Postcard Storage Binder with Dymo Labels

I love ring binders, especially these tiny ones that I have made for myself! Last week I posted a video tutorial on how you can make a custom-sized ring binder too, using a vintage book cover. I’m sure you can come up with lots of fun things to add into yours, like loose leaf journaling, handmade postcards (that’s what I use mine for) or maybe your DIY Calendar or maybe use as a Life Planner… I have got three of these green beauties now. I call them “Postcard Binders” because I store my handmade postcards in them.

Recently I took last year’s swap haul down from my Inspiration Board, to make room for new ideas and inspiration coming in. I use my hole punch without hesitation and add in every postcard I have gotten into one of the ring binders.

I really like that you my binder contains artwork by many of my online friends, some bloggers themselves, others not. The Postcard Binder is almost like a small Art Journal collaboration, with tip-in pages from all over the world. Each page is a gift, each image a labor of love.

After hole punching a pile of yummy postcards I decided it was time to do something about the binder’s spine. I took out my trusty (thrifted) Dymo label maker and punched some labels, covering up the Reader’s Digests titles a bit, but not too much. I like that you can tell it’s altered books.

So now all my Postcard binders are Dymo-labeld postcard in green and orange/red. This is what they look like together in the bookshelf, where I keep them:

Now that I see them like this on photo, I think I need to give them a more united look. Maybe they should all just say DIY post cards and the year, but I was trying different ideas here. I also want to remember to take them out from the shelf, from time to time.

To look through my hand made postcard treasures. To read the messages and personal notes, stroke the textures, remember past swaps… Intermingled with received postcards I also keep my own “extras”, as I make a keeper postcard each year. Even though I photograph what I send away I like keeping one in each series, in the binder.

If you want a Postcard ring binder of your own, check out my video tutorial, and feel free to join the DIY Postcard Swap if you haven’t already. It’s open for mail art beginners as well as seasoned swappers! I need to find more vintage books (oh if I could find these green ones again), so I can make a new binder in May when postcards starts arriving in my inbox.

How do you store your postcards?