Lining Envelopes
July 14th, 2008 @ 3:25 pm by Mrs. Pineapple
A few other bees have already posted about how-to line envelopes, but I thought I would share my how-to as well. (After experiencing some undesirably wonky creases when going at it the “Martha” way.)First of all for the lining I used a copper pattern that was duplicated in the inside of the “Ceremony & Reception Details” folder.
Step 1: Creating the Lining Paper
I purchased the pattern from istockphoto.com for $5. I then opened it in Adobe Illustrator and changed the colors to match the rest of the invitation suite. I then printed out 8.5″ x 11″ pieces of paper with the pattern repeated across the sheet like wall paper.
{this photo is not completely accurate because I ended up skipping the crease-then-tape part}
Step 2: Creating a Template
This was definitely the hardest part of the project. I traced around a pre-made envelope onto a thin piece of cardboard. Then I drew a line slightly inside the outline and one line below where the lick and stick part would be. Now, this sounds simple enough, but for some reason it took me several templates to get the angles on the top portion just right.
Step 3: Trace Template on Lining Paper
Step 4: Cut Out Lining Paper
Step 5: Insert Lining Paper into Envelope
Step 6: Tape
I found that you only need on strip of tape for each envelope. Place the strip of tape right where my fingers are in the bottom left photo.
Step 7: Close the envelope and crease. A few other instructions call for creasing the lining by closing the envelope prior to applying your adhesive, then closing again. I found, however, that is you just tape the top then your lining paper has room to adjust itself while you are closing the envelope and the crease will not move when you apply your adhesive.
This was a good project to get out of the way ages ago. It was one of the easiest projects I have taken on and it really makes a big impact when you open the envelope. Plus by repeating the pattern in multiple places throughout the suite the look is even more pulled together and custom.
Is anyone else taking on the envelope lining task?
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8 Responses to “Lining Envelopes”
Thinking about it - I lined some envelopes as part of a note card set for my MOH as practice. The template is certainly the tricky bit! We were going to line our invitation envelopes, but ended up making them out of paper with a different pattern on each side, so they were automatically lined. Woo hoo!
Thinking about lining our thank-you cards next. Thanks for another approach on lining!
We had envelope liners for our invitations and thank you cards from invitesite.com. Luckily the liners were precut so we just had to insert and glue! I thought about skipping the liners but they really do add an elegant touch!
We lined our envelopes but it has been very easy because we basically started at Step 4 of the process you describe. We made our invitations ourselves using materials from Paper Source, and we bought the paper we wanted to line our envelopes there, as well as pre-made templates designed for our envelopes and a finger cutter for ease of cutting along the line of the template. It took a couple of tries to get it right but then we got it down and it only took us a few hours to cut out and tape the linings of 75 envelopes.
here’s the link to the envelope liner kit from paper source
http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/40712906.html?cm_id=2510.050
Beautiful design — can you post the link to the file on istockphoto? Also, what color did you use? Might make some notecards for my bridesmaids with that orange.
oops, nm on the link to the istockphoto file… saw you linked it. thx
Thank you for posting this!!! I am currently in the invite stage, and the envelope liner is the last piece. I haven’t been able to find a pattern I like on a paper that’s the right weight, so I’m going to have to check out istockphoto.com
Mrs. Pineapple, Pittsburgh
Age and Occupation: 24, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Student Affairs Administration
Engagement Date: August 4, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: April 14, 2008
Venue: The Rivers Club
About Me: Being a transplant from sunny south Florida I am learning to live with all four seasons while playing with our cat collective, line dancing, and doing a ton of DIY projects for our wedding (seriously, like a thousand)!
I’m still waiting on my invites/envelopes and the paper. I am so worried it will look messed up. Thanks for the tutorial!