Handmade Envelope and Card

So, the story goes that my brother got me this beautiful card paper pad a few birthdays ago that I haven’t really used till now other than for photo backgrounds. Lately everybody has been leaving the city or country (am I that terrible to be around? Lol) so I thought why not make them all cards and envelopes; I have had my hands busy creating since that idea sprung up. It’s rewarding and a good, fun, craft project for kids and adults alike; just be sure to have adult supervision for the wee ones! Happy creating and happy summer for those lucky enough to be in the golden season at the moment – we’re in winter here and it seems to go forever. I am nothing if not a summer baby.

Simple list:

• Patterned card
• Blank paper
• Stickers
• Cutting mat
• Craft knife or scissors
• Clear tape
• Double-sided tape or glue-stick if your card is flat and un-patterned, one of mine was patterned and foiled so I just did all of them with double-sided tape

Shopping list:

Most of these supplies I already had, and I assume you might too but I’ve added everything just in case.

These are mostly from NZ shops, mostly both online and physical stores, and are in NZD and don’t include shipping costs. In order of appearance:

• Rosie’s Studio Wish Come True 6×6″ Paper Pad $6.07 at Rosie’s Studio / Rosie’s Studio full range
• Copy/Laser Paper 500 Sheets $5 at Kmart
• Disney Ultimate Sticker Book $11.57 at Book Depository / Dumbo stickers 20pc $2.47 at AliExpress [] / Glossy Dumbo envelope seals 20pc $7.57 / Dumbo washi tape $3.34 at AliExpress
• Green self-healing cutting mat A3 $24.99 at Gordon Harris / cheap’n’nasty (looking) Self-healing A3 cutting mat $6 at Kmart
• Large snap blade craft knife $2.40 / Celco 8.5" general purpose scissors $4.50, both at Gordon Harris
• Invisible tape 18mm x 33m snail dispenser $3.90
  Scotch double-sided tape 12.7mm x 6.3m $2.99
  Staedtler Noris Club glue stick 20g $2.50, all three at Gordon Harris

You want to make the envelope first so you know what size to make the card to fit in the envelope, unless you know the exact measurements as we do here. It sounds like 8.5 by 11 inches is pretty standard for cards and envelopes so it’s a good idea to stick with that. Hey, I don’t make the rules!

1. Cut the card to 8.5 inches by 11 inches for the envelope and put the outer card on under the regular paper and mark with pencil the point where the edge should be, leaving a 5mm space at the edges to let the card breathe negative (or should we say positive?) space and show more of the pretty card outer inner.

2. Fold the paper in half lengthwise. This marks the paper in the middle to show you where to fold the paper to in the next step.

3. Fold the left side down in a triangle with the top side meeting the middle fold. Repeat for right side.

4. Fold each left and right side of the paper lengthwise, about half an inch (that’s 1 inch of total paper being folded, resulting in a half inch width from the edge fold to the paper edge, to be clear) in.

5. Make another fold, bringing the bottom of the paper up to meet the bottom of the top left and right folded triangles’ edges.

6. Now simply tape each side of the envelope to its adjacent side. Fold the top triangle down and voilà! (I need new vocab, I used voilà in my felt kiwis Instructable which I’ve yet to finish putting together at the time of writing.

This is easy mode.

1. Go ahead and cut the paper to size, to fit the envelope.

2. Fold in half width-wise.

3. Fold in half again, this time the other way. Make good, sharp creases.

4. I like to tape the bottom and sides together for a nice, clean look.

5. Cut out a piece of blank paper to the size of the card minus about 5mm for breathing space. This is for the inside of the card to write the message on.

6. Stick the blank paper to the inside of the card with double-sided tape.

7. Write your message using a calligraphy pen or nib for a fancy touch. Hola to all my cack-handers out there!

8. Optional: wrap your creation/gift in tissue paper and set her/him/them to sleep in her/his/their new bed inside the envelope and you’re happy as Larry.
Don’t forget to put your masterpiece in the envelope!

9. Add the recipient’s name on the front of the envelope and card and press a nice sticker down over Sellotape on the triangle’s foremost corner.