Creative Handmade Envelopes Tutorial: Basic and Origami

A Creative Handmade Envelopes Tutorial,
from the basic mailing envelope style,
to some fancy origami art
for handing out in person.

We make a lot of our envelopes by hand,

mostly so that we have a matching envelope for some of our handmade cards,

or because we want something a little fancy for a special friend’s occasion.

The basic mailing style envelope is our usual style,

but we have tried the doilies and the palm leaf styles.

The other info here is on our bucket list, so we’ll give links to the tutorials.

Basic Handmade Mailing Envelope

An amazing note about basic handmade envelopes is they all start with a square.

Yes, whether you make an oblong card or a square card, the paper for a flap style envelope will start as a square.

The next important note is the card. Your envelope paper square will measure 1/2″ bigger than the diagonal measurement of your card. That means if you want to give a 5″ x 7″ card, you will start with a 9.5″ square of paper. If you have a 6″ square card, you will start with a 9″ square.

Supplies:

24# to 32# paper (not cardstock). An envelope for a 4″ x 6″ card or smaller can start with a printer size sheet of paper. A 5″ x 7″ card will need a 12″ square paper, cut to a 9.5″ square.
scissors, Skor tape*, glue, ruler

Directions:

Cut the square for the envelope, 1/4″ bigger than the card is wide.
Position the card on the square crosswise, with the centers of the top and bottom of the card centered along opposite ends of your square.