Make Something Monday- Guest Post from Taradactyl on Collaging

Hello to the fabulous followers of Becky's blog! My name is Tara (the pterodactyl) and I blog about mail over at Hello, Life. Becky emailed me not too long ago to see if I was interested in doing a guest post for her "Make Something Monday" series and how could I say no? Big thanks to Becky for letting me invade her personal space. This dactyl is going to show you how she collages envelopes today.

I often read on a blog (or in a letter!) that someone is scared to try their hand at collaging an envelope. I understand that not everyone wants to make mail art, which is fine, but if you are interested I hope this post will help! Decorating an envelope is a lot of fun and anyone can do it. There are a variety of ways to decorate an envelope, doodling, collaging, stamping, and taping just to name a few. As I have no drawing capabilities, I stick to everything that doesn't involve a pen or pencil.

First, gather your favorite things. What are you doing with those magazine cut-outs or scraps of paper that you are saving for a rainy day? Do you have a favorite rubber stamp or washi tape? My most favorite things to use are the scallop scissors, rubber stamps and a variety of paper bits. All of the paper bits pictured are from an awesome mail friend of mine. Don't forget glue!

I don't typically plan collages out in advance but I thought these bits went together especially well and had to figure out a way to use them all at once! It is always nice to have a rubber stamp that can be used as an interesting background. The diamond stamp I used here was a purchase from one of the dollar bins at Michael's. I loved the yellow hexagons and was very happy to find they fit perfectly in with the diamonds!

Collaging is all about glue. In the past week I have used 6 glue sticks to make 30 envelopes. I made sure to use my rubber stamp on the envelope first as I wanted it to be in the background. Then I cut a scallop edge on the paper and glued it to the top of the envelope.

One thing to always consider when decorating your envelope is knowing where you want the address to go. I knew I wanted the used postage to be the main focus of the envelope so I made sure to keep it on the outer edges, giving me enough room to place an address label in the middle area of the envelope & still keep the postage visible.  

Oh, more gluing. To me, the back of an envelope is the hardest to decorate. I tend to use small elements from the front side; maybe a color, paper, washi tape, or a scalloped edge. I had that picture of a bird that I really wanted to use on the front of the envelope but ended up not having room so I pasted it to the back. You can always leave the back blank! After you're finished, step back & admire your work.

If you find your workspace ends up looking like this:

Another super easy way to collage envelopes is the messy version, this is the best way to declutter. This requires no thought and is a great way to get rid of all the scraps you have been hoarding.

Easy enough!

All of the gluing. There is no rhyme or reason to pasting bits down. Just keep pasting, just keep pasting.

Your finished product should look similar to this. You should think "what the" when it is finished.

Repeat on the back of the envelope! Washi tape adds class.

Cut off excess!

How pretty is it when it all comes together? Slap an address and mail that puppy out! Feel free to send any mail art my way. My address can be found on my blog.

Thank you Tara!  I always enjoy receiving your colorful mail!  Everybody who enjoyed this make sure to stop by her blog and thank her for helping out!

-Becky