make your own CUSTOM envelopes... without a template!

despite my best efforts, i occasionally make cards that are not a standard size. i either tuck them into a gift bag or mail them in an oversized envelope-- and to me both of those solutions are perfectly fine-- but for some reason, this week i found myself wondering how hard it would be to MAKE a custom-sized, coordinated envelope, and the answer turned out to be, "not hard at all!" here's how:

what you'll need:

a piece of paper that is at least 1" greater than twice the height of your card, and 2" wider than the width of your card; scissors and/or trimmer; ruler; pencil; dry adhesive-- a tape runner is ideal for this!; optional coordinating patterned paper for lining, if desired.

 1. mark

the points just outside all four corners of your card on the paper that will serve as the outside of your envelope (i've done big dots so you can see them, but you can do it lightly, so it won't show).

 2. score and fold

straight, parallel lines between the two marks at the top, and between the two marks at the bottom; trim any excess paper if necessary--note that you need the top and bottom folds to overlap by about an inch, and you'll need about an inch extra at each side to create your pocket.

(optional step: if you'd like your envelope to have a coordinated liner, trim a piece of patterned paper to exactly the width of your card and the same length as the distance from the bottom fold to 1/2" before the end of the top flap--see photo below for a better illustration of this; adhere to your base paper before continuing)

 3. snip and fold

the overlapping edge bits at each side of your center panel, these are the base of the "pocket" which will hold your card; angle the cuts very slightly inwards, to keep them out of the way of the fold.

 4. trim the excess from top and bottom panels 

again you'll want to create a slight angle; as the bottom panel will become the pocket itself, while the top will be the envelope's flap. again, for illustrational purposes i've marked thick pencil lines: you can see that they both taper very slightly inwards so that the outer edges are about 1/16th of an inch narrower than the attached edges. this is just so your envelope will be square and not have any "extra" overhanging paper.

5. CAREFULLY glue ONLY the left and right edges...

...of the bottom panel to the little folded bits on each side; you don't want any extra adhesive, otherwise you'll be gluing the pocket shut. (which will not be helpful!) :)

6. slide in your card and ADMIRE your work!
after all, you've not only created the perfect envelope for THIS card, you've learned how to make a custom-sized, coordinated mailer for ANY card... without templates, or even any measuring... just a few folds!!!

♥GO, you!!!♥