Lego Adventures

July 26, 2015July 27, 20152 Comments

“The Paleontologist-Photographer”

As I’m decluttering my desk again, I realize I still have quite a backlog of mail to share. I thought I’d start with some fun shots.

Swap-bot Tynkerbelle and I enjoyed a few photo exchanges early spring. My favorite was “A Different Point of View,” a swap she coordinated. For this challenge, we had to photograph from the perspective of a Lego minifigure. Tinkerbelle sent three photos:

Here’s “Little Lego Man,” as she calls him, propped on a leaf photographing flowers.

“Flower Power” by Tynkerbelle/Peppie Selders

Here’s another minifigure on a beach.

“Beach Tourist” by Tynkerbelle/Peppie Selders

And again on a dinner date at Outback.

Dinner Date by Tynkerbelle/Peppie Selders

You can see more of Tynkerbelle’s work on her website, Captured Adventures.

This was a fun swap for my family. I had to borrow one of my little one’s minifigures and he was super-protective of it. I couldn’t leave with it and he had to supervise every effort. I have since purchased my own–the paleontologist in the top photo–and my son purchased many more for his own Lego purposes. Here are the photos we chose to send.

“Posing in the Purple Weeds”

We were just warming up in this photo. “Blue” loved the purple weeds and just had to get a shot with them.

“Assessing the Challenge”

Then, with my hubby’s help, “Blue” and “Orange” joined forces to conquer “Big Rock.” Can they do it?

“The Struggle Is Real”

They’re going to make it!

The last shot we sent her is my favorite, probably because it’s black and white. Tynkerbelle noticed bunnies throughout the photo, and now it’s extra special to me. 😉 Can you see the bunnies?

“Bunnies Everywhere”

This one wasn’t included in the exchange, but my son’s Spiderman minifigure came in handy for Spidey’s “selfie.”

“Say Cheese!”

Shooting from the perspective of a minifigure requires getting down low and getting close. For me these were easier to shoot with my iPhone and my son’s Canon point-and-shoot than with a Canon DSLR, but I’m still experimenting.

As you can see from the top photo, I found a smart-girl Lego minifigure to take on adventures. She now has a permanent spot in my camera bag. Tynk’s photos motivated me to get her a camera. If memory serves me well, I found a pack of five on eBay for $2 or $3.

If you’re interested in more Lego Adventures, check out these sites:

Maybe, you’ll be inspired to go on a Lego adventure!

Everything Changes.

July 20, 2015July 20, 20156 Comments

Everything Changes

Nine Little Pockets Full of Happy

July 6, 20157 Comments

Few things make me giddier than unexpected mail from a friend or an immediate written reply to a personal letter. I went on a letter-writing spree late last month. I expected to hear from no one any time soon. But within a week of my sending her a letter, my penfriend Beth wrote back. She didn’t send “just” a letter, but a pocket letter. Now, in case you haven’t heard, pocket letters are the latest snail mail craze. I’ve done six since I learned about them late winter/early spring. Two of my colleague-friends and I tried them out on each other first (see their first pocket letters near the end of the post).

Traditionally, pocket letters are put together using nine-pocket trading card protectors. I make mine with Project Life pocket pages. I prefer the larger “canvas” and the various shapes and sizes to work with. Besides, I have boxes of PL pages screaming to be used.

Pocket letters have been “popularized” by Janette Lane. On her blog, she provides instructions, tips, templates, and even a video for putting them together. You can insert into the nine little pockets anything that will fit, but the “letter” is a must for one of the pockets. Enough chat. Here’s the pocket letter:

My Very Pink Pocket Letter from Beth

Pink, sparkly, and cheerful! And that’s just the front…

The Back of My Pocket Letter from Beth

It is typical to stash items in the back of the pocket letter, so Beth tucked lots of fun goodies inside–tiny stickers and embellishments I plan to use in my planners and for making ATCs. Besides the letter, there are really no strict “requirements,” but I don’t think I’ve seen a pocket letter yet that didn’t contain a factory sealed tea bag.

Here’s a closer look at the items tucked into the pockets:

Butterflies

Sticky Cupcakes

Little Stickers

Flags, Tea, and Stamps

Tags, Hearts, and Hellos

Washi Tape and Stickers

Postage!

Fun stuff!

But the best part of the pocket letter is…you guessed it! The letter! Beth wrote a nice long letter and used stationery recycled from leftover journal pages–something I also do with my leftover journal pages! I loved all the quotes and insights printed on the pages.

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Interesting side note about the “do not follow” quote: It is usually attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, not T.S. Eliot. Investigation time!

The cool thing about pocket letters is that they fold neatly into a business envelope–or in the case of the ones I make, an A7 envelope–and placed in the mail. I reinforce the edges with strong washi tape or clear packing tape. They usually cost between $1.50-2.00 to mail (USA domestic).

Here are pics of the first pocket letters I received [click an image for a closer look]:

My Butterflies and Stillness Pocket Letter from Cy

Back of Cy’s Pocket Letter

My “Bloom Where You are Planted” Pocket Letter from DP

We’ve all improved tremendously since our first pocket letters!

Pocket letters are a fun way to share more than a letter with a friend or relative. Instead of dropping photos, tips, inspirational material, etc. into an envelope with a letter, you can incorporate all of those things into a unique and personalized pocket page. They take a little more planning than letter-in-envelope, but they make attractive and unexpected gifts.

Try one out today!

Postcards from Dr. Seuss

July 1, 201510 Comments

“Speak for the Trees,” Mail Art by Nancylee on swap-bot

Wouldn’t pulling this envelope out of your mailbox make you grin from ear to ear? Maybe, that’s just me? Swap-bot’s Nancylee so cheerfully decorated the envelope she sent to me in celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday (in March) that I almost forgot to open the envelope! The front was inspired by The Lorax; the back was inspired by none other than the Cat in the Hat.

Dr Seuss Bday Swap-1

Yes, she adorned the front and back with her imitations of Dr. Seuss characters.

Now, what was inside the envelope? Two postcards from the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden in Springfield, Massachusetts, Theodor Geisel’s (aka Dr. Seuss) hometown. Although she has yet to visit the sculpture garden, Nancylee’s mom visited and sent her a bunch of postcards.

The first postcard features Horton of Horton Hears a Who and Horton Hatches the Egg fame standing inside the pages of a book.

“Horton Court,” Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, Sculptor

A couple of my favorite Horton quotes:

from Horton Hears a Who–

Please don’t harm all my little folks, who
have as much right to live as us bigger folks do!

from Horton Hatches the Egg–

I meant what I said and I said what I meant.
An elephant’s faithful one-hundred percent.

The second postcard features Yertle from Yertle the Turtle standing loftily on top of all the turtles of the pond. Yertle is probably the favorite Seuss tale in our home. We applaud the moxie of a “plain little” turtle named Mack who stands up for turtles everywhere.

“Yertle the Turtle,” Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, Sculptor

My favorite quotes from the book:

I know up there on top, you are seeing great sights
but down here on the bottom, we, too, should have rights.

and of course,

And the turtles, of course… all the turtles are free
As turtles, and, maybe, all creatures should be.

The sculptures were created by Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, Geisel’s stepdaughter. What a precious way to pay tribute to his memory and imagination! If you’d like to find out more about the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, click the link.