How I Make Postcards

My creative process is pretty haphazard.  I start by making a base for the postcards. I use cereal boxes or whatever kind of cardboard is handy. Then I get out my boxes of clippings. I've been saving scraps of paper for about 10 or 12 years. The collection just keeps expanding. For the last month or so I've been paring things away, and I hope to keep my papers contained in four old 10x10 Kodak boxes.

Sometimes I work on the dining table, but often I just spread my stuff out on the floor so I can see a lot of things at once.


I'll dump a box on the floor and pick out anything that catches my eye for a background.  As I continue to paw through my stash, I'll pick out faces or pieces of color that I think will look good on the backgrounds I've chosen. Often I'll see a story forming, so I'll be on the lookout for clippings that add to it. I have a smaller box of "snide remarks", a collection of words or phrases that I might go to for a caption, or maybe I'll look at the daily newspaper for odd headlines. I recently sorted my clippings, putting people in one box, backgrounds in a second box, etc. I think I will go back and mix them all up again, as I get more interesting combinations that way.

Sometimes I paint my cardboard bases with acrylic paint. Lately I've been using a lot of Pyrrole Red. Most times my background papers will cover most of the card, but having a colored background is nice for when the clippings don't quite cover the whole card. Besides, I love playing with paint.

I was trying to replicate some of the colors in this desert scene. Fun fun fun!

And here are four potential postcards gleaned from my sorting process. There seemed to be a sort of "space age" thing going on, so I picked out a few rockets & space helmets, and then a cactus & a cowboy for the desert landscape. All I need now is to fine tune the layouts, maybe find a caption, and stick everything down with a glue stick. Sometimes I use acrylic matte gel to attach my papers. It's messy, but it sticks things down really well. Sometimes I'll use the glue stick for everything, and at the end just go over the finished card with the matte gel to make sure pieces don't get torn off by the postal machinery.

          * Postcards that came from this particular mess
          * 2015 DIY Postcards - Birds set
          * 2015 DIY Postcards - Pop Art & Quotes
          * 2015 DIY Postcards - More Birds

Connect and share online --
Check out the art and processes of other Postcard Swap participants HERE!

unexpected pinkness

Last fall I planted a packet of wildflower seeds. I was hoping for bluebonnets and paintbrush, but so far what has been most plentiful are the non-native flowers, including these corn poppies. On this cool rainy day they look like luscious lollipops out in the back yard.

The Bird Exhibit

I don't usually have a theme in mind when I make a series of postcards; my process is too haphazard for that.  Recently though I clipped a lot of bird images, and some of them ended up on these cards, so I'm calling this series "The Bird Exhibit".

Stir It Up

Baby Birds

Bird Poem

Time for Happy Mail

I've been waiting for the lovely Hanna to announce one of her annual postcard swaps, and She Just Did! If you like getting pretty and/or unusual postcards from other creative souls, this international swap is a great opportunity for you. The only catch is you have to make ten postcards of your own to send. Head on over to Hanna's blog and sign up now!

I'll be posting my creations soon, as well as showing a bit of my creative process. Stay tuned!