I made envelopes out of stuff I found.

Tara over at Ephemera has started a great new project called the Elevated Envelope. It's just what it sounds like, a chance to brighten some people's day with an artsy envelope (made by you); and you get cool envelopes back! The theme was "Summer," so I used my summer obsession with handmade paper to my advantage.


I started with a blended concoction...


which included cotton paper scraps, cut off pieces of cover paper, and (of course) junk mail. I did my usual process (blend, screen, roll out, dry) with one big change.

For these envelopes I did some quick-pressing to get plants I could add into the paper. I used the microwave, board and rubber bands to get nice flat pieces I could embed.
When I pulled the screen out of the pulp, I laid a few leaves on top, and gently poured more pulp over them with a spoon. I then went ahead with the rolling and drying process.

(drying.)


A few days later (so I knew it was really dry) I trimmed and scored the paper to fold into an envelope. I decided to stitch the ends together with my sewing machine rather than glue it like a normal envelope. (This was both creativity and laziness on my part.)

(a finished envelope, ready for addressin'.)

I included an extra piece of handmade paper inside of a little story. Some of the pieces were seeded with wildflower seeds. (If you want to add this to your paper, make sure you have really small seeds, and add them before straining your pulp. Don't blend them or try to sprinkle on top.) I put the whole thing together and sealed the flaps.

So now these little envelopes are headed out all over the world. It was an awesome excuse to do my favorite summer things (wander around my yard picking flowers and making paper.)

Now back to the real world.