How to Make Your Own Paper Envelope

Arrange One Piece of Paper

Take the piece of paper you want to be the outside of the envelope, place it decorative-side down, and rotate it so that it looks like a diamond.

Fold in Three Corners

Fold three of the points toward the middle. The points should meet in the center of the paper and should slightly overlap. Fold in the left, right, and bottom corners of the diamond.

If you're feeling unsure, before you do a hard crease in the paper, gently bend the paper to see where the points will meet. When you're satisfied with how it looks, make a sharp, hard crease to create the edges of your envelope. You can use a bone folder to create stiff creases.

Glue the Seams

While you can use traditional craft clue or a glue stick, hot glue is better for this project. It dries clear, practically instantly, and holds everything securely in place. With traditional craft glue, you run the risk of your seams popping away from one another while they're drying.

With your hot glue gun, run a line of glue down along the edges of the inside of the corners and press to close. If your glue gun has different heat levels, use the low setting as the high setting can discolor the paper, not to mention really burn your fingers if they happen to come in contact with it.

Add the Insert

With the envelope formed, it's time to use the coordinating piece of decorative paper to add a pretty liner.

Trace the outside of your envelope onto the other piece of scrapbook paper and cut it out with your scissors. The piece should fit perfectly inside your envelope. If it seems a bit too tight, cut off some excess paper on the bottom of the insert. Once it fits well and you're satisfied with the way it looks, remove the insert, place glue on the back, and secure to the inside of the envelope.

Now your envelope is ready to pair with a card that you've made yourself or even a store-bought one that may have lost its envelope.