How to Dress Up Plain Envelopes

How to Dress Up Plain Envelopes

We've recently announced our new line of Pop-Tone envelopes and they come in all kinds of pretty colors to mail your handmade cards in!  But your envelopes can be works of art too!
We all know you can decorate your envelopes with stickers and washi tape, but what if you took it up a notch?  Design team member, Kate, is here to show you how!
gold embossing on an envelope

1. Emboss on envelopes  

A simple way to decorate a dark envelope is to jazz it up with metallic embossing powder.  Stamp a round image (like a seal) on the flap of the envelope for an elegant touch.  Write the address on the front with a metallic pen.

Stamp Set: Acts of Kindness  (Hero Arts) Black Licorice envelope.

Black Licorice Envelope

orange envelope matching for patterned paper

2. Stamp on envelopes to match cards

Match your envelope to your card by stamping the same image as your card.  The floral patterned paper sets the color scheme and stamping on envelope is a great way to tie it all together.

Floral paper: Orange Flower by American Crafts

Stamp set: Snail Mail (Concord and 9th)

Tangy Orange Envelope

handmade envelope using patterned paper

3. Dress up envelopes with patterned paper

Why not use some patterned paper to jazz up your envelope?  Here I used a circle punch for the sun center and a triangle punch for the sun rays.

Paper: Doodlebug Design 6 x 6 Gingham/Linen Rainbow Petite Prints

Lemon Drop Envelope

striped patterned paper liner in an envelope

4. Make a liner to match your card

Cut your paper to  5 5/8 x 6 inches and trim the sides accordingly.  Leave the gummed edge of the envelope exposed  so you can seal the envelope.   Don't feel like all that trimming?  Just cover the flap with your coordinating paper with a piece of cardstock cut to 5 3/4 x 2 1/4

Paper: Happy Thoughts

Sno Cone and Grape Jelly Envelopes

embossing on white envelope

5. Dress up plain white envelopes

Just have white envelopes?  Heat emboss your image in white or clear embossing powder and ink blend some ink over your design (called emboss resist technique)

Stamp set:  Tulip Florals (Hero Arts)

Distress Oxide ink in Mowed Lawn and Picked Raspberry

White envelope 

sop envelopes for cardmakers

SHOP ALL ENVELOPES FOR CARD MAKERS HERE

Follow us on Instagram @12x12cardstockshop for more envelope inspiration!

-Kate

kate deignan

5 comments


  • Janice Cumming

    I agree with Barb in her comment on August 06, 2021. I don’t think the post office would even accept #2 & #3. Also I don’t think they want a lot of type and pictures on the envelopes so these would be for attaching to a gift or hand delivery. However I do love the distressed ink look on the envelope; this wold certainly go through the mail. I do love the pop tone envelopes but I live in Canada and the shipping cost and exchange brings it to a high cost.


  • Liliana

    I’m looking for a place where I can order envelopes 6×8 for invitations that I’m making.


  • Michelle Price

    Thank you for your feedback Barb! In most cases you can pay extra postage and have it hand processed.


  • Carol L Wineman

    Great ideas!


  • Barb

    These are great ideas for hand-delivered cards, but the Post Office would frown on #2 and #3. Anything that makes it hard for their machines to read the address (the stamped phrase on #2) or have edges that would catch in their sorting machines (#3), is likely to cause problems.


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