Decorating a White Christmas Tree

Things have been really crazy in my life lately. Work is busy. Life is busy! Busy is busy! It's not a bad thing though, but I do miss having more free time to experiment and make projects that strike my fancy. At work this week I was able to take a break and do a little winter decorating in our department. I'd been eyeing this white Christmas tree we have in our prop room and had been hoping for a chance to decorate it. Here are the results!
                                             

First I picked out the ornaments which were a really pretty "vintagey" blue. Then I cut out some dies that reminded me of winter (I alternately used silver metallic cardstock by Ranger and some white glitter paper.) Isn't the Deer Family design adorable? It's a Tim Holtz  design (the words are by Stephanie Ackerman). You can purchase them here and here.

I really enjoyed taking this little break to craft something festive! Sometimes you need to take a fifteen minute time out and make something fun, right? (SIDE NOTE: I also bought a white Christmas tree for my craft room! I think I'm going to put it right on my desk. It's only 2 ft. tall  and was just $12.99! DEAL, right? )

What are some things you like to take a quick time-out for? Let me know in the comments below! I'd LOVE to hear your answers.

PS. I think it's HILARIOUS that you can see my reflection in every ornament AND my department and even my coworkers. LOL

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Pocket Letter™ Newsletter!

JANETTE LANE.  COPYRIGHT 2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Friends! As some of you may know I created pocket mail earlier this year. It's been an AMAZING journey and I've been mostly behind the scenes running the Pocket Letter Pals™ social network, fielding questions, etc. It's been really crazy (in a good way)! Thankfully, I've recruited some friends to help me with these administrative tasks so that I can focus on building my Pocket Letters™ brand from scratch. (Thank you so much to those who are helping me in such a big way! I appreciate it SO MUCH!)

I've got some exciting things coming up (and some others that are already happening too) and I'd LOVE for you to be a part of my journey! I don't know where any of this will lead, but I look forward to this adventure and invite YOU to come along with me! Please take a moment and sign up for the Pocket Letters™ newsletter!  It's free and is simply an email update with news, exclusives, etc. There you'll find out about some current projects, Pocket Letter™ products, and upcoming collaborations! 

Also follow @pocketletters on Instagram & Twitter ! I know I haven’t been active much on those accounts, but that will soon change thanks to my new social media coordinator Lucia Metcalf. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support, good thoughts, prayers, and encouragement! I appreciate it more than you know. 

Sign up for the Pocket Letters™ newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bB9kwz

PS. A big thank you to Grace Lopez for designing my logo! 

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Here's some links you should check out too if you're new to pocket mail.

What are Pocket Letters? 
Janette Lane's Pocket Letter Guide
Pocket Letter Basic Tutorial 
Pocket Letter Ideas
Pocket Letter FAQs.
Pocket Letter™ Shop

Pastel Pocket Mail

I never got to share this round of pocket mail with you all... I know it's a bit springy" but soon I hope to make some that feel a bit more "Fall-ish" and "wintery"! I can't wait! What do you like to do for your letters? Do you like to make them to match the season? Or do you enjoy exploring other themes? Do you use the same kind of color schemes all year round?

For me, I try to stick to what I love, and I love pastels. When I make my pocket letters, they reflect that.

I'm going to attempt some season-appropriate pocket letters in the next two weeks. Can't wait to share that with you all!

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Here's some links you should check out too if you're new to pocket mail.

What are Pocket Letters? 
Janette Lane's Pocket Letter Guide
Pocket Letter Basic Tutorial 
Pocket Letter Ideas
Pocket Letter FAQs.
Pocket Letter™ Shop

5 Pocket Letter Etiquette Tips

Pocket letters fall under the category of snail mail and penpals. Since pocket mail is a new thing, I think it's important to establish some guidelines or helpful suggestions, especially since many participating are new to the world of penpals in general. Here are 5 Pocket Letter Etiquette Tips that you might find helpful:


1. If you haven't mailed out your Pocket Letter, try to avoid sharing pictures of them on social media. Share sneak peeks, but don't say, "This is the PL I made for Stephanie, hope she likes it." It takes away the element of surprise and it may make your pal upset. If you do like to share your progress pictures, then warn your pal ahead of time.

2. Let your pal know when you receive their mail and thank them. Simply send a quick note, via email or on Facebook. I haven't always been the best about this. Not going to lie. And I know many penpals who because of the size of their mailing list, do not send any kind of notification about sending or receiving letters. But do try your best to let your partner know when you've received their pocket mail and thank them for fulfilling the swap. Especially since many wait to share their pictures of their creations until it's been confirmed that the recipient received theirs.

3. If someone fails a swap, try to be gracious about it. A lot of the times people have really good reasons for not fulfilling a swap. A family emergency. A sudden illness, etc. Sometimes they don't have a good reason. A few, unfortunately, sign up on these swap sites to scam people. But for the most part, it's not intentional. Give it some time, often mail gets delayed or lost. I've had many people report a failed swap only to find that the mail delivery was delayed for a few days. If the swap happened on the Pocket Letter Pals network or on the Pocket Letter Pals Facebook group, please contact the admins of that group. They are there to help facilitate these kind of issues.

4. Always make sure you have enough postage on your letters. I know that sometimes going to the post office can be a tedious undertaking, but it's better to go through the trouble than to have your pal pay $2 because you didn't have enough postage on your letter. If your pal has to pay extra for lack of postage, you should definitely offer to reimburse them.

5. It's okay to say no to a swap request. If you aren't able to swap or you've maxed out on your swap partners, then don't feel bad saying "no".  Here are a few ways to graciously refuse a request:

"I'm so sorry, I'm maxed out on swaps at the moment, but thanks for your message!" or "Unfortunately, I'm not swapping at the moment, but I'm thankful for your request."



Remember, the most important thing is to communicate! (Here's a communication guide that might help you in this area.)

I really hope these pocket mail etiquette tips helped you in some way. If you have a helpful tip to add, please share in the comments below! Thanks for reading!

What’s in a Name?

I’d like to clear up some confusion. Honestly, I meant to write this post months ago, but I’ve been busy with a ton of other stuff, mainly Pocket Letters. Anywho! Before we proceed any further in our blogship (bloggy pal friendship), I’d like you to know something...Something important! My name is not Janette Lane. I know. I know. Shocking, right? How did this happen? Have you lied to us this whole time, Janette? What’s going on? Is your name even Janette? LOL No, no. Nothing like that! Before I tell you my real name, let me back up a bit and tell you how I became known as Janette Lane (which I consider my nickname). 

A few years ago I changed the name of my blog from Janette the Jongleur to Janette Lane (you can read the story here) Basically, I chose Janette Lane because it sounded better than Janette Avenue or Janette St. (Janette Lane is the name of a street near my childhood home.) Anywho. After I changed my blog name I joined Social Fabric and started writing sponsored content for my blog. At this time I had canceled my personal Facebook account with my legal name because I felt super distracted by it, and I just wasn’t enjoying it anymore. Back to Social Fabric. One of the requirements for writing sponsored posts is social media syndication. In other words, I had to share my articles on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. Since I had canceled my personal FB account, I figured I could create one for my blog. The problem was, I wasn’t too sure how to create a FB Page account instead of a personal account. So I created an account with the name Janette Lane (I didn’t want to reactivate my old personal account).

As my blog grew, my readers started to refer to me as Janette Lane. Then I started to refer to myself as Janette Lane too. It worked. It worked so well for some many reasons. Mostly because my married name is super duper long and is always butchered. ALWAYS. Without fail. lol Plus it's easier for people to remember Janette Lane than Janette Daneshmand (pronounced don-ish-mund). Anyway. That’s the story. I guess I wanted to share it because I don’t want you to think I’m hiding anything. lol In fact I’ve included the google search results for what comes up under my legal name. You’ll find that A.) I work at Sizzix as a Craft Designer. B.) I have a photography blog from when I used to do photography on the side. C.) I own the Pocket Letters™ trademark and D.) I still have a Myspace account because I can’t for the life of me figure out how to deactivate it. LOL

So that’s the story. My name is Janette Daneshmand. I have no middle name. But you can call me Janette Lane if you want and from time to time I will call myself that too. Oh also, Lovey's real name is Justin. In case you didn't already know...

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

Judy's Pocket Letter Tips

Hi everyone! When I found out I was going to get to be a guest here on Janette's blog, I was overjoyed! Thank you Janette, for having me.

Before I share my pocket letter journey with you, I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Judy Thompson, aka JudyBug. I've been married to my best friend (Jack) for 19 years, and we live in rural Florida. I've always been into crafting, and was trying my hand at greeting cards when I learned about pocket letters. That was 5 months ago, and I've never looked back!


Many times I'm asked where I come up with the ideas for my pocket letters. Honestly, I do like everyone else, and scan the internet. However, I probably start the actual making of the pocket letter a little differently, and that's what I'd like to share with you.

Before I even begin the creative process, I make it a point to learn something about my new swap partner. I'm especially happy if they have any social media links to share, such as Blogger, Facebook, or (one of my favorites) Pinterest. Not everyone does, so a nice profile description or just a few questions is enough to get those creative juices rolling.

Memory is not a strong point for me, and I can forget what I wanted to do in a matter of minutes. So my next step is to grab a clean sheet of typing paper, and fold it into the 9 squares. This is where I write and/or draw (and very badly, I might add) my ideas for that particular pocket letter. This process not only helps me keep my thoughts together, but the paper becomes part of my work space. By the time my pocket letter is complete, there's pencil and marker scuffs, eraser marks, paint, glue, glitter, tape, and even some things I didn't meant to get stuck on the paper. lol

Not surprisingly, this method also helps me keep my cost down. Maybe that's because there's less guess work, or that it's the one thing kept in order. We all know how wonderfully messy our craft rooms can get!

When my pocket letter is complete, it always feels like I've been on a journey, and I find myself reminiscing over each pocket. Sometimes, I even include some of my thought processes (while creating their pocket letter) in my letter to my new pal.

As a final note, don't be afraid to approach your creation of a new pocket letter from more than one angle. You might be surprised at what you can do.

If there's one thing I've learned sense discovering this crazy wonderful thing called "Pocket Letters" is, you can do a great deal more than you think with a lot less than you ever thought. More importantly, enjoy the journey! =)



Your friend,

 Judy

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Thank you SO MUCH Judy for sharing your tips and creative process with us! Please make sure to check out Judy's social media to connect with her:

Blogger: http://bluejeanscoffeeandfriends.blogspot.com/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/judy2at/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judy.thompson.77715

 

Here's some links you should check out too if you're new to Pocket Letters. 

What are Pocket Letters? 
Janette Lane's Pocket Letter Guide
Pocket Letter Basic Tutorial 
Pocket Letter Ideas
Pocket Letter FAQs.
Pocket Letter™ Shop


**All photos in this post are by Judy of Blue Jeans, Coffee, & Friends and used with special permission. 

Planner Workshop!

Friends! It gives me great pleasure to say that I'm one of the teachers in Christy Tomlinson's newest online planner class!! So exciting! This workshop is designed to specifically give you ideas, inspiration, and step-by-step instructions on how to decorate your planner(s) for the upcoming holidays/seasons.

My particular theme and segment is "Winter". Here's a look at what I'll be teaching you to create.

If you'd like more information and details about how to sign up, please click here for more information.

July's Planner Society Kit

This month's Planner Society Kit was an extra special one because it was my birthday month! Or maybe I convinced myself that Christy added more cuteness just for me? LOL Regardless,  I loved the tropical, hot pink feel and flair of the whole kit. It just worked! And those flamingos? They were my besties. I loved them to bits! Check out this Midori process video I made showing how I used this month's Planner Society Kit.



You know what else I love? Being on this crafty kit design team! I'm serious, the other ladies on the team are so inspiring and delightful!


PS. To purchase your Planner Society Monthly Subscription, click here. Next available openings are in September.

PPS. If you'd like to be my twinsie, you can purchase your own Midori here.



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5 Things To Know Before Becoming a Penpal

  Even before Pocket Letters, I was delving into the world of “penpalling”. I stumbled across Madison (@lettersfrommadison) who was sending letters all around the world and showcasing her snailmail creations on Instagram. I was HOOKED! I jumped in headfirst and went to Michael’s the day after I found her account and bought heaps and heaps of stationery supplies to start my penpal letters.  (Watch this video for more on my Snailmail Story or watch below).  In retrospect I wish I’d given it a little more thought because I was soon overwhelmed by a few different things in the penpal world. I want to share a little bit about what I learned along the way so you don’t encounter the same misunderstandings and problems.

1.       There are different kinds of penpals and swaps.

I had this idea in my head that all penpals swapped the same things, letters and goodies. This is far from the truth. Some people like to exchange letters, others like to exchange parcels, and others exchange a mix of both. Some only exchange postcards. When you start out make sure you know what it is you are exchanging. I was under the impression everyone exchanged parcels/packages, so I spent a lot of money buying journals, candy, stickers, and other trinkets to send my first penpals.  When some people didn’t reciprocate, I was a little taken aback, but then realized that some of my penpals didn’t want packages of goodies, they wanted letters. Actual, handwritten letters. There were other penpals who only sent goodies to me without letters. Not gonna lie. That was fun too. But I enjoyed the letter part too much… I soon found a happy medium and started arranging swaps that involved a letter and a few goodies. It’s important to find out what kind of penpal you want to be to avoid misunderstandings, which brings me to my next point.

2.       Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

Since there are different kinds of exchanges and swaps, make sure you communicate with your penpal about what it is you’re going to send and how and when are you going to send it. Will you send first? Will you have a “send by” date or deadline? Will you only exchange letters? How often will you write? Will all your letters be handwritten? Will you email the person when you receive their package or letter? Once these questions are addressed, your swaps will be a lot easier to manage.

3.       "Penpaling" is pricey!

The cost of postage is constantly increasing. Sending a letter costs almost $.50! I remember when postage was $.28. Sending a parcel can get very expensive too, especially if it’s going international. I remember the first time I sent two packages to my first UK penpals, it cost me about $36! I couldn’t believe how expensive it was! I say all this to remind you to take into account the cost of postage. Yes, the things you send will be one expense, but don’t forget to consider the cost of postage. Having a penpal can be very costly.

4.       You will have a bad experience at least once.

Whether your mail gets destroyed in transit, lost, or a penpal fails to respond…you will have at least some sort of negative experience with penpalling. It’s a given. The important thing is how you handle it. Will you let a few bad experiences spoil the good ones? I hope not. Take it with a stride and focus on the positive. I’ve had many failed swaps, and I’ve been outright scammed too. lol But that’s okay. You can’t let the negative experiences put a damper on the whole thing.

5.       It’s OK to say no.

Since sharing my creations on Instagram, a lot of people would message me asking to be my penpal. I agreed to about 80%  of the requests I would get, especially one-time swaps because I honestly felt like a bad person if I said “no” to someone. In fact, it got to the point where I got really overwhelmed with my penpals (toward the end of 2014) and I even ended some of my “parcel penpalships” (swaps that involved parcel exchanges only). Of course I parted ways by sending some awesome “last parcels” that didn’t require reciprocation. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed, so learn that saying “No” is okay. You are not a bad person for not wanting to take on more penpals.

There are more things to be said about "penpalships" and swapping letters, but I will save those for future posts! I hope you found these tips helpful! If you’d like to share things you’ve learned about penpaling , please share your wise words and experiences in the comments below! Thanks for reading!

Pocket Letter $1 Ideas & Tips

I know that making pocket letters can be a pricey hobby, but it doesn't have to be if you think a little creatively and "out of the box"! I went to the Dollar Tree a while ago and found some cute things to make pocket letters on a budget. I'm sharing some pocket letter tips in this post and also in the video below. With a little imagination, it's easy to think of inexpensive ways to make pocket letters and goodies too!

Pocket Letter Tips

 -Silk flower blooms: A whole bouquet won't fit in a pocket, but if you pluck off the blooms, you can fill your pocket letters with flowers that will last!

-Use a kids tutu: Kid tutus are colorful and frilly. You can use the material to make a wrapping for your pocket letter. (Check out Aideen's post on creative pocket letter wrapping ideas)

-Sticky notes that are pocket letter size: You can find a lot of sticky notes at the dollar store. I like to stamp mine with cute images in the corner to personalize them.

-Stickers for $1: The dollar store is probably the only place you'll find a large selection of stickers for cheap. You can use them to decorate your pocket letters or to send as goodies!

-Gift Wrap: Check the gift wrap section for cute paper to use as your pocket letter backgrounds. Especially if you're doing a certain theme like a birthday or wedding. Or if you find a print you like, say with popsicles, you can cut out the individual shapes, laminate them, and send them as die cuts for your pals! (Watch my video to see what I'm talking about...)

-Hair Accessories: Barrettes or hair clips can be sent "as is" to your pal, or you can make embellished paperclips with a little hot glue!

Themes 

-Beach/Hawaiian/Luau Theme Pocket Letter: Use some beach-themed napkins to fill a pocket. Also check the party aisle at your dollar store. There are so many things you can use there to fill your pocket!

 -Graduate Theme Pocket Letter: Around graduation time there were a lot of grad goodies, like tassels that could be tucked into a pocket for a graduate.

-Wedding Theme Pocket Letter: My dollar store has a large selection of wedding or bridal shower party goods and favors. You are bound to find things there for a wedding theme pocket letter.

-Baby Shower Theme Pocket Letter: The same goes for baby showers. Check for little booties, or even send a bib that you can decorate with a simple permanent marker.

Pocket Letters for Kids

It's amazing seeing children get involved in this hobby!

-Send some glow in the dark shapes for a Glow in the Dark Pocket Letter!

-Send little costume bracelets, sheriff's badges, or jewelery tucked in the pockets so kids can play dress-up! You can even fold a kid's tutu to send in your pocket letter.

-Send barrettes or little hair ties for goodies!

-Plus candy!




Watch this video to see more of these budget friendly tips!

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Here's some links you should check out too if you're new to Pocket Letters.

What are Pocket Letters?
Janette Lane's Pocket Letter Guide
Pocket Letter Basic Tutorial
Pocket Letter Ideas
Pocket Letter FAQs.

Pocket Letter™ Shop

PURCHASE INSERTS FOR POCKET LETTERS HERE:

 

 (affiliate links)

What to Write in Your Pocket Letter

I love reading the letter portion of a pocket letter (Click here to read about all the components of a typical Pocket Letter). It gives me insight about the heart behind the art! (Hey! That rhymed!) Personally, I want to know a little more about the creative mind that sent me a piece of their work. It makes it more personal, more real.  A lot of people have asked me about how to write the letter that goes in the Pocket Letter. The Pocket Letter letter. (Say that 10x fast!) I think this proves challenging especially when you're doing a one-time exchange with someone. What is it that you want to say? Do you want to keep it short and simple? Or do you want to be detailed? 

I’ve included some tips as well as an example right below my suggestion.  Keep this as simple or as elaborate as you’d like, but try to hit each of the following suggested points. Once you get better at this, you can leave out or add more “talking points”. And remember, all these are just suggestions. If you don't want to send a letter, make sure you tell your pal during your email exchanges, just so they know what to expect. Some people value the letter highly... others don't. That's completely fine, but always communicate with your pal!

-Greeting 

-Who you are and where you live. (Again you can be as detailed as you’d like) 

-What you do for a living. 

-What you do for fun. 

-How you found out about Pocket Letters & what you like about them. 

-Thank you for exchanging. 

-Information about where to find you in case they want to keep in touch via social media. 

-Closing. 

You can elaborate on each point in one sentence or one paragraph. It’s up to you! The following is an example of the above points in action:

Hello there! 

My name is Janette and I live in sunny California! Southern CA to be exact and pretty close to Disneyland. I’m a craft designer and blogger. Aside from arts and crafts, I enjoy traveling, reading, thrifting, and making YouTube videos. I also love going out to eat. I found out about Pocket Letters earlier this year when I stumbled across Janette Lane’s post on Instagram and Youtube. I’ve been having fun getting to know people from all around the world. Thank you so much for agreeing to do a one-time swap with me. I hope that we can at least keep in touch via social media. Or if you’d like to continue swapping, let me know. You can find me on YouTube (The Janette Lane) and Instagram. (@janettelaneblog) 

Take care and I hope you enjoy my Pocket Letter creation. 

Sincerely, 

Janette 

I hope this  has helped you in some way with the letter portion of the Pocket Letter. Thanks for reading!

 

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Here's some links you should check out too if you're new to Pocket Letters. 

What are Pocket Letters? 
Janette Lane's Pocket Letter Guide
Pocket Letter Basic Tutorial 
Pocket Letter Ideas
Pocket Letter FAQs.
Pocket Letter™ Shop

 

Brianna's Pocket Letter Story

I was asked by Janette to be a guest spot blog entry, of course I jumped on the chance. So here I am. Let me introduce myself. I am Brianna Holifield. Mother of 3, married for 18 years. I have been scrapbooking since 2003. My crafting addiction began when my husband was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom. To keep my mind from constantly thinking about his safety, I picked up some scrapbooking items from our local craft store. I was literally hooked from the first day I came home and made my first scrapbook. I have done scrapbooks, mini paper bag albums, project life albums, greeting cards, you name it I have probably tried it.

One day I was blog hopping and came across Janette Lane's blog. There was something called "pocket letters" on it. I read all about what she had written and was very intrigued on how to make one. I watched her YouTube video https://youtu.be/C551yphwG_o and then went to work.

I am absolutely in love with the creative process of taking a 9 pocket baseball trading card page and turning it into a beautiful letter for someone else. The picking out of 9 cards, washi tape, ephemera, die-cuts, ribbons, buttons, sequins, stickers, paints, stamps. Whatever your heart desires for that particular pocket letter on that particular day.

My style is using a mix of project life cards, die-cuts, and ephemera, and using a layering effect on 3 or 4 of the pockets. As I tend to always decorate the outside of the pockets, rather then the card itself. I fill each pocket in the back with either coordinating goodies or just randomness. Which is another reason I absolutely love pocket letters. There is no right or wrong way to create your pocket.

I found out there was a Facebook group for the pocket letters,  https://www.facebook.com/pocketletterpals  which I joined back in February 2015. There is nothing but wonderful, supportive, creative ladies on that site. They share tons and I mean TONS of great ideas for pockets, embellishments they have made, card ideas, and mostly they share their friendship. I have made tons of new friendships from all over the world, all because one lady [Janette] decided to share her wonderful idea with the world of making a pocket letter for a friend.

As of today's date I have made over 125 pocket letters. I use to be a die hard project life junkie but since finding pocket letters, I have totally changed my project life albums to pocket letter albums. I love the style and flow of the 9 pockets.

A couple of tips I would like to share with you that I have learned over the 5 months of making pockets. I have bought several different versions of the baseball card sleeves and to me the best ones that I love to work with are the Ulta-Pro 30 pages brand. You only get 30 pockets but the quality is very good. I tend to use my glue gun a lot on the pockets and these hold up perfectly. If you have a printer USE it. There are tons of embellishments you can print off Pinterest to use in your letters. If you have a local Dollar Tree or Dollar store near by, get in there. They have great $1.00 items you can use in your pockets. There is an entire craft/stationary aisle! And let's not forget about the Target dollar spot. They have stepped up their game when it comes to the craft world, offering crafting/planner goodies for 1.00-3.00 dollars. It never hurts to pop in and see what they have.

If your interested in seeing any of my pocket letters please feel free to follow me on any of these sites!

Instagram: [brianna.holifield] https://instagram.com/brianna.holifield/

My blog: http://luvmyarmyboy.blogspot.com/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/luvmyarmyboy/

Welcome to the wonderful world of pockets. I will warn you now, these are highly addictive and contagious. You're going to love this new found craft.

Happy Crafting lovelies,
Brianna Holifield

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Thank you SO MUCH Brianna for sharing your pocket letter story! I loved hearing how you got into this new style of crafting. Please make sure to check out Brianna's blog and Instagram: 

 http://luvmyarmyboy.blogspot.com/

 

Here's some links you should check out too if you're new to Pocket Letters. 

What are Pocket Letters? 
Janette Lane's Pocket Letter Guide
Pocket Letter Basic Tutorial 
Pocket Letter Ideas
Pocket Letter FAQs.
Pocket Letter™ Shop


**All photos in this post are by Brianna of Luv My Army Boy and used with special permission. 

Pocket Letter Inspiration with Araceli Espindola

Hello! My name is Araceli (AKA Ara), I am a papercrafter from Texas. I love creating anything that involves paper. I love cats and Chapstick. Today I want to show you 3 recent Pocket Letters I made and share some tips. I love creating these and swapping with other crafters. So let's get started!!!!!

 For this Pocket Letter I was going for a Vintage Inspired/whimsy style. I used brands such as Tim Holtz, The Girls Paperie, DCVW, Crate Paper, American Crafts, Sizzix dies, Glitz Designs, labels from Dollar Tree, and Cavallini Papers and CO.

Here is a close up of the shaker card I made for this pocket letter. I have a process video on Youtube if you would like to watch it: Click Here. I used beads that I purchased from Dollar Tree, sequins I purchased from Wal-mart and Hobby Lobby, wood veneer sequins, glitter and a gold paperclip. I then sealed the pocket using the Photo Fuse Tool by WRMK. The "so very lovely" chipboard is on the outside of the pocket which I attached using glue dots.

Pocket Letter#2. The theme for this pocket is Planner Addict. I used a variety of different paper lines. The majority of the stickers are from The 9 to 5 line by October Afternoon. Other Items I used are from MAMBI, Basic Grey, Target Dollar spot, Studio 112, Sticko,  The girl's Paperie. The middle Pocket holds 3 paperclips (from left to right: Maggie Holmes, Kate Spade and Freckled Fawn).

What I like to do before starting any pocket letter is gather as many items  I think will look good and bring everything to my craft desk and only work using those items, no grabbing more or as we usually saym "Oh, I bet blah blah would look good on this," lol. This helps me not over-think and cuts down wasted time.

When I have extra time; I like to wrap up the pocket letters as "gifts".  What I used here is a paper Doily (You can find them in the cake making section at Michaels/Hobby Lobby/Joanns), a scrap piece of patterned cardstock adorned with Washi Tape, and a "thanks" label, a laminated Stag, a Gold glittered heart, and a pink paperclip to hold them all in place.

And lastly, the final Pocket Letter for this post. This was a Tim Holtz Inspired Pocket Letter. Tim Holtz was one of the first Artist's I started following back in the day when I first started scrapbooking. He is sooo dreamy, lol! For this pocket Letter I used Tim Holtz, American Crafts, Prima Marketing, October Afternoon, Sizzix Dies, Basic Grey, The Girls Paperie, Maggie Holmes, and Websters Pages.

Here is a close up of the bottom pocket. I painted a piece of chipboard and once it dried I ran it through my Big Shot using the Sewing Room Sizzix die. I then added a picture (also from Tim Holtz), a flash card that says, "today" (also by Tim Holtz), and layered a Prima Marketing Flower along with a butterfly and safety pin from Tim Holtz. I then added some gesso to the "today" flash card to give it a little texture.

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Thank you Ara for sharing your creative pocket letter designs! You are so talented and I loved learning a little bit more of what you like to use for your pocket letters. If you'd like to see more of Ara's awesome papercrafts, please check out her blog, The Paper Treasury or find her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/ara_esp. She's also on the Marion Smith planner design team, so you know she knows her stuff!;)



Here's some links you should check out if you're new to Pocket Letters.

What are Pocket Letters?
Janette Lane's Pocket Letter Guide
Pocket Letter Basic Tutorial
Pocket Letter Ideas
Pocket Letter FAQs.
Pocket Letter™ Shop