The art of writing letters

Do you still write letters? Many of my long-term readers will know that it’s something that I try and do as much as I can. I really love spending time making cards and envelopes to send (yes, I still do that after many years!) and I always send thank you cards for gifts that I have received. I think it’s really important to do this – partly because I was brought up doing it, and partly for the pleasure of saying thank you. For me, it’s much nicer to do that with a card or a letter, with something you can hold in your hand. What do you think? Do you still send letters or thank you cards? I’d love to know, so please do leave a comment in the box below if you have time. I do hope you can tune in on Monday! 10am (BST) on BBC Radio 4.

If you’d like to make your own cards or envelopes, there are loads of tutorials on my blog! See links below or browse through the archives to find inspiration.

An update

I had so much fun on the show and have had some lovely comments – thank you so much! Here are a couple of photos of me in the broom cupboard at BBC Newcastle before we got started:

It was a really great experience – thank you all for tuning in! I’ve been working on something exciting since the show…stay tuned for more information coming soon!

The post Woman’s Hour appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

Many of you will already know that one of my crafty plans this year is to learn how to make my own stamps (see my previous post about stamp-making if you haven’t already!). I have a new found admiration for anyone who can make beautifully crafted stamps – it’s trickier than it looks! Getting a neat edge is really tough, but practice makes perfect…

Last week I had the idea to make a little button stamp. Then I had an idea of what I could use it for! So yesterday, I drew a few little sketches and settled on this button. It took a while to carve it, and I tried to do it as neatly as I could…

It isn’t perfect, but as you can see from the bottom left-hand square, it printed out ok! I’m really a perfectionist, so dealing with that can be hard sometimes…but I actually like the slight wonky nature of this button

I realised that the light was disappearing (come on, British summer time!) so I gathered all of my things and started printing. I thought that this stamp would make some great little notebooks – and as a craft supply hoarder, I had some of these little Moleskine notebooks that were perfect.

Then I got out my alphabet stamps too!

I like this black and white version, but decided to add a little extra touch by sewing in some cotton in different colours.

Make sure you snip any excess cotton as close as you can to the knots on the inside. Ta-dah! They’re ready for lots of crafty notes

The post Stamped button notebooks appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

Earlier this year I decided to share my trade secrets about how to make envelopes, and I was really pleased with how popular the post was! So I thought it was about time that I do a second envelope tutorial, but this time showing you how to make lined envelopes. They are really good for a special occasion and you can customise them to any colour scheme you want to. I used tissue paper for the lining, but you could use any pretty paper – just make sure that it isn’t too thick, otherwise it will be difficult to fold the envelope.

You will need:

Paper for the outer and inner envelope
An outer envelope template
An inner envelope template
Scissors
A glue stick
A ruler
A pencil
Double-sided sticky tape
A cutting mat (or flat surface for drawing on)

Step 1: Make your templates by finding an envelope in the size that you want, and make the inside template by drawing a smaller shape of the outer envelope (see photo!). Cut out your templates on to some fairly thick card – this will allow you to use them again and again! You might need to use a craft knife to do this, depending on the thickness. Then draw around each template on the paper that you have chosen, cutting them out really carefully.

Step 2: Rub out the pencil marks on the top of the inside of the outer envelope (there’s no need to do the others as you won’t see them once everything is stuck together). Place the lining on top and then lift up the top edge and glue a line where the lining will be placed (see photo above!). Then fill in the rest of the gap with glue and then carefully smooth out the lining (see next 2 photos!).

Step 3: Repeat this gluing with the rest of the lining (it’s easiest to do this in one go). Leave the lining to dry for a while – a good opportunity to put the kettle on…

Step 4: When it has dried, you can fold the envelope – the ruler will come in very handy here! Start with the sides first, then the bottom and then the top. Make sure you’ve pressed each side down carefully.

Step 5: Measure a length of sticky tape to stick the bottom to the sides (I usually cut a 1cm strip in half). Place the tape carefully along the bottom of each side edge, remove the backing and then stick.

Step 6: Finally, measure another length of sticky tape for sealing in the same way as before. Stick as close as you can to the top edge – but remember not to pull of the backing this time!

Ta-dah!

I made the plain coloured linings as part of a rainbow set, which would make a really nice gift. But there are so many lovely patterned tissue papers that you could use – these ones are my favourites!

I was hoping to include the templates with this, but I’m having computer issues – ugh! I want the templates to be actual size but they’re printing a few millimetres smaller than they should. If I can figure out how to fix this, I’ll post them!

The post Tutorial: How to make lined envelopes appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

It’s National Stationery Week this week, and to celebrate I’m giving away my trade secret – how to make your own envelopes! They’re super easy and make really great gifts, although if you choose paper that you love you might not want to give them away! But as my friend Emily put it, envelopes ‘must fulfil their destiny’, so why not write to a friend this week?

You will need:
A sheet of thick wrapping paper (thin stuff doesn’t work very well)
Some double-sided sticky tape
An envelope in a size and style which you would like to make
A pencil
A ruler
Scissors
A cutting mat (or flat surface for drawing on)

Step 1: Lay the paper on a flat surface and decide which way to fit the most envelopes out of the sheet. Draw around the envelope and then cut them out carefully (save the scraps for other projects!).

Step 2: Next, you need to fold the envelope – the ruler will come in very handy here! Start with the sides first, then the bottom and then the top. Make sure you’ve pressed each side down carefully.

Step 3: Measure a length of sticky tape to stick the bottom to the sides (I usually cut a 1cm strip in half). Place the tape carefully along the bottom of each side edge, remove the backing and then stick.

Step 4: Finally, measure another length of sticky tape for sealing in the same way as before. Stick as close as you can to the top edge – but remember not to pull of the backing this time!

Ta-dah! There you have your very own envelopes! When choosing paper, try to go for smaller designs as they’re really effective. These ones are my favourites:

You can make them in any size too!

You can also make them for any occasion – we made them for our wedding invitations I’d love to see photos of your handmade envelopes if you decide to have a go, whatever the occasion!

The post Tutorial: How to make envelopes appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.