My Pocket Letter Swap for Christmas

Have you ever made a pocket letter?  Maybe you've seen them online recently -- it's a creation made from ATC-sized cards that fit into a nine-pocket card holder page.  I made my first ever one for a swap hosted by JoAnne via her group on Flickr.  Since my partner, Sandi, has received it, I couldn't wait to show you; bear in mind, they are notoriously difficult to photograph!

I used a pale red page imprinted with Christmas sheet music and delicate stamped florals.  I decorated with mostly silver and white vintage elements.

Each of the tiny white and silver tags has a Dynamo-stamped cursive letter, spelling out Joyeaux Noel.  Above, the  top row of pockets; I added a silver doily, a sparkly sequined flower over a sweet image of a little girl cutting paper.  I included a vintage beaded flower spray.

The tags on the second row spell Noel; in the center pocket, a sweet image of two children carrying home a Christmas tree and some boughs on a snowy landscape.  I accented it with a sparkly paper deer pick, snowflakes, a silver star, and a blanket of mica snow at the bottom.

I gave the deer a silver ball collar.

The bottom row is fronted by a little girl in a silvery coat holding a branch of sparkly red flowers; it has a lace trimmed bottom, a real vintage bottle brush tree with tiny glass ornaments, and a spray made from a vintage silver leaf and a green holly floral pick.  I adhered the tree to the front of the page with Christmas-themed washi tape.

What a fun project!  It was time-consuming and took quite a bit of planning.  In addition to choosing, and committing to a color scheme, I needed to make a couple of sketches of the layout before I was satisfied.  When it was all finished, I folded the page into thirds, wrapped it, and shipped it to Sandi along with a card and a few Christmas ephemera gifts and an antique postcard.

I think it turned out very pretty and I hope Sandi truly loved it!  What do you think of this genre of paper crafting?