Forget about the “Bag Lady,” if I had to pick a scrapbook nickname for myself it would be “Envelope Lady.”
You should see all of the envelopes I have sitting on my craft table. Dozens and dozens of plain, white business size envelopes filled with items I am planning to add to future scrapbook layouts. I store everything in those envelopes, from ticket stubs to copies of my daughter’s Girl Scout badges, coins, award ribbons, postcards, newspaper clippings, greeting cards, journaling notes, photos, even strands of my nephew’s hair from his first “big boy” cut.
Envelopes are a cheap and extremely functional means of storage for scrappers. However, in order to keep your page designs aesthetically pleasing, you probably don’t want to attach plain envelopes to them. Fortunately, there are ways to preserve the functionality of an envelope without compromising the look of your layouts.
One option is to sew a fabric envelope directly to your scrapbook page. Simply stitch three sides of leftover fabric directly to your page to make a pocket. Then, add ribbon or ric rac to embellish. An easier option is to adhere a pretty greeting card envelope to your layout and fill it with a photo CD or other memorabilia. If you are an advanced crafter, you could opt to use patterned paper and make an origami envelope. These pretty paper envelopes are a great way to preserve photos and small mementos from special occasions. What’s more, they are easy to attach to layouts without being an eyesore.
If you really want to make something special from your homemade envelopes (or decorated store-bought versions), consider turning your collection into a memory album. An envelope scrapbook is made by binding together envelopes, cardstock, photos, and embellishments. The envelopes serve as pockets for memorabilia and part of the page structure for the actual scrapbook.
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