Skip to main content

Mini Envelopes - The Wonderful World Of Papercraft

Since buying a Sizzix Bigshot recently for embossing metal I've suddenly discovered the world of dies. Dies are wonderful things you can use with your Bigshot, Cuttlebug, etc to cut out all sorts of lovely things including envelope templates. I also discovered the world of scrapbook paper. I love patterned paper and most things stationery. I used to love going into WH Smiths each year to buy my new pencil case, pens, rubbers and pencils for the start of the new school year (that was quite a long time ago!) and I still like buying stationery stuff even if I don't really need it!

I thought I'd use my Bigshot to make some mini envelopes so after trawling the internet for a suitable die and picking up a scrapbooking pad from The Range I ventured into papercraft. I've got to say it was a nice change from metal and beads and really therapeutic to do. The folding and glueing is my favourite part and I loved seeing these cute little envelopes take shape.


It then struck me that maybe I wasn't allowed to make stuff to sell from the scrapbook paper I'd used. I know a lot of companies have an angel policy but I couldn't find one for Grant Studios who created the artwork for the paper so a quick email to them and a very quick reply (on a Sunday from Australia!) and they were fine for me to sell anything I made with their paper. The issue they have is if someone claims the artwork as their own or reproduces it to sell. I also checked with the company who make My Mind's Eye scrapbook paper and they were fine about it too. So I felt slightly relieved to know I was ok to carry on.


I've just started listing the mini envelopes in my Folksy shop and I'm going to add them to my eBay shop in a couple of weeks too. I have no idea if they will sell but I like making them so hopefully they will then I can make some more!
The envelopes measure just under 3.25 inches x 2.25 inches with a pretty scalloped edge and they are just so darned cute!


I tried Fotofuze as I'd used a white background for the photos and I was really impressed with the results..........until I noticed how some of the colours had changed and no amount of editing could sort them out. Then I noticed the photos weren't as clear. Fotofuze reduces the image size (to half in my case) and that caused them to be pixelated when I used the zoom while I was trying to edit the colours. So after spending an afternoon playing around with them I went back to normal editing - they don't have the same blinding white surrounding them but at least the colours are true!



Labels:

Comments

  1. CassieWednesday, August 01, 2012

    Hi!
    Beautiful little envelopes! I make jewellery too but my mum loves paper craft, so I frequently "borrow" her dies.

    I also use fotofuze and found the size frustrating, so I sucked it up and paid the yearly subscription to get bigger images.

    I'm glad I did to be honest, I love using fotofuze as I haven't mastered the art of Photoshop and I get too frustrated with waiting for natural light!

    So I would look into paying for f.f., it's well worth it (and not too expensive as you can choose how much you donate).

    Hope that helps!

    Cassie.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cinnamon JewelleryWednesday, August 01, 2012

    Thanks Cassie :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Miss Val's CreationsSunday, August 05, 2012

    Beautiful work! The envelopes are adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Eve SmithThursday, September 06, 2012

    These are just gorgeous, i love the turquoise ones

    ReplyDelete
  5. ThisIsHannMadeFriday, May 17, 2013

    I love these little envelopes - would you be able to send me a link to product name//number for your envelope die cut? i think i would be the happiest girl ever if i could make my own stationery! x ps i have that paper from the range - almost too pretty to use!! x hannah x
    this.is.hann.made x

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Your comments and questions are very welcome!
If you would prefer to contact me directly please use the contact form on my "get in touch" page.

Popular posts from this blog

Combining Soldering And Enamel

The need to make cute, brightly coloured enamel studs propelled me into the world of combining soldering with enamel a couple of years ago. I knew from reading up on it that it was possible to enamel and solder on the same piece but wasn't too confident I was able to do it back then. It was a slightly embarrassing occurance that made me just get on with - I'd made some enamel studs with glued on stud posts. I'd used 2 part epoxy resin which was a job in itself as it set hard after 5 minutes so I had to keep mixing more up. The finished studs looked ok but that little voice in my head kept asking "are you sure you want to use glue?" I wasn't but didn't think I had any other way to do it so I used glue. I sold my first pair and merrily sent them on their way to Canada. A couple of week later the buyer got in touch to say the stud post had come off one of the earrings and the other was hanging off. I was mortified, apologized profusely and refunded her m...
32 comments
Read more

Torch Enamelling - What I've been Up To Recently!

I've admired enamelled jewellery for a while now and not too long ago did a blog post about Etsy seller tekaandzoe  and her wonderful kiln enamelled creations. I didn't think at the time that it was something I would ever be able to do as the cost of kilns plus lack of space would be a problem for me. That wasn't until I saw an advert for a torch enamelling tutorial from US jewellery supplies website Beaducation  by Steven James . It's a great tutorial showing the basics on how to torch enamel on copper. Of course I bought it! I then spent hours scouring the internet for more information on torch enamelling, where to buy the tools I'd need and of course the enamel powders. There are quite a few UK sites selling enamelling supplies and tools but as usual I found the US sites had more choice (why do we always lag behind?) I bought some enamel powders from a couple of UK sites to begin with - Cookson Gold have a good selection but bear in mind th...
37 comments
Read more

Etching Silver Using Nail Art Stamps

So my love/hate relationship with etching sterling silver continues. I've tried a few times now and always end up with different results most of them not that great to be honest. I've tried connecting the silver and a piece of copper to a 9v battery and also heating the ferric nitrate. Sometimes the results are good sometimes not so good. I currently have an etched piece of silver sheet waiting to be reticulated and rid it of the mess that is the etched "pattern".  I now know that using stamps and Stayz On ink just doesn't work with silver - the time needed to etch using ferric nitrate is much longer than etching copper and the ink starts to wear away after about an hour. This results in the pattern being patchy as the resist is eaten away and the silver ends up quite lumpy and course looking. I have yet to try using pnp paper. I don't know why but it all seems a bit of a faff to do. I don't have a laser printer so would need to find somewhere or...
34 comments
Read more