A trash to treasure customized letter opener

When you think of letter openers do you think of those little square things a company gives out so you have their business info or do you think of those fabulous interesting ones that look like daggers and usually have interesting things on the tips of their handles?

Well this isn't either of those. Haha! ;)

I started with an old butterknife (old because they have MUCH longer blades than modern ones) I bought at Goodwill for something like twenty-nine cents. I know, I know, I'm the last of the big spenders.

Then I traced my knife into a sheet of scrapbook paper

and glued it on.

Two things: don't forget to trace around each side of the knife on the correct side of the paper or you'll end up with two pieces only one of which will fit correctly. Not that I know from experience or anything.

Secondly, I think a beautifully patterned paper napkin would work much better for a project like this because you need the paper as thin as possible. If you remove the back layers of a napkin you'll end up with just the top colored sheet.

I like my things to look well loved so I added some Distress Ink before I sealed it with a varnish.

The varnish is going to protect your paper and harden it so when you slice through envelopes it doesn't come tearing off with it!

It needed something else so I tore a small strip of muslin (tore rather than cut, to get the rough edges) and tied it on like a ribbon. You could also use just regular ribbon or seam binding and even string beads onto the ends.

Want to make a set for a gift? How about including some writing utensils? I spray painted these and glued little gems on the ends.

But it's actually faster and much easier to just cut a rectangle of paper, roll it up and pop it inside the pen.

Everyone gets mail so this would be a great gift for anyone and you could customize it with their favorite colors.

I just love the roses pattern on the handle.

Happy letter opening! :)

Linking to:

Creative Cats @ Poppies at Play

DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land