Resizing Purchased Envelopes

I have a friend that works at our Drug Store. They are always returning cards back to the company & throwing out the envelopes. She now saves them for me & I am thrilled! Most of them are the right size for our standard cards but some are way too big. This means we have to add two postage stamps to the envelope. Thats no fun so I'm going to show you how I resize these oversized envelopes to fit your standaed card.

First off, you need to make sure your card will fit sideways in the envelope. Just lay your card in or on the envelope - if it is within the boundaries, you are good to go. This envelope measures 53/4" x 81/4" so I have plenty of room.

Next, seal the envelope. Working on the wrong side, put a light pencil mark at 41/4" and 5" from the bottom on both sides. I've used a red marker on this sample so you could see what I'm doing. A light pencil mark is really all you need. Draw a line across the envelope at 8" from the bottom. Fold top part in half to find the center. Mark a line there too.

Lay an ice cream lid on the top part of the envelope so that the edges are touching the 41/4" marks. Trace the curve of the lid.

Draw a line from the 5" marks to the top center line. Cut on these lines thro both thicknesses with plain or fancy scissors. Hang onto these two top corners - I will show you what to do with them in the next post.

Cut from the 5" lines down to the 41/4" lines on the folds. Follow your ice cream lid curve to cut away one thickness only.
Put your card inside & fold closed. Remove card & decorate if desired.

It seems that I've done a lot of jibber jabber here. It really is quick to do. You'd be surprised how many envelopes you can resize while watching the Soaps! Hope you will give it a try!