DIY: folded envelopes — paperiaarre

After my first envelope tutorial I got requests for another one on how to make a folded envelope, and this is it! For my envelopes I used old book pages fused with tissue paper using the technique explained in my previous mixed paper envelope tutorial, but you can use pretty much whatever paper you have on hand as long as it folds with ease.

This envelope style is super simple, but it lends itself to many variations. I often make a test version (or five) using waste paper if I’m working with a non-standard size or different angles and I have something very specific in mind. The wrapper of our wedding invitation was folded from a fairly long rectangle, and I have to say it took me a while to figure out the measurements for it. For a painless first try at making a folded envelope, stick to standard size paper, but after that – just go and experiment to your heart’s content!

What you need to make your own folded envelope

materials:

• pretty paper that’s easy to fold (mine measures 30,8x23cm / 12.1″x9.1″, but both A4 and US Letter are just fine)
• waste paper (for trying everything out before you go and crease your fancy paper)
• a card you want to send in the envelope (I’m using the card as a folding guide, too, but it’s actually totally optional, you can write a letter on the reverse side of the envelope paper and send it on its own)

tools:

• pencil
• ruler
• washi tape (or stickers, a wax seal, or whatever you want to use for sealing your envelope)

Now, let’s begin!

1. Mark lengthwise centre point. If the paper you’re using has a right side and a wrong side, make the mark on the wrong side.

2. Place the postcard along the long edge right next to the centre point mark. This will serve as a straight edge and help you fold a neat 45 degree fold.

3. Fold right bottom corner. The right half of the bottom edge meets the edge of the postcard resulting in a neat 45 degree fold. (For the envelope with a wax seal, featured in the first two photos, I made my folds at a 50 degree angle – the difference is just barely noticeable, but it’s there.)

4. Place your postcard inside the fold.

5. Fold the opposite corner down along the top edge of your postcard. This way you ensure your envelope matches the size of your postcard perfectly. You can now set the postcard aside for the next step.

6. Fold one flap. In my example envelope this will be the topmost flap of the finished envelope. You’ll want to make the fold at least 5 millimetres away from where the shorter side flap fold ends. This gives the flaps a good overlap.

7. Unfold the last flap fold and place your postcard against the fold as pictured. Fold the opposite flap along the edge of your postcard.

8. The bottom flap usually extends beyond your postcard / the fold of the top flap, so fold under the excess. (You can also use this long flap as the top flap so that it simply extends to the other side of the envelope, like it does in our wedding invite)

9. Open all folds and put your postcard / letter inside. Fold in flaps and seal with a bit of washi tape.

All done! Yay! Super simple, like I said! Again, I’d love to see how your envelope turned out! You can drop me a line (and a photo!) via email, or share a photo on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #paperiaarrediy (my envelopes are still lonely!) and tagging me @paperiaarre

PS. If you run into issues creating your envelope, or if you feel this tutorial needs some clarifying, leave a comment or write me an email letting me know what steps you found problematic, and I’ll get even more detailed!

PPS. The lovely lady featured in my postcards is none other than the multitalented Tove Jansson, perhaps best known as the creator of the Moomins.