Tuesday, 10 March 2015

Pocket Letters & Pen Palling!

Pen palling is still quite a new thing for me. I used to pen pal with a friend that I met on holiday when away with my parents, I was in late junior school I think so that was in the late 1980s but that fizzled out as we got older. I think it was last year (time seems to go by so quickly but that is another story to be told another day) that I started pen palling again as a couple of people asked me if I would like to. Pen palling seems to have changed quite a bit and I am still getting my head around what is involved and new expectations. That being said all of my pen pals are different. Some write really lenghty letters and just like to write, no swaps, just the written word. Others are smaller more frequent letters with swaps. I like them all for different reasons.


One day a lovely lady called Jocy messaged me and asked if I would like to do a pocket letter swap with her. I had never heard of this before so she gave me some links to look at and after I had done my research and found out all about it I said yes. I like to find out what I am getting myself into lol!


You know as soon as I knew what they were I seemed to see photos and videos of pocket letters popping up all over the place. This new way of pen palling is spreading and people are flocking to it. I am not sure if it is just because it is the latest craze and everyone wants to get on the band wagon or if people have finally found an easy way and creative way to exchange letters and swaps with people. I don't know and I am not here to question or judge for as far as I am concerned I think it is great that people are snail mailing, being creative, meeting new people and having fun! It all sounds good to me!


So I thought I would share with you one of the pocket letters that I received (from Jocy who I mentioned above) and also some of the pocket letters that I have prepared for some of my existing pen pals as a little surprise for them. I haven't shown them all as not everyone has theirs yet and I don't want to ruin the surprise!



This is the letter that Jocy kindly sent me. She knows me so well, just look at that bunny and that cloud he he! I love it thanks Jocy! I also really like the stamp she used on the letter which says 'vintage email' I think that is great, made me chuckle it did! It was really fun exploring all of the little pockets and finidng out what was behind each thing. It is nice to have to rummage for things so that they are not all obvious right from the moment that you open your letter and I love that.


 So onto the ones that I sent out then, here are just a few of them. I won't tell you what treats they found inside just in case they haven't yet arrived with them!






I am really happy with the way that they turned out and I really enjoyed putting them together. I don't want this to sound mean but...it is actually a really good way of clearing out some scraps. I don't know about you but I have a whole draw full of off cuts of scrapbooking paper and as the pockets are only 2.5 x 3.5 inches you really don't need to use much. I have finally found a use for some of that beautiful paper so it won't go to waste! The pockets are smaller than project life so bear that in mind. I have used some PL cards and cut them down to size. The pockets are standard baseball card collection pockets and easily found on ebay.


Looking for a pen pal or want to do a Pocket Letter Swap?

I thought we could also use this post by way of finding swap partners for a one time swap or a regular pen pal. I often get asked how to find pen pals so I thought this would be a good way. If you are interested in finding someone to swap with, please leave some details about yourself and what you are looking for in the comments section. Probably best to say whether you are looking for a one off or long term pen pal, whether you want international or what Countries etc. I will leave the rest up to you and then you can connect with people and share addresses privately. I am happy to swap with people on a one off swap. Please note that I don't have infinite time or money to swap with everyone so if I do say no please don't be offended, it is nothing against you it is just that this has gone up via various social media platforms and I may have said yes to others and can't take on any more at the moment. I would love to say yes to you all but it is just not possible for me to do so unfortunately.

Want to know more about Pocket letters?

So the creator of pocket letters is Janette Lane and you can find her all over the intermewebs here...

Pocket Letter Pals™ Network: www.pocketletterpals.com
Instagram: @janettelaneblog & @pocketletters
Email: janettelaneblog@gmail.com
Blog: http://janettelane.blogspot.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPX8vJ4i2S8L8cVA00riC7g



She has some great videos on her YouTube channel where you can find inspiration and tutorials so do go and check that out!

Another video well worth checking out is the one from Andrea below:



So what do you think about this new way of pen palling or indeed pen palling in general? I would love to know and also don't forget to comment below if you want to connect with anyone!

Much Love
Anna x
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11 comments:

  1. Leea10 March 2015 at 20:06

    Thanks for introducing me to this new inspiring concept! Pocket letters are new to me, but they seem cute and well, worth musing and maybe trying out. I used to be very active penpaller at some point. Then, life happened and quite some years passed without writing much, or even taking mail art and swapping further than some attempts every once in a while - even though I love getting mail and know very well that sending more would mean also receiving more. Lately I've been trying to re-establish some connections in snail mail again - without pressure to achieve any goals in letter length or regularity of writing. Just sending letters, because it's fun.

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  2. Unknown11 March 2015 at 19:16

    I would love to get involved in this cute little hobby! I just found this journaling community and have been totally drawn in and so excited to begin! I do not have any preference as to domestic or international pen pals, or type and frequency of lettering ! Just seen how things go ?! Hope to hear from some people! So cute and exciting :-) x

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    1. Anonymous4 June 2015 at 22:10

      Do you live in the U.S? I'm looking to do my first swap with someone but I can't send internationally yet.

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    2. Unknown24 March 2016 at 07:53

      I would love to pen pal with you. I have so much time on my hands because I am always in and out of the hospital due to a chronic illness. Message me if interested oh yea I live in Texas!

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  3. kellyr2628 September 2015 at 17:49

    I would love to pocket swap :) Willing to participate in one off and long term open to domestic and international - I am 56 yo female for one more month yay! Single and looking forward to being grandma of twin boys very soon now.... Huge stash of product lol so I am ready to go

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    1. Unknown24 March 2016 at 07:56

      I am so interested in swapping with you. I am a 28 year old female who has tons of time on her hands due to being disabled due to a chronic illness and have a huge love for scrap booking and planning and pocket letters. Message me to see if you would like to pen pal.

      Delete
  4. Unknown28 December 2015 at 23:01

    I am a 38 yo preschool teacher. I LOVE card making and paper crafting. I am new to it all. I would love to have a pocket letter pen pal to swap with. Im super excited about the whole idea.I think that this is a creative way to share something that's personal because you made it. I've been learning how to create my own embellishments too.

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    1. mary j18 January 2016 at 15:02

      would love to be a pen pal, I am 73 retired,have been scrapbooking and crafting for years, have taught classes on card making ,altered art, and scrapbooking,if you would like me to send out the first pocket letter, pm me at walker4335@att.net with you address, and something about your color likes and what you like.Hope to hear from you MJ

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    2. Unknown24 March 2016 at 07:56

      I am so interested in swapping with you. I am a 28 year old female who has tons of time on her hands due to being disabled due to a chronic illness and have a huge love for scrap booking and planning and pocket letters. Message me to see if you would like to pen pal.

      Delete
  5. Unknown24 March 2016 at 07:50

    I am new at looking for a pen pal to write to and do swaps with. I live in Texas but I spend most of my days in the hospital due to a chronic condition called gastroparesis. It limits my abilities to do much. So I would love to keep in touch with people all over. I do have so much time on my hand and I love crafting. I do planning scrap booking, and card making. So please contact me as soon as possible and I will exchange information with you. The more the better! I hope to hear from you soon!

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  6. Unknown24 March 2016 at 08:00

    I am a 28 year old female who has tons of time on her hands to do scrap booking planners and all kinds of crafts. I am disabled and am always in and out of the hospital due to a chronic illness called gastroparesis it limits my self from doing much physical activity but crafting is my passion. I would love to meet anyone from anywhere around the world doesn't just have to be in the US. Message me with your information and we can definitely start pen paling. Thank you and may God bless.

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