Mermaid file folder pocket letter

One of my facebook groups had a swap for a mermaid themed file folder pocket letter and it sounded interesting. Basically you take a file folder, staple a pocket letter inside it and decorate.

I picked up a plain file folder from the bookstore for a whopping 20 cents. Someone said they were going to send one to me, it never showed up and she said she'd send out a 2nd one, never saw it, so I just bought one at the book store. I also picked up a mermaid coloring book to use on this:

Here's the front:

I painted the file folder with some blue and green paint that I've had forever. I used to always pick up paint when it was on clearance on JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby, but I don't really use it anymore. After stapling in my pocket letter, I covered up the staples with this shiny green tape from Dollar Tree. The grouping in the corner is from a swap. I colored the mermaid with some crayons and used a marker for her hair. I also added my partner's name in gold letters.
Here's the back of the front cover:

 The videos I watched added an envelope to this page. I remembered this gift bag I got at TJ Maxx, so I cut it in half and glued it in. I put my bigger goodies in here. At the top I added some leftover paper from the back page. I also added some washi from Michael's on the side.
Here's the pocket letter:

 I think I need to take a step back from mermaid stuff for awhile. This pocket letter is very flat, it's just all stickers with a die cut in the middle pocket. I added some sandy looking paper to the bottom with some sea stickers. The 'wonder' is a chipboard sticker from my stash. All the sea creature stickers are from Dollar Tree. The top two mermaids are from Michael's. The die cut is from a swap and the bottom mermaid is from Dollar Tree. I'm not as excited about this as I am about the file folder.
Here's the back:

I included some tags, a lot of mermaid/under the sea themed stickers, some green/blue washi, and a pile of sticky notes.
Here's the back page:

The background looks like weathered wood, it's from the Newsworthy paper pad from Hobby Lobby. The sea turtles I cut out of a card. The heart shape is from a swap. The die cuts are from a swap. The mermaid is from Dollar Tree. The crab sticker is from Dollar Tree.
Here's the back of the folder:

I just put down a lot of water themed paper, covered up some ugly spots with other paper and added the whale sticker.
Here's what my partner made me, the front:

 The inside:

 The back of the pocket letter and file folder:

 The back of the file folder:

I love the coloring technique and the use of the Graphic 45 paper.