Melissa Frances

The magic of Glass Glitter

Learn a little bit about our Glass Glitter in this great tip of the day from Melissa and our friends at Scrapbook Expo.

You can view and purchase our beautiful Glass Glitter products by clicking HERE.

Adorable party page Tutorial

On Friday we told you that "The Sweet Life", the brand new Melissa Frances collection, designed by Everyday is a Holiday has begun shipping to stores! In celebration, Jenny and Aaron, the designers behind the line posted a really fun tutorial on their blog. Click here to read it.

Want to learn more about the Melissa Frances Mica? Here's your chance!

Today we have a really cute Tip of the Day video from Scrapbook Expo and Melissa Frances. Enjoy!

Sprinkle everyday wall plaque

The papers from "The Sweet Life" collection are finally in the hands of the designers of the line, Jenny and Aaron,  and they created this wonderful wall plaque tutorial, which is featured on their blog. Be sure to click on over, they have wonderful, step by step photos to show you how easy it is to make this adorable home decor item.

Here's just a teaser...they really make it simple and fun!

Starlight, Star Bright...

UPDATE: We are sorry that the images were not showing up earlier. It seems that they were showing on laptops/desktops, but not on tablet devices. Hopefully, it is now fixed!

Now that the Christmas holidays are over, it's time to think about winter decorating. Today's tutorial for silver stars comes to us from design team member Karin Aguirre.  So, we'll let her walk you through it!

 

This project is a super simple one that packs a big glittery punch.  I love making these stars as gifts for the holidays.  I used glass glitter but you can use regular glitter if you like.   Have Fun!

 

Need:

paper mache stars

glass glitter/regular glitter

seambinding/ribbon

Melissa Frances tinsel

Melissa Frances brooch (remove the back pin)

glue for glitter (I used Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky glue)

3 in 1 adhesive for brooch, seambinding loop and tinsel

 

   

 

The stars come in both 2” and 3” sizes.  For this project, I used a 3” star......

 

 

Gather your supplies.....

 

 

 

Apply a coat of glue on both the front and back of the star.  I hold the one point of the star while applying the glue.  You can also apply glue to one side at a time......

 

 

Don’t hate me because I have an entire tupperware container of glass glitter.......

 

 

I sprinkled the glitter all over the star........

 

 

Basking in the glittery goodness.....

 

 

Let the glitter dry on the star.....

 

 

In the meantime you can take about 2 1/2” of the seambinding and glue into a loop ....

 

 

Glue to the back of the top point of the star.....

 

 

Using about 2” of the tinsel, glue to the top of the point on the loop......

 

 

Wind around the top and glue into place......

 

 

Glue the brooch to the center of the star.......

 

 

And enjoy! 

 

A Winter White Star

This beautiful Winter Star comes to us from design team member Anne Kristine.

Products from Melissa Frances: PA403 - Bits of Paper, GN604 - Christmas Character Die Cuts, WB001 - Old Fashioned Rope Tinsel, GN580 - Organza Pouf Ribbon – cream, CX864 Resin - Angels Among Us

Other: Feather, Seam binding ribbon, Sizzix Bigz L Die - Star Bright, 3-D

Here's a walk through the construction process for this project.

Picture 1 (Top left): Die cut the star in Patterned paper. Bend and distress the edges with Ranger Distress ink Pad in Walnut Stain.

Picture 2 (Top Right): Glue the star together and add ribbon and a bow on the top of the star

Picture 3 (Bottom Left): Glue a bit of tinsel under the bow.

Picture 4 (Bottom Right): Decorate the star with a feather, Organza ribbon and one of the angels from the set of 4. Put the 'belive' die cut from the Character Die Cut sheet onto the star.

And there you have it, and easy, beautiful Winter White Star!

Wooden Ornaments

Today we have a beautiful project and a tutorial video from design team member Evgenia Petzer.

She made these fun and stylish wooden ornaments using an assortment of Melissa Frances products. Click play to watch her tutorial below, and enjoy her beautiful Russian accent!

Organza Pouf Christmas Tree

 

Today's tutorial is by our awesome design team member Karin Aguirre. We'll let her take it away:

Hi everyone! I decided this year to do a slightly different take on my crepe paper Christmas tree.  From the moment this trim arrived on my doorstep I worked to incorporate it in all my crafting endeavors............ It’s an easy project to create as a gift or make a bunch of them for a beautiful holiday tablescape. 

 

 

What you need:

 

* Melissa Frances Organza Pouf Trim (for a 6-7” cone with a just under 3” base you will need approximately 1 1/2 yards)

 

* Cone (either a paper mache or you can make one out of heavy cardstock)

 

* Melissa Frances White or Cream Pearls

 

* Melissa Frances tinsel

 

*various embellishments for top of tree

 

* adhesive (I used beacon’s 3in1 and/or hot glue)

 

 Directions:

 

1. Create a cone using heavy cardstock.  Make sure to leave a small hole in the top to insert the embellishments.

 

2. Starting at the bottom, glue the trim around the base of the cone (I use a glue gun but for better control when starting out Beacon’s 3in1 works well.  You will have more “play” time)  When winding around the cone keep a straight line.  When you meet up with the starting point of the trim just notch it up about a 1/2” then wind around again repeating the process until you get to about 1/4” to the top.

 

3.  Cut a small piece of the trim (about 1 1/2”.  This will be the top layer.)  Next cut the length of the trim off by 1/4-1/2.  Glue around the top.

 

4.  Apply the adhesive backed pearls randomly on the tree.

 

5.  Glue the glitter star, flowers, leaf etc. in the top hole.  Wrap the tinsel around the top of the tree just below the embellishments.

 

6.  Punch out or cut a circle and glue to the base of the tree.

 

7.  Apply glitter to a small wooded candle stick holder and glue to base of tree

 

 

And there you have it.....a shabby little tree to to dress up your home for the holidays!

One bird a-tweeting

While this isn't exactly a partridge in a pear tree, it is still a lovely holiday home decor item that is easy and quick to make - perfect for those looking to add a little more "Deck" to your halls! This project was designed by the talented Melissa Frances design team member Anne Kristen. She says: "I love to make home décor for Christmas. The little cute vintage bird is adorable and fits perfect on the tiny branch and lovely Christmas Trees from Melissa Frances."

Supply list: WB027 - Box of 6 Glass Birds, WB001 - Old Fashioned Rope Tinsel, WB018 - Reproduction Bottle Brush Trees, GN604 - Christmas Character Die Cuts, HC013 - White Glazed pot

A Shabby Green Christmas Box

 Today, we have a delightfully sweet project for you from our design team member  Melissa Phillips.

It's my favorite time of year to get crafty, how about you?  My project today uses the sweet, soft shades of winter and many of my favorite Melissa Frances supplies.  It began with a 4" paper mache box which I painted with Krylon acrylic paint in Celery.  After roughing up the edges a bit, I added distress ink to create a shabby, weathered look.  Then I cut a strip of Melissa Frances Classic Elegance Bits of Paper and adhered to to the base of the box.  

I then adhered Melissa Frances Cream Organza Pouf Ribbon around the edge of the lid and love the softness it brings.

Lastly, I layered together embellishments beginning with a large snowflake and followed by a Melissa Frances Shamrock Kiss Broach, vintage flair button, and ending with a banner from the Christmas Character die collection.  

Whether you use your box as a Christmas decoration or as a way to package up a special gift, you'll create something unforgettable and sweet.

Merry Christmas!

Melissa