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!

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

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

 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.

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!

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:

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!

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.