My Mind's Eye Blog

Creative Card Ideas

 Hello everyone! Valerie here today...and I'm sharing some creative card ideas with you.

For the background of this  card (made using the Lost and Found Record It- Heirloom collection) , I used torn strips of a page from an old book and then placed a pretty journal card on top. I used a couple heart stickers from Cupid’s Arrow and a couple more from Lost & Found as embellishments then added a couple rows of glittery enamel dots. So pretty!

What a perfect messy misted background this one has! I sprayed my mask with various shades of pink and then “stamped” it onto my card.

A piece of wide lace trim was adhered with a line of hot glue and then my sentiment (from Cut & Paste Adorbs stamp set) was added on top. Next I sewed on a row of chipboard banners—one from Chalk Studio and the other two from the Cut & Paste collection—then added a brad and button.

I love stamping with chalk ink on kraft paper. It’s what I did here with a sentiment stamp from the Find Your Wings & Fly stamp set and an arrow from the Cut & Paste Flair set. That chevron paper is my favorite.

One of my favorite techniques is to combine strips of decorative tape to create backgrounds. I used the decorative tape from the Lost & Found Record It collection and topped it with bits from the ephemera packs and a couple of word stickers.

That's all for today. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

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!

Decorative Brads

Hello, friends!  Missy here with you today.  I am really excited to share my project with you…it’s all about using up all those decorative brads from your MME collections! 

 

Sometimes we only use a few here or there, and then the rest wind up just sitting there.  Here’s an idea for you to help use them up. 

 

The best part? many of the MME collections (past and present) coordinate very well together.  I pulled out some from several collections and was surprised at how easy they were to use on just one page.

 

I had the idea to create some sort of grid, so I cut a circle grid on my Cameo.  I had planned on using it like a square, but I played around with it and discovered that I loved it on its end, like a diamond.  It just worked so well, and so I went with it. 

 

I printed my photo in black and white and used one of my favorite patterned papers from the Find Your Wings & Fly collection.  Those bright colors are stunning!  I decided to use lots of brads that matched to fill in most of the circles on my grid.

 

Supplies:Find Your Wings & Fly “Up & Away”: Paper—Rainbow Harlequin, Big Top, Quatrefoil; Decorative Brads; Sticker Accessory Sheet; Chipboard Elements; Decorative Stamps; Decorative Brads from: Chalk Studio, Lost & Found Record It “Heirloom,” Cut & Paste “Flair”; Cut & Paste “Presh” Decorative Tapes; Decorative Tape Sets—Coral & Aqua, Mint & Grey; Other—Silhouette Cameo; cardstock; watercolors, black Sharpie pen, thread.

 

 I think the brads look so cool on the grid!  I like that some are solid colors while others have a pattern or words.  And they’re all mix & match!

 

I love how all the brads coordinate so well, and I adore this chipboard banner!

 

 

And a few stickers and other pieces to draw your attention to the photo, with a few pop dots thrown in for dimension.  The brads create amazing texture and dimension and are perfect for adding a pop of color just about anywhere on your page.

 

Think of an idea like this the next time you find yourself with leftover brads.  This was actually quick and easy since the grid told me where to place the brads.  There is really no way to mess it up!

 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

 

Missy

 

 

Mix and Match with Karen | December Edition

Hi everyone!

This is Karen and I am back with another Mix and Match! This month, I decided to match the papers from Find Your Wings and Fly - Up and Away (Harlequin) with the embellishments from Chalk  Studio. I love the way the colorful paper interacts with the kraft and black and white of Chalk Studio. Here's what I ended up with:


Doesn't the color of the paper jump out that much more with the strong black lines of Chalk Studio? For my title this time, I used up one of the chipboard embellishments from Find Your Wings and Fly, but it was a
little too big for my taste, so I cut it up.


See the "find the joy" in the title? It was a banner, but I decided I liked it better this way. Remember that just because someone designed it a particular way doesn't mean you have to use it that way. You can also
put embellishments on top of others to create your own, like the one I did here:


I put the "only you" sticker on the black tab to make it a bit more colorful.

The other thing I tried on this layout was to write right on my photos. These photos had a lot of white space and the paper had none, so I decided it would be fun to try to write on the photos instead and I like the way it turned out. I think it goes with the theme of the story, photos, and overall layout. If you haven't tried writing directly on your photos, I hope you add it to your list of things to experiment with soon.

That's it from me this month, I look forward to seeing you in 2014!

Mix and Match with Karen | November Edition

Hi everyone!

This is Karen, back with a Mix and Match for November. I am still continuing with my 6x12 theme as they are making me happy. This month, I decided to mix and match the Cut and Paste and Find Your Wings and Fly lines and sprinkled a few embellishments from Lost and Found 3. For this layout, I just created a simple layered effect where I lined up the papers I liked and added my photo in the middle.

Here's what I ended up with:


Overall, I think this is a simple layout and just shows how seamlessly the My Mind's Eye lines work together. But, I wanted to point out a few little things that might be interesting for you to try. On this layout, I had a little space around my title and since it was segmented well by the different patterned papers, I decided to try and journal right around my title:


It clearly wouldn't work if you had long journaling, but it's a quick, simple and visually-different look to have in your list of options.

The other thing I wanted to point out is all the stitching. I think one of the fun ways to add dimension to your pages is to use stitching. And if you want to experiment even further, you can use different types of stitches. On this layout, I wanted the stitching between layers to be more prominent so I used a zigzag stitch. If you wanted just texture and nothing else, you can also use a transparent (or a color that matches
your paper) thread. This would give you a texture but would not distract the way my black thread does. I also stitch right through my chipboard elements.


If you haven't experimented with stitching, I highly recommend it. It's something I love to do on all my layouts.

That's it from me this month, thank you for letting me share and I'd love to see some of the layouts you've worked on this month so please link me up in the comments!

Mix and Match with Karen- October Edition

This is Karen, back with another Mix and Match for October. I am still on my 6x12 streak. I've decided that I really like this size and, more significantly, I like how it causes me to think differently since it's so narrow and tall compared to the 12x12 pages I usually make. If, like me, you haven't changed up the sizes you use for your layouts in a long time, I highly recommend giving it a try.

 For this month's Mix and Match, I knew I wanted to use the new Cut and Paste line. I love how colorful the line is and the papers make me so happy. I decided to match it with The Sweetest Thing which might be one of my all-time favorite lines. I love the warm yellows and oranges and reds in both lines.

In the spirit of changing things up, I decided to print a 4x6 photo of our recent trip to visit my husband's family. I usually prefer smaller photos on my pages but this picture has all of his family in it and I wanted each person to be clearly visible, so I decided to print it larger. The neat part was how the 4x6 covers the entire width of the 12x6 paper, cutting it in two sections.

I pulled out the aptly-named Best Paper from The Sweetest Thing line to use as my background. I liked the "one of a kind" words and knew that I wanted it to show on my page, so I lined my photo right above it and
used that as my starting point. I then pulled out Amazed and Point from the Cut and Paste line. I added a strip on top and one on the bottom, and a pink section in the middle. A few embellishments here and there
and this is what I ended up with:

For the top of the page, I used a sticker from the Find Your Wings and Fly line and I cut off the right side to make sure it lined up well. If you look carefully, you can see that I used the cutoff part on the bottom left of my page. Nothing is ever wasted. I also used the Decorative Tapes on top of the seams where the papers meet, I like to do that for a more seamless feeling. To add some texture, I stitched on top of them, too. Even though you can't see the stitching, you can feel it and I like the texture it adds without distracting you too much.
On the bottom part, I repeated the same The Sweetest Thing word stickers, the white stitching, and then added some more stickers from Find Your Wings and Fly.
This one ended up quite simple but I still love it. Sometimes we try to over-complicate things when we make our pages. I find myself spending hours on where one tiny embellishment should end up. In the end, what matters most (to me) is that the memories I care about are preserved, the stories are told, and that I had fun while doing it.  So if I find myself struggling with an embellishment for more than 20 minutes, I take
a pause and see if I can do without it altogether.

Thank you, again, for letting me share my page and I'd love to see any Mix & Match pages you have from this month so I hope you link me up in the comments!

Pinspiration Friday | August Edition

We are so glad you stopped by today, it's Pinspiration Friday!

Every day, we scour the Internet for inspiring MME projects. We find your work on your blogs, through our FB page,and in online galleries. We pin the ones that inspire us most!

Then once a month we challenge our designers to use one of your creations as inspiration for a layout or card.

This month Danni and Tina are joining us. Here's what they came up with. Enjoy and have a lovely, creative day!

 

Inspiration Piece: Megan Smith

Danni's version:

Supplies:  Cut and Paste-Presh: Trendy, Awed and Amazed patterned papers, layered stickers, enamel dots, decorative brads

Danni says: I was so inspired when i found this gorgeous pin from Megan.  She created an incredibly eye-catching card with her simple, yet fun design and awesome color palette.  I love how she used the gorgeous enamel dots (you know I'm obsessed), rounded corners and fun focal. 

On my card, Hooray, I chose to stay pretty true to her overall design and focal location as well as the rounded corners and amazing enamel dots.

I love, love, love the new Cut and Paste Presh line and was excited to pull it out and use it on this card.  I adore the layered stickers with the vellum, the gorgeous enamel dot colors and awesome brads.

Step 1:  Cut block of "Trendy" patterned paper slightly smaller than 4 x 6 card size (this will become your card front, do not adhere to card yet, we will work with a card front, then adhere at the end)

Step 2:  Adhere block of "Amazed" patterned paper to "Trendy" block (I cut mine 3 x 3 3/4", but a smaller block would also work)

Step 3:  Cut strip of "Awed" patterned paper (I cut mine 1/2" by 3 3/4"), adhere and then stitch (if desired)

Step 4:  Adhere "Hooray" Decorative brad

Step 5: Adhere floral layered stickers, enamel dots and button

Step 6:  Adhere card front to 4 x 6 cardstock card

These steps could be repeated several times using various decorative brads and layered stickers to make a few cards to have on hand in no time at all.

I had a ball creating this card...thanks so much for the inspiration Megan!

Inspiration Piece: Virginia Fynes

Tina's version:

Supplies: Find Your Wings & Fly-Up & Away:Always paper,Chipboard Accessories, Layered Stickers,Decorative Tape,Stamps, Enamel Dots:Find Your Wings & Fly-Sky's The Limit, Stamps;Misc:Clipboard:  Staples Stencils:  Crafters Workshop
Paint:  Distress Paint Gesso:  Liquetex Ink:  Ranger Stamp:  Kaisercraft Adhesive:  American Crafts (tape runner), Imaginisce (foam tape) 

Tina says: Pinspiration Fridays are one of my favorite monthly segments here on the MME blog!  I love seeing the amazing inspiration from all of our cyber space friends and I love the challenge of using one of the MME pins as inspiration for a new project.

Today, I was inspired by this awesome altered clipboard wall decor by Virginia Fynes.All I have to say is...WOW!  These are incredible.  I love seeing normal, everyday objects altered into works of art and Virginia knocked this one out of the park.

For my project, I choose to use Virginia's concept of an altered clipboard, but grunge it up a bit.

(Note:  Before I started my project, I removed the clip from the clipboard, so it would be easier to adhere the paper and embellishments to the board.  You can re-attach the clip to the board with 'pins', but mine is purely for decoration, so I just glued mine back on. )

I started with Find Your Wings and Fly, Up & Away, Always paper and adhered it to the clipboard with Matte Medium.  Once it was dry, I began 'grunging up' the board with ink, paint, stamps, and stencils.I layered the 'grunge' around the board and added layered stickers and chipboard embellishments for more fun!  I also stamped several balloons on patterned paper and adhered them to the clipboard with foam squares. 

I am really pleased with how the altered clipboard turned out and it was such a fun, happy project! 

Thank you Virginia for providing your amazing Pinspiration!  Next time you are looking for an inexpensive project, find a common household item and alter it!

Easy Peasy Framed Art with Tina

Hi! 

Tina here today with a super quick, super fun, and super adorable home decor project!

I don't know about you, but I love quick, fun, and super easy home decor projects.  It is so satisfying to create some unique and totally yours and to be able to display it in your home.  Every time I walk past a project in my home that I created with my own two hands, I have a sense of accomplishment happiness.

Supplies:Find Your Wings & Fly, Sky's The Limit, 6x6 paper pad,Find Your Wings & Fly, Sky's The Limit, Sticker Accessories,Find Your Wings & Fly, Sky's The Limit, Chipboard Buttons,The Sweetest Thing, Smile Decorative Tape;Other:Frame:  IKEA,Chipboard Alphas:  Tim Holtz,Twine:  Etsy,Spray Mist:  Lindy's Stamp Gang,Adhesive:  American Crafts (tape runner), Imaginisce (foam tape)

Here's how I created this project.

1.  Remove the glass from the frame.  Adhere a sheet of patterned paper to the frame cardboard in place of where a photo might be placed.
2.  Cut a smaller piece of pattered paper to layer on top of the piece #1.  Stitch a grid on the paper to add more texture.  Adhere to larger piece of paper.
3.  Apply strips of decorative tape to edge of photo mat.  Many of the MME decorative tapes fit perfectly in the mat edge space.

4.  Stitch buttons to top of 2 balloon stickers.  Layer the 2 balloons on top of each other and adhere with foam tape to add dimension.
5.  Cut border sticker into 2 smaller sections and apply to frame.  Apply another circle sticker to left end of border stickers.
6.  Tie twine around entire frame.

And that is it!  How is that for quick and easy?

As always, we love seeing your MME projects.  Please share them with us on our Facebook page.  We are always looking for inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great one!

Color Inspiration

 

 

Welcome to the August edition of Color Inspiration! Each month I select an image, email it to a couple of MME designers, and ask them to show us a project inspired by the image.

This month Tamara and Danni are joining us. Enjoy- and please feel free to join in! Link your interpretations in the comment section below!

original source

 

Sparkle by Tamara

Supplies: Collectable - Remarkable: Dates patterned paper, Adorable patterned paper, Daily patterned paper, brad, title; Collectable - Notable: journal card; Collectable - Unforgettable: decorative tape; Find Your Wings and Fly: sticker and alpha/letter stickers; Lost and Found 3 - Oliver: decorative tape (yellow and blue); All is Bright; decorative tape (red); Lush: red chipboard alpha; Misc: white cardstock, black ink, pen, and thread, glitter glue, red, blue, and gold ink spray.

Tamara says:The fresh, bright colors of this color inspiration reminded me of a summer party.  I had just taken some pictures of my kids and their cousins playing with sparklers at our family 24th of July Celebration (also called Pioneer Day in Utah, commemorating the founding of our state on July 24, 1847). It is almost as big as the 4th of July around here, complete with BBQ's and parades, and fireworks.  I resized my photos into two "filmstrips" so I could easily fit 8 photos on my layout.

I wanted to capture the bursts of light emanating from the sparklers on my page.  I used red, blue, and yellow spray inks to echo the look of sparklers and a celebration.  I also hand cut the starburst shapes and the "24" out of the Collectable - Remarkable collection.  I used glitter glue to accent the letters, starbursts, title, and "24".

I used decorative tapes along the side of my page.  I used two strips of the yellow to create a wider chevron pattern. I layered the starbursts around my page to echo the sparklers.

 

Hello Card by Danni

Supplies:  Find Your Wings and Fly Sky's The Limit: Tiled, Flowers For You, Up and Away and Layered Ephemera patterned papers, Find Your Wings and Fly Up and Away chipboard and enamel dots;Misc:Cameo Silhouette sentiment, Bazzill cardstock and Tim Holtz mini staples

Danni says:Good morning, Danni here with you today to share a card for this month's GORGEOUS color inspiration.  I love every last bit of this color inspiration piece and know that you too.  I chose to use the Find Your Wings and Fly line of gorgeous papers and embellies for this card, and I love how soft and beautiful the patterns are together.

I love to layer, however the patterns in this line are so beautiful I wanted them to showcase along with a fun chipboard and some enamel dots.  I can not wait to see what everyone will create with this gorgeous color inspiration.

August Challenge Time!

Happy Thursday and Happy AUGUST MME fans! Can you believe it's already AUGUST? Wow!

You know what a new month means, right? A new challenge! And our August challenge is lots of fun. We are asking you to document your summer. A summer recap is what we are looking for!

What have you done the past few months? I'm in Italy and school does not start here for another month. But I have plenty of friends in America and some of them have kiddos that start school in the next couple of weeks.

If you are in Australia you are experiencing winter. Feel free to alter this challenge to meet your needs!

As always...you are welcome to interpret this challenge however you'd like. The sky is the limit. Just make sure that I can tell it somehow fits the topic.

The rules are as follows:

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 Tuesday, August 13.

5. A random winner will be chosen and announced with the second August challenge on August 14. The prize is any MME collection- the choice is yours.

I challenged Tamara to join in on this challenge and here is what she came up with!

Supplies: Find Your Wings and Fly "Up and Away": Krafty Floral patterned paper, Be Awesome patterned paper, stickers, chipboard, enamel dots, brads, alpha/word stickers: Find Your Wings and Fly "Sky's the Limit": Layered Ephemera patterned paper, enamel dots; Misc: Black ink, pen and thread, blue ink spray

Tamara says: I'm so excited to share this layout highlighting our summer thus far.  We are only 2/3 of the way through and I was amazed by the lengthy list our family made.  We don't have the budget/time for a big family vacation, and I admit I was feeling like we've had a dull summer. But going through our photos and focusing on the fun events we've experienced have really helped me realize what a fabulous summer we've already had!

The fresh and summery colors of the "Find Your Wings and Fly" collection were perfect for this page.   I resized my photos to 2" (in height or width), then it was easy to arrange them in a collage.  I layered the chipboard, stickers, and letters for my title. I used enamel dots as "bullets" for our list.

I cut out the blue chevron paper and layered stickers with brads to anchor the bottom of my layout. Machine stitching added definition to edges of the papers.

I invite you to take time to write down the highlights of your summer and create a layout with all the photos you've been taking.  And if you have forgotten to snap some photos, you still have a month of summer left! :)

 

 

We can't wait to see what all of you come up with. Be creative and above all...have FUN!

Check back later today for the July sketch and July RWB challenge winners.