Melissa Frances

Trio of Christams gift boxes

With only one more day before Christmas, it is time to finish wrapping your gifts so that you're ready for the big day!  Here, from design team member Sherrie Siemens, we have a trio of decorated boxes that are a quick and easy project to jazz up your gift giving.

Sherrie used paper and embellishments from our "Countdown to Christmas" collection to decorate her boxes.

Thanks for such a cute idea Sherrie!

Valentine's Greetings

(Supply List: Patterned paper: Strictly Business (PA406), Adopted Ancestors (PA408), Red Chevron from the Countdown to Christmas 6x6 paper pad. All patterned papers by Melissa Frances • Charcoal, White, Pink and Kraft cardstock by Bazill • Vintage ledger page and paper • Sewing machine and white thread, Silhouette Cameo Electronic Die cutting machine)

We have another Valentine's Day card to share with you today. This one is from Sr. Creative Director Carolyn Peeler. Here's what she has to say about it:

I wanted to make something that was still vintage and pretty, but that I could also get away with giving to my sweet heart for the holiday. I don't know that he will particularly care for the little Victorian boy - in fact, originally I didn't have him on the card. But at the last moment - after everything else was glued down in fact, I just couldn't resist adding him. The beautiful "February" is from an antique ledger that I have in my stash. I just tore out one of the pages that had a Feb. date on it.

I have always had a love affair with paper. I love combining patterns from different collections and juxtaposing very modern and clean design with vintage. This card is a pretty good example of that. It was inexpensive to make, because the supplies are all paper. But by adding the stitching it does give it depth so that it is not 'flat'.

I hope you enjoyed my Valentine greeting.

A clever little envelope

Design team member Anne Kristen shares this creative way to package up some goodies for a friend. Using our Countdown to Christmas 6x6 paper pad she designed this cute presentation envelope. She says:

"I love to add some little secrets in my projects ... like this card ...I made an extra pocket inside the card to add some candy for my dear friend. "

Thanks Anne.

Mr. Gingerbread man

I love spreading Christmas cheer by putting out Christmas decorations this time of year, and I know I'm not alone. Design Team member Evgenia Petzer made this adorable piece. Here's a little 'behind the scenes' look at what she loves about it:

Since we moved into our own house, I love decorating it. And Christmas is  my favourite holiday, so I really enjoy making holiday decorations.

These cute Melissa Frances bell domes are so nice and easy to work with. Once you decide what to put inside them, you really can make a festive project so quickly, because these domes are the greatest embellishment you can wish for.

I used the newest collection- Countdown to Christmas, and the gingerbread man is from the etsy shop, which I placed on some plastic stars, all covered with glitter.

I hope this will inspire you to create something cute as well:)

We want to share as many holiday projects featuring Melissa Frances as possible this December, so we invite you to send us your best creations so that we can share them with our readers! Please send your projects to [email protected] Thank you!

Joy to the World!

Design Team member Sherrie Siemens shares 2 great Christmas projects with us today. Here's an introduction in her own words:

Banners seem to be everywhere this season so I decided to make one to hang in the entry way of our home. I also had these circa 1990's tole painted trees that were in need of an update….so I dressed them up with some of my favorite papers from the Countdown to Christmas collection by Melissa Frances. Die-namics die cuts are from My Favorite Things. This brought some modern nostalgia into our home!

And here are some detail photos from the projects. Be sure to double click on the projects for a larger view.

And check out how our Glass Glitter adds sparkle and glitz to the edges of her trees.

2 Christmas houses

We introduced our large do-it-yourself house kits at CHA Winter 2012, and they began shipping this fall. These are not little pieces, for instance the house shown above it 8.5" long x 6.5"wide x 9" high. So they would make a great statement on a mantle or as a part of a holiday vignette. Donna Gibson sent us two houses which she made for display at her local Scrapbook store Whim So Doodle, located in St. Petersburg, FL. Here, from Donna, is a little bit about her fabulous work:
  

This first house is the Large Queen Anne style.  I covered it with MF 5th Avenue papers in Hattie and Essie.  The base is covered with MF Countdown to Christmas -Salutations.  After covering each piece with paper I ran the pieces face down through my Xyron 850 and applied adhesive to the front side. Then I applied Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter.  Adding the glitter with the Xyron was super easy and the results are fabulous! The glitter is evenly distributed and it really does stay on!  The credit for that step belongs to this blog, Ain't She Crafty.  I'll definitely be using this method in the future when I want to add some bling to something!

 

I used Zip-Dry glue both for covering the pieces with paper and for assembling the house.  The trees and wreath were dyed using TH Ranger Distress Ink reinker in Picked Raspberry combined with water in a Ranger Mini-Mister. The pearls are from Michael's Recollections line. The fence was painted with a Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabber in Snow Cap and then glitter was pressed into the paint while it was wet.  

This second house is the Large Chapel.  I followed the same steps as shown above for covering and assembling the house.  The trees and wreath were dyed using TH Ranger Distress Ink reinker in Pine Needles combined with water in a Ranger Mini-Mister. The pearls are from Micheal's Recollections line. The fence was painted with a Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabber in Snow Cap and then glitter was pressed into the paint while it was wet.  The tinsel is TH Rope Tinsel.  The snow accents were added using a DecoArt Snow Writer.

Thanks for sharing with us Donna. We invite you to head to this link on Donna's blog to see more photos of her completed houses and to leave her a comment!

We would like to share as many holiday projects featuring Melissa Frances as possible this December, so we invite you to send us your best creations so that we can share them with our readers! Please send your projects to [email protected] Thank you!

Christmas Layout

Layout by: Fabienne Pernot

We have a beautiful layout made by Fabienne that features our "Countdown to Christmas" Collection to share on the blog today. Our design team as a whole has made so many beautiful projects with this line and this is no exception!

We hope you've enjoyed this week-long sneek peek of "Countdown to Christmas". If you haven't left a comment on this post yet, please do so to be entered to win our giveaway.

Have a wonderful weekend!

More previews of our "Countdown to Christmas" collection

Sample by: Rachel McAffee

Today is the last day of CHA and we have a few more samples of our "Countdown to Christmas" Collection to share with you. The line is expected to ship in early September, and our retailer response to the line has been wonderful, so be sure to be on the look-out for it at your favorite scrapbook store.

Stocking by: Rachel McAffee

Card by: Melissa Phillips

The card above by Melissa features our new Christmas chipboard:

Card by: Anne Kristine

Countdown to Christmas - Peek #2 and GIVEAWAY!!

Trio of gift cards sample by: Melissa Phillips

Today we have more goodies featuring our brand new "Countdown to Christmas" Collection to share with you.

This bright collection contains 6 patterned papers which are available in individual 12"x 12" or a 6"x 6" paper pad.

Here's a peek at our six paper designs:

PA397 - Holiday Chevron

PA398 - Countdown

PA399 - Holiday Notes

PA400 - All Wrapped Up


PA401 -Caroling All the Way

PA402 - Saluations

Christmas cupcake by: Fabienne Pernot

Please tell us which of the six patterned papers is your favorite in the comments and we will pick one winner who will receive the ENTIRE Countdown to Christmas Collection when it is released. (Please only one comment per person.) Giveaway will close on Sunday, July 22 at 6:00PM PST. Winner will be announced on the blog on Monday, July 23.

CHA sneak Peek - Countdown to Christmas

While our team is busy in Chicago today setting up our booth for the upcoming CHA Summer trade show, we are pleased to share sneak peeks of our new products with you.

The summer show is where we introduce the Holiday collection each year, and we have a great one for 2012! This year Melissa is bringing us a holiday line full of color, which combines current trends and retro imagery. “Countdown to Christmas” is also a great option for those who participate in December Daily projects as a few of the pieces in the collection are perfect for that application. Available with coordinating chipboard accents, die cuts and tags, this collection is a winner!

Here it is in action:

Layout by: Emeline Seet

Card by: Carolyn Peeler




House wallhanging: Anne Kristine

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see more inspiring samples and hear a bit more about this holiday Collection.