"E" is for Envelope Inspiration from Jenn Mason and Norma V. Toraya's Paper Puppet Palooza

I combine techniques and inspiration from lots of places. Today I have a technique from:

The Cardmaker’s Workbook.

By

Jenn Mason

Click on image to enlarge.

Here she takes a sticky note and uses it to create a frame for the info on the envelope. Cool hu?

And I was flipping through the now available (it wasn't when I posted this way-cool sneak peek peacock puppet project post) Be sure to go back and check it out it is soooo fun!

Paper Puppet Palooza:
Techniques for Making Moveable Art Figures and Paper Dolls
By

Norma V. Toraya

There is nothing more enchanting than the simple, funny movement created by a flat, two-dimensional paper puppet. Puppets are automatically, and inherently, amusing. Paper Puppet Palooza will show you how to make a wide variety of moveable paper puppets, marionettes, shadow puppets, charming toys, and novel, artful gifts.

In addition to each of the basic puppet construction styles, exciting variations include instructions for making a puppet theatre, moveable greeting cards, rod puppets, and more. An enjoyable cast of puppet characters the famous Paul Palooza, a dashing Zebra known as The Great Zesby, and the lovely dancer, Ananushka Pupehklova, and many others will guide you through your puppet-making adventure.

Norma Toraya, aka Crankbunny, is an animation director for Curious Pictures in NYC where she works on commercials, music videos, TV intros, documentaries, and projections for different clients. Her animation work and charming puppet work can be found online at www.crankbunny.com. (Great name by the way!)

I thought I'd use the peacock from the puppet project as my template for the envelope for this card.

I traced the peacock onto tracing paper.

Then I cut out the peacock from a piece of heavy magazine paper. My little tip here is that I slightly curve the two pieces of paper making it harder for them to slip around while I'm cutting them out!

The peacock came out really cool, I plan on using it somewhere else.

I then put a tiny bit of glue stick on the back to help hold the template in place while I chalked the outline.

I thought it would be cool to do one for the "To" area and one for the "From" area.

I have a ton of envelopes that need a lot of attention.

Today's question is, "What is the wildest thing you have done, seen done, or want to try with an envelope?"

Leave a note or link in the comment section and as our "thanks for sharing" you'll be entered to win a free book of the week!

Comments

[Janet]

Not so wild, but have seen them used as "pages" in books. I've incorporated them in journals to tuck special things into.

[MonkeyGurrl]

Other than their intended use, the only other way I've used them is to contain documents that I don't want to have hole-punched or items that can't be hole-punched but have to be included in a file (I hole-punch the envelopes).

Yes, I lead an exciting life. Jealous?

[BrendaLea]

I guess it would have to be re-using envelopes from which bills and junk mail come in, with the clear windows and brightly colored ones. And then being decorated with stickers, doodling or bits of other paper attached.

[Maria]

I think the coolest thing I have seen done with recycled envelopes is a corsette that was made with tyvek envelopes. That was pretty cool and a great use of the those large envelopes.

[wendy m.]

I suppose the wildest thing I've done with an envelope would be making beads out of Tyvek envelopes. I've also bound envelopes into handmade journals.

I love to peruse the entries in the Graceful Envelope contest every year - the entries are always so amazing!

http://www.calligraphersguild.org/envwinners2008.html