Here’s a quick tutorial on how to make your own envelopes. Not only will you always have the right size envelope for your cards, but you will save money as well. It only takes a few minutes to make an envelope and you will never be caught out without one.
You can buy special envelope making tools, but I think you can make your own very successfully without
You can use any A4 paper from 80gsm copying paper to around 150gsm for a luxury envelope. That of course will depend on whether the person you are sending to will just rip open the envelope or savour the experience of slowly unwrapping the envelope anticipating the wonderful hand made card that you have presented them with. The choice is yours. Most of my recipients are the former I’m afraid. If you are selling your cards you might want to make the envelopes just that little bit special as well.
I will also show you below how to line your envelopes with a contrasting paper or why not download some of The Wendy House backing papers to make them really special.
The tutorial below is for cards up to around 5” x 7”, you might be able to use it for cards slightly bigger, but I find that too fiddly. For larger cards you will need more than one sheet of paper.
What you need
1 sheet of A4 paper
Scissors
Narrow double sided sticky tape or tacky glue (not PVA)
The card that you are going to fill the envelope with.
Instructions
Place your card on top of the A4 sheet and loosely fold the bottom of the sheet up so that the bottom of the sheet is about half an inch (1.5cm) from the top of the card.
Turn the card around and fold up the sides as shown above. Don’t do this too tight as you need to be able to get the card in and out of the envelope.
Take the card out and sharpen the fold lines.
You don’t need to draw anything on the sheet, I have just drawn on it to make it easier to see the fold lines. The dashed lines are the fold lines.
Cut the paper as shown. You might like to cut just inside the lines A and B to make a neat finish. Cut a V shape at the sides and at the top of the sheet as illustrated. These don’t need to be precise but try to make them symmetrical. If your card is quite small, you may wish to trim the side flaps a little, but leave at least 1/2” (1.5cm).
Place your double sided sticky tape along the lines as shown above, and peel off the backing sheet on the two lower edge ones.
Fold up the bottom and stick together and you are done.
Alternative Options
1. Line your envelope
Now we can get a bit more interesting and introduce a lining if you wish. It makes a very nice finish and give a real quality to your cards.
Place your new envelope on top of a contrasting piece of paper or thin card and draw around it – don’t forget to include the flap at the top.
Cut out the contrasting piece. Cut a little inside the line you have drawn as you will need to fit this inside your envelope. Snip off about 1/2” (1.5cm) from the bottom edge.
Place the contrasting sheet inside your envelope and attach at the top with some double sided sticky tape.
2. Use a matching or decorative backing page for your envelope.
Print out your sheet on good quality paper or thin card and then make your envelope from this sheet. Your cards will have a real luxury feel and will look very expensive, ideal for selling and for those who love to receive something special.
You can either put some double sided sticky tape on the envelope flap or why not use a piece that you have cut off to make a seal. Simply cut a scrap piece to size and put a row of double sided sticky tape at the top and bottom. Stick the top to the envelope flap and the bottom one to the body of the envelope, after all presentation is everything. Your friends and customers will love these.
That’s all for now – BBS
Wendy
