My Mind's Eye Blog

Project LifeⓇ with Shelly | June 2014

Hey everyone, Shelly  here! I am back with this month’s Project LifeⓇ inspiration. Today, I wanted to share how I documented an entire season with the ease of pocket scrapbooking and Record it! Here is Happy Collection and a dash of the Now & Then Dorothy Collection.

 I actually had two single pages that touched on my daughter’s life in the spring of 2011. I know, I don’t do too many single pages, but sometimes I am known to jump out of my comfort zone from time to time. I still wanted to include a few extra everyday pictures in her album, so I thought “How about a pocket page to slide in between those single pages?” to include some of those everyday memories.

Supplies: Record it! Here is Happy :Journaling kit, 6x6 Designer paper pad, Enamel dots, Decorative tapes; Now &Then Dorothy:Decorative Brads, Buttons; Other: Becky Higgins Design C page protectors, String, Stapler, Tag punch.

After shuffling through the stack of Here is Happy journaling cards, I pulled out a few of my favorite 3x4 cards that would work perfectly to include over a couple of pictures. I trimmed them down and ran them through my printer adding in my own personal message.

To add in a little extra color to those trimmed 3x4 cards, I attached them with a piece of decorative tape. I loved that it added in a touch more of that deep plum color.

Next step was to add a little extra fun to the 4x6 cards with some enamel dots for some tone on tone action on the “Dreams” card.

I kept my journaling very simple letting the pictures do most of the talking. The polka dot enamel dot is actually from the Now & Then Dorothy Collection’s decorative brads. Simply take your nail (or tweezers) to peel the dot off of the metal brad backing. It pops off easy and you have a pretty little enamel dot to use on your pages.

I got creative with the last 4x6 space by using bits and pieces from the 6x6 Designer paper pad and buttons. For the “Hello” tag, I used my tag punch and the “Hello, I love you” 3x4 card with the cute little phone on it to create a custom look.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful day!

The Mini Album Look with Pocket Style Ease.

Hi!  Tina here today with a project that combines the mini album look with pocket style ease.

Supplies: Journaling Kit,Decorative Tape, Journaling Kit, Wood Dots; Record It-Here is Happy: Journaling Kit,Enamel Dots;Now and Then-Izzy: Flair,Enamel Shapes, Mixed Bag, Enamel Dots, Brads, Alpha/Tiny Words, 12x12 Chipboard Sheet, Buttons



I am not a pocket style crafter.  Since my children are grown, my daily activities and moments are pretty non-eventful and boring…But, I do adore pocket style products, such as journal cards and small embellishments.  

Last year, I attended an event that was on my bucket list, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!  I have hundreds of photos that have been waiting for that perfect project, so I thought a Mini Album would be the perfect way to showcase some of my favorite photos of my trip.

To prepare for my Mini Album assembly, I printed several of my favorite photos in the same sizes as the journal cards and notched the corners with a corner punch. (4x3 and 4x6)

Using the pre-made 4x3 and 4x6 journal cards, transparent overlays, and wood veneer pieces, I assembled my album with ease.  I LOVE how the transparent overlays looked over top my photos and cards.  No need to distract from their beauty by adding more embellishments.

I used a 4x6 wood veneer as my ‘cover’, and added the smaller 4x3 ones inside my album.  

Using enamel dots and shapes, flair, chipboard and buttons, I embellished several of the cards for a personal touch.

To finish the assembling, I punched 4 holes and held it together with binder rings, one of my favorite Mini Album ‘fasteners’.

Are you a pocket style crafter?  If not, how do you use pocket style product in your crafting?

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Mini Albums with Stephanie | April 2014 Edition

Supplies: Record It! -Just Splendid:Journaling Pack. 6x6 Paper Pad; Record It! -Here is Happy:Journaling Pack,Enamel Dots; Now & Then -Mildred :Chipboard

Hello!  Stephanie here with you to share this month's mini album!  

My husband and I recently celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary with an overnight getaway.  It was so nice spending some time together and I of course had to document this occasion.  As I was looking through all of the amazing My Mind's Eye collections, the overlays from the Record It! "Here is Happy" Journaling pack popped right out at me and I knew they would be fabulous in a mini album.  I didn't have too many photos from our little trip, so the overlays added a nice visual effect to my book.  Putting this book together is super fast and easy since there is very little trimming or cutting involved!

Let's get started!



1. Start by gathering your supplies.

I am using the overlays from the Record It! "Here is Happy" collection, as well as some journaling cards and 6x6 paper pad from the Record It! "Just Splendid" collection.  I love how versatile the MME products are!  You will also need a hole punch, two pieces of 4x6 chipboard and two book rings.


I printed off five photos from our trip and then paired them with 5 overlays and 5 journaling cards.  I wanted to keep consistency throughout my album, so each spread will be:  journaling card - overlay - photo.  I also grabbed an extra overlay to use as a cover/title for my mini album.  


2. Add your title onto an overlay.

I chose to use the chevron overlay as my cover page and adhered my title "seven" and a wood veneer onto the front.


3. Adhere a 4x6 piece of patterned paper to each piece of your trimmed chipboard.

These two covered pieces will be the front and back of your book.  I trimmed a piece of patterned paper from the "Just Splendid" paper pad to 4x6 for my cover page and used a 4x6 journaling card as my end page.  

Tip |  Save the chipboard that comes in paper packages just for book binding and covers.  The chipboard adds some stability and thickness to the book.**



4. Add your journaling and embellishments and adhere your pages back to back in the journaling - overlay - photo order.


5. Punch holes in your photos, overlays and journaling cards.

Now that your pages are adhered together (with the overlay between the journaling card and photos), you will want to punch two holes on the left hand side of your book.  Be sure each adhered page and overlay is facing in the correct direction to make sure you don't add your hole to the wrong side.

Tip |  To get your holes perfectly centered, grab two 4x6 cards and punch a hole on one side.  Then flip your top card over and punch the second hole, using the first hole as your guide.  This will guarantee your holes will be equal distance from the edges.  See photo above for a better visual.

6. Add your book rings and you are all finished!!

Here's a look at my finished book...


I love the transparent effect of the overlays.  They add so much interest to the photos!!

Thanks so much for joining me today!!  I hope I have inspired you to create a mini album using these awesome overlays!!  Let me know if you have any questions!  Can't wait to see what you create!

Clean + Simple Cards

Hey everyone!!  Lea here today with some very clean & simple cards to share with you today.  I feel like more often than not, I need a large padded envelope to send my cards in because of all the layers & dimension I add to them.  And that is perfectly okay...I decorate gift bags & packages with them when I'm giving presents to my family & friends. 

 

But sometimes it is just nice to be able to tuck a card into a regular envelope, throw a stamp on it & send it to a loved one.

 

Supplies: My Mind's Eye Record It! "Here is Happy"- Cardstock and Overlay Journaling Cards, Enamel Dots.

When I saw these 4x6 journal cards from the Record It! "Here is Happy" collection, I fell in love with the sentiment of them!!  They are sweet & encouraging & really can stand alone....which is one of the things that makes them perfect for Project Life & scrapbooking. 

As a card maker, I REALLY wanted to find a way to use them as well, but their size posed a bit of a challenge.  I didn't want to cover them up or cut them down much...so I decided to make the cards the main focal point of each card, and go with a really clean design.

I trimmed each 4x6 card down so they would fit on a standard A2 sized card, then rounded the corners as needed.  After adhering each journal card to the card fronts, I added some matching enamel dots as accents.  This gave each card a little bit of  added dimension & a pop of shine.  I then tied double bows from ivory colored twine from my stash & attached them to each card front...and that is it!! 

These are very quick & easy to make, but still look fabulous!!

I don't know about you, but I sometimes need the reminder that simplicity is a good thing...and these beautiful journal cards really helped me remember that!  Thanks for checking out my cards today...I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Lea

Don't Get Pinched - Scrap Green!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  In honor of this Irish holiday, I decided to create a green layout.  Usually green is a pretty tough color for me to scrap.  I dug through some of the new collections and came up with a variety of different greens to use on this design.

 

I decided to use some summer pool photos to make this even more of a challenge.  I started with one of the new Record It “Charmed” Word Art pieces.  I decided to cut the word “charm” out and use that as part of my title.  I love the font, and it went perfectly with the St. Patty’s theme even though my layout isn’t about that at all. 

 

Next, I dug into the Now & Then Milo collection and found a green & white polka dotted paper (“Inspired” Forest).  From there, I layered in many other green pieces.  I decided to tie in gold as well, which reminds me of the pot at the end of the rainbow.

Supplies: Record It! Collection: “Charmed” Word Art Ready to Frame Prints, “Pretty Things” Journaling Card Kit, Charmed Decorative Tapes, Pretty Things Decorative Tapes, Just Splendid Decorative Tapes, “Charmed” Enamel Dots; Now & Then Collection: Milo Papers—“Inspired” Forest, “Little Things” Doilies; Milo “Little Things” Label Stickers, Decorative Brads, “Inspired” Enamel Dots, “This Week” Enamel Shapes; Mildred “Oh Happy Day” Chipboard Elements, Decorative Buttons; Misc: gesso, pop dots, Martha Stewart Course Glitter Acrylic Paint, cord, thread, white Gelly Roll pen, Staz On Ink, Target Alpha Stamps, Sharpie black pen, transparency paper.

 

The Record It Journaling Card Kits are amazing!  I like to use these on layouts, and this one with the cut out hearts was perfect.  I backed it with green paper.  I added some blue decorative tape, some cord and a small piece from the Milo Decorative Brads topped with a gold enamel dot. 

 

The fussy cut title is my favorite part of this page!  I went over the gold with some gold glitter paint for some added sparkle, and then added in some tangled gold thread.  You can see how I also used gesso to create a faded look around the photos and papers.  I think doing this with a busy background helps the design pop and not be too distracting.  And plus it’s fun to get messy and create a not-so-perfect look!  Part of scrapping is making it look homemade, right? 

 

More gold pieces!  These chipboard shapes are from the Now & Then Mildred line.  I added more gold glitter paint inside the oval frame and then layered the heart on top of it.  Some tangled thread finishes it off.

I hope this inspires you to go green and create something that won't get you pinched!!!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Monday!

 

 

 

March Challenge!

Hi!  Tina here today with the March Challenge!  Tapes! Use 3 or more tapes in a project.

I adore decorative tape! Tape can be used on a multitude of projects and is always the perfect little touch.

For the challenge this month, I challenged myself to create a layout using mostly tapes. Once I had an idea in mind, the layout design/creation took no time at all. Here's how I created my layout, using 6 different decorative tapes from the new Record It! collections.

To start, I drew a loose rectangle in the center of my paper.  I also (using a t-square) sectioned off several areas where I wanted to place the tape.


Using a black and white pen, I doodled on each tape, using the tape design as a guide.  This really added a  whimsical and unique look to the tape.


Draw another loose rectangle around the tape section.  This will act as a frame around the tape. Embellish and color the frame with paint markers.


Add a journal card (that is also doodled), 1/2 of a doily, and a title and you are done!

Supplies:Decorative Tapes (Just Splendid, Here is Happy), Journaling Kit (Just Splendid) ;Misc: Cardstock:  American Crafts Pen: Scarlet Lime, Uniball, Sakura Markers: Montana Markers Chipboard Alphas: Pink Paislee Stickers: Prima Doily: Knot & Bow Adhesive - Tombow

Easy, quick, and really fun!

So there you have it. My take on the challenge. Can you use 3 or more decorative tapes on a layout? Show us how! Here are the rules.

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 Monday,March 31.

5. A random winner will be chosen and announced with the March challenge on Tuesday, April 1.

 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

 

 

Record It! { Charmed+Follow Your Heart+Just Splendid+Here is Happy+Pretty Things+All Things Chalk}

Welcome back to Day Two of our big reveals!

Today we have six new Record It! lines to share with you and we know you'll love what you see. There is truly something for everyone!

Each line contains ready-to-frame prints, decorative tape, enamel dots, 6x6 pads, and 3x4 and 4x6 cards.

Without any further ado...here we go!

 

1. Charmed- by Jen Allyson

 

 

 

 

2. Follow Your Heart -by Rhonna Farrer

 

3. Just Splendid- by Gennifer Bursett.

4. Here is Happy- by Celeste Knight

 

5. Pretty Things-by Juliana Kneipp

 

6. All Things Chalk

 







So what do you think? Let us know!

What do you love?  What will you be hoarding? What do you need? What caught your eye?

Leave a comment here and you will be entered for the chance to win the collection of your choice.

SIX WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN.

The comments section will be closed next Friday, January 10.

Good Luck!