the alpha letter & word stickers from the Lost & Found line, stickers, stamps…I just love mixing everything together for a unique look.

 

The chipboard hearts in the Cupid’s Arrow collection are so fun!  I added several of the little enamel hearts to it here.  I also threw in a tangle of red thread…it’s my newest thing to play with.  I love that it adds a pop of color.

 

If you haven’t tried washi tape yet, you simply must!  Here, I used a few different ones to create a few strips below the photo.  It’s fun, fast and easy to use, and you can do much more than just for this.  You can tear it long ways and make it uneven, or even hide the edges behind paper or a photo and let just a little peek out.  I did that with the grey tape on the right side of my photo.

 

More stickers!  I pop dotted this one up so it would stand out a little more.  Don’t you just love those enamel arrows?  Adorable!

 

 

So, now it’s time for you to join us!  We’d love to see what “All You Need is Love” means to you.  This can be about your significant other, a parent, a child, an animal…however you are inspired by it.  We can’t wait to see your designs! 

 

1. You can submit a layout,card,album,altered item,etc.

2. The project must consist of mainly MME. It must "look" like a MME project. :) It must fit the theme.

3. The project must be created new for this challenge. You may only submit one project.

4. Upload the project to the InLinkz link tool at the end of this post by the end of the day on Sunday, March 2.

5. A random winner will be chosen and announced with the March challenge on Monday, March 3.

 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

 

Missy

 

 

Introducing our January Guest Designer!

Please help us extend a warm welcome to our January guest designer...Nicole Samuels!

Nicole lives in Virginia with her husband and 4 children, ages 10 to 4.  She discovered scrapbooking more than 10 years ago after receiving some supplies as a gift and immediately fell in love with this hobby as both a creative outlet and a way to document life's sweetest moments.  

She's been fortunate to design for several scrapbooking manufacturers, teach at both local stores and conventions, and be published in various print and digital paper crafting magazines.  Nicole currently designs for Studio Calico.  In addition to scrapbooking, she enjoys reading, being outdoors, spending time with her family, and practicing photography.  You can follow Nicole on her blog or on Facebook.

Q: What is your fave MME collection of all time?

 

A: Ok, this is really going to date me and show just how long I've been scrapbooking, but my favorite MME line would have to be Wild Asparagus.  I think I bought EVERY last piece of that collection when it was new and I still am hoarding some of it.  It's not even my scrapbooking style anymore, but I have such fond memories of it and loving it so much that I still keep it.  :)

Q: What did you enjoy working with the most?  

A: I think the patterned paper from MME is the best and what I enjoyed using the most. The designs are always so easy to work with and the colors are just gorgeous.

 

Supplies:Cut & Paste-Charm: Sweet Spin, Carefree Relaxed, Carefree Mellow, and Sweet Treat patterned papers, journaling card, decorative buttons, layered stickers; tiny word stickers, label stickers

Nicole says: I wanted to fit a lot of photos on this page, so I used a template that allowed me to just drag and drop them in using Photoshop.  I print the photo grid on a 8.5x11 sheet of photo paper and attached the whole sheet to my page.  I added patterned paper squares to fill in some empty grid spaces and to add some color.  Finally I used a button for a sun, adding in some hand stitched sun rays for some texture. 

 

Supplies: Cupid's Arrow:Alpha Love, Confetti Hearts, and Love You patterned papers, 12x12 sticker sheet,enamel dots,decorative tape; Misc: vellum, twine

Nicole says:I was drawn to the "Alpha Love" paper right away and knew I wanted to use it as the background of my layout.  However, the photo and title of the page seemed to get a little overwhelmed by the bold letters on the background.  

To solve that problem I cut out some vellum in the shape of the die cut heart and layered it over the background.  This helped to make the photo and title take center stage. The scalloped heart and "valentine" cut designs are available for free download on my blog!

 

We are in LOVE with these layouts, aren't you? Nicole is an amazing scrapbook designer and we are overjoyed she joined us this month.

Check back tomorrow for two more outstanding layouts by Nicole!

December Sketch Challenge

Hello all!  It's Ronda here bringing you your December Sketch.  This month's sketch is all about playing with lines & shapes.  You can change out the single photo for multiple photos or one large photo.  Here are examples of what it would look like with two photos:

or one larger photo:

Think of the sketch as a jumping off point.  Envision the pieces and see how you can make the sketch your own with embellishments, paint, patterned paper, and other wonderful My Mind's Eye products. 

Supplies:  Cut & Paste: Charm - Sweet 'Spin' Paper, Charm - Hey You 'Trend 'Paper;  Charm - Flair 'Forever' Enamel Dots, Snapshots Decorative Buttons; Lost & Found Record it: Antique - ''Charming' Paper, Timely' Paper, Sticker Sheets, Die-Cut Embellishments;  Cupid's Arrow: Sticker Sheet; Misc: The Crafter's Workshop Stencil, Golden Paints & Molding Paste, Black Pen, Maya Road Mist, Neocolor II, DMC Floss

Here's my take on the sketch.  Spending time with my hubby is ever so precious these days since I only get 6 weeks a year right now.  This recent photo was snapped while shopping for some household items for our upcoming life together.  I am happy I captured the everyday moment. 

I started this layout by making a colorful background using mists and watercolor crayons.  I used molding paste with black paint pushed through a stencil with a palette knife.  A touch of black always adds a nice touch to any layout.  The neutral papers and all the cool embellishments from Lost & Found Antique look great layered on the reds, oranges, pinks, & yellows. 

The papers make it easy to combine with other lines too.  I started by layering the neutral papers with the Cut & Paste line in rectangle strips.  Next i added the pictures and stickers to the page.  Always feel free to play with the sketch.  I added a few more strips than in the sketch. 

I also opted to have the circle on top of the photo instead of behind it. The papers from the Lost & Found Record It die-cut pack are perfect to layer into my patterned paper pieces.  The red sticker from the Cupid's Arrow line is the perfect pop of red I needed for the page.

I decided to hand stitch around the page using two different colors of DMC floss.  I stitched the glitter paper and the chipboard title.  I love the way the stitching looks on that title providing that pop of color.  I also stacked the button on top of the chipboard button and stitched them together.  I sprinkled enamel dots across the page to finish the layout. 

This month I asked Laurel to join me by making a card for this sketch. Here's what she came up with.

 

Supplies: Mistletoe Magic: patterned papers, chipboard, stickers, enamel dots

 

Laurel says: I really like this month’s sketch for a card.  I love all the layering and the little cluster at the top of the sketch.  I am just creating the last of my Christmas cards for this year so I pulled out the Mistletoe Magic collection for this challenge. 

I love to mix the different elements for dimension and interest and am so glad that My Mind’s Eye always comes out with such fabulous chipboard pieces for their collections! Thanks for coming up with another fabulous sketch, Ronda. :)

 

Okay. Now it's your turn.

A random winner will be chosen and shared with our next challenge on January 6 . You have until the end of the day on Sunday, January 5 to share your project.

Please link your sketch via the InLinkz tool at the bottom of this post. Your layout must feature MME products. Only one entry per participant, please. The prize is any MME collection.

Have fun and good luck!

 

Sketch Week | Change it Up!

Hi!  Tina here today with my take on the fabulous sketch by Ronda!  I love creating layouts with sketches.  I rarely stick exactly to the sketch, only using the sketch as a jumping off point.

Today I'm going to share how I made this sketch my own. Sometimes I love sketches, but they are not "me". Let me show you how I remedy that!

Supplies:Cupid's Arrow: 6x6 Paper Pad, Chipboard Hearts, Enamel Dots,12x12 Sticker Sheet,Love Journal Cards, Foiled Paper;Misc:Cardstock:  American Crafts Charcoal Pastel:  Royal Langnickel Adhesive: Tombow (tape runner), Imaginese (foam tape) Stickers: Doodlebug

I loved all of the square sections on Ronda's sketch, so I thought I'd use the concept of multiple shapes, but use circles and hearts!  And what better collection than the new Cupid's Arrow?

Also- approaching the sketch this way allowed me to use only one photo...which worked for me, as I tend do to one photo layouts.

I punched several sized circles and layered them around my page.  I also added several chipboard hearts on top of the circles to add some dimension.

When I originally 'finished' my layout, I hadn't outlined the circles and they blended too much into the background.  So I rubbed my charcoal stick around each circle, smudging as I went.  I love how the circles now POP off the background and it was more of what I had envisioned for my layout.

This was a pretty simple and quick layout to put together, but still interesting and fun.

Thank you Ronda for challenging me to use your sketch and twist it up a bit!  How do you use sketches?  I'd love to hear!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great day!

Yohko Part Two!

Yesterday we introduced our November guest designer, Yohko Takiguchi. For the first set of lovely layouts, CLICK HERE.

Today Yohko is back with two more layouts and we know you will love them.

Enjoy!

 

Supplies: Cupid’s Arrow: “Confetti Hearts” Foiled Paper, “Alpha Love” Foiled Paper, “Love Journal Cards” Foiled Paper, 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Decorative Tape

Yohko says:I cut out Journal Cards from “Love Journal Cards” Paper. I placed them on both side of a photo of my son. I decided to use “Alpha Love” Foiled Paper as my background.

 

Supplies: Lost & Found Record It Heirloom : “Formal” Paper, “Sweet” Paper, “Splendid” Paper, “Beautiful” Paper, “Glamorous” Paper, 12x12 Sticker Sheet, 12x12 Chipboard Elements, Decorative Brads, Decorative Tape, Layered Stickers、Alpha/Word Sticker

Yohko says:I chose a photo of my son wearing green. The green in my photo matched the pink of “Lost & Found Record It Heirloom” collection perfectly!

Yohko, thank you so much for taking the time to join us this month and for creating such intricately beuatiful pages!

 

Introducing our November 2013 Guest Designer!

Please help us welcome Yohko Takiguchi! Yohko was the international winner of our guest designer contest with Gossamer Blue. We are so excited to have her with us this month and we can't wait to share her creations with you!

My name is Yohko Takiguchi. I live in Nagoya, Japan with my husband and two sons, 12 and 13 years old. I work as a research assistant in a molecular biology lab. I started scrapbooking in 2004, for the album to celebrate the graduation of the nursery school. My style is colorful and playful.

 

 

Q: What did you have the most fun creating with and why? 

 

A: I had the most fun working with Stella Rose. I love the shabby chic color of this collection. The decorative brads are my favorite items.

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

A: My favorite MME collection is Lime Twist. I love all the color combinations and cute items of this collection. I found these so easy and fun to work with.

 

Supplies: Cupid’s Arrow: “Confetti Hearts” Foiled Paper, “Love You” Foiled Paper, “Love Journal Cards” Foiled Paper, “Chevron” Foiled Paper, “Cupid’s Arrow” Foiled Paper, 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Enamel Dots

Yohko says:I started with “Cupid’s Arrow” paper as my background paper.I then placed my photo down and began to build up my design around the photo. I added enamel hearts and arrows to add some dimension to my page.

 

Supplies: Lost & Found Record It Antique: “Lovely” Paper, “Elegant” Paper, “Timely” Paper, “Dashing” Paper, 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Decorative Brads, Die-Cut Embellishments, Journal Cards; Lost & Found Record It Heirloom: Alpha/Word Sticker

 

 

Yohko says:I chose to use black and white photos, which matches perfectly with “Lost & Found Record It Antique” collection.

 

Supplies: Lost & Found Record It Heirloom : “Adored” Glittered Paper, “Formal” Paper, “Sweet” Paper, “Beautiful” Paper, “Glamorous” Paper, 12x12 Sticker Sheet, 12x12 Chipboard Elements, Decorative Brads, Layered Stickers

Yohko says:I love layered stickers because they are a great way to add instant dimension to the layouts. I used five layered stickers on this layout.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS projects Yohko! We can't wait to share your last two beautiful layouts tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone! Make sure to leave Yohko a comment letting her know how much you appreciate her work!

 

Veteran's Day

Hey everyone and Happy Monday. This is Stephanie and today I'm here to share a Veteran's Day layout with you.

I have a veteran husband and a veteran brother and they mean the world to me. I never tire of saying thank you...even though it doesn't seem like nearly enough.

Supplies: Cupid's Arrow: Confetti Hearts patterned paper(B side),decorative tape,enamel heart ;Lost and Found Record It-Antique:stickers,enamel dots;Cut and Paste-Adorbs:brads,chipboard stickers;Cut and Paste-Flair:tiny word stickers,Specs patterned paper (B side), bits&pieces;Cut and Paste-Presh:Die Cut Card;Chalk Studio:chipboard elements

This isn't a traditional military layout...or a traditionally masculine layout, come to think of it! I just went with it. I think you can make a military page without making it green, brown, black, or navy.

I even used a chipboard flower and enamel heart on this page. Since it's more about my gratitude for my husband than it is about the Army...I thought it was a-okay.

I cut the bottom part off of this chipboard piece from Chalk Studio. The bottom party says "To Fly". I discarded that part and used "It takes Courage". I think the sentiment fits oh so well.

The U.S. Army tag is actually another chalkboard piece from Chalk Studio. It says "us" on it. I added enamel dots for periods and cut up some tiny word stickers to build the word "Army".

I hope today I've shown you how it's possible to make military  layouts without using military themed products.

Have a wonderful Monday...and thank a veteran if you have a chance!