Make your own mini envelopes in seconds using simple paper hearts

When I was young, my grandma and I used to play with a mini mailbox for hours. We would write each other notes and deliver them to her toy mailbox where the other person would come and collect them and read them aloud. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t read or write at the time, my grandma always translated my letters and read mine for me. The excitement and joy she got at reading each letter was matched only by my own, and these are some of my very favorite memories of her.

Ever since then, I’ve been in love with mini mailboxes and letters. We have quite a few metal mailboxes we send letters in and this metal mailbox is my favorite. My daughter and I have exchanged hundreds of mini notes throughout the years and I save each and every tiny declaration of love. Most often we fold up post it notes, but every so often I will pay way too much for a mini stationery set.

But, our mini letter writing has been taken to the next level now that we have mastered the art of folding our own mini heart shaped love notes. It’s super easy to do, doesn’t require special supplies, and they work perfectly for class Valentines, as doll letters, lunch notes, fairy letters, and more. 1. You start by cutting out hearts in your favorite scrapbook paper.
Tip: To keep my hearts symmetrical, I created a stencil by folding a 5×5 paper in half and then cutting half a heart shape, but you can also buy hearts to fold at art stores. I like to use thinner scapbook paper that is double sided so it has a pattern on both sides, but you can use just about any paper you would like. Trace your heart stencil and cut out. 2. Once my heart was cut out, I flipped it upside down for folding. 3. Fold the tip of the heart down, creating a triangle shape. This will be your envelope flap. Unfold. 4. Fold both sides in to the center of the heart using the first triangle fold as a guide. 5. Once both sides are folded in, fold the bottom of the heart up to meet the bottom of the triangle fold. You can seal with glue at this step if you want, or you can leave it so the heart can be unfolded. 6. Fold back down the envelope flap. Here are the folds flattened out so you can see them. Now you have an envelope that you can place notes in or you can write notes directly onto the heart shape. Seal with a sticker and place in your mini mailbox, under pillows, into school lunches, or just hand out to loved ones. These heart envelopes are going to be such a big hit this Valentine’s Day and I can’t wait to fill up this mailbox with little love letters for my littles. Do you play mail with your kids? What are your favorite ways to tell your family you love them?