After I posted my inside-out-envelope tutorial, some back linking led me to the Junk Mail Gems blog. Wow! Gretchen is a master re-purposer with a shop filled with awesome recycled projects.

So with security envelopes still on the brain, and a giant pile growing on my desk, I used some to decorate some 3×5 recipe cards. I used a few round hole punches to add some accents.

Nice nice nice. It is the greatest free paper around. I even used some to make product tags for my fibery goods in prep for the upcoming Color Fiber Festival. (Can you tell that I am trying to link to the festival in every post… Is it obvious?)

Get more security envelope inspiration from the Flickr Security Pattern Group.

You know all those envelopes that come with your credit card bill? i never use mine since I make my payments online. I always feel a little bad about throwing away a perfectly good envelope, so I decided to reuse them. Basically, I turned them inside out and added a little color. Now they are good to go. Want to know how? An abridged tutorial follows, and excruciating detail is available in my Flickr Set. click any of the photos for a larger version….

here’s what you need:

– Envelopes
– Glue Stick
– scissors
– Decorative paper
– Avery-type blank address labels or something similar.
– Freebie mailing labels (optional)
– Double-sided tape and regular transparent tape (optional – you need both or neither of these).

Before you start, cut the decorative papers to a size that is about 1/4 inch larger than the window in the envelope.

Gently peel open the envelope at the seams, and coax it with scissors if necessary. I have been really lucky and had no problem with this part.

Flip the envelope over so you are looking at the white side. Next, you need to block the little cello window. Place glue around the window being careful not to get anything on the window.

Place the decorative paper fancy side down on the glue.

Fold up the bottom of the envelope, and add glue to the side edge. now you can reconstruct the seam that you ripped open earlier. repeat on the other edge of the envelope.

Now you might start fretting about the fact that the glue is on the outside of your envelope.

I would recommend not worrying about it and just tucking the flap in after you moisten the glue. If you don’t like this idea, here is where you need 2 kinds of tape. Cover the original envelope glue on the outside with a piece of transparent tape (you don’t want it to get damp and stick to everything in the mailbox!). Then on the inside of the flap where you would expect the glue to be, place a strip of double sided tape. Don’t peel off the protective paper until you are ready to seal the envelope.

As an alternative to decorative paper, you can also use out-of-season freebie address labels to cover up the window.

This will be white when you flip the envelope over. As far as I can tell*, you could probably just use a sharpie and write on the cello window to address the envelope, and you’re done.

If you used decorative paper, you will need to add a white address label to make a position to write the destination address. Can you imagine how the USPS machines would freak out if you wrote the address on the security pattern?

That’s it! If you try it, i would love to see how your envelopes turn out!

* As far as I can tell, the only USPS requirement for the placement of the destination address is that it should be parallel to the long edge of the envelope.

Hooray! I am very excited about it. It has allowed me to fulfill a long-time (and now outdated) goal of owning a manual credit card processor. I like to call them ka-chunkers. I will probably be the only person there more excited about accepting credit cards instead of cash.

I am hopeful that I will get to meet a lot of crafters and possible SF-area blog readers. I bought a little book, and hope to have my readers/online friends sign it (idea totally stolen from jekbot – she was doing this at Felt Club). To entice you to introduce yourself, I am willing to bribe my readers with special moustache buttons… All you have to do is introduce yourself Also, if you want anything, i can bring it there for pick-up.

And as if selling stuff isn’t enough, I will doing a demo on Weavettes from 4:30-5. You can stop by and see why I think these little looms are so fun.

I have some new items that are pretty darn cute. If you don’t have the dough for them, you can now convince your paypal-saavy loved ones to buy you a gift certificate.

More alphabet stitch markers for knitting along with cat bordhi’s books. This set is for those that knit two socks at once!

And for the ‘stache lovers I have the only ‘stache for the holidays – Santa. Get the big man’s moustache on buttons, cards, or gift tags

I also have a batch of pocket mirrors with gocco printed storage bags. I am kinda hoarding these for the Bazaar, so if you want one, you might have to ask

Happy shopping! And more importantly, please say ‘Hi’ if you see me at the Bazaar. I promise I won’t make you buy anything.