Melissa Frances

Happy Quotes mini album

Today we have a lovely project from Sophia in Singapore to share with you. She says:

I love this wooden teapot shape and only need a few simple embellishments for it.
Did a mini book of happy quotes and it's held by the ribbon to the teapot.
To me , MF papers are great for altering as household display.

This gorgeous mini album showcases our 5th Avenue papers, Sweet Cherub resin accents (CX863) and Diamond Chandelier Drops (GN329).

What a beautiful mini album project Sophia. Thank you for allowing us to share it with our readers.

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!

All Occasion House greeting card

(Supply List: Patterned paper - Flora (PA361), Antonia (PA364) • Resin Accent - Small Lockbox Applique Set (CX818), Garnish Applique (CX705) • Crepe paper (GN303) • C'est la Vie Sticker book (GN543) • Other, non Melissa Frances supplies: paper doily, fence die cut, white cardstock, sewing machine and white thread)

Today we have a pretty, interactive greeting card to share with you from design team member Anne Kristine. She used our 5th Avenue Collection to create a shabby style card in a house shape. The cool thing is that the door on this card folds down and that is where the greeting for the card is hidden. Love it!

An adorable bunny

(Supply List: Patterned paper - Kraft Damask (PA392) • Resin Accents - Spring Collection (CX861), Large Regal Frame (CX866) • Other, non-Melissa Frances supplies: Inspired by Spring stamp set by My Favorite Things • Copic Markers -  E51,33,27,49 and R21 for in the ear and on the cheek. BG05 for the eye • a wooden frame)

As the weather slowly turns from Winter to Spring, our design team has been creating Easter and Spring-ish projects for us. Today Sherrie Siemens shares how she altered one of our raw resin pieces with Copic markers and, in turn, made a home decor piece to display seasonally.

Sherrie used the brand new Spring Collection of resin and colored the bunny using the markers listed above in the supply list. Here you can see that, when purchased, the resin comes with a white, distressed finish.

However, once Sherrie works her magic with the Copic markers, the little bunny takes on a whole new look!


Have tried coloring our resin with Alcohol ink markers? If so, post a link in the comments as we'd love to check it out!

Thinking of you card

This beautiful card by design team member Danielle Flanders combines our Attic Treasures Vol. 3 with the hydrangea paper from our C'est la vie Collection. Danielle has also showed off her love of stamping on this sample too. Check out this post from Danielle to learn more about the stamps she used.

Stubborn Love

(Supply List: Patterned papers - Ebony (PA362), Pearl (PA371), Esther (PA198), Anastasia (PA328), the rest are older, discontinued papers • Pop out glitter Hearts (GN34) • With all my heart resin accent (CX835), Scroll Applique (710) • Light Pink Sprig (GN506) • Other: inks, sprays, masks, chipboard letters and stamps)

We received this layout from Wendy Kwok and noticed right away how even the littlest bits of paper can add punch and power to a mainly cardstock based layout. Thanks for allowing us to share this project with our readers Wendy!

Coloring Resin Accents with Copics - Tutorial with Sherrie

Today we are pleased to have an awesome tutorial from design team member Sherrie Siemens to share.

She is going to show us how to turn this:

into this:

Quite the difference, eh?

First, here is the SUPPLY LIST:

• Christmas Tree Resin Accent (CX833)
• Elegance Frame (CX813)
• Deck the Halls Die Cuts (GN534)
• Deck the Halls Tag Collection (GN540)
• Deck the Halls 6x6 Paper Pad (GN537)
• Diamond Chandelier Drops (GN329)
• Silver Tinsel (GN298)
• Non Melissa Frances supplies: Copic markers: YG25, YG67, YG97, Y15, BG45, R89, 0 colorless blender • Metal container • red ribbon • small scrap of felt and pearl accent pin.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mask off the resin piece so that your airbrushing only the greenery of the tree. Airbrush the whole tree surface with YG25.

2. Consider light source and airbrush YG67 to one side of the tree.

3. Add some deeper shadows by airbrushing YG97. It is helpful, when airbrushing, to start the spray OFF of your project and then move onto your project with greater accuracy.

4.Use your blender pen to remove ink in areas where you wish to add a different color. In this case I removed the color from the little lights on the tree.

5.Remove masking tape and color the star and tree lights directly with the Y15 copic marker.

6.Color the gift packages under the tree directly with marker colors BG45,Y15 and R89.

7.The inside ornament detail was colored directly with copic markers YG67 and R89.

8. Sand the surface of the colored frame for a finished shabby look.

Now, it's your turn. Use the tips from this tutorial to make your own colored resin accents!

Sweet little treat box

 
(Supply List: Oval Stacking Box (comes as a stacking set of 3) GN527 • Hattie Patterned Paper PA365 • Air Mail Ephemera Stickers GN378 • Cream Sprig GN507 • White Satin Flower FF12 • White Pick GN517 • Aqua Pom-Pom trim GN531 • Large Chiswick Frame CX698)

As we head into the weekend, here is a beautiful box made by design team member Johanna. Wouldn't these be pretty as table favors for the upcoming holiday season?

For our Canadian readers, we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Bookmarks with Danielle

We have the following project from design team member Danielle to share with you today.

Do you love to read or know someone who loves to read? These little bookmarks are so much fun to make. I saw the idea on Pinterest awhile back, and I cannot find the photo that inspired me, but the ones I saw were made with pretty little jewelry pieces. They were so beautiful. I am not good with making jewelry, but I can hot glue like it's nobody business! :)
 
I was playing around with my scrapbooking products tonight. It's been so long since I've spent time creating just for fun! I saw these Melissa Frances resin frames lying on my table and thought....a necklace? A photo inside? Hang them on a scrapbook page? Aha. A bookmark!
 
For each bookmark, I wanted a long strip that you slide into the book to hold the page. For this, I used pom pom trim by Melissa Frances on the middle bookmark, tinsel for the swirl bookmark, and a crepe paper strip for the bookmark on the right. I just added some little resin frames, floral pins, and a satin flower on the center bookmark with a hot glue gun. I covered some old books with Melissa Frances papers to make them a little prettier.
 
This one holds a little photo of my girls. I think I know what my mom is getting for her birthday in September! She loves to read. A new book with a new bookmark inside will do the trick! I think I will cover it with pretty paper before I send it. Ooh, I just had another thought. A chandelier drop would be pretty as well on a bookmark!
 
Melissa Frances supplies used:
Papers: 5th Avenue line
Resin: Elegance Frame Applique, Provincial Applique - set of 4, Scroll Applique
Flower: Green Satin Twist Rose (FF07)
Rub on sentiment: Girlfriends rub ons
White Pearls
Silver Tinsel
Tissue Paper Garland, pink and white
Pom pom trim, white
Other, Non-Melissa Frances products: floral pins, gray lace ribbon

A littel Birdie told me...

 
(Supply List: Bird Collection Resin (CX831) • Non-Melissa Frances supplies: patterned paper, lace, velvet trim, cardstock)

Cindy Holshouser emailed us to share that this card, featuring our birdcage resin accent was published in the July/August issue of Paper Crafts magazine. Congrats Cindy!
This birdcage comes in a package with two other coordinating embellishments. The largest of which is 2.25" x 1.75". Check them out: