April's Review	Andrea's Review	Chris' Review	Penny's Review	Tammy's Review

Review by April

My Mind's Eye is always coming out with amazing new paper and embellishment collections for papercrafters to ogle over. Lucky for us, they sent the review team several unique collections to choose from and each of us had the chance to review something different.

For this review I received the patterned papers, and die cut embellishments from the Wild Asparagus Baby Boy, Baby Girl, and Pretty Little Girl collections, and three sheets of patterned paper from the Just Dreamy "Day Dream" collection. All of the Wild Asparagus patterned papers are acid & lignin free, double-sided, and heavy in weight which makes them perfect for distressing. They are approximately 12"x12", and also include a 1" bar code at the bottom. Both the Baby Boy and Baby Girl collections came with 2 sheets of patterned paper, a coordinating die cut frame, a wild card that folds into a pocket, a swirl transparency, a die cut journaling card, a square die cut card with text journaling across the bottom, and a wild descriptive die cut card that contains 12 different descriptive words to match the theme of the collection. All of the die cut embellishments coordinate beautifully with each of the papers and are also heavy in weight so they stand up well when distressed or manipulated.

The Baby Boy color scheme consists of light blues, light greens, a darker greenish blue, brown, white, and grey. The Baby Boy papers come in Circles/Blue and Stripe/Blue. One sheet has an overlapping circles pattern on it, while the other has a variety of stripes on it. Both the front and back of the papers are made to look distressed and both have a coordinating blue on the other side.

The Baby Girl color scheme consists of a variety of soft light pinks, darker mauve's, creamy peaches, and have white and light green accents. The Baby Girl papers come in Dots/Light Pink and Floral/Coral. One sheet is covered in small white polka dots, while the other has a pretty criss-cross floral pattern on it. Both the front and back of the papers are made to look distressed and both have a coordinating pink/coral color on the other side.

The Pretty Little Girl collection came with two sheets of patterned paper, a die cut frame, a die cut journaling card, a large decorative die cut flower, a "Pretty Little Girl" die cut title block. The colors in this collection consist of a lovely purple with a hint of pink in it, a light lavender, a darker shade of pink, a teal blue, a darker blue/purple, and white. The Dots/Blue paper has medium sized polka dots in varying colors on a distressed light purple background, and has a gorgeous distressed teal blue on the backside. The Lace Magnolias/Lavender paper has several white distressed flowers with paisley like designs on a dark pink/purple background, and a coordinating dark lavender that has been distressed on the backside.

The Just Dreamy "Day Dream" collection was my absolute favorite because the colors were bright, pretty, and fun! Each of the 12"x12" patterned papers were single sided with a white back. They were not quite as heavy in weight as the Wild Asparagus papers, but they were still what I consider a wonderful weight to work with. The Day Dream papers were filled with bright yet almost vintage looking colors like lime greens, teals, oranges, and varying shades of pinks. The first sheet was called, "Betty Confetti" and had a striking pink background that was filled with a tiny plaid pattern in a darker pink. If you were looking from far away you might not notice the small pattern in the pink, but at close range it adds a wonderful texture and dimension the the patterns! On top of the pink background, are random colored polka dots. The "In Bloom" paper had a lighter pink background, but also had the plaid like texture on it, and was filled with decorative flowers in a variety of sizes and coordinating colors. The last sheet of paper, "Check Her Out", was a splendid criss-cross pattern containing all of the entire collection color scheme.

I loved the colors and patterns in the Just Dreamy collection, and decided to use them for my first layout. I trimmed the "Day Dream" Check Her Out paper to act as an over sized photo mat, and then cut out several of the flowers from the "Day Dream" In Bloom paper. I used glue dots to raise a few of the flowers up for dimension, and then added rhinestone brads and adhesive rhinestones to the center of all the flowers. To complete the layout, I added some stickers, a mirror, and a chipboard title which I colored with glitter glue. I thought at first I might have trouble using my Alice in wonderland picture with such bright and colorful patterns, however to my surprise they looked wonderful together!

Title: Nonsense
Products used:
Patterned Paper (My Minds Eye - Just Dreamy collection: "Day Dream" In Bloom, & "Day Dream" Check Her Out)
Glitter Glue (Ranger Stickles)
Chipboard (Heidi Swapp)
Sticky Note (Heidi Swapp)
Heart Mirror (Heidi Swapp)
Stickers (Making Memories)
Rhinestones & Brads (Karen Foster, Heidi Swapp, )
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

For my second layout, I knew the exact picture I wanted to use with the Wild Asparagus Baby Girl papers and embellishments. Since the papers were double sided, it made it easy to incorporate several coordinating patterns on the layout, even though I was only technically using 2 different sheets of paper. I cut up several of the coordinating die cuts to make unique page embellishments. First, I cut the Baby Girl frame and used it like a large photo corner for the side of my picture, and also used a small portion of it to decorate the pocket wild card. Next, I cut up the Baby Girl card and used the bottom half of it as a tab that sticks out of the right hand side of the picture, and the other half I journaled on and placed it in the pocket wild card. Last, I cut out each word from the wild descriptives card and turned them into small journaling strips. To complete the layout, I added some doodling, rhinestones, and a chipboard title that I colored with the clear glitter pen.

 

Title: Sweet Baby Girl
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper (My Minds Eye - Wild Asparagus: Baby Girl Floral/Coral, & Baby Girl Dots/Light Pink)
Die Cuts (My Minds Eye - Wild Asparagus: Baby Girl Card, Frame, Pocket Wild Card, & Wild Descriptives)
Chipboard (Heidi Swapp)
Rhinestones (Me & My Big Ideas)
Pens (Sakura, and Staedtler)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I decided to create a third layout using the wild Asparagus Baby Boy collection. With the exception of rub ons, a black journaling pen, a few stickers, and some dimensional paint, I created the majority of the layout by cutting up the Baby Boy die cuts and the two coordinating papers to use as page embellishments. Even though the collection is themed for a baby boy, I used a picture of my 6 year old and his cousin and it can easily be used for other themes as well.

Title: Just Being Boys
Products used:
Patterned Paper (My Minds Eye - Wild Asparagus: Baby Boy Stripe/Blue, & Baby Boy Circles/Blue)
Die Cuts (My Minds Eye - Wild Asparagus: Baby Boy Journaling Card, Wild Descriptives, Frame, Pocket Wild Descriptive)
Transparency (My Minds Eye - Wild Asparagus: Baby Boy Swirl Transparency)
Stickers (Making Memories, American Crafts)
Rhinestone Brad (Karen Foster)
Pens (Staedtler)
Chipboard (Heidi Swapp)
Rub Ons (Jenni Bowlin)
Dimensional Paint (Ranger)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I haven't scrapped with My Mind's Eye papers in a while, but this review reminded me of how much I enjoy working with them. Great quality papers are sometimes hard to find, but I have always admired the thickness and sturdiness of the papers from My Mind's Eye. I also love having a double-sided sheet with a pattern on one side, and a matching solid color on the other side. When you pair these up with all of the different coordinating embellishments that come with each collection, it just makes it so easy to create fabulous projects in a short amount of time! Most all of the My Mind's Eye collections created are themed, but almost all of them can really be used for any topic or theme. Since My Mind's Eye has so many different collections to choose from, I can almost guarantee there is a little something for everyone no matter what your style is.

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Review by Andrea

When My Mind's Eye does a new collection or product release, they do it with style and class. During the Winter Craft and Hobby Association 2008 Show, My Mind's Eye released another generation to their Wild Asparagus series and introduced a new series named Just Dreamy. Both series have my favorite My Mind's Eye products, their distressed 12" x 12" paper. It is really to die for! Heavy, true size and just plain pretty, this paper can take anything - tearing, stamping, distressing, inking, sewing and layering. Totally yummy and begs to be used!

Just Dreamy is designed by Christy Lyle and Zoe Pearn with bright and truly dreamy colors! There are 2 collections, Day Dream and Star Bright, within Just Dreamy each having 9 different single-sided papers. There is a single page of die cut punch-outs and buttons. All coordinate together with color and design. The Day Dream Collection is full of oranges and reds sporting a touch of turquoise in it's flower backgrounds. Star Bright has teal, kiwi and yellow with a touch of red. The designs are stars and paisley, fully covering the sheet in a repeating pattern. Both collections are fun, hip and simple.

Wild Asparagus has 20 different collections, each being specific to a theme. I was sent Grandma, Grandpa and Merry Christmas. The remaining ones were family oriented with a couple birthday themes thrown in. All of the Wild Asparagus paper is double-sided with typically a pattern on one side and distressed solid on the other. It's very easy to mingle the paper and embellishments across the themes. They don't look alike, they complement each other with similar colors and styles. All of themes have 2 double-sided papers with multiple frames, journaling cards, titles and more all coordinating. The papers have a fantastic linen texture on the patterned side and the embellishments have a shimmer smooth finish on them! Great to see and feel on a page without unwanted glitter dropping everywhere or overpowering the rest of the page.

I had one picture from Christmas left to scrap, so I took this opportunity to use the My Mind's Eye paper. With the deep red and almost mint green colors, the paper gave a simple yet fun look to the page. The edges were distressed to reveal the white core of the paper. I stamped on the green using red metallic ink with no issues. The images were clear and the ink dried quickly. I cut the large striped frame into 4 pieces and used 2 to create a large corner for the picture. The title was simple and appropriate. By adding just a couple more items like the large swirl stamp, ribbon and poinsettia, the page was complete.

Title: Merry Christmas
Products used: Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus, Merry Christmas)
Frame and Title (My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus, Merry Christmas)
Stamps (Inque Boutique and Stampers Anonymous)
Inks (Clearsnap MicaMagic Regal Red and Ranger Pigment Snow Cap)
Ribbon, Poinsettia and Brad (unknown)
Sketch (ScrapFriends)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

One of the neat embellishments included with the Merry Christmas Collection was this die cut pillow box. Arriving flat, the box was pre-folded and assembled with just one line of the glue runner. It was a bit plain, so I wrapped the Happy Holidays mat around the box and secured with ribbon. Just add a name and you're ready for a great gift-giving opportunity! As you can see from the glare of the flash, the paper has a shimmer coating to it.

Title: Christmas Pillow Box
Products used: Frame and Box (My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus, Merry Christmas)
Ribbon (Tie One One Ribbon Club)
Eyelets (Making Memories)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I've been wanting to do a layout using these great pictures of my grandparents, so the Grandma and Grandpa Collections were perfect! On these two pages, there is a blend of each theme. It's amazing how well they work together! What I love about the Wild Asparagus patterns is that they're big. It offers the flexibility of leaving a large piece as a mat or trimming it apart for border elements. The borders were both cut around the patterns on the paper. The scalloped edges were punched from the solid side of the paper used as a mat. I was a little concerned about writing on the shimmer journaling box, but my regular journaling marker worked like a charm with no smearing! Sewing through 2 layers of the My Mind's Eye paper and 1 layer of cardstock made my sewing machine work a little harder, but it came through just fine. I love the heritage look of the whole layout, including the fonts chosen on the pre-printed embellishments.

Title: Grandma and Grandpa
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics, Sage Light)
Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus, Grandma and Grandpa)
Title and Die Cuts (My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus, Grandma and Grandpa)
Stickles (Ranger, Platinum)
Flowers (Petaloo)
Scallop Border Punch (Fiskars)
Year Stamp (Inque Boutique)
Scalloped Circle (Spellbinders Nestabilities)
Die Cut and Embossing Machine (Spellbinders Wizard)
Ink (Clearsnap Fluid Chalk, Dark Brown)
Journaling Pen (Creative Memories, Brown)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Through layering, trimming and sewing, the new Wild Asparagus collections held up superbly! The colors and patterns are very well coordinated and matched the tone of the theme. The addition of the shimmer finish on the embellishments is a real eye-catcher as well as a great smooth feel when handling the page. Speaking of embellishments, there is a nice selection which varies from theme to theme. Some have specific titles, some have frames or journaling cards and some have pre-folded patterns like in the Merry Christmas theme. Great idea from my perspective!

If you like My Mind's Eye or just great paper, get the new Wild Asparagus and Just Dreamy lines to add to your paper collection. You'll find all sorts of uses for the paper and embellishments once you start to use them! Add that special touch to your next project with My Mind's Eye.

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Review by Chris

My Mind’s Eye continues to produce a wide variety of high quality scrapbooking and papercrafting products. Most recently, they have released new versions of existing collections as well as new product lines. Wild Asparagus has been completely revamped, with different papers under the original collections' names and there is now a Bohemia 2. In the revamp of Wild Asparagus, all the paper elements have a shimmery finish, which gives the collection some new oomph! Among the new lines are Just Dreamy (2 lines each with nine papers, a sheet of die cuts and some buttons) and 29th Street Market (16 new lines falling in 4 different categories).

I first worked with the three papers I received from the Just Dreamy line. These single-sided papers, designed by Christy Lyle and Zoe Pearn, are absolutely that – Dreamy! These two gals are among my very favorite digital designers and I am so happy to see their talent brought to the paper market through My Mind’s Eye. The Just Dreamy collection includes two lines – one in the pink color range (Day Dream) and the other in the blue range (Star Bright), and although they fit perfectly for scrapping photos of children, they also work well with other themes. On my layout about my friends, I used a strip from each of the three papers (twinkle town, seeing spots, and paisley pop) along with some of Prism’s new mulberry cardstock. MY CHA souvenir flowers from Imaginisce match the papers perfectly! Now that I have used these three papers, they have left me wanting more and I can’t wait until I can find the rest of the collection in my local scrapbook store!

Chillin Texas Style
Products used: Patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye, Just Dreamy, Star Bright, Seeing Spots, Twinkle Town, Paisley Pop)
Cardstock (Prism, Prismatics, Kraft; Mulberry, Red)
Acrylic letters (KI Memories, Alphabet Soup)
Flowers (Imaginisce)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)
Sketch by KarenEmily for ScrapFriends
Brads, ribbon, ric rac, Dymo labeler, embroidery floss

I received three of the new Wild Asparagus collections: Brothers, Sisters and Cousins. I just love the new shimmery finish on the paper elements in the all the new collections. It adds such a touch of elegance to any project! As before, each collection includs two, 2-sided cardstock weight patterned papers – each sheet has a design on one side and a matching solid on the other. There are 5 or 6 different embellishments per collection, including frames, tags, title elements, journaling tags, transparent overlays and three-dimensional pieces such as envelopes and folded cards. All of the embellishments except the clear overlays have a beautiful sparkley finish on them. On this layout, I used both patterns from the Brothers collection, as well as both of the solid papers and the frame. I thought these papers matched quite well with my photo of the “beach buggies” lined up at a local pier.

Signs of Summer
Products used: Patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye, Wild Asparagus, Brothers, Polka Dot/light blue, Stripe/orange)
Frame (My Mind’s Eye, Wild Asparagus, Brothers)
Die Cuts (QuicKutz, Fiesta Alphabet)
Stamps (Inque Boutique, French Quarter, Cabana; Inkadinkado, Coastal; Hero Arts, Fancy Swirls)
Ink (Stewart Superior, Memories, black; Clearsnap, ColorBox fluid chalk ink, lime pastel)
Corner Rounder (EK Success)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner; GlueDots)
Buttons, embroidery floss

The winter releases from My Mind’s Eye include paper and embellishments to suit all interests and promise to keep paper crafters and scrapbookers busy for quite a while! I love the new twist brought to the existing product and the different paper lines. I also like their approach to producing many smaller coordinating collections rather than a larger collection with many papers. I think it creates many more possibilities for the paper crafter.

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Review by Penny

For this review I received a lovely assortment of My Mind's Eye patterned papers and die cut cardstock and transparency shapes.

From their Wild Asparagus line I received the Plaid/Green and Floral/Purple papers and die cuts from their "Mother" collection, the Plaid/Blue and Paisley/Pink papers, die cut shapes and flower transparency from their "Sweet Little One" collection and the Paisley/Brown and Diamond papers, die cuts and frill transparency from their "Dad" collection, Each complete 10 piece collection (4 papers, 5 die cut accent pieces and one transparency) retails for $6.80. Wild Asparagus papers are a very heavy cardstock weight with slight texture on its front. The colors are generally muted and distressed--perfect for that shabby chic look. The retail price is a steal for a high quality collection like this.

I used several of these elements in my projects. The first project uses the Diamond paper, the swirl wild card and die cut frame from the "Dad" collection.

Title: About You
Products Used: Patterned Cardstock-Diamond (front and back), die cut frame and swirl (My Mind's Eye, Wild Asparagus "Dad" line)
Chipboard (Maya Road, SEI)
Rub Ons (Daisy D's)
Label Sticker (American Crafts)
Marker (Zig)
Crackle Paint (Ranger)
Metallic Rub Ons (Craf-T)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Glue Runner)
Other: buttons, ribbon

My second project uses the front and back side of the Plaid/Green paper and flower wild card from the "Mother" collection and the flower transparency from the "Sweet Little One" collection.

Title: Sweet Girl Card
Products used: Patterned Paper-Plaid/Green and die cut flower (My Mind's Eye, Wild Asparagus "Mother" Collection)
Flower Transparency (My Mind's Eye, Wild Asparagus "Sweet Little One" Collection)
Patterned Paper-That's My Girl (My Mind's Eye "Just Dreamy" Collection)
Marker (Zig)
Crystal (Doodlebug)
Acrylic Paint (Ranger)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Glue Runner)

I also received three papers from My Mind's Eye Just Dreamy collection. They are girlishly pink, floral and flirty and super cute! The "Day Dream Flowery Fields" paper has a pink texture pattern background covered in bright florals in lime green, orange, hot pink and teal in multiple shapes and sizes. The "Day Dream That's My Girl" paper has a subtle cream-colored pattern background with words like "pretty," "smile," "love" and "beautiful" in red, orange, pink, blue, brown and green. I used a small portion of this paper in my card project cutting the words Sweet and Girl from it. Finally, the "Day Dream Funky Flowers" paper has a soft pale pink textured pattern background with a flower pattern in reds, pinks and orange with tiny blue accents. The patterned papers are a nice weight that is sturdy enough to stand on its own. Unlike their Wild Asparagus line, the finish on these papers is smooth. With a total of nine patterned papers ($.59 each), one die cut accent sheet ($1.99) and an assortment of buttons ($5.99), this collection is ready for all of your girly projects.

I've been a fan of My Mind's Eye for many years. With it's wide ranging product lines and collections there is something for everyone here. If you are not already familiar with what they have to offer, I highly recommend checking them out.

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Review by Tammy

Established in 1999, My Minds Eye has become a legend in the Scrapbooking industry. Now with over 25 different product lines to offer the industry, this company sets the pace.

I was sent 2 different product lines for this review; Just Dreamy and Wild Asparagus.

From the Just Dreamy product line I was sent three 12 x 12-inch patterns from the Star Bright collection:

• Check Him Out 12 x 12-inch cardstock
• Shooting Star 12 x 12-inch cardstock
• Superstar 12 x 12-inch cardstock

The Star Bright collection is single-sided and is a lighter weight cardstock. This makes it very "user friendly" when trying to work on altered projects. At first glace you may also be tempted to think that the Star Bright collection is only suitable for toddlers, but if you will look at this first project, you will see that my 16 ½ year old son is anything but a toddler and the Star Bright collection worked perfectly with this photograph.

Title: Anticipation
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics, Desert Coral & Candle Glow Light )
Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye - Star Bright Check Him Out, Star Bright Shooting Star, & Star Bright Superstar)
Die Cut Frame (Wild Asparagus, Home)
Ink (Ranger Distress Ink)
White Pen (Inkssentials, Ranger)
Scissors (Provo Craft)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Wild Asparagus has been a long time favorite of mine. It seems to always have a vintage look and feel to it. The heavy weight 12 x 12-inch cardstock also has a slight texture to the patterned side while the coordinating solid color on the reverse side is smooth. Because the reverse side of the paper is normally a coordinating solid color, when mixed with the coordinating embellishments, you can make beautiful cards in a matter of minutes. I have also used this product line when creating boxes, bags, or anything else that requires a sturdy paper.

From the Wild Asparagus product line, I was sent three different collections; Family Roots, Home, and Our Family.

Family Roots:

• Floral/Olive 12 x 12-inch cardstock
• Dots/Teal 12 x 12-inch cardstock
• Pedigree Chart Wild Card
• Family Roots Card
• Journaling Card
• Frame

Home:

• Floral/Blue 12 x 12-inch cardstock
• Stripe/Green 12 x 12-inch cardstock
• Wild Desciptives Card
• Home Card
• Journaling Card
• Pocket Wild Card
• Frame
• Flower Overlay

Our Family:

• Floral/Teal 12 x 12-inch cardstock
• Stripe/yellow 12 x 12-inch cardstock
• Paisley Wild Card
• Our Family Card
• Journaling Card
• Frame

The Wild Asparagus embellishments have a slight shimmer to them adding a vintage feel to the designs. And, not only do they coordinate with their own collection, but they can be mixed and matched with other similar collections like I did with this layout.

Because each patterned sheet of 12 x 12-inch cardstock is backed with a coordinating solid color I chose to use the Stripe/Yellow cardstock from the Our Family collection as a base for my layout. I also used this to mat my photo and used the striped pattern side to cover the embellishments. The Floral/Blue and Stripe/Green from the Home collection was what was needed to complete my layout. With the addition of the Our Family card used as my title, my layout was complete.

Title: Our Family
Products used: My Minds Eye Cardstock (Wild Asparagus, Our Family Stripe/Yellow, Home Floral/Blue and Stripe/Green)
Title Card (Wild Asparagus Our Family card)
Luster Rub-ons (Craft-T)
Flourish Chipboard (Misc)
Bar Chipboard (American Crafts)
Ink (Ranger)
Machine Stitching
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I had so much product leftover that I just couldn't stop so I had to make a few generic cards. Using just a few of the embellishments and pieces of cardstock I was able to make three cards in very little time.

Title: Cards
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
My Minds Eye (Wild Asparagus Our Family Floral/Blue, Family Roots Floral/Olive and Dots/Teal, Home Stripe/Green)
Frame (Wild Asparagus Our Family Frame, Family Roots Frame)
Flower Overlay (Wild Asparagus Home Blue Flower Overlay)
Stamps (Inque Boutique)
Ink (Ranger)
Embossing Powder (PK Glitz)
Chipboard (Misc)
Flower (Prima)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

My Minds Eye has proven the test of time and will be a company that I can trust to give me the quality products that I want. My Minds Eye products are made right here in the USA and are also acid and lignin free which means these products will last for years to come and will help preserve your family heritage. Now that is quality I can trust!

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