Envelope Liners Tutorial (BOMs Away Alt-Activity)

 

Welcome to the Link-Up for BOMs Away Mondays! 

We'd love to see the BOM you're working on lately. 

This week's link-up is at the bottom of the post.

Wow!  Having a bride in the household really steals away all your time!  ;D  Yet again, I have zero BOM work to share (although the link *is* posted at the bottom of this post.) But I have a tutorial for you that might be handy for a number of situations.

We have unique invitation needs and a tight budget, so we've been making those. They're turning out really neat. Devon wanted Marines Red envelopes, which we found at a great sale price at Hobby Lobby. But they need a little more something for wedding announcements. We're lining them with pretty gold papers. Quilter's tools are Most Excellent for this project!  Here's how it's done:

Our envelopes are the standard U.S. A2 size, which measure 5-3/4 by 4-3/8 inches. They have a straight flap. 

First, find your paper. Card stock isn't a great choice. We wanted to get some thin metallic gold, which we could order online in packs of printable sheets, but we have time issues, so we had to go with the little-bit heavier craft paper we found at the Michael's in the city. Which is actually turning out quite well! You can get 4 liners for this size from each 12x12 sheet of paper.

First, use your mat, rulers, and an older rotary blade to cut the paper into sections that are 5-1/2" by 5-7/8":  [But please note: Our liners cover most of the glue line on the flap. We felt it looks nicer, and as we're sealing the envelopes with gold roses instead of licking the glue, we're not losing "closeability" by doing so in this particular situation. If you want to use the gummed line on your envelope, cut your liner into a 5-1/2" square.]

The slightly longer side is your vertical (unless you went with the square), so pay attention to that in this next step, which is to score your flap fold line. If you don't, your liner will have an ugly, bumpy fold when you close the envelope. To do this, lay your ruler with the bottom of the liner at 4-1/4 + 1/16th on your ruler. A little weird, I know, but you can do it.  :D  

Use something thin, but not sharp, to run the score line: I found that the round end of a paperclip works perfectly! If you don't have one on hand, try the dull backside of a non-pointed dinner knife (NOT a steak knife).  - Don't fold it just yet, though.

Next you want to trim the angles on the edges of the flap portion. For our envelopes, it works perfectly to slant the ruler in just 1/8th inch at the top, to meet the edge down where the score line is. (The score line is running left-to-right in this photo's orientation.) Can you see that super-thin triangular bit I'll cut off? It's not much, but makes the look professional. Check your flap on your ruler to see what kind of slant you need for yours.

Now fold your liner's flap, right sides together:

Apply a short piece of double-sided tape to each flap corner. It is not necessary to use more, and you want the in-the-envelope part to be free to slide as the finished flap is opened an closedd. (You can use glue, but then you have to deal with warping papers and probably need to lay things under books for a while.):

Slip the liner into the envelope, and make sure it's centered side-to-side:

Fold down the liner flap,

Then fold down the envelope flap, making sure it closes nicely, and press the taped areas firmly:

And, Voila!  You have a beautifully lined envelope!

But back to quilting: If you're here for the link-up:

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Did any of you guys get some work done on your BOMs?