My friend Ella taught me early on in my stamping adventures that you should never send an envelope out without at least a hint of what’s inside. Handmade cards are little treasures in our mailboxes; colored envelopes or little decorations help them stand out, set the tone and build anticipation. Now be careful, you don’t want to go overboard and give it all away either. It’s rather anticlimactic to open a beautifully painted envelope to discover an exact copy waiting inside. Aim for the sweet spot in between. Limit yourself to 1-2 colors if you stamp or print an image onto your envelope. You don’t have to color the images in, remember you are just hinting at what’s to come. Another favorite trick of mine is to use velum envelopes. They are translucent and give you a cloudy view of the prize inside. Whatever decoration you decide on, make sure you can clearly address your envelope.
A quick note on lined envelopes…They are beautiful decorations in and of themselves. Keep any outside decorations to a minimum when using lined envelopes. Try a very small image near the address or consider using calligraphy or a visually stimulating font as your only embellishment.
