Hello friends!

Although I don’t write letters as often as I used to, I still really enjoy it when I have the time. I’ve accumulated quite a few envelope art pictures since the last pen pal post, so today I’m sharing some recent (and not so recent) happy mail inspiration.

Enjoy these pretty envelopes and fun snail mail ideas!

Let’s start with this lovely gouache painted envelope. I started with a blurry background, then used a series of broken circles and dark + light crescents to shade the drops.

A simple watercolor scene with evergreens and a tiny bear. I like painting the recipient’s name with the same medium used to paint the envelope to really tie things together.

I so enjoy decorating collage envelopes. They’re great for using up random art, stickers, and paper scraps, and they’re so therapeutic to put together! My biggest tip is to stick to a limited color scheme.

Sorry about the quality of this one… photo uploading has been a STRUGGLE today. Anyway, I love this Easter-y package! The eggs were painted with gouache: pointed ovals in various neutral colors followed by dots and speckles. I collected springy stickers and ephemera to tuck into the letter as well.

I love how this collage envelope turned out! I used some handpainted watercolor illustrations which I cut out and pasted on the envelope like stickers. Old hymn/guide/story books are good collage paper sources as well.

A super simple pattern that turned out so cute! As with most patterns, it was rather time consuming, but it’s also really easy to draw.

Another fall collage envelope filled with pretty photos and paper ephemera. If I include a bunch of different papers, I sometimes tie them up with thin twine to keep everything together better.

Unfortunately the letter above got lost in the mail, so I made another collage envelope and letter to replace it… Then both of them arrived at the same time. XD (Note: some of my collage ephemera is from my sister’s amazing magazine, Cut+Paste!)

Phew, talk about time-consuming! These next two envelopes took FOREVER to draw, but I’m so proud of how they turned out. If you like doodling, consider using a white gel pen over a dark envelope for beautiful contrast.

I loved these two envelopes so much that I actually made them into printables so you can use them too! Find them here on my Etsy shop.

I like how this collage doesn’t fill the whole envelope, leaving space for the pretty brown paper to peek through.

Another collage, this time on the dark navy envelopes (I actually had them left over from my wedding invitations, hehe).

If you need envelope art ideas, trying looking at stamps as inspiration. I bought these cute winter animal stamps and decided to draw a li’l fox in watercolor pencil + marker to go along with the one I used.

Another gouache envelope, this time decorated with metallic gold accents. A bit hard to see in the photo, but mesmerizing in real life.

Ooh I love how this turned out! I drew a bunch of overlapping leaves with Posca pen, outlining most of them in pen to add depth. Such fun colors and textures in this one.

I still need to write the letter for this happy mail but I LOVE the blue doodle flower theme! After I decorated the envelope with Posca pens, I drew a bunch more flowers on sticker paper and used them for both the bookmark and to share with my pen pal.

Lastly, I wanted to show one of my favorite ideas for simple “stationery.” I usually wrap the edges of regular notebook paper with washi tape to add some flair and tie in the color theme. Easy and fun!

I hope you enjoyed that collection of happy mail ideas! There’s nothing like getting a handwritten letter in the mail, so I love putting extra time into writing and sending them too.

Which envelope art piece was your favorite? What do you like to send or include in letters?

Thanks so much for reading, my friends, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***