In this year’s postcard swap my mom went into total paper play mode, cutting out paper shapes, gluing stuff down, stamping everything and then also adding decorative patterns with her fancy sewing machine, making her 10 awesome stamped postcards.

Mom's stamped postcards 2011 #diypostcardswap #studioihanna

I forgot to show her the glitter bottles, but maybe that was lucky or the cost for postal stamps might have doubled! ;-)

Mom's stamped postcards 2011, photo by iHanna

Moms and their daughters

Me and mom were not the only mom and daughter team this year! Sophie (who made some gorgeous postcards) got her mom to sign up again, and I know at least two other mom’s who signed up with their older daughters!

Mom's postcards 2011

This was not meant to be a swap for kids (I just didn’t think about mentioning kids because I don’t have any), but I didn’t set an age limit either so anyone who wanted to join was welcome (though not groups of people wanting to do it together). I think the personal touch of a postcard is important, the little message on the back, the email saying thanks, the feeling of reaching out and sharing.

Postcard making: playing with materials
Mom in her sewing room, set up for play with papers, stamps and markers by the sewing machine. She experimented with her new batch of small cat stamps (super cute!) and some scrapbook papers from my left overs (mostly purple because I don’t use that colour).

Postcard making: stamping
She had no plan just a wish to make something fun and pretty. She was totally absorbed by stamping girls, cats and her message to the world of swappers; Wishing you a day filled with good things! :-)

Postcard making: colouring
Adding more colour by colouring in some of the stamp images. iHanna’s mom Yvonne is having fun!

Mom's postcards 2011: good things indeed
There are so many different ways to make a postcard, as you can see if you take a look at the diversity of the DIY Postcard Swap group on flickr! I’m very impressed with what everyone has created this year! So many styles and ideas, so much colour and joy, makes me happy to see!

All of mom’s stamped postcards

all of Mom's postcards 2011
Made by Yvonne in Sweden. You can tell she had fun making them, right?

And a close up of two of the cards:
Mom's postcards 2011
Super cute mom!

Last year my mom made shabby chic roses from transparent fabric for the DIY Postcard Swap. She was excited to receive mail from all over the world and wanted to join this year too, and I was happy to have her even though I had to help her write the message for the back, hehe.

If you want to leave a message for my mom about her postcards please feel free to do so below and I will let her know! I think she understands English just fine but she doesn’t feel able to spell or write in English (mostly because it’s been a few years since she was in school and got some practice)… Personally I kind of see a love for my cat Smilla in these postcards, don’t you? Mom was never a cat person before, and she still isn’t a huge cat fan, though through the past years she has turned into a one-cat-lover kind of person. But, of course, everyone loves Smilla. ;-)

Postcard sharing still going strong!

People are still adding links to the link widget in my post Sharing the postcard joy if you want to visit a few of the other postcard swappers out there (now more than 100 links there!). Leave a comment if you have the time, I think many of these creative and wonderful bloggers who share their postcarding process would love a visit!

10 of mom's stamped  DIY Postcards #diypostcardswap #happymail #mailart

Read more about the DIY Postcard Swap here.