Materials for making DIY Postcards | Vintage illustrations
I am participating in the DIY Postcard Swap fall 2024 and since I need to blog every day this week as well, for NaBloPoMo 2024, I am dividing the series of my own postcard process into three posts. Also, not to overwhelm you with my thousand of photos of what’s on my messy desk currently as I glue the last bits in place…
In the postcard swap that I am the hostess of, we create 10 handmade postcards that will go out to a international crowd once the sign-up period closes after the 10th of November. It’s really fun and a chance to get lots of happy mail, so feel free to sign up if creating is something you’d want to get into your week (also : more blog fodder).
Let’s get started with my materials today, then more on how to altered postcards tomorrow and then I will share the finished result the day after that.
My idea this year was to alter already existing postcards. I want to lessen my collection of old, printed, unused postcards that I for some reason have kept in a box for years and years (there’s a theme for you). Quite a few of them are from a time when they were giving out free commercial postcards at bars and restaurants in Sweden. I might or might not have gathered way too many of those and then never sent them to anyone… A few others are art postcards bought at flea markets or that I might have received in happy mail filled with other’s ephemera (for usage in my own mixed media art and art journaling). I’m not even sure where they’re all from, I just know I will never send any of them to friends or family – so why did I keep them? Maybe to bring them out this year and alter them to make them more artsy and colorful. More iHanna and happy. Yes, let’s pretend that was my intention all along.
Here’s an example of a free printed postcard, about taking a holiday somewhere, anywhere in the world:
To alter this postcard I covered the unimportant text and road, and only kept the happy blue sky. I made a new scene and like it much better now. But more about the altering process tomorrow.
My DIY Postcard Materials & vintage illustrations
As you can tell from the photo above one of my materials were thin patterned origami papers that I bought unseen. Purple is not a favorite color and non of these are must-keep for me, but I loved using the different patterns on these postcards so much! I like that the papers are really thin and easy to glue stick down, tear up and use as backgrounds. I like the mix of colors and I’m happy I had them after all.
That’s it for the background on most of my rather simple postcards this year. Previous years I have painted a lot and that’s a lot more time consuming to do of course. I enjoy both mixed media art and this kind of a little bit quicker collages.
For my focal images I use vintage storybook illustrations from two different thrifted books. The first one I got for the cover a while back. It’s called The new world (Den nya världen) and it’s got stories on farming and settlers. I got it in a thrift haul (it’s in the What I thrift: magazines & books to cut up post – it’s in the second video in that blog post and you can spot it directly at 12.03 if you want to see the cover of the book). In any case, I guess I never gutted it and used the images because they are not very happy at all:
Siblings fighting, a rabid dog and a fire on the field is not something I want to include in my art journal and I would never use any of these on a postcard either. I want to send my postcards to people as happy mail with emphasis on happy. I don’t want my DIY Postcards to make people worried or scared. I even think I made it into one of the swap rules, asking participants to avoid trigger words as much as possible. So those images above were a no-go, but I still started to pull out the pages and fussy cut out a few cute images that could fit on a postcard sized canvas.
Another book that I used illustrations from was Den roliga boken (the funny book), a vintage Swedish school book for learning to read. It’s just been in my stash “for ever” but again, blogging and being able to search your own archives (which is like your external memory) I found that I bought it together with a vintage red suitcase “a while back”… Wow.
I remember thinking that all the illustrations in this book are so sweet. I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to cut it up and actually use the illustrations in my collages. Probably because I felt that they were so special that I should save them for the future… “in case of need” – which is never a good idea. As years pass you will forget about materials you once loved, and you might never use them at all. Personally I believe it’s better to use “the good stuff” – one of my life philosophies actually. I try to live by it, but obviously some things fall through the cracks.
As I’ve already mentioned, my collection of printed postcards are a bunch of mixed strange. Who would you send a postcard with a bucket of radishes to, for example… A farmer friend, wishing them happy harvest perhaps? I’m not sure.
When I went through a box of unwritten, bought postcards I only took out those I wasn’t sure where they originated from or that I knew were free commercial postcards. A whole pile, yes, but I still have a small box of postcards that is a… a collection I guess. Maybe 50 or so is left, I had no idea I had them. Bought at museum visits, travels or kept for some reason or other. I’m not sure I want to keep them in a box, or at all, but I will have to make a decision on them at a later date.
Right now I’m producing new DIY Postcards that I know I will send out next week already.
It’s count down time: six days left. I am counting down until the 10th of November when the DIY Postcard Swap that I host closes. Sign up before that date if you want to join us for the fall swap.
After Sunday it’s time for me to start making address lists for everyone and for the participants to count their handmade cards and make sure they’re all done and ready to send out.
Tomorrow’s post will be about how I altered the pile of postcards that I had laying around, to make them “DIY” instead of printed matter.
This post is part of NaBloPoMo where I write 30 blog posts in November. Thanks for reading and leaving me a comment, it encourages me to keep going. To follow along subscribe to blog posts via email or RSS. I also have a sweet Substack Newsletter about art, craft and creativity that you might want to sign up for so that we can keep in touch in the future. I’d love that. On instagram I’m @ihannas and on YouTube Studio iHanna. Take care and stay creative friends.
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What a creative idea, I love it. Those illustrations really take me back to my childhood.
Thanks Tina! That first book could really been a book in your library, it’s very American to me at least. The rest of the stories have native americans and cowboys. Now I’m just hope that everyone will enjoy getting a postcard featuring a dog.
What a super fun peek into your process! Looking forward to seeing your finished cards
Thanks Rachel, I think maybe these kind of process posts are my favorite to write because it’s something I don’t think about as I create. I just GO. :-)
Such a fun idea! And I am glad to know I am not the only one with a collection of unsend postcards. I still hae a hard time walking past a postcard display.
Thanks Meike, what kind of postcards do you like buying best? The souvenir kind of a place or more illustrative artsy ones? How do you store yours? I haven’t bought a postcard in years, the ones I have are from when I was younger, but I do see the allure of buying them as mementos.
I like the artsy ones quite a few black and white. I used to pin them up on my walls and just kept them. I also have a lot of the free ones they give out at pubs/cafes in Germany. The last ones were from a museum when I visited my sister in Munich in August. They all go in a big box and from every once in a while I will send some out.
This is a great idea, Hanna! Your altered postcards will be so cool! I love that you have a postcard with a bunch of radishes, and you’re so right – who would you send it to? But also, I’m the kind of person who would love getting a random, weird postcard like that! I’m signed up for the swap for the first time, and I’ve been working on my postcards. I feel unsure about them, but I’m just plowing ahead, and I hope the recipients will enjoy them. I’m especially looking forward to the postcards I’ll receive!
Thanks Michelle, I am sure your postcards will be much appreciated by whoever gets them. To me it’s not that important what’s on them but that you can tell they are made with thought and love, and I am sure yours are. I also really appreciate the note on the back. It might be a tidbit about your world or a quote or something quick about the weather, but it’s always fun to see what’s there.
Oh this is so fun. I have seen the postcard swap before on the blog but was unsure of the timing. I am not sure I can handle that on top of everything in November but I would love to get the cards. Ha.
I have never made postcards really. I have a whole box cards and envelopes that I made or that are basis for such things. I don’t have enough people in my addressbook to send those creations too.
Maybe you could join in the spring if you’re interested? Making cards and postcards is similar, and equally fun so I’m sure you would fit in with the gang. :-) I can’t offer to send you one this time though as my November is managing the swap, documenting & sharing my postcards aaaand now this challenge and I think I already might already need a holiday from NaBloPloMo…
Yes! I was hoping its not a one time things so springs sounds much more reasonable to me.
I bet it’s a lot to organize and handle but I am so excited to follow along here.
What a wonderful, creative idea, iHanna and who DOESN’T love postcards in the mail?? :)
I’d really love to join this creative adventure, but I am afraid I won’t be able to handle this in the next two weeks… especially since I haven’t flexed my creative muscle in a while, but I’ll be excited to hear how it goes :)
Thanks San! I have hosted the postcard swap for 12 years (!) so yes, I’d say it is a reoccurring thing around here. And you are flexing your creative muscles by blogging every day right now, so that’s great. Still seems impossible to me. 😜