It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Good Morning! 

Hope your day is off to a great start. This time of year can be a bit overwhelming and I'm up to my neck in holiday decorating and gift wrapping. The old saying is true - a woman's work is never done - yet somehow every Christmas we pull it off. :) I can't tell you how much I miss my fairy though (aka my college girl) because she always helped out with decorating. Now I am the Chief Elf and work diligently to have everything together so the house is full of Christmas cheer when she arrives home. The bright side is she's there to help me pack everything up. I do have to credit my hubby for helping me bring the boxes down and for setting the tree up, thanks dear. :)

Let's move on with my Christmas Pocket Letter, I recently participated in a 9 Days of Christmas swap and shared my PL a few days ago on my blog. I received a message from a lady who said that she'd requested to be my swap partner and was disappointed when we weren't matched up. She mentioned that she started a PL in hopes I'd trade with her.....I was very flattered and there's no way I could say no. So this PL went to my new pal, Maya, in New York and I'm thrilled she loves it.

The theme of my pl was spelled out on the Brenda Walton Christmas dp I used and I added a 3D snowglobe sticker to the 3rd pocket and a holly chipboard sticker to the outside.  

I used Snow-Tex by Deco Art to build up my snowy scene. As I've said before I can't tell you how much I love this stuff. The trees are a Taylored Expressions die cut and I used corrugated paper by DCWV. The house was fussy cut from Brenda's paper and I added Frosted Lace Stickles to the outline of the roof. A cardstock sentiment sticker was added to the front of the pocket along with a 3D poinsettia and snowflakes by Fancy Pants.

A holly border and another 3D poinsettia was added to the front and I used a sentiment from the paper collection for the first pocket. Santa is part of the 12x12 dp I used by Brenda Walton for K and Co.. I decorated the spine with red glitter washi tape by Heidi Swapp and two holly brads. 

Because the back of the paper was double sided it's hard to see the goodies but I based it on the 9 Days of Christmas as I did the one I made for my group swap partner so she received 1, 2, 3, etc. of something in the coordinating pockets. 

 Sorry for the glare!

For my pal I gave her - 

1 piece of candy

2 Christmas brads

3 felt snowflakes

4 Melissa Frances candy canes

5 red satin bows

6 mitten stickers

7 washi tape and ribbon samples

8 Christmas chipboard buttons

9 jingle bells

and a partridge in a pear tree.

I'm excited to share the adorable pl I received from my pal in New York.

Edited: I have removed her PL upon her request. Even though I watermarked it she wasn't comfortable with me sharing it on my blog. You'll have to take my word for it, it was very cute.

These have been so much fun to make and share with you. In case you haven't dropped by in a while there's been a post every day this week with a new pocket letter. Seems I can't stop myself lol! 

Have a wonderful weekend, wherever you are!

Lisa xx

Woodland Themed Pocket Letter, Take 2

{apologizing in advance for the glare, 

click on any photo to enlarge}

This post is the first of two where I have had personal requests asking me to create a pocket letter for a member of Pocket Letter Pals. It's always flattering when someone enjoys your creations enough to reach out to you and ask to swap letters. I'm thrilled to have a new pal, Mary, from the Sunshine State and as it turns out we've been partnered for a another group swap mid-month. I have a feeling Mary will be one of my permanent pals because I can tell she has a heart of gold. I adored her letter and I'm sharing it today as well. 

{I love this little fox}

My letter to Mary uses the same paper collections as my first woodland themed pl (which had 200+ likes on the PLP's FB page, crazy!) did but I threw a new one into the mix for fun. Also on the 2nd row I stayed with Webster's Pages Sweet Seasons dp's for all 3 pockets. I'll be honest and share that this is one collection I've hoarded and with my 2nd pl here the dp with the cozy cottage is gone. But it's ok, I'm glad the owners of these letters are thrilled with them and that makes me happy. I have pictures and can see it anytime I want. ;)  

The red starry dp is the new one and again I used Jolee's Boutique 3D stickers to enhance my woodland theme pocket letter-Woodland Animals, Holiday Rings, Snowmen, Holly Flourish and Holiday Tree w/Gifts. The NOEL on the bottom row is also by JB but I can't remember the name of the set it's in. The pinecone stickers are by Recollections from Michael's. For the 2nd row I used Deco Art's Snow-Tex to build up my snowy drifts and I fussy cut the bird ephemera from a Brenda Walton dp. The spine is decorated with red glitter washi tape by Heidi Swapp, holly brads by TPS and ribbon.

This photo shows this row without the extra 3D (minus the owl) elements. I love this sweet scene and it just calls for snow. There are a lot of products out there but Deco Art's Snow-Tex is my favorite because it's pre-mixed and there's no mess. Simply apply it with a palette knife and let it dry! Not to mention the awesome texture of it. :)

So happy Mary loves her pl and now I'm excited to share the one she created for me. 

See why I love it!

She did a lot of stamping and there's so much attention to detail that I wanted to share some closeups with you.

I love Santa Claus and the vintage paper on the 2nd pocket is awesome. The first pocket was stamped and you might not be able to tell but his coat looks amazing and has texture to it. It says - He's making a list and checking it twice - and I can share that even at age 51 Santa still visits me. Guess I'm a good girl lol. ;)

Celebrate Your Inner Elf  - ha ha I love it and the elf shoes rock!

Love the dimensionals as well.

In my home snowmen are everywhere during Christmas (hello my last name is Snowdy) and this guy with his shovel of snow (pom poms) is so cute. Love the stamped tree!

{love pl's but they are a pain to photograph bc of the glare}

This is the back of her letter filled with delightful goodies for me, thank you Mary!

Okay tomorrow is my 5th day in a row of sharing pocket letters here on my blog. It has a Christmas theme as well and a different woodsy vibe to it. Hope you'll check it out. 

Have a wonderful day,

Lisa xx

9 Days of Christmas Pocket Letter

12  9 Days of Christmas!

We're all familiar with the song - 12 Days of Christmas - but when you're making a pocket letter there are only 9 pockets therefore in the world of Pocket Letter Pals it's now known as the 9 Days of Christmas. :) Using the same concept in the song we were asked to fill the back of each pocket with 1 of something, 2, 3, 4, ... you get the idea. Such fun!

Here are a few closeups plus the 9 Days of Christmas goody pockets.

{click on image for better viewing}

Top Row-I started by using two dp's by Bo Bunny and mixing elements from both. On the middle pocket I stamped a sentiment by TE's Sparkle and Cheer stamp set. A 3D Greetings sticker was added to the first pocket and the ornaments on the 3rd pocket were enhanced with Stickles glitter glue. Plastic numbers were altered with Adirondack paint dabbers and glued to the front of each pocket.

Rows 2 and 3 are shown together so you can see how I used the dp to my advantage. I fussy cut the mantle and stockings and added them as well as the saying on the bottom right pocket. Presents were fussy cut from a coordinating Bo Bunny dp and popped up for dimension with Scrapbook Adhesives foam squares. Candy Cane Stickles were applied over the ribbon on the tree for sparkle and I used scrap pearls from a large bling swirl for ornaments. Copper Stickles outline the star on top of the tree and I also added Stickles to the stockings so they'd sparkle to. 

I added Heidi's Marquee tape and blue ribbons to the spine. I'm so happy my pal, Ginger, loves her PL! Can't wait for hers to arrive. :)

Now let's check out those goodies....

I sent my pal...

1 piece of candy

2 Christmas brads

3 burlap bows

4 Melissa Frances candy canes

5 washi tape samples

6 Christmas clothes pins

7 felt snowflakes

8 light bulb stickers

9 Christmas tags

and a partridge in a pear tree........

I told you it was fun! I am loving the Pocket Letter Pal community and it has been such a wonderful experience. While I have more Christmas PL's to share with you I thought I'd sneak in a Smaller Pocket Letter tomorrow with a shabby chic vibe to it. 

I'm off to pack up Thanksgiving decorations (that's what happens when you travel for the holiday) and begin my Christmas decorating today. 

There's so much to do!!! I need an elf to help me get it all done. :(

Missing my girl!

Lisa xx

A Woodland Themed Christmas Pocket Letter

Hello everyone! 

Hope your week is off to a great start. I've been busy cranking out Christmas projects since the holiday is literally 6 weeks away from this Friday. I know I am freaking some of you out but I am as well. Hard to believe this year is nearly over! 

This was my first Christmas pocket letter and it went to my pal in Washington. It was so much fun to create and it will always be one of my favorites. 

A few close ups.

{click to enlarge any photo}

I used a mix of Christmas dp's that have been in my stash for awhile. Mostly because I love them and tend to hoard paper, but no more. I'm going to put them to good use creating pocket letters and for my DT projects for ABC Christmas Challenge. The 3D stickers by Jo-lee Boutique make this woodland themed pocket letter work. My pal also likes bling so when I saw the pretty red rhinestones on them...well..it was a no brainer. :) Finishing touches on the top row are the satin red flower, resin moose and the 3D Merry and Bright ornament sticker. 

More 3D stickers on the outside but this time it's a snowman family playing in the snow. Yes, that's snow you're seeing. To the pockets I added resin silver snowflakes, die cut trees and a layer of Deco Art's Snow-Tex to create my snowy scene. I spread some on the roof of the cozy cottage as well and stamped Merry Christmas at the top. I loved the ease of using DA's Snow-Tex snow. No mixing or mess just spread with a palette knife and it's done. Can't say how much I love this stuff!!! 

The third row has a 3D moose, a JOY sticker and a holly branch. The middle pocket features another 3D ornament sticker that has a winter wonderland scene. On the spine of the pocket I added washi tape, two holly brads, and Christmas ribbon. 

I filled the back pockets with crafty Christmas goodies. I am remiss for not taking photos of two of the pockets minus the goodies. My friend, Regina Easter, is the owner/designer of The Cutting Cafe and she created a Pocket Letter Pals file at my request. It's for sale here and includes a PDF file (see below) for use in creating PL's. I used two on the back of my letter (top row-3rd pocket and bottom row-middle pocket). Sorry Regina I forgot to remove the goodies/note before snapping a photo. However I mailed a letter off yesterday and the file is featured on the front so I'll have that up on my blog as soon as my pal receives it. 

I used the black / white sheet and there's a colored one as well. 

This is an awesome file for PLP's so spread the word.

So happy my pal Tina loves her PL!

I love it too. :)

To learn more about Pocket Letter Pals click here.

I'll be back tomorrow with a woodland themed project with a glittery twist for ABC Christmas Challenge.

See you then!

Lisa xx