It’s actually pretty easy to make your own envelopes and once you’ve made a few, you can whip up a pile pretty quickly. You’ll find all the popular sizes of envelope announcement sized envelopes A2, A6, A7, A8, A9, A10 which are most commonly used for cards of any type.
Printing and Assembling Envelope Templates
To create your envelopes you’ll need a printer, glue or tape, and paper. To make standard white envelopes, use white printer paper. You can also use white cardstock for a more sturdy envelope appropriate for a greeting card. Scrapbook papers and patterned or colored can also be used to create a unique look.
Finding the Right Sized Envelope Template
Before you print out your envelope you’ll need to determine what size you need for what you want to mail. There are standard envelope sometimes cards will come in irregular shapes and you’ll need to figure out the best size of an envelope for it. Measure your envelope and then take a look at the table below. It includes the size of the envelope as well as the maximum size of that will fit inside of it.
A2 Envelope Templates
A2 is probably the most common envelope size for cards. If you make your own cards, this is a great envelope size because it will fit 4 cards or 2 folded cards that have been cut from an 8 1/2" X 11" piece of paper. Mel Stampz has free A2 free envelope templates for both side opening and top opening envelopes. You can print them with or without the score lines. Jam Paper also has a free A2 envelope template that with one click can be downloaded in your favorite word processor. It already has in the correct places to help get you started.
A6 Envelope Templates
The A6 envelope is another commonly used size that’s most often used for wedding and party invitations. There are a few A6 envelope templates at Neenah Paper. They have the standard A-style A6 envelope template that can be used for just about anything from brochures to invites. The Baronial envelope style has a large pointed flap and is more formal than your average A6 envelopes. It would make an excellent envelope template for a more formal party or wedding invite. There are also a few A6 envelope templates over at Envelopes.com. There’s a square flap envelope and a contour flap envelope available in the A6 size.
A7 Envelope Templates
A7 envelopes hold a card that is 5" X 7" which can include invitations for weddings, birthdays, or any other event. There are also greeting cards, such as Christmas cards, that will sometimes fit in an A7 envelope. Artsy Bride has an A7 envelope template that includes photos of how the envelope is put together and The Paper Mill Store has a free PDF of an A7 envelope template that includes instructions as well.
A8 Envelope Templates
You can also use an A8 envelope to hold greeting cards. A greeting card that is 5 1/4" X 7 3/4" is perfect inside an A8 envelope. At Envelopes.com you can find A8 templates with either square or contour flap.
A9 Envelope Templates
A9 envelopes are often used for homemade cards because one folded card or two flat cards made from a piece of turns out to be 5 1/2" X 8 1/2", making it a perfect fit for this envelope. JamPaper has a free A9 envelope template you can download directly into your word processing program.
A10 Envelope Templates
An A10 envelope holds an enclosure that is 5 3/4" X 9 1/4". This is a big envelope for a large card or small enough that no extra postage is required. You can find two A10 envelope templates at Envelope.com, one with a square flap and another with a contour flap.
#10 Envelope Templates
#10 envelopes are conveniently sized for holding a piece of letter paper that is folded into thirds. This envelope is used everywhere from mass mailings to everyday correspondence. Here’s a free #10 envelope template from BlockbusterPrint. There’s another free #10 envelope template from Bright Hub that even shows you where the mailing address and return address goes.
Printing on Your Envelopes
If you’ve made your own envelopes using a template or you have purchased envelopes you may decide that you’d like to print directly on them before mailing them out. This is actually easier than it sounds. Here’s a guide on how that in Microsoft Word.
