Recycled Envelope Tag Book, My New Version! Part 1

This is the book we are going to be making.  I am dividing this into three tutorials, over the next three days.  I was inspired by the tag/pocket books out there using envelopes to create the side pockets.  I have come up with a new way to make these, creating three pockets for every envelope you use.  Jackie and I are going to the Creative Keepsakes convention this coming November, and we needed an album to fill with pictures of our adventure, and this little gem is what I came up with.  So, let's get started. 

First you need a big envelope...the brochure kind.  I get these from my insurance company.  They measure about 9 1/2" x 6".  You could also go to the office store and by them this size, but I wanted to be green and recycle what I had.  I took care when opening the mail, so that I could reseal the envelopes. 

So, seal your envelopes and fold them in the middle.  The two pictures above show how to fold them.  This is how your page will lie, so that you have the orientation correct.  The fold is the bottom of the page, the sealed side is the right, the left side of the now folded envelope with be the binding edge.

 Now, measure 1" in on the corners of the envelope as shown.  Cut these corners off.  Then, slice of just a sliver of the top edge.

I showed this step with the envelope open, but you don't have to do it this way.  Just fold down the flaps as shown, and adhere them to the "page" of your envelope.  Then turn your envelope over, apply adhesive to the tag part only, and adhere.

This is what it should look like now.  The pockets are created.  One in the middle, and one will be on each side of your page.  I made six of these pages, and my envelopes were not all the same, but they were all big.  It created some more interest in the book, as the pages were a little different in size, but you can certainly use the same size envelopes for this project.

Tomorrow, part deux!