Category: summer

What the heck is a pocket letter?

by Tanya

When I first heard the term “pocket letter,” I thought it might be something simple like a letter in a pocket. 

Or could it be . . . a letter ON a pocket?

I’m not seeing the craft possibilities yet. Oh, I know! It’s a letter that USED to be a pocket! I feel so smart.

Wait. What? That’s not it either? So what in the heck is this newfangled fun craft thing that so many scrapbookers are crazy about—and that has the unofficial endorsement of the United States Postal Service?*

My friend Jennifer sent me a link to a Pinterest folder: Pocket Letters. She suggested we try to make some and send them to each other. I was in Ohio and she was in Florida, so it was kind of a nice way to do a craft together—but apart—you get it.

So we did. And we agreed to photograph our PLs (we quickly created an abbreviation to keep from having to write or type the words over and over again) and to post them on Pinterest for others to share and adore. That was almost a year ago! We have had a blast. Let me show you some and give you some ideas for how to start your own #PLPenPalProject.

A Few of Our PLs

This one has a friendship theme. I made it very personal for Jennifer, the recipient. The middle row, far right pocket has samples of some washi tape I wanted to share with her. I wrapped 3-ft lengths around a piece of mylar I cut from some packaging. Good use for that mylar stuff instead of throwing it in the trash!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer sent me this one with a birds-of-a-feather theme. She included stickers for me to use (middle row, left) and some adorable feathers!

As you can see, coming up with a theme is half of the idea. Then you can have fun finding all kinds of things to add. Some themes we’ve used or seen others use include:

  • back to school
  • our home state (Ohio/Buckeyes for me!)
  • by the seashore
  • quotes about pennies, with a penny in each pocket
  • owls (whoooo doesn’t love owls???)
  • kitties (see above, but kitties)
  • fall/autumn
  • Christmas
  • patriotism–4th of July
  • summer fun
  • coffee and tea
  • sweet stuff (cupcakes, candy, etc.)
  • I could go on all day, but you get the idea. Check out the Pinterest link for tons of ideas!

Now that you can tell what PLs are, I’ll walk you through making one of your own in our next post.

P.S. Go get some baseball card protector sleeves:

 

*I made that up. But I’m sure they appreciate the increase in actual snail mail that’s hitting their inboxes—I mean, mailboxes—lately. Maybe they don’t like the lumpiness or the fancy, schmancy hand lettering on the envelopes. Hey, for 50¢ (so far, but who knows what with tariffs and such—just kidding!!!), it’s a heck of a deal to send these things. Maybe they’ll even get where they’re supposed to go–and in one piece!


 

Crafting for Christmas … in July

by Tanya

If you’ve been in a craft store lately, you know that Christmas isn’t really that far away. Never mind that it’s 95 degrees outside and most of the country is dry as a bowl of Cheerios sans milk. (Really, now do toddlers eat those things dry?!) This year has been warmer and dryer than any year in recent memory, so it’s begun to feel like the title of one of those drippy teen romance novels:The Summer of Forever, or whatever. And then I saw the aisles at Hobby Lobby and JoAnn’s and Michael’s. Aisles that twinkled with red, green, and gold glitter. Santas and snowmen greeted me with crinkly eyes and fat-cheeked smiles. They reminded me that even this summer will come to an end.

My first reaction is horror. How can they even think about Christmas this early? Then I start to think about it. And realize, like the merchandisers of craft stores, that I should really get started on projects that I intend to make as Christmas gifts this year.

Granted, those kinds of gifts are fewer than they used to be. When I had small children (all boys, by the way), I made beautiful, heirloom-worthy things. My oldest son’s hand-stitched crewel embroidery stocking was a masterpiece. Unfortunately, it now resides with my ex-husband who may or may not treasure it as I would. Some part of me wants to go all ninja-like and sneak in to steal this one-of-a-kind work of art. Honestly, I learned stitches on that thing that I had never done before nor have done since. I *will* post a photo of it on here someday. Just don’t ask how I got it.

Nowadays I satisfy my crafting urges by making smaller things: dishcloths, dishcloths, earrings, dishcloths, bracelets, hot pads that can double as dishcloths. I go for quantity over quality now. That Christmas stocking took me more than 80 hours to finish, I’m sure. Now I can whip up a dishcloth in about 15 minutes. It’s a good one, too, don’t get me wrong. Just look:

Ask yourself honestly, would you give away something that took you much longer than 15 minutes to make if you knew it was going to be submerged in dishwater for wiping peanut butter or pasta sauce off a stack of plates? I rest my case. (The one on the right here is especially good for cleaning up grape jam, by the way.)

How many have I made for Christmas 2012 so far? At last count, about 25.

Anybody want a dishcloth?