It’s OK to say it: Some Valentines are more special than others. And for those, you go all out. You find the perfect card. You get the message just right. And you decorate the envelope, because that is fun. We feel the same here at Hallmark! So we gave some of our favorite cards to designers and asked them to inspire us with their best Valentine’s Day envelope art ideas. (Obviously, if you’re going to put a super-bulky something or design that could be damaged in transit on the envelope, you’re going to want to hand deliver it. Or tuck it inside another package.)

Pro-tip for Valentine’s Day envelope art:

Looking for envelope art ideas? Start with the card design. Use the color palette, materials, design elements…and interpret them your way on the envelope.

Add a yarn-wrapped monogram

We fell in love with the letters on this Signature Valentine, so we swiped the idea for the envelope art.

• Cut your sweetie’s first initial out of cardboard, chipboard, or foam core. 
• Tape one end of the yarn to the back of the letter and run a thin line of glue down the center to hold the yarn in place.
• Wrap the yarn around the letter until it’s covered, and glue the end down.

We also echoed the gold border and cut-out heart in the card with hand-drawn embellishments in metallic gold paint marker on the envelope.

Throw in some giant confetti

The tiny polka dots on the card are the cutest, so we made giant ones with a circle hole punch and some tissue paper. (We are such big fans of this.)

And just because it’s fun, we did a little mixing and matching with vintage stamps to keep the LOVE going.

Line the envelope

Inspired by the little hand-cut hearts on this card, we found wrapping paper with a similar look. Turning it into an envelope liner is easy:

• Open the flap, and lay the envelope open and flat on the reverse side of a piece of wrapping paper.
• Trace the shape onto the wrapping paper and cut it out.
• Cut a sliver (1/8″ or less) off each side and about 1/2″ off the bottom.
• Slip the liner into the envelope, design up, and close the envelope to crease the liner.
• Open the envelope and glue the liner in place.

Make peeping hearts

We played with different ways to mimic the folded-paper hearts on this card and liked this one:

• Trace the outline of the heart on the card onto tracing paper, then cut it out with a craft knife.
• Using the tracing paper as a stencil, lightly draw the hearts on the envelope.
• Put a thick piece of card stock inside the envelope, cut one side of each heart with the craft knife.
• Fold the flap open and use a metallic gold pen to duplicate the patterns on the card inside the hearts on the envelope.
• Cut a piece of wrapping paper to fit inside the envelope, and glue it in place.

Sew the envelope

You have to love running stitch around the design on this card, right? So why not add embroidery to the envelope?

• Use a teeny hole punch (or an awl and some foam core) to punch evenly spaced holes around the edge of the flap.
• Sew a blanket stitch around the edges.

Want more ideas for envelope art? You know we got you. Try these ideas for lettering and doodles and add ons. Or check out the amazing examples in these posts. And of course we’ve got more tips on what to write.

Any time you make an envelope pretty, we want to see it. Tag your Valentine’s Day envelope art photos #pswritebacksoon on Instagram. (Don’t forget to obscure the address!) 

— Tobe R.