My Mind's Eye Blog

Autumn Layout with Frightful

Hi! It’s Valerie checking in today with an autumn themed layout. Believe it or not, this is my first ever leaf pile layout. We live in a rural area with a decent sized yard and lots of trees, so raking leaves just isn’t something we ever bother with.

We’re too busy with corn and soybean harvests. But every child has got to do it at some point—rake up a giant pile of leaves take a leap. The weather was beautiful and I easily convinced my son to take a Lego break and enjoy some time outside with me.

Supplies:Frightful- 6x6 paper pad ;Jubilee -“Tangerine” 6x6 paper pad;Necessities -12 x12 wood veneer sheet and wood dots. Jubilee Tangerine “Fantastic” Sticky notes. Now and Then Mildred “Oh Happy Day” chipboard elements. Other: kraft cardstock, date stamp, alpha stickers, Silhouette Cameo (fall autumn puzzle/design id#68174).

When I was searching the Silhouette store for leaves, I spotted the Fall Autumn Puzzle leaves (design id#68174) and thought, “that’s it, these are the ones!” And based my layout around how I’d use these leaves. 

 

I chose three different papers from the Frightful 6 x 6 pad and the yellow paper is from the Jubilee Tangerine pad. I also grabbed a scrap of the 12 x 12 sheet of wood veneer from the Necessities line. I used these for all the leaves. If you haven’t checked out Frightful yet, it’s a must! It’s Halloween themed, but the patterned papers and color scheme are perfection for  Fall and Thanksgiving!

 

 This layout came together so quickly which was a nice change a pace from my last layout which took a lot more planning. My last layout was for the November challenge—there’s still time to submit a layout if you haven’t already!

 

 

Halloween Layouts

Happy Halloween, MME fans!  Missy here.  I just LOVE creating Halloween layouts, and I couldn’t wait to put the new Frightful collection to use!  I created two layouts, and I’m sharing the both with you. 

 

The first layout features my little one a few years ago at her school.  She was Wonder Woman, and her little cape was all twisted.  I just love it! 

 

I started with some white cardstock and used a digital cut file from The Cut Shoppe.  I backed all of the open spaces with various patterned papers.  It was really easy and fun, and it makes the photos really pop in the center.  I back my photos with a few more pieces of patterned paper and an awesome chipboard frame.  The adorable pumpkin and glittery spider web are from the Mixed Bag!  A total must have for a Halloween project.

 

 Supplies:  Frightful—“Spooky” paper, “Dots” paper, “Frightful Words” paper, 6x6 paper pad, Chipboard Elements, Mixed Bag, Decorative Brads, Sticker Embellishments; Necessities—Alpha & Word Stickers – Black & Gray, Decorative Tapes – Metallics; Other—cardstock, Silhouette Cameo, The Cut Shoppe digital cut file, Thickers, sewing machine, thread, black Sharpie pen.

 

Here you can really see the layering.  The chipboard pieces are fantastic for layering.  And so is the decorative tape!  I pulled out the gold metallic tape from the Necessities line to give this page some sparkle!  I love how easy it is to use.

 

Here I used one of the decorative brads and some of the small alpha stickers from Necessities.  I wanted to split my title at the top and bottom of the layout, so I used those to spell out the “Crooked Cape” part. 

 

My second layout features my older daughter at her school’s Fall Festival.  She has a lot of sensory issues, so this type of function is not her thing.  Her sweet teacher helped her walk around and play the different games at the event, and she wound up having a great time! 

 

I started with the Frightful “Chandelier” Paper because of the gorgeous orange color.  I used a square punch and punched out lots of squares from various papers to create a mosaic-type background. 

 

I also added some gesso and modeling paste to throw in some texture.  I only had to add minimal embellishments since the squares really did all the work here.

Supplies: Frightful—“Chandelier” paper, “Stache” paper, “Dots” paper, “Pumpkin” paper, “Zig Zag” paper, “Spooky” paper, “Frightful Words” paper, 6x6 paper pad, Enamel Shapes, Enamel Dots, Chipboard Elements, Sticker Embellishments, Mixed Bag, Decorative Brads; Other—Crafter’s Workshop stencil, Liquitex Gesso, Golden Modeling Paste, Silhouette Cameo, cardstock, sewing machine, thread, black Sharpie pen.

This die cut banner is my favorite piece in the Mixed Bag!  I just had to add it below my title and “secure” it with some black enamel dots.  Here you can also see the texture from the paste and how I layered the title.

 

Enamel bats!  What!  I fell in love with these instantly!  They are SO adorable.  I also used up some of the Sticker Embellishments and Chipboard pieces here.  This line really is so fun and festive!

 

 

I hope these help get you into the Halloween spirit and inspire you to create something spooktacular!  I love that you can create fun and cute projects with these and not have to get very scary at all.  Lots of fun and possibilities!

 

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Halloween!!

 

Missy

Halloween Cards

Hey everyone! Tonya here today to share with you some fun Halloween cards that I made using the new Frightful line. This is such a fun collection that can go many different directions. You can go spooky, classy, or cute. The orange glitter adds just the perfect touch of sparkle!

Supplies: Frightful- 6x6 Designer Paper Pad, Sticker Embellishments, Enamel Dots, Decorative Brads, Mixed Bag, Chipboard Elements Kraft Funday- Everyday Fun Twine

 

For this first card I split the front wooden paper panel on the diagonal and backed the split with that adorable pumpkin paper. The woodgrain panels are popped up with foam tape and then I embellished the edges with some black glitter. The 'boo' and the large pumpkin are from the sheet of chipboard pieces. The little pumpkins that are adorning the large chipboard pumpkin are fussy cut from the patterned paper.

 

For this next card I started by backing the chipboard frame with the jack-o-lantern faces paper. Next I layered a sticker, a die cut, and a brad. Topped them all off with a sticker sentiment. The final embellishment was the placement of the four glitter enamel dots.

 

This last card was inspired by those awesome witches legs! Though it would be fun to have them dangling down on the front of a card, complete with their orange glitter buckles!

 

Here's hoping you all have a frightful and spooktacular Halloween this year!!!!!

Tonya

Halloween Tags

 

Hi there! It's Ronda here today to share with you three boo-tiful halloween tags.  

I love this time of year and especially love creating tags for this season. Tags are a great little project to get your creative juices flowing. I like to hang them up together as decoration and then use them either on my layouts or all together in a mini album.  

Supplies:  Frightful: Frightful Words Paper, Mixed Bag, Decorative Brads, Chipboard, Other: Ranger Ink Wakley Media Paint, Golden Paints, Uniball Vision Black Pen. 

On the Little Monsters tag I painted the background purple. I like using pops of color with the typical orange & blacks.  Purple is definitely one of my favorites to pair with those colors.  Once my background was dried, I layered the frightful words paper on top, ripping the bottom edge to expose the purple.  I added some burnt orange paint to the paper and then began layering my elements.  

 

Those witch legs are so stinking cute paired with the banner! I wanted to bring some of the black color to the top so I added the little monsters banner along with the 31 pennant and two chipboard bats.  The pumpkin brad looks great as the final pop of color.  

  Supplies:  Frightful: 6x6 Paper Pad, Decorative Brads, Chipboard, Stickers, Other: Golden Paints, 

On this 31 tag I also started with a pop of color, a dark turquoise.  I mixed the turquoise with a little bit of white paint to break up the dark color.  I grabbed my 6x6 paper pad and picked out this frightful piece of patterned paper to layer on top.  The white against the turquoise really stands out. 

 

I didn't think this tag needed much more so i just layered a few pieces here and there.  The sticker arrow to the top is paired with the fun spider.  

Did you notice there are three around the page? Three is always a good number in design.  I adore the giant sparkling 31 chipboard frame so I made it my focal point of this tag.  I love that it echoes the design of the patterned paper.  I finished the tag with the chipboard "October 31," adding that touch of white to the bottom.  

Supplies:  Frightful: 6x6 Paper Pad, Mixed Bag, Decorative Brads, Chipboard, Stickers, Enamel DotsOther: Ranger Ink Wakley Media Paint, Uniball Vision Black Pen. 

The Boo Crew tag is all about pairing patterned paper.  Again I went to my 6x6 patterned paper pad and pulled out a few sheets.  I wanted an orange base without too busy of a pattern so this orange chevron was perfect.  Next I layered the same pattterned paper in three different strips across the top of the tag.  By using the front & the back of the paper plus adding some purple paint, I really changed up the look and stretched my paper.  

I created a rosette "flower" out of patterned paper in a simple white & black design.  I added the brad circle on top changing out the small brad for a larger one. Don't be afraid to change up these fabulous brads to suit your design esthetics. I then added another brad element and a sticker circle design to the background before adding my rosette piece on top.  

The enamel dots around the page add that perfect pop of color and reinforce my circle elements around the page.  

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Home Decor

Hi everyone Laurel here.  As a child I was never really a fan of Halloween (well I loved the candy but the dressing up part I could do without).  As an adult I still am not a huge fan of it – I have never been creative enough to come up with good costumes!  However, I LOVE to decorate my house for it, especially if I am able to create my own items. 

 

Supplies: Frightful:  12 X 12 paper – Zig Zag;  Mixed Bag;  Decorative Brads

 

Today I have an altered witch’s hat for you.  I picked it up on clearance after Halloween last year.  I was happy to put it to use this year.

 

 

I used the Frightful collection and just went to work.    It really didn’t take that long and will look great with the candlesticks and witch’s shoe that I have on my hearth.

 

I wrapped some black tulle around the base and then tied it into a bow.  I then just tucked in some of the ephemera from the mixed bag.  One of the spiders is cut with my Silhouette and embellished with a brad.  The others are fun glittery plastic ones I picked up from the Dollar Store. 

 

 

 

My favorite thing about making my own decor pieces is that they are then one of a kind and that is fun!

 

Laurel

 

Halloween Treat Bags

Hey there, everyone!!  It's Lea again with some cute ways to give treats as gifts!  Halloween is on Friday, and I have created a couple of different fun gift ideas for friends & family!

 

Supplies: "Frightful" collection - 12x12 papers (Dots, Frightful Words, Pumpkin), 6x6 paper pad, chipboard elements, decorative brads, Mixed Bag, & enamel dots.

I used tons of products from the Frightful collection to create my little treat containers!  The little plastic holders are filled with candy corns, & they are super easy to put together.  The boxes are filled with maple frosted pumpkin spice cookies.  They require a little more time, but are definitely worth it!

The candy corn gifts were actually made from some of the plastic containers that MME washi tape comes in!  Normally I put things like that right into the recycling bin, but for some reason I held on to them....and I am so glad I did!  After filling them with candy corn, I added a strip of 6x6 paper & washi tape around the middle of each container.  I hung chipboard ornaments from the top of each one, then tied a bow to the same side & covered the bow in a decorative brad.  To finish I added diecuts & enamel dots to each one.

After baking & frosting the cookies, I assembled three cupcake boxes, & added the cookies into them (each box holds 7-8 cookies).  I wrapped 12x12 paper strips around each box to start.  Then I tied ribbon around each box, & topped the bow with a decorative brad.  Then I added sentiments & accents to the front & top of each box using chipboard and diecut shapes! 

Because the items I used are either not wrapped or homemade, these gifts would be best for family & friends that know you.  But you can always switch out what I used to wrapped candies & baked goods if you want to give them to people you don't know as well. 

Here is the recipe for the cookies if you want to make them!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
  
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease baking pans.

Combineflour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon plus and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop large spoonfuls onto prepared baking pans.

Bakefor 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Maple Icing

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 3 teaspoons maple extract

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Add the sugar & maple extract to the butter; stir until smooth.  Add more sugar if you need a thicker consistency, or add hot water a teaspoon at a time for thinner consistency.  Frost cooled cookies.

I hope you enjoyed my Halloween treat post today! 

Lea

Anatomy of a Double Page Layout | October 2014

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

With Halloween just around the corner, and the new Frightful Collection in hand, I was inspired to get busy on some Halloween pages. After taking a look at my trusty notebook, with a list of layouts that I still would like to complete in my children’s albums, I stumbled on Halloween 2011. Yep. I am taking it back a few years here folks. I can’t be the only one still working through some past memories to document, right?!?

Supplies: Frightful – “Frightening Frames” Pattern Paper, “Pumpkin” Pattern Paper, “Dots” Pattern Paper, “Frightful Words” Pattern Paper, 6x6 Designer Paper Pad, Mixed Bag, Enamel Dots, Sticker Sheet, Chipboard Elements, Decorative Brads; Collectable Collection Remarkable – “Smile” Grin Pattern Paper, “Handsome” Adorable Pattern Paper;  My Mind’s Eye Decorative Tapes – Red & Black; Other: Twine, Alphabet Stickers, Stapler

After pulling together my favorite pictures, I realized that I didn’t just have to cover trick-or-treating, but our entire Halloween festivities including our fun at the pumpkin patch and pumpkin carving.

I had just the right amount of photos where I could easily section the two big events off having one per side; pumpkin fun on one side, and then trick-or-treating on the other. I wanted the sides to be able to play on their own but complement each other too. I opted for a hap-hazard random cluster of photos on each page.

Of course I had planned to use the Frightful Collection, but after seeing my photos, I wanted to add in another pop of color, GREEN! I knew exactly where I was going to get that pop of green. I went right for my absolute favorite collection, the Collectable Collection. These two sheets just happen to be my all time favorites from that collection too. I have a thing for anything green. It’s always been my favorite color.

I kept the papers for the left side of my page more neutral… less spooky, I guess you could say. Since the pictures were from our pumpkin patch visit, I thought it would give that side a happier fall feel for those pictures.

The right side with the trick-or-treat pictures I went with the scary pumpkin faces and spooky words. Maybe I over thought my choices, but I had fun doing it. I just thought that these seemed spookier which was perfect for the spookiest night of the year!

When it was time to have fun embellishing, I wanted to just go a little crazy with all sorts of fun embellishments placed around my pictures. I added a strip of black & white stripe paper on the top to unify my two pages.

I tossed in a few scalloped borders here and there. Then, I added in brads, enamel dots, stickers, decorative tapes, chipboard elements, and bits & pieces from the mixed bag.

When it came time to choose a title, I almost cut out the word “Halloween” to place in the dotted green pattern paper. BUT I stopped when I was shuffling through the mixed bag assortment. There were just too many fun things in that bag to pass up. I went with a more playful and not so direct title. Obviously just looking at this page, you can see that it was all about Halloween. So instead, I played with all of the random bits & pieces that have words on them; particularly my favorite “Tricks & Treats” and create a collage to fill in my space that I saved for a title.

After playing with Halloween pictures, it is making me even more anxious for Halloween to come. It just happens to be my favorite holiday! I just love the entire fall season as a whole; great weather, beautiful colors, outdoor fun, and all those extra spooky ghostly shows on television.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful week and a spooky Halloween next week!

 

New Collection Reveal | Frightful

Are you in the mood for something spooky and scary today? Good. Because what we have to share is downright Frightful. Bats and skeletons and pumpkins oh my!

Okay. It's also kind of cute. We can't lie.

Meet Frightful, designed by Dani Mogstad.

This collection consists of 18 12x12 double-sided papers, a papercrafting kit, and an awesome variety of embellishments!

 

Are you in love? If you can't wait to get your hands on this collection, then leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!

We'll draw a winner on Monday, July 14.

We hope you enjoyed Reveal Week on the blog because we sure did!