Tabitha

It’s a Circus! Pocket Letter

Published on November 7, 2015November 5, 2015 by TabithaLeave a comment

Happy Saturday Crafty Pickle Pals!

I am here to share my latest Pocket Letter created with goodies from TCP!

I fell in love with the Circus flair set when I saw it in the shop so I let it inspire this letter. When I don’t have paper or stamps to fit the themes I want to create with, I utilize Pinterest and Google image searches to find unique pictures and clip art to use in my letters. I create my own collage sheet of sorts by copying and pasting the images into Microsoft Word documents and resizing them to fit my needs. For this letter, and many that I do, I enjoy juxtaposing vintage imagery with more current clip art for a unique look. I created this letter using the clip art I found and fussy cut, as well as the Circus flair, sticky pickle spots, and the Disney Relish Sequin Mix from the shop (I picked out the Mickey head sequins so I was left with the fun black spotted ones and the red and yellow to match my color scheme in my shaker pocket). Check out some detail shots below and don’t forget to click on the photos to see them larger!

I can’t wait till the shop reopens so I can add some more fun goodies to my stash! I haven’t been to a circus since I was small–but this theme was so fun to work with and I never know what will inspire me next from The Crafty Pickle. I hope I inspired you too!

Happy crafting!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Addict’s Coffee Flair Pocket Letter

Published on October 16, 2015October 14, 2015 by TabithaLeave a comment

Happy Friday Pickle Pals!

I am super psyched to share one of my most recent Pocket Letters with you today!

I will be the first to admit that Pumpkin Spice lattes are actually NOT my cup of tea (or coffee), if you will. However, I DO adore me some caramel frappoccino’s whenever I get close enough to our local Target with a Starbucks inside. It’s good for my hips and my wallet that it’s not convenient to go to on a daily basis!Ha!! Ha!!!

The basis for my pocket letter was centered around some clipart that I found through Pinterest and Google–the memes, e-greetings, and pretty doodled coffees paired so well with a DCWV Fall paper stack, some old Target dollar spot felt leaves and pumpkins, some new Target dollar spot gold leaf stickers, and last but not least–my awesome coffee flair pieces, twine, and sequin relish mix from The Crafty Pickle shop! Check out some of my detail shots below–click them to see them larger.

I hope you get to enjoy your own cup of coffee today and the beauty of fall before winter sneaks in! We have flurries on the forecast here in the northeast this weekend. It’s too early for me to even think about saying that FOUR letter word–haha. Keep checking back because our shop should be reopening soon!

~Tabitha

Minions Movie Night Pocket Letter

Published on October 9, 2015September 29, 2015 by TabithaLeave a comment

Hi Pickle Gals! I am so excited to share with you another one of my Pocket Letter creations using some fun goodies from The Crafty Pickle Etsy Shop (temporarily closed during their relocation). Who doesn’t love Minions and a good movie night?! I printed some fun clipart that I found searching Pinterest and Google and cut that out and layered it onto some MME and Basic Grey paper. The Movie Night Flair assortment adds some fun details and pop of dimension–and some cool shaker elements! They were actually what inspired my whole letter–then I used the Movie Night Sequin Relish mix, and the pineapple relish mix with a few google eyes to make some fun shaker pockets with my WRMK Fuse tool (which I LOVE!). Check out some detail shots below and don’t forget to check back often for an announcement of the shop’s reopening and more fun ideas!

Have a crafty weekend Friends!

Organizing Tip: Cling Stamps & 6×6 Paper Pads!

Published on September 15, 2015September 14, 2015 by TabithaLeave a comment

Good Morning! Today I’d like to share with you one of my favorite organizational products ever! And it just happens to be the My Acrylix Organizers from Close to My Heart!

As a former consultant for 5 years (and my best customer), and having been a loyal customer ever since, I have amassed quite the My Acrylix stamp collection! I absolutely LOVE the quality and versatility of the clear cling stamps–and with the CTMH My Acrylix organizers the stamps are so easy to store and access quickly when I want to sit down and craft. The containers are stackable, have a hinge-top lid with a handle (so you can pack up your favorite sets easily for crops!), and they retail for only $14.95 each. I have added to my container storage as I have added to my stamp collection and it has been well worth the investment to have a cohesive place to keep all my stamps neatly (especially since my craft room is also our family dining room).

Each container stores 15 CTMH stamp sets right in their envelopes!

And if you have collected other brands of cling stamps, you can make them fit to flip through them and store them in the containers as well. I ordered Avery Elle clear stamp envelopes to store my sets where the plastic packaging had ripped and they fit right in!

I have also recently discovered that my hoard of 6×6 paper pads will also fit inside of these handy storage boxes–which opens a whole new world of organizational possibilities! Think about putting together little “kits” with these boxes to make pulling one down and crafting quick and easy without having to dig through your whole stash! For example, you can put your Fall 6×6 pads, stamp sets, and a few embellishments all in one organizer! (Each organizer comes with 2 removable dividers that create 3 sections inside.)

I hope that you learned of a useful product on the market today that will help you get organized and therefore make it easier to access and use more of your stash! I really couldn’t live without these and it’s a system that really works for me!

Happy Crafting!

~Tabitha

It’s Almost Time for Pumpkin Spice!

Published on September 1, 2015September 2, 2015 by Tabitha4 Comments

I am sad to see summer come to a close in New York as fall makes its way in, but nevertheless it’s coming…my parents are visiting from North Carolina and we even made a trip to the apple orchard for cider donuts already, and I had to buy fleece pajamas for my 17 month old because our evenings and mornings are getting chilly. Chilly weather is perfect for warm beverages–especially a hot cup of coffee! So of course to celebrate Pumpkin Spice season and to play with my new Fuse tool and my new “Treats of Friendship” stamps from Close To My Heart, I had to make a coffee Project Life shaker card! Here is a link to the shop to order the stamps HERE

I stamped the coffee cup on 3 different patterned papers and cut out the pieces to layer them together for a fun fall to-go cup. Then I stamped the sentiment “I like you a latte” on my background paper. I inked just the first part of the sentiment and stamped it, and then inked and stamped the word “latte” into the heart. Clear stamps are the best for tricks like that! I created my shaker pocket with my fuse tool and used coppery orange leaf confetti and real coffee grounds inside! Yum!

Intro To Pocket Letters GIVEAWAY Featuring EXCLUSIVE TCP Pocket Flair & Goodies!

Published on August 22, 2015August 21, 2015 by Tabitha7 Comments

Hi Crafty Pickle Pals! This is my very first post as a new DT member for TCP and I’m super psyched to (maybe) share with you something NEW! Have you heard of pocket letters?! It’s a super fun, fairly “new” snail mail craze coined by creator of the concept Janette Lane. Check out her blog to learn all you need to know about how to get started making and mailing your pocket letters too! For now, I will give you a brief overview of what’s inside, and how TCP can help you stock up on all the goodies you need to WOW your Pocket Letter recipients! Comment on this post for a chance to receive this letter and goodies from myself, and Taniesa at TCP shop. AND If you are visiting me from the Pocket Letter Pals Facebook group you can comment on this post for an additional chance to win this awesome GIVEAWAY!

Note: You an click on the images to see them larger, and notice some of the fun little details included in my Pocket Letter! For example, in the bottom left corner I created a fun shaker pocket using some sequins, little envelopes cut from patterned paper, and a piece of frog Happy Mail flair!!

Using a standard 9-Pocket trading card/baseball card protector, hundreds, if not thousands of people are creating their own works of art to mail to people all over the world. This movement in founded on the principles of friendship and fun, and is meant as a way to establish a connection with a pen pal. One of the 9 pockets should contain a letter from you to your pal and you can create on-going trades with one (or many) friends, or do “one-time” swaps with multiple pals to simply collect artwork from across the globe. The letters are often conveniently stored in handsomely decorated 3-ring binders to flip through on days when you need a smile or some of your own crafty inspiration. Other recipients take a part bits and pieces of the letters to use goodies from the pockets and pieces of the art in their own projects, perhaps to make Project Life filler cards, greeting cards, scrapbook accents etc. How you use the art and how you store it is unique to you! The lovely part about pocket letters is there is no right or wrong, and people cherish that you give apart of yourself and your time and your thoughtfulness in creating just for them!

That being said, I will be the first to admit that part of the fun of Pocket Letters is that alongside the artwork, usually people share little bits and pieces and trinkets, and treats on the backside of the pockets (or sometimes in front if they are part of their design element). Some of the most popular “goodies” that people include for their letter recipients are tea bags in fun flavors, washi samples, stickers, sequins, twine, fun sticky notes and page flags, decorative paper clips, flair, diecuts, stamped images, punched shapes and tags, small flat candy and gum etc.

This giveway includes all the fun goodies you need to get started in treating a pal of your own–special Flair from the shop that labels each pocket’s contents, sequin “pickle relish”, fun flair paper clips, washi samples, page flags, and new Sticky Pickle Spot stickers in a fun rainbow of colors and shapes. I’ve also included some fun stamped images and extra punched shapes!

I hope you will join in the fun and friendship of Pocket Letters and enjoy checking out the shop for cute ways to customize your letters for your pals too! Please comment with your email address on this post for your chance to win the GIVEAWAY by 8/23/15 9 p.m. EST. I will randomly choose a winner to send my letter and goodies to. And be sure to check back in the coming weeks and months for more of my pocket letters designed with TCP Flair and other fun products!

HAPPY Snail MAILING!

TheCraftyPickle is taking a short break.

Hi Crafty Friends.

Due to the huge amount of orders we have received we are closing the shop temporarily. We will be opening back up soon. Make sure you hit the notification button to receive an email when we are back open!

Thank you!
Taniesa