Pocket Letters with Laurie Finch

Welcome to our guest blogger, Laurie Finch, who is sharing her love of Pocket Letters!

Today I wanted to tell you about my newest obsession – Pocket Letters! And specifically, mixed media pocket letters. Have you seen these? Little trading card sized pockets of creative fun, sent around the world through a network of like-minded artists. You craft cards to fit in the nine pockets of a trading card protector sheet, slip some extra crafting goodies and a nice, chatty letter in the back and it folds neatly in 3 and fits in a standard business size envelope for mailing. I love this idea! It’s like combining all the best parts of penpals, papercrafting, RAK (random acts of kindness) and art work in one!

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So let’s get started! I taped an 8 x 11” piece of heavyweight watercolour paper to my work surface so that the wet mediums don’t make the paper warp. I knew I wanted a fresh pretty palette and floral images to go with my Spring theme so I inked up a couple of open floral stamps with Versamark ink and stamped randomly on my page. Then I heat embossed with white embossing powder

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You can hardly see it now but it’s there! The images will pop as it resists the colour mediums that come later.

@cdnscrapbooker #scrapbooking #pocket #letters #pocketletter #mixedmedia

@cdnscrapbooker #scrapbooking #pocket #letters #pocketletter #mixedmedia

 Using homemade stencils and doilies I sprayed the entire surface with Distress Ink spray stains in Cracked Pistachio, Abandoned Coral and Fossilized Amber. Just look at that luscious colour! I also started layering with stamping using the same colours in the Distress Ink pads and then strips of washi tape, and patterned paper.

@cdnscrapbooker #scrapbooking #pocket #letters #pocketletter #mixedmedia

@cdnscrapbooker #scrapbooking #pocket #letters #pocketletter #mixedmedia

Next step is to trim the 8 x 11 page into 9 cards measuring 2.5 x 3.5” each and then it’s on to the embellishing! This is a super fun step where you can let your imagination run wild! I used one of the doilies that I had used as a mask to create a fun fold out embellishment. I folded it in quarters and adhered one quarter to my card. Mini alphas on the outside let the letter recipient know they can fold out the doily for a little message from me! Stickers, transparent overlays, diecuts and sequins were also added to convey the feeling of a warm spring day!

@cdnscrapbooker #scrapbooking #pocket #letters #pocketletter #mixedmedia

Supply List: Canson 140lb watercolour paper, Versamark ink, Stampendous embossing powder in Detail White, Distress Ink spray stains and inks in Cracked Pistachio, Abandoned Coral and Fossilized Amber, Verve stamp “Beautiful You”, Scotch brand washi tape, Glitz paper layers and transparencies, Tim Holtz vellum diecuts, assorted stamps and ephemera

And here is the finished pocket letter in its page protector! I always turn one of the cards into a magnet by laminating it and adhering magnet strips to the back so that my pal has a little piece of portable art to stick on their fridge or filing cabinet. In this case it’s the top, middle card with the quote “No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn” by Hal Borland. Fitting, I thought, for this Welcome Spring pocket letter! I’ll fold this letter in 3, secure it with a doily and some twine and pop it in a decorated envelope for mailing, hoping it will brighten my pal’s day when it arrives!

Here are some more examples of my mixed media pocket letters:

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Supply list: Canson 140lb watercolour paper, Mister Huey spray “Amarillo Taxi”, Dylusions spray “Vibrant Turquoise” and “Fresh Lime”, Verve stamp “Words of Wisdom”, Unity stamp “Written in the Clouds”, CraftMedley sequins, assorted washi tape and ephemera.

@cdnscrapbooker #scrapbooking #pocket #letters #pocketletter #mixedmedia

Supply list: Distress paint “Salty Ocean”, Distress spray stain “Abandoned Coral” and “Cracked Pistachio”, Tattered Angels glimmermist “Sunflower”, Unity stamp “The Time is Now”, Glitz stamp “Afternoon Muse”, Dylusion stamp “Basic Background”, Stazon ink in Black, assorted ephemera and washi tape

 

@cdnscrapbooker #scrapbooking #pocket #letters #pocketletter #mixedmedia

Supply list: gesso, Tim Holtz layering Stencil “Doily”, Distress ink “Broken China” “Chipped Sapphire” and “Peacock Feathers”, Unity butterfly stamp, Mama Elephant stamp “Trifecta”, Studio G “Ampersand” stamp, black Stazon ink and my original art

Doesn’t this seem like fun? The next time you get an urge to get inky, try creating a mixed media pocket letter and then head over to the Pocket Letter Pals facebook page or website to sign up for a swap!

If you would like to see more of my work, please visit me at www.lifeandlafter.wordpress.com, I’d be happy to see you there!

What a wonderful, artsy idea!  Thank you so much Laurie for sharing your projects with our readers!  We love them!

laurie finch july 2015

Hi, I’m Laurie Finch, a crafter from Nova Scotia with a keen interest in all sorts of creative venues like scrapbooking, mixed media art, watercolour painting and cardmaking! My love affair with art began before I started kindergarten, with my first set of 64 Crayola crayons – oh the colours!! As a Canadian crafter, I love flipping through the latest issue of Canadian Scrapbooking magazine, gathering inspiration and local product knowledge.

My two daughters are grown up and on their own now, so I have lots of time to create and I have been busy providing them with art for their new apartments! At home, I still have my mother, 2 dogs and a cat to keep me company while I work in my little craft area.



6 responses to “Pocket Letters with Laurie Finch”

  1. Kim Gowdy says:

    SUH-WEET!!!! blog post Laurie! Thanks for new creative ideas!

  2. Fabulous idea Laurie. I will be giving this a try

  3. Laurie Finch says:

    Thanks ladies! You will love this new trend – it’s addictive!

  4. Wonderful post! Your PL’s are amazing! I love how you started with a mixed media piece and love the magnet idea!

  5. robin mowat says:

    This is a fun idea – thanks for sharing. I love it!

  6. Cathy Childs Morrison says:

    Fantabulous work! Love the results of your resist techniques. You are so talented!

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