Valentine’s Day: Kid-Drawn Keepsake Envelope

Pop a set of cards or a little notebook into this handmade envelope for your teacher, grandparents or anyone else you love.

Materials

• Fabric (we went with 2 different colours)
• Fabric scissors
• Sewing materials
• Fabric pens
• Ribbon
• Iron (to be used by an adult)
• Craft tray
• Smock

Template Materials (*Optional)

• Thin cardboard or cardstock
• Ruler
• Pencil/eraser
• Scissors
• Sewing Marker

Directions

• If you like, make a template to help you figure out the dimensions of your envelope or if you feel comfortable, eyeball the measurements using your notebook or cards as a visual guide.

• Place your cards or notebook on a piece of cardstock.  Trace around the edges.  Then use your ruler and give your template a 5 cm or 2 inch extra margin on the edges. Cut this out.

• Layer your two pieces of ironed (by an adult) fabric on top of each other.  Trace around your edges of your template, starting at an edge and then flip it over two additional times so you have 3 joined rectangles.  Cut this out with your fabric scissors. Then use your ruler to make the top rectangle into a triangular shape.  (We took the triangle and rounded the edges.)  Trim off the excess fabric with your fabric scissors.

• You may need to have an adult iron your fabric again to make it easy to draw on.  We put on a smock and placed our fabric in a craft tray to prevent damaging surfaces and for a flat drawing area.  Draw with fabric markers on one side of one of your pieces of fabric (in the middle rectangle area), following the product directions.  (We recommend the side that you didn’t do your tracing on.)

• Flip the two good sides of the fabric (so the one side with the drawing) facing each other.

• Sew up the side, around the triangular top and down the other side.  We did with a sewing machine and used the foot as a guide for how far to sew from the edge.  Do not sew the bottom.

• Turn your envelope inside out.

• Fold the bottom edges in and then carefully sew them together.

• Fold your bottom rectangle (on the side without the drawing) up to your middle rectangle and sew the edges as shown.

• Fold the triangular part over to form an envelope.  Slip in a treasure.  Tie it together with a ribbon if you like.

*This is a very simple version of the envelope with basic sewing.  It can certainly be made more elaborate if you like!

Purpose

• Learning to sew
• Drawing on with and on different materials.

Safety Notes

• Use fabric scissors and a needle with care and direct adult supervision.
• A sewing machine should be used by an adult or with direct adult supervision and guidance.
• An iron should be used by an adult.