Amber Packer

A few projects…

With all the fun of the Birthday Blog Hop and CHA projects, I realized that I haven’t shared a couple of projects that I did for the My Mind’s Eye Blog.

This first layout was shown on the Birthday Blog Hop.  The other girls ROCKED their birthday layouts.  You need to check them out.

On Neal’s 8th birthday, my Dad wrapped up a bunch of rocks and let Neal think that was his gift.  He wasn’t sure how to take it.  Grandpa and Grandma bailed him out with his own set of scriptures. 

Last Christmas, my Dad wrapped up a roll of toilet paper.  Neal was on to him this time and wrapped it up and gave it back.

For Neal’s birthday this year, my Dad wrapped up 9 Lego bricks for a 9 year old.  It was fun because Neal was anticipating it.  A couple of days before the big day, Neal said to me “I wonder what trick Grandpa is going to play on me this time.”  All I can say is: “Look out on your birthday this year, Grandpa!”

Featured Collection: My Mind’s Eye So Sophie 

We had a crazy-busy June!  My June Top Ten ended up being a Top Twelve and could have easily been a Top Twenty! 

I feel like June went by at a full and complete RUN!  The minute school ended, we were in a race to get everything done: a concert, a new baby (an absolute miracle), planting the garden after the wet spring was over, swimming lessons, TWO Open Houses at the hospital and one retreat my husband worked so hard on, Cub Scout Camp, Basketball Camp, The Wasatch Back relay (third year in a row for Bryan), Father’s Day, Father’s & Sons Campout. 

Somehow I fit in work amongst all that!  It was a fun, event-filled month with very few computer games played. 

I can’t believe the July is almost done and I’ll get to document another fun-filled month.  I love this.  I think I may just keep this up every year.  It’s a great way to capture memories before they are lost.

 

 

Featured Collection: So Sophie, Lush and Breaking Free

Coming up tomorrow: the Teeter-Totter of Terror!

1 Year Blog Birthday – MME blog hop

Welcome to the 1 Year Blog Birthday My Mind’s Eye blog hop! My name is Amber Packer and this is your next to last "hop"!  I you have enjoyed celebrating our blog birthday with us.

Being part of the My Mind’s Eye blog team for the past year has been a phenomenal opportunity.  The girls on this team are incredibly talented and nice to boot!  There really is something special about My Mind’s Eye. 

Maybe it’s because we just got home from Lake Powell that this layout caught my eye, but I love the way the Roller Coaster paper adds to the feeling and excitement of Riley getting thrown off the Water Weenie.  Can’t you just feel the joy?

Featured Collection: Breaking Free

I’m sure you’ll want to be moving on, but before you go, you’ll need this word: Hooray!

Your last "hop" will be back to the My Mind’s Eye blog. 

I hope you took the time to comment on each blog you visited on your way here.  Remember to leave a comment on the My Mind’s Eye blog and email the secret phrase to amber@mymindseye.com (that’s me). 

If you came to visit me (thank you!) and haven’t been participating in the hop... take a minute and hop over to the My Mind’s Eye blog so you can play with us!

I hope you enjoyed your stop here.  Look around.  I hope you'll find value in what I have written.

Map of America – GTU – My Mind’s Eye

Designer: Amber Packer, Featured Collection: So Sophie 

I demonstrated this project this morning on Good Things Utah.  This map is a beautiful home decor item, a fun way to help children know where they are going on a road trip this summer and a great help for your 5th grade child who will be studying the United States.  Or, if your family is scattered across the U.S., add push pins and string to help your children know where they all are.

**This project is perfect no matter what country you call home. I simply searched the internet for an outline map of the United States.  I’m sure you could find a map of your home.

Fun story: Neal came up to me as I was finishing and told me this was a “cool” project.  He then asked me what I was going to do with it when today’s segment was over.  I asked him if he wanted it and, YES, he does!  It looks like this has found a home.  Although, I may need the map somewhere that I can see it since Geography was definitely NOT my best subject in school.  Shhhh… that’s our secret!

If you’d like to make your own, all you have to do is click here to download the instructions: Download 2010_07_15_MME_Map of America.

When the video of today’s segment is available, I’ll add the the video to the left column on this blog.  You can also click here to read the segment on the Good Things Utah website.

p.s. Make sure you visit the My Mind’s Eye blog tomorrow!

NEW My Mind’s Eye

I was gone last week enjoying the sunny weather and didn’t get to share this with you before…

Have you SEEN the NEW My Mind’s Eye collections?  I am over the moon excited to play with them!  In fact, I have already had the chance to design two layouts (shown below) and I can’t say enough about how GORGEOUS these products are! 

Hmmmm… double-sided GLITTER and FLOCKED goodness!  Dimensional embellishment yummy-ness, acrylic stamps and AWESOME trims! 

Follow the links provided (below) to the My Mind’s Eye blog and enter to win the new collections!

Alphabet Soup (Boy and Girl Color Schemes):

You have until midnight on July 13 (tonight) to enter to win BOTH Alphabet Soup collections!

 

Blackbird and Haunted

Isn’t this delicious?

 

The Halloween contest ends midnight, July 14.  Click here to leave a comment and be entered to win!

 

Holly Jolly and I Believe

You can win BOTH the Holly Jolly and I Believe collections if you leave a comment on this post by midnight, July 15.

 

Lost and Found

There is SO much detail!

  

This is the grand-daddy of all the giveaways!  The winner of this contest gets all FOUR Lost & Found color schemes!  All you have to do is leave a comment HERE and you’ll be entered to WIN.  You have until midnight, July 18 to enter.

I hope you are as excited as I am!

It’s always so exciting to see what products all the different companies come out with!  (Of course, I have my favorites!)

BIG hugs!

Celebrating the 4th

Free 2 Run, Featured Collection: Lush Red and Blue and So Sophie.

I prefer to sleep in on holidays.  To me, that’s part of the celebration.  I am quickly changing my tune, however as my sons and husband enjoy running so much.  The first race the boys ran was a local 1K (just over 1/2 mile) three years ago.  The kids get a t-shirt, a popsicle and a medal!  They were hooked.  So hooked that last year when Neal wanted to run the 5K, he also chose to run the 1K as well because an 8 year old running the 5K won’t get a medal, but he gets a medal for running the 1K (it’s all about the medal). 

Neal ran both the 5K and 1K again this year.  Neal beat last year’s time by 2 minutes! 

Riley ran the 1K and beat last year’s time by 1 minute.  Boy, do I have to share something funny with you!  After the 1K, Riley came up to me with this super proud look on his face, his eye gleaming, and said: “I took a short cut so I could beat all the other kids!”  Well, he lost his medal so we’ve been teasing him that the race committee found out he cheated and stripped him of his medal.

It is so much fun watching the boys train hard to prepare and plan the races they will run in the future.  I am glad we live in a country where you can accomplish anything you set your mind on.  And I gladly give up sleeping in to see the joy on their faces at their accomplishments.

It was a good time for a lesson on how to race with honesty.  He didn’t realize he was cheating, he thought he was being so smart.  But, if he does it next year, it’s cheating and I won’t let him have his medal.

The rest of our day was filled with fun.

Song of the Week – In My Room

In My Room by the Beach Boys:

There's a world where I can go
and tell my secrets to
In my room
In my room
In this world I lock out
all my worries and my fears
In my room
In my room
Do my dreaming and my scheming lie awake and pray
Do my crying and my sighing laugh at yesterday
Now it's dark and I'm alone
but I won't be afraid
In my room
In my room

With the warmth of summer here and a highly anticipated family boating trip planned, my thoughts have been going back to when I was younger.  We were lucky because growing up we had the opportunity of waterskiing almost weekly. 

Songs by the Beach Boys (along with Simon and Garfunkel) are a huge part of those memories.

Our family is READY for a getaway.  The boys keep carrying their fun too far and inevitably one of them ends up getting hurt (and crying).

I chose this song because it is a peaceful song.  I’m looking forward to letting all the everyday, mundane things go and simply ENJOY my family.

Did you know you could do this?

I have this awesome friend who thinks of everything.  Last year when the boys in our neighborhood went to Cub Scout Camp, she created a fun shirt for all the boys to wear on the second day of camp.  Since her son is a year older than mine, he didn’t coming to camp this year and I thought I would follow her great example and design a shirt.

I found child size shirts on sale at Michaels for $1.99!  That was a couple of weeks ago, but I guarantee they will be on sale again in the near future.  My intent was to purchase the iron-on paper that you can run through your printer.  I didn’t have a coupon with me, so I didn’t purchase the paper at the same time.  Am I glad I didn’t!

As I thought about how I’d like to create the shirts, the thought came to my mind:

“I wonder how permanent it would be if I cut vinyl with my Silhouette and iron it on the shirts?”  (see how my mind works)

Well, who better to know if that’s a possibility than the experts at Silhouette.  I went to the Silhouette website and guess what I found!?  Heat Transfer paper – in smooth and flocked finishes (and special edition glitter)!

It is AWESOME!  And so simple:

1.  You run the heat transfer paper through your Silhouette and cut the design you’d like (IMPORTANT: be sure to cut your design out backwards and make sure the clear plastic side is down).  I bought a rocket at the Silhouette store and personalized it.

2.  Remove the extra paper using a hook tool.  (My 5 1/2 year old enjoyed helping)

3.  Turn over so your design looks right and place in desired position on shirt.  Lay a rag on top of design and apply pressure with an iron for about 45 seconds. 

4.  Remove iron and see if the design is sticking to shirt.  If not, apply iron for a few seconds longer.  When completely adhered to shirt, remove film (I found it best to do this when the film is still warm).

5.  I used two different colors (Silver – Flocked and Black – Smooth).  I lay the black designs where I wanted them and marked where I needed to cut the wings. 

I could have ironed both the black and silver heat transfer paper at the same time, but I did not want the black to show through the cut out star.  I was also assured of a more precise placement since the rocket was already adhered to the shirt.

6.  The only thing left to add to the shirt are 9 cute boys:

(This is a photo of my cute boy)

The shirts were a HIT!  They looked great and were EASY to do.

I also have red and white Heat Transfer paper.  I have big plans for it

that I will share with you in the future.

Father’s 2010 Day layout

I am having a hard time staying away from the So Sophie “Savvy” collection from My Mind’s Eye.  The colors just draw me in and seem to be perfect for almost every layout I create.

p.s. Check back tomorrow and see what I made for Cub Scout Camp with my Silhouette!

Fire Crackers

 

Looking for a project to add a little “pop” to your summer celebrations?  This project is fun and easy to do!

I am absolutely drawn to So Sophie “Savvy”.  The colors are like a magnet to me.  I love the aqua blue and red with polka dots.  It’s a fun change, yet kept the red, white and blue theme.  For those of us in Utah, we can keep these up the entire month of July.

Can you just imagine these on your picnic table?

I had another fun idea.  What if you drilled out a larger hole in the top and instead of adding the wire for the fire crackers, you could add a glass cup and votive.  Then your fire crackers would really light up the night!

If you’d like to make your own, all you have to do is click here to download the instructions: Download 2010_06_22_MME_Fire_Crackers.

(including an idea for a more traditional blue in the instructions)

Later this afternoon, when the video is available, I’ll add the the video to the left column on this blog.  You can also click here to read the segment on the Good Things Utah website.

My Mind’s Eye wants to see YOUR firecrackers, too.  When you are done making them, upload a picture to the My Mind’s Eye fan photo album on Facebook.

Have a spectacular day!

I Remember - MME Blog Challenge

This month’s challenge on the My Mind’s Eye blog is to create an “I Remember” layout with this awesome sketch by Anam Stubbington.

For the sample I created, I turned the sketch to the right and flipped it.  I LOVED this sketch.  I will use it again, that’s for sure!  (Thanks Anam)  I thought this would be an easy challenge, but I had a hard time narrowing down what I wanted to "remember”. 

Since I didn’t scrapbook when Neal was a baby, I thought it would be fun to capture one of my favorite memories while I can still remember it!  *wink*  I hope you like it.

Featured Collections: Lush Blue and So Sophie Charming

I would love to see all my blog readers participating.  You have until June 24 to complete your entry.  For information about what you can

win and everything else you need to know, follow this link.

Songs of the Week – Even Superman

We had a great time at the Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband concert a couple of weeks ago.  It was the first concert the boys have been to.  (If Bono, from U2, hadn’t had back surgery, it would have been Neal’s second concert)  The concert was at our local outdoor amphitheater and we were able to enjoy a beautiful spring evening full of good music, good company and a beautiful view.

We all had favorite songs that were different, but “Even Superman” was and IS a favorite of all of ours!  (Since Ryan Shupe hasn’t done an official video, I found this on YouTube).

We even waited in line after to meet the band – because the boys wanted to!

I love all the lyrics, but I especially love the chorus:

Even Superman has kryptonite
And though he tries with all his might
Even Superman falls to his knees
Begging please, please, please, please

As we near the day that we celebrate the father’s in our lives, I want to say how grateful I am that my son’s have a father (and I have a husband) who is aware of his weaknesses and is willing to get on his knees and pray.

p.s.  Wait until you see the pictures I have planned they go along with this song!  I’ll show them in the Father’s Day layout I am doing  on the My Mind’s Eye blog next Monday.  I’m so excited!

Picture Perfect eBook winner!

WINNER!!

The winner of the Picture Perfect eBook from Ella Publishing is:

I don't live in your area so I wouldn't get to watch but I love to see crafters demonstrating ideas with the newest trends.
I always love reading about the wonderful people on the blogs I follow!

Posted by: Melinda Wilson | June 04, 2010 at 09:05 PM

Father’s Day Bow Tie Gift Package

I think that one of the most important gifts you can give is your time.  It’s one of the most precious resources any of us have. 

Have you ever played the M & M get to know you game?  I thought it would be fun to give your a child and their Father the gift of time.  Time together - getting to know each other.

I’ve also seen M & M packaged tied with a ribbon in the center so it looks like a bow tie.  So, I decided to combine them both and came up with this:

  

 

 

I had a GREAT time on Good Things Utah demonstrating this project.  My boys are so excited to do this with my husband.

So Sophie “Charming” was just perfect for this project.  The colors and patterns are masculine and the embellishments go along so well with the theme of this project.  And, I got to use one of my favorite titles: “You are the living proof that love exists”. 

If you’d like to make your own, all you have to do is click here to download the instructions: Download Father's Day Bow Tie Gift Package.

I’ve also included the Intro File: Download Intro File

BOW TIE pattern: Download Bow tie pattern

and Question File: Download Question File

Later this afternoon, when the video is available, I’ll add the the video to the left column on this blog.  You can also click here to read the segment on the Good Things Utah website.

I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I do!

Picture Perfect eBook giveaway

Check out this fun new eBook fro Ella Publishing!  It’s called Picture Perfect.  And they’re right.  You know how you think you are taking a picture, but what your camera captures is different than what you “saw”?  This book is a quick, easy read and is loaded with tips and tricks on to help you get the photo you see. 

Here is the official information:

Publisher: Ella Publishing, eBook cost: $5.99

About the Authors

Becky Novaceck
Elisha Snow
Kelly Noel

Becky, Elisha, and Kelly are all professional family photographers, camera-happy moms, successful bloggers, and scrapbookers to boot! Hailing from Utah, Nebraska, and Florida respectively, they have a total of nine beautiful children (and eight grandchildren, thanks to Becky) among them.

About the book

Picture Perfect to the rescue! Organized into nine relevant sections (babies, toddlers, kids, teens, pets, adults, duos, trios, and larger groups), this eBook is packed with practical advice that will help you take your photographs to the next level.

Several of the tips are geared toward those with some experience with semi-manual or manual modes on a DSLR camera. But even if you're a DSLR beginner (or you use a point-and-shoot), you'll learn how to improve your photographs dramatically.

 

Get it on SALE: “Ella loves photography. Our two photography eBooks have been super popular. They retail for $5.99 each but if you buy both you can save 20 percent using this coupon code, SUMMERPICS.”

GUESS what!? 

Ella Publishing has donated a Picture Perfect book to ONE of my readers! 

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment answering the following two questions by midnight on Sunday, June 13, 2010:

1. What projects would you like to see me demonstrate on Good Things Utah?  (added: Remember that even if you aren’t in Utah, you can view the segments on my blog.  I always have the most current in the left column and links to the others are there, too.)

2. I haven’t shared a lot of my everyday life on the blog.  I mostly just share projects.  I hesitate to bore you with all the mundane details or scare you off by sharing personal feelings, and, do you really want to know when I feel like a failure?  So, here’s the question: would you like there to be more “ME” in my blog?

Song of the Week – You’ll Never Walk Alone

by Gerry & The Pacemakers

This song is from the Movie Carousel.  It was a favorite song of my husband’s Grandfather.  Since we visited his grave this weekend, I thought it would be nice to honor him this week.

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”

We added this phrase to the inside of our side door a few months ago.  I want my boys to KNOW this throughout their lives.  No matter what, they are never alone.

Winner!

The winner of the May 2010 Moments Scrapbooking Kit is:

Amy C!

There are so many different color combinations that I love, but I tend to gravitate more toward the pink/green/brown/white combo. I love what you have done with this kit. Thanks for sharing with us!!

Posted by: Amy C | May 24, 2010 at 07:11 PM

 

Amy, will you please email me your mailing address?

 

Thank you for all your wonderful responses!

Like Father, Like Son – WINNER!

Thank you for the many entries into the Like Father, Like Son contest.  It’s so much fun reading your comments!

I know you are dying to know who the winner is!  Without further adieu… Tracy Gardiner!

 

I looooove this collection especially since I scrap mainly boys ....

thanks for the chance to win ...

Love, Tracy G

Posted by: Tracy Gardiner | May 23, 2010 at 10:27 AM

Express the Moment giveaway

 

I had the opportunity this month to be the Guest Designer at Express the Moment.  I got to play with the May 2010 “Moments Scrapbooking Kit”.  Lucky for me (and you) this month’s kit is filled with So Sophie goodness!

I was able to create the following card and two layouts with product to spare.  Click here to see everything that comes in this kit.

Guess what!?

Express the Moments would like to give the May 2010 Moments Scrapbooking Kit to ONE of my readers!

Isn’t that cool?

Entering to win is EASY!  Leave a comment on this post by midnight, Monday, May 31, 2010 and tell me your favorite color combination.

There’s more!

Click here to become a fan of Express the Moment on Facebook and comment on their page, you will be entered to win a fun surprise! 

This is going to be fun!

p.s. You still have until Wednesday night to enter the Fancy Pants Like Father, Like Son giveaway!

Welcome to spring in Utah

Sigh…

Win Fancy Pants Like Father, Like Son papers!

Fancy Pants has generously donated a collection of Like Father, Like Son papers (only the papers) for me to give to YOU!

I had a lot of fun playing with this wonderful product line last week when I was on Good Things Utah.  If you missed that project, click here to see it and watch the video – located in the left column.

Leave a comment anywhere on my blog by next Wednesday, May 26, 2010.  I’ll announce the winner on Thursday!  Good Luck!

 

(p.s. I have ONE more giveaway – check back in the next few days to learn more)

Song of the Week – I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight

by U2…

In honor of the upcoming U2 concert, 18 days – but who is counting, the next few songs of the week will be my families’ favorite U2 songs.

“I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” is Riley’s favorite U2 song.  That little boy sure can jam!

In September, we used a line from the song as the My Mind’s Eye blog challenge:

“Every generation gets a chance to change the world”. 

I have shared this layout with you before, but I created this layout about my Grandfather and his service in WWII.  I also used another line from the song in my journaling:

“It’s not a hill, it’s a mountain as you start out the climb”. 

My Grandfather was injured twice in battle during WWII.  He won’t talk about his experiences in the war.  I framed this layout and gave it to him for Christmas – he was touched and has opened up a little since then.

ENJOY!

p.s. check back tomorrow for a couple of giveaways!

My April Top Tens of 2010

“Celebrate April”

When I asked the boys what their favorite things we did in April were, their first answer was: “Your birthday”.  How sweet!  Then I asked what else they liked and they said “We didn’t do anything else in April”.  I thought that was funny.  We then brainstormed and one thing led to another and they proclaimed: “We guess we DID do a lot in April”.  This conversation demonstrates why I am so glad we are doing this album.  I think sometimes we are so busy “doing” that we aren’t “living” and “enjoying” life.  I don’t want to forget that my dad had snowballs ready and started a snowball fight the minute we got out of the car on Easter.  In April, we learned that “Batman lives here”.  The boys worked together on Pinewood Derby cars and Neal had to work off a library fine $ 0.25 per chore.  It was a great month!

I combined So Sophie “Savvy”, Breaking Free and Penny Lane from My Mind’s Eye to create my April layout.  Check out the MME blog to see other fabulous April Top Ten pages!

Father’s Day Coupon Album – GTU – Fancy Pants

  

 

 

I was thrilled when I found out I would get to play with The new “Like Father Like Son” line from Fancy Pants.  It’s by Michelle Coleman.  The colors are fabulous: blues, oranges, creams, greens and grays.  This will soon become one of your favorite “boy” collections.  Even though the name of this line is “Like Father, Like Son”, it is fun for for more than just Father/Son layouts and projects.

Like Father, Like Son begins shipping this week!  We kind of unveiled it today on Good Things Utah.  Look for it in your local store.

My boys are going to have so much fun with Bryan as he “redeems” his coupons!  I’m going to have them write a not to Bryan on the front page.

I was thinking that it would be fun to leave the photos off and take photos as they do the activity.  It would also be a fun thing to do for Grandpa or your own Dad from you and your siblings.  My Dad gave Neal coupons for Christmas a couple of years ago and they have loved their time together.  I think one of the most important gifts you can give someone is the gift of your time.

I’ll upload the video later today when it is up on the Good Things Utah website.  If you’d like to make your own project, Download these instructions and the Best Dad coupon pdf.

I hope you enjoy the project!

p.s.  If there are any giveaways left, I'll give one away here.  I'll let you know when I get back home this afternoon.

Mom Frame

For some reason Mother’s Day has snuck up on me and QUICKLY!  Since it is in two days, I needed something quick AND beautiful. 

I designed this project for my Mom and Mother-in-law and the My Mind’s Eye blog.  It was really fun to make!

To make this project, visit this post on My Mind’s Eye blog for step-by-step instructions.

Happy Mother’s Day! 

Now, I just need to make one more and I’m done.

My Mom album

I will be sharing a new Mother’s Day idea tomorrow on the My Mind’s Eye blog.  I thought I’d remind you of the project I did on Good Things Utah last year for All Scrapbook Steals.  It features Urban Prairie from Basic Grey.

If you’d like to make your own, please download these Instructions: Download All Scrapbook Steals_2009_05_08