Make Your Own Envelope Template From Cardstock

A few days ago I came across a video by Kristina Werner demonstrating the use of a Kreate-A-Lope template to make your own envelopes. What a fantastic product I thought! In days past, I’d have Googled the manufacturer, found out where to buy the product locally and made my online purchase in a matter of seconds.

Unfortunately, with the effect of the economic downturn, I can’t justify such a purchase these days on a mere whim. An idea formed in my mind as I watched Kristina make her envelope for a second time. That template (though no doubt a fantastic product) looked easy enough to duplicate.

So this afternoon I set about that very task. I resolved to make a similar template out of cardstock. I measured the size of the inner rectangle first, as this determines what sized cards will ultimately fit inside the envelope. I plan to make 10cm x 15cm cards, so I sized my inner rectangle at 10.3cm x 15.4cm to allow a little room to ease the card inside the finished envelope.

Here’s the steps I took to make an cardstock envelope template to fit a 10cm x 15cm card:

Outer Square

Select a sheet of 12″ x 12″ cardstock.
Rule up a square that measures 20cm x 20cm. Cut the square out from the 12×12 sheet with your paper trimmer or Exacto knife.
Rule up a second square, inside the first square, that measures 19cm x 19cm (centre the inner square within the outer one).
Rotate your sheet 45° to the left (so that your square becomes a diamond).

Inner Rectangle Window

From the top tip of your INNER diamond, measure 10.8cm down the left edge and place a pencil dot. Do the same along the right edge. Draw a horizontal line from left to right connecting the two dots. (The line should measure approx. 15.4cm.)
Rotate your diamond 180° so that the top becomes the bottom. Repeat step 1. You should now have two horizontal lines forming the top and bottom edges of your inner rectangle.
Rule a vertical line between the two dots on the left edges of your diamond, to form the left edge of your rectangle. Do the same on the right side of your diamond.
Cut out the rectangle carefully with an Exacto knife (or equivalent tool). Keep the rectangle that you’ve cut out. Don’t throw it away…you’ll need it!

Bevelled Edge Outer Diamond

From the bottom tip of your OUTER diamond, measure 4cm along the left edge and place a pencil dot. Do the same on the right. Rule a horizontal line connecting the two dots. Cut along this line with your paper trimmer or knife (in effect beveling the corner).
Your template is done! Watch Kristina’s video to learn how to make an envelope with your new template.

If you’re reading via RSS, you can access the video from this post on Kristina’s blog. Otherwise you can watch by clicking on the video on top right of your screen. The video’s 7 mins 20 secs long.

At this point, I have to confess that I drew my template with software (Adobe Illustrator to be exact) and then got my trusty Craft Robo electronic cutter to cut it all out for me…*blush*. I wrote the above instructions for scrappers who may not have access to an electronic cutter.

Above is what my template looked like when it was finished. (I’ve laid it on a sheet of 12×12 white cardstock so you can see it a bit better.) I tested the template out in the same way that Kristina shows us in her video and I found it works perfectly! I’m very pleased with the results. Here’s a test envelope I made out of spare patterned paper to show you (below).

Back Of Envelope