Old Bird ATC Pocket Letter

It's the first Friday of September (already!) which means it's my turn to share a tutorial using magnifique products from Gina's. Woo hoo! This month I thought we'd do some nitty gritty paper crafting and create a sort of pocket letter.

I've been seeing these pop up all over my timeline and wanted to give it a try.

What is a pocket letter, you ask? Janette Lane, the creator of Pocket Letters™, explains on her site:


"Basically, you fill all the pockets of a 9 Pocket Trading Card Protector and send the whole page to someone who wants to swap with you... You fill the pockets with anything you like (stickers, tea bags, a note, washi tape samples, pictures, etc.) A short note or letter is included and tucked into one of the pockets. Then the Pocket Letter is folded up and sent in a standard 10 size envelope."**

I am a huge fan of ATC's (Artist Trading Card: miniature works of art measuring 2.5" x 3.5") so I've created a cohesive set of birdy themed cards to fill those little pockets with. You can source your own public domain images, or purchase a collage sheet with all of those vintage birds and sentiments available HERE.

When creating your own piece, consider other little bits and pieces to tuck into those sleeves. Stamps, ephemera, feathers... little bits that match the theme or look of your cards.

Also consider the sleeves themselves. I've added clear stickers to the exterior.

Of course you could just create these pretty ATC's and trade/give them separately. There's nothing wrong with spreading the crafty love around.

If you're not keen on making these little bits of art, you may want to check out the tutorial anyway as it includes creating the textured background seen below.

But enough blabble! HERE is the video tutorial. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give me a shout. I'm happy to lend a hand or answer any questions you have. Seriously. Don't be shy ;)

THE SUPPLY LIST

From Gina's:

Cardstock Doily Set 1

Cardstock Doily Set Intricates

Steampunk Fan

Ornamental Birdcages Shape Set

Pen & Ink Shape Set

Faux Metal Number Plates

Herringbone Small

Other things you'll need:

For the Birds Collage Sheet or your own vintage bird images

Cardstock

Paper (I used pages from an old book)

Decorative scrapbook paper

glue

White acrylic paint

Watercolour paint

Stamp pad

Clear stickers

Foam spacers

Ultra fine glitter

Tim Holtz Long Mini Brads 
Jute twine

Washi tape

Buttons, stamps and other small embellishments and trinkets

ATC Pocket Pages

**For more information on Pocket Letters you can visit Janette Lane's YouTube Channel or join the Pocket Letter Pals Network

Steampunk Marie Antoinette by GDT Amador

This steampunk Marie Antoinette monochromatic cage was created by guest designer Amador!

Here is a great view of the back of her showing many of Gina's Designs products.

Gina's Designs Products Used

Steampunk Cage - Dressform

Steampunk Hearts

Steampunk Fan

Feathers Shape Set

Layered Flourish Chloe Small

Paris Shadowbox - the Fleur-de-lis

Clock Hands Shape Set

Art Doll - Small

An Altered Spool in a Steampunk theme by Kathi

Hi there, it's Kathi here sharing another of our cross promotional projects with CraftSupplies1.  I created my spool using many of the available steampunk shapes from Gina's store.  I covered the spool with Graphic45 Steampunk design paper.  I really love this paper, and I stayed with the color scheme of black, teal, and ivory.  For the base of the clock, I re purposed the face of a large broken clock, and also used the hands of the clock on the side of the spool.

Products used:

Gina’s Designs:

Spool Large

Steampunk Hearts

Steampunk Lightbulb Set

Hot Air Balloons Net Style

Steampunk Lady

Steampunk Gentleman

Steampunk Fan

Parisian Shape Set

Steampunk Borders

Gears Shape Set

Dressform & Wings Shape Set (Wings only custom sized)

Steampunk Shape Set

Card Stock Doilies Set Steampunk

Crafts Supplies 1:

Crafts Supplies 1- black crochet lace

Crafts Supplies 1 – multi colored flat bling trim