My Mind's Eye Blog

Valentine's Day Gift Bags

Supplies: Cupid's Arrow: Chevron foiled patterned paper, Chipboard hearts, enamel dots, decorative tape; Chalk Studio Twine; Misc: Hole punch, white gel pen, liquid Mono adhesive glue, chocolates.

Need an idea for a last minute Valentine's Day gift? Try making a simple gift bag. I love creating and giving gifts/treats to my dear friends.  I was able to make 2 bags from each sheet of 12x12 paper and they were so easy to make!

 

 

I used the fabulous foiled red and white chevron paper from "Cupid's Arrow" (still available on the MME website).  You could also use the red and cream chevron paper from Sleigh Bells Ring and Pair it with gift tags from Chalk Studio II.

 

 

I embellished them with them with chipboard hearts, enamel arrows, twine, and decorative tape.

 

 

1. Cut a 12x12 paper in half, horizontally. Score 1" from the bottom. and fold to crease. Bring both sides together, overlapping about 1/2" and glue seam, press down the folds on the sides.

 

2. Make another fold about 1" over from the side fold on both sides.  Press in between them with your finger and bring both folds that are 1" apart - to meet together.  Repeat on the other side.

 

3. Use scissors to cut along the bottom of the folds, up to the original 1" fold along the bottom.  Fold in both side tabs, overlap the front and back flaps, and secure the bottom with glue. Apply "True Love" decorative tape along the bottom of the gift bag.

 

4. Punch 3 holes along the top.  Fill with your favorite Valentine Treat, and thread twine through the holes.  Punch holes in the chipboard hearts and tie them to the bag with twine. Embellish with enamel arrows and write on the gift tag with a white gel pen.

 

 

Have fun creating gifts from your heart!

 

Tamara

 

Travel Themed Scrapbook Layout

Supplies: Hello World: World Map patterned paper, Here & There patterned paper, Flowers patterned paper, 6x6 paper pad, mixed bag, chipboard, rub-ons, decorative brads, sticker sheets, enamel shapes; Misc: Blue thread, black ink and pen.

 

I am so excited about all the fantastic new lines released at CHA!!  One of my favorites is the new Travel themed "Hello World" collection.  The colors, patterned papers, and embellishments are wonderful and so versatile!

 

I had fun using this line to document our favorite vacation - a cruise to the Mexican Riviera in 2009. The colors matched perfectly with this picturesque picture of my children playing in the golden sand on the beach in Cabo San Lucas. (the last photo I took with my Canon before if fell into the ocean when I was hopping into the glass bottomed boat - so happy the memory card was saved)

 

I used the b-side of the World Map paper for the background of my page and framed it with the aqua blue patterned paper.   I used the 6x6 map paper, a 6x6 light blue paper, and a navy blue journaling card to create the mat for my photo. I rounded the corner of the map paper and circled our location on the map - how awesome to visually mark where we were!! I added an epoxy arrow and a "You are here" rub-on.

 

I cut a strip of the chevron striped paper,to tie in all the colors of the elements, and inserted a large brad in the top.  The bottom strip of blue and cream paper is a 6x6 sheet that I cut in half and trimmed.  I covered the seam with the red tag and grouped chipboard and stickers around it.  I LOVE the letter sticker sheet included in the sticker package - great for titles!!  I placed the "Oh the Places We'll Go!" layered brad on the right corner of the photo to anchor the page.

 

I slid the journal card under the photo and layered a vellum tag from the Mixed Bag under it - love the transparent look.  I added the blue enamel chevron shapes and continued them onto the photo. For the finishing touch, I placed a chipboard banner piece and two banner stickers, and a date tab.

 

I can't wait to scrapbook more vacation photos with this new Travel themed collection!!

 

Tamara

 

Holiday Gift Wrapping

'Tis the season of giving.  I had fun creating unique gifts with the festive Sleigh Bells Ring collection.

 

Who doesn't love cookies?  Create a fun and easy cookie holder with a 10" circle of paper.  Simply fold in the left and right sides at about 3 1/2", then fold the top and bottom edges in at 2". Fold in the 4 corners and secure with a stapler. Tie tags around it with twine. Line it with wax paper and fill it with with your favorite cookies.  Make individual treats by filling the adorable striped treat bags.

 

 

I re-purposed an old apple cider tin by spray painting the lid black and covering it with patterned papers, decorative tape, and twine. I added a beautiful paper bow and tag to the lid.  I tied a reindeer tag around it with twine and added some word stickers to it.

 

 

Dress up a clear pail with decorative tapes.  For the lid, cut a circle from the 6x6 paper and place a large circle sticker in the center. Cut a green circle and adhere a snowflake from the mixed bag with foam tape.  Attach the tag to the twine with a decorative brad and tie it onto the handle.  Fill with a Christmas treat.

 

I decorated a shallow tin lid with green and cream striped paper- rounding the corners and sewing around the edges.  I cut strips of the red and cream paper and wrapped them around the side, along with decorative tapes.  I placed a paper bow on top and attached a Christmas tree flair pin.  I matted the "Handmade with Love" sticker and tied it to the bow with red and white twine.

 

These fabulous papers and embellishments make packaging gifts a breeze.  I hope you enjoy creating handmade gifts from your heart this Christmas season.

 

Tamara

Product Spotlight | Frameables - Christmas Decor

Many of you will be pulling out your Christmas decorations this weekend, after the Thanksgiving celebrations are over. Might I suggest you add some MME Christmas charm to your decor with their fabulous new 8x10 "Frameables"? They have two Christmas lines: "Joyous" and "Sleighbells Ring" .

 

 

I started decorating my shelves and they were just lacking the finishing touch.  I was about to go buy some Christmas chalk art off of Etsy to print and frame.  Then I remembered that MME just came out with beautiful new Christmas "Frameables". The only hard part was choosing which ones to use - they are all so festive!  I love the glittered elements of the "Joyous" collection and the two sided prints of "Sleighbells Ring".

 

 

I finally narrowed it down to 4 prints.  I plan to switch them out occasionally in the coming month. I spray painted some old frames I had stashed in my basement, cleaned the glass, and inserted the print.  So simple!!!  These would make wonderful and inexpensive Christmas gifts too.

 

I placed "Season's Greetings" in a black frame, to make the red pop.  I paired it with two glittered damask candles that coordinated perfectly with the red glittered holly wreath.

 

 

I also put "Joy to the World" in a black frame.  I love that you have both the traditional black chalk art background and the red to choose from.  I added some ornaments and decorative picks under the easel.

 

I framed "Merry and Bright Christmas" in white, to contrast with the black chalk art background. I placed three green ornaments in a jar and added a Christmas pick and ornaments to coordinate with the holly wreath.

I placed the framed "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" frameable in a picture stand to give it height, then nestled it with a jar of pepperment sticks and glittered candles (in a jar of rock salt).

There is also a beautiful 12x12 "Joy" paper from "Sleigh Bells Ring" that would look  fabulous in a 12x12 frame.

 

 

Have fun decking your halls this Christmas season!

 

Tamara

Going for the Gold

Supplies: Just Sayin': Belong patterned paper, Believe patterned paper, Posies patterned paper, alpha/word stickers, decorative brads, chipboard; Jubilee - Mint Julep:  mixed bag, transparent frames; Necessities: Metallics Monogram Alphas; Misc: foam tape, light brown ink, white thread, Tombow Mono liquid glue.

 

My sweet 14 year old daughter,Torianne, had a pretty exciting day last month.  After countless hours of hard work composing her own songs on the ukulele - she had the opportunity to record them professionally.  It was amazing to see her album "Up" appear on iTunes and Amazon!  We all started screaming with excitement - it felt like the scene from "That Thing You Do" when they hear their song on the radio for the first time!

 

I wanted to capture the excitement of that day and the sweet, uplifting feeling of her music through this layout.  I used a lot of gold foil and gold glittered elements on my page. The pink background paper from Rhonna Farrer's Just Sayin' - perfectly echoed the lines of the bridge on her album cover and draw you eye "Up".

 

The bold foil monogram letters "UP" were the perfect title for the page. TIP: I cut off the top of the chipboard sheet and used it to add dimension to my letters.  Much cheaper than foam tape!

 

I printed her song list on the blue lined paper. I used the gold foil number from the Jubilee Mint Julep "mixed bag" to number her songs.  I added foam tape underneath to "pop" them off the page.

 

 

TIP: I used the green bottle of Tombow mono multi liquid glue on the back of the "Shine" transparency.  I only applied it on the printed letters and let it set for a few minutes.  Then you never see the adhesive through the transparency!

 

I layered the transparency, Just Sayin' word stickers "Best Day Ever!" and "Perseverance", glittered chipboard "Today is the Day", and decorative brads.

 

For the finishing touch - I added her name with the fabulous gold glittered Just Sayin' alpha letters.

 

Tamara

Just Keep Smiling | Traditional Scrapbook Layout

Supplies: Jubilee -Tangerine: Wonderful patterned paper, 6x6 paper pad, flair pins, enamel dots, label stickers, mixed bag, decorative brads; Misc: White card stock, black ink and pen, orange and navy thread, 

 

I love the new Jubilee Tangerine collection - the colors are so bright and cheerful! I immediately thought of this photo of my two little guys waiting to ride “Grizzly River Run" at Disney’s California Adventure (6 years ago). I wanted to capture the joy and happiness of that day.  My layout design was inspired by the circle pattern on the “Wonderful” polka dot paper.

 

I used the 6x6 pad of papers for the circles - I like the smaller patterns and the solid colors. I laid out the papers and decided which patterns and colors I would use.  

 

Then I cut them out in various sizes and placed them around the 4x6 photo.  I wanted to create a sense of movement across and up my page - drawing your eye upward, as if they are floating up into the air. I cut a blue 6x6 paper in half and placed it across the bottom of my layout, echoing the stripes on their shirts.  I sewed tight zig zag borders with orange thread and a double border around the white paper with navy blue thread.

I used the navy “Just Keep Smiling” journal card for my title and tucked it under my photo. I placed the orange striped label sticker, “good stuff” sticker, and  “that was so fun” die cut from the “Mixed Bag”. I inserted a blue decorative brad and world map flair pin.

The “Be Brave" flair pin perfectly illustrated their courage getting on all the rides.  I finished the page off by adding enamel dots all over the circles - a sprinkling of MAGIC!!!

Tamara

 

 

Sister Sunday // Scrapbook Layout

Supplies: Just Sayin': Beauty patterned paper, Belong patterned paper, Posies patterned paper, 6x6 paper pad, transparency, alpha and word stickers, chipboard, decorative brads, mixed bag; Misc: black ink, thread, and pen, pop dots, large corner rounder.

 

Sunday, August 3rd was "National Sisters Day".  My two daughters got all dressed up for church, then asked me to snap a photo of them.  Sometimes the quick snapshots you take with your cell phone capture precious moments.  This was one of them.  I love how these two are just radiating happiness - you can feel their sisterly love.  It illustrates how much their relationship has blossomed over the years.  I love that they are finally the close friends I have hoped they would become.

 

The new "Just Sayin': collection by Rhonna Farrer has such a fun feminine look and the colors coordinate perfectly with this photo. The gold glittered elements reflect their golden hair and sparking spirits.

 

I chose the pink "I belong with you, you belong with me" paper for the foundation of my page.  I love the star-burst pattern radiating from the title. I placed a strip of the triangle glittered paper along the bottom, rounded the corners, and stitched around it. 

 

I trimmed a striped piece of 6x6 paper for a photo mat and layered the triangle transparency over it.  I adhered three circles along the left edge of the photo.  I used pop dots to give the paper circles dimension to match the chipboard.

 

For the title "Sister Sunday", I used the teal and white alpha stickers and Sunday arrow die cut with a large gold-trimmed brad. I finished the page by layering the gold glittered chipboard Today is the Day" and "having Fun" 

 

I am just LOVING the new Just Sayin' Collection - I can't wait to play with it some more! :)

 

Tamara

Product Spotlight | Decorative Tapes

Supplies: Necessities - Blue: decorative tape; Market Street - Ashbury Heights: journal card pack, stickers; Market Street - Nob Hill: stickers, enamel dots; Cut and Paste - Presh: decorative tape set; Misc: black ink and thread, Mr. Huey's Color Mist - Ocean.

Ahhh, the carefree days of summer.  Running from friend's house to friend's house with out a care in the world and the only worry you have is to be home by dark.  My youngest has enjoyed palling around with his little buddies all day - every day.  A few weeks ago, it was a sweltering day and I suggested they put the sprinkler on the trampoline and cool off.  

 

A little while later, I discovered our neighbor had brought over his slide and they fashioned their own water slide with it off the back our stone firepit bench.  They had such a blast - I love their creative minds!!  So, how do you scrapbook a ton of action shots taken with your cell phone?  Why, a few film strips of course!!

I love MME's vast array of decorative tapes.  I dug trough my stash to find some that coordinated with my photos - and captured the fun feel of a summer day.  I layered two blue striped pieces of tape from the "Necessities" collection for the foundation of my page.   Then I layered four more tapes to create the bottom and side borders.  

 

I placed a paper over the tapes to mask them, then I sprayed the background paper with blue ink - to echo the splashes of water in the photos. I used the Market Street Journaling card - "All the Adventure You Could Ever Want" for my title.  I layered three stickers over the title and placed 5 enamel dots on the journaling card.  I love how I could take elements from 3 different collections and they worked perfectly together.

 

I hope you can take time to document some of the fun and impromptu moments from your summer. :)

 

-Tamara

Vacation Favorites

Supplies: Market Street – Nob Hill: Striped patterned paper, 6x6 pad, chipboard elements, decorative brads,  Market Street – Ashbury Heights: journal card pack, mixed bag, decorative brads,  6x6 pad, decorative tape; Misc: black ink and pen.

Have you taken a family vacation this summer?  Do you have tons of photos of your trip and just don’t know where to get started documenting the events?  How about creating a “Vacation Favorites” layout?  I was inspired by the colorful days of the week tags in the Market Street – Ashbury Heights mixed bag and “favorite” chipboard word. The gold foiled words reminded me of the beautiful California sunshine of our last family trip.

First, my kids and I wrote down our favorite events of each day.  It was so fun to recall and re-live the details together. I narrowed down each day to 6 lines of text.  I formatted the columns to 3” wide and printed them on watercolor papers from the Market Street 6x6 pads.  I wanted to capture the different shades on the papers – going from light to dark.  I printed one column, then turned the paper upside down and printed the other side.

Then I started selecting photos for the highlights of each day.  I formatted them to 2.8” wide so they would be 3” with a small white border.

I created a column of each day and alternated the photos and lists under the day of the week tags.  I cut two 1” strips of the diagonal striped paper for the foundation of the layout.  It ties in all of the bright and fabulous water color papers.  I tucked a 3x4 card “Just be Happy” under the first column and layered the gold foiled “Favorite” chipboard title over it, then added a foiled “the best” medallion.

I added a strip of gold decorative tape along the striped border.  I finished off the page with a cluster of chipboard elements, sticker, and large brad.  I alternated small and medium brads along the days of the week tags.

It is fun to see our entire vacation week at a glance – it makes my heart so happy as I reflect on our precious memories together.

Tamara

Happy Together | Scrapbook Layout by Tamara Jensen

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary - pretty exciting!  We decided to commemorate it by spending the day at BYU - the college campus where we met and fell in love.  We enjoyed a delightful day roaming the campus grounds, visiting our favorite places, and reminiscing - it was actually very romantic and fun.  We enjoyed the perfect day and took this snapshot of us.

Supplies: Necessities - Metallics: Gold Confetti foiled vellum paper; Market Street - Ashbury Heights: Shimmer patterned paper, Shine patterned paper, flair pin, chipboard elements, decorative stickers, decorative tape; Market Street - Nob Hill: mixed bag, decorative brad, decorative sticker; Misc: White card stock, black ink, pen, and thread. 

When I saw this photo, I immediately thought of the fabulous striped and foiled paper from the Market Street collection - the colors were perfect.  I trimmed it down, rounded the corners, and used it as the basis of my layout.  I used the horizontal lines to place and frame my "Happy Together" title and the "Perhaps it is our imperfections that make us so perfect for one another" chipboard quote pieces.

 

 

I layered a long piece of gold foil confetti vellum over the striped paper and blue paper to soften them.  I adhered the vellum to the page with a strip of gold decorative tape (and a little double stick tape under the photo.  I placed the black and gold "Celebrate" sticker along the bottom and placed the "This Day" flair pin over it to echo the circular motif of the vellum.  I finished the page off the another sticker phrase "Always remember how much you are loved" and a chipboard "Snapshot of today" with a decorative brad.

 

 

I wrapped my journaling around the striped paper, starting at the black sticker, to draw your eye around the page.

 

 

Tamara