July 4th Gamble

For my first mail-art envelope, I chickened out and sent it inside another envelope. But that does kind of take the fun out of it a little. I wanted to try another in a different style of construction, so now that I've finished it, I'm going to take the plunge and send it 'au naturel'.

I didn't over do with stitching embellishment for this test. If I had really done a lot of stitching, I would be more disappointed if the envelope never made to its intended recipient. So I'm hedging my bets to soften the blow just in case.

The front design is a Roly-Poly Uncle Sam by Pam Kellogg, a freebie on the Kreinik site. The back designs are two small designs from this Better Homes and Gardens book.

I borrowed the construction ideas from Liz. I took a notecard envelope and opened it up. It became my template. I traced it onto the fabric. After stitching, I sewed a lining to the Aida. Then I just turned in the sides and sewed up the bottom flap. I think I will baste it closed for mailing.

Quaker Mail Art

My first cross stitch envelope has reached my partner in the exchange on Stitchin' Fingers. Have to confess...I cheated. I mailed it inside of another envelope. Just couldn't bring myself to mail it without any protection at all.

I found it more difficult than I expected. Planning the layout was complicated. I made a mistake in placement and had to improvise at the end for the construction. That's why you see the flap made from the lining fabric. I sewed the side seams by hand since they were kind of bulky. I think I might look for a different construction method if I were to do another one of these.

I used the free Quaker house design from Annie Beez Folk Art on the front and the Nesting Bird design from Aury on the back. The fabric is Vikki Clayton linen and the lining has a design of houses in case you can't see that in the photo.