Creating a Series of Postcards

When I am creating postcards I usually start by cutting ten or more pieces of paper to size. Cereal boxes are perfect material to use as a canvas for what ever medium I am choosing to work with, be it paint, collage or anything else. But you can also get thicker cardstock from the craft store, or order it online. There are even pre-printed watercolor pads for in postcard size if that’s something you want to try out. I love Creating a Series of Postcards that are similar yet different…

Having them all cut to size, about 10×15 cm (3.9×5.9″) or a tiny bit bigger, laying in a pile on my desk gives me the kick i need to start working on them, one by one or all together at once. I love having these small canvases waiting for me – even though I have also started on a bigger sheet and cut out postcards after decorating the paper (also a fun way to make your postcards).

I get excited for the possibility that each surface provides me with, but one of my favorite things about creating +10 postcards in my DIY Swap each year is the fact that I can explore something new each time. Something new – but within one theme or a technique that I want to explore further. That makes my postcards into a series of artworks, similar but not exactly the same. Each one unique and equally hard to part with when it’s time to send them out into the world.

I also get excited about the end result, the pile of postcards I will have at display, before I send them out. I see them in front of me even before I get started creating. I like the small size of a “postcard canvas” which is quick to fill and without as much pressure as “real art” sometimes gives me. Though for me it almost never is a quick process, mostly because I am slow most of the time, and it’s so much fun to add in the details and the finishing touches (like a pretty backside). I like to let creativity take its time. I love photographing the finished cards in a pile, and individually, so that I get to “keep them” even when I send them away. I learn a lot through this process.

I have a long list of reasons why I like to create handmade postcards, but as I was thinking about postcards recently, I narrowed my list down a bit. The main reasons why I enjoy making postcards over and over again through the years must be due to the fact that I get to work in a series! Withing a series of art there are at least a thousand possibilities I need to explore…

The Possibilities of Creating in a series of Postcards

Creating in a series offers abundant ways to play, and explore. And there are so many things I still want to explore. I hope you feel the same when it comes to creating. Though a series of artworks, or in this case, postcards for a swap, you can explore:

• colors – pick a color combination or a single color that you want to play with
• imagery – make a copy of an image and see how many different ways you can use it
• colouring – stamp one focal image and color it in 10 different ways
• lettering – pick a positive and happy quote and letter it in 10 different ways, or on differently painted backgrounds
• collage – choose similar papers and use them on all your postcards
• draw or doodle – create simple image (like a mandala or a bird) on each postcard, but alter it slightly for each card

Exploring art in a series of artworks is really an interesting concept, as I have written about before. You can explore colors, and use 1-3 of them on all your pieces. You can explore hand lettering, photography or any art subject you like in this way. Collage is especially fun if you ask me, and that’s what I did with my most recent postcards, created for the spring swap this year. I’ll show all of them in the next post.

If you are interested in creating 10 postcards, I think you should start cutting those cards to size today, and then pick a theme or technique to explore on all of them. Let me know what you pick and how it goes!

Why not check out my DIY Postcard Swap, last day to sign up for the swap is 25th of October! I’d love to see what you create. What idea will you explore on your 10 postcard canvases?