Yesterday as I checked my mail, I started thinking about how boring getting mail has become. The only thing I ever get anymore is junk mail, and it makes me wonder why I bother checking it so often. The last time I was annoyed about the low quality of mail that comes to me every day, I wrote about how to make snowflakes from junk mail. Today I’m going to take a different approach.
Do you remember back in the old days when people would send postcards from their vacation instead of putting the pictures on facebook? Do you remember what it was like to check the mail and actually get excited to see if there was something good in there, like a note from a friend? I do, and I miss those days a lot.
One of the reasons I look forward to the holiday season each year is because I love getting Christmas cards in the mail. I thought it might be fun to write this article with some simple handmade postcard ideas. That way, the next time we are feeling nostalgic, we can send a friend a postcard. These are 3 different ways we can make a postcard to mail the old fashioned way and brighten someone’s day. Don’t forget, you can even mail a postcard to someone who lives in the same house as you. It’s still exciting to get mail, even if it’s from the person sitting next to you on the couch. I put the easiest one first on this list, but all 3 of these are really neat! Now the only question is, where did I put the stamps?
1. Repurpose Your Duplicate Photographs
Do you have some 4×6 photos around the house that are duplicates? Many of us don’t keep “real” photos anymore since we store them all online, but I bet you still have a drawer full of them somewhere. I know I do. Those make great postcards! All you have to do is flip them over and draw a vertical line down the middle. On the right side of the line, you address it and place the stamp. On the left side of the line, you write your message. It takes all of five minutes, and you’re done. You can even check with some places that do online postcard printing so see if they have photo “postcard backings” that you can purchase. It’s basically sticky card stock that you can stick your photo to, and it makes a heavier and more sturdy postcard. I’ve made several of these postcards before though, and I’ve never used one of those adhesive backs. It works just as well without that.
2. Happy Birthday Postcard Puzzle
This is such a neat idea, but you’d have to have a lot of crafty friends to pull it off. Jordan Ferney at Oh Happy Day created a downloadable template that you can use to create a happy birthday puzzle for a dear friend. You simply email about 25 people their piece of the birthday postcard puzzle. They print out their part and mail it with a note on the other side. The birthday girl or boy will receive 25 postcards in the mail, and he or she can assemble them all to complete the big birthday puzzle with a special message. This is such a creative idea, but if even just one person doesn’t do it, the puzzle won’t be complete. It would be fun to try anyway though! You can learn how to do this at Postcard Birthday Poster DIY.
3. Stitch Your Own Postcards
These canning jar postcards are so cute! I’d have to be feeling really confident and have a chunk of time to give this a shot, but I can really appreciate the idea. The thing that really inspires me about these is simply the fact that postcards don’t have to be made out of just paper. Postcards can be made out of fabric and other materials too! Of course, in that case, they might require a little more postage, but when you open your mind up to the possibilities, it’s so much fun. Monika and Bernie at My Sweet Prairie created these, and they are truly fabulous. Each postcard is made to look as if it’s canned. In these particular ones, you’ll see they canned bugs, pumpkins, brownie mix and salsa.
COMMENTS