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Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pocket Letters!
One week to sign up...about a month to send!
Since we're through the mid-point of summer and here in the US, Labor Day will be fast approaching (our "unofficial end to summer"), what better way to say good-bye to summer than with a nautical pocket letter? This year, Labor Day here falls on 5 September. The send-by date is on 2 September, so you'll have about a month to work on this swap.
What are pocket letters you ask?
Click here to learn all about them! If you click the link, the creator of the pocket letter (at least, she claims to be and who am I to argue) will tell you all about it. If you're too lazy to click the link, Pocket Letter Pals tells us that, "Pocket Letters 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)."
Pocket letters are a fun and inexpensive way to send a letter and goodies to a new (or existing) pal! Usually, they're tied together in some sort of cohesive theme. In this case, our theme is going to be...NAUTICAL.
So here's what you'll need to get and do for this swap:
Supplies
1, 9-pocket page protector, the kind you usually see sports trading cards in. You can order on line or check out your local sports memorabilia or comic shops. Stationery (to write your letter on) Tuck ins! (Described below)
Swap Requirements
Create a decorative insert (this will be the "front" of the letter) for each pocket, using the nautical theme. This is a great, quick video tutorial for different ways to create the decorative portion of your letter. You can choose to go cutesy, vintage, seaside cottagey/whimsical...however you want to execute this theme. Theme elements can include:
- Ships
- Nautical compasses/navigation tools/maps
- Anchors
- Lighthouses
- Seashells/sea stars (aka starfish)/sand dollars
- Sea birds
- Mermaids (infamous to sailors...)
- Sailors
- Whales
- The Nautical Star
- The Kraken! Or, you know, octopuses...
Once you have gotten your pocket letter set up, you will tuck in the following - from left to right:
P1 - An intro letter, introducing yourself to your partner. Must be a minimum of 2 sheets, front and back, of letterset sized stationery (or 1 sheet 8x11 or A4 paper, front and back). Let them know if you're interested in recurring swaps too! Receiving partners, if your partner indicates that they'd like to do recurring PL swaps with you, please do them the courtesy of responding via PM if you would as well, or would prefer not to. P2 - Tuck in some ATC sized scrapbook paper or images that can be used in future PLs or on ATCs relating to the theme. They can be overtly nautical themed or colour coordinated to go with a nautical theme. You can include nautical images, mermaids, whales...anything listed above. Include at least 5 tuck ins here. P3 - Tuck in some stickers (no sticker flakes unless they number 25 or more) or rub-ons. There should be a minimum of 5 stickers as well. Stickers should be approximately the size of your thumbnail. They can be 3-D, epoxy, etc. P4 - Include a mail tag for your partner to (hopefully) respond to. If you don't know what this is, click the link to learn more about mail tags! P5 - Tuck in some embellishments such as brads, ribbon, mini shells, epoxy/resin embellishments, or charms (anchors, fish, ships, etc.). The sky is the limit however, please check your partner's profile to make sure you don't send something they really don't want...like, seashell shaped glitter or something. Minimum of 5 embellishments here. NOTE: If including sequins/glitter/confetti, 1 small baggie, that is sealed, counts as ONE embellishment out of the 5. P6 - Be creative! Whatever you'd like to include in this pocket is fine provided it is not, specifically, on your partner's dislikes list. But be generous please! P7 - Tuck in some fancy/fun/whimsical paper clips! NOTE: These do NOT have to be explicitly nautical themed. They can be cute, whimsical, creative, decorative...(minimum 3). P8 - Washi samples, minimum 4. Samples must be at least 12" in length, and affixed to a glossy medium such as a playing card. Do not put your samples on regular card stock. And remember kids, deco tape is NOT washi tape! P9 - Flat, profile surprise. This can be more embellishments, paper, ephemera, etc. in a theme your partner expressly likes to receive. It can be a tea bag (new, in factory sealed packet - NO loose tea or loose tea bags please!) or other drink packet if your partner digs tea or expresses a wish for drink packets. It can be a pair of earrings or small trinket if your partner likes jewelry. Maybe they're really into fabric crafts and you have the perfect 6 x 6 square you can fold and tuck in there for them. You get the picture.
Finally, decorate the side of the letter where the holes are punched on the sheet. You can make a cute tassel to tie in to the holes or use washi tape to pretty it up instead. Or both! Or anything else you come up with to make it visually appealing.
Once you've done that, mail your letter in a standard sized business envelope (these fold perfectly for that).
The Overview and Administrivia
To recap
1 pocket letter, nautical themed, to one partner. Follow the pocket requirements outlined above for contents in each pocket. Send on time. Rate your partner when you have received your pocket letter. You may not rate down because you didn't like the execution of the letter (ultimately, whether whimsical, cottagey, or vintage, how they execute the theme is entirely up to them). You may only rate down if one or more specific requirements were not met. IOTW - rate fairly! Obviously, this is open to newbies with a well filled out profile (I check!).
If you have any questions, please leave a comment or PM me!
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