Flip Book Fun!

Let’s talk about snail mail…. Here I thought it would have died out by now!  Can I just say that I’m SO glad it didn’t?!  Heck, I didn’t know people still kept penpals until a few years ago, and when I discovered what penpaling had turned into, my jaw dropped.  People send the most adorable mail to each other.  Seriously.  Check it out if you’re new to this!  (After you’re done scrolling around there, hit up Pinterest and search for things like “happy mail” or “snail mail”… Beautiful stuff!)

Well, naturally, I joined in the fun, although I don’t have a formal “penpal” per se.  I just send things to friends who have the same love affair with pretty paper that I do.  😉  A few weeks back, I was asked by someone who I have been following on social media for a while now if I would do a mail swap with her.  I was stinking delighted!  Her name is Sabrina, and she’s a total gem & a brilliant crafter!  She is also an autism mama, too, so she understands my struggles in the same way that I understand hers.  So we decided to make each other flipbooks (which is totally new to me!) in order to get to know each other better.  To say I had fun making this would be an understatement.

I used my We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board & the Maggie Holmes Shine collection scrapbook papers to make the envelopes that are the base of this flipbook.  And I tried out Sabrina’s method of making them but following her tutorial here.

It’s nice how creating something like this can use up all the little scraps that seem to always be left over after a big project.  🙂  As a bonus, it’s fun!

So what might you add in this type of mail?  Well, a letter for starters.  🙂

… then you might add a photo of yourself if you feel ok with that.  I always like to see people’s faces, but that’s just me.  😀

With a flipbook, the fun part is how it will continue to open further revealing more fun things… so next in line was an envelope with some photos I’ve taken per her request.  She likes my photography, and, well, I like sharing it.  😉  So I printed out a few of my favorites and tucked them in an envelope.

I made another little envelope and put some wooden star veneers inside, and then I tucked some cute journaling cards behind it.

The last envelope that flips out reveals some more pretty stuff…

This little addition flips out to reveal a little pack of charms she can use in her projects.

The next one flips out to show a bundle of mirrors… just for fun.  😉

In the envelope, I put some washi tape samples… cause who doesn’t like those?  🙂

Finally, I decorated the last envelope in the bundle by putting another cute pocket on the front that contains the “mail tag.”  A mail tag is kind of a little game you play with your penpals to get to know them better.  You can ask questions that they’ll answer the next time they mail you a letter or even request things from them.  Check this out right here.

And then I wrapped some seam binding samples around a homemade tag and put it in the envelope.

Then you fold it back up and that’s that!  It was so fun to make, and I was delighted to hear that she loved it!!!  Want to see the one she made me?  It’s adorable!!

And p.s.- the stickers for Nadia were much appreciated.  😉