If you know anything about me, you know that I love Making Memories. So it’s not surprising that I was very excited to see what they were coming out with at the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) Winter Convention. Let’s just say that I was not disappointed – and you certainly won’t be either!

Making Memories is introducing three new collections: Great Escape (Travel), Just Chillin’ (Teen) and I Do (Wedding). Other new releases include: a Tag Maker Kit designed for the Slice Cordless Design Cutter, 12 new Slice design cards and Slice Inspirations, an idea book in the form of a recipe box.

For the purposes of this review, I will be focusing on Great Escape and Just Chillin’; I hope to bring you reviews of some of the other new products soon.

Great Escape

My husband and I love to travel — so I am always looking for new travel paper and embellishments. I am a big fan of Making Memories’ Passport collection, so I am glad they decided to design another travel line. The Great Escape collection includes 6 12″x12″ double-sided patterned papers, 8 specialty papers and a variety of embellishments including alphabet stickers, decorative tape, rub-ons, ribbon, a spiral bound journaling book, travel tabs and clear stamps.

There are several things about this collection that make it really special. First of all, it is very versatile. Some pieces are geared towards tropical travel, while others can be used for just about any kind of trip. Making Memories designed this collection to be nostalgic yet contemporary, and with the colors – sherbert orange, sea green and a soft blue — and designs, it is quite a winning combination. One of the coolest new features is the “green” packaging; it’s made to be used in your projects! It’s a timely design choice, and one I think you’ll appreciate as much as I do.

Making Memories is also releasing a complementary Slice design card, which features two fonts, a word collection and tons of shapes, including silhouettes of all 50 states. I can’t wait to get my hands on that!

Because my husband and I are especially fond of the Caribbean, I quickly put this collection to use by scrapbooking our recent trip to Aruba. I thought the papers and embellishments I used were perfect for the pictures and the spirit I was hoping to convey in this layout.

Great Escape is a great addition to any scrapbooker’s stash; you’ll find yourself reaching for it to scrapbook all of your travels.

Just Chillin’

With another one of its new collections, Just Chillin’, Making Memories has proven it knows how to capture that teen spirit. With paper and embellishments for both girls and boys, it is sure to be perfect for projects about your teen — or tween.

Both the Girl and the Boy versions of Just Chillin’ include 9 12″x12″ patterned papers, an 8″x8″ specialty paper pack and a 6″x6″ paper pad, plus a variety of embellishments including a spiral bound journaling book, alphabet stickers, rub-ons, brads, ribbons and clear stamps. Plus, Making Memories has come out with two Just Chillin’ 12″x12″ post-bound albums – 1 each for Girl and Boy.

And Slice fans won’t be disappointed — the Just Chillin’ Slice design card is scheduled to be released this month!

This line is so fun, and if you don’t have a teenager in your life – and/or don’t feel like scrapbooking pictures of you as a teen, don’t worry — this line is also versatile. I chose to use several pieces of the Girl line to make this layout about the relationship I have with my puppy, Sabre. I did throw in some teen terminology: Sabre is my BFF (Best Friend Forever)!

BOTTOM LINE

Just Chillin’ and Great Escape are both winners in my book.

Both of these new lines will be available at Two Peas in a Bucket this spring; Just Chillin’ comes out in April, and Great Escape debuts in June, along with I Do.

Here at Qwowi, we’re offering you the chance to take home some of the Just Chillin’ collection for free, before you can even buy it! Leave a comment here by Wednesday March 18th, and you will be entered to win some Boy and Girl embellishments.

Don’t forget to read our other Scrapbooking Reviews — and to bookmark Qwowi.com so you can keep coming back for more great reviews and giveaways!

***Congrats to winner Joli P. from Hill Air Force Base, UT! Enjoy your goodies!***