Tri-Fold Cards, No expensive envelopes needed

I use to love making cards. Scrapbooking makes me feel guilty for getting so behind on it (kid #3 is lucky I remember to take pictures now) but with cards you can whip them up on a whim. No guilt involved when you tuck them away.

The one thing that I dislike about making cards is buying the specialty evelopes-- they are quite pricey. Well, I found an easy fix for that right at my dollar store... regular all white evelopes.  When you cut a folded piece of paper to fit in a standard envelope you are left with a not very attractive odd shape rectangle. That size didn't work for me.

Then I tried a tri-fold... and it was perfect.  Unfolded it is the same size as the cards I used to make (2 out of an 8.5 X 11) paper. 

Standard envelopes are longer that specialty card ones, so you can only make one out of an 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper (or 2 out of a 12 X 12), but I just save the scrap cut-offs and use them to embellish other cards or to make great little tags for gift bags.

Lay the envelope under the paper as you fold so you get the correct size. Trim and fold cards using the envelope as a guide.  A strategically placed brad can hold the front flap down or you can mount the embellishment on raised sticky foam squares (that's a technical term!) and place it so you can tuck the flap under the edge of it.

See those embelishments I used. I collected clip art (watch for copyrights!) and used cool fonts to create messages on 4x6 photo prints.  Trim and glue and away you go. Quick and easy.

Happy Card Making