I never seem to have the right sized envelope when I need one. I ought to buy stationery sets with paper and matching envelopes, but I've gotten spoiled writing on Tomoe River Paper. There may be Tomoe Stationery sets, but I don't have one. And a cheap office envelope just seems wrong.
Enter the Kuretake Handmade Envelope Template (Western Version). I found this on JetPens and decided to buy one so that I could make envelopes any time I needed them. I also bought the Nichiban Tenori Adhesive Stamp to glue my envelopes.
The envelope template is simple. It's constructed out of thick plastic, with cut-outs for four different envelope sizes, from small gift-card-sized envelopes to large card-sized envelopes: 2.6" x 4.1" (65mm x 105mm), 3.9" x 5.8" (98mm x 148mm), 4.5" x 6.4" (114mm x 162mm), and 4.7" x 6.7 " (120mm x 170mm). Note that none of these is a business-sized envelope. I made my first group of envelopes out of a grocery bag (yay recycling!).
All you have to do is place the template on your paper, draw the outline of the envelope in the size you desire, and cut the envelope out. Then it's just a matter of folding the two sides and bottom portions and gluing them in place.
The Tenori was a disaster, I'm afraid. I don't know what I did wrong, but after using it once or twice the tape got tangled, and the more I tried to fix it, the more mangled it got. I'm just going to use good ol' Elmer's from now on.
With scrapbooking paper, you can make envelopes in any pattern or color you like.
The design can be on the outside of the envelope (you'll need to make an address label unless the design is light or plain).
Or you can put the design on the inside.
The template is very handy. As long as you have paper, a pencil, and scissors, you can make an envelope. Be careful about the weight of the paper, just in case you need to add extra postage.
You can buy the Kuretake Handmade Envelope Template at JetPens for $13.50. If you want to take a chance on the Nichiban Tenori Adhesive Stamp, it is $6.50 at JetPens.
