DIY: Making Your Own Eco-Envelopes With Found Materials

Brown bags - sewing machine - voila! Pretty envelopes (by Cassandra of SunlitOrchard)
Blank envelopes are just that - blank and bland. Thankfully, they don't have to be, as these cool, crafty and smart ideas for transforming found materials into one-of-a-kind envelopes prove (thanks to Jackie of Crafting a Green World for finding these). Old grocery bags, magazine catalogues, nature books, maps - really, the proverbial sky is the limit. Giving envelopes a unique, personal touch is something you can easily do at home too for thank you cards, invitations and packaging for your small business, as these imaginative projects after the fold show.

Junk mail getting you down? Don't worry, obnoxious adverts can be snipped and glued with some eco-glue into envelope goodness. There are plenty of unique envelopes on Etsy (a must-stop for handmade lovers) too. Here is an example of how old magazine pages can be transformed into envelope magic with some pinking shears (by Karen of Ecogeneration):

Here's more junk mail jewels by Casey Fink:

These fused-plastic mailers by fluffnfixings are made from chopped up plastic bags that are fused, measured and cut, then 'welded' to keep the edges shut.

Map paper is re-purposed and given little touches of cuteness by Tatiana of Russian Forest:

And my favourite, Bombus envelopes made from old vintage nature books.

Upcycled envelopes is definitely not rocket-science, but clearly there's a lot of opportunities for you to get creative. Imagine the smile on your loved one's face to receive a letter or a card or a gift in one of these nifty beauties!

Via Crafting a Green WorldMore on Eco-packagingDIY: Make Your Own Fabric Eco-LabelsOver-Packaging is a Low-Hanging Fruit to Help the Environment [Updated]Use Left-Over Wool as Packaging Material4 Radical Solutions to Packaging WasteHangerPak: Transformer Packaging Turns Into Shirt HangerNo Free Refills: Fast Food Packaging Industry Destroying Southern US ForestsTwo-Way Postage Saves Paper, Eliminates Junk Mailers