Part 1 – Beautify your Letter
If you’re like me you have a closet full of old maps that no longer see the light of day now that we have all started traveling with the help of our trusty GPS. Printed Maps, I’m sure many kids from this generation would not even know what a printed map looks like unless we will share our knowledge with them. But for the folks of a different generation we could not live without our paper maps from either the AAA or from National Geographic magazine. These maps helped open the world to us.
Well, since technology is pushing us forward and we often give in to it, why not get those old maps or magazines out of the closet and give them a second life!
So, what exactly can you do with all your old maps and magazines? So many things! For example, you can create beautiful stationary to fit your style and personality and give a part of your hometown to the receiver in the form of nice envelopes made by hand out of the maps of your city. You can take it one step further by inserting a post card of your choice with a few nice words for a friend or loved one that will create a great personalized gift by itself.
You can also use old atlases and maps, worn book pages or even gorgeous vintage magazines to create stunning stationary or even use as gift wrapping for the gift, or the outside wrapping of a box. Just imagine the look on your friend’s face when he or she opens the package and is surprised and touched by the envelope you sent, or the wrapping paper and décor you had thoughtfully included in the parcel. You can do any number of things with these old papers from personalized envelope or gifts. Here is what you need and how to get started.
First, here is what you need…
Now, here are the steps to create a customized hometown envelope:
Step 1:
Collect the maps, atlases or old vintage magazines.
Step 2:
Create a Template on the poster board to trace on your selected material. The easiest way to make a template is to take a sample envelope and unfold it. Depending on the occasion you can choose different types of envelopes. Carefully take apart the envelope of your choice where it is glued until you have an "exploded" envelope. Then trace that envelope onto the poster board. Once you have the outline, cut out the envelope pattern. You can do different shapes of envelopes too, such as in the example below.
Step 3:
Give some consideration for how the envelope pattern will appear when you are done. Diagonal writing and patterns are cool but some really should be oriented horizontally for the best presentation. Also, remember that the envelope will have a top and a bottom. Orienting the pattern the wrong way may result in any writing being upside down! Trace the pattern onto the backside of the envelope. This makes folding it easier as well as hides your lines when the envelope is sealed. Then just cut out the pattern.
Step 4:
Using the notches in the original envelope as a pattern you can see where you should fold the new envelope. I found that a good straight edge or an art ruler that's upside down work well.
Step 5:
Apply glue to the overlap areas of the side folds. Then press the bottom fold into place. Be careful not to put on too much glue! TO help keep the parts of the envelope from sticking together you might want to have something inside the envelope so the front and back don't adhere to each other. To make the seal stronger, put something heavy on the seams so they were not able to unfold while the glue dries.
Step 6:
Okay, you’re done with the envelope, now go and write the letter. Hand written letters are such a rare experience these days and being mailed in a handmade envelope will certainly put a smile on the face of a friend or family member. Use either clear or white labels for the addresses.
Here is another great tip for you: if you like the concept of re-creating and giving life to once forgotten maps you can print an envelope with any address from Google Maps by going to this address: http://mapenvelope.com/. Simply type an address and you'll get a ready to print envelope template with the address specified.
I hope that with the help of these step-by-step instructions, you will be able to create this great and unique envelope and that will be a one-of-a-kind gift. By following and reading my Blog at Lavky.com Marketplace you always be first to know these and other ideas.
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I agree with it!