Envelope journal
Every project begins with inspiration.
So here they are - with links included, so you can go rabbit-trailing, too.
Old Haggy’s Creations (link)
… who got the idea from Treasure Books (link)
… was inspired by… just kidding
The Paper Outpost in general (but here’s a link to an envelope-related video)
My fiance Ron
He suggested the leather binding, which I had bought at a gun show over 2 years ago so it was laying around. Glad it found a use!
He also gave me the idea of making the wax seal a magnet - I was originally going to glue the seal onto the paper as decoration (which also would have been cool, don’t get me wrong; but the magnet was a nice layer).
Why did the Envelope Journal inspire me? (And why should it inspire you, too?)
During the week, I will often find my thoughts playing with the stars. Amidst the stars, there are connections that I have never made before. I learn how some moods are connected to certain memories, I realize why I react to this or that, I pontificate death and life, prose and story and sometimes there are poems stuck up there, too. There are a lot of treasures in the stars, and a lot of dusty junk that I want to make useful; there are also some creaky wooden chests that have never been opened.
Whatever it is that I find in those stolen moments, I usually only have sticky notes for writing. Or random notebook paper that has been ripped off something else. Or the back of a receipt. Or this or that.
Scraps.
And when I’ve done writing on said scrap, where does it go but a pocket. Or the bag.
And where after the pocket or bag? If I’m lucky, the note gets stuffed into my main journal.
But more often than not they get tossed onto my desk or art dresser until they accumulate and I get sick of looking at them, and they probably end up in the trash because “eh, it wasn’t that important anyway.”
Or they accumulate in the bottom of my backpack until the same happens - I get sick of seeing random bits of paper cluttering my bag. And… Goodbye note.
So, all this is to say…
The envelope journal has inspired me because it creates a meaningful place to store my spontaneous writings. They will now have an intentional home. No longer just tossed into my main journal’s back pocket as an annoyed afterthought, and certainly not tossed out.
And maybe you can relate to all this.
Even if you’re not a “Writer(tm)” - maybe you have moments of genius that you need to get onto paper. And then you realize you have no place to store it. Whether or not you intend to go back to it is irrelevant.
But with an envelope journal, we have a home for those.
I find that heartwarming to give a home to those small but meaningful moments.
Materials
I’m not going to get super-technical with the materials, because I don’t want you to feel that you “can’t make this” because you “don’t have the right materials.” But I’ll just share some basic tips or ideas.
If there is one thing that Pam at the The Paper Outpost has instilled in my own artistic mind: just have fun, use what you have, be creative, nothing is wrong, make it your own, and again, have fun - play.
Okay… that was more than one thing.
Paper
Simple envelopes.
These envelopes were more square-ish (as opposed to the standard-size envelope).
Folger’s Instant Coffee. For the paper stain, not for drinking. (I can’t say I’ve ever tried drinking instant coffee but I don’t care to start? Am I missing anything? Let me know.)
I didn’t measure how much water, or instant coffee. I sprinkled the weird coffee flakes until the water was pretty dark. Play with different strengths. I use instant coffee because it seems to stain the paper better.
I forgot the envelopes in the coffee bath… so I ended up pulling them out after about 4 hours. (I don’t know how long is necessary, probably closer to 10 minutes). I dabbed the envelopes off with a paper towel, and just stacked them. Then I let them air-dry in front of the heater the rest of the day. You can dry your stained papers faster using the oven.
You might want to make sure the envelopes are “open” when you dry them, so the sticky part doesn’t glue itself to the envelope. If it does, no biggy, it will just have a more “worn” look. But if you don’t want that then open the envelopes when in drying mode.
Leather
I honestly don’t know what leather I used. It’s been a while since I bought it.
But it is softer, thinner leather - malleable. It isn’t the type of leather you can do cool tooling with.
Thread
(for the page binding)
I just used a thin, synthetic thread.
I could’ve (should have? time will tell) used a thicker thread, but it is what it is.
I didn’t overthink it, I just wanted to try this project.
I might try hemp string or something more fibrous or natural next time.
Glue
Fabrifix (link)
I used this glue to attach the leather to the paper. And the magnet to the dried wax seal. And the magnet to the paper.
This glue is… magic. It DRIES FAST like hot glue, STRONG like super glue, it’s STRINGY like hot glue, and it’s easy to roll off of things that you didn’t mean to glue (like rubber cement). It is so weird.
Was the first time I used Fabrifix. Experiment success (that is rare and to be celebrated, amiright?)
Wax Seal
Yeah, if you want a wax seal you will probably need to buy some sealing wax and a stamp… but once you have a wax seal stamp then you have it for good.
I poured the wax on newspaper, stamped it, then when it was dry I peeled the newspaper off the back as much as possible. Then I glued a magnet to the wax seal… Voila, wax seal magnet.
Magnet
We had a plain, weak rectangle magnet on the fridge that was begging to be used for something better. It is not a very strong magnet - I would have liked a stronger magnet, but it works. It’s fine.
I just cut it to the size of the wax seal and glued them together with that Fabrifix.
And then I cut another piece of the magnet to stick to the paper. Then glued a form-fit coffee-stained paper to the magnet to “disguise” it.
Could I have done this magnet closure better? Yeah, I’m sure. And next time I will probably do it different. But it works. It’s fine.
This project was a lesson in “if you want to do it, just do it.”
Even if I’m not sure how it is going to turn out - or if it will at all - it’s better for me to just start the project while I’m on fire for it.
Any art we make creates more ideas for us to play with in the future,
and puts more skills in our pockets for next time.
So… I’ll see you next time!
