There are probably many people who feel, after writing a letter to their mother, or a friend, that they have written a novel. This is a sample of a "letter book" that is made of simple construction paper from the dollar store, which fits inside of an envelope, and can be mailed.
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The pages are stitched on the sewing machine. The rose is cut out of tissue wrapping paper, and glazed with a glitter glue, using a brush. The clip art is just made from things around the house.
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It fits inside a large card envelope. If you do one of these, remember to cut your pages about adequately smaller than the envelope, or it will not fit.
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I was enjoying a new magazine that came in the mail today and I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice if I could get a magazine that had only the things I liked, in it?" This is a way of sending someone a personal magazine, without the ads, and with only the things that are pretty and suit her. Pages 1 and 2 are like the letter from the editor in some magazines. The white rose with the sparkle on it came off a gift bag, and the clipping of flowers from a used calendar page.
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Page 2 was kept blank until the entire booklet was completed, so that it could be used as a table of contents. The clipping on page 3 is from the Victoria magazine subscription card that always comes in the mail or in the magazine. The picture is too pretty to throw away and also makes a great card when pasted on cardstock.
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Page four has a little pocket for a tea bag. Bigelow English Breakfast is now making pink tea wrappers in a pink box, available in local grocery stores.
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Page 6 and 7 has hand drawings and more construction paper is torn to look like parchment, for a handwritten verse, which is sprayed with a scent.
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Here is page 8 and 9. A small round doily is pasted down, and roses are cut from a seed catalog. Then, the doily is folded on each side, making it look like a lace holder. Just as I was finishing page 9, I spilled some water on the page, but after it dried, it looked okay. I guess I won't be drinking water while I work with paper.
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Page 10 is a clipping I tore out of the same garden catolog.
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Here is the back.
Below is a template for pages, if you want to try it, but please keep in mind that my drawings are not accurate. These are about an eighth of an inch smaller all around, than the envelopes..jpg)
26 comments:
Thank you. That was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. What an amazing gift!
I absolutely adore this idea! Thank you so much for sharing this. My daughter is leaving for college next week, and I can't wait to make one of these to send to her. She and I love to have tea and knit together. Just this morning while we were knitting, she told me how much she would miss me. Now I can send her a little piece of home (and her favorite tea tucked inside)!
How fun ~ to give and to receive!!!
This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Thank you all for your kind comments. We also made books like this for projects, when I was homeschooling my children. If we were researching a subject matter, such as nature, or history, we would put samples inside the book of cotton which we picked growing by the side of the road, and clippings from brochures about cotton, and the finished product, etc. or some other subject.
I noticed when I worked with construction paper from the dollar store, I felt freer with it because it was not expensive. It also was less in weight than regular writing paper, for some reason, yet it is sturdy and when torn, makes a nice, feathery edge.
Dear Lydia,
I absolutely LOVE this idea!!!!
I am enjoying these crafts so much!
I made one of the paper dolls as you know. I also made a cake card for my Mother & Father in-loves Anniversary.. like the one I recieved in the mail :):) and I printed of the last card templates with the tea cup etc and plan to make those cards soon. And...I am going to save this template and make one of these really soon...I am so excited about it!!
Candy :)
I love your creativty. I'll have to think of this when we do our projects.
We are doing Mysteries of History series w/a time line notebook and this would be a nice addion.
I have never seen anything so wonderful and beautiful! This is great! This is a such a wonderful counter to the quickie email notes that I have become accustomed to sending. I used to regularly correspond with about 4 people each week, sending each a little handwritten note. I hope to return to doing that again soon, and this will make a wonderful way to reinstate that practice! Thank you!
I will try to post a cake card template and a cottage template for the next craft article.
This is so neat! I am going to do something like this for my dear sister who lives in Hawaii.
I would enjoying seeing a picture of these booklets, if people would be so kind as to put them on their blogs when they make them. Certainly, they can be embellished much more than this. I was using up old scrap materials and trying not to buy anything. I was happy to see what all could be found just around the house, from the lart on a kleenex box to the print on a paper towel. This would be a great "snowed-in" activity for kids, that would also be very educational if done with a particular subject matter. It does not have to be a letter. It can be a project book.
I really love this!! Anyone would love to receive a letter like this one!! I have also been thinking about making mini scrapbooks for different events, like one for a Disneyland trip, one for a baby's baptism, etc, instead of having all my pictures in huge albums. I never thought of sewing the pages with my machine, and these little books would be really cute as little photo albums, too. I am already thinking how cute it would be to make a "Grandma's Photo Album" for my mom, with pictures and other pretty embellishments like you showed. Thanks for sharing this!! =)
How lovely!
I'll have to keep an eye out for the pink tea bags!☺
That is such a sweet idea! That's the kind of "letter" that moms and grandmothers would love to receive!
Dear Lady Lydia,
This is such a beautiful idea! I love all the thought and creativity that you put into things. This is just the thing for a sick friend I have been wondering how to cheer up.
Many Blessings :)
Ace
This is pretty! My second daughter has a genuine fondness for paper crafts, & would love doing this.
Brenda
What a sweet, simple, creative gift. Thank you for sharing this idea.
Thank you, this is indeed quite lovely! It's also a wonderful thing to do, I think, for those dear to you, on their birthday!! Lord willing, I will try this for both my husband's and my son's next birthday! I am sure they will love it. I can bless them by telling them of my love for them and of the good things that I see God has put in them! Thank you!
Mrs. P
This is a lovely idea! I can't wait to try this.
What a wonderful idea! Thank you so much for sharing it. It was such a delight to look at your example!
~ Christina
Absolutely adorable! I can't wait to use this idea to bless someone with! You made it look so beautiful!
Blessings, Lady
Wouldn't a gal feel special to receive something like this? Once upon a time I traded little books like these with my girl-friends. We would spend the school holidays making these for each other. They were always fun to give AND receive. lu
What a delightful idea. I think I'll make up a few of these to have ready to write and embellish in. I have friends spread out over the country and this will be a fun way to keep everyone up on our doings.
What an absolute blessing that would be for the recipient!! And what a blessing YOU are for sharing this amazing little idea!
Thank you so very much,
Trace
You can click on the pages for a larger view. This little book is so lightweight. It seems even more so than printing paper. I am always challenged to use clip art and things that will lie flat and not create a problem for mailing, but it could be mailed in a padded envelope, which you can also get at Dollar Tree.
Oh my! I can't wait to make one of these!! Thank you for sharing!
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