No More Boring Envelopes: Alice in Wonderland

April is national letter writing month and for the past few years, Design by Laney has been using it to host “No more boring envelopes.” As she describes it, it was started to “help stationery designers and artists think a little outside of the (mail)box when it comes to mailing envelopes.” This year, I decided to participate in a “Bracket Challenge” contest as a personal goal for myself. Find out more details about this challenge at the bottom of this post and how to vote for my envelope!

I went back and forth on what to do with these envelopes for some time. Originally, I had intended to use some vintage Air Mail envelopes that belonged to my grandmother, but I opted to save those for a future idea. Instead I found inspiration in the craziness that is the world right now.

Everything feels upside down with everyone stuck at home, so I was thinking a lot about books & this quote from Lewis Carrol, “Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t.” Doesn’t that ring so true? Running with this idea, I began to wonder what it’d be like to flip the envelope inside out.

As a result, I made Alice in Wonderland themed envelopes where the envelope liner became the outside of the envelope. I handmade a bunch of different sizes and hid elements from the book in the details. The address wraps around the back of each envelope with a tag reading “Open me”– reminiscent of the “drink me” & “eat me” labels found on the bottles and pastries at the beginning of the book.

I couldn’t resist making little envelope either. I did one for both the Doormouse & the White Rabbit, other tea party attendees! I used Alice’s name from one of the Disney movies & a fake address close to where the real Alices lived. I also happen to live in an area called “Oxford” so it was equally fitting for me.

Here is the final flat lay I submitted to the contest. The bracket challenge works kinda like the March Madness basketball tournament where my envelope design goes head to head with another artists. If it wins that round, it will move forward against another envelope. All the voting takes place on instagram and the first day my envelope is live is as I publish this (April 13th, 2020!). If you like my design, please go vote for me over on Design by Laney’s Instagram page. Click to watch her daily story and when you see this photo, click it to vote!

I am really happy with how these envelopes came out. The neutral colors are very me and the pattern of the paper worked out so perfect across the different sizes. I hope to enter the contest again. It was a unique challenge and I am already inspired to do more by all the other artists who have entered so far.