Melissa Frances

It's the end of March...

and that means that the new Melissa Frances products will soon begin shipping to stores, so keep your eyes peeled! You can check out all of the new stuff here.

We wanted to feature one of the fun new products being brought to you by Melissa Frances this year. These beautiful tin stars are the perfect accent for any home decor project. You can simply add your favorite patterned paper and have a masterpiece in no time at all! Ask your local scrapbook retailer about ordering these beautiful alterable stars!

Melissa Frances 8x8 Magnetic Shadow Boxes...

They're not new, but many of you haven't seen the Melissa Frances 8x8 magnetic shadow box frames (you can purchase them here). They are a clever little shadow box, with a beautiful shabby whitewashed frame that magnetically attaches to the box. The possibilities are endless, and they are perfect for displaying photos and memorabilia in your home. Here are a few examples...

The first is by Sherelle:

And the second is by Melissa:

 

We're pleased to share that Carolyn Peeler, The Senior Creative Director at Melissa Frances will be teaching 2 fun classes about as far flung from each other in the USA as you can get! Carolyn will be teaching a fun mini album project in Boston, MA and Bellingham, WA in the next few weeks. Both events will feature the beautiful 'Gratitude Mini Album' project which utilizes the 'Thankful' line from Melissa Frances. This album is a wonderful way to document all the things that are meaningful to you.

First up Carolyn will be at Right at Home Scrapbooking outside of Boston on Saturday, March 29th class begins at 10AM and there will be a light breakfast served before it begins at 9:30. The phone number for Right at Home  is (508) 695-9290.

Next Carolyn will be at  Treasury of Memories in Bellingham, WA on Saturday, April 12th at 1:30pm.  The phone number for Treasury of Memories is: (360) 715-3125

She's really excited about these classes and is looking forward to meeting some of you in person.

from all of us at Melissa Frances...

Melissa is a guest on Fiskars TV. Check it out here.

Easter Cuteness...

Some"bunny" super talented has created a great Easter project using some of the beautiful Melissa Frances products! Linda has put together this adorable project complete with instructions...and if you would like the pattern for her sweet little bunny, head on over to her blog and leave her a comment or send her an email!

Spring Bunny Container

Bunny instructions:

1. Cut and machine sew the bunny body from Light Pink fleece or felt, insert stuffing and add a white pom pom tail.

2. Zig Zag cut the bunny ears and sew handstitch them to the head.

3. Use pink embroidery floss to stitch on nose and mouth lines.  Add beads for the eyes.

4.  Lightly ink desired areas with Light brown fluid chalk inkpad.

(see instructions below for paper trim on bunny's neck)

Round container:

1. Paint the lid of a round container with white acrylic paint.  Let dry then ink the edges with light brown chalk inkpad.

2. Cover round container with Melissa Frances patterned paper and vintage sticker.

3. Cover a scallop edge chipboard coaster with paper then glue it to the bottom of the container.  Lightly ink edges.

4. Cut  3 - 1/2" x 12"  pieces of paper and make accordion folds at approximately  1/4" intervals (don't be too particular, no one will notice if the folds aren't exactly 1/4" apart.)

5. Use embroidery floss to make a running stitch throughout the accordion folded strips so that they will fit onto the rim of the cover and around the neck of the bunny (you may have some leftover as I used 2 of the folded strips for the cover and a partial strip for the bunny's neck.)

6. Lay the stitched folded strip flat and make the folds imperfect by pushing some to the left and some to the right.  Bend the strips along the stitched line also then lightly ink the edges as desired.

7. Adhere 2 folded strips to the rim of the cover then add small sequins at random.  Adhere  a portion of the 3rd strip to the bunny's neck and add sequins.

8. Wrap  a 24" length of thin black wire around a pencil (leave 2" straight ends on each end) to form curlies.  Pull the wire off of the pencil and stretch it to make

handle. 

9. Hot glue the wire (straight ends) to the center  top of the lid. 

10. Glue Easter grass to the top of the lid then hot glue the bunny to the center (covering the back wire.)

11.  Adhere flowers to the bunny and lid as desired.

12. Add ribbon and Melissa Frances lace to the handle.  Add flowers and leaves to the ribbons as desired.

Lucky...

Saint Patricks Day is tomorrow, and we want to issue a little challenge! Why not scrapbook a layout with the theme LUCKY. You can use Saint Patricks Day photos, or you can scrap any photos...but tell us about your lucky day or why you are LUCKY...

Sherelle created a layout using photos from Saint Patricks Day in 2007...

Here is a great idea for creating a four leaf clover...

Use your favorite green patterned paper and cut four small hearts (or use a punch if you have one). Add foam dots to the back of each and arrange as shown. Cut a quick stem and add a green gem to the center.

Linda has also created a beautiful layout with the theme LUCKY. She chose to scrap some beautiful photos from her childhood and her journaling shares why she felt LUCKY growing up...

If you want to share your LUCKY layout with us...please email us!

Today, we wanted to share some beautiful layouts from one of our very talented design team members, Ashley Gailey. One of my favorite things about Ashley's style, is that her lines and designs are so simple, yet they never fail to blow me away. Her beautiful photography serves as the focal point in all her layouts, and her adorable children make the perfect subject for all of her pages. I love how she arranges her photos, and she uses the Melissa Frances products so beautifully! Here are a few of Ashley's layouts using the new Melissa Frances collections...

Good Monday Morning...

We hope you had a wonderful weekend! I for one, am feeling the spring bug. I have the urge to clean, organize and scrapbook! Today, we have a couple of fun projects to share with you. The first project is by Melissa Phillips...

And...we also wanted to share a fun layout from one of Melissa Frances blog readers. This great layout is from the journaling challenge previously posted, and it is by Christi Snow...

Christi writes: My husband is deployed to Iraq right now so it was fun to do this layout about him. The journaling says, "17 years together, 15 years married, 2 kids, 9 homes, 6 bases, 4 states, 1 foreign country- We've been through so much together, but one thing remains the same- your face makes me smile. I love you more than ever..."

 

Supplies used:

-Melissa Frances stickers and polkadot paper

-7gypsies script paper

-flower punch (EKSuccess)

-Autumn Leaves buttons

-Making Memories journaling papers

Melissa's Story...

As you may remember from our first post on this blog, Melissa has recently been given a clean bill of health after her scary ordeal with Breast Cancer. We wanted to share a little more about her story with each of you. One of the most amazing things about going through trials in our life, is that it not only brings us closer to ourself, but also to others. The sisterhood that comes from survivors is an amazing gift...to know that becoming weaker actually makes us stronger. It is together that we experience this rollercoaster called life, and it is by sharing our story that we become human...and we bond with other humans. Here is a little more about Melissa's story...

"I was truly overwhelmed with the response to my first post and all that shared there stories of how cancer has effected them or a loved one. I read every post and even cried at some of them.

I never thought that my story would effect so many people. I know that when I was going through all of this I was so inspired by the many other women that had or were going through this. I met so

many wonderful women on www.breastcancer.org. This site was my lifeline to the best cancer information and support from my Breast Cancer sisters world wide. Part of the proceeds of my Thankful line are going to the site. Anyway I thought I could  share more of my story and some pictures of my journey with you all and maybe you will share yours with me too. Together we can fight through this and share our memories to inspire others.

These pictures of me getting chemo. Nurse on the left and my mom on the right. The last three are when I was in the hospital with absolutely no white blood cells and a throat infection. They told me if I had not gone to the hospital I would have died with in 24 hours. The doctor told me if I had a fever over 102 that I should go to the hospital. I was very glad I listened to him. When you have cancer you can't be stubborn! It could be life threatening."

-Melissa

If you or a loved one has a life that has been affected by breast cancer, and you would like to share your story, please email us. We would love to share your stories on our blog.