Welcome to the LAST post off the 31 Days of Doilies series and the FIRST post of my Back to School Tutorial Blitz! This was the project that garnered the most attention at my demo booth at Convention 2011, and I am pleased to share it with you all today. It is a pretty straightforward project, and very economical as it only uses one sheet of DSP.
To make this Accordion Envelope Stationery Set, you will need a sheet of double-sided Designer Series Paper (I used Flirtatious specialty DSP), four regular envelopes (I used Whisper White), Sticky Strip, a scoring tool like our new Simply Scored, and small notecards and envelopes (I used Whisper White Notecards & Envelopes, item #107311 on page 182 of the current Idea Book & Catalog).
Introducing the new Simply Scored! I ADORE this thing! Be on the lookout for lots of new projects now that scoring is easier than ever. The BEST thing about this new tool (available starting today from the Holiday Mini Catalog) is the place markers, those little arrow things on the ruler part shown above. All you have to do is set your place markers once, and then you can score many multiples of your project practically without thinking. Sooo COOL! We demos are all geeked out about that because it's going to help our customer friends score accurately with much less chance of messing up and having to start over--takes all the anxiety out of scoring.
Anyway--I digress! Cut your one sheet of DSP into two 12x6 pieces. Set one aside--you'll be using it to embellish the notecards later. Score the other one at the following measurements: 1/4 inch, 4.75, 9, 9.25 and 11.5 inches. Next, prep your envelope stack. Sorry this photo is a bit blurry.
Seal shut four envelopes. With your paper trimmer, cut off just the bottom edges. Turn them upside down and you will have four pockets, all the same size. Those are going to get Sticky-Stripped together in a stack. Make sure you do use Sticky Strip (regular SNAIL will not hold) and make sure you also only put SS as shown, in a two and a half inch or so wide piece, along the "top" edge of the pockets. If you put too much adhesive on these, or put it in the wrong place, it will not "accordion" out properly and it is hard to get the cards and envelopes in and out.
It doesn't matter what direction the envelopes are facing when you stack them, because they will be covered completely with the cover we just scored. Fold that around the envelope stack and adhere with Sticky Strip. You only need it at the top and bottom, not all the way around the sides and edges.
There's two little quarter-inch flaps on the cover which can be adhered down. Those are just for reinforcement. You'll also want to attach a 2x6 inch piece of cardstock to the main flap to strengthen it--but first, add the French closure, so that the brad back is hidden by your cardstock. A French closure is two large brads with a circle of cardstock underneath them across from each other, with a piece twine tied to one and meant to be wrapped around the other. It's actually a really secure fastening, and a nice design element, too.
TIP: I dyed my white Baker's Twine quickly and easily just by running it over a Melon Mambo marker so it matched my project. You can see my French closure tied shut in the first photo, and here it is opened.
You can also close it with a belly band, self-adhesive velcro dot, or a magnetic closure.
Decorate your cover inside and out as desired. I used the new Lace Ribbon border punch with some Pretty in Pink narrow grosgrain threaded through it, and stamped a sentiment from Perfectly Penned inside.
Next comes the fun part! Cut the remaining 12x6 piece into four 3x5 pieces for the fronts of your Whisper White Notecards and Envelopes. Again, these are smaller (yet still machine mailable--hooray!) cards and envelopes available from Stampin' Up, not the regular sized cards and the envelopes you used to make the stack. Embellish those as desired and insert into your stationery set's nifty pockets. You're all ready to go! Wasn't that easy?
Ok! Now bookmark my blog, or subscribe to my feed, because this whole week's going to be filled with fun tutorials for those projects that require a little more explanation and photos to help you see how they are done. If you love FREE photo tutorials, click on my link in the menu and enjoy catching up on some fun past ones.
Thank you so much Lyssa! This is gorgeous and I can't wait to make one:)
Posted by: Julie A. | 09/01/2011 at 07:12 PM
Lyssa - how fun And - what a great job of explaining, and including the pictures! Thank you!
Posted by: Marilin | 09/01/2011 at 09:31 PM
Awesome Lyssa. Such a great idea & so pretty too. Thanks so much for the tutorial. Another must make project to add to my long list. Hope you have a happy weekend. Inky wishes,Di
Posted by: Di Barnes | 09/02/2011 at 06:07 AM
Great tutorial Lyssa. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. Your demo at convention was beyond awesome!!
Posted by: Barbara Vogt | 09/05/2011 at 11:42 AM