Meet Our Design Team

Melissa Frances is pleased to introduce you to the talented and creative women who are on our Design Team. Many of these ladies may be familiar to you as they are frequently published, active on scrapbooking message boards and magazine contributors. Each of these ladies brings her own flair to the Melissa Frances brand and they continually inspire us with the projects and fresh interpretations of our product lines. We invite you to read their stories, view their projects and get inspired!

Carolyn Peeler (Senior Creative Director)

Sherelle Christensen

My name is Sherelle Christensen, and I am 25 years old. I grew up, and currently live in Shelley, Idaho. I am married to my best friend, David, and we have been married almost five years. We have two children, Grace, who is almost 4, and Russell who is two…and another baby on the way (due in October of this year). My husband is a fourth generation farmer, growing famous Idaho potatoes. We live on a farm, with a huge yard, a puppy, chickens and ducks. Our children love to play outside and work with their daddy on the farm.

I have been scrapbooking since junior high, and over the years, I have been thrilled to see this hobby change and grow. My husband and I own a local scrapbook store in Idaho Falls, Idaho, called The Scrap Coop. I serve on several design teams, and along with running the store…scrapbooking has become a very important part of my life. This year, I earned Honorable Mention in the Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Hall of Fame.

My favorite thing to do…is to be a Mother. I love my children and my family more than anything else in the world. I am thankful to live in an area of the world that is very family oriented and old fashioned. I love to sew, cook, work in the yard, decorate, wake board, and above all, I love scrapbooking and photography. I love history, and I especially love to read history books (when I happen to find any free time…ha, ha!). I love computers, and even though I love the small community that I live in, it is always fun to keep connected and make wonderful friends all around the world.

For me, scrapbooking has provided a creative outlet that lets me express myself. It isn’t always easy being such a young mother with so many other responsibilities. I love to lock myself in my scrapbook room and let my creative juices flow. It is the one thing that I do for myself that allows me to release tension…and just enjoy myself. I can truly say that this hobby has changed my life.

Click Here to see her scrapbox in the gallery

 

Robin Middendorf

I have lived in Lincoln, Nebraska for most of my life. I married my high school sweetheart in 1998 and became a stay at home mom in 2000. I have two little boys, Calen and Cole, who are the subject of most of my scrapbook layouts. I started scrapbooking after my youngest son was born. I flipped through my photo albums and realized that I was forgetting about the details of a lot of my photos. Photos in a photo album don't always tell the whole story. I started scrapbooking to record those everyday moments that I never want to forget about.

Click Here to see her scrapbox in the gallery

Ashley Gailey

Hi all! My name is Ashley Gailey and I live in Royal Oak, Michigan with my wonderful husband and our 2 children: Griffin and Ava. I started scrapping right before my son turned one. I thought it would be a "good way to waste some time" instead of watching TV. Little did I know what I was getting myself into...

Scrapping is such a great way for me to chill out after a long hard day at the office and the stresses that come with being a working Mom. I love the creative release that designing a layout gives me, and the satisfaction of knowing that I am documenting my family's memories for generations to come.

Rachel Killpack

My name is Rachel Killpack. I reside in Salt Lake City, UT. I started scrapbooking and paper crafting a little over four years ago. I began with making cards for friends and family and instantly became addicted to all things paper! I adore anything vintage, shabby or imperfect. Along with my passion for creating, I love writing, dining on chips and salsa with Z, scouring antique shops for old photos, collecting obscure books and music, and early morning jogs with my sister. I am constantly inspired by the fabulous members of this design team and am honored to be a part of it.

Click Here to see her scrapbox in the gallery

Heather Thompson

I have been a Northern California girl all my life. I now live in the smallish town of Brentwood, with my husband of 10 years, Will, and our two kids, Grace and Wyatt. I discovered scrapbooking long before kids, but my passion for this amazing creative art blossomed when I became a mother. I love sharing my thoughts and feelings through my journaling, combining colors and patterns and showcasing my photographs. My father was a photographer, so I come by my love for photography naturally, and I’m now following in his footsteps with a photography business of my own. I have an obsession with patterned paper and rarely complete a layout without it. I love Melissa Frances papers and enjoy using these classic, vintage-inspired designs in a modern, simplistic way. I used to say that I scrapbooked for my kids, but I now realize that I do it for me. I have been fortunate enough to have my work published in numerous magazines and was a Creating Keepsakes 2006 Hall of Fame winner. Scrapbooking is my creative release, my joy and my passion, and I am honored to be able to share it as part of such an incredible team.

Yolanda Robinson

Graphic designer, mama on the go, creative soul, night owl, and an artist in many mediums... I live in a tiny dollhouse in the interior of British Columbia with a wonderful husband, my two daughters, and ridiculous dog, a Great Dane named Sophie. My best masterpieces to date have been my daughters Lily and Abigail, who are the very reasons why I began and continue to scrapbook. I create most often into the wee hours of the morning, and love the way all aspects scrapbooking (from photography to journaling– to shopping for supplies) recharges my spirit and helps me appreciate the everyday moments that are so easily forgotten. Although it initially took a friend some convincing to get me started, I'm so glad to have been introduced to this hobby and community of scrapbookers that I've grown to adore.

 

Melissa Phillips

Amber Tosh