DIY Artfully Recyled Envelopes

Great for mailing letters or greetings, great to bundle in packs of five or ten and give as a gift. All of the envelopes below were made from pages recycled from books found at thrift stores for less than $1.00. The weight of paper used for picture or photo books is perfect for envelopes. All of the envelopes below are 6 inches x 4.5 inches.

Envelopes made from a Japanese how-to-draw book

Close-up of envelope made from Japanese how-to-draw book

Back of envelope

Envelopes made from book on games around the world

Close-up of envelope made from book on games around the world

Back of envelope

Envelopes from Japanese book about World War II

Close-up of envelope from Japanese WWII book

These are just a sampling—you can get tons of envelopes from a well-selected book. You can also crank these out really quickly once you get the swing of it. For a how-to tutorial on making recycled envelopes the quick and easy way, see Recycled Envelopes How-To.

Meanwhile, in case you were wondering just how you make an address legible when the envelope is so colorful:

Mailing labels with torn edge

Make mailing labels and glue-stick them onto the envelope. You can use recycled paper for these also by using the blank side of printouts from your computer that you've put in your recycle pile. And of course you do have a printer paper recycle pile don't you? Here, I arranged and printed my address six-up on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of recycled paper, and then tore them out in the shape of labels. I like the torn edge effect, but you could also just cut them out.

Envelope with torn paper mailing label glued on.

And the final question: Do these make it through the mail? Why yes they do, with regular postage, no problem.