Making Stationery 2 - Custom Note Cards, Enclosure Cards and Envelopes

When making a stationery set you need more than just Custom Writing Paper and Envelopes.

Sometimes a folded card is more suitable for the occasion.

These cards tend to be more casual and fun. Having blank all-purpose cards at home can be appropriate for different events and very handy.

Like writing paper you can make these cards very easily to suit your style

Folded cards can be bought at any stationery store in boxed sets. These 4 x 5 cards come 6 to 15 cards a set and range from $10 to $40 (and up) in greeting card stores, museum shops, garden centers, book stores etc. While they can gorgeous they are a bit pricey.

It is easy to make your own note cards using card stock that is available in any office supply store or more expensively at craft stores (look for it on sale) that will look just as gorgeous at a fraction of the price.

You should buy the envelopes that you will be using first to make sure that your cards will fit in them. Envelopes that are 4 3/8 x 5 3/4 inches are a good size as you can cut 8 1/2 x 11 (standard paper size) card stock in half (8 1/2 x 5 1/2) and fold it over once (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) to make a card that would fit in the envelope.

How you would decorate the card would be up to you as there are hundreds of ideas that you could use, everything from your own art work to pressed flowers.

A very traditional card would have your initials on it or your name on the front. One idea that I have used is using old maps (if you travel a great deal this is a fun idea) but you could use any decorative paper that you have.

Using plain white card stock cut it in half so you have two pieces 8 1/2 x 5 1/2. You need to score down the middle of the card stock to make a line you can fold on. Do this on a protected surface so you do not damage the table you are working on.

People who do a lot of crafts have bone folders which are dull knives made of plastic or bone but if you don't have one you can use a butter knife, dull letter opener or any other stiff dull edge that you can control. Make sure that the line you score is exactly down the middle and straight.

Using an old or discarded map open up the card and lay it out on a section of the map that would look attractive on your card.

Remember that the front of the card is more important than the back. With a pencil lightly trace on the map a little bit larger than the card blank. Cut out the map and fold it so it will fit over the card blank.

Open it up and with a glue stick cover the back of the map then put the fold of the map to the fold of the card and smooth down the map onto the folded card. (If you open up the card and the map when you are gluing them together then the map will buckle when you open the card, gluing them together when they are both folded seems to work better). The map will be slightly larger than the card so when the glue is dry trim the edges with a paper cutter or very carefully with scissors.

Enclosure gift cards are another handy card to have a supply of. They are folded cards about 3 x 3 1/2 inches and are used with small gifts such as wine, flowers, candles, etc. or in gift bags. They come with envelopes but are too small to mail.

These you can also find at gift stores, bookstores, stationery stores and other places and cost about $1 each and sometimes less if they come in a box set of 6 or more. As with note cards these are very easy to make at home using card stock.

Here I also made gift enclosure cards using maps. With a piece of card stock score a line from top to bottom 3 inches in from the edge. Fold the card stock over on this and using a paper cutter cut off the remaining 2 1/2 inches that is not part of the card. Using the paper cutter cut 3 inch folded card every 2 inches so you will have 5 card blanks and a left over that will be too small to use.

As with the note cards using an old or discarded map open up the card and lay it out on a section of the map that would look attractive on your card. Again remember that the front of the card is more important than the back. With a pencil lightly trace on the map a little bit larger than the card blank. Cut out the map and fold it so it will fit over the card blank. Open it up and with a glue stick cover the back of the map then put the fold of the map to the fold of the card and smooth down the map onto the card. When the glue is dry trim the edges.

Enclosure card envelopes can be easily made by cutting a piece of cardboard (such a cereal box cardboard) exactly 3 inches x 4 inches.

Draw a line down the middle of the cardboard so there are 2 inches on each side. Cut out a piece of paper 5 1/2 inches x 5 1/2 inches. Lightly draw a pencil line from one diagonal corner to another diagonal corner. Place the cardboard in the middle of the diagonal paper and align the lines on the cardboard and paper.

You will be folding each corner in on the cardboard but they must be folded right against the cardboard for the finished envelope to be precise. Fold the bottom flap up, the top flap down and fold in each side flap.

Remove the paper and cut about a 1/4 inch off the corner of the bottom flap. At the sides where the paper folded over itself cut out notches to remove the excess paper. These notches will be more than 90 degrees. Erase the pencil mark and place the cardboard back in the middle of the envelope.

Fold up the bottom flap and using a glue stick glue the side flaps to it. If you don't glue it with the cardboard inside the envelope might not be exactly equal. Remove the cardboard and let the envelope dry. If you want to seal the envelope when you put the enclosure card in then glue it with a glue stick or use a wax seal or a sticker.

Your own personal stationery will make the notes that you send even more special.

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