Neon Rock and Roll Envelopes: Tutorial

This is an excellent waiting room/watching TV/sitting in the car craft. After the initial building phase (also very simple) it requires only a few supplies and not a ton of mental bandwidth. I made these on my couch, in a coffee shop and in bed. 

It all started when I ran out of envelopes. I made a note to pick some up and by chance found myself at Barnes and Noble later that day. In their Two Dollar Dot section they had a ton of gorgeous coffee table books which are the perfect size for making envelopes. Since an unfolded envelope is roughly square shaped they are too big for most regular sized books.

The coolest $2 book was this Beatles in America poster book. It had 20 posters plus some pages of text. They were all perforated which made my job even easier. 

Making the Envelope

First you find an envelope that is the size you want to create. This is just a regular A2 card envelope. 

Open it up. If you rip it a bit, patch up the thin spots with tape. 

This envelope served as an adequate template for all 20 that I made but the edges were getting a bit rounded and dented by the end. If you want something sturdier you could trace it onto card stock or chipboard (like a cereal box) but I didn't need to.

1. Trace around the envelope.

I used a black pen so it would show up well. Pencil would be less obvious on the black and white images.

2. Cut out with scissors.

3. Fold.

I scored mine before folding and cut right through several of the earlier ones. A little washi tape fixed them right up and added interest but using a lighter hand, or not scoring at all is likely better. Be sure to burnish your folds so the envelope lies flat. The back of a spoon works great.

4. Glue the bottom flaps closed. 

I used my ATG (dry adhesive) as wet can warp a bit. Glue stick would work well as would tape.

Aren't they just the coolest! I was seriously tempted to leave them like this and just attach a typed address label but I knew I'm loathe to use address labels as I'm usually too lazy. True story. 

So... an additional optional step...

Add a spot for writing in the address

1. Paint a rectangle with a thin coat of gesso. 

In this case every poster is different so I tried to pick a spot that saved the best part of the image.

2. Let the gesso dry completely. 

3. Embellish the spaces, making a frame for the address.

I drew rough sketchy rectangles, circles, ovals or hearts with a black pen and let the ink dry. Then I colored the frames with neon sharpie and gel pens and added doodles like scallops and checkerboards. Nothing about this project is perfect, straight or precious - it's fun, fast, easy and very rock n roll

And now I have 20 envelopes that I can't wait to send in the mail. 

Speaking of, I'm 41 today. To celebrate, leave me a comment if you'd like one of these envelopes filled with ephemera and I'll pick a few of you to send mail to. xxx

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Warmly,

~~~~Nicole