kojo tutorial: wrapping paper to a padded envelope

I have a fond affection for wrapping paper (I may have mentioned it before once or twice- haha!)… I especially love thick, beautifully printed paper (think elum, single sheets from papyrus, martha stewart’s gift wrap line). So when I saw the tutorials for crafting a padded envelope by swirly thoughts and the brown paper packaging envelope by whosies, the wheels in my head started turning. And turning. And turning.

And like a lightbulb, or a flash of brilliance, or whatever illustrations of momentary genius you can think of, it came to me: sewn. wrapping. paper. padded. envelopes! Perfect for etsy orders, care packages, or just gazing at lovingly as they sit on your ‘shipping supplies’ shelf…

Do you want to make some too? I knew you did!

You’ll need:
-gorgeously printed thick wrapping paper (the flimsy kind won’t work… it should be at least the weight of regular paper)… the size you’ll need depends on the size of envelope you want to make
-bubble wrap (this is available at my dollar tree!)… again, the size depends on your finished product
-hot glue gun and glue stick (I made 10 envelopes and used 2 glue sticks)
-sewing machine and thread
-pinking shears or paper cutter (optional)

1. Cut a piece of wrapping paper twice the size of the envelope you’re making. Fold in half.

2. Cut 2 pieces of bubble wrap, each slightly smaller than your two ‘halves’ (you want to leave room to sew, so make sure you have at least that much of a perimeter without bubble wrap).

3. Lay your folded-in-half piece of wrapping paper flat (I used utensils to keep it from curling up). Using your hot glue gun, glue the bubble wrap pieces on each half. Tip: Position the bubble wrap and hold it in place with a utensil. Then go around the perimeter with the glue gun, gluing a corner, the corresponding middle of the edge and the next corner. This way the glue doesn’t dry but you hit all the edges of the bubble wrap with glue.

4. Using a medium-to-large stitch size (mine was set at a 2 1/2 out of 4), stitch around two edges of your ‘envelope.’ Leave one side open (this will be your envelope ‘top’). You may be thinking, “but my envelope has four sides… why do I only stitch two of them?” One is folded, remember? So now you have two stitched sides, one folded side and one open envelope ‘top.’ Sound good?

5. If your wrapping paper cutting is as uneven as mine, your edges will generally, but not exactly, line up. Use pinking shears or a paper cutter to even the edges out and make them match perfectly.

6. When your envelope is full of goodies, sew your top side closed. Make sure the contents of the envelope are settled at the bottom and do not get caught in the top-edge-sewing.

Head to the post office to spread the lovely wrapping paper-y, fabulous print-y, cheaper-than-regular-old-manilla-envelope-y goodness to the United States Postal Service workers and your recipient of choice!

Happy packaging!