Envelope Journals

I’ve been wanting a really quick and easy way to make a journal or sketchbook that doesn’t involve spending ages cutting paper or stitching a binding, but is still secure and can withstand being taken out and about for sketching on the go. Mostly this came about because I had a pack of envelopes that I wasn’t going to use and wanted a way of repurposing them.

I suppose the inspiration for this is the times I’ve spent doodling or making notes on backs on old envelopes and although this uses new envelopes, if you are able to keep the flap intact, an old envelope would work as well. You can use envelopes for greeting cards, security/privacy-tinted envelopes, handmade envelopes or even a mixture of all them. It just depends on what you have around you and what look you are going for.

This method of journal making is really great for travel journals or collection journals, because, obviously, envelopes have built in pockets to keep things in if you like collecting bits and pieces you find. Also, it is really easy to create flaps if you want a bigger page to work on.

You can create a journal and start using it, or you can work on envelopes and then assemble them into a journal as you go. The only downside of this method is you work from then inside out and so it won’t end up chronological. But it is possible to add in signatures without much effort, if that is helpful.

The method is very simple and straightforward, especially if the envelopes you are using are all the same size. If they are different sizes, that is fine too, but the method will need to be adapted slightly and a little bit of planning is useful.

You will need:

• Envelopes
• Glue
• Scissors / Craft knife, depending on the envelopes you use.

And that’s it!

If you are using envelopes that are all the same size:

These envelopes I am using have lower flaps that help seal them. You can either cut them off or stick them down. I am going to cut them off.

Put glue of back of one flap and put it inside the other envelope and press down to hold it in place.

The flap of the second envelope should now be behind the envelope you have just glued. Glue the back of this flap, get a third envelope and put the flap inside and glue down.

The flap of third is now behind the second glued, so do the same and continue to do so until you have done as many envelopes as you’d like.

When you are done, stick the inside of the final flap onto the back of the other envelope.

Each envelope now has a pocket in which you can put things – you can leave them open to use/not use or glue/tape them shut.

If you want, you can cut the edges of the envelope open along the fold to create a flap which can be opened out.

And that is your journal completed.

If you are using envelopes that are different sizes:

Although you can make this type of journal as you go, it is a little bit easier to try it out first before sticking anything down, to figure out which flaps fit inside which envelopes.

Do the same method as above, by sticking alternating flaps inside a new envelope to add them into the journal.

If you have any envelopes that are a different shape or size, specifically smaller than others, you can create a mini journal using the same method as you would for the journal and then, wherever you want in the journal, you can stick it in, either by slipping it into an envelope with another flap, or sticking the flap onto an envelope page. This is a great solution if you finish off your journal, but decide at a later date that you want to add more pages.

And, again, that is your journal done and ready to use!