There are many types of applied art. It is practically impossible to find such a person who at least once in his life did not deal with one of them. This process is difficult for someone, someone cannot live a day without creating something new. Such people can even turn an ordinary paper envelope into a work of art.
What are designer envelopes for?
To answer this question, you must first understand what it is. Envelopes are called envelopes that differ from streaming envelopes in their shape, size and design. Such envelopes, as well as simple ones, can be sent by mail, but no one can guarantee that products with three-dimensional decor reach the addressee intact. Customized envelopes are common in large firms. On such products, as a rule, there is a logo and corporate colors. They are also used to send letters, invitations to various celebrations, as the original packaging of a monetary gift or postcard.
Sizes and shapes
The envelope can be absolutely anything, the size and shape are not regulated. However, there are certain standards that are approved on the territory of the Russian Federation.
So, a simple or designer envelope C6 should have dimensions 114 * 162 mm. It is able to accommodate a sheet of A6 or A5 format, folded in half. Such envelopes are convenient to use, compact, and therefore the most popular.
Design envelope C5 has dimensions 162 * 229 mm. It is intended for sending sheets A5 (A4 folded in half). Convenient when sending invitations made on hard cardboard, as well as postcards.
There are envelopes of sizes C4 and C3 (they contain A4 and A3 format sheets, respectively), as well as sizes of groups B and E, which can deliver large formats of correspondence to the addressee.
However, it is not always convenient to use the sizes in accordance with GOST, especially since it is not necessary to use these sizes for sending letters by mail.
The shape of the envelope may also differ from the rectangular set by the standards. For example, it can be square, pentagonal, more complex in shape, made in the technique of origami, etc.
Square
To make such an envelope, you will need a square sheet of paper, which must be placed one of the vertices towards you, and then combine all the corners in the center. To calculate the required dimensions, you can use the following formulas:
- The size of the finished envelope is known: a = √ (2 * s * s).
- The side of the sheet is known: c = √ (a * a / 2), where a is the side of the sheet, c is the side of the envelope.
Important! It is also necessary to take into account a allowance of 1 cm for gluing. It is necessary to do it around the entire perimeter, cutting off the corners in the places of excesses. Also, for convenience and beauty, you can round off all the corners on the workpiece.
The second way to make a designer envelope is from a circle. The required diameter can be calculated by the formula: d = √ (2 * s * s).
In the resulting circle, you should enter a square equal to the size of the envelope, and then bend along the lines, combining 4 sectors of the circle in the center. In this case, there is no need for allowances.
Rectangular
In order for the envelope to be rectangular, the desired size must be described by an equilateral, but not rectangular, rhombus. The median of each corner of the triangle formed by the side of the inner rectangle and parts of the sides of the rhombus should be equal to the distance from the base of the triangle (envelope side) to the center of the rectangle. Bonding allowances are required.
From the heart, you can also make an interesting rectangular design envelope. To do this, make the following markup:
- The rectangle in size of the required envelope.
- From the long side, build down an equilateral triangle, the median of which is 2/3 of the short side of the envelope.
- Add an additional rectangle above the rectangle, the height of which will be equal to the short side of the envelope. Divide the rectangle in half, mark the center.
- Place rectangles along the lateral parts, the width of which will be equal to 1/3 of the long side of the envelope.
- Connect the following points with rounded lines: the center of the upper rectangle, its vertex, the upper far point of the side rectangle, and the lower triangle. Repeat from the second side. The figure should take the shape of a heart.
- Fold the envelope along the lines of the original rectangle, bending the sides first, then the top. Turn it 180 °, lower the valve.
Another kind of rectangular envelope is a pocket. Its template is quite simple, consists of a rectangle, the height of which is equal to the height of the envelope, and the width is twice as large. In addition, it is necessary to make an allowance on the bottom for bonding the side on one half of the template. You can also make the valve on top, or vice versa, figuratively cut the upper part, for example, in a semicircle so that you can easily extract the contents of this pocket.
You can also use the origami technique or make curly envelopes.
Materials
In order for the envelope to look neat and presentable, paper must be used with a sufficiently high density. The density of classic envelopes is usually 100 g / m 2 . (plain paper for the printer - 80 g / m 2 ). For the manufacture of designer envelopes, thin cardboard is also suitable. You can use coated glossy, matte or designer paper. It is distinguished by its original appearance, texture, coating and other decor. You can find such material on the shelves of shops for creativity in the scrapbooking section, as well as in large departments of office supplies.
Decor
Decoration is the main thing that can turn a simple C6 envelope into a design one. There are many ways to decorate. Some of them are very simple, using available tools, while others require additional financial investments. The appearance of the finished product depends only on the purpose and imagination of the creator. Sometimes it’s quite complex voluminous composite structures, and sometimes it’s simple, the highlight of which is in color. For example, due to the fact that the fashion designers again have a Total Black style in their favorites, absolutely black designer envelopes have come into fashion.
The text on them, as a rule, is small, for example, the name or the name of the company, and you can make them at home by applying an inscription with black nail polish on black paper, and to achieve a matte effect on the gloss it is enough to carry an envelope over hot steam.
Lace
Unlike brutal monochrome envelopes, which are more suitable for invitations to official events, lace can add romanticism, tenderness and softness. Such products are suitable for invitations to a birthday, engagement or discharge from the hospital.
Rhinestones
For lovers of sparkle and sparks, you can use all kinds of sparkles, rhinestones and beads. Such envelopes are ideal for invitations to parties, New Year's or hen party. It is not worth sending such envelopes by mail, since protruding stones may come off during transportation.
Jianzhi technique
This technique is cutting patterns on paper. The material for this should be sufficiently dense and thin, from the tools you need manicure scissors or a knife with a board. This technique has been around for centuries, its roots go deep into Chinese antiquity. Later it became widespread all over the world, it became especially popular in Ukraine, so one of the names of this technique is vytynanka.
Royal design golden envelopes made in this technique look royal. Perfect for anniversary invitations, as well as for packing money or postcards.
This work can be significantly simplified by using openwork paper napkins, which you can buy in the plastic tableware department. They can be painted in any color, and an additional varnish coating will give the necessary rigidity.
Applique
This is one of the most versatile ways to design envelopes. Decorations can be made of colored paper, fabric, wallpaper, napkins and everything that comes to hand. They can be flat or voluminous. Combined applications made of different materials look beautiful, which allows you to give the necessary texture to the sketch. Envelopes with a flat decor can be safely sent by mail, but with bulk decoration it is better to hand it over to the addressee. The location of the application will be original not outside, but inside the envelope, in which case a simple envelope outside will pleasantly surprise the recipient when he opens the valve. Such designer envelopes are suitable for invitations to absolutely any event. This is due to the fact that the appearance depends only on the chosen sketch, the technique itself is universal.
Quilling
This technique can be considered as a type of application, but it is worth paying more attention to it. Refined curls, accurate lines, laconic drawing - these are the main characteristics of this design. If you have certain basic skills, creating such an envelope will not take so much time. However, few will leave such a product indifferent. This technique goes well with a plain base, and the additional decoration with rhinestones and beads makes the envelopes more lively and attractive.
Painting
This type of design is suitable for lovers of painting. There is one difficulty - drawing each envelope can take a lot of time, and besides, drawing small details requires certain skills and perseverance. However, this will allow you to create exclusive envelopes without the use of additional materials. You can decorate envelopes with the same patterns, in this case you can get your hand on the same motives, but it can get bored soon, or you can choose one style, for example, as in the photo, and adhering to it, decorate all envelopes with completely different patterns. In this case, it will not only be interesting to work, but the recipient will be pleased that the envelope is made in a single copy.
Texture
Using textured paper is one of the easiest ways to make a simple C5 envelope design. Gold, silver, pearls, or another color of precious stones or metal do not need additional decor, as they look expensive on their own. Simpler colors of textured paper can be combined with satin ribbons, brooches or beads. Designer paper is often quite expensive, especially when it comes to creating a large number of envelopes. However, you can instead use non-woven or vinyl wallpaper that remained after the repair. And in some cases it will be cheaper to buy a new roll of wallpaper than the required amount of special paper. In the case of using wallpaper, which in itself already has a certain texture, it is better to make combined two-layer envelopes, where plain thick paper will serve as a skeleton.
When preparing envelopes, you must definitely consider the design of invitations. They must be made in the same style with the appearance of the product. It is better to choose the size of the invitation in A6 format, if it is made in the form of a card, if it is a postcard, then A5 folded in half. In this case, designer envelopes will be easier to make, and the consumption of materials will be relatively small. The smaller size will make production somewhat uncomfortable, and the text on the invitations should be large enough so that it can be easily read.
Making designer envelopes with your own hands will not only allow you to reveal your creative potential, but also put your feelings in order before an exciting event. Work with small details and simple geometric calculations will help to concentrate on work and to abandon unnecessary experiences.