Ombre Glitter Envelope Flaps DIY

This idea was inspired by a post seen on 100 Layer Cake. You might pick up some good tips there as well!

Steps

1. Follow @freshinkstyle on instagram and Fresh Ink on Pinterest.  Thanks soooo much!
2. Gather supplies: Glitter Blast Spray Paint (we got from our local Michaels), envelopes (we used ones we carry at Fresh Ink from Waste Not Paper - we love their deep v and sturdy paper), some cardboard pieces and/or boxes to make a spray zone.
3. Create a spray zone by making an L from cardboard. The spray works better when you hold it upright, so the L shape is important because you will not be spraying your envelope when it is laying flat on the ground. Make sure your area is well ventilated, glitter is hard to contain!
4. Do several test envelopes to get comfortable with your glitter spray before moving to your actual envelopes.
5. Prop your envelope against the back of the spray zone.
6. Spray starting a the tip of the envelope flap with your heaviest coverage, and get lighter as you move toward the main part of the envelope giving the "ombre" effect.
7. Lay the envelope flat to dry for about 30 minutes!
8. Stuff and seal the envelopes.
9. Read the "things we learned the hard way / things we would do differently" notes below.

Things we learned the hard way / things we would do differently

• We pre-addressed our envelopes on the computer before spraying them. You want the glittering of the flap to be the very last step that is possible, as the more you handle them after glittering the more the glitter gets everywhere.
• Since you are pre-addressing your envelopes before spraying them, go ahead and pre-stamp them, too.  The step below (using a protection envelope) will help glitter from getting on the front of your envelope. Stamps are harder to stick on if glitter dust is on the front of the envelope.  And if you go ahead and put the stamps on before you spray them, it is just one less time you have to handle the envelopes after they are sprayed.
• Because envelopes were pre-addressed, it's a good idea to take one extra envelope, seal it, and prop it in front of the front of the envelope you are spraying. We did not do this the first time, and it resulted in a good bit of glitter migrating over to the front of the envelope.  An extra envelope to protect the front of the one you are glittering will prevent this and give you a clean edge - so only glitter is on the flap.
• Let the envelopes dry well before you seal them, you don't want to lick wet spray adhesive glue. If you are concerned you could also just seal them with double stick tape.
• Some of the glitter will no doubt come off during mailing.  I am also hoping I don't get an angry letter from the post office after mailing these.  If you want to try and be a little safer, you could address your envelopes, and spray them, stuff and seal them, and then put them into a little clear cellophane "outer" envelope to mail them (available from www.clearbags.com) - this would keep them more protected during mailing. Some glitter will probably come loose inside the bag but it might be a cool confetti effect.  If you do this - I am pretty sure you have to put the stamp on the outside of the cellophane envelope, not underneath it, so that it can be cancelled. The cellophane envelope may incur extra postage - you need to double check at your post office.
• We did some with only a thin line of the glitter  - more along the lines of the 100 Layer Cake original post - and we liked that too!  If you are worried about the mailing of so much glitter you might just go this minimal route.  We achieved the ombre effect by happy accident, and decided we really liked it and would try it!

Come see us in Jackson, Mississippi if you are ever in the area or visit www.fresh-ink.com