Pen Pals, Make Your Own Envelopes!Have you ever tried to make your own envelopes? It's not difficult, saves you money, and this is one more way to share your creativity to others! Make your pen frends day when your creative, inspirational, funny envelope hits their mail box! They'll love you! First, you need an envelope, one you purchased from the store, or use one that a card came in, or tiny key envelopes, whatever you'd like to duplicate! If you trace onto cardboard, you can easily make lots of them, quickly, because you can reuse your template over and over! If not, you'll need to use more purchased envelopes as each one gets worn out from use. Either way, you can cut out a few at a time, saving time -- and you've got the base of your envelope. When you have the paper envelope cut out, decorate while it's a flat piece of paper as its much easier to work with. Use a sponge and an ink pad to splotch color everywhere.. be sure to dab it off a bit, first, so that you don't get really thick intense color, but dabs here and there with the color of the paper peeking through. You can also use rubber stamps, stickers, anything you'd like to show off the envelopes creativity! Now fold the paper according to the template folds, VOILA -- almost an envelope, now all you need is glue. You CAN tape it shut, you can use Elmers glue, or a glue stick -- but you can also make bunches of envelopes and use the following quick and easy glue recipes -- then later, just lick the envelope as you would the purchased ones. Yes, You can make glue that is used exactly like a real envelope has. PLUS, if you want to make envelopes for pen friend gifts -- they won't have to find glue, the glue is right there, just lick and seal the envelope!
Envelope Glue Recipes here! Now, add your return address label and a postage stamp. If your pals address will be easily visible writing on the new envelope, go for it. If not, you'll need to add a blank white address label to the envelope so that the postal machines can read and forward it easily. You can also cut small white "labels" from paper, and use a glue stick to attach to the envelope. Another option: you can stick a small post-it paper on the white envelope paper before you decorate it. Then, do your coloring and then remove the sticky post-it and, quite magically, you've got a blank white spot on the paper to write your pals address into. No need to glue a white "label" on, you thought ahead and covered up part of the paper to save it for the address later. Good thinking! For something unique, consider making envelopes out of non-conventional papers -- the Sunday Funnies, the glossy ad sections from the weekend newspapers, newsprint, wrapping paper purchased at the dollar store, tissue paper ironed onto freezer paper (purchased at the grocery store), etc. Just a simple newsprint envelope -- stick your stamps, address label, and a label will be completely different looking in your pals mailbox! Use a tiny sponge, crumbled up plastic bag, and a red ink pad and carefully blot a bit of color here and there.. very artsy and cool!
Enjoy! Wendy, Inky Trail News
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