Valentine Banner

Happy Monday, everyone!  I'd love to show you a fun Valentine banner I made using papers and embellishments from  the Memories Collection and the He Said She Said Collection. As you can see, I didn't use the traditional reds and pinks to make the banner. I focused more on the loving sentiments that remind me of my sweetheart and of Valentine's Day.

I traced three different patterns of paper around each of the wooden pennants, cut them out, punched holes  on each corner of the paper and adhered them to the pennants. I then threaded  ribbon through each of the pennants so that now it's hanging as a banner.

I mixed and matched embellishments from the Memories and He Said She Said lines and loved how they worked so beautifully together. One of my favorite embellishments are the tiny enamel dots, which of course, I had to add  to each pennant. They remind me of little candies, they're so adorable!

I attached a border sticker to the edge of the pennant and layered stickers and die cuts on top of each other. I fell in LOVE with this adorable vintage bicycle. I thought it was a perfect touch to add since my husband and I love to ride bikes. Although, our bikes are not nearly as cool as the one on the banner!

I hope you enjoyed this not-so-traditional Valentine's banner using the new Memories and He Said She Said Collections! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Circus Photo Holder

I found this circus train car at Hobby Lobby on clearance for about $4 and held on to it for a few months waiting to be inspired to create something fun out of it. After I saw the gorgeous new Classic Elegance collection from Melissa Frances, I  instantly knew I wanted to make it into a photo holder.. 

I painted the entire thing cream and covered it in soft, blue pastel paper from the Classic Elegance line. I then added a strip of cream tissue garland to the top of the photo holder. 

The adorable photos are from a sheet of paper from the Classic Elegance line called  Adopted Ancestors. How sweet are all those little faces??

I painted a few mini clothespins to use as hangers for the photos, attached bottle brush trees and resin toy embellishments to the base of the holder. 

I hope you've enjoyed this vintage inspired photo holder as much as I did creating it!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

New Melissa Frances Die Cut Sheets

Die cuts are one of the most versatile items in a paper crafter’s stash. They can be used for layering, as a focal point, for journalling or to share a quote. With the "Classic Elegance" Collection, Melissa Frances is introducing 2 new die cut products. One which highlights numbers and titles, and one which provides quotes and journalling spots. Each sheet is 12” wide by 12” high.

Here's a bouquet of hearts I made using paper from the new Classical Elegance line and a die cut from the new die cut sheet. The floppy blossom ribbon can be found here. I hope you're loving the new Classical Elegance collection as much as I am!

A Picture Perfect Birthday

Happy Saturday and happy CHA! As you know, today marks the first day of CHA and all of the gorgeous TCD collections are making their debut at the show! I'm so excited to be able to create with these beautiful lines and today I am going to show you what I made using the new Memories Collection.

Our little girl recently celebrated her 2nd birthday ( where does the time go??) and we wanted her to have a picture perfect day. 

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 I fell in love with the pale yellow polka dot and floral aqua paper from the new Memories collection and it just so happened that it matched perfectly with the invites for the party. The theme was " A Picture Perfect Birthday" so you can imagine my excitement when I saw the little vintage camera in the sticky note pads from the Far and Away collection.

I didn't go crazy and over the top with decorations; a party hat, goodie bags and a simple garland did the trick .Oh, and about a billion aqua polka dot and yellow balloons. I admit, I did go a little nuts with the balloons. Can't have enough balloons at a party, right??

I made the party hat out of the polka dot paper, accordion folded a strip of aqua paper and adhered it towards the bottom of the hat. I then lined the bottom of the hat with aqua tissue garland and also added a pouf of tissue to the top of the hat. Simple embellishments of the number 2 and a die cut doily were adhered to the front of the hat.   

The goodie bags were also made out of the polka dot paper and embellished with stickers and die cuts from the Memory collection.

The garland was so quick and easy to make. I simply cut several different shapes out of coordinating papers using my Cricut and glued them to a string. You could use punches as well. Pretty easy, eh?

The party was a hit and I loved making  decorations for it. Our little one even kept her party hat on most of the time...woohoo!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Introducing Classic Elegance by Melissa Frances

Q: What do you get when you merge the classic color combination of black and white, with the pastel hues that Melissa Frances is traditionally known for?

A: Classic Elegance. A fresh, timeless collection which is packed with personality.

For the first time in Melissa Frances company history, the papers in this collection are all double sided! One side has a fresh pastel design, and the second side has a classic black and white design. There are 6 papers in the collection, giving a total of 12 designs.

Here are the front/back combinations-

Here is a GORGEOUS layout done by friend and Creative Director for Melissa Frances, Carolyn Peeler (this girl is crazy talented!).  Did you notice the beautiful job she did combining the new Classic Elegance line with the Attic Treasures line? She made this stunning layout of my daughter Averi. Thank you SO much, Carolyn!

Here's a heart garland I made using the Classic Elegance line. It would be a fun decoration to put up for Valentine's Day!

If you're going to the CHA winter show, be sure to stop by the booth to say hi and see this beautiful line in person!

A Week in The Life

Have you visited the Teresa Collins Design Team Blog lately? All the girls have put together  layouts, tags or mini albums dedicated to a week in their life this December. It's been a blast!

  I LOVED the idea of  "A Week in the Life"....but... I had never put together a mini album before. I'm a terrible scrapbooker, something in my brain just does not compute arranging photos on paper and writing about them. So I was a little nervous about how it would turn out, then I decided there was no wrong or right way and to just go with the flow. It's more about the memories than how cute it turns out, right?

For the cover, I used a sheet of Blue Damask from the Now and Then Collection. The rest of the papers and embellishments are from the Christmas Cottage Collection. I tied seam binding, bakers twine and a little jingle bells to the rings of the binder.

I chose the week of  November 30th  through December 6th  because I knew we were going to have a fun and busy week ahead and wanted to be sure to document it. We started a few new traditions this year now that our almost 2 year old is starting to understand the concept of Christmas. It's so much fun to see this magical season through the eyes of a child. 

~Day 1~

~Decorating the Tree~

Thursday night we put up the Christmas tree and had such a fun time decorating it. Our little Averi loved putting on (and taking off) the decorations. We sipped hot chocolate, listened to the Gene Autry Holiday station on Pandora (seriously, the cutest station ever) and relaxed by the fireplace. 

~Day 2~

~Photos with Santa~

Averi met Jolly Old St. Nicholas and had her photos taken with him.

 Ok, honestly that's really my husband dressed up as Santa. How genius is that idea? The studio has a parent dress up as Santa so the child isn't traumatized and you can get some great photos without having to wait in a huge line at the mall. I absolutely loved how they turned out and I know we'll cherish these pictures forever. 

~Day 3~

~Festival of Trees~

 I love this event because not only do we get to see over 700 beautifully decorated trees, enjoy fun entertainment and marvel at deliciously decorated gingerbread houses, every single penny this festival raises goes straight to children in need at the Primary Children's Medical Center. 

~Day 4~

~North Pole Breakfast~

Santa sent his scout elf  "Paprika" to our house early Saturday morning. She made us yummy cinnamon rolls and brought us reindeer food straight from the North Pole! She gave Averi  a special gift  of warm socks (because it's COLD at the North Pole!) and holiday books to read all through the month of December. We explained to Averi that Paprika was going to stay with us until Christmas Eve so she could report to Santa all the good things Miss Averi does every day. Averi then took the elf and put her in the garbage. "All gone. No more." she stated.

We spent the rest of Sunday being lazy and just hanging out in Averi's teepee, reading books and napping. 

~Day 5~

~Family Christmas Party~

I love seeing family that we don't get to see too often. We all gather together for a delicious dinner and visit with one another. Then in comes Santa, jingle bells and all with a sack of gifts over his shoulder for all the kids. Averi refused to sit on his lap, although she did give him a kiss on the nose after he handed her a candy cane.  It's tradition for Santa to bring pajamas, which I LOVE because it feels like Christmas morning with a HUGE family. Once the gifts are distributed and every child has had a chance to sit on Santa's lap, the presents are ripped open and the jammies are put on. It's adorable to see all the kids in their new Christmas PJs.

~Day 6~

~Hanging out on Main Street~

One of the great things about living in Park City is its historic main street. It's an adorable street lined with shops, restaurants and galleries. We love riding the trolley up and down main, then stopping at our favorite cozy little bookstore to visit the resident cats. As always, we go next door for a scoop of ice cream.  

~Day 7~

~Temple Square~

We spent the evening in downtown Salt Lake City for some window shopping and dinner. Then on to Temple Square, which during the Christmas season, turns into a wonderland of festive lights and nativity scenes.  Listening to local musicians perform is one of the highlights of visiting Temple Square and watching Averi dance and twirl to the music made it all the more magical.

I hope you enjoyed a peek into a "Week in the Life" of the McAffee clan!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Supplies used:

Papers and embellishments from-

 Christmas Cottage Collection

Now and Then

craft supplies- seam binding, felt, thread

Are You a Winner?

                                             


    The winner for the $25 gift certificate drawing is #17- Rashell A!  Rashell, email me at gingersnaps1943@gmail.com with your mailing address. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that left a comment! Have a great day!