Tiny, Handcrafted Love Notes and Envelopes
Today some of my family is celebrating a very important anniversary. It has me thinking of love.
One of the ways that mon mari and I show affection for each other is during Advent (the days leading up to Christmas). I know, Christmas in July!! Each December, we get out our Advent calendar and write little jokes and sweet messages and cram miniature gifts or bits of candy into the slots. Sometimes, if a gift is just too darn big, we set it beside the Advent calendar on the table.
The only problem with Advent calendars is that the slots are ridiculously TINY. What better way to make a cute, little love note than in an itsy-bitsy homemade envelope?
This is one of the tiny envelopes I made with a love note that says: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered...I'm Yours!"
The best part about these envelopes is that they do not require a lot of paper, so you can make a few of them out of paper scraps lying around the house. I used scrap booking paper for this project, and with all the designs available in stores today, you can personalize these envelopes to the hilt!
Some fun uses for the envelopes could be to dress up small gifts (like a ring box or other box of jewelry, ahem), to add to school and work lunches, or to make a small thank-you note!
Supplies:
Paper of your choice
Flexible cardboard or a manilla folder to make a template
Pencil
Scissors
Glue Stick or Clear Tape
Glitter, stickers, stamps or other embellishments (optional)
Method:
To begin, I made a template for a small envelope, using cardboard and a pencil. As a guide, I took apart an envelope that I liked and traced it. Depending on the template you make, you may want to note the top and bottom on the cardboard. If you plan to use paper with words, you will want to be sure that all the words face the right direction. My mistake is your gain!
Here is the template.
Then I traced the template design onto the wrong side of piece of craft paper.
All ready to be cut out.
Next, I cut out the envelopes from the paper and began to fold. I folded the little sides in first, using my fingernail to make a sharp crease in each end.
Fold the sides in first, you can adjust the folds if you need to.
Then fold the top and bottom inward, making sharp creases, to create an envelope shape.
All folded up.
Finally I glued the bottom flap along the edges and pressed it against the side flaps to make little envelopes and allowed the glue to dry. Once the glue has dried, you can make a small note to put inside and glue or “seal” the note with a sticker or maybe even a kiss!
You can make a bunch of envelopes and decorate them however you wish!
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