Creating snail mails is a fun hobby for me. It's the time when I gather all my tools: washi tapes, papers, newspapers, printed papers, glue, scissors, stamps and inks, tahs, and pens (just to mention a few). I sit on a spot with good natural light, and after some time, I like what I see, I take a few photos (that I can post in my Instagram.

I make a pile (a nice pile!) on my desk and snap. This was kind of blurry though. It's magical to think how much ephemera one can put in a small envelope, and not burst the weighing scale at the post office. How do I create mine?

1. ENVELOPE & PAPER DECORATION: D.I.Y. STATIONERY

From where I am located, it's hard to find a nice or eye catching (for me) stationery these days. It's not like in the 90's when I know where to find pretty and scented stationery sets (and spend all my weekly allowance).  But looking at the trending posts in Instagram, I noticed that most snail mailers create their own lovely envelopes and note papers.

This time, I decided to rip off the pages of an adult coloring book and turn it into envelopes. Then I decorated it. I wanted a rustic feel, so I chose a brown paper, and decorate it to somehow match the envelope. The trick is to use the same WASHI strips as accent.



Here's another pile again....


2. MAKE USE OF TINY ENVELOPE

Since I have accumulated so many paper cutouts, I decided to make little gifts by putting as much cutouts in a tiny pouches and envelopes...


See how tiny is this little pouch! You can simply make one by folding small papers... but in my case, I  used SIZZIX Brenda Walton Tiny Envelopes Die. (YOu'll need a die cutting machine to be able to use this.....)


Look at this! I created a palm-sized forest! I went on and on until I was able to make four ephemera bundles. The larger one is a handmade pouch from an old newspaper. I tied baker's twine around the bundles to make them look prettier. There are no rules here, I just dd what I want.


MINI FOREST


FREE ENVELOPE TEMPLATE


Here is a free template that you can download, trace and cut. 

So again, there are no RULES. Just do what you feel like doing and enjoy the process!!  Happy snail mailing!


OH LOOK!!! I received a happy mail from my penpal in Netherland. My penpal sent me a generous mail (because it's my birthday) with lots of postcards (I LOVE POSTCARDS) , a pretty shawl, plenty of ephemera, and of course, her beautiful and chatty letter. I love sharing my incoming mails in my instagram account.



So, I hope you enjoyed my post. Thank you very much for stopping by my blog!!!