Use paper crafting tools to make envelopes, boxes, bows and more

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There is more than one way to make your own envelope, as well as more than one tool that will get the job done. That’s why I hemmed and hawed about purchasing a We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board, when I already owned a Martha Stewart Crafts® Scoring Board that enabled me to make perfectly serviceable envelopes. In the end, I caved in to curiosity, and discovered I had purchased much more than an envelope-making gadget. By combining it with other commonly-available tools (such as a paper trimmer and a hole punch), you can make envelope liners, index tabs, tab divider pages, tabbed folders, gift boxes, and more.

Before I compare both tools’ capacity to create the same envelope, let’s take a look at their physical features.

Just the Facts

The Martha Stewart Crafts® Scoring Board, which sells for $19.99, measures 13 inches wide by 14.25 inches tall, and includes vertical and horizontal edge rulers in eighth-inch increments, with corresponding scoring grooves. Both rulers accommodate up to 12.5 inches. A lidded compartment provides charts for standard card sizes, gatefold cards, boxes and lids. A triangle-shaped envelope guide slides beneath the board for storage, and includes a chart for making envelopes for dimensional cards. All measurements are in inches.

Martha Stewart Crafts Scoring Board

The We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board, which retails for $19.99, measures 10.5 inches wide by 6.75 inches tall, and includes parallel inch and metric rulers at the top edge of the tool. The 5-inch ruler is divided into eighths of an inch, printed in white.  The 13-centimeter ruler below it has grooved millimeter markings. The board includes a dual-sided punch, with one side for envelopes, and the other side for rounding corners. Directions for use, along with a chart for making 66 different card sizes, are screen printed on the top surface of the tool. Metric measurements are printed on a separate sheet and accompany any purchase. The A2 measurement on my punch board is incorrect, indicating a card size of 4.5 by 5.5 inches instead of 4.25 by 5.5 inches. Although later versions of this board may have corrected this error, I want to point out that the Stampin’ Up Envelope Punch Board, identical to the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board because both were made by the same company, has the correct information. I watched a video on YouTube that provided these suggestions:

  • Card size measures 4.25 x 5.5 inches (when it’s folded).
  • Paper size for envelope measures 8 x 8 inches.
  • Score line is at 3.5 inches.

We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

If you bought one of the early versions of this tool (earlier than mine, which I bought in 2014), your Envelope Punch Board may have at least eight errors, which can be corrected by printing out this sheet and taping it to your board.Corrections to We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch BoardBoth the Martha Stewart Crafts® Scoring Board and the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board come with a scoring tool that doubles as a bone folder. The Martha Stewart scoring tool is tucked inside the lidded compartment, while the We R Memory Keepers scoring tool tucks into a side slot on the punch board. I often substitute the Martha Stewart Crafts® Bone Folder or the Fiskars Dual-Tip Stylus Embossing Tool for the one included with the Martha Steward board because I think each of these fits better in the scoring grooves and thus scores more easily.

From top to bottom: Fiskars, Martha Stewart Bone Folder, Martha Stewart Crafts Scoring Board Bone Folder
From top to bottom: Fiskars Dual-Tip Stylus Embossing Tool, Martha Stewart Bone Folder, Martha Stewart Crafts Scoring Board Bone Folder

Alternate Uses

This post is not intended to be an encyclopedia article, citing all alternate uses for the Martha Stewart Crafts® Scoring Board and the We Re Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board. However, it’s a fact that while both do envelopes easily and well, both can also be used for other projects. This post provides links to a good selection of them.

The Martha Stewart Crafts® Scoring Board’s advertised uses include invitations (or cards), envelopes, boxes and unspecified “other projects.” Links to tutorials for these and other projects that you might wish to explore can be found here:

The We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board’s advertised uses include envelopes, fold tabs and rounded corners. Tutorials for these uses, as well as some other projects you can check out, are as follows:

Click on this image to watch a video about Crafty Owl's Box Buster app that allows you to create just about any size box you need with your Envelope Punch Board.
Click on this image to watch a video about Crafty Owl’s Box Buster app that allows you to create just about any size box you need with your Envelope Punch Board.
This is a screenshot of the Box Buster tool in action. You enter the desired box depth, height and width, and the app will tell you what size to cut your paper, and where the first and second punches should go. Easy-peasy!
This is a screenshot of the Box Buster tool in action. You enter the desired box depth, height and width, and the app will tell you what size to cut your paper, and where the first and second punches should go. Easy-peasy! Visit http://www.thecraftyowl.co.uk/boxbuster/, or click on this image.

Making a Non-Standard Sized Envelope

I offer my MisterPenQuin customers a free mini note card when they purchase an item from my shop. The card measures 2 by 2 inches, but I have never found envelopes to match them. Neither the Martha Stewart Crafts® Scoring Board nor the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board offers envelope dimensions for such a small card. Through trial-and-error, I discovered that I can make an envelope that works, but the folded tips look a little funky where they meet. I use a circle punch to modify it, and think that looks marginally better. My “recipe” for this mini envelope, using the Martha Stewart Crafts® Scoring Board, is as follows:

  • Cut the paper 4-5/8 x 4-5/8 inches.
  • Score and fold at 2 inches on all sides.
  • Use a circle punch to punch a half-circle as shown below.

Mini Envelope with Scoring Board

I was curious to know whether I could use the same instructions for the mini envelope with the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board, but as you can see when the shapes sit side by side, as well as when the envelope is finished, it is just a little bit too large. If I needed a mini envelope for a dimensional card, however, this might work just fine.

In both photos, the envelope on the left was made using the Martha Stewart Crafts Scoring Board. The envelope on the right was made using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.
In both photos, the envelope on the left was made using the Martha Stewart Crafts Scoring Board. The envelope on the right was made using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.

I discovered, by visiting the We R Memory Keepers Web site, that they recently developed an app called Envelope Generator for just about any size envelope you might need, so if the size you’re looking for isn’t printed on your punch board, you can come up with the paper size and scoring line this way. The app is designed for iOS and Android phones and tablets, but if you don’t have one of these, you can visit the Web site instead and use the online version of Envelope Generator. It’s quite easy to use. Just enter the dimensions of your card, and click on Generate. The app tells you what size paper you need to cut, in my case a square that measures 7-5/8 by 7-5/8 inches, as well as where to score. For my mini envelope, that’s the 2-inch mark.

Envelope Generator
Click on this image to visit Envelope Generator online.

The 1-2-3 Punch Board

You’ll notice that the Envelope Generator app refers to a “1-2-3 Punch Board,” which was introduced at CHA 2015 and will be coming out soon in your local craft stores and online. This punch board’s advertised uses are envelopes, boxes, and bows, but the idea booklet that accompanies the tool also provides instructions for envelope liners, tabbed file folders and coin envelopes. Tutorial links for those same items are in this post using the Envelope Punch Board, so don’t despair if you recently bought one and are just now hearing about the “new and improved” 1-2-3 Punch Board. The main difference is ease of use. In the spirit of fairness, however, take a look at the video below and decided for yourself if you really need to replace your Envelope Punch Board. At the time this post was written, you could get a special deal for the We R Memory Keepers Punch Board Party Collection on HSN that includes the 1-2-3 Punch Board, a Banner Punch, and some extra supplies for $59.95, plus shipping. Do I plan on replacing my Envelope Punch Board? Not at this time, especially since I own some of the other We R Memory Keepers punch boards and there is some duplication in function already. But I’m tempted!

If you don’t have a scoring board—the Martha Stewart one, Scor-Pal or any of a number of other types—that’s a good place to start for creating cards, envelopes, boxes, rosettes and many other projects. By combining a scoring board, paper trimmer, and the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board (or the soon-to-be-released 1-2-3 Punch Board), there’s probably no limit to what you can accomplish. What tools do you use to make some of the items described in this post?

© 2015 Judy Nolan. All rights reserved.

4 thoughts on “Use paper crafting tools to make envelopes, boxes, bows and more”

  1. Wow – so many things to do with the scoring board! I had the Martha Stewart one and I didn’t really know what I was doing with it, so it was in the ‘leave behind’ pile when I moved to Hawaii. It’s really cool how you used the scoring board and hole punch in conjunction, and it’s interesting to see the results when you used different boards! Now I kind of wish I had one again. =)

  2. So if we were just planning on getting one of these boards (& don’t have any yet), would you say that the 123 punch board is the way to go since its a muti-tasker over the original envelope punch board?

    1. Yes, KD, I would probably get the 1-2-3 Punch Board today, if I didn’t already have the Envelope Punch Board. But if you have the Envelope Punch Board already, I don’t think there’s enough justification to run out and replace it.

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