My Mind's Eye Blog

Mixed Media with Karen | December 2013 Edition

 

 

Hi everyone!

This is Karen and I am back with a Mixed Media project. Like last month, I decided to make another watercolor card with stamps.

Since I am still deeply in love with the jars from the Cut & Paste line, I decided to use them on my card. Both the Hey You and Good Times sets have a jar in them, so I pulled out both.

The first thing I did was to stamp three jars in a row. I wanted the jars to look like they were full of hearts so I pulled out the doodly heart from the Snapshots set in Cut & Paste and started stamping it inside my jar. To ensure I didn't stamp on the label or lid of the jar and stayed inside the lines, I used the backing paper:


And here's how it looked at the end:


I then colored my jars with watercolor markers. I kept to shades of blues and pinks just to keep it simple and sweet. I then wrote part of my title right on top of the jars:


I finished out my hand-writing and then used letter stamps to create the rest of my title: fill up on love.


As my last step, I drew a border all around and added some more color so your eyes stay focused inside the card and don't wander out. I also added a few other stamps just for more texture. You, of course, could
leave it plain with just a border or even no border. Whatever makes you happy. :)


That's it for December. A simple, loving card to send to a good friend.

Thank you for letting me share and see you in 2014 for more Mixed Media!

Mixed Media with Karen | November 2013 Edition

This is Karen and I am back with another Mixed Media with Karen. 

This month, and next, I decided to play around with some stamps and create a few simple cards that you could send to your friends. At the beginning of 2013, I bought watercolor postcards  that I've been using to create art and send to friends. I grabbed one of my cards and the Cut & Paste Flair stamp set and stamped down the frame:


and then I used the curly stamp from the Collectible - Remarkable (Beautiful) set to add curls all around the frame.


I then used my watercolor markers to add color to all the sections created by the curly stamp.


Once I was done, it looked like this:


I then used a few of the stamp sets (Collectible - beautiful & hello, Follow Your Heart - Be Happy) to create a little title in the frame:

Once I colored the frame, I was done. I then decided to have fun experimenting with different frames. Here's one that's loose and uneven:


I decided I wanted it stronger, darker and starker so I just added a lot of black paint to the edges and ended up with this:



Which makes the watercolors that much more striking.

That's it for this month, see  you in December!!

Simply Stamped Cards with Shelly

Hello everyone! This is Shelly here today to share some simple stamped cards. I love to keep a few stacks of simple cards on hand for a “just in case” moment. Maybe you just want to send a simple note off to a friend you can grab one and go, or maybe you just wanted to give a simple thank you gift to a friend or even a teacher.

I like to wrap a short stack of 6-8 cards with envelopes and stamps for a simple thoughtful gift.  With the school year kicking into gear, wouldn’t it be a nice “hello, nice to meet you” kind of gift for your child’s teacher?

Supplies: Collectable Collection – Remarkable “Beautiful” Decorative Stamps, Unforgettable “Firsts” Enamel Dots, Notable “Cute” Enamel Dots, Memorable Decorative Tapes; The Sweetest Thing – Honey “Happiness” Stamps; other: Twine and Ink.

When it comes to doing card sets, I like to keep things simple and easy to reproduce, keeping cutting and pasting to a minimum because those always seem like a tedious time consuming task to me. Stamps are always an easy go-to when reproducing in larger quantities. You never have to worry about running out of anything!

I like to start it off by cutting a stack of 8.5x11 sheets of cardstock in half, creating a prototype, and then I start stamping. This is just my preference, but I like to do my stamping before I fold my cards. This way, the paper lays flat, and I don’t have to worry about that slight little bounce when I go to stamp. I know, I am a little crazy… am I the only one that does that or is that a normal thing?

I stamped all pinks on each card, then went through and did all yellow, and then all orange. This kept things real easy, not needing to switch out stamps each time I did a card. I went with the “One of a kind” sentiment from the Sweetest Thing Collection. I thought it was a nice versatile saying. You could easily use this card as a simple note card to say hello to a friend, birthday card, or even a thank you card.

I think the card is cute and ready to go after the stamping, but sometimes it is nice to dress them up a little more. You could add a little extra something by adding some decorative tape. The rolls seem to be never ending, and it is self adhesive which is perfect for mass producing. If flat isn’t in your blood, you could also add a little extra pop of dimension with a few enamel dots.

I like to keep a couple of cards in my card file box, so I can grab one when I need one. I also tied a few of them together along with envelopes with some twine as a set for when I need a nice random “Thank You” gift for a friend, family member, or a teacher.

So there you have it, my easy go-to process when mass producing lots of simple cards in the quickest way possible. Do any of you do the same? Do you like to keep cards and card sets on hand for that “just in case” moment that might pop up?

Thank you for stopping by today, and have a wonderful day!

Cut & Paste Tags

Hi Everyone, it's Ronda here today with you to share some easy tags using the Cut & Paste lines.  I love the versatility of tags. With the school year kicking off, tags are great to have to have in your stash when you need a little something for a gift. 

Supplies:  Cut & Paste: Adorbs  - Special: ''Unique' Paper; Adorbs-Story: Bits & Pieces Layered Stickers;  Adorbs-Be: Chipboard Stickers; Adorbs- Decorative Tape; Phresh-Good Times: 'Decorative Stamps;  Misc: Ranger Archival Ink, Maya Road Twine, Black Acrylic Paint, Gesso,

I knew the Adorbs Special Unique Paper had to be my background for one of my tags.  I just completely adore it but wanted it tone down just a touch so my chipboard pieces would stand out.  I used some waterdown gesso to create a light wash over this beautiful paper. 

Next i added the "B" side of the paper as a topper to my tag along with some decorative tape,  I then added some small black paint splatters and stamped the Phresh Good Times images on the background.  I love that pop of black sitting in the background. 

After getting the background just right, I added in the chipboard saying, tucking in the speech bubble tale into the layered sticker.  I love how these two statements naturally go together.  To finish this card, I simply tied soem black twine to the top bringing the black all around the tag. 

Supplies:  Cut & Paste: Adorbs  - Special: Sticker Sheet; Adorbs-Story: Bits & Pieces Layered Stickers;  Adorbs - Hello: Enamel Dots; Adorbs - Loved: Decorative Buttons; Adorbs-Be: Chipboard Stickers; Misc: Ranger Colorwash Spray Ink, Dylusions Spray Ink; TCW Stencil, Modeling Paste, Maya Road Twine, Acrylic Paint

This UR2 Cute Tag began with some modeling paste and a stencil on a manilla tag.  Using the Cut & Paste Adorbs line as inspiration, I colored in the background with blues, yellows, and greens.  I left some spots open with no color letting the manila peek through the background.

Next I layered on the pink pennant sticker and the UR2 Cute layered sticker in the center of the tag.  To give the tag more punches of color I scattered the enamel dots in the background.  I also added some chipboard flowers that are similar in color to the main sticker.  I added that extra green button to the sticker drawing your eye to the phrase. 

I keep all my tags in a little basket ready to add to a girft.  I usually write my sentiments on the back of the tag and use the twine to tie it to the gift.  How do you store your tags?

July Sketch Challenge!

  Hi there!  It’s Ronda here with you, bringing you the July Sketch!  Today's sketch is meant to challenge you in a good way.  On this sketch i have split the photos across the page.  To make sure we have a balanced design, I have tied it all together with a couple different elements including the title. 

On the sketch you can try one long vertical photo at the top and a small horizontal at the bottom.  Play around with the sizes and make your title bold in the center to bring it all together.

Supplies: Find Your Wings and Fly-Sky’s the Limit : ‘Labeled’ paper, 'Balloon Parade' Paper; 'Zig-Zag’ paper, Sticker Accessory, Stamps;  Find Your Wings and Fly-Up and Away:  ‘Krafty Floral’ paper, 'Admit One' paper, decorative brads, layered stickers, enamel dots; Misc: gesso, watercolors, acrylic paint, Ranger black ink, TCW stencil, Jillibean Alphabets, black pen,

I truly love the time I get with my sweet nephews.  Felix was at my house one day for a family get together.  He has his own chair for the table and drink cups in my cabinets.  We set him up with a dessert and just watched him tackle it like a pro.  It's these simple moments that I will always treasure.  It truly is the Sweet Life. 

To start this layout, I use the Sky's the Limit Label Paper with a gesso wash.  After it dried, I added in various water colors on the background using the paper line as a color story of blues, greens, yellows, and oranges.  I love that you can see the patterned paper design peeking through the layers of color.

I love the concept of the split photos.  You have to work in areas and then bring it all together somehow. I started on the top by layering a doily on the background to ground the photos with a nice white color.  I then added the strong black stenciled images along the photo, knowing black was going to bring the layout all together. 

I pulled out some scraps of patterned paper and punched 5 shapes in my color story.  I spread them across my page bringing the designs and colors all around.  While looking for those patterned paper scraps, I noticed the Admit one paper and thought a few tickets would look really cute too. 

I then worked on the bottom half of the page, again grounding my photo with a neutral strip of patterned paper.  You can see some of the scrap & punched patterned paper tucked under the photo here too.  Once I had both sets of photos down, I started adding in those finishing touches that would really bring the page together.  Stickers are a fun way to bring color, shape, and contrast to the page so I added them to both the top & bottom areas. 

Did you notice the circles all around the page?  Punched patterned paper, stickers, brads, and enamel dots across the page really bring the design together. 

What really bridges this design of split photos is the title in the middle.  I wanted nice neutral colors on this already colorful page so I used a combination of black & white.  I drew some black lines on the page and journaled above & below the title.  After I completed the journaling, I added the stamped images in black as the final touch.  They really draw your eye around the page balancing it nicely. 

Now it's your turn to tackle the split photo design.  Have fun and remember to bring it all together through color & design. 

A random winner will be chosen and shared with our next challenge on August 1st . You have until the end of the day on Wednesday, July 31 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.

 

4th of July Cards

Hi everybody, Tonya here to share a few 4th of July cards with you. I adore this holiday, it's the one of the rare times through out the year that my family and my husband's family get together. The pure joy on all of the kids' faces as they light up and watch fireworks is just the best site to behold.

Red, white and blue is one of my favorite color schemes and using a variety of My Mind's Eye Products I made these three cards, all were super quick and easy to put together.

For this first card I pulled suppies from the Kraft Funday collection.

Supplies: Kraft Funday Bright Days- 6x6 paper pad, Chipboard Elements, Decorative Brads 

For this next card I put the Decorative Tape to use by cutting out three different sized chipboard stars and covering them with different tapes.

Supplies: Kate & Co.- 6x6 paper pad, Decorative Brads  Decorative Tape set, black and red Kraft Funday Bright Days- Decorative Stamp Set

 For this last card I thought I would make a play on the cute little bird in the Kate & Co Cambridge Court stamp set. Instead of "Let freedom ring", I used...

Supplies: Kate & Co Cambridge Court- Decorative Stamp Set Kate & Co Oxford Lane: Decorative BradsBoy Crazy: Enamel Dots Decorative Tape Set: Red and Black

Hope you all have a fabulous and wonderful 4th of July holiday week!!!! 

 

Tonya

  

Creative Stamping

Good morning, MME fans! Today Danni and Suzanne are here to share some new and fresh stamping ideas with you. Enjoy!

★★★★★

Hello!  Danni here with you today to share three cards, using three different stamping techniques and one stamp set.  I have included a tutorial for the masking technique on my "Admit One" card. 

Supplies:Collectable: 6 x 6 Collectable paper pad, Collectable "Hello" Decorative stamps, Collectable Wonder decorative brads, Collectable chipboard shapes, Collectable "Firsts" enamel dots;MISC:  machine stitching, Bazzill card stock, Papertrey ink

I absolutely adore the butterflies in the Collectable "Hello" stamp set and wanted to have them as a focal on one of the cards. 

On my second card, "Heart You", I decided to focus on the trendy "stamping tilt" that is so popular right now. 

Supplies:Collectable:6 x 6 Collectable paper pad, Collectable "Hello" Decorative stamps, Collectable chipboard shapes, Collectable "Cute" enamel dots; MISC: Bazzill card stock,, Jenni Bowlin ink, Papertrey Ink

I thought it would be fun to have a monochromatic sentiment and embellish with color, from the Collectable "Love This" chipboard.

On my last card, "Hello", I wanted to play with the gorgeous doily and embossing.

Supplies:Six by Six 2:"A Mother's Love" Paper Pad, Collectable: "Hello" decorative stamps, Collectable chipboard shapes, Collectable "Cute" enamel dots, Collectable "Wonder" Decorative brads;MISC:  Bazzill card stock, Papertrey ink, embossing powders, machine stitching

I chose to use the Six by Six 2 "A Mother's Love" pad of paper.  I love every single pattern in this pad and the grey woodgrain was perfect to stamp.emboss my doilies.

These stamps are gorgeous and so much fun to play with.  I hope if you ink yours up, you'll link us up in the comments section!

★★★★★

Good morning everyone! This is Suzanne and I'm so excited to share my new creation with you!

Supplies:Collectable: 'Silly' Decorative Stamps,'Hello' Decorative Stamps, 'Beautiful' Decorative Stamps,'Today' Decorative Stamps,'Perfect' Tiny Word Stickers,'Journey' Decorative Brads,'Today' Moment Paper,'Today' Remember Paper,'You Are' Charm Paper,' Firsts' New Paper;Misc:Canvas,Acrylic Paint,Tissue Paper,Stazon Ink,Mod Podge,Faber Castel Gelatos,Vellum

I love creating small home decor items, especially using canvas as my background. This time I wanted to create a mixed media sort of piece to display in my work space. I pulled  bits & pieces from the Collectable collection, and laid out several stamps in front of me. I decided to also get a bit artsy on this project, and pulled in the Faber Castel gelatos on this project, too. 

I first used the Story Card as the main embellishment on this canvas. I added stamping detail using two different stamps. You can see the numbers, and the ruler inked. The card looked great alone, but love the custom card I created in the end with simple inking.  

I stitched across the top of the card, and added a tiny word sticker underneath.. Now, one thing I did learn after playing with this canvas was that stamping directly onto it, is not quite as easy as it seems. I learned that you need to stamp the image onto tissue paper, and then with the proper adhesive add it onto the canvas.

I will admit...it took many errors before I realized I was missing a step! I added the chevron image to the top and bottom of the canvas. One last detail was that I also stamped the sentiment in the lower right hand corner. All of these images were stamped with Stazon, and onto tissue paper.

The final details is the punched flower, and the butterflies onto the tag. Again these butterflies are all ink, and I cut around them to add to the canvas. My last attempt was using the gelatos to add more texture. This was my first attempt at a mixed media project, and with more practice I cannot wait to see the possibilities!

A little stamps, and some paint can combine to make a unique piece of art you will treasure!

Stamps+Mini Canvases with Tina

Hi MME fans! Hope you are safe and dry this Tuesday morning. Tina here today with a different way to use your MME stamps on your layouts.

Lately I have been slightly obsessed (okay, I'll admit it - I'm super obsessed) with these mini canvases by Artist Loft.  I have been trying new ways to incorporate them into my projects and the layout I would like to share with you today  demonstrates one of those ways.

Supplies: The Sweetest Thing-Tangerine:Sunny patterned paper,Woodsy patterned paper,Greetings patterned paper,6x6 paper pad,decorative tape,stickers,tiny word stickers,layered stickers,chipboard elements,stamps,decorative brads,die cut journaling card;Misc:Jenni Bowlin alphabet,The Twinery twine,adhesives,Artist Loft mini canvas panels,spray mist,embossing powder,linen canvas paper,embossing ink

I started by applying a coat of gesso to my mini canvas to prep it for the spray mist. Next, I stamped several images to the canvas (with embossing ink), then applied white embossing powder. 

Once this was cool, I sprayed several coats of spray mist till I got the color I wanted.

To finish off my mini canvas, I tied twine and adhered a layered sticker and tiny word sticker to the canvas.

I really love how the mini canvas looks on my layout and the dimension it adds.

Special Note:  I used the Mini Canvas PANELS - these are super thin and do not add as much dimension to your layouts as a 'normal' canvas.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Shelly Takes the October Challenge!

Have you entered our October stamping challenge? We sure hope so! It's an easy way to have lots of fun and you could win an entire collection of your choice!

If you missed the challenge, you can find it here.

Shelly made a page for the stamp challenge this month and here is what she came up with!

Happy Halloween by Shelly Jaquet

Supply List:Lost and Found Halloween:Hallows Halloween Ads patterned paper,Hallows Dot patterned paper,decorative brads,stamps,diecut sheet,chipboard;Winter Wonderland:Christmas Trees patterned paper;Six by Six Two:Mother's Love paper pad;The Sweetest Thing-Bluebell:stamps;Indie Chic-twine;Misc:Prima chalk ink,VersaFine,Marvy Uchida tag punch;corner rounder,adhesive,computer

Shelly says: When I decided to do the October challenge, it was really a "challenge" for me! I am not much of a stamper,so I really tried to push myself to try a few different things.

I used a mask of the Marvy Uchida giga tag punch to create a stamped tag using the stamps from The Sweetest Thing Bluebell.Then I created a border with the "creepy.crawly.spooky.scary" stamp from Lost and Found Halloween.Last but not least...I simply tamped the bird and spider web as accents to my page.

Next, I created a background with the stamps from All is Bright.

I also used the chevron arrow stamp as a banner.

I had so much fun with this challenge, even though it took me out of my comfort zone. I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

 

Mixed Media with Karen...Stamping on Watercolor Paper.

This is Karen, back for the October Mixed Media page. This month, I wanted to try something different. I took a watercolor paper and used a bunch of our stamps to create  flowers. I didn't overthink it. I just stamped.

As you can see some of them didn't come out perfectly but I didn't worry. I just stamped along the edges and added a few butterflies. It's fun to stamp some of the flowers so they look like they're going off the edge. It gives the piece a bigger feel.


I used a water-proof pen to draw over some of the parts the ink had missed. Then I decided what my sentiment was going to be. I wrote the word "life" and stamped the rest of my title using a mix of My Mind's
Eye stamps.


Then I started coloring. I used my Tombow dual-tip markers. These are watercolor markers so when used on watercolor paper, they react to water.

Again, I didn't over-think it. I just colored, had fun and reminded myself again and again that the goal was not perfection but fun and joy. I wanted to focus on enjoying the process.

Life is often about the journey and so is art. If you have fun along the way, the end product doesn't even matter as much. So remember to enjoy.


After I'd colored the flowers and watered the ink, I decided to draw a blue border on my page. I used a lot of water to then pull the color from the edges all the way into the page. I added a few more stamps for some background texture and double-stitched my border.

And I was done!
Supplies:The Sweetest Thing:Hello stamps,Remember stamps;All is Bright:stamps;Follow Your Heart:Be Happy Stamps,Be Amazing Stamps;Kraft Funday:Everyday Fun Stamps

And there it is. Thank you for letting me share my page and I hope you take some time this week to play with stamps and coloring. Coloring is not just for little kids!

Remember to be who you are and keep it imperfect. I hope you share your creations with me in the comments. I look forward to seeing them!