My Mind's Eye Blog

Now and Then Milo

Hi everyone! It’s Valerie and I have a new layout to share with you today. I’m totally loving the Now & Then Collection. I even think it might have become my all-time favorite My Mind’s Eye collection. So far this week you’ve met Izzy and Dorothy. Now meet Milo.

 

Supplies: Now & Then-Milo:6x6 paper pad, “Little Things” Doilies paper, “Friends” accent stickers, “Documented” chipboard elements, “Inspired” enamel dots, “This Week” enamel shapes, “Documented” alpha/word stickers, and decorative tape. Other: Silhouette Cameo, mist, cardstock, and Thickers

 

The Milo palette is full of pretty blues, teals, and yellow. With any layout, you just can’t go wrong with circles...especially a large cluster of them. To cut the concentric circles, I picked four different sheets of paper from the 6x6 pad and placed them 4-up on my 12 x12 Cameo cutting mat.

 

Since the paper is double- sided, I ended up with 8 different patterns to use—that all coordinate perfectly of course.I used the circles to frame my three largest photos. The two smaller photos were backed with circles cut from the 12x12 “Little Things” doilies patterned paper.

 

 

 

I repeated the doily motif with the chipboard accents and one from the sticker sheet. The anchor enamel shapes are a fun finishing touch.

 

 

Isn’t Milo great!? You’ll have to stop by and meet Mildred tomorrow. Had to save the best for last (in my opinion).

Enamel Shapes

Hello! Valerie here with you today. I don’t know how I ever survived without My Mind’s Eye enamel dots and shapes! I LOVE them…I really really do!

They are the perfect little embellishment—just the right amount of dimension and shine. The new enamel shapes in the Now & Then collection are so trendy, fun, and versatile. Today I’m sharing with you how I’ve been adding them to the journal cards from the Now & Then 3x4 packs.

For each journal card I have a corresponding photo. These are all ready to be slipped into a divided page protector or can even be incorporated into a standard layout. These 3x4 journal packs are so great. They really make me reconsider my choice to not scrapbook week-by-week divided page protector style so I can use them all up.

Supplies: Now & Then- Izzy :“Good Times” 3x4 pack, Mildred “Oh Happy Day” alpha/word stickers, & Mildred “Hello” enamel shapes

It doesn’t take much to make these ordinary journal cards look a little more extraordinary with just a couple enamel shapes and a typewriter.

 

I’m loving the ombré effect on that photo too (note to self: must make more like it). Using Photoshop, I simply added a gradient to a new layer and played around with the opacity. Ta-da! Inspired by this Pin  from this website .

Supplies: Now & Then- Izzy: “Good Times” 3x4 pack, Milo “This Week” enamel shapes, and Milo “Little Things” decorative brads

 

 

Circles are fun to fill with enamel shapes and dots. Such an easy way to add some interest.

Supplies: Now & Then- Dorothy :“The Best" 3x4 pack, Dorothy “Wild & Free” enamel dots, and Dorothy “Lovely Day” enamel shapes

 

Isn’t this mustache so fun?! My son thinks his photo is hilarious now. I can’t fit my 12 x 12 layouts in my typewriter, but there’s more than enough room for these journal cards. I’m okay with my handwriting, but I love my typewriter too.

Supplies: Now & Then- Izzy: “Good Times” 3x4 pack, Izzy “Smile” enamel shapes, and Milo “This Week” enamel shapes

 

Glitter is not my favorite, but the glittery enamel shapes are totally doable for me. NO MESS! Yay for glitter that doesn’t get everywhere! The colors and illustrations in the Now & Then collection just make me so happy. I love the way this journal card turned out below. So simple, but just perfect.

Supplies: Now & Then- Mildred: “Today” 3x4 pack and Izzy “Smile” enamel shapes

 

And last but not least, there’s numbers too—in the Dorothy “Lovely Day” set. Great for making a numbered list or substituting for the word like I did below.

Supplies: Now & Then -Mildred: “Today” 3x4 pack, Mildred “Hello” enamel shapes, and Dorothy “Lovely Day” enamel shapes

 

So what do you think?! Aren’t the new enamel shapes from the Now & Collection a must have!? We’d love to see how you are using them. 

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Now and Then Love-Filled Layouts

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but I’m still celebrating with a couple layouts using My Mind’s Eye Now & Then collection. I’m so in love with this collection! I love the rich, vibrant color palettes and fun patterns. And as always with My Mind’s Eye, the embellishments do not disappoint.

 

 

Supplies: Now & Then collection— Dorothy “Pretty” Blossom paper and “Wild & Free” Spirited paper, Dorothy “Celebrate” chipboard elements, Dorothy “Wild & Free” enamel dots, Milo “Documented” decorative buttons, Dorothy “Celebrate” and Mildred “Oh Happy Day” alpha/word stickers. Record It, Just Splendid collection—wood dots. Other—Silhouette Cameo and Studio Calico Mister Huey.

 

This first layout uses my most favorite photo of my husband and I……he was just my fiancé at the time. Shout out to my college roommate Laura Love ,the crazy talented photographer. Thank you, Laura!

 

Because I decided to use both a color photo and a black and white photo, I decided to split the page in half. I backed the black and white photo with lots of color, and placed the color photo on plain white for balance.

 

I love fun titles like this one—song titles are always fun to incorporate into layouts (song title thanks to Queen). I actually cut the word “crazy” onto that pink and white striped paper, but it didn’t stand out enough for me.

 

Instead of going to find some colored cardstock and cutting again, I decided to just spray it with a coordinating ink color. If you look really close, you can still see the stripes.

 

I used the matching chipboard flowers on top of the patterned paper and added a few of those awesome wood dots from the Record It Just Splendid collection. Don’t be surprised if you see them on every single one of my projects until I run out!

Supplies:Now & Then collection— Izzy 6x6 paper pad, Izzy “Happenings” enamel dots, Izzy “Boys” label stickers. Record It Just Splendid collection—wood dots. Other—Silhouette Cameo, Studio Calico Mister Huey, Amercian Crafts alpha stickers, and pen

 

 

Stripes can sometimes be completely boring, but that’s not the case with this collection. I love the stripes in  Now & Then. They are perfectly distressed and colored.

 

I pulled three coordinating sheets from the Izzy 6x6 paper pad. I arranged all three sheets on my 12 x 12 Cameo cutting mat and cut all the hearts out at once. I went straight to my sewing machine and just sewed on the hearts one by one instead of adhering with adhesive first.

 

I didn’t want to overthink the placement, so this method worked really well for me. I love the simplicity and all the white space. And there’s those wood dots again!

 

Anyone else still in the mood to scrap that gushy love stuff? Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Creative Card Ideas

 Hello everyone! Valerie here today...and I'm sharing some creative card ideas with you.

For the background of this  card (made using the Lost and Found Record It- Heirloom collection) , I used torn strips of a page from an old book and then placed a pretty journal card on top. I used a couple heart stickers from Cupid’s Arrow and a couple more from Lost & Found as embellishments then added a couple rows of glittery enamel dots. So pretty!

What a perfect messy misted background this one has! I sprayed my mask with various shades of pink and then “stamped” it onto my card.

A piece of wide lace trim was adhered with a line of hot glue and then my sentiment (from Cut & Paste Adorbs stamp set) was added on top. Next I sewed on a row of chipboard banners—one from Chalk Studio and the other two from the Cut & Paste collection—then added a brad and button.

I love stamping with chalk ink on kraft paper. It’s what I did here with a sentiment stamp from the Find Your Wings & Fly stamp set and an arrow from the Cut & Paste Flair set. That chevron paper is my favorite.

One of my favorite techniques is to combine strips of decorative tape to create backgrounds. I used the decorative tape from the Lost & Found Record It collection and topped it with bits from the ephemera packs and a couple of word stickers.

That's all for today. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

2013 Year End Review | A Scrapbook Layout

Hello! Valerie here with you today. It's New Year's Eve! Can you believe it?! Another year in the books. I truly feel like this year just flew by. I know we all say that every year, but seriously….where did 2013 go?

I have a layout for you today. I took a single 12 x 12 layout and summed up our entire year with fourteen of my favorite photos and a simple list of some positive highlights and even a couple negatives from our year.

Supplies:Cut and Paste-Adorbs: "Be" Like paper, "Story" enamel shapes, "Hello" decorative brads, "Loved" decorative buttons "Story" enamel shapes, Hello" decorative brads,"Loved" decorative buttons; Cut and Paste- Charm:"Carefree" label stickers,"Sweet" tiny word stickers; Cut and Paste-Flair: "Small" enamel shapes, "Small" decorative brads;Cut and Paste-Presh: "Good Times" decorative buttons; Find Your Wings and Fly :alpha and word stickers; Collectable-Memorable: "I'm With" enamel dots; Misc: Silhouette Cameo and blue cardstock

I started with the Adorbs "Be" Like patterned paper from the Cut & Paste collection. I think this might be one of my most favorite patterns in the whole collection. I used a brayer to spread a thin layer of gesso in the area where I would be placing my photos to subdue the bright colors a bit. The zig zag pattern creates the perfect lines for running a list down the side of the page—another reason this paper was chosen.

My photos are arranged in no particular order, and my list is like that too. Not every item in my list has a photo that matches up with it. The title was cut with my Silhouette Cameo using the font Howser.

I embellished the layout with a variety of enamel dots, enamel shapes, decorative brads, and decorative buttons from the Cut & Paste collection. Those big enamel shapes are so much fun.


Happy New Year everyone!

December Album with Valerie

Hey! Valerie here with you today. It's the week before Christmas already….how did that happen? How's your December documenting going? Back in November I shared with you the cover for my album using the Record It Antique Sn@p album.  Now I'm back to share a few of my inside pages. 

 

Supplies: Lost & Found Record It collection: Antique enamel dots, Antique decorative tape, Antique 6x6 paper pad, Antique Record It! cards, Heirloom alpha & word stickers, Heirloom pockets. Mistletoe Magic collection: "Snow Flakes" paper, "Countdown" paper, "Trees" paper, stickers, decorative brads, chipboard elements, enamel dots, & decorative tape. Vintage Christmas collection: chipboard.Cut & Paste collection: Charm "Sweet" tiny word stickers, adorns "loved" clear stamps. The Sweetest Thing collection: Honey "One of a Kind" paper, Bluebell "Bright" tiny word stickers. Other: Merry & Bright cut file (Hello Forever), American Craft Thickers, vellum, wood veneer (Studio Calico), shipping tag, window envelope (Maya Road), small green alpha stickers (Jillibean Soup), gold sequins, doily, white & gold tiny alpha (Dear Lizzy), slide frame (Crate Paper), metal number (Tim Holtz), grungeboard 3 (Tim Holtz), Cameo (fonts: Cartwheel).

 

I chose to mix and match supplies from a few different My Mind's Eye lines.

 

My introduction page is a cut file from Hello Forever using a patterned paper from The Sweetest Thing collection. I find that when cutting blocks of text out like this, it's best to stick with solid colored papers or soft patterns as opposed to bold, contrasting patterns. The phrase will be easier to read.

 

I adhered the die cut to a sheet of vellum and added some enamel dots. The vellum adds some strength as well as adding interest with it's translucency. 

For day one, I put my son's first paper snowflake into the album using a 6x8 size page protector. The back side, as you can see in the next photo, shows more snowflake making photos and shares some fun details about this time. I added the number, chipboard, and wood veneer shape on the outside of the page protector with a little hot glue.

 

Where's day number two you might be wondering? This was the day we did my son's pre-K homework after school. I'm waiting for the decorated paper Christmas tree to return home before completing that page. I don't always work in order when I make albums like this.

 

I also might not always record events on the exact day that they happened (I think I might have heard a few of you gasp).  There's always a few days of the month where we don't do anything particularly festive, so I use these days to fill in with something general that could have happened on any day like pretty wrapped gifts, the advent calendar, decorations, or where our Elf has been hiding.

 

For day three I stamped a simple pattern on vellum using a gemstone stamp from the Cut & Paste Adorbs "Loved" clear stamp set and Brilliance gold ink. Then added my photo, number, and a little journaling with a black Sharpie.

 

This chalkboard message is so special and totally made my entire week. I'm so glad I snapped a photo of it and got to record it in my album.

 

So simple. I used a page protector with two 4x6 slots. In the top went my photo and on the bottom went one of the Lost & Found Record it! 4x6 cards.

 

Here we are with the vellum again. This page is similar to my introduction page. It's a die cut backed with vellum. The pattern is a lot more intricate, so I stitched around the edge to keep it all attached. 

 

A full page photo kinda day with gold sequins and star confetti. So much fun! The chipboard banner is from the Vintage Christmas collection and was just adhered on the outside of the page protector. I like having these thicker embellishments on the outside as opposed to the inside. The plastic lays better with the thicker embellishments on top of it. 

 

These are a couple of the filler pages I was referring to earlier. They could really fit into any "empty" day and numbers were intentionally left off until I figure out where they will end up in the album. The Dear Santa page is a window envelope where I'll put letters to Santa. I love using a variety of page sizes in my mini albums. 

 

Another page that doesn't have purpose yet. It's a pocket from the Lost and Found Record It! collection. There's a whole pack of these library card style pockets in both the Heirloom & Antique color palettes. 

 

Another hot chocolate page. It's such a special treat for my boy. This one uses a page protector with a 2x8" slot and two 4x4 slots. The title is being held in place with two little staples to keep it from shifting around.

 

One last one to share with you. I cut a coin protector page down to a size that would fit in the album. It's so much fun to fill the little pockets. I'm not sure if the number 18 will stay there yet, but it fits so perfectly so I'm going to try and make it work.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Are you documenting your December with My Mind's Eye? We'd love to see it.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Documenting December with our Sn@p Album!

Hello! Valerie here with you today with one of the Lost & Found Record It Sn@p Albums. I'm so excited about this collaboration between My Mind's Eye and Simple Stories! I love the size, versatility, and endless customization opportunities of these albums. I get to share with you how I customized (or fancied up) one of the albums.

Supplies: Lost and Found Record It Antique Collection—Sn@p Album and alpha & word stickers. Mistletoe Magic Collection— "Trees" paper, chipboard elements, enamel dots, and decorative brads. Vintage Christmas Collection—decorative buttons and faceted gems. The Sweetest Thing Collection— Bluebell "Smile" enamel dots. Other—embroidery floss and Prima Chalk In

I've been tossing around the idea of tackling an album to document our December this year. I haven't done this since 2009, for our son's first Christmas. I love that album and am so glad I did it, but the three years following 2009 I just made some layouts about December and Christmas and that was good enough for me. No regrets about not having an entire mini-album devoted to December. Now that we have a little one in house again and will be celebrating another first Christmas, I think it's time for another album. I'm ready and looking forward to it! So here we go, a couple days before December and I'm off to a great start (first time around I made the cover last). 

I decided on the Record It-Antique album for my base. The embossed pattern is so lovely. To bring the pattern out a little more I lightly rubbed some white chalk ink over it. I didn't want to do too much because I'm a fan of raw chipboard and wanted that natural color to show through. After the ink dried, I sealed it with a layer of matte gel medium just to add a little protection. 

 

I picked a striped patterned paper from the Mistletoe Magic collection and cut it to size to fit the window. I slid the paper into the slot and traced around the window onto the patterned paper with pencil. Next I removed that paper from the slot and filled in the square I just traced with various circle shaped embellishments from the Vintage Christmas collection and Mistletoe Magic collection. The "Merry Christmas" chipboard piece is from the Mistletoe Magic Decorative Buttons embellishment pack. I attached it with a bit of hot glue then used my paper piercer to carefully punch holes for the thread. I like to keep my album covers simple with very few layers. I feel like less layers=more durable. There's less to fall off and get damaged.

 

For the spine I added a little tag, trading out the brad for an enamel dot because I didn't want to punch a hole in the spine. Last but not least, I added the date with the Record It-Antique alpha and word stickers. ...And now I have an album ready to be filled with our memories, traditions, and activities from December 2013. I'll be back next month to share some of the inside progress with you. Can't wait! Until then, how will you customize your Lost and Found Sn@p albums? We'd love to see them!

 

 

 

 

Sketch Week | Two Page Layout

Hello and happy Friday! Sketch week continues. It's me, Valerie, here with one last take on the sketch. This time it's a two-page layout using mostly My Mind's Eye Cut & Paste collection. How do you take a single page sketch and turn it into a two-page layout? It's simple really—I just did a little stretching. I have a hard time following sketches exactly anyway, but I think you can see how I was definitely inspired by the sketch.

 

Supplies:  Cut & Paste Collection— Charm and Presh 6x6 paper pads, Presh "Right Now" 4x6 journal card, Charm "Hey You" stamp set, Charm "Hey You" decorative buttons, Charm "Sweet" bits & pieces layered stickers, Charm "Carefree" chipboard stickers, Charm "Smile" enamel dots. Collectable—Unforgettable "You Are" tiny word stickers. Sweetest Thing—Bluebell "Smile" enamel dots. Other— cardstock (American Crafts), date stamp, tiny attacher (Tim Holtz), Thickers (American Crafts), chalk ink (Prima), pen (Copic), and thread.

 

Like the sketch, my title is almost completely surrounded by photos and other elements. I also did some scattered journaling as seen in the sketch too. Unlike the sketch, my layout feels a little messier and has less white space around the edge.

 

I LOVE the Charm "Sweet" Bits & Pieces layered sticker pack and decided those clouds and flowers were worth breaking away from the sketch a little bit if I got to use them. It was a beautiful day for a combine ride, and I wanted the layout to reflect that. I also love how the Cut & Paste 6x6 paper pads have a mini version of the Project Life style cards. The smaller size is so much fun!

 

 

And here's the sketch again for comparison. It was so much fun to follow along this week and see how each of us used the sketch differently! How will you use the sketch?

 

This week was a BLAST for all of us at MME. We hope you will join in and enter a project in the November Sketch Challenge!!!

 

 

Tag! You're It! Week with Valerie

Hello! Valerie here with you today. I've been tagged, so off we go with the final tags for the week. I decided to make tags in various sizes that can be used as embellishments on layouts or maybe in a mini album. I played with the Cut & Paste Collection and picked out coordinating items that would work for a baby girl themed project.
 

Supplies: Cut & Paste Collection— Flair "Snapshots" decorative buttons, Flair "Small" enamel shapes, Flair "Small" enamel shapes, Flair decorative tape, Adorbs "Loved" Devoted paper, Adorbs "Be" Thrive paper, Adorbs "Loved" True paper, Adorbs "Loved" True paper, Adorbs "Hello" Call paper, Adorbs "Hello" decorative brads, Adorbs "Hello" enamel dots, Adorbs "Special" decorative stickers, Adorbs decorative tape,  Charm "Bliss" decorative stickers,  Charm "Sweet" tiny word stickers,   Lime Twist—Happy Go Lucky "Together"  alphabet. Collectable Collection—Unforgettable "You Are" tiny word stickers. Chalk Studio Collection—decorative tags. Find Your Wings & Fly—alpha & word stickers. Other— shipping tags, vellum, punches (EK Success & Martha Stewart), Silhouette SD.

The smaller the tag, the simpler I like to keep it. With the bigger tags, well…they can hold more "stuff". To make the large tags, I simply traced a shipping tag and then cut it out and punched a hole at the top.

MME's tiny word stickers are one of my favorite things and I think tags like this are the perfect home for them. I love how great they look filling those quote bubbles on the Adorbs "Hello" Call paper.
I love playing around with the negative portion of a die cut like in the "sweet little one" tag above. I used my Silhouette SD and the font "Days" to create the base of the tag. Next I added some decorative tape and strips of patterned paper from Cut & Paste. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I did back the cut title with vellum (also did this on the butterfly tag too). Hardly any tag can be considered complete without at least one enamel dot. 

What a great week it's been focusing on tags. I've really enjoyed the variety and inspiration from the other oh so talented ladies. Now it's time for me to reach out and yell, "tag…YOU'RE IT!" 

Thanks for stopping by!

October Challenge-Chalk it Up!

Hi everyone! Valerie here today with the October Challenge. We want to see you Chalk It Up. This month, we invite you to share with us your chalkboard inspired decor, layouts, cards, etc…

Naturally, Chalk Studio is a great pick for this challenge when choosing supplies, but you'll also find quite a few chalkboard inspired items in the Cut and Paste Collection. When I think of chalk and chalkboards, I think of school. How convenient that my son just started preschool this year. I printed off a couple photos from his first day and got to work creating this layout.

Supplies: Chalk Studio Collection:"Beautiful Ride" paper, sticker labels, chipboard elements, and twine; Cut & Paste Collection:Flair "Small" decorative brads, Flair "Today" tiny word stickers, Flair "Wow" chipboard stickers, Flair "Snapshots" buttons, Presh "Noted" enamel dots, Presh "Good Times" buttons, and Adorbs "Special" tiny word stickers;Lime Twist:Out of the Blue "Playful" alphabet;Misc:American Crafts Thickers. 

I picked a patterned paper from Chalk Studio for my background, and used an entire sheet of Chalk Studio sticker labels. I cut a couple of them in half to stretch them even further. Then, I simply added a few embellishments on top.  

Supplies: Chalk Studio: decorative tape, tags, and twine;Decorative Tape Sets:Mint & Grey,Pink & Yellow ;Find Your Wings & Fly: layered stickers.

I also took a little time to spruce up a bare vintage metal watering can. This watering can always sits on a tray in our entryway. Over the years it has held sunscreen and bug spray, but this summer it was a great place to store our sidewalk chalk.

 And now it's your turn. We challenge you to "Chalk It Up." Can't wait to see what you create!

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 Tuesday, October 15.

5. A random winner will be chosen and announced with the second October challenge on October 16. The prize is any MME collection- the choice is yours.

Check back later for the September sketch winner!