Cut 'n Paste

Thankful for you card - Happy Mother's Day

(Supply List: Jewell Patterned paper (PA363), C'est la Vie Cardstock Stickers (GN544),  Cream Pearls (GN297), Other, non Melissa Frances supplies: Vintage ledger paper, old white and cream buttons, sewing machine and white thread, kraft shipping tag, pink seam binding and scalloped chipboard trim.)

Our family celebrated Mother's Day on Monday as my Mom and Dad will be travelling on the actual holiday. This is the card that I made and gave to her as we celebrated what a kind, generous and supportive Mom she has been to us. As our relationship has shifted and changed over the years, I always come back to how eternally grateful I am that I was born to whom I was born to. My Mom is fierce in protecting those she loves, full of love and support, yet is not afraid to gently rebuke when necessary.

To those of you who are celebrating Mother's Day with your mom this weekend, I hope that you have a great day. For those of you who have lost a Mom and the day brings pain...I hope that it also brings memories of the good times. For those of you who have a mother who does not bring those warm fuzzy feelings, I'm sorry. I hope that you have found peace in your situation.

Hugs and love!

Love, love, love...

(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)

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching I was challenged to make a Valentine's card to be featured on the Melissa Frances blog. I wanted to make something that was still vintage and pretty, but that I could also give 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.

Patty Cake

This weekend I had the pleasure to visit with one of my best friends from high school and his family who had traveled to Vancouver from their Ontario home to celebrate his mother's birthday. Since the last time he and his wife came to the west coast, they had a little boy. So I gave them this card, along with a little gift, when we met.

I love to mix and match product from a multitude of brands when I paper craft and this card is an example of that. I combined patterned papers from Melissa Frances, Studio Calico, and October Afternoon with cardstock from Bazzill. The stork stamp is from Stampin' Up! and the 'patty cake' one is an oldie that was in my stamp cupboard. The buttons are vintage and I sewed them to the card front with aqua embroidery floss. To color the stork image I used my Copic markers. Finally, I sewed directly onto the card front to add a touch of whimsy to the card.

♥ ♥ true love ♥ ♥

Hi friends! Things have been hoppin' around here as deadlines are coming up for design work. Each year it seems that I accept more and more challenging assignments which force me to stretch out of my comfort zone. I am thankful for the opportunity to grow and learn and the support of my boss as I explore my creativity. What a blessing that I can work in an industry I love and help shape the products which are sold.

So often paper crafters associate the shabby chic style as an explosion of embellishments and details. Today's card illustrates how simple cards can still embody that sought after shabby look. 

I used a few of a few of my favorite products right now to make this one; Melissa Frances Attic Treasures, Studio Calico Classic Calico Vol. 2, and October Afternoon Farmhouse.  The pink felt flower was made from the My Favorite Things rolled rose die which I am obsessed with!

Happy Birthday Melissa Frances

Today I am happy to share in the birthday celebration for my employer, Melissa Frances. Melissa turns 50 today, and she is excited to celebrate it. I organized a surprise post for her over on the Melissa Frances blog so be sure to head over there to check out the gorgeous birthday cards and gifts made for her as well as to leave a comment for your chance to win a generous prize.

For my card to Melissa, I used our new Pearl stamps and colored it with my Copic markers. Then, I used 2 of my favorite papers and our floppy blossom trim to decorate the card. Finally, I stamped the greeting with a Technic tuesdays stamp by Ali Edwards.

For my gift to Melissa, I finally used my new soldering iron and put into practice the technique that I learned from the fabulous Terri Brush a few months ago to solder a pendent for the focal point of this delicate bracelet. The letter anagram which I soldered was a special find which I purchased in May from Retrobottega, a truely unique and beautifully curated antique store in Rome.

To finish it off, I packaged the bracelet in a vintage cigar box which I topped with velvet flowers and a twill bow.

I have discovered that I really love to make jewelry. It is such a departure from paper crafts, yet also works the creative part of my brain. Now, if only I could find more time in the day to create to my hearts content!

Hello Beautiful

Even though I work and design for Melissa Frances, like most paper crafters I have many companies whose goods I love and use regularly. This card shows off a few of my current favorites; October Afternoon and Pure Innocence stamps by My Favorite things. And, of course, because I love our products, there is also a touch of Melissa Frances to tie it all together. A fresh grey, yellow, cream and slate blue color scheme pulls this 'any occasion' card together.

Have a safe & fun weekend everyone!

Meet Pearl

First, if you haven't already done so, head on over to the Melissa Frances blog right now and leave a comment to be entered for your chance to win the entire new "Countdown to Christmas" Collection.

Today I am so stinkin' excited to share the second new release from Melissa at the CHA Summer trade show. Meet Pearl. She is a darling new rubber stamp designed by Melissa and manufactured by Hampton Arts. We have been talking about launching an illustrated character stamp for years, and we finally did it!!

Here is a card I made. I stamped Pearl in red to lend the feel of old red-work to the card.

There are 6 designs in the launch of the line with many more to come ☺



And here is one more sample made by Sherrie Siemens, a design team member at Melissa Frances:

Christmas in July

My employer, Melissa Frances is pleased to introduce her new Christmas collection, called "Countdown to Christmas". Head on over to the Melissa Frances blog to see the 6 papers in the collection, view more samples and leave a comment in order to be entered in a giveaway to win the entire line!

Here's a sample I made using papers from the "Countdown to Christmas" 6" x 6" paper pad:

What do you think? Cute papers, eh?

Here's to Friday!

Happy Friday! The weekend is almost here my friends, and I am busy, busy working on samples for the CHA trade show. So I was really happy when I found this image on my hard drive and realized that I had not shared it here yet, because it meant that I could share it today instead of having nothing new to post ☺

I made this card for the Melissa Frances newsletter back in 2008, and even though the collection is now discontinued, I still love the project.

I hope that whatever your plans, you have a lovely weekend.

A Star is Born

(Supply List: Patterned Paper - Madonna Collage (PA393) by Melissa Frances, Pink Dotted paper is very old Anna Griffin • Scalloped Chipboard is a strip cut, painted and then sanded from a Scalloped Backdrop (GN322) by Melissa Frances • "A star is born" stamp is from Stampin' Up! • The rolled rose die is by My Favorite Things Stamps • The Butterfly Stamp is by Pink Paislee from the London Market Collection Stamp set • Fabric: Burlap, Pink Felt • Sewing Machine and White thread • Pink Seam Binding)

Happy Monday friends! Summer has finally arrived in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia! Believe it or not, last week I was in jeans and a sweater - in July - crazy! But after a sunny week, we are now beginning to feel like summer is here.

Like many in the scrapbooking industry I am hard at work getting ready for the CHA Summer trade show which I will leave for in a six days. I love our customers and look forward to touching base with many of them at the show.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a card I whipped up for a wee girl who should be arriving to her parents any day now.

I hope that you have a lovely week.