It has been a complete thrill to be the Guest Designer here at My Minds Eye. These very talented ladies are a huge inspiration to me and I'm honored to be a little part of that inspiration to others. But when I was asked to define my "style" I honestly felt a bit stumped. I'm always trying out new ways of scrapbooking and paper crafting and so putting a label on it was very difficult. My crafting time is very limited so I would like to say I'm drawn to anything that makes scrapbooking quick and easy. Once I discovered how easy scrapbooking the 4x6 way could be you would think I'd be all caught up...but I'm not. However, I find that I'm the most drawn to creating less traditional scrapbooking and doing more of the altered items, home decor and any type of paper crafted gift project. Here are two that I thought I would work on as the holidays are soon upon us.

Christmas Countdown Advent Flip Frame

I originally taught this idea at Scrapfest a few months ago with another "cutesy" product collection and received a great response. However, the end result was not one I would typically display in "MY" home. So the first thing you must know about me is I love RED...anything red, glittery red, dull red, shiny red...I even married an All-RED because of his name (not really, but it so worked out in my favor). As a result I took my previously designed class and recreated it with the beautiful Lost & Found Christmas Collection to create this fun advent calendar.

It's amazing what red glitter, mod podge and an $.99 Ikea plastic frame turns out like.

This is what the frame looked like before I got a hold of it. And these frames take spray paint colors wonderfully. Simply remove one of the plastic sheets from the center of the frame and punch holes using a Crop-A-Dile tool in the remaining piece and thread binder metal rings through the holes to create a place for advent calendar pieces.

Simply flip over each day as you count down to Christmas Day. Most of the pages were created from using the Lost & Found Christmas 6x6 Pad, chipboard stickers, brads and layered stickers. You can create this fun home decor project in a couple hours for yourself or as unique gift for a friend. And I'm even sharing the printable of the text I used to create my Christmas Countdown Advent frame.

BONUS: Download the printable word art used to create the Christmas Countdown Flip Calendar

http://www.box.com/s/p5oqa650v10fg2qy4ohr

Candy Jar

We're not done yet.... I thought it would be fun to share another one of my favorite projects I have been making lately for friends and family. After a quick stop at the DI or your local thrift shop looking for glass candy jars and glass candle sticks, you too can create the same type of project. You'll simply need some rustoleum spray paint and E6000 glue and you're ready to create your own unique candy jars. To learn how I created these jars, visit my blog <http://www.allreddesign.net>. I'll walk you through the step-by-step process to create the jar and you can take your left over Lost & Found Christmas products to create the fun pinwheel on dangling off the front and fill it with yummy goodness.

That's my style in a nutshell...anything RED makes me smile and sums me up! Thanks again for letting me be part of the My Minds Eye inspiration this month. It has been a blast and a great opportunity!!

I love the build up to Christmas - especially the wonder in the eyes of small children.

I thought this little project might be a different sort of countdown to the day - it could be used instead of an advent calender and then at the end of it, you have enough ready made photos to start a Christmas layout or album.

As most of us have digital cameras and printers, it would be easy to take a photograph every morning or night and print it for that day, replacing the photograph each day until Christmas.

I was inspired by an embroidery hoop but decided to make this with card but keep the general style. I used the awesomely cute "12 days of Christmas" range as my girls are full of giggles.

You can download the PDF of instructions * here*

You could easily redo this for birthday or wedding countdowns or just make one for your favourite photos of 2012.

Enjoy!

We will be announcing the winners of blog challenge 29 shortly!  Thanks to your fabulous entries, this month's voting was tough!

Thank you for you patience.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us - and before you know, it will be time to start sending Christmas cards to loved ones. Thank goodness My Mind’s Eye has a festive and bright new Christmas line that will make card making a breeze – “12 Days of Christmas”. This line is complete with chipboard embellishments, brads, fabulous 3-D stickers, a die cut sheet, beautiful rhinestones, and adorable trims.

I had a delightful time creating these three cards. It was amazing how easily they came together as I combined these wonderful dimensional elements to make my cards.

I used the blue and white twine from the “trims” to hang the ornaments on my card, then inserted brads for a finishing touch. I embellished the chipboard presents with rhinestones and pearls to make them pop!

Have fun creating!!

Hi, Everyone! Jana here! I've been dying to play with the Lost & Found Christmas Collection, but sadly, I didn't take very many photos last Christmas. I wasn't going to let that stop me from digging into one of the prettiest collections out there right now! This past weekend my daughter wore one of her new winter dresses and posed for some pictures with our pup. As I looked at the colors of the photos I knew that the Lost & Found Christmas collection would go beautifully with the pictures! Yay! I love doing that . . . finding unconventional ways to use themed products . . . it really helps me to stretch my stash of supplies!

I love the Lost & Found Glittered Chipboard Accessories with this collection. How fun is it to construct a banner of different shaped pennants. Such a fun and playful way to accent your page. I added a stitched line on my page to anchor the banner pieces and then added a decorative brad to each one for additional detail and dimension. I used the rhinestones to add interest to my title, as well.

I adore the rhinestones in this set. The colors are so rich and beautiful. I lined them up along the scalloped chipboard piece . . . don't they look just like Christmas lights shining along a snowy rooftop?! Beautiful!

Thanks for letting me share my non-Christmas, Christmas layout with you today!

Jana Eubank

The UK is known around the world for its rainy days and its certainly been proving that these last few weeks. So to pass the time, i've been playing with the stamps from the My Minds Eye Christmas releases - Lost & Found Christmas and 12 Days of Christmas.

As you know by now, I love using stamps on layouts to make backgrounds nearly more than using stamps for feature images and that often is the way it works for my cards too!

I tend to try and keep things very simple with my cards as they are often sent through the postal system so they need to be as flat as possible but that doesnt mean completely flat - I am addicted to foam adhesive and a little can go a long way.

I have been lucky to have great friends who gifted me a new heat gun as I had to leave mine in Canada (different power supplies) so I've been a bit embossing powder happy :)

Often I get an idea and play with it to see if it works as well on paper as in my head - I think I've working on a 75% success rate - the biggest thing with stamping is to play and play with the images and textures you can make.

This is one of my favourites becuase it took a round image but instead of me using a circle punch, I went with a heart punch to try and create a theme with shapes rather than the actual image.

I am though addicted to this Tree stamp from the Lost and Found Christmas set - It is just perfect to me and doesnt need much to set it off to be gorgeous.

But if you struggle with whole sheets to stamp with, start with tags - I do this a lot and often they can make a card or layout just that little bit special.

Also you can stamp backgrounds and then cut them to shape - like these baubels.

Please remember if you are doing cards for Operation Write home - NO GLITTER or sparkles.

and if you are sick of christmas cards, here is something using the butterfly from the Lost and Found Blush stamp set and a tiny shrinkiedink (aka shrink plastic) tag.Thats also just one stamp pad - basically ink up your stamp, stamp and then stamp again (and again if you want) - this gives you a dark and a light image from one inking.

So I hope you have a little starting point to use your stamps - I'd love to see what you have done with them either here or on the My Minds Eye Facebook page.

Designer: Suzanne Sergi; Featured Collection: Kraft Funday – Happy Day

Designer: Amber Packer; Featured Collection: Lost & Found 2 – Sunshine

I have family members who have served in the Marines, Army and the Air Force.  I am grateful for their sacrifice and the sacrifice of so many others.  Thank you!

Featured Collection: 6x6

I am grateful for every single one of the men and women who put themselves out there to give us the rights we quite often take for granted. Thank You So Much!

“In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . .
And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
Pastor Martin Niemöller

Anam Stubbington 

Many of you have noticed the misspelling of "December" on the bracket die cut in the Lost & Found Christmas Accessory Sheet. We know how frustrating this error can be to those of you who wanted to use this piece.

If you purchased the Accessory sheet, we would like to send you a replacement piece for free (the piece with the misspelled word). Please send an email to: customerservice@mymindseye.com and include: your name, mailing address, email address and the store you purchased the accessory sheet from.

We anticipate being able to ship the replacement piece to you mid-December.

Thank you for your support of our company. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused.

Your friends at My Mind's Eye

Today is Veteran’s Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in Canada.  We would like to thank those that serve in the armed forces and their family members for their sacrifice to serve their country.

Throughout the day today we will be sharing cards by a few of our designers.  We will begin with this darling card by Jana Eubank using our new Kraft Funday Happy Day collection.

Take the time to thank your service members today.

I am a firm believer that each holiday deserves it’s time in the spotlight. We don’t decorate the house until after Thanksgiving. We even pack up our Christmas DVD’s (we forgot this year and guess what we watched this past weekend – Elf!).

My dilemma comes with crafts. You can’t wait on crafts until after Thanksgiving. If you are like me, they won’t get done – or you’ll be finishing them on Christmas Eve while your husband wraps all the fun gifts.

So, two weeks before Thanksgiving, I found myself creating this darling advent calendar and my boys are so excited to start using it! I am so grateful that on December 1st this calendar is ready to go and know that it will be part of our family’s traditions for years to come.

I wanted this project to be bright and whimsical, so I started with our 12 Days of Christmas collection and the Limited Edition Silhouette Advent Calendar. It was so much fun decorating each box with all the fun embellishments in the 12 Days of Christmas collection.

If you would like to make your own Advent calendar, download these instructions: Download 2011_11_10_MME

I demonstrated the advent calendar today on Good Things Utah. When it’s ready, I’ll upload the segment video here.

Guess what? Want to make your own for a discount? Silhouette is offering our readers a $10 discount if you purchase the advent calendar through their site (click here). You must use the code: EYE to receive the discount and purchase the calendar by November 11, 2011. **note: to cut the boxes, you need to have a Silhouette digital die cut machine**

Have a great day!

Amber Packer

Happy Tuesday!

I was thrilled to received the new collections, and could not wait to create with the new Kraft Fun Day! I love the combination of kraft, and black together. I have so many photos from a birthday party my youngest daughter attended. This collection is perfect for them!

On this page I used the new Happy Day, and the Everyday Fun stamps to add a bit of inking to the page. I am in love with the dot border. It added a fun texture to this page, and added a bit more color onto the page.

I created a banner border using one of the stamps on top of a strip of vellum. After I stamped it, it was a bit harsh for the page. I tried stamping off first, but it still seemed too stark. My solution was to simply turn the strip over, and it was perfect. I finished it with a sweet sentiment on the bottom. One thing you will find on the stamps, are wonderful sentiments for cards, too. Also in the border strip package, you will find lovely felt borders, such as the scallop one in the above photo.

Here, I tucked in a piece of stitched vellum that I had leftover from a mini album project. I thought it added some fun texture to the side of the photo.

Finally, a detail of the large chipboard tag found in the Everyday Fun Chipboard elements. I layered patterned paper over the tag. Finished it with a circle of vellum, and a fun chipboard pinwheel!

I definitely see lots of future projects with this collection! We would love to see what you create with it, too! Enjoy the rest of the day!

Suzanne

It’s our favorite time of the month. We know how talented our blog readers are and LOVE to see what you come up with each month for our challenges!

The challenge: Design a card based on this fabulous sketch and use “brown” on the card (sketch by Anam Stubbington).

The rules: Use ANY My Mind’s Eye products (current or past) as long as your project has at least 80% My Mind’s Eye products.

The deadline: Add a link to your project to the bottom of this post using inlinkz by Sunday, November 20, 2011 (midnight, MST). Please include your first and last name and project name when uploading. (a photo of your layout or project will show directly in the post)

(For tips on how to best photograph your entry, click here)

The PRIZE: The winner will receive three ENTIRE collections of their choice! We will also award an honorable mention winner with one collection of their choice! All winners will be featured in a blog post and have bragging rights!

The fabulous Suzanne Sergi created this sample to help you get your creative juices going!

We can’t wait to see what you create!

Upload your entry here:

It’s our favorite time of the month. We know how talented our blog readers are and LOVE to see what you come up with each month for our challenges!

The challenge: Design a card based on this fabulous sketch and use “brown” on the card (sketch by Anam Stubbington).

The rules: Use ANY My Mind’s Eye products (current or past) as long as your project has at least 80% My Mind’s Eye products.

The deadline: Add a link to your project to the bottom of this post using inlinkz by Sunday, November 20, 2011 (midnight, MST). Please include your first and last name and project name when uploading. (a photo of your layout or project will show directly in the post)

(For tips on how to best photograph your entry, click here)

The PRIZE: The winner will receive the collection of their choice and will be featured in a blog post and have bragging rights!

The fabulous Suzanne Sergi created this sample to help you get your creative juices going!

We can’t wait to see what you create!

Upload project here:

We are pleased to announce our November Guest Designer: Lori Allred!

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be invited as the Guest Designer for November. If ever there was a blog I stalk and designers I am inspired by often, it would be here at My Minds Eye. I’ve always found it easy to create with the great options My Minds Eye offers with their collections and my love of all things My Minds Eye started years and years ago with their adorable Frame Ups. And to prove it, here’s a few layouts from long, long ago:

I’ve always enjoyed playing with paper, but started my journey into scrapbooking the way we know it now about 16 years ago when my oldest was a baby. Aside from single handedly keeping My Mind’s Eye in business by purchasing every release they come out with, my relationship with My Mind’s Eye started when I had the opportunity to design samples for them for trade shows and catalogs quite a while back.

As for my background, I’ve designed and worked for several different scrapbook related companies and you can find me blogging for a few these days. My expertise is social media and yes, I do get paid to Facebook. But I’m horrible at blogging for myself. You can find a lot of my work for projects or past publication on my blog at allreddesign.net. Here’s a couple projects I created earlier in the year (for Cricut).

As for working in this industry, my first love is teaching and this past year I’ve been to New Zealand and all over the US teaching classes to others like you that love crafting with beautiful papers. But lately you will find me working with My Craft Channel <link: http://www.mycraftchannel.com>. This new project gives me the great opportunity to work with many inspiring crafters from all types of genres and I LOVE IT!

Here are a few of my more recent My Minds Eye creations and I look forward to sharing more later on in the month!

Let’s welcome Lori in style!  Leave a comment welcoming Lori to the team on this blog post before Thursday, November 10 at midnight.  One lucky winner will WIN Lori’s favorite My Mind’s Eye things!