Melissa Frances

Thank you...

If you have not already left your comment to be eligible for Melissa's birthday giveaway, please scroll down to yesterday's post.

(Supply List: Melissa Frances products:  5th Avenue 6” x 6” paper pad (GN444), Vintage Attic Treasures rhinestones (GN279), pink glittered heart pop out accents (GN34), 1962 Crepe Paper Collection (GN303) • Other supplies:  The Sky’s The Limit stamp set (Inspired by Stamping), seam binding (Deb’s Simple Treasures Etsy), lace & net flower (Prima), satin flowers, glitter, ink (Stampin’ Up!), die (Spellbinders), paper doilie (Wilton))

Today's card is another beauty from Debbie Marcinkiewicz who has shared her work with us in the past.


Thanks once again for sharing your work with us Debbie!

Happy Birthday Melissa & a Giveaway!

(photo and project by: Fabienne Pernot)

Today we are pleased to celebrate Melissa’s 50th Birthday on the MF blog. Not too long ago, Melissa used to dread getting older. But since fighting through her stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis in 2007, she has been reminded what a gift life is. And now, every additional year represents more opportunities to live life to the fullest!

Given that 50 is such a milestone, we decided to surprise Melissa with a birthday post of epic proportions. We have a ton of people - friends, design team members and former design team members - who wanted to take part in making Melissa’s day a joyful one. So please enjoy this parade of birthday wishes to one very deserving woman. (And, if you’re looking for the giveaway, read to the end of this post where the details will be posted.)

Sr. Creative Director Carolyn Peeler made Melissa this card featuring the brand new Just a Little Something - Pearl stamp along with Melissa Frances trim and patterned paper. If you click on the link to Carolyn’s blog, you can see the handmade bracelet she made for Melissa as well.

Carolyn has the following birthday message for Melissa:

Melissa, I hope that you have a wonderful day today with your family. You are such a fighter and champion and I am grateful to have you in my life. Happy Birthday!

Former design team member Amber Tosh sent Melissa this adorable card featuring some oldies but goodies from our Hush a Bye and Fresh Twist collections.

Her message to Melissa: Happy Birthday Melissa! I hope that God truly blesses you this year.

Karin Aguirre used our stacking box set as a base for a festive decoration. Given how there is an ongoing office joke about Melissa being the Queen, Karin’s project is especially fitting.

Karin has the following birthday greeting for Melissa:

Happy Happy Birthday Melissa!  Remember....It's not about getting older....... It's about living longer and stronger!!  Wishing many more wonderful birthdays and an amazing year to come!

Design team member Anne Kristen made these cute Attic Treasures tags and beautiful wall hanging as a gift for Melissa. (Did you notice that the wall hanging is made on the packaging for the large resin?)



Annes birthday wish for Melissa:

 "Happy Birthday to you, Melissa!! Wishing you all you are wishing for..."

Sherrie Siemens, a member of the Melissa Frances design team, made this lovely card for Melissa and includes this note:

Congratulations on a wonderful milestone that we are celebrating today! You have struggled and persevered to get here and in the middle of it all you have inspired many! Blessings to you in this upcoming year!

Hugs,

Sherrie

(sorry, image out for publication)

Russian design team member Evgenia chose our C’est la Vie collection for her birthday greeting card to Melissa, and made a lovely fabric covered journal as a gift. Evgenia says:

I hope you are having a great birthday Melissa. May all your days be good, full of positive moments and nice people.

Former design team member Linda Albrecht combines a Melissa Frances resin embellishment with fabric to make this gorgeous birthday card.

"What a wonderful milestone to be celebrating, Melissa!  My wish for you is a birthday (and many years ahead) filled with love, joy, and tranquility.  As we age we are blessed with so many new and wonderful things... additions to our family, knowledge to change the things that will improve our lives, endless memories that make us who we are, and beautiful lines on our faces that show how much we have lived and laughed.  May these joys always be plentiful, your smiles many and your life long and prosperous.   Love to you always, Linda"

This gorgeous mini album comes to us from Emeline Seet who used our C`est la Vie Mini Album as a base to create something special for someone special.

This colorful card comes to us from friend of Melissa, and Creative editor of Creating Keepsakes, Megan Hoeppner. Megan included the following note for Melis:

What a treat it is to be here celebrating you today, dear Melissa. Your kind heart and optimistic outlook have always inspired me, especially when my mom was battling breast cancer. You were there for me with words of wisdom and support, which meant the world to me. That’s just the kind of gal you are, which is why I’m thrilled to be among those wishing you a happy 50^th. I hope this day and the year ahead are filled with sunshine and happiness. You deserve nothing less. Warmly, Megan Hoeppner

Lover of vintage style, long time Melissa Frances team member Rachel McAffee made Melissa this cute fairy in a jar!

Make a wish, Melissa!

Happy 50^th Birthday to a strong, hilarious, generous, creative, kind and beautiful woman. I am so blessed to know you and to be a part of the Melissa Frances family. I hope you have an incredible day and are spoiled rotten! Thank you for being such an inspiration to me and so many others. Here’s to another 50 years!

Love, Rachel

Former design team member, Page Maps author, and current editor of Scrapbook & Cards today, Becky Fleck made this sweet card and enclosed the following wish for Melissa:

“Melissa, today I celebrate YOU! Your courage, your strength, your perseverance, your influence and your beautiful spirit. May every good thing come your way today and always. I am a better person for having known you! Love, Becky”

Our resident Francophone DT member, Fabienne Pernot sends Melissa this wee creation which looks good enough to eat!

Fabienne’s birthday wish to Melissa:

  I've always loved birthdays, and I love it even more when it's the birthday of a woman like you! A person who enjoys life, friends, simple pleasures, who I greatly admire. So a very Happy Birthday Melissa!

Long time Melissa Frances design team member Melissa Phillips brings her over the top Shabby Chic stylings to this beautiful celebrate pocket card.

Melissa has the following birthday greeting for Melissa Frances:

"Happy Birthday Melissa!  You are one of the most inspiring women I know and I look up to you in so many ways.  I will never forget the time you have taken to reach out and connect with me.  I consider myself so lucky to have the opportunity of knowing you and calling you my friend."

 

Now, we'd like to invite you to join us in celebrating Melissa's Birthday. We'd like to make this day a really special one for her. So, please leave a comment on this blog post with your birthday wish for Melissa. To be eligible for the giveaway, you must post before 9AM PST on Tuesday, September 4th. On Sept. 4th we will randomly select one commenter to receive a goodie box full of $100 worth of our gorgeous products.

But, wait, that's not all. Our friends at Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine have graciously offered to add a one year subscription to their publication to the lucky winner. How cool is that?!

So, all together now....

We have an update with Melissa's response:

I woke up in bed late today (hubby let me sleep in) and started to look at my facebook on my phone, and was tagged on a photo. It was one of these birthday cards. So came to the blog to check it out. Tears were running down my face as I was reading all my birthday wishes. I am truly overwhelmed and so grateful for all my cards and gifts. Your wishes were humbling and extremely touching thank you all so much.

Life is GOOD!

Live, Love, Laugh

As we head into the weekend, we have a beautiful layout from design team member Steph Devlin to share with you. This project features our C'est la Vie collection which makes a feminine backdrop for Steph's photo.

Steph says:

My daughter is such a deep thinker, and this photo seem to capture her perfectly.  It was just one of those off-guard moments, that you are lucky to capture during a photo shoot.
I have teamed it with Melissa Frances gorgeous C'est La Vie pattern papers and the beautiful jewel crown which just adds that touch of glamour.

You've been framed

Design Team member Sherrie Siemens used our  Hope Chest (PA391) paper, seen below, as a backdrop for this beautiful home decor project.



Read more info on her creative process for this project here.

The Nest Wall Hanging

(Supply List: Lable style backdrop (GN323) • patterned papers: Hydrangeas (PA386), Newsprint (PA379), Ebony (PA362) • C'est la Vie Sticker Book (GN543) • Alphabits stickers (GN568) • Resin Accents: Soaring bird (CX830), Bird Collection (CX831), Garden Party Applique (CX813) • Crepe paper (GN303) • White pom pom trim (GN532) • Tarnished Silver Glass Glitter (GN350A) • Teardrop Chandelier Drop (GN526) • Other, non Melissa Frances supplies: seam binding, double sided tape)

This pretty wall hanging comes to us from design team member Karin Aguirre. Karin made this sample for us and it was on display in our trade show booth at CHA Winter 2012. So many people commented on how soft and pretty it was. It also caught the eyes of the Scrapbook Trends editors who recently included it in their Create: For the Home magazine.

In this gorgeous summer weather, a wall hanging like this would be lovely hanging on the front door.

Thanks Karin!

Come and see the Melissa Frances team in Illinois

We invite you to join the Melissa Frances team at the St. Charles, IL Scrapbook Expo next weekend, Aug. 24 & 25. We will have a booth full of our wonderful products for sale, and we will also be offering some inspiring workshops which can be found here (simply scroll down to find the workshops sponsored by Melissa Frances).

We look forward to seeing you there.

A fresh Summer project

We have been so inspired this summer by the projects that our customers, from all over the world, have been sending in. We are sure that you have been too!

This altered book by Singaporean designer Jaz Lee is jaw-droppingly beautiful. The fresh green is so evocative of Spring and Summer that it makes me want to pour a lemonade and sip it while I enjoy the photos!

Jaz used one of our Large Resin Frames to frame a niche that she cut into the cover of the book. She embellished the cover with even more resin accents plus papers and tags from our Attic Treasures and 5th Avenue Collections.

The interior of the book can be summed up in one word: WOW!



Our Crown Jewel Brooch (BR002) adds a finishing touch to the birdcage which houses the finished book.

Thanks Jaz for sharing your talent with us. We appreciate it!

Mona Pendleton - Featured Guest post #2

We're back with another project from our featured guest Mona Pendleton. Once again Mona rocked our C'est la Vie Collection for this stunning shadow box.

Thank you for being our guest Mona. We loved getting to know you a bit better and (of course) getting to appreciate two more of your projects!

Mona Pendleton - Featured Guest post #1

This week we are delighted to shine a spot light on Mona Pendleton. Mona has caught our eye with her beautiful, layered, shabby chic projects. She has had her projects featured many times over the past two years on our blog, so we thought it was time that we get to know this talented gal a little bit better. We asked her the following questions:

1) When did you start paper crafting? I started paper crafting in some fashion more than 10 years ago
when I became interested in making memory books featuring my children's baby photos.

2) What is your favorite kind of paper crafting and what about it do you like? (ie, do you prefer making cards or layouts) I can't really say that I have a favorite type of project. I love to do it all! I suppose it's just what I am inspired to do at that moment whether it is creating a card, a layout or an altered item.

3) What is your favorite Melissa Frances product and why? This is a tough question because I enjoy creating using all of the Melissa Frances products from the beautiful designer papers, to adding a gorgeous resin embellishment, to the fancy little pom pom trim! It's all so pretty and inspires me to create.

We gave Mona our C'est la Vie Collection and asked her to work her magic. Today, we have her first project to share with you:

Be sure to come back tomorrow to view Mona's second project.

Join our team in Santa Clara this weekend

We invite you to join the Melissa Frances team at the Santa Clara Scrapbook Expo this weekend, Aug. 10-11. We will have a booth full of our wonderful products for sale, and we will also be offering some inspiring workshops which can be found here (simply scroll down to find the workshops sponsored by Melissa Frances).

We hope to see you there.