DIY project: Self-made envelope :)

[I decided I will just post the tutorial right now, and later on maybe post (a) photo(s)...]

Hello dears,

I mad an envelope myself yesterday. I remember as a child I did this several times, but eventually stopped and forgot how it worked, so I had to find a new way myself again.

So, first of all you will need:

1 envelope shaped like you want your result to look

1 piece of regular plain white paper

1 piece of construction paper the colour you want your envelope to be (I went for yellow, but other [probably best lighter] colours work just as fine

1 roll glue thing [like the thing shown on the right here!]

1 pair of scissors

1 pencil

and later on...

1 pen to write the address of yourself and the receipee of the letter on the envelope

Steps:

 

1) Once you have gotten all these things, you start by making your template. You take your envelope, tuck out the flap (? -- please tell me if I used the wrong word here), place this all in the upper part of the piece of plain white paper (Please leave a little space one either side!), so that you'd be able to trace around the envelope on the paper, but still have space left below the envelope on the paper.

2) You have guessed right: Trace the outlines for the envelopes on the paper. Once you are done with this, please don't move the envelope away, as it is still needed for the next steps!

3) Just below the flap (Where the flap meets the rest of the envelope) on either side draw one small line onto the piece of plain paper horizontally, which you will be able to see once you have moved the envelope away. The horizontal lines should meet with the vertical ones you have drawn around the envelope, which you still should not move away from the place it is in right now (on the paper).

4) Next, draw two more little horizontal lines, at the lower end of the envelope... Once again, the lines should meet with the lines you already drew.

5) Flip over the envelope and tuck in the flap. Now you should have a square / rectangular envelope. Please place the lower end of the envelope at the lowest line you drew.

6) Once again, trace this onto the plain white paper, without moving the envelope.

7) One last step for the template is probably the hardest to explain, but I will do my best: Move away your envelope, tuck out the flap again, and place part of (!) the flap in the lowest square / rectangle you have drawn when you traced the surroundings of the envelope the last time. Make sure that the flap is pointing "upwards", but the upper horizontal line (below the flap) on the envelope is very much parallel to the lowest line you have drawn. Your flap should NOT be all the way in the square / rectangle, though, as it is needed to the seal the envelope in the end, and if it has the same shape as the flap up in the template, you will not be able to seal it. If you place the envelope a little lower than in general, not all of your flap is in the pattern, so you have enough place to seal it :).

8) Once you have made sure the flap is in place, please trace around the piece of the flap in the pattern (not all the flap, of course). 

9) You remember the four litle horizontal lines you have drawn? Make sure the lines have a length of (roughly) half a cetimeter, then make them a little diagonal (Easier to flap over once you are done...). The lowest line should have a line going like a backslash a little ( \ - Imagine the lower right part meeting with the lower horizontal line on the left side of the envelope ), and the upper line should have an attached slash ( / - Imagine the upper right part to meet with the upper horizontal line on the left side of the envelope ).

10) Connect the outer point of the shlash with the outer point of the backslash (Draw another vertical line; the space between this and the rest of the template should be 1/2 cm).

11) On the right side of the envelope, for the little horizontal lines, do the same to them, just make sure the slash is in the lower part and the backslash is in the upper part.

12) Connect the ending points on the right side of the envelope, too, also making sure the space between the two lines should be 1/2 cm.

13) Your template is ready :). Please cut it out carefully. Make sure that you do cut it out all in one piece, and make sure that the lower flap part you drew inside the lowest square / rectangle IS the line you are cutting on.

14) Optional step: Fold the template to see whether you have made any mistakes (If you did, please tell me, as it is my description that was bad then. I will try my best to make it better!!). First fold along the line where the "normal" rectangle / square meets with the rectangle / square into which you drew part of the flap. Next, fold the little 1/2 centimeter pieces towards the part where the envelope will be sealed. Last, fold the upper flap down and see whether it closes the spare-flap part. If all fits nicely, congratulations! Please unfold it again, though, as you will trace the template onto construction paper now!! :)

15) Get your piece of construction paper, and trace the outlines of the template onto that. Make sure the line you draw is not to thick, though, as it might show on the envelope.

16) Fold it like you may have done it with the template itself: First the seal-the-flap side and the regular rectangle / square at the line between, then the little 1/2 cm parts towards the part where the flap will be put down, and then, yes!, flap down the flap. :D

17) Now you can secure the 1/2 cm part. Grab this roll glue thing, and put glue either on the little bits themselves, or onto the part of the envelope meeting with these little things. Make sure you do not put glue onto the inside of the envelope itself!

18) If you have already written the letter, now it is time to put it into the envelope and put the respective addresses onto it.

19) Last step: Seal the envelope by grabbig your roll glue again putting it onto the flap, and folding that down.

Voilà - a self-made envelope! :) I hope it worked!! Mine did, but then again, I didn't have to explain it to myself D:... PLEASE make sure you first read the instruction and try to follow it, and if you don't understand some parts, please don't hesitate to ask...

Have a nice rest of the day, dears!! :)

PS: If I can, I will make photos for this next time, so that it is clearer what I mean :). I just did it from scratch without using a camera yesterday, and I did want to share it with you nevertheless. So please don't be surprised if this entry will have photos added to it soon-ish.