The Perfect Envelope For Your Homemade Cards

When we create homemade cards, most of us forget about the envelopes. We make stunning cards and then place them in a boring white envelope. But if we spend so much time creating a beautiful handmade card, doesn’t it only make sense that we would want to make the envelope look beautiful as well? After all, the envelope is the first thing that the receiver will see before they even open the card. Creating and decorating your own envelopes does not have to be difficult and can take as much or as little of your time as you desire. 

Before we look into envelope decoration ideas, you must first know how to create an envelope. You could of course, decorate a regular white envelope, but if your card is an irregular shape or you just want to have some more fun, why not make your own?
Begin by placing your homemade card in the center of a piece of paper or cardstock. Choose any colour you like. Then fold each side of the paper inwards. Leave a small amount of space between the card and each fold of the paper to ensure that the envelope will be slightly larger than your card. Press firmly against the two side folds so that they lay flat. Do the same with the top folds.

Next, remove the card and flatten out the paper. At each corner of the paper, the creases should form a small square or rectangle. Carefully cut these off. At the bottom of each side piece, place a small dab of glue. Then, fold up the bottom piece so that it glues on. Now, select another piece of paper of the same color and cut out a small square that is slightly smaller than your envelope. Glue it on to the back of your envelope for a backpiece and voila! You are finished and can begin to decorate.

There are several ways that you can decorate an envelope. Use the same creativity to decorate your envelope that you used to create your homemade cards. Feel free to use markers, gel pens or scrapbooking embellishments to decorate your envelope. If you are sending your envelope through the mail, be sure that you don’t add anything too heavy that may fall off (like buttons). Many people like to decorate their envelopes with fancy writing, satin flowers, stickers or ribbon.

You could also use photographs. Next to the destination address, glue a small picture of the recipient. Similarly, next to your address add a small picture of you. If you have one, you can also add a picture of the two of you together. 

When creating your own homemade cards, why not go all out and decorate your envelope as well? A decorated envelope will add uniqueness to your card that the recipient probably rarely sees. Not only that, but a uniquely decorated envelope will make the recipient excited to open it and see what is inside.