Book-Cycling Part Three: Stationery Sets

posted by Gina

Finals are over, my friends. After a bitter (seemingly endless) battle with American Psychological Association’s 6th Edition, my last paper is in, my last performance performed, and my last all-nighter (seriously, I am way, way too old for those) pulled – at least until next semester.

And now it’s time to scramble about and deal with all the holiday prep I’ve neglected the past two weeks. If you’re in the same boat, I bring to you a delightful (and delightfully easy!) idea for a homemade gift.

The Book Page Envelope!

These are just fun. And easy! What’s not to love? 

What you’ll need:

• An old book or book pages – picture books are particularly fun, ’cause they’re colorful and festive. Whimsy never hurts anyone.
• An envelope to take apart for a template.
• Scissors.
• Glue. (I used regular white glue, but a glue stick would have been easier.)

Procedure:

Carefully tear your envelope apart.

I started with this one, then realized the opened envelope was bigger than my pages, so I found a smaller one.

Trace the template onto your selected page,

and cut it out.

Younger kids might need you to deal with the template-making, while older kids can run on ahead on their own.

Fold your new envelope – I put the original on top of my page, so I could follow the lines exactly.

It doesn’t matter if you’re not super precise here, you can always adjust the folds.

Glue the edges down, using the original as a guide. (Again, I recommend a glue stick. Why are glue sticks so much easier?)

Et Voila!!

Reveling in my success, I thought to myself, “Hmmm. I wonder if the bigger envelope would still work, even if the page is a little smaller.” So I tried it.

And yes indeedy, it worked. You can see, in the almost-final product (awaiting glue), where the template was cut off, but it still looks fine.

These envelopes can be sealed, once a note or letter is inside, with a glue stick or a festive sticker. If you’re interested in making a clever gift set for a friend or relative, may I recommend making a variety of envelopes and gifting them along with a wax seal set, as I am doing for my book-loving friend Scott:

A bonus idea: not only would these make good gifts, but they’re a great idea for post-holiday thank-you notes. Everyone loves thank-you notes.

Happy holidays everyone! Beret and I will be taking a couple weeks off to deal with the madness and maybe get a little sleep. Happy New Year, and we’ll see you in January!