My Mind's Eye Blog

Collection Spotlight | Sleigh Bells Ring

Hey there, and Merry Christmas Eve! 

Missy here.  I have a festive layout to share with you all today featuring the amazing Sleigh Bells Ring collection.  I love that it has traditional colors mixed with woodgrain and deer.  I knew right away that I wanted to incorporate a deer onto this page because of the fun photos of my daughter wearing antlers. 

I began with the wood grain paper “Reindeer” and added some gesso to the background.  I then took a Crafter’s Workshop stencil and smudged more gesso through it with my fingers.  An interesting thing happened at this point.  Apparently I didn’t wash my stencil the last time I used it, and there was some green ink on it. 

The green smudged onto my page with the gesso, and I’ve never been happier with a mistake!  I love how it gave a green tint to the background pattern.  Sometimes a big OOPS moment turns out to be a great thing!

Supplies: Sleigh Bells Ring – “Reindeer” Paper, “Christmas Tradition” Paper, “Reindeer Names” Paper, “Joy” Paper, Alpha & Word Stickers, Wood Dots, Enamel Shapes, Mixed Bag, 6x6 Paper Pad, Treat Bags, Decorative Frames, Decorative Tapes, Decorative Brads; Decorative Tape Sets – Pink & Charcoal; Necessities – Metallics Decorative Tape; Other – Liquitex Gesso, Crafter’s Workshop stencil, vellum, Thickers, Silhouette Cameo, cardstock, Heidi Swapp Color Shine, Coats Thread, Brother Sewing Machine, Black Sharpie Pen

I combined one of the Chipboard Frames and Treat Bags as part of my layering.  I also mixed in some vellum.  I think using several different types of products to layer really makes your layout stand out.  It helps create lots of depth and interest, and it also gives you room to tuck little pieces underneath, like thread and brads.

The decorative tape in this collection is just adorable.  My favorite is the roll of reindeer names!  It’s perfect for any Christmas layout…especially ones with reindeer on it.  I used some gold thread to stitch through the tape.  I hand cut the deer from one of the papers in the 6x6 paper pad.  I also tucked in a vellum circle die cut I created in my Silhouette software.  Again, this is great for layering.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over the gold trend.  I know I’ll never get over this gorgeous sparkly gold glitter tape from the Necessities line.  Just a little bit here and there really makes a huge difference.  I layered a little strip under my title and then stitched over it.  I added in a row of the wooden dots, which are really fun to use.  Lastly, I cut tiny pieces of pop dots to raise my title up.  This is a great way to add more depth to your layout.

I hope this has given you an idea or two on how you can use this fun Christmas collection.  The wood grain elements included in it are just awesome and really make it unique.  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and thanks for stopping by!

 

Project LifeⓇ with Shelly | December 2014

Hello everyone! This is Shelly with some Project Life inspiration. With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I would share some Christmas inspiration Project Life style.

Let’s face it. We all take hundreds of pictures around the holidays. At least  I do! Each one containing lots and lots of action and colors, between that and the sheer number of photos, I get over whelmed. I tend to push documenting this festive holiday season all together. BUT… In came the invention of pocket page protectors. I discovered these fun things back in 2007 with the simple (6) 6x4 slots. Now, we have so many fun options to play with to make any picture work for our needs.

Supplies: Sleigh Bells Ring: 6x6 Designer Paper Pad, Gift Label Stickers, Alpha & Word Sticker Sheets, Mixed Bag, Enamel Shapes; Jubilee: Mint Julep “Live it Up” Transparent Frames; Other: Becky Higgins Design A & G page protectors, Bohemian Typewriter Font

When it comes to Christmas photos, there are a lot of things happening in each one of them, so I really like to stick with simplicity.  I want to let my pictures shine and tell the story. I chose just a few of the prints from the 6x6 pad that were calling to me.

I trimmed down the deer paper and added the banner sticker. I highlighted my favorite photo of my kids using the Jubilee Mint Julep Transparent Frames in gold. They were the perfect pairing with the Sleigh Bells Ring Collection. They don’t photograph well, but the look good in person! The picture shows just as bright as the others on this layout.

Have I professed my love for stripes lately? I have fallen into the striped paper trap lately with my pocket pages. I love that you can trim a piece down to 4x6, add some journaling, yet still look “fancy” in my eyes. They look like a pretty filler card, but serve a purpose.

I have wanted to incorporate a see-through pocket into my pages, but they never seem to make the cut. I always have too much journaling and pictures to use them. When putting together these pocket pages, I actually added an extra page protector to include a touch more instead of trying to cram everything in. I am so happy that I did, this gave me the extra fun space to be creative with.

This is actually the backside of the previous page. Like I said, I kept things VERY simple by repeating elements. I really love how cohesive it is.

To really make everything come together, I patched a few journaling cards all at once by trimming down the light wood grain paper to 3x4 and layering a strip of the plaid pattern. Those word phrases were the perfect little extra touch to bring them all together.

This spread was for my son’s album. I opted for the pockets for his Christmas memories, but of course with using pockets comes the challenge of what to do with the empty 12x12 spaces before and after these pockets when adding them to an existing album. I will be tackling this next week with my Anatomy of a Double Page Layout series.

Thank you for stopping by today, and I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas!

Shelly

Easy to Make Holiday Shaker Cards

Happy Holidays to all of you. This is Tonya here with you today. I can’t believe that Christmas is this week, can you?!  Today I have a trio of shaker cards to share with you. The great part about these is that these are “easy to make” shaker cards. Yep, that’s right with the help of the My Mind’s Eye chipboard frames, available in the Sleigh Bells Ring collection, some of the work has already been done for you! 

 

This next picture shows how these were assembled.

 

I simply adhered a piece of transparency on the backside of the frames, then added a layer of foam tape around the edges of the window, poured in some glitter and sequins. Lastly, I covered it all with the patterned paper that I wanted to show through the front side of the window.

 

Then I just adhered them all to card fronts and embellished away!

 

Supplies: Sleigh Bells Ring- Chipboard frames, Decorative Brads, 6x6 Decorative Paper Pad, Enamel Shapes, Mixed Bag Joyous- Joy Paper

 

For this card I added some glitter to the cardinal to help him stand out against the background paper.

 

Supplies: Sleigh Bells Ring- Chipboard Frames, Decorative brads, 6x6 Decorative paper Pad, Enamel Shapes, Mixed Bag, Decorative Tapes

 

For this next card I used the banner pieces that are in the mixed bag. I turned them upside down to make trees out of them and then topped each one with an enamel star.

 

Supplies: Sleigh Bells Ring- Chipboard Frames, Decorative brads, 6x6 Decorative paper Pad, Enamel Shapes, Mixed Bag, Decorative Tapes

 

 

These really were so simple to make. The chipboard frames give you the perfect base to begin making your own interactive cards.

 

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!

 

Tonya

Holiday Tags

Hi everyone Laurel here.  I love making tags (I don’t always use them, but I love to make them !)

 

Having handmade tags to attach to a gift just gives a gift that special touch.  But don’t stop there.  I like to add them to my cards and scrapbook pages too! 

 

Supplies:  Sleigh Bells ring: 6 X 6 pad;  Chipboard Frames; Cardstock Tags; Mixed Bag

 

Having tags on hand is just a good idea. 

 

 

I used the Sleigh Bells Ring collection as I love the warm homey feel of it.  The check, plaid and touch of black... sigh!

 

As always, I layered them up, adding bits and pieces here and there.  A bit of a challenge on such a small area, but I like a good challenge.

 

 

I have added these tags to my tag drawer, an upcycled sewing machine desk drawer, and they are currently on display in my home. 

 

 

Laurel

Holiday Gift Wrapping

'Tis the season of giving.  I had fun creating unique gifts with the festive Sleigh Bells Ring collection.

 

Who doesn't love cookies?  Create a fun and easy cookie holder with a 10" circle of paper.  Simply fold in the left and right sides at about 3 1/2", then fold the top and bottom edges in at 2". Fold in the 4 corners and secure with a stapler. Tie tags around it with twine. Line it with wax paper and fill it with with your favorite cookies.  Make individual treats by filling the adorable striped treat bags.

 

 

I re-purposed an old apple cider tin by spray painting the lid black and covering it with patterned papers, decorative tape, and twine. I added a beautiful paper bow and tag to the lid.  I tied a reindeer tag around it with twine and added some word stickers to it.

 

 

Dress up a clear pail with decorative tapes.  For the lid, cut a circle from the 6x6 paper and place a large circle sticker in the center. Cut a green circle and adhere a snowflake from the mixed bag with foam tape.  Attach the tag to the twine with a decorative brad and tie it onto the handle.  Fill with a Christmas treat.

 

I decorated a shallow tin lid with green and cream striped paper- rounding the corners and sewing around the edges.  I cut strips of the red and cream paper and wrapped them around the side, along with decorative tapes.  I placed a paper bow on top and attached a Christmas tree flair pin.  I matted the "Handmade with Love" sticker and tied it to the bow with red and white twine.

 

These fabulous papers and embellishments make packaging gifts a breeze.  I hope you enjoy creating handmade gifts from your heart this Christmas season.

 

Tamara

Sticker Week | Tonya

Hi everyone! This is Tonya with you on this last day of sticker week. I chose to make my sticker projects centered around gift giving. Using the new Joyous collection made this a very simple thing to do!

This collection is so elegant and sparkly. I also adore the vintage look of it!

 

I was able to take this very plain white box and turn it into something that I am proud to place under my tree.

 

Supplies: Joyous- North Pole Paper, Decorative Tape, Stickers, Decorative Pinwheel Bows, Decorative Brads, Tiny Alpha Stickers

 

I simply cut two strips of patterned paper and wrapped then around the box. Then I used the striped decorative tape, which I topped with some thin strips of glitter.

 

The pinwheel bow is one of the smaller ones in the package. I embellished the rest of the package with stickers from the sticker sheet and the tiny alpha package.

 

 I also created a set of four gift card tags. These were all cut from the 6x6 Decorative Paper pads.

 

Supplies: Joyous- Decorative Paper Pad, Gems, Cardstock Tags, Stickers, Tiny Alpha Stickers, Decorative Brads

 

You can easily personalize the tags by using the Tiny Alpha Stickers.

For this one I used the Cardstock Tags and just trimmed the top of it to match the top edge of the card pocket on this tag.

 

I love that little vintage Santa face, it is just the cutest!

 

I have one last project to share with you. This one was done using the Sleigh Bells Ring collection.  It was sitting on my desk and I liked how the first gift box turned out so I thought I would wrap another one using Sleigh Bells Ring.

 

Supplies: Sleigh Bells Ring- Decorative Paper Pad, Decorative Tapes, Enamel Shapes, Stickers, Flair, Bows

 

I think the big paper bow and the decorative tapes totally make this!!!

 

So, go ahead and use your My Mind’s Eye collections for more than just your layouts and cards. These products are so versatile, especially the stickers!

 

Tonya

 

Sticker Week | Lea

Hey there, MME friends!!  Lea here today with a post full of cards for sticker week on the blog!  I've pulled out all of my Sleigh Bells Ring goodies to create these, with an emphasis on the Gift Label stickers, Alpha & Word sticker sheets & the Enamel Shapes.

 

Supply List: Sleigh Bells Ring - 6x6 paper pad, gift label stickers, alpha & word sticker sheets, enamel shapes, bows, decorative tags. mixed bag, decorative brads, decorative frames, flair pins; other - black cardstock, green ribbon.

The holidays are in full swing (I'm sitting here with a cup of candy cane cocoa as I type this), and you might find yourself in need of additional cards!  So while these cards do have a lot of layers to them, they are really simple to put together.  My Mind's Eye makes it easy with all the amazing stickers & accents that they create for each collection.  With everything ready made, all I had to do was grab & start layering them on the card fronts.

The first card with the big (but fabulous!!) bow on it is the only one that can't easily slide into an envelope to be sent.  But it would look beautiful atop a gift package, basket or bag...don't you think?  The other three cards do have some dimension added to them, but will still fit into an envelope with ease (I checked!).

I started by cutting four A2 sized cards, 2 portrait & 2 landscape, from black cardstock.  Then each card got a background paper cut slightly smaller, 2 in red & 2 in green. 

After that I used patterned paper scraps, stickers & embellishments to decorate the front of each card.  I actually cut out the collection name graphic from the gift label stickers for the jingle bell card!  I kept looking at my stickers, and it just fit perfectly!

I hope that you've enjoyed my card set for stickers week on the MME blog!!  Feel free to recreate them for your last minute holiday card needs! 

Lea

 

Holiday Layout

 

Happy Friday! It’s Valerie today with a holiday layout to share. I can’t believe December is here! I got to sort through last year’s Christmas photos when prepping for this layout and it’s really hard to believe those photos were taken a year ago! 2014 has really flown by.

Supplies:My Mind’s Eye Sleigh Bells Ring”Blitzen” paper, mixed bag, alpha & word sticker sheets, enamel shapes, flair, and gift label stickers. My Mind’s Eye Necessities Reds “Confetti” vellum paper. Other: kraft paper & Silhouette Cameo

This layout showcases the Sleigh Bells Ring collection. The colors and patterns are so warm and cozy feeling... like curling up on the couch with a blanket in front of a nice warm fire while sipping hot cocoa. The design of this layout started with and was built around that circle trimmed photo. I don’t think you can never go wrong with a circle trimmed photo, and why not frame it with a Christmas-y vellum wreath?

The Sleigh Bells Ring mixed bag of die cuts contains the perfect combo of classic/a little bit vintage shapes and artwork. It’s where I found the sleigh and “Christmas” pieces.

I always love My Mind’s Eye’s Alpha and Word Sticker Sheets. They are such a fun little text addition to pages. The alpha portion spelled out “morning” for me in the title and the “Fa La La La La” in the above photo is from the set too.

Can’t wait to see how you all start incorporating the Sleigh Bells Ring collection into your holiday layouts and projects!

Holiday Wreath

Hi everyone, Tonya here today. Yay! The holidays are here and that makes me so happy. You know what else makes me happy? The new Sleigh Bells Ring collection! So much fun! When I saw it I immediately knew that I wanted to make a new wreath with it. You know, some new swag for our front door.

Supplies: Sleigh Bells Ring- “Reindeer” Paper, “Christmas Tartan” Paper, “Christmas Confetti” Paper, “Red Reindeers” Paper, Mixed Bag, Bows, Decorative Brads, Flair, 6x6 Decorative Paper Pad

This was super easy to make. I started with 14 6x6” squares of paper. I used one of the Martha Stewart decorative edge punches and punched the corner and two sides of each square.

Then I rolled them all up and then glued them around an 8” circle of chipboard. From there I just embellished.

For the hanger I attached a large grosgrain ribbon and used one of the big paper bows from the collection. Love those things, can’t wait to use them on some packages!

 

Happy Holidays to you all. Would love to see what you create with Sleigh Bells Ring.

 

 

 

Tonya

 

Mini Albums with Monika | November 2014 Edition

Who's ready for some daily story documenting this December? Welcome Friends to...

I'm Monika and I'm tickled to share with you my largest "mini" album to date. Well, size wise anyway! Sit back and let me share my approach with this Holiday Memories mini album.

Supplies:Sleigh Bells Ring | Patterned Paper: “Noel” “Christmas Confetti” “Reindeer” “Blitzen", 6x6 Designer Cardstock Paper Pad, Alpha & Word Stickers, Decorative Tape, Gift Label Stickers, Treat Bags, Decorative Tags,Joyous | Patterned Paper: “Red Reindeer” “Carols” “Joy” “Dear Santa”, 12x12 Paper Crafting Kit, 6x6 Designer Cardstock Paper Pad, Mixed Bag, Alpha & Word Stickers, Decorative Tape, Decorative Tags, Gems Miscellaneous | sewing machine, adhesive, jute twine, Bind-It-All, glassine and kraft bags, kraft cardstock, paper doily

THE PROCESS
I've done December mini books in the past:

1. ranging in size from 3" thick, starting on the day after Thanksgiving when we decorated the tree all the way to December 31st
2. just jotting notes into a smallish embellished spiral bound notebook and not even including a story for each day
3. that aren't finished...and it's been years since I began them...but that's okay because I was able to capture stories and photos for at least part of our December and something is better than nothing

If you're thinking, "Who has the time for that?" then how about this...choose a few activities this month that have meaning for you. Take some photos. Jot down the story about why these photos have significance for you and voila, you now have a snapshot in time of some lovely memories.

So this year, I'm giving myself permission to document our December story just on days that I want to. Or have time to. Because as you all know, December is so very busy and full of joy.

 

I'm not sticking to a rigid schedule, but we do have some annual activities that we do as a family and I've included pre-made pages into my mini album to help me document those events.

 

THE PAGES

THE DETAILS

I'm making the glittered advent tags work for me and pre-designing pages for activities that I know are going to happen. 

 

• 14 is for the year 2014
• 8 is glued on a Polaroid Frame chipboard element that has foam dots on the back allowing me slip a small photo behind...we'll be attending our town's Christmas tree lighting on this evening
• 5 is part of a two page design and has been embellished with a Gem and a Decorative Tag...I'll add in our #5onthe5th photos {a monthly project I do} and we're going to document our favorite ornament
• 2 is for the "2" of us - this page is just before my December 24th page and might appear to be out of order, but...my husband proposed to me on Christmas Eve and I'm going to try to get him to write a little note to tuck inside the Treat Bag along with mine

I love little surprises!

 

REPETITION FOR THE WIN

How gorgeous is that Dear Santa paper? 

 

I adore it and actually used it for three pages in my mini album. 

 

Yes, three times! 

I have three kids, aged 9, 11 and 23 so I've inserted those Santa pages for the 9th, 11th and 23rd of December.  

 

The Glittered Advent Tags were added to glassine bags {for the 9 and 11 year-olds} and then I added the 23 tag right on top of the 25 next to Santa for something a little different. 

 

I can't wait to look back on these pages years from now, seeing their handwriting and their thoughts. And the glassine bags are perfect for holding pages from circular ads showing what they've circled to be added to their Wish Lists.

 

 

DESIGN TIP | adding pages to a spiral bound mini album

Drop by my blog where I share a quick + easy tutorial showing how to add photos, ephemera and more pages to an already bound album here.  Because we all know that if you give a girl a mini album, she's going to have tons more stuff to add!

 

Enjoy your holidays, however you celebrate them or choose to document them, and may you have love and joy in your homes.