My Mind's Eye Blog

Mini Albums with Stephanie | December 2013 Edition

**ETA** It has come to our attention that the video is still private. We will resolve this issue today. Thank you! **Supplies: Mistletoe Magic, Vintage Christmas

Hi everyone!  Stephanie here with you today to share an extra little mini album this month!  It's an accordion mini album and it fits nicely inside of this small box.  

I put together a video showing you how to assemble this little album using the Mistletoe Magic and Vintage Christmas lines.  It would be perfect as a Christmas gift, stocking stuffer or even a Christmas card!  I hope you enjoy the video and please let me know if you have any questions!

My MInd's Eye Mini from stephaniebryan on Vimeo.

Mini Albums with Stephanie | November 2013 Edition

Hi!  Stephanie back with you today to share this month's mini album.

Since it's the season for Thanksgiving, and to go along with this month's challenge at My Mind's Eye, I decided to create a "gratitude" mini book to record all of the things my family is thankful for.  There really is so much to be thankful for!!

Supplies needed:
Chalk Studio collection
White cardstock
Paper trimmer
Bone folder
Adhesive
Hole punch
Ribbon/twine
Date stamp & ink


1. Start by gathering your supplies.  I am using the Chalk Studio collection for my album.


2. Build your album cover by trimming down a piece of patterned paper to 6.5x12 inches and a piece of white card stock to 7x12 inches.  That extra half of inch on the white card stock will create a frame around your patterned paper and will also add to the sturdiness of your book.


3. Trim regular printer paper to 6.5x11 inches.  I used about 13 pieces of printer paper and 2 pieces of patterned paper for my base pages.  I wanted to make sure I had one piece of paper for each day during the month of November, but you can add as many or as few pages as you would like.  I typically would use card stock for my base pages, but since I was including so many I felt like printer paper would not be as bulky.

4. Score your trimmed patterned paper and printer paper down the middle and fold.



5. Using your crop-a-dile or hole punch, punch a half circle from the fold of your cover papers.  I recommend placing a scrap piece of paper over your folded cover before you punch your hole.  Be sure to line up the edge of your scrap paper with one end of your cover (or you could trim your scrap paper to the length of your cover).

The punched mark on your scrap paper will now act as a guide for the next hole you punch.  This will guarantee that your holes are evenly spaced.


6. Flip your scrap paper over, lining up the edge with the edge of your folded cover.  Punch your second hole.


7. Repeat the above steps for the base pages of your book.


8. Grab your ribbon or twine and thread each end of your ribbon/twine through the holes on the inside of your book.


9. Pull the ribbon/twine all the way through the holes and tie in a bow on the outer edge of your cover.


10. Decorate the cover of your album.  I chose to keep my cover very simple and used the "The Story of Us" layered sticker from the Cut & Paste collection.


11. Using a date stamp, add a stamp for each day of the month.

And now your book is al lready to be filled with memories!

Here is a look at some of the completed pages of my album.  This book is still going strong at our house and it will surely be a family tradition.  

The whole family has been involved and hearing what my children are thankful for just warms my heart.  I'm pretty sure I am going to have to make my daughter her own book next year.  She begged me everyday to fill in our book.

Thanks so much for joining me today!!  I hope this tutorial has inspired you to make a thankful journal for your family.  Please let me know if you have any questions!!

November Challenge | Gratitude

Hi!  Stephanie here with you today to share your November Challenge. The challenge this month is simple. Document your gratitude.

Here's what I came up with. I decided to create a layout documenting the two people I am most grateful for.  I couldn't imagine my life without them!  And although a lot of my projects and layouts throughout the year document our memories and my thoughts, the Thanksgiving season always makes me stop and remember what this life is all about.  

I am so grateful for so many things, people and opportunities in my life.  But these two....well...they take the cake.  They warm my heart and make me smile and laugh every single day.  And sometimes they make me a little bit crazy, but that's what life is all about, and I'm grateful for even the bad days.

When I started this layout, I knew I wanted to use the softer colors from Chalk Studio.  I chose to use the "b sides" of the papers to keep my layout delicate and sweet.

Supplies:Chalk Studio:patterned papers, 6x6 paper pad, layered stickers,decorative brads;Misc:tag,doily,vellum


I began by choosing a few different patterns from the 12x12 papers and the 6x6 paper pads.  I then trimmed them into various sized squares.  I wanted my layout to have a "layered" look to it; and I wanted to see little peeks of the beautiful patterned papers throughout the page.
I typed my journaling on vellum so the paper layers would still be visible.  I love how vellum softens everything.
To add a few pops to my page, I added a few layered stickers that had the most perfect sentiments for a gratitude layout!!  Then I finished the layout off with some brads and a title cut from my Silhouette.  

And there you have it!  Love and laughter...straight from my two sweet children.  That's what I'm most grateful for.  I'm grateful for being their momma.  

How did Ronda interpret this challenge? Let's take a look!

Supplies:Collectable: Notable-Silly ‘Cheery’ Paper, Silly Pins; Remarkable – Authentic ‘Original Paper,’ Remarkable-Day Decorative Buttons; Misc.: Bazzill Cardstock, Maya Road Posies, DMC floss

The So Grateful card uses only two pieces of patterned paper.  Since MME paper is double sided, it’s really easy to create a coordinated card.  On this card I used the Authentic Original Paper from the Collectable line dividing it into 2/3rds and 1/3rds.  I then cut a scrap pennant out of the Cheery paper and stacked the decorative buttons on top of the posies.  I added a printed out a title of “so grateful” on cardstock to finish the card!

Supplies:Notable-Silly ‘Cheery’ Paper, Silly Pins; Remarkable – Authentic ‘Original’ Paper, Remarkable- Beautiful ‘Grace’ Paper, Remarkable-Day Decorative Buttons, Remarkable – Handsome ‘Adorable’ Paper; Misc.: Maya Road Baker’s Twine, Hero Arts “Thank You” stamp, Ranger Coffee Archival Ink

 This Thank you Card uses the same kind of pennant as on the So Grateful card.  I cut them out of multiple scraps of patterned paper and lined them up on the top edge of the card.  I also added the pennants from the decorative buttons to add depth and dimension to the card.  A simple Thank you stamped on the bottom of the card ties it all together. 

What are you grateful for? Let us know by creating a project for this challenge.

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 Saturday, November 16.

5. A random winner will be chosen and announced with the second November challenge on November 17. The prize is any MME collection- the choice is yours.

Check back later for the October sketch winner!

Thanks so much for stopping by today- Can't wait to see what you create!

Mini Albums with Stephanie | October Edition

Hi everyone!!  It's Stephanie here with you today to share a fun Fall mini album with you!!

Fall is my very favorite time of the year. I love the colors, the leaves, the coolness in the air...everything.

For the mini album this month, I wanted to create a book all about our fall adventures.  I started by writing down a list of what I wanted to do this fall and went from there.  I also wanted to add some fun and different textures to this album.  It's always fun to look around your scrap room to find new ways to use old product!

Let's get started!
Start by gathering your supplies.  I went through my lovely My Mind's Eye papers and found colors that reminded me of fall.  I used lots of the Cut & Paste collection with a few papers and embellishments from the The Sweetest Thing collection.

As you can see from the photo above, I also grabbed some office supply tags, vellum bags, brown paper bags, felt and burlap.  Just search around your room and see what you can find!!
A fun addition to any mini album is to make a peek-a-boo window.  I like to fill mine with confetti...It's kind of like a party in a page!

To make a window, you will need two pieces of paper trimmed to the same size.

1. I trimmed my paper to 4x4 inches.  

2. Use your paper trimmer to cut out a box on the inside of your paper square.  I used the 1" mark on the right side of my trimmer as my guide.  You will want to stay consistent throughout both pieces of paper so your open squares will line up correctly.  

3. Once your squares are trimmed from the middle of your paper, trim two pieces of page protector or plastic roughly the same size as your base papers (mine was 4x4 inches).  

4. Use double sided tape to attach the plastic to the inside of your pages.  

5. Next, use your sewing machine or washi tape to close three of your four sides.  

6. Punch out some beautiful confetti, add it to the pocket and sew/tape the remaining side!!  Now you have a fun peek-a-boo addition to your book!

There are so many ways you can jazz up your mini album!  I'll share a few of my favorites...
Adding washi tape to pockets, tags, photos or journaling cards is a perfect way to hold things in place and add a little color to neutral tones.

Using your mists or Color Shine to create patterns on cardstock or patterned paper can add a fun interest to your book.  Instead of using the mist with the sprayer as normal, remove the top from the bottle and use the bottom point to draw, write and create.  Once dried, you can use these shapes and drawings as journaling spots or for picture layers!

Here is a look at how my mini album came together....
Be sure to think outside of the box with your lovely products!!
Buttons, tags, washi and banner pieces make your mini album visually interesting!  They add a fun texture and dimension to your pages.
Stickers and chipboard pieces make great places for adding notes and thoughts about your photos.  And remember, you don't have to add lots and lots of journaling.  A few details about your photos or any memory that comes to mind is perfect!

And that's it for me today!!  Thank you so much for joining me!  I hope I have inspired you to create a mini album for your fall adventures!!  As always, please let me know if you have any questions!