To Jimmy with Love

Another padded envelope, decorated with a variety of materials then placed back into the postal system for delivery.  While at a meeting in Columbia, SC; box lunches from a local restaurant called Jimmy John's were provided in sturdy paper boxes.   I folded mine flat and collected several from others to save for making post cards and artist trading cards.  The next day, I had to send a birthday present to my brother, James who I call Jimmy so I thought the lunch box would be perfect for creating an address label on a previously used padded envelope.  The lunch box lid added a nice touch for him because the colors (red, black, and white) are the same colors my brother uses in his personal training business www.phiferfitness.com.

In addition to using a piece of the lunch box, I used items collected from my craft table: a poorly stamped image (Oxford Impressions), a heart punched from scrap paper, a printed floral paper from a poorly copied scrapbook page that was destined for the recycle bin, and a part of a playing card left over from items cut up for card-themed party.  I layered these on the envelope and arranged them to my liking then sparsely used glue dots to place them before covering with clear packing tape. The photo was taken before the mailing address and the packing tape were added.

Hope this inspires you to reuse any envelope that makes its way to your home.  Just remember to completely cover the incoming postal information and cover the paper items with packing tape to keep them in place.

Paper, Glue, Glitter

Still contemplating other ways to make use of my excess jewelry catalogs.  I combined a few bold images from the catalog with pages torn from an old dictionary and a foreign language book along with one rubber stamp to create a dozen postcards.

Technique:  From heavy card stock paper, cut out postcards that are 4"x6".  Use a large rubber stamp to place an inked image on the left corner of the postcard.  Tear the dictionary paper and the text book and glue to the front of the card.  Cut images from the magazine and layer on top of the torn paper.  Type text in a word processor and print on any paper you are trying to use up.  Cut out the text and glue across the postcard. 

I told my friend, Donna, that one of my goals is to deplete my craft supplies before I die.  So you could stop at this point and have a nice postcard suitable for mailing (remember to cover everything with clear packing tape to prevent being ripped off in the mail).  I went a little further by using glitter glue to outline the text from the word processor.  I also used some sparkling watercolor paint and copic markers to add color to a few of the images from the rubber stamp.  I cut them out and covered them with the glossy stuff - can't remember the name (there are several types to choose from)- it makes everything feel like an epoxy has been applied. Then I glued them on each card.

Catalog Clearance

After: Gift wrapped package

After hosting a jewelry party, I found a few of the catalogs after everyone left.  When I offered to mail them to the consultant, she told me to keep them because another catalog was being distributed soon.

Not one to throw away good glossy paper, I started using the catalog pages as wrapping paper. 

To get the largest piece of paper, I remove the pages from the center of the catalog.  The pages lift out from the center in one piece.  I use colored duct tape as an accent color and as an extra strong adhesive to keep the "wrapping" paper in place.

Before: jewelry catalog and gift that needs to be wrapped

The birthday tag was made from a poorly copied scrapbook page (destined for the recycle box), a few fabric flowers, and an extra large brad to create the flower's center.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Packaging tape keeps the pieces together.

When I receive padded envelopes, I reuse them to mail items to others.  To make sure the package is delivered properly, any bar codes or handwritten coding added by the post office (they do this when sorting mail for some post office boxes) has to be covered or removed. 

Remove original mailing labels when possible.

To give the package a celebratory feeling, I add scraps saved from previous projects. For this package, I had scraps of unused photos and really bad color copies of scrapbook pages. I trimmed the scrapbook page to fit the package, added a bloom from a florist's advertisement, and trees clipped from a photo. To make the address easy to see, I use a scrap of white paper and a large marker.  Everything is covered with clear packaging tape to keep it intact during transit.