My Mind's Eye Blog

MME+Teacher Appreciation Week with Tamara

Good morning! This is Tamara here with you today.Teacher Appreciation Week is a great opportunity to tell our fabulous teachers how wonderful they are. I wanted to share a couple of projects for my son's 4th grade teacher.

Supplies: Collectable – Remarkable: Decorative tape (Green, Numbers, Stars), Collectable-Notable: Decorative tape (blue); Collectable-Unforgettable: Decorative tape (yellow); My Girl: decorative tape (red); Indie Chic: yellow twine; Misc: White cardstock, hole punch, Small Pringles can

Who doesn't love cookies?  For a unique cookie container, I used a half-sized Pringles can, rinsed it well and dried it.  I cut a piece of plain white cardstock to the height of the can and covered it with layers of decorative tape.

I wrapped the tape around the edges for a finished look.  I adhered it to the can with strong red scrapbook tape.  I trimmed the edges of the tag with tape and tied it with cheerful yellow and white twine.

The best part - after the cookies are gone, this gift can be used as a fun pencil/pen holder for her desk!!

Supplies: Collectable - Remarkable: Delightful patterned paper, brad; Collectable-Notable: Muse patterned paper, Adore patterned paper, Devoted patterned paper; All is Bright: twine; Lost and Found 3-Oliver: decorative tape; Decorative Tape:Red/Black,Lush:Chipboard Letters; Misc: Black ink, red thread, acrylic pail.

A few years ago, I found this sweet M&M poem for teachers.\

I had a clear pail in my stash from MME Glittered Chipboard letters. (You can also find them at scrapbook and craft stores, or a glass jar would work)  I removed the packaging and decorated it with paper and decorative tape.

I sorted my M&M's into different colors, so each colored layer showed separately in the clear pail. For the lid, I cut a circle out of yellow patterned paper and adhered the brad and diecut paper with pop dots. I sewed around the edges of the poem and used MME chipboard letters for the "M&M".

Poem:

GREEN is for the inspiration you give me each day.

BLUE is for your patience in showing me the way.

ORANGE is for your warmth and caring style.

YELLOW is for the way you always make me smile.

RED is for my life that you have touched this year.

You’re a very special teacher just like this jar, that’s clear.

You place knowledge in our children’s hands

and melt into their hearts and lives forever.

You’re a “Magnificent” & “Marvelous” teacher.

        Thank you for being my M&M

Thanks for stopping by today, check back later for challenge winners and a special giveaway from Heidi Sonboul!!!

MME+Teacher Appreciation Week with Jana

Happy Tuesday everyone! This is Jana and I'm here to share a creative and unique Teacher Appreciation Week gift idea with you!

I've researched online and have asked teachers I know what kinds of gifts they love to receive from their students and they all seem to say the same thing ... GIFT CARDS! But giving a gift card to someone can feel "last-minute" and impersonal. So why not package the gift card with a personal touch? Like this sweet school bus shaped gift box.

Supplies:Boy Crazy:Seeing Stars Paper, Plaid Paper, Point the Way Paper, Stitched Paper, 6 x 6 Paper Pad, Felt Stickers, Enamel Dots, Decorative Buttons;Find Your Wings and Fly -Sky's the Limit: Alpha/Word Stickers ;Kraft FunDay: "Happy Days" (Brights) Twine

I used the Boy Crazy collection along with my electronic cutting machine and an ice cream truck cut file by SVGCuts.com to create this fun box. The characters from the felt stickers make perfect passengers! And the Decorative Buttons are the perfect accents! I even created a flip-out stop sign for the side of the bus to keep the boarding riders safe and sound. Letter stickers from the Find Your Wings and Fly Collection  label the bus with the teacher's name.

 

When the back of the box is opened a few handfuls of the teacher's favorite candy come spilling out along with a library card pocket containing a gift card to her favorite restaurant.

 

The library pocket and apple were also cut with my electronic die cut machine. I gave the apple a little texture with an embossing folder. Another button from the Boy Crazy collection and some twine from the Kraft FunDay collection add some fun (and a little visual interest) to the pocket. The candies get dressed up patterned paper bands using the Boy Crazy 6 x 6 papers!

 

The mini banner pieces from the Boy Crazy Decorative Buttons adorn the other side of the bus, and the Enamel Dots make the most perfect lights and wheel accents!

 

It's a colorful and fun way to let your child's teacher know how much you appreciate them! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

 

 

Felt Stickers

Happy Thursday, MME fans!

Today we want to spotlight one of our favorite embellishments...felt stickers! These stickers are the perfect way to easily add a touch of whimsy to your layout or project.

They are fun, happy, bright, and playful. Who doesn't want more of that in their world?

I challenged Jana and Danni to share their ideas using these darling stickers. Here's what they came up with!

 

Be Happy by Jana Eubank

Supplies:My Girl :Playful paper, Rainbow paper, Pinwheel paper, Sweet Girl paper, Bouquet paper, Genuine paper, Felt Stickers, Layered Stickers, 12 x 12 Stickers, Decorative Brads, Enamel Dots

Other: Yellow cardstock, Tab punch, Scallop border punch, Ink, Adhesive, Foam squares, Trimmer

Jana says:I adore the felt stickers from the My Girl and Boy Crazy collections. I love the multiple layers in bright colors. Some of the layers even have stitching on them, which really adds to their cozy, handmade feel. When I look at them, they remind me of the cute, whimsical designs that are stitched on my young daughter's clothing (something I look to often for inspiration). I knew they would be a perfect accent on this layout about my daughter's birthday.

I added some of the enamel dots to the flowers, ice cream cone, and butterfly wings. I love the contrast of the shiny enamel dot with the fuzzy felt. So fun!

 

 

Robot Door Hanger by Danni Reid

Supplies:Boy Crazy:Plaid Paper, Geared Up, Felt Stickers, Decorative brads, tape, layered sticker, enamel dots,Silhouette Cameo, hole punch

When I first saw these felt stickers, I knew I wanted to create a door hanger for my youngest son's room.  These cute robots, cars and stars just needed to be displayed.  He loves fun things from my scrap booking supplies, from lunch notes, to bookmarks, to door hangers, to folder inserts, he loves them (he's still young enough to enjoy those things, yay).

I cut the door hanger using my Silhouette Cameo and then cut a fun block of arrows and backed it with chevron paper.  I loved layering the hanger with the papers, felt stickers, tapes and brads. 

I used hot glue in a "glob" and pressed it up a little to angle the head so the robot is looking at "you".  I thought it would be fun to add the layered sticker "genuine boy" to his hand, a couple of brads to the felt sticker and a couple of enamel dots to that cute robot tummy.

 

 

Eye Love You by Danni Reid

Supplies:Boy Crazy:Plaid, Point the Way, Stitched and Seeing Stars paper, Felt stickers, decorative brads, enamel dots;Misc:heart punch, white cardstock, machine stitching, Tim Holtz mini attacherIf you do not have a Silhouette Cameo, you can use a door hanger template online.  Here's one of several free printable templates online: Door Hanger Template

Danni says: I decided it would be fun to use this fun one-eyed monster to create a fun card for my youngest, one to slip into his lunchbox.  I thought it would be fun to create a sentiment that played on the "eye" in the monster.

How darling and creative are these ideas??? Have you used our felt stickers in your crafting? If so, we'd love to see! Link in the comments or on our FB page.

Happy crafting!

Spring Inspiration with Suzanne

Good Monday morning, everyone! This is Suzanne and I'm here today to share a little inspiration with you. I love browsing through Pinterest when I am in need of a bit of inspiration when I am papercrafting.

Recently I came across this simple idea of a mason jar decorated for Easter. You can find the original source for this project HERE.

I love using party trim on my projects, and I immediately loved the creative use of it on the top of this jar.

I decided to alter this tray from 7Gypsies to add a bit of spring decor to our home. I used the Collectable Unforgettable collection for most of this project.

The mason jar was cut using a stamp from Rubber Cafe, and paper pieced from a few different patterns using the 6x6 designer paper pad.

I stitched a layer of vellum at the bottom to create a pocket.I filled the inside with small punched flowers. At the top of the jar, I also used a bit of party trim to add another border above the brown twine.

 

In the smaller windows I punched three yellow polka dot flowers, and layered each one with a tiny word sticker.The final detail was more party trim and a bit of ribbon to add just a little something to the altered shadowbox.

Have a wonderful day!

Easter Bunny Treat Bags with Jana

Good morning everyone! This is Jana and I'm here to share a fun Easter decor idea.

My family usually sets our Easter dinner table with crisp white linens, porcelain china, and shiny silverware. I love the clean and bright look, but yearn to add color and personalization to each place setting.

The Collectable Memorable Collection is the perfect way to bring the colors of Spring to your table with these darling Easter Bunny Treat Bags!

Supplies:Collectable-Memorable: Details patterned paper, Gathering patterned paper, Together patterned paper, Record patterned paper,enamel dots;Winter Wonderland :twine

 

 These were really easy and quick to put together with the help of my electronic die cutting machine! You can find the free cut file HERE.

I chose several soft patterns from the Collectable Memorable collection and then used the paisley printed side of the Details paper for the pink bunny details.

 

For the eyes, I used a 1/4" hole punch to cut gray cardstock circles. Next, I adhered Memorable enamel dots to the cardstock circles for the pupils of the bunny's eyes. I love the way the enamel dots have shine to them ... they add a bit of twinkle that gives each bunny personality.

For the mouth, I simply drew it on by hand used a black journaling pen. The bunnies' whiskers were stitched on with white embroidery floss. The flap stays closed with a hook and loop sticker dot.

You can make your bunny a girl by adding a blue Winter Wonderland twine bow to one of the ears. Or make him a boy bunny by adding a twine bow tie around his neck.

Fill your bunny with treats and a special note, sprinkle a few jelly beans at his feet, and you have a darling addition for each place setting at your Easter dinner table.

 

Happy Spring!

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Hi everyone! This is Karen here for my contribution to decorative tape week.

When the washi tape craze first started, I didn't really understand why these semi-transparent tapes were all that useful. I mean, they were cute, but did I really need them? I think the first pair I bought was more out of curiosity than anything else. What I didn't realize then was that these tiny, simple tapes would add an inexplicable amount of joy into my life.

What's awesome about these is that they're unlike any other scrapbooking embellishment. They are so much more versatile. They can be used in so many more practical ways than just a page. They're also non-dimensional which allows me to use them in my daily life, without worrying they will be bulky or that they will fall off. It's the fastest way to add some wonderful color in to my day-to-day life.

As soon as I realized this, I started covering my journals with these awesome tapes. I use plain Moleskine journals to hold my to-do lists, sketches, journaling, etc. I love the journals but I hate how plain the covers are. Especially cause they are black and color makes me happy. So, now, I just start putting down strips of tape.

Since the tape is semi-transparent, and the black is pretty strong, it takes two layers of the same tape for the true color to show. See how they yellow tape in the photo below is so much bolder than the one above?

I also sometimes layer different tapes on top of each other. Look at the photo below. You'll see the tape with the numbers on it has the yellow polka-dotted tape below it. This makes the numbers stand out that much more.

For the back, where the elastic is, I try not to over-worry. I cut my tape into two small sections and put one above the elastic and one below. Then I put a large piece in the middle. I need regular reminders that perfection is not a goal for me. So having this tiny imperfection at the back of my book is a great reminder.

here's the front of my journal, all covered:

and here's the full book, open:

I added a felt embellishment on the cover just to make it even happier:

And there you go! What was a plain, relatively ugly journal is now colorful and joyful and it makes me happy all day long. I look at it and I smile and feel uplifted.

All from tiny bits of happily colored tape.

Here's what I've come to realize about washi tape: it's a simple product that elevates the ordinary to extraordinary.

Hey guys. Shelly here and I'd love to share some thoughts and ideas,too.

I couldn’t agree with Karen more. She hit the nail on the head.  I love that you can take something from ordinary to extraordinary with just a few strips of colorful tape. I have had this unfinished kids table that I picked up at IKEA a few years back.

It has been sitting in the basement amongst my kids’ little kitchen set up. Recently, we have decided to upgrade my daughter’s bed with a bunk bed.  She is now sleeping high in the sky like the big girl she is. So, what to do with that empty space under her bunk bed?

My daughter absolutely loves to create and write. I decided to pull that unfinished table out of the basement and into her room, but we couldn’t just leave it like it was. I pulled out my decorative tapes and went to town.

It went from blah to WOW in less than two hours.

I first aligned my tapes in the order I wanted them in on the top of the table. I debated if I should go random with colors or a rainbow. My daughter chose RAINBOW! This worked out perfectly. I was able to use all of the new Decorative Tape Sets, excluding the grey and black. It was like it was meant to be.

Leaving the rolls in order, one by one, I put a strip of each across the table trimming off the outer edges with my scissors.

I did have to be careful keeping the tape close to the edge of the previous strip and move slowly and gently. A couple of times I hit a weak spot in the tape and it wanted to rip, but that was mostly because I was trying to move too fast.  If I was watching it closely, I could fix it with my finger tip.

For the last strip, I simply laid it down like the other strips and trimmed the edge with my scissors. It is slightly jagged, but I am okay with that.  I am sure you could just as easily cover the side edges of the table with tapes too, but I decided to just cover the very top of the table.

And just like that, it went from ordinary to extraordinary with just 19 ½ inches of 40 different decorative tapes in a rainbow of colors. My daughter couldn’t have been any happier or a better assistant choosing which pattern to go next in the line of colors.

She couldn’t wait to put her pencils and paper on her desk. I slid it up there to take a picture of it to share with all of you in its new home, and I turned around to see her goodies already in their place. So the next time you see something plain and boring, think about completely covering it with decorative tapes! Go from ordinary to extraordinary in no time.

Disclaimer… I am currently working on putting a few coats of Polyurethane found at any home repair store to protect it. I have two coats on it right now, and the decorative tapes are taking it well. No running of color and the tapes are staying in place. So far, so good! Only time will tell how it will hold up over the long haul, but I am excited to see that the Polyurethane didn’t damage the tapes. My daughter is very anxious to get her table back into her room!

Monika Takes on Decorative Tape Week!

I love to cook. And I love to EAT what I cook. My downfall in life, but thankfully I'm tall so there's more room to distribute it all! Hello, it's Monika and welcome back to decorative tape week. For ages and ages, I've had this idea in mind to recreate a project I saw online, covering papier mache letters, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to finally get it done.

Materials Used  |  Decorative Tape Sets: Green + Navy, Red + Turquoise, Papier Mache letters: Hobby Lobby, Craft Paint: Americana, Apple Barrel, Martha Stewart

TUTORIAL

I began by painting my letters with craft paint and a sponge brush and found that two light coats of paint works well. I paint atop a sheet of waxed paper so that my items don't stick to the paper and I can mix custom colors as well, if needed.

Cover just the front sides of your letters with your choice of decorative tapes. Use all the same pattern on each letter as I did, or go wild + crazy and spice it up with a different tape design for each row.

Trim the tape with scissors, where you can, and for the more difficult areas use your craft knife. I found that scissors gave me better control and a cleaner cut.

Smooth down the decorative tape along the edges and display your craftiness proudly!

I loved doing this project so much, I think I might recreate this project with my One Little Word to display in my Studio.

Tina's Take on Decorative Tape Week

Hi!  Tina here today and welcome to Decorative Tape Week! Decorative tape is seriously one of my favorite products and I can't get enough.  Some might even say I have a tape obsession, but that's okay by me.  ;)

Today, I'd like to share how you can use tape on projects where you might ordinarily use paper or paint. I used a similar process for both projects, so let's walk through how I made this trio of Decorative Tape Owl Canvases.


Step One:
Gather supplies.  For this project, you will need several canvases, tissue paper, matte medium (or Mod Podge), a paint brush, and your favorite MME decorative tape.
Note:  I prefer matte medium or matte Mod Podge instead of glossy for my canvases. 

Step Two:
Apply a coat of matte medium/Mod Podge to your canvas.  Not a real thin layer, but not dripping wet.

Step Three:
Cut a piece of tissue paper slightly larger than your canvas and 'ball it up'.

Step Four:
Gently unwrap your tissue and place on top of matte medium/Mod Podge.  Apply another layer of matte medium/Mod Podge to top of tissue paper. 

Note:  When applying the matte medium/Mod Podge to top of tissue, apply gentle pressure or the tissue paper will rip and lift from the canvas.

Step Five:
Remove tissue paper excess from the edge of your canvas.  Since the edge is wet, you can gently remove the excess by tearing the tissue paper away.

While your canvas is drying, you can get your washi tape ready for adhering to your canvas.

Step Six:
Apply your favorite MME decorate tape to white cardstock. I used several patterns and designs to add more interest to my project.

Step Seven:
Either with an electronic die cut machine, a punch, or decorative scissors, cut zig zag/chevron shapes from the washi tape/cardstock sheet.  I used my Silhouette to cut the shapes and it cuts like 'butta'.  :)
Note:  I also cut my owl shape with my electronic die cut machine.

When your canvas is dry, proceed to Step Eight.

Step Eight:
Adhere washi zigzag shapes to canvas with matte medium/Mod Podge.  Allow to dry completely.


Step Nine plus:
Decorate canvas with paint, rub-ons, stamps, spray mist, doodling, etc. and allow to dry.  If you desire, you can seal your canvas with another coat of matte medium/Mod Podge, but it isn't necessary.

To show you how versatile washi tape is, I also decorated a wooden bird house using MME decorative tape, and cut shapes (for the roof) using the same method above.  Instead of cardstock, I used vellum to create a thinner layer.  I adhered the washi strips to the roof using wide strips of Scor Tape applied directly to the wood roof.


I hope that the next time you reach for a piece of paper or paint to complete a project, you will think about using decorative tape!

Altered Christmas Can by Tamara

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is drawing family names for a gift exchange.  We usually just scribble names on scraps of paper, then draw them out of a bowl.

I thought it would be fun to make a special can with personalized name tags.  I know this will become a treasured Christmas keepsake that we use every year.

I used an empty Piroutte cookie can from Walmart (left over from cookies we dipped in hot chocolate, yum!).

I found some green spray paint in my garage and painted the lid.  Then I covered the metal can with these festive papers from the Winter Wonderland collection.  

I used double stick tape and the heavy duty red scrapbook tape (for the seam in the back). The present sticker border was perfect for our "Gift Exchange" can.  I embellished the can with chipboard stickers, enamel dots, a sticker, and twine.

For the name tags, I printed the names in red ink on the light blue "At Home" patterned paper and stitched around them.  Then Iayered the patterned Christmas papers and added decorative brads and present chipboard pieces.

Merry Christmas!

Supplies: Winter Wonderland: Christmas Trees patterned paper, In the Neighborhood patterned paper, Flakes patterned paper, Polka Dots patterned paper, At Home patterned paper, Stripes patterned paper, Presents patterned paper, brads, stickers chipboard, twine, enamel dots;Misc: metal can, black ink, red thread, double stick tape, red scrapbooking tape

All is Bright Home Decor with Tina

Hi!  Tina here today with several Home Decor projects to get your family and home ready for the Holidays.

I must admit, I am completely obsessed with the 'All Is Bright' collection.  Not only for holidays projects, but for every day projects.  The colors and design can easily coordinate with your current decorations.

Supplies: All is Bright:6x6 paper pad,chipboard elements,decorative brads,decorative buttons,layered stickers,stickers

My first project is this large frame.  I layered paper, chipboard elements, brads, stickers and buttons in each opening.  I removed the glass so the3D dimension and elements could really pop.  Don't the elements look great against the white mat and frame?

My next project is another home decor frame.  I layered more paper and chipboard elements and tied it all together with twine.  This is crazy fast to make and is the perfect project for the busy holiday season.

Supplies: All is Bright:Linen patterned paper,Collage patterned paper,Ephemera Frames patterned paper,Merry patterned paper,chipboard elements,layered stickers,stickers,twine

 
For my third project I wanted another simple, yet coordinating decor item, so I wrapped decorative tape around matchboxes.  Super simple, isn't it?  It tied several with twine and added a button or brad.  I loved this project so much, I might do this for every holiday. 

Supplies: All is Bright:decorative tape,decorative buttons,decorative brads,chipboard elements,twine,stamps

My last project required a little more time.  I die-cut a perpetual calendar with my Cameo and decorated it with more All Is Bright chipboard elements and stickers.  It is a great way to countdown the days till The Big Day!

Supplies:All is Bright:4x6 pad,6x6 pad,chipboard elements,stickers,twine

Thank you for letting me share my All Is Bright home decor projects.  Hopefully it puts you in the Christmas mood and gives you some ideas for your holiday decorating.   Thanks for stopping by!