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:
