Make Your Own Note Cards and Envelopes, Part 3

You’ve chosen your paper and you have all your tools together. Now you’re ready to make your note cards and envelopes! This post will be for the envelopes.

**Unfortunately, I’m missing my scorer (aka: hairstick) and had to improvise with a pen lid to score- and what do ya know! it worked just fine!) and please excuse my fingernail polish **

First, you’ll want to decide what size of note card set you want to make. It is important to have envelopes and note cards that fit together. An easy way to do this is to find an envelope you have already. Perhaps one that you received a birthday card in or a sweet little card from a friend or loved one. Depending on the size of paper you have chosen, you can make an envelope just like the one you received- but in whatever paper pattern you want!

I really like simple myself and to make this tutorial easier, I will use a basic envelope.

The envelope is about 5 3/4” wide and since my scrap book paper is 12x12, I will only be able to make one envelope per sheet. (I promise my math isn’t off- you’ll see ) In another part to this tutorial series, I will show you how to make smaller ones but it is based off of this basic envelope.

Gently, very carefully undo the envelope that you wish to use as a template.

The flaps on the sides of my template envelope make the actual size of the envelope that I will be cutting out of the scrap book paper larger than the 11 1/2” it would be if it were two envelopes side by side. Instead the width is almost 7 1/4” inches (too large for two envelopes from one sheet of 12x12 scrap book paper!)

On the paper you have chosen, trace the open envelope with the sharp pencil. With the paper I am using for this particular step, I cannot erase much because the eraser dulls the paper… I’ll just have to be very careful  

On the following steps the envelope that I use for illustration purposes is one of my smaller envelopes. They are 85% the size of the original envelope. The method is the same no matter what size envelope you are making!

Cut out either right on the trace line or a smidgen on the inside of the trace line (that way your envelope doesn’t have pencil marks).

Now you will score the envelope where the side flaps are and also the bottom and top flap of the envelope. It is difficult to show the score marks…I hope you can see them or at least tell what it is that I’m doing Here is when you use the bone-scorer. Using it at an angle and not too roughly, run it down the length of the ruler where it is on the paper. Clear as mud?

Fold the flaps of the side of the envelope in, lift the bottom flap up on top of those and finally bring the top flap down. Don’t press too hard when folding, it could crack the paper (which will cause it to tear and fall apart).

Does it sit right? Is it straight? One thing about these envelopes is that if you haven’t scored them in the right place, you can generally ‘scoot’ the flaps over, up or down to make them line up better without messing up your finished envelope.

Once it is the way you would like it to be, put glue on the inside bottom flaps, close to the edge and just to the top.

Fold the side flaps in and the bottom flap up and press for a few seconds. It doesn’t take long.

Voila! You have made an envelope that you can put your note card into.

Next up: Make note cards to go with your envelopes.

Make Your Own Note Cards and Envelopes, Part 2

Last time I talked about papers to use for making your own notecards and envelopes. This time I will talk about the tools that you will need to make them. None of these are specialty tools so you most likely have them on hand. I know that there are Cricuts and other nifty cutters out there but I don’t have one and so this will not tell you how to use one. I really think that it is very easy to make these notecards and envelopes with simple tools. Let’s get started, shall we?

Scissors- it really does not matter what brand or even the size. If you are comfortable with your pair of scissors, then I suggest using those. It is good to have a sharp pair however as it won’t leave a tattered edge- unless of course that is what you are wanting.

Exequy’s blog

Glue- I use Tacky Glue or Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Adhesive (the Scotch is my favorite and it takes very little so the bottle lasts for quite a while!)

 

Straight edge, or a Ruler- a metal ruler comes in real handy for crafts because it does not get nicked or dented like wooden or plastic. But if you have a plastic (or wooden) ruler, it will work just fine. Mine is an older plastic ruler that I ahem, borrow from my kids

Pencil and eraser- I would suggest a nice sharp pencil and a white plastic eraser. The reason is the sharper the pencil (as long as it is not an extremely hard ‘lead’) will leave a light line when needed. The plastic eraser does not leave behind residue like Pink Pearls or the eraser on a typical pencil. 

  

Bone folder/scorer- this will be used to crease the flaps after the notecards and envelopes have been cut out from the scrapbook paper. Honestly, I use a hairstick that was made by my mom This particular one would work well for creasing…and putting your hair up afterward!

Something that is nice to have but not necessary to make your own notecards and envelopes:

Paper cutter- I do have one of these and it helps cut down on the time it takes to make the notecards and envelopes but the scissors are still needed. This is something that saves time but isn’t a necessity. You can also purchase replacement blades (the little orange square on the cutter is the blade).

Next step: Making Your Envelopes for Your Own Notecards!

**Disclaimer: All the links to products do go to Amazon.com, with the exception of Lindercroft at Artfire, of which I am an affiliate. Purchases made from Amazon after clicking on my link provide me with an advertisers fee and, although small, it does help with my finances- and I am most grateful!

Make Your Own Note Cards and Envelopes, Part 1

With my recent giveaway, Trisha asked if I would make a tutorial so that others could learn how to make the notecards and envelope sets. I thought that was a wonderful idea! This is the first part of my tutorial. I’ve split it into parts to make it less intimidating. Click here to see all the how-tos for making your own notecards and envelopes. 

For this ongoing tutorial, I will be referring to the cards that I make which are made from high quality scrapbook paper. They are thick and durable. There are other ways to make these cards, of course, and any paper you choose is totally up to you

What really takes the most time, I think, is choosing the papers you wish to use to make the sets. With scrapbooking such a popular past-time, it is easy to find great designs and wonderful colors. Really any type of paper will work for this but certain thickness and textures work better. 

Some paper brands* I would highly suggest are:

*the themes are not what I am recommending but the brand, the images are there to give an idea of what the cover page may look like*

Paperabilities- it is similar to a different brand that I suggest against using but it is better quality. You can feel it. You may notice the “TM” after Printed Paper. This is the type of paper I would suggest starting out with to make the note cards and envelopes until you get a feel for it.

Karen Foster Design- these come in a lot of different styles/themes and they are generally resistant to cracking when creased. There are some papers from this brand that are thinner.

S.E.I –this brand sells so many different great textures of paper!

Here are a few I would suggest not using:

“Printed Paper”- the photo that follows isn’t exactly the paper I personally have because there are many different kinds/themes. This paper is extremely thin paper and just does not work as well for making the sturdy note cards and envelopes (just pick up the paper and feel the difference). It generally will have the gray lines on the cover and say “Printed Paper”. Or if you just want to have fun with cutting up and making things this would be the perfect paper

Textured Cardstock Pad from We R Memory Keepers – the paper ‘cracks’ when it is creased (it doesn’t matter what color scheme you choose, the texture isn’t conducive to this type of craft- unfortunately).

DCWV Glitter papers- Beautiful paper and some of it can be tricked into working but generally the glitter cracks because of the adhesive that holds it on the page (I do use these but have to be very selective-you may have noticed that a set of note cards in the giveaway were made with these papers )

With all that said, you can use any type, theme, or texture of paper for your notecards and envelopes. The different thickness, texture and overall quality of the paper will determine how easy it is to work with and also the finished product.

Next up: What tools do you need to make your own note cards and envelopes?

**Disclaimer: All the links to products do go to Amazon.com, of which I am an affiliate. Purchases made from Amazon after clicking on my link provide me with an advertisers fee and, although small, it does help with my finances- and I am most grateful!

Downloading Books onto the Kindle for PC...From Places Other than Amazon...Using Mozilla Firefox

If you are looking for how to download with Internet Explorer, look here. For Google Chrome downloads, look here. If you need to find the original post about downloading from somewhere other than Amazon, look here. Still not the right one? Try the search on the left sidebar.

On this post, I will be working with Mozilla Firefox downloading a book from Manybooks to the Kindle for PC.

This is assuming you have chosen your book from Manybooks and are choosing the format for download. Choose .azw or .mobi for use with Kindle for PC. Click download. A dialogue box will pop up asking if you would like to Open or Save the file.


You can either have it open directly with Kindle for PC, which might be the easiest way, or Save the file manually. For the purposes of downloading the book to Kindle for PC I will choose to have it directly opened/downloaded right now.

This next screenshot is of Google Chrome opening Kindle for PC but it will look the same with Mozilla Firefox, mine was just too fast for me to capture a screenshot.


Kindle for PC opens and begins the book. Check here for an how-to on using the Kindle for PC.

Downloading Books onto the Kindle for PC...From Places Other than Amazon...Using Google Chrome

If you are looking for how to download with Internet Explorer, look here. If you need to find the original post about downloading from somewhere other than Amazon, look here. Still not the right one? Try the search on the left sidebar.

On this post, I will be working with Google Chrome downloading a book from Manybooks to the Kindle for PC.

This is assuming that you have chosen your book from Manybooks and are choosing the format for download. Choose .azw or .mobi for use with Kindle. Click download.

After it downloads completely, click on the file downloaded. Kindle for PC will automatically start to open.


From here you can enjoy your book!
Check out my posts on how to use the Kindle for PC here, but you probably already know :)

Downloading Books onto the Kindle for PC...From Places Other than Amazon...Using Internet Explorer

My last post on downloading books to Kindle for PC..from places other than Amazon...showed how to search for a book on Manybooks.net and which format to choose for Kindle. This time I will go through the steps of actually downloading and putting it onto the Kindle for PC from Internet Explorer. I intend to go through these steps with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox as well.

This is assuming that you have chosen your book from Manybooks and are choosing the format for download.

After choosing to download (I chose .azw format), a dialogue box will pop up asking if you would like to Open, Save or Cancel. Click Save.



Make sure of where the file is going to be saved to. In order to easily find it later, put it in My Kindle Content (located in Documents unless you put it somewhere else...).


And now would be the best time to rename the file if you would like to something easier to remember.


Now to make sure the book downloaded correctly. Do this by either finding the file "An Island Story" in My Kindle Content and double-clicking or by opening the Kindle for PC and then browsing by author or title for the book on the Kindle. It doesn't always alphabetize the books like it's supposed to.


I think that is it, don't think I have forgotten anything... If I have, let me know :)

Downloading Books onto the Kindle for PC...From Places Other than Amazon

In another post I made a somewhat useful tutorial on how to use the Kindle for PC but it was for books coming directly from Amazon.com, where the Kindle for PC is downloaded from. What about using Project Gutenberg, or Manybooks.net?? How do we get them on the Kindle for PC?

It's much the same process but without the 'buying' from amazon. I say it that way because, well, you don't buy the books because they are free.

Anyway, shall we get started? First go to the site you wish to download books from. In this case I will use Manybooks.net

Enter the author, title, subject or genre you are looking for in the search box.



At first I tried Our Island Story but with no results so instead I chose An Island Story by H. E. Marshall. Press enter (or if you would like to try the Advanced Search click that).



Click the title listed if it is correct. If it isn't, try another search or the Google search. When you find the book you want, you see an excerpt, which is nice. On the right you see the download pull-down box.





From here the process of opening and reading the book is the same as if it were downloaded from Amazon.com

Depending on your browser, you may need to choose the file to put the book in. Usually I use Google Chrome and it downloads it automatically. I will post a tutorial on that another time.

I hope it has been somewhat helpful. Leave some feedback if you were helped...or if you weren't help me figure out where I went wrong ;)