New My Minds Eye Collections!!

This week we've taken delivery of some gorgeous new goodies from My Minds Eye!

I'm loving these 6" X 6" Paper Pads from the The Sweetest Thing Collection - there are four to choose from: Honey, Lavender, Tangerine and Bluebell.

                         
                          

Rhonna Farrer has designed the gorgeous All Things Bright Collection

               

We have the Collection Kits, 6" X 6" Pads and matching accessories.

Click here to browse all the MME products!!

6 x 6 Celebration - Part 3

Hello .... and welcome to the 3rd and final part of my celebration of love for 6x6 paper pads ... I did mention I love them didn't I? ... Yes I thought so!!

Today's project is a cute little mini book project. I wasn't sure what size of book I was going to make until I saw this one by Jen Gallacher.  I used the cut-apart journalling cards from the 12 x 12 sheet in the Everyday Eclectic collection kit as the base and added in some more pages by cutting a few of the 6x6 designs down.  These double sided papers are ideal for mini books and the quality means they are pretty sturdy too.

 

I used lots of punched shapes throughout the book and I also used up lots of odds and ends from my stash such as sticky ribbons and buttons.

This minibook is about a scrapbooking retreat I went to last year and contains some of my favourite photos from the weekend.

This book is a lasting memory of some of the classes I attended and the projects I made!

I used up lots of odd gems, stickers and brads in the book too - mini books are great stash busters.

I used several different coloured mini-alphabets too similar to these.

  These teeny letters are great to use with mini books and as subtitles or for long titles etc.

I like being able to hang bits off the edges of the pages and make it really eclectic.  Try to mirror facing pages with matching off the page elements to keep continuity through your book.

I used pop dots, twine and lots of ribbons for added interest and texture.

I made a little pocket on the inside of the back page to hold the photos that I wasn't so keen on but still told part of the story.

The back page is made of strips of the different papers which looks great with the strips of different ribbons on the single book ring. Also a great way to use up all those scraps and off cuts!

Here are some close ups so you can really see how perfectly the smaller scale on the 6x6 pads works for these little projects.  Lots of lovely layered circular embellishments again and some on trend pennants.

A layered rosette for some dimension which are so easy to make from 6 x 6 papers.

Punched borders work really well on mini books and again the smaller scale makes it easy on the eye.

Little windmills are another embellishment that work so well with 6 x 6 papers - the miniaturised patterns and double sided designs are just perfect.

Mini punched butterflies make the most of every single tiny scrap of the papers and work so well with the denser patterns.  

Layering up different shaped embellishments really gives a sense of dimension without creating too much height in this kind of project.  The other fab thing about the 6x6 papers is that you can run a sheet through your die-cutting machine without having to cut it down to fit - saving time and less waste!!

I hope you can see why I love the versatility of the 6x6 paper pads and I hope that you have enjoyed this little series and seen a few ideas for using your own pads.  

If you have been inspired by anything you've seen in this post, the first part or in Part 2 then we'd love to come and see!

Want to win a prize????  

Well, all you have to do is leave a comment on any of the "6 x 6 Celebration" posts with a link to your own 6 x 6 project and  link up to the S J Crafts blog from your blog post and you'll be entered to win!

Our favourite project will be chosen to win a little prize!!

Your blog post must be dated on or after 24 August (ie the start of this series!)

Closing date for entry is Sunday 16th September!!  Good Luck!!

Lisa-Jane

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6 x 6 Celebration - Part 2

I hope your Bank Holiday weekend has been good so far!

If you are back for Part 2 of my 6 x 6 celebration, thanks so much for coming back. If you missed Part 1 ... don't worry you can catch up on that right here!

So on to today's 6 x 6 projects ...
again, for most of these projects I have used the Everyday Eclectic collection from Echo Park.

The 6x6 pads are great for making your own embellishments and layering up different sized shapes.  They are perfect to use with punches and diecutting systems because, as mentioned in the Part 1, the scaled down patterns are ideal for smaller shapes.  Layering with different patterns is a breeze when you have a ready coordinated pad.  On this layout, I have used 6 different coordinating patterns on the embellishments but there is no way I would cut into 6 different whole sheets of 12x12.  The chances of me finding 6 coordinating scraps of sufficient size is always a frustrating task too!

I've used a circle, a scalloped circle and a pinked circle and then popped a little embellishment on the top. I inked all the edges in black soot distress ink and made a title with some coordinating stickers.  I like the white space allowing the photo to do the talking, but with the little spots of colour along the circles.

Circles have always been popular but more recently manufacturers are designing papers with layered circles. I tried to create something similar using overlapping circles. I made a similar layout recently in this post using scalloped circles in rows. I used 5 different patterned papers for my circles on my "First Swimming Lesson" layout. I wouldn't have  been brave enough to cut into that many 12 x 12 complete sheets and it would have looked very different with the larger scale prints too.  The 6x6 pads work really well for pieced designs. As well as circles you could try hexagons, or perhaps a quilt design with squares or chevrons with triangles like this tutorial on the EP Blog.

The journalling cards are from the Everyday Eclectic 12x12 collection pack as are some of the stickers and alphabets.  The blue photo mat is also from the 12 x 12 collection - sometimes it works really well to use both sizes on the same layout.  The edges are inked in faded jeans distress ink to emphasis the layers.

I often turn to my 6x6 pads when I want to cut my own title or make my own flowers.  The difference in scale is perfect for creating your own lettering because sometimes the larger prints can make them difficult to read or the pattern gets lost.  Creating coordinating embellishments with the smaller scale alongside larger panels of the full sized sheets really helps to bring a layout together and adds a sense of cohesion.  You don't need to cut into a full sheet to make your embellishments and the smaller scale patterns look better on the smaller pieces - its a win/win situation!!

For this 8.5x11 layout I have mixed up the sizes and used the 6x6 pads for my flowers by layering up different sizes using the Tim Holtz tattered floral die.  I hand cut the CHEF title using a chipboard alphabet as a stencil, and of course I inked all the edges, this time using my vintage photo ink pad.

The sharp eyed among you have probably spotted the trimmings from the quadrant style layout I showed you in Part 1.  The eclectic strip borders work so well with these smaller patterns.  Nothing gets wasted in my craft room and some of these trimmings are actually the top edge of the pad with the hole punched in it because with Echo Park Papers you get the design right up to the gummed edge!

I added a sprinkling of gems and called it done.  I adore the colours in this layout which perfectly matched her cute apron and chefs hat.  I'd forgotten how much I like to hand cut things like this - its a perfect thing to do alongside the children or in front of the television!!

I hope I have given you lots of inspiration for using 6 x 6 paper pads but I've still got more ideas to share in part 3 so be sure to come back for that.

If you feel inspired to make a layout or maybe a card using 6 x 6 papers please do leave a link in the comments so the S J Crafts Design Team can pop by and see.

Also, in Part 3 there will be news of a little prize - so why not go dig out those 6 x 6 pads and make something with them!!

Lisa-Jane

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6 x 6 Celebration - Part 1

Hello, Lisa-Jane here today!

Have I ever told you how much I love 6x6 paper pads? If you already follow my blog you will know I'm rather fond of them. I LOVE them! A lot!

Many people don't realise that these pads are not just quarter sheets but a scaled down version of the 12x12 design.  This makes an incredible difference to how easy they are to use in so many projects and it also makes bolder patterns easier on the eye and less intimidating than on the larger scale.  The miniaturised design gives a denser pattern making them ideal for making coordinating embellishments and die cutting smaller items.

6 x 6 papers with matching 12 x 12 to show scaled down designs!

Cost wise it can work out a great investment too.  The Echo Park Everyday Eclectic Collection that I used contains 24 double sided sheets and is just £6.20!  You get all of the designs in the collection so you don't have to make tricky decisions on which sheets to buy and miss out on any of the gorgeous patterns.  

Cutting into a single sheet of 6x6 is much easier on the heart too - I find I don't squeal like I do when I cut a full sheet of 12x12!  I did all these projects using one pad plus bits from my stash and the coordinating stickers and I still have a few bits left so it is definitely worth it.  I also bought the 12 x 12 collection kit which I love too, and using them together with the 6x6 pad makes them go a LOT further so that's a great reason to purchase both sizes!

So lets have a look at some projects shall we?

One of my favourite ways of using 6x6 pads is in a quadrant design.  You have a ready made coordinating set so just choose 4 designs and you're good to go.  To make a background you can either go overlapping or straight on, and either edge to edge or with a small border as I have here.  I trimmed off half an inch from 2 edges of each piece and stuck them to the corner of a piece of cardstock that I wasn't keen on.  I trimmed the egdes off and I effectively had an 11 inch square of patterned paper.

I gutted a 10 inch square from the middle of a piece of white cardstock so that I could use the inner portion for a photo mat.  This might seem like a palaver but the patterned paper needs something to adhere to and I  don't like wasting cardstock that I know I will use when I have colours and bashed or marked pieces that I don't want on show.  I'm all for using everything and getting the most out of your stash!

Once you have your quadrant background you can build up your layers and embellishments any way you like.  I used a another design from the pad for this layout and then I turned to the 12x12 collection for the journalling card which I made into a pocket.  I also used a 12 x 12 sheet to make the scalloped border in the same pattern as the orange quadrant so that you get the contrast of the 2 patterns but with careful joining or strategically placed embellishments you can make a border from a 6x6 sheet too. Just cut two 6" borders and carefully place together to make a 12" length!

Of course, I haven't ditched my trimmings from the 6x6 papers - I  layered up a couple of little pennant style flags and added a couple of pins and gems.  The rest of those edge trimmings?  You'll see them again in another layout later. 

Of course, lots of people use 6x6 pads for card making and they are absolutely wonderful for that too, again because of their handy size.  I recently made matching tags and cards for my son's teachers for leaving presents.  I wouldn't want to cut into a 12x12 page for a single tag and a couple of little die cuts but using the 6x6 pads make great economical sense here and I can go to town with how many different designs I use.  The pink labels are the reverse of one of the other designs so everything stays perfectly coordinated.

I used pop dots to add dimension on the die cuts and inked all the edges with faded jeans distress ink.

So that's cards/tags and quadrants covered but there are many more ways to get the most from your 6x6 pads, which I'll cover in Parts 2 & 3, so I hope you'll come back for those!

Lisa-Jane

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