My Mind's Eye Blog

Mini Albums with Stephanie | July 2014 Edition

Hi there!!  Stephanie here with you today!  I am excited to share this month’s mini album tutorial, but it’s also pretty bittersweet to me!  This month will be my last month here at My Mind’s Eye.  It has been such a pleasure and an incredible honor to be a part of this amazing team.  The company, products, staff and design team are so awesome and I am humbled to be a part of this journey with them!  Thank you so much for joining me this month, as well as every month!!

 

Ok….onto the mini album!  This month, I decided to focus on all of the millions of Instagram photos I have on my camera roll!  I am a big fan of Instagram and their square photos and thought a little album of our "insta days" would be fun to look back on years from now.

 

Let's get started!


1. Print out those photos.  
I printed mine at 4x4 inches, which is also the size that I will be using for my album.  I like to print my photos with a small white border around the edges and just use my normal print settings to select the "bordered" option when printing.


2. Trim your papers and gather journaling cards.
After you have your photos printed, the next step is to trim your favorite My Mind's Eye papers to 4x4 inches.  While you have your supplies out, shuffle through the journaling cards and pick the ones that coordinate with your papers.  I chose one card for each photo since I am planning on have a photo and a journaling card on each spread.


3. Attach the journaling cards to the base pages.
Easy peasy!  Now your base pages are all ready to go!
 

4. Adhere the photos to the back of the base pages.  
Be sure to pay attention to the orientation of the journaling cards to make sure they are facing in the correct direction.  Now is also the perfect time to coordinate your photos with the sayings on the cards.


5. Embellish!
Grab your MME embellishments and add a little pop and dimension to your photos and journaling cards.  As you will see, I kept my pages rather simple, but really, anything goes here!  


6. Bind your mini album.
I wanted to do something a little different than book rings, so I decided to use my Bind-It-All to bind my pages.  You could easily use ribbon, book rings or twine to hold your pages together.

And now your mini album is complete! Yay!
Here is a look at my finished book:

 

So fun and so easy, right?  Thanks so much for joining me this month!!  I hope you enjoyed this simple mini album tutorial and are inspired to record those Instagram memories!!

Mini Albums with Stephanie | June 2014 Edition

Supplies: Market Street Ashbury Heights; Market Street Nob Hill; Necessities Metallics; Necessities Woods

Hi there!  Stephanie back with you today to share this month's mini album.  This book is a really special book to me!  I just celebrated my 37th birthday and decided to make my own birthday daybook to document where I am in my life right now, as well as list some of my goals and aspirations for this upcoming year.  You could easily make this type of book for just about any occasion or event!  They are so simple to make that I recommend making a few at a time to have on hand, or to share with others.

Let's get started!



1. Gather your supplies.

I am using a mix of the Market Street and Essentials collections.  I'm also adding in a few neutrals, including a white doily, an office supply tag and a white piece of printer paper.



2. Trim and score your papers.

The cover of my book is 8x10 inches (before scoring and folding).  I've trimmed my inside pages to various sizes to add a little variety in my book (all inside pages are smaller than my cover page).  Feel free to get creative here!  Once your papers are trimmed, score each page and your cover down the middle.




3. Organize your book.

After your papers are scored and folded, organize your papers how you want them to appear in the book. Remember that both the front and back of each paper will be visible.  I like to make sure I don't have two bold papers next to each other.  Mixing in the whites and neutrals keep the book bright  and fun!




4. Clip your pages together and bind the book.

For my book, I decided to sew right along my scored lines.  I like to use a large clip to hold my pages together when sewing.  It keeps them from slipping and moving.  If you have smaller pages in the middle of your book that aren't secured with the clip, be sure to hold those in place as you run them through your sewing machine.  
If you don't have access to a sewing machine, you could always hand sew your pages together, or use a hole punch to punch two holes and tie your book together with a ribbon.

Here's a look at my book after sewing:



I cut out the number "37" with my Silhouette Cameo added it to the front of my cover to act as my title.  It wraps around the front and back of the book and creates a nice contrast with the light wood paper from the Essentials collection.

Here is a look at my completed birthday daybook.  I just love how it turned out!  I used just a few photos, as well as some of the journaling cards from the Market Street collection to fill up my book.  This book is so fun to make and even more fun to fill up!  It would make the perfect birthday gift for  yourself or someone else!

Mini Albums with Stephanie | May 2014 Edition - Inspiration File

Hi there everyone!!  Stephanie back with you this month to share another fun mini album tutorial!!  I've really been wanting to create an inspiration file book for a while and as soon as I opened the new My Mind's Eye Market Street and Necessities goodies, I knew they would be perfect for my book!!

I'm a huge fan of Pinterest and online galleries, but I really love holding tangible items!  I love gathering all of my favorite ideas on paper rather than only having them on my computer.  This inspiration file contains some of my favorite quotes, magazine pieces, photos, etc., but you could easily make a mini album or travel folder using this technique!  Let's get started!!


1. Start by gathering your supplies.

You will need:
1. paper for your cover and end page (8x10)
2. two pieces of chipboard trimmed to 8x10
3. two pieces of vellum trimmed to 8x10
4. decorative tape
5. adhesive
6. adhesive fastener

I am using two of the Market Street 8x10 Ready to Frame art pieces for my cover and end page.  The "A Dream Is Where It All Begins" is the perfect quote for my little book!  And the gold vellum paper from the Necessities collection is just divine!!  I love how they all work together so nicely!



2. Adhere your vellum to one side of your chipboard pieces and your cover/end pages to the other side.  If you have paper with a certain orientation make sure that each one is facing the correct direction before adhering down.



3. Add a strip of glittered tape or washi tape down the middle between your two chipboard pieces.  Leave just a little gap between the two so your folder can open and close properly.
 

4. Add another strip of glittered tape/washi down the spine of your book and fold together to make sure your tape is sealed well.


5. Sew or hand stitch around your file book edges just to make sure your cover and inside pages stay attached.
 

6.  Add an adhesive fastener (purchased from local office supply store) to the inside of your book.  I added mine to the right hand page, but you could easily add one to both side.

Now you are all ready to fill your book with inspiration and ideas!!  Here's a look at my inspiration file book!



On the inside, I decided to add my inspiration pieces to the right side of my book and a few of my favorite quotes and embellishments to the left hand side.  



Whenever I come across something that I want to keep, I just add it right to my inspiration book!  It's stacked right with my calendar, so I carry it with me wherever I am!  You can never have too much inspiration!!

Thanks so much for joining me today!! I hope I have inspired you to make your own inspirational file book or folder mini album!!

Supplies used:
MME Market Street Ashbury Heights 8x10 Ready to Frame Art
MME Market Street Ashbury Heights Chipboard Elements
MME Market Street Ashbury Heights Journal Card Packs
MME Nob Hill “Sparkle” Foiled Paper
MME Nob Hill Journal Card Packs

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!

White Cardstock + Pops of Color

Hi there!  Stephanie here with you today to share layout using the new Now and Then Izzy collection.

I'm a big fan of a white background.  It's like a blank, empty canvas just waiting to be filled with color.  Sometimes my mood calls for soft and calming colors, and other times, I want bold pops on my page.  When I started planning this page, the colors from the Now and Then Izzy collection really drew in my attention.  The patterned papers are a little more subtle and the embellishments have that pop of color!  It's was perfect combination.

Supplies: Now and Then- Izzy: "Good Times" Range, "Boys" Dapper, "Happenings" Enamel Dots, "Good Time" 3x4 Journal Cards, "Dream Big" Chipboard and Buttons.

I started with my white background and layered a few of the softer patterned papers on my page.  I chose lighter colors and a few neutrals because I really wanted my embellishments to stand out on my page.  


After my papers and photos were layered, I grab a few of the journaling cards that coordinated with this collection and added them to my page.  The "today" card on the right hand side of my paper layers continued with the red-orange color on my page.


The navy block on the "remember this" journaling card gave the left side of my page a little more balance and color.  I added my journaling onto this card and created a hide-away pocket for the card.  I love adding interactive elements to my page.  It's like a little secret waiting to be discovered.  


I finished my page with a few embellishment clusters in the top right and bottom left of my page.  Including clusters on a diagonal continued with the overall balance of my layout.  

Mini Albums with Stephanie | March 2014 Edition

Hi everyone! Stephanie back with you to share this month's mini album. I love the new Record It! collections. The journaling kits are perfect for just about any project! Today, I wanted to share a fun way to use those journaling cards to create an accordion mini album.  

Supplies needed:
MME Record It! Just Splendid Journaling Kit
MME Record It! Just Splendid Decorative Tape
White cardstock
Corner rounder
Adhesive
Bone folder


1. Start by gathering your supplies.

As I mentioned, I'm using the Record It! Just Splendid journaling kit as the main base of my album. I will be using the wood veneer cards as the front and back of my book. They are super thick and sturdy and will stand as a great base to the accordion book. I also pulled some of my favorite journaling cards from this pack! The colors are just so fun and happy...you really can't go wrong!



2. Trim two pieces of cardstock to 4x12 inches.  

3. Score your card stock a little larger than 4 inches.  \

Repeat the scoring for the remainder of your trimmed paper. You will have one section on each piece that is a little smaller than 4 inches. You will use these two smaller pieces to connect the strips of paper together.

**Note: Feel free to add in additional strips of paper for a longer accordion album.  There are no rules here!  :)**


4.Using a corner rounder, round your corners to match the corners of the journaling cards. The journaling cards will be covering this section, so don't worry if they don't match up exactly!

5. Adhere your two strips of scored cardstock together.  

Use the two sections that are smaller than 4 inches and try to make the combined section roughly the same as the other sections. Your two pieces of paper will not line up perfectly. That's ok. You will cover this section with either a card or photo, so it will not be seen.


6. Create a cover for your accordion mini book.

I trimmed the journaling card that had a pie chart on it and added it to the back of the wood veneer card.  I love the starburst effect that the circle has peeking out of the open heart!  You can add a different journaling card, a photo or journaling in this section.
 

7. Adhere your cover to the front section of your accordion album.  

I also used the additional wood veneer card included in this pack as a back cover (not pictured). Adhere the back wood veneer as you did for the front.


8. Choose your favorite journaling cards and add them into a few sections of your album.  Save a few places for photos.
 

9.Trim out several sections of the journaling cards.  

These fun sentiments and journaling labels make the perfect embellishments and journaling spots for your photos.
 

10. Print your photos at 3x4 inches and round your corners.

11.  Add your trimmed embellishments and some washi tape for fun pops of color.



12. Fold and enjoy!

Thanks so much for joining me today! This little accordion album is so fun to put together and would make the perfect card or gift! I hope I have inspired you to create one for yourself or a loved one!! As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Mini Albums with Stephanie | February 2014 Edition

Before we share Stephanie's mini we want to tell you that we are SO THRILLED to be a part of this month's Scrapbok Generation CREATE magazine. The issue is absolutely lovely and the inspiration is nonstop. Go check it out HERE.

Hi there!  Stephanie back with you again this month to share another fun mini album.  This is an easy little album to assemble.  It took me about 30 minutes from start to finish to make the book and decorate the pages!

Supplies needed:
Patterned paper: Cupid's Arrow, Chalk Studio, Collectable, The Sweetest Thing
Paper Trimmer
Bone Folder
Brad
Decorate Tape
Twine or string
Adhesive
Photos and your favorite MME embellishments


1. Start by trimming four sheets of patterned paper to 4 inches x 8 inches.  These will be the inside pages of your album.  


2. Score the trimmed paper at 4 inches (right down the middle).


3. Fold your paper at the score line to create a small "card".


4. Adhere your "cards" together.  
Start with the first card, place adhesive on the back side and then adhere it to the front of the next card. Repeat for the remaining papers.


 When you have finished adhering them all together, you will end up with a cute little folding book.


5. Make a cover.

Trim another piece of patterned paper to 4 inches x 12 inches.  This will be your cover piece.
Score your paper at 4.25 inches, 4.5 inches, 8.5 inches and 8.75 inches and fold.  The right side of your paper will fold over the left side to create a flap.  

*Note: if you are adding more than the pages shown here, you will likely need to increase the distance between your two score lines shown above to allow for more pages/space.*


6. Grab your folded/adhered pages and glue onto your cover.  You are only adhering this bottom side into the book.


7. Add a strip of washi tape for color and a brad onto the middle of your flap.


8. Wrap a piece of twine around the brad and tie a knot, tucking the ends in under the brad.  The twine will act as the closure for your book.

And that's it!!  Easy peasy!  Now you are all ready to decorate.  I decided to include some of my favorite things in this sweet little book.  Let's take a look...

I hope you enjoyed this month's mini. Thanks so much for stopping by. TGIF!

Home Is Where the Heart Is Mini

Good morning everyone! Stephanie here. Today I'm going to share the mini that I made for the MME booth at CHA!

I had so much fun playing around with the new “Record It” All Things Chalk collection!  I love the black and white colors!  They are so easy to dress up using fun photos and embellishments. 

For my mini album I chose the Heirloom Sn@p album from Lost and Found Record It . I decided to use black and white photos to coordinate with the collection.

I added pops of gold throughout my book for visual interest and to help off-set the black and white combo.  I started by spray painting the chipboard inserts that are included with the album with gold spray paint. I then used these as canvases for my photos and paper layers. 

To add a fun “peek-a-boo” element in my album, I used photos of various sizes to allow the reader to see through to the next page.  I added a few doilies, sequins and vellum here and there just to make it a little prettier!  Such a fun collection!!

Hope you enjoyed my album share! Have a wonderful day.

Mini Albums with Stephanie | January 2014 Edition

 

Hi!  Stephanie here with you today for this month's mini album tutorial!!  I had so much fun putting this little book together and I can't wait to share it with you.

I always love compiling our goals and thoughts about the previous year at the beginning of the new year.  This year, I had everyone write down their favorite moments from 2013.  I decided to put them all together in a pretty mini album!

The album I'm sharing today is so easy and fun to make.  It's a simple pocket mini album made by folding together pieces of patterned paper.  You could also use envelopes instead of patterned paper, but I think patterned paper makes it look much prettier!!  :)


1. Start by gathering your supplies. I used various papers from the Collectable collection, as well as from The Sweetest Thing collection.

You'll also see I pulled the blue chevron paper from the Mistletoe Magic collection.  Although it's a Christmas collection, a lot of the "b-sides" of the papers can be used anytime!  

I also am using a cut file as my "cover".  If you would like the use them same cut file, you can download the file HERE.  

The words are from a poster I saw on Pinterest.  I felt like the words encompassed the theme of this little album perfectly!
2. After you have cut your cover page with your die cutting machine, trim various patterned papers into strips to place on the backside of your paper.  

I used the MME decorative tape to hold my strips into place before sewing the edges down.  If you don't plan on sewing your paper strips into place, I would recommend using a good adhesive to make sure your papers don't slide around as you handle your book.

3. Next you will want to trim down the patterned paper for the inside of your book.  I just randomly cut my paper anywhere from 5x12 inches to 7x12 inches.  You will be folding your paper in half and these will be the "pockets" of your album.

4. Using a sewing machine or washi tape, close the edges of your book, leaving the long side open.  You should only have to close up two sides since the "fold" of the paper is your fourth side.  


You can make as many pockets as you would like....it's totally up to you!  I decided to make five pockets for this book.  One for each of us in our family and then one extra pocket to hold our goals for 2014.


5. After you have sewn your sides and created your pockets, stack them together as you would like them to be in your book.

6.  Starting with the bottom layer, apply adhesive to the top of the pocket and then place the next pocket onto the adhesive.  Continue in this fashion until all of your pockets are adhered together.

**Note: I started with two small strips of adhesive as you can see above, but ended up adding a bit of adhesive near the opening of the pocket to help discern where the pockets opened.  Use your best judgement as to where to use adhesive.**


Now the "base" of your book is completed and you have little pockets for holding photos, journaling, etc.


7. If you would like, you could add a ribbon around your book to hold it together and keep the insides of the pockets from sliding out.  You will need to add the ribbon before you add the front and back covers of the book.  

To do this, simply grab a ribbon and wrap it around your book to measure how long you should cut it.  Cut the ribbon.

8. Stitch the ribbon (or use strong adhesive) to hold the ribbon to the back cover of your book.  I am using a smaller piece of white card stock for the back of my album.  I wanted the pretty patterned papers to peek out on both the front and back.


9. Adhere on the back and front covers of your book.  Tie your ribbon and your book is completed!  Yay!


You can use this little pocket mini album for just about anything!  It would be perfect for holding thoughts and journaling for the new year.  You could add more pockets and use it to keep a favorite "monthly memory" throughout the year.  At the end of the year, you would have a completed book on your shelf.

Here's a collage of my finished book.  As I mentioned, I created a pocket for each of us to record our thoughts and memories from 2013.  I also added a pocket to hold some of our family goals for this year, 2014.  It will be so fun to look back at the end of the year and see how much we've grown and how many goals we've accomplished!!

Supplies:The Sweetest Thing collection (patterned papers),Collectable collection (patterned papers),Mistletoe Magic collection (patterned papers),Cut & Paste collection (stickers, chipboard stickers, labels), Decorative Tapes

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!  I hope this tutorial has inspired you to make a mini album of your own!!  Be sure to link up any projects!  I would love to check out what you made!  

Mini Albums with Stephanie | December 2013 (part 2!) Edition

Hi!  Stephanie here with you today to share another fun mini this month!!  I really love the new mini album starter kits and wanted to use one for a "year-in-review" type of album.  Although I do Project Life throughout the year, I always love making a mini album or photo book to finish the year off.  I love that the books are usually smaller, easy to hold and are kid-friendly.

The Lost & Found Record It albums are the perfect size for this project!  And bonus...they include all of the page protectors, inserts and dividers that you need to put together an album.  The only thing else you need are your pictures, a few journaling cards and some embellishments!  So easy!

1. Gather your supplies

I decided to use the Lost & Found Record It album since I wanted to keep the outside of my book fairly neutral.  I debated painting the beautiful embossed front white, but in the end chose to go with a full photo collage.  I wanted the book to be jam-packed with photos and having a collage on the cover was the perfect starting point.  

I created my photo collage in PicMonkey.  You could easily create one in Photoshop, but I find PicMonkey to be so user friendly that I didn't want to bother with opening up my Photoshop program.  And best of all…PicMonkey is free!

To create a collage in PicMonkey, simply select "create a collage" from the main screen, upload your photos and drag and drop them onto your canvas.

Tip // If you are using PicMonkey, size your collage at 1800x2400 pixels.  That will ensure that you picture prints at the 6x8 size for the album page protectors without being blurry or pixelated.


Once you have added all of your photos, all you have to do now is save and print.  


2. Print your cover

Here is a look at my finished collage for my cover.  It is sized a little larger than the 6x8 size, so be sure to measure your cover and decide how large you photo should be prior to printing.


3. Attach your cover

Use strong adhesive or Modge Podge to attach your photo to the cover.  I printed mine on matte photo paper and adhered it with my tape runner.  

And now you are ready to start the inside!!



4. Print photos for the inside of your album

I created a few picture collages for both of my children, my husband and myself.  I wanted my book to be pretty picture heavy since I already have tons of journaling and thoughts recorded in my Project Life album.  I save all of my photos by month on my computer, so I went through each month and chose a few for the collages.  I also created these in PicMonkey!  In addition to the collages, I pulled out some 4x6 photos and square instagram photos from my picture pile to use in the album.


5. Create journaling and filler cards for your page protectors

Whenever I start a project like this, I always like to assemble my inserts and journaling cards prior to working on the album.  I find that the process runs much smoother (for me) if I have everything all ready to go.  I tend to get sidetracked easily if I have to run to my computer, to my typewriter, etc.  Having everything already made is a real plus!

For this book, I typed up highlights and memories from this year, 2013.  I created one for each of us, and also created a few filler cards.

And now for a look at my finished album!  I just love it and I hope you will too!!  

Grab a cup of coffee and settle in!  I've got lots of pictures to share!



I used one of the tabbed chipboard dividers as my opening page.  I added my photo on top of a doily and then the "happiness" sticker in in the middle.  It's the perfect title page!


I followed the same pattern for each person throughout my album to help keep it simple and easy, as you will see.  Each person has a photo collage or two in a 6x8 pocket, as well as two additional divided page protectors.  Making these decisions and setting up my book prior to beginning the project kept me from being indecisive as I added in my photos and journaling cards.
 

Like most parents probably do , I have way more photos of my children than I do myself or my husband.  To keep our photos simple, I printed out one larger photo onto a piece of 6x8 photo paper and then added it to the backside of the collage photo.  I actually really love the balance the white adds to the book.


The best thing about albums with page protectors is the "peek-a-boo" effect.  I love adding smaller photos, confetti and stickers to the plain pockets.  Don't feel like you have to fill up every single slot with a photo or journaling card.

To end the book, I added two photos of our family onto the chipboard divider.  Simple and perfect!

Quick tips //

1. Add stickers to the outside of the page protector.  It gives your book a little bit of texture and dimension without being too bulky!



2. Create confetti pockets to add a little color and fun to your pages.  



3. Use smaller pictures, embellishments or cards inside of your pockets to create a fun peek-a-boo effect.

And that's our 2013 all finished!!  
Thank you so much for joining me today!  As always, please let me know if you have any questions!