Altered CD Envelopes

Dress Up Lowly CD Envelopes with Digital Artwork

Altered CD Envelopes for Valentine’s Day

Perhaps you’ve heard of altered art: tags, CDs, tins, books, or dominos. Here’s an easy altered art project using CD envelopes.

If your loved ones love homemade cookies, this Valentine gift idea should be a "big" hit.

Bake large versions of their favorite cookies the size of CD envelopes - the ones with the clear windows so the sweet goodies are visible.

Buy the envelopes in red or pink to suit the occasion; or decorate white ones yourself.

Sealed With a Kiss CD Envelope

Make a label that also serves to seal the present. The one pictured above is 5 inches long and 1 ½ inches wide.

Add a sweet Valentine message.

Insert Cookie.

Fold label in half.

Glue label in place.

Get ready for a big thank you kiss!

Here are the directions for making the digital lip imprint.

A few phrases that would be cute for your label: "S.W.A.K."; Sweets for the Sweet"; "Roses are Red. Violets are Blue. Sugar is Sweet; And so are You!"; "For My Sweetheart"; "For My Sweet Valentine"; "So sweet, but not as sweet as you."

Another Altered CD Envelope: Sweets for the Sweet

This Valentine cookie envelope was printed digitally using designs I created in Photoshop. It uses two brushes from the Scrap Girls MST Alphaset, namely Alphaset Circled and Alphaset Alphas.

If you look closely, you’ll see that the pink background is stamped with the alphabet. The alpha circles are used to frame the "S" in "Sweets" and "Sweet".

Using brushes like stamps is one of the neatest things I’ve learned from Scrap Girls. I used to think brushes in Photoshop were only for painting and drawing.

I had figured out that I could also use them for distressing edges and creating paper with a torn paper look.

But stamping - I never dreamed! I’ve bought several of the Scrap Girls brush sets. There are tags and name plates, flowers, snow flakes, you name it.

You choose your brush and color; then just stamp away.

How to Print a CD Envelope

I could have printed the CD envelope using my printer’s envelope feature but I wanted to print to the edge. Most printers won’t do that. So, here’s my solution.

Create your cover design the same size as the envelope (or a tiny bit bigger to allow for printer slippage).

Center it to print. Photoshop does this automatically, unless you tell it otherwise.

Print one copy.

This is your template.

Dab a glue stick on the four back corners of a CD envelope.

Place it directly on top of the design printed on your template and press. Lay the template in your printer tray so that the CD envelope will be printed on. Print.

Remove the envelope from the template quickly, before the glue sets completely.