My Mind's Eye Blog

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 | 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!  

Mix and Match with Karen- October Edition

This is Karen, back with another Mix and Match for October. I am still on my 6x12 streak. I've decided that I really like this size and, more significantly, I like how it causes me to think differently since it's so narrow and tall compared to the 12x12 pages I usually make. If, like me, you haven't changed up the sizes you use for your layouts in a long time, I highly recommend giving it a try.

 For this month's Mix and Match, I knew I wanted to use the new Cut and Paste line. I love how colorful the line is and the papers make me so happy. I decided to match it with The Sweetest Thing which might be one of my all-time favorite lines. I love the warm yellows and oranges and reds in both lines.

In the spirit of changing things up, I decided to print a 4x6 photo of our recent trip to visit my husband's family. I usually prefer smaller photos on my pages but this picture has all of his family in it and I wanted each person to be clearly visible, so I decided to print it larger. The neat part was how the 4x6 covers the entire width of the 12x6 paper, cutting it in two sections.

I pulled out the aptly-named Best Paper from The Sweetest Thing line to use as my background. I liked the "one of a kind" words and knew that I wanted it to show on my page, so I lined my photo right above it and
used that as my starting point. I then pulled out Amazed and Point from the Cut and Paste line. I added a strip on top and one on the bottom, and a pink section in the middle. A few embellishments here and there
and this is what I ended up with:

For the top of the page, I used a sticker from the Find Your Wings and Fly line and I cut off the right side to make sure it lined up well. If you look carefully, you can see that I used the cutoff part on the bottom left of my page. Nothing is ever wasted. I also used the Decorative Tapes on top of the seams where the papers meet, I like to do that for a more seamless feeling. To add some texture, I stitched on top of them, too. Even though you can't see the stitching, you can feel it and I like the texture it adds without distracting you too much.
On the bottom part, I repeated the same The Sweetest Thing word stickers, the white stitching, and then added some more stickers from Find Your Wings and Fly.
This one ended up quite simple but I still love it. Sometimes we try to over-complicate things when we make our pages. I find myself spending hours on where one tiny embellishment should end up. In the end, what matters most (to me) is that the memories I care about are preserved, the stories are told, and that I had fun while doing it.  So if I find myself struggling with an embellishment for more than 20 minutes, I take
a pause and see if I can do without it altogether.

Thank you, again, for letting me share my page and I'd love to see any Mix & Match pages you have from this month so I hope you link me up in the comments!

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!

Mix and Match with Karen- Mother's Day Edition

This is Karen and I am back for another month of Mix and Match with Karen, the Mother's Day edition!

Mix and Match is the blog series that allows me to share how easy it is to mix old MME with new MME.

Recently I came upon a photos of my mom with her two daughters (my sister and me) and I knew I had a photo of me with my boys, so I decided this would be the perfect excuse to honor my mother for Mother's Day. I thought about how it all started with her.

Not only could I have not had my kids if she hadn't had me but I know that she taught me how to be a mom with the unparalleled love she had for me.

Since my photo was quite colorful, I decided to pick lines that were loud and happy colors. I ended up using My Girl, Boy Crazy, Hip-Hooray, and The Sweetest Thing. I have a few stickers and enamel dots from other lines, too but those are the main four I used.

Once I picked the back of the Simply Lovely Doily Paper from The Sweetest Thing, I noticed the zigzags and got the idea to cut it apart and have some colorful paper sneak up from behind.  I cut off the paper
using the zigzags as my guide and then glued some Hip-Hooray Boy Party Paper on the back. I then lay the top piece of the zig zag paper on top. I decided I wanted one more section to peek out so I cut out another line along the zig zags and this time glued the Kite Strings paper from the My Girl line. I then put down the zig zag paper on top and I ended up with something like this right before I put the top section back down:


Once I had the top part down, my paper was about 15 inches so I cut off an inch from the bottom and two from the top. I then stuck the photo of me with my boys in the red section and put my mom's photo behind a frame just below mine. And then I had fun adding my title and journaling. The rest of the layout was just pulling random chipboard embellishments, accessory sheet papers, enamel dots, and stickers from each of the lines.

This is what I ended up with:



Here's the embellishment cluster on the top left. And you can also see how I stitched along the zigzags. I used blue thread for zigzags and green thread for the frame.


Here's the photo of me with my kids and my mom with her kids:


And a mini-cluster on the top, right:


The title on this piece reads: It all began with you. Thank you for being the best mom. I am so thankful.

And the journaling says: There are many things I learned from the schools I went to and the books I read in my life. But the most important thing I ever learned came from you, mom. You are the one who
taught me how to be the best mom in the world. You are the one who taught me to love unconditionally and to support the people my kids are, no matter what. I am so incredibly lucky to have had you as my teacher. I love you with all my heart. Thank you so much, mom.

So there we go.  If you haven't touched these beautifully soft and happy lines in a while, I urge you to pull them out and play with them. I am confident you will have at least as much fun as I have had. And if you use them for a Mother's Day layout, all the better!

Classroom Valentine Ideas with Shelly and Suzanne

Welcome to the blog guys! You picked a great day to come by, we have some amazingly creative and darling classroom/child valentines to share with you all today.

Enjoy and have a wonderful Thursday!

Die Cut Valentines by Shelly Jaquet

Supplies:The Sweetest Thing-Honey:'One of a Kind' title,'Perfect' title,'Simply Lovely' title, 'One of a Kind' journal card, 6x6 paper pad,decorative brads;The Sweetest Thing-Lavender:'Cutie Pie' title,'The Best' title,'Fabulous' title, 'About Me' journal card, decorative brads, 6x6 paper pad;Indie Chic-twine;Winter Wonderland-stamp set;Misc:tag punch,Versafine black ink,sewing machine and thread

Shelly says:With Valentine’s Day right round the corner, we are starting the next round of “holiday” parties for the New Year.

My daughter just loves it when she gets to play with all my craft stuff with me, and so do I!

What could be easier than using My Mind’s Eye pre-made die cut titles and journaling cards?We flipped through my stack and together we chose our favorites. Then, we pulled out the coordinating 6x6 paper pads and decorative brads.

My daughter will be having a Valentine’s Party with her Daisy Girl Scout Troop next Sunday. So we sat down together this past weekend to create some special handmade Valentines for her Daisy Friends.By keeping to this size, the valentines will easily fit into an envelope.

We trimmed 2” strips of paper from various patterns and matched them up to each of the die cuts. Using a 4.25”x5.5” card base as a guide, we trimmed the 2” strips to size after arranging them how we wanted them.

We finished each card off by stamping “to and "from” (using the Winter Wonderland stamp set) on to white tags. I have a punch to create these, but you can also find pre-made tags at your local office supply store.

Next, we attached the tag using brads and twine from the Indie Chic Collection.With the odd shape of these valentines, I was worried that they might fall apart after all the handling they would endure with the kids, so I quickly ran each through my sewing machine. Those babies aren’t going to fall apart now!

To add a personal touch, my daughter added to the pre-printed sentiment. I have to say that I was pretty proud of how she knew just what she wanted to say to each one to make it her own message in her own handwriting. She is so excited to hand them out at her Valentine’s Party!

I hope you feel inspired to pull out your stash of die cut titles and create with your kids today!

 

Assorted Valentine's Day Treat Bags by Suzanne

Supplies: Lucky in Love:Flower patterned paper,Cupid's Arrow patterned paper:Lost and Found 3-Ruby:stamps,enamel dots;Misc:glassline bag,doily,glitter

 Suzanne says: I thought cookies would make for a fantastic Valentine treat for my children's classmates. They are easy to make, and fit nicely in these glassine bags.

I took a 5x7 glassine bag that I cut to 5" x5 3/4". Then I took an oval punch, and punched the top of the bag to add a handle at the top. Glassine bags are perfect for baked goods, and make a beautiful presentation.

I covered the middle of the bag with the Flower Power patterned paper, and added a stitched doily to the top.  A few glittered hearts, and a cute stamp (from Lost & Found 3) add fun valentine details. 

Supplies:Lost and Found 3-Ruby:Grey Quatrefoil paper,Ruby Stripes glitter paper,enamel dots,layered stickers;Misc:vellum,heart doily,glitter,ribbon

Suzanne says: I also created these popcorn pockets stitched together with vellum. The Lost & Found 3 Ruby Collection has a color palette that is so very perfect for Valentine's Day crafts. This was so easy to create...and it is a beautiful way to present special treats, notes, and cards.

These were the perfect size to add individual servings of popcorn tucked inside! An inexpensive way to ensure all 25 classmates are gifted with a treat on Valentine's Day.

And another vellum popcorn pocket example:

Supplies: Lost and Found 3- Ruby:Medallion patterned paper,Quatrefoil paper,Floral patterned paper,layered stickers,decorative brads;Misc:vellum,doily,ribbon

Supplies:

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope I've given you some different and fun ideas for your valentines!

Tags with Ronda

Happy New Years!  I hope you have been enjoying all the new incredible releases. It’s Ronda here to share some design tips for you. 

It’s no secret I love creating tags.  It’s an easy way for me to jumpstart my creativity.  The one question I am always asked is what I do with all the tags I create. 

There are lots of ways to use tags: gifts, mini albums, on the front of a card.  I’m going to give you a peek into my process and then offer you another way to use tags.\

The first thing I always do when creating a tag is decide on a color story.  Here I drew inspiration from The Sweetest Thing Honey.  I loved the grey, yellow, pink, & black color combo.  I used both paints and spray inks on the background of my tag. 

I always love adding black to my tags.  It really grounds the design.  Stamps are a great way to add in those black elements.  If you aren’t sure where to place the image, you can use the packaging image to see where it might look best. 

I love the brads in The Sweetest Thing.The cool thing about them is you can take them apart to mix and match the colors and/or designs to meet your needs.  Here I also added a bit of black ink around the edge to make it pop.

I added a few splatters of black paint along with the beautiful black doily from The Sweetest Thing-Honey 'Love' stickers.  To finish the tag, I used the 'One of a Kind' layered stickers and some bakers twine. 

Repeating design elements in odd numbers is always a good thing.  On this tag it’s the black doily design. This tag is so pretty and would be great on a gift.

But have you ever thought about using your tags on a layout?  It’s a great way to add layers to any page.

I had this photo on my desk for a while waiting on the perfect color story.  Once I completed the tag I noticed how well the photo & tag went together.  I pulled out The Sweetest Thing Honey 'Love' Bouquet patterned paper and started layering elements starting with my tag.

To make the tag stand out a bit more, I added some yellow ink on the background.  I am so happy I left long tails on my bow because they look so cute looped around the page. 

I added a few enamel dots on both the tag & layout along with a few chipboard hexagons.

I wanted a strip of patterned paper to anchor the tag to the page so I decided to use the grey stripes of the Lost & Found 3 Ruby Doily paper.   

The Sweetest Thing Honey journal card, brads and stickers look so good tucked underneath the stripes.  I inked all edges with black ink to make them stand out a bit more.   

I repeated elements from the tag onto my layout like the black splatters, the enamel dots, and the black doily design found in both the brad and chipboard piece. 

To give the brad element a little more texture, I pulled up the edges to make it look more like a flower. 

I hope today's post helped you find another use for your tag creations.  Thanks for joining me today!

Supplies: The Sweetest Thing-Honey: ‘Love’ Bouquet patterned paper,stickers,enamel dots, ‘Simply Lovely’ brads,‘Happiness” stamps,‘Perfect’ chipboard elements,journal card.‘One of a Kind’ layered sticker; Lost & Found 3-Ruby: Doily patterned paper,Misc:BasicGreey alphabet stickers, adhesive, ink, paint, spray ink, stencil, twine

Mini Albums with Monika..."Right Now"

We're just days away from a brand new year, can you believe it?

Greetings...I'm so excited to share another Mini Albums with Monika project today.

A few years ago, I recorded answers to the same questions every month for a year...similar to the "currently" journaling prompts we've all seen around.

Fun project to do and even more fun to look back to read what was on my mind back then. I thought it was time to do this project again, so let me share with you my process and the mini album page download, which you'll find at the end of the post.

Supplies The Sweetest Thing-Honey:Love patterned paper, 'One of a Kind' layered stickers, Lost and Found 3-Ruby:chipboard elements;Indie Chic:'Hanging Out ' decorative tape,Misc: sewing machine and thread, glue stick, spiral binding machine and o-wires, raw chipboard

When I create a mini album project, I nearly always design the cover last. Once I began my search for goodies to embellish the front cover, the chipboard piece "Tell Me All About It" seemed just the perfect title for this collection of "right now" thoughts.

You might notice that I added a chipboard arrow to cover the title that was already on the layered sticker. A little machine stitching (in red) highlights the red spiral binding and the red in the chipboard arrow that points to the title.

I'm still crushing on the decorative tape trend and I chose the gold polka dot tape to enhance the gold from the layered sticker embellishment on the front cover. For the back cover, a little more decorative tape to add a bit of interest. If you don't have a binding machine, use binder rings instead.

Supplies:The Sweetest Thing-Honey:Love patterned paper,'One of a Kind' layered stickers,Lost and Found 3-Ruby:chipboard elements

See those blank blocks at the top and bottom of the mini album page? Here's how I decided to kick it up a notch...add more MME paper to the project!

I printed enough pages to record my thoughts for two years, but left some pages unembellished so that I can add other MME collections to my mini album as new collections are released.

 

DESIGN TIP | When adding paper that needs to fit within a block, my go-to adhesive is a glue stick, which gives me just a bit of time to wiggle the paper around until it's in just the position it needs to be in.

Supplies Lost & Found 3-Ruby:Floral patterned paper,Lost & Found 3-Oliver:Mixed Floral patterned paper;The Sweetest Thing -Honey: 'Perfect' Flawless patterned paper;The Sweetest Thing-Tangerine: 'Happy' Sunny patterned paper, 'Hello' Wishes patterned paper;The Sweetest Thing-Lavender:'Reasons Why' Swatch patterned paper,'Fabulous' Berries patterned paper;Lucky in Love:Multi Stripe patterned paper

Here's another peek at the Right Now mini book and the link to the mini album page template for you to download. Just print the file on your favorite 8.50 x 11 piece of cardstock and trim to size. 

I would adore seeing how you used the download for your own mini album project posted to our Facebook page, so please share!

For some reason we can not get the download to work today. Just CLICK HERE if it isn't working for you below!

December Challenge #2- Use our Sketch!

We are here today with our second December challenge. And I know that all of you will be thrilled to see that our sketch challenge is back!

Ronda Palazzari is here today with a new sketch and her take on it. But before I show you her gorgeous work, I need to lay down the ground rules for you.

1.Project must be created new for this challenge. It must use the sketch in some discernable way.

2. Project must look like a MME project. We say this every month-but we are not going to give you a percentage of MME that you have to use. Just make sure that it is comprised mainly of MME product.

3. All submissions must be turned in by midnight on Tuesday,January 1. A random winner will be announced with the first January challenge on January 2. Please enter via the InLinkz form below.

4.Winner will win MME collection of their choice.

Sound good? Easy enough right? Here's the sketch and Ronda's fun layout. Enjoy!

Supplies:Lost & Found 3-Ruby:Medallion patterned paper,adornments,decorative tape,stickers;Lost and Found 3-Oliver:stamps,stickers;The Sweetest Thing:-Tangerine: 'Happy' Woodsy patterned paper, 'Wonderful' chipboard elements,'Hello' buttons, 'Sunshine' brads, 'Together' enamel dots,'Together' stickers, 'Together' designer tape;The Sweetest Thing-Lavender:'About Me' Collage patterned paper;The Sweetest Thing-Honey:'Simply Lovely' brads,'Simply Lovely' crocheted doilies;Misc: The Crafter’s Workshop stencil, Maya Road spray ink, Liquitex paint & modeling paste, Ranger Archival black ink 

Ronda says:Instagram has changed the way I take daily photos.  I love those little squares of everyday life.  This sketch was a perfect way to capture our date nights that are so very special to us. 

The background paper is so beautiful so I just wanted hints of texture that didn’t take away from the patterned paper.  I used modeling paste & a stencil to create subtle details.   I picked the bright papers of The Sweetest Thing to pop against the neutral background. 

Like the sketch there are two layers of patterned paper on the bottom left & upper right corners.  I interpreted the circles by using two kinds of doilies, one paper one and the other is a beautiful crocheted doily. 

I love how easy it is to layer in My Mind’s Eye embellishments to add details to a layout.  Washi taped adds even more pops of color.  

The enamel dots and stamped images really complement the splatters of spray ink and stenciled hearts.  I placed the journaling on the side next to the stamped images to complete my layout. 

 Note about the sketch:Layering is easy with December’s Sketch.  You can use two smaller square photos or one larger photo to layer on patterned papers.  Interpret the circle motifs as you wish.  Tuck in embellishments here and there.  We cannot wait to see your takes on this month’s sketch. 

 

Remember- link your submissions via the inklinkz tool below. I will be back later today with a winner for the first December challenge.

Have fun and good luck!

Pinspiration Friday

Happy Friday! We are so glad you stopped by today, it's Pinspiration Friday! Every day, we scour the Internet for inspiring MME projects. We find your work on your blogs, through our FB page,and in online galleries. We pin the ones that inspire us most!

Then once a month we challenge our designers to use one of your creations as inspiration for a layout or card.

This month Jana and Shelly are joining us. Here's what they came up with. Enjoy and have a lovely, creative weekend!

Inspiration Piece: Tonya Dirk

Jana's version:

Supplies: Winter Wonderland:Tags patterned paper,In the Neighborhood patterned paper,Flakes patterned paper,Presents patterned paper,6x6 paper pad,12x12 chipboard accessories,stickers,decorative brads,buttons,twine,stamps;Misc:cardstock,silhouette,Kerri Bradford word art,Cuttlebug,Poinsettia Quilling die,stamping ink,copics,paper piercer,needle and floss,adhesives,journaling pen

Jana says:For my Pinterest lift I was inspired by the oh-so-talented, Tonya Dirk, and her page titled "A Love Like No Other".

The thing that first caught my eye about Tonya's page was that adorable banner flanked with two flowers across the top. Also, I was really inspired by how Tonya used a sheet of 6 x 6 patterned paper to anchor the two smaller photos underneath.

I used the happy and bright Winter Wonderland collection for my page. To replicate the wood planked paper in the background of Tonya's page, I stacked together several strips of the blue patterned papers from the collection. 

Lately I am really love using tone-on-tone pattern papers to create visual background textures on my pages and so this was right up my alley! For the banner across the top of the page, I used the trees from the Winter Wonderland stamps. I cut the trees out after stamping them omitting the trunk and star.

Next, I flipped them over and "strung" them together with the awesome tri-colored twine from the Winter Wonderland collection. It worked out perfectly! For the poinsettia flowers flanking my banner I used a quilling die by Cuttlebug. The script word across the top of the banner was cut on my Silhouette Cameo using Kerri Bradford artwork.

Like Tonya, I anchored two smaller photos on a sheet of 6 x 6 patterned paper. Next, I cut out several elements from the Tags paper and added them around my photos. I added a chipboard house on the right and a stamped snowman to the left. The journal block is accented with more stamping, a sticker, and a decorative brad.

Thank you, Tonya, for inspiring me to try something new on this page! Be sure to check out the My Mind's Eye Pinterest page for more project ideas from our amazing fans!

Inspiration Piece:Betsy Veldman

Shelly's take:

Supplies:The Sweetest Thing:'Smile'Bouquet patterned paper,'Everyday'crocheted doilies,'Together'Round patterned paper,Tangerine stickers,Tangerine 6x6 paper pad,'Hello'decorative buttons,'Sunshine' decorative brads,'Fabulous'label stickers;Misc:string,pop dots

Shelly says:I absolutely love being part of Pinspiration! There is nothing like surfing Pinterest and finding amazing inspiration all around you. Today, I fell in love with Betsy Veldman’s beautiful card. What is not to love with those doilies and butterflies? I immediately thought it would be the perfect “sketch” for my next layout. I had these pictures of my daughter’s first year printed out just waiting for the perfect inspiration piece to come along, and Betsy’s card was just that!

 This layout is the “closer” for my daughter’s first year album. I printed out photo strips of each monthly birthday starting with her birth and ending with a 6x4 shot at her one year mark. Because I wanted to keep the photo strips on the top in a sequence, I altered the “sketch” so that there was more space on the top half of the layout leaving just enough room to place my doilies, butterflies, and the vertical picture. I loved the notched ribbon coming off the card that Betsy used to divide her top and bottom sections, so I mimicked that look with a strip of pattern paper. I trimmed down the page to 11x11 and matted it on another sheet of paper so that I could give it a faux look of coming off the page.

Next up was to play with the doilies. I decided I wanted to use the same doily sticker that Betsy used, along with a crocheted doily. After trimming the crocheted doily, I put a little Glossy Accents on my finger and tapped the edge of it in the glue to make sure that it wouldn’t unravel after pushing it around my page.  Once it was dry, I placed it on my layout and embellished the doilies with butterflies, brads, and a button. The “Wonderful” diecut was just to perfect for the title of the page.

I wanted to add a little something extra to the top portion of the page. After glancing up at the same Tangerine sticker sheet that contained the doily and butterfly stickers, I decided to get the most out of that sheet and carried the woodgrain to the top of the page with the photo corners. The ticket was the perfect little filler to add to that little space at the top right. I finished it off with a brad and a couple of buttons.

Thank you so much Betsy for sharing your creativity with us! As you can see, it was just what I needed to complete this page.