Security Envelope Project(s)

Image: Eco_Monster

Security envelopes hold our lives in the balance.

When the post arrives, we are greeted with one envelope giving us money, or at least telling us that in theory we have money, but not for long - because the next envelope will take it away from us in the form of a bill or bank charge.

It's ebb and flow. It's yin and yang. It's Russian roulette with window pane envelopes.

More importantly, it's a total waste of paper.


We throw these discarded envelopes into the trash without even noticing the amazing designs inside or think about the projects that could be achieved with a small amount of imagination and a little bit of time.

First up are these simple to make Origami Wreaths from MiloMade.

A really great idea which can be used for lots of different festive decorations.

Image: MiloMade

Not to frighten anyone, but Christmas is only 10 weeks away. It's a good a time as any to start saving a few pennies and start making your own decorations, especially with these fascinating graphic designs.

And why stop with decorations? How about some gift tags too?

Image: Swirlyarts

With the amount of bills and junk mail that comes through my own front door, I could easily have an endless supply of reminder note cards.

Image: Cozy Homemaking / Cozy Memories

Or bind some  of those note cards together to make a pocket sized note book.

Image: Homework

If you happen to get a lot of larger security envelopes and manage to collect enough, then you could occupy yourself with one of my favourite, and coincidentally, one of my own projects. A handmade notebook.

Image: Lena Corwin

Unfortunately, the link to the above photo leads to a dead end but over at Bee Inspired there is a wonderful tutorial for book binding, which can be found here or a much simpler version found here.

Alternatively, check out this great video for book binding on YouTube.

There is an absolute wealth of ideas to explore with regard to these seemingly useless pieces of paper. In fact a quick search on Pinterest throws up 100's of ideas to consider. The least of which is to decorate inexpensive plain white stationary, like this idea from A Little Hut which also finds a great use for the discarded transparent window panels and turning them into bookmarks.

Image: A Little Hut

Image: A Little Hut

If it all seems like too much hard work, the easiest thing you can do is just turn the envelope inside out. Stick an address label on the outside, recycle it and use it as a new envelope yourself.

Image: Craig Oldham

So, the next time you get a bill through the front door, try your best and recycle. It's not that hard. As a community we are very wasteful.

Just take a bit of time. Use your imagination and figure out the best way you can recycle everyday items.

It's not like these are groundbreaking ideas and I'm certainly not pushing the envelope.

But you can.

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