This month we’ll be looking at pockets for your altered book creations. There are lots of ways to make pockets, whether you simply paste in an envelope, or make a pocket right out of your book pages. We’ll look at some of the simpler pockets in this article.
Ideas for creating a pocket:
-Tear pages in your book and glue them together.
-Staple or sew a piece of cardstock straight to the page on three sides.
-Fold a pocket outside of the book and glue, tape, staple or sew into your book.
-Glue an envelope or library pocket to the page.
-Sew a scrap of fabric onto the page.
-Cut up a pair of old jeans and recycle the pocket for your book.
Let’s start with what I call “The Easiest Pocket Ever”. Simply fold up the corner of your page until it meets the gutter and secure with tape, a brad, an eyelet, staples, or whatever suits your fancy. Here’s me, waving at you from Denver, New Year’s Eve 2003:
The next spread features a library pocket, painted to match the color scheme of the pages. It’s a method that’s worked for library books for decades... I say that when you’re looking for a pocket with speed, why reinvent the wheel? This spread is part of my ongoing friendship gift to my girlfriend, and I liked the sentiment that was printed on the pages so I was careful to leave it unpainted. I’ll write a personal note to my friend on the tag that’s tucked in the pocket.
“Snow Day” was inspired by a word on the page: “Individuality.” This pocket acts both as a page and a pocket. I use this type of pocket a lot in my journaling in order to save items such as greeting cards that have a lot of writing on them, so I don’t hide any of the personal notes by gluing down the card.
The next spread was actually inspired by the colors in the fibers attached to the tag. Here is a slash pocket, made out of decorated vellum that still allows the viewer a peek at what’s inside. As a bonus, the tag in the pocket has a vellum envelope attached. It’s sealed shut, but contains a small handful of confetti stars inside—again, just enough for the viewer to peek at what’s inside.
Slash pockets are fun, but remember to place the slash so it faces the inside of the book. This way, the items inside are less likely to fall out of the book. Slash pockets look great on facing pages.
And what will you put in your pockets? Ephemera, photos, tags... There are so many variations on the projects here... and so many items to put in them! Remember, altered books are expressions of you, so include whatever you want.
To find the products used in this article, go to your local retail store.
