DIY Paper Envelope

Inside: Step by step instructions for a DIY Paper envelope and how to make it cute with washi tape!

Propped up on my keyboard was a pink envelope, edged in flowered washi tape and covered in hand-drawn hearts. This was no ordinary love note. This was a one-of-kind special from my four-year-old.

My daughter LOVES to draw me little notes with stick figures and backward letters and deliver them to me in a, sometimes slightly crooked, envelope.  

She makes those envelopes herself, out of plain old copy paper or construction paper. I taught her how to make quick and easy envelopes, and I can show you too. If a four-year-old can do it, so can you!

What You’ll Need: 

• A piece of paper. I will use an 8.5″ x 11″ paper in the demo below. But you can experiment with other sizes!
• Scissors
• Tape – I used Washi Tape. It’s something we always have on hand and it adds personality to your handmade envelope. We’ve collected Washi Tape from all sorts of stores. Amazon has some fun variety packs!

How To Fold A Paper Envelope:

1. Fold your bottom right corner up until the whole bottom side of the paper is flush with the left side.

2. Trim off the top rectangle piece and open up your paper.

3.  Take the bottom left-hand corner and bring it to the top right-hand corner making a triangle. Don’t completely crease the paper! Just make a small crease at the bottom of the triangle. You will use the small crease mark as a guide instead of making a big ugly crease all the way across.

4. Orient your paper so the corner that DOES NOT have a crease is at the top. Now fold the other 3 corners to the center.

5. Fold the bottom half of the envelope up in half.  Fold your top flap down.

Ta – da! Now you have an envelope! Easy right?

Next cut washi tape stripes the same size as the sides of the envelope.

Place the washi strips half on the envelope edges, then fold the other half around to the other side.

This makes a nice edge while also holding the envelope together.

Another Option for Making Envelopes

You will love this Envelope Punch Board from Amazon! This makes folding envelopes of all sizes incredibly easy! And, you don’t have to cut anything!

• Make an envelope in mere seconds – with a few scores, folds and punches create designer envelopes from cardstock, vellum or patterned paper in seconds
• No cutting required – just punch and score. Easy!!

What are you waiting for? Go make a paper envelope for that birthday card or make a batch of love notes for your family! You don’t want to be outdone by a 4-year-old, do you?

Check out 15 ways to DIY beautiful tissue paper flowers!