From Michigan to Wisconsin with Love

I started this pocket letter for my dear friend, Jody, at SpiegelMom Scraps, earlier this year.  However, I set it aside too many times to work on other projects.  Finally, I decided it was time to complete it; so I sat down and got it done!  I just love the way this letter turned out.  Pocket letters are so much fun to make as each pocket is its own unique work of art and they all come together in the end as a final masterpiece.

Supplies used:

*Blossom paper packet (retired)
*Blossom complements (retired)
*12" x 12" Pear cardstock (retired)
*12" x 12" Lagoon cardstock
*12" x 12" Slate cardstock
*12" x 12" Sunset cardstock (retired)
*12" x 12" White Daisy cardstock
*Lagoon Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Pear Exclusive Inks stamp pad (retired)
*Sunset Exclusive Inks stamp pad (retired)
*Finding the Words stamp set
*Artfully Sent Curlicue stamp set (retired)
*Little Things stamp set (retired)
*Michigan stamp set
*Wisconsin stamp set
*Opportunity stamp set (consultant exclusive)
*Waterbrush -- Medium Flat
*Coral Shimmer Trim
*White Shimmer Trim
*Chalk It Up assortment (retired)
*Just Blooms paper flowers - Paradise (retired)
*Carnival washi tape (retired)
*Boardwalk washi tape (retired)
*Lagoon Hearts washi tape (retired)
*Various supplies from my non-CTMH stash

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, design with {heart}!

Welcome Autumn Pocket Letter

I absolutely love making pocket letters.  So when Jody over at SpiegelMom Scraps hosted another pocket letter swap, I jumped right in!  The swap's theme was Fall.

If you are new to pocket letters, they are penpal letters in pocket format. Basically, you fill all the pockets of a 9 Pocket Page Protector (or similar) and send the whole page to someone who wants to swap or to your existing penpal(s). You fill the pockets with the components of a typical pen pal letter.  

One of the most fun parts of a pocket letter is gifting / receiving crafty goodies for future use.  For this letter, I created my own ephemera by punching various images from one of the sheets in the DCWV Autumn Splendor stack.

front of my pocket letter

back of pocket letter

(because I couldn't leave it unfinished!)

 shipping tag from upper-right pocket

Supplies used:

*Hello, Life! - Scrapbooking stamp set
*Blessings of Autumn stamp set (Hostess Rewards exclusive)
*Michigan stamp set
*Holiday Tags stamp set (for the word "from")
*Chocolate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Fern Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Goldrush Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Cranberry Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Honey Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Woodgrain washi tape (retired)
*Mini Stapler

*DCWV Autumn Splendor stack

*Gold & cream baker's twine
*Gold loose sequins
*various circle & other shape punches
*Shipping tag from SpiegelMom Scraps
*Mini glassine bag from SpiegelMom Scraps

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, remember to design it with {heart}!

Zoe Final Project Count

One question I am often asked is "How many projects do you typically get from a paper packet or Workshop on the Go?".  So I've decided that from now on, as part of my "Kill-a-Kit" process, I will do a summary post featuring all the projects I've made with a given "kit" and share the final total(s) with you.

So without any further adieu, here we go... Drumroll, please... The grand total # of projects I was able to make with using the Zoe paper packet along with the coordinating embellishments and assorted cardstock / card bases from my stash is...

5 double-page and 2 single-page layouts

9 cards

1 pocket letter and 1 tag

For full details on any of the projects pictured, please select Zoe from the Labels section on my blog.  You will be directed to all posts featuring Zoe.

To order Zoe or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, remember to design it with {heart}!

National Stamping Month (Hello Life) Blog Hop

Welcome to the Close to My Heart National Stamping Month (Hello, Life!) Blog Hop!

If you came from visiting Kathy Burrows, then you are in the right place.  If you just happened upon my little corner of the blog world, simply start here and continue hopping until you return here -- our fun hop is one big loop for your viewing pleasure.

For full details on the Hello, Life! campaign, please reference my September 1st blog post.

The hop's featured stamp sets are 

  

For today's project, I created my first ever pocket letter for a swap hosted by Jody over at SpiegelMom Scraps.  I used the new Zoe paper packet, the fabulous Artistry Cricut collection, and of course, the super fun Hello, Life! stamp sets.  These sets are simply wonderful.  They are trendy, versatile, and coordinated perfectly.  While each set is geared toward a particular group of papercrafters, when combined, all three come together for a rockstar stamp collection.

I also used Michigan stamp set from the newly released States and Provinces collection. These mini stamp sets come with the state/province stamp as well as name and abbreviations stamps.  How fun are these??  For a full list of available stamps in this collection, please click here.

Now for the pictures...

A close-up of the shipping tag which slides out of the left-center pocket

Supplies used:

*Artistry Cricut collection
*Zoe paper packet
*Zoe complements
*Hello, Life! - Cardmaking stamp set
*Hello, Life! - Scrapbooking stamp set
*Little Things stamp set (Hostess Rewards exclusive)
*Michigan stamp set
*Holiday Tags stamp set (for the word "from")
*Opportunity stamp set (Consultant exclusive)
*Slate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Glacier Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Sorbet Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Sweet Leaf Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Silver sequins assortment

*Whisper extra thick baker's twine

*Bitty Sparkles

*Boardwalk washi tape (retired)
*Diamond embossing folder

*Ranger White Super Fine Embossing Powder
*Craft heater
*Watercolor paints
*Paintbrush set

*Shipping tag from SpiegelMom Scraps
*Mini glassine bag from SpiegelMom Scraps

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Thank you for visiting me at JD Designs and for hopping with us on the Close to My Heart National Stamping Month (Hello, Life!) Blog Hop!  Next up on the hop is Wendy Coffman. I hope you'll hop on over to her blog for more inspiration.

Until next time, remember to design it with {heart}!