Do it Yourself Postcards
Do it Yourself Postcards are my kind of Mail Art, a postcard that you create yourself. And I’m not alone in loving this form of expression. Loads of people have signed up for the DIY Postcard Swap this spring, and I’m grateful that so many wants to join me in this endevour.
I started creating my Do it Yourself Postcards with cutting cardboard and then going to town with acrylic paint. I have been longing for painting for a while now, but every time I sit down to create I remember I am still behind on my 365 collages, so I do a couple of those instead.
But this time nothing can stop me. I’m going for painted and abstract Do it Yourself Postcards this year!
It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts.
K.T. Jong
The base of most of my postcards I covered in black acrylic paint. I was just feeling it. Although, I hope I did not create “too dark” and gloomy postcards, that was not my intent.
I just started with a lot of black paint, then I went into colors.
I don’t think it matters if I have a room full of work tables, I will end up in a corner trying to fit in with what I’m working on – with the surfaces of all the tables covered in “stuff”/materials… It is just how I work. If I try to be neat, I can’t create.
After painting for a while, I let go of the idea of doing 10 similar ones. Most of them have a similar vibe, but others are totally different, sticking out like a sore nose. Or not. Being part of a tumultuous whole, like myself…
A little while alone in your room will prove more valuable than anything else that could ever be given you.
Rumi
I shared a few peeks of my postcards WIP (work in progress) on Instagram last week already…
…but I’m finishing them as we speak.
I just finished sending out e-mails for the DIY Postcard Swap, and it is now closed. If you joined and can’t find your e-mail, please check your spam folder, your paypal e-mail, your other e-mail… Thanks, then contact me.
If you didn’t find time (or energy) to join this time, there will be a new chance this fall. Sign up for my Newsletter and I will let you know when it’s time to sign up next time.
How did you plan out and create your postcards this year? Do tell below, and feel free to leave me a comment when you’re don sending your 10 postcards out if you’re in the swap. Thanks.
I didn’t plan at all – I just started making them! No theme, nothing connecting them… just having fun in the process (and hoping that the recipients will not find them too weird :-)
I have them all made, some with old clippings, some on watercolor, all collage:). I am so excited to be a part of this! Thank you so much for your inspiration! And they have gone out in the mail too:)
A friend gave me a bunch of vintage post cards so I altered them. I had fun with that process and hopefully created some interesting pieces that will be enjoyed by all. It’s also fun to have two names of people I know on my list. This is a great swap! Thanks.
10 postcards completed april 6, 2018.
10 addresses received may 2, 2018.
10 postcards mailed may 3, 2018.
10 happy recipients soon!
My postcards are posted.. As of today.. Originally I planned my postcards and wasn’t happy with them so I started again with no plan and happy with results. X
Oh, I loved doing my postcards, hope you’ll like getting them.
It’s my first time doing “MAIL-ART”.
3. May and all 10 cards are on their way.
Looking forward to get yours.
Barbara
Hallo from Germany,
my 10 postcards went to the postbox today!
I hope, they will arrive in good condition in New Zealand, Australia and the USA.
I´ve posted pictures of them on my Flickr-Account MKP-0508.
I´m looking forward receiving your great art postcards soon.
Enjoy and take care!
Marina
I’ve received one of your lovely cards! Thanks so much.
(Sue in Australia)
I made my postcards while on a backpacking trip to Havasupai Falls (part of the Grand Canyon) in Arizona. I used dust from the canyon walls to create a color and used water for the falls to paint my postcards. They are all in the mail!
Thanks for organizing the swap!
Awesome!!
Wow! What a treasure!
Mine are ready to go. Canada, Europe and the US are my destinations. Always a fun project.
OMG!!! I have just realised that I didn’t include a greeting or my email address. So sorry. It is so part of the fun to learn if your post cards arrived safely. Alas a Senior moment.
Hello fellow artists!
Posted my cards today! I enjoyed making them and using new to me mediums.
My 10 cards are in the mailbox waiting to be picked up and sent on their way. This is always so much fun. I use different media: watercolor, acrylic, watercolor pencils, stamps, collage. Often I gather up a bunch of unrelated images and tie them together in some artistically coherent way–it may be jellyfish on a croissant, an interesting color palette, or sometimes just whimsy, like when I find some feathers, ribbon or some other scrap that inspires the whole piece. The postcard format is so satisfying because it can be playful or serious, and failure means tossing and moving on to the next one. Rarely is there true failure though–I call them “happy accidents” and often incorporate the “mistakes” into the finished product.
10x proudly South African postcards made with eShoeshoe fabric (or shweshwe), a printed dyed cotton fabric widely used for traditional South African clothing. In South Africa, shweshwe is referred to as the denim of South Africa. It was such fun making them! They are off today to the US, England and Slovenia.
Postcards all done and taken to Post Office today (Friday). Always a lot of fun to make these once get started. Kept adding a few more doodles with glittery Gelly Roll pens and had to stop and get them in the mail!
Whoo hoo this was my first time participating in the DIYpostcardswap and it was a blast. I make handmade fabric and paper postcards all the time so I was able to cull from my ready made stash and of course made new ones too. No plan or theme. I posted them on Instagram
oh yeah I forgot to mention…I put them in a New York City mailbox today!
Mailed out today.
7 in the USA
2 for Canada
1 for Denmark!
My 10 postcards have been sent out yesterday! I didn’t really plan my postcards. I had acouple if ideas that I wanyed to carry out, and used them. For some reason working in vulk didnt really wirk for me, so there are 2-3 similar postcards, and some that stand alone.
I sent all my postcards yesterday! So excited! One of my good friends was on my list. Also someone from St Petersburg-where I go often…maybe a new friend? I was so excited to participate. 8 of my cards stayed in the US, one went to Canada and one to Slovenia.
Yeah! It´s done! My postcards are on their way to the US and Australia. I did kind of underwater setting postcards, made with acrylic paint and a white pen. If you want to take a look.
I wish everyone a wonderful time with the swap!
Hallo Anke,
die sind ja traumschön, deine Karten! Sehr schade, dass ich nicht auf deiner Liste stehe… ;o)
Such wonderful cards… I´m so sorry, not to be on your list…;o)
This was my very 1st postcard swap. I have trouble sitting so doing THAT in itself was fun. I completely finished all of my postcards yesterday, May 4th, and I’ve just now come back from dropping them all off at the post
office.
I received your post card today, Mary…. LOVE it!
Postcards are posted today!
I used watercolors to paint pictures of plants, then added their symbolic meanings.
I’m looking forward to receiving the incoming ones.
:)
Sent! Had a lot of fun improving upon cards that have been waiting for embellisment. I hope their readers enjoy them!
Mailed today!! May 7. France, Canada, Australia, and USA!!!
I dropped my postcards off at the post office this morning. I REALLY loved them this time, so it was hard to let them go. :) This swap is so much fun, I can’t wait to see what everyone else has made!
10 completed postcards sent out today, May 7, 2018.
Done. Yay! Thanks in advance to those sending goodies to me. xo t
Hi Hanna! I’ve participated in this swap at least 4-5 times in the past, and I love it! I made 10 mixed media cards, based on flash cards that I gessoed, collaged, stamped and drew on. I loved every minute of it, and am looking forward to receive mine, too! I wrote a little about my process here.
Thanks for doing this swap year and year again!
Hi Hagit,
I love your wonderful postcards very much, most of them the “queen-one”.
Yes, it´s so much fun participating here and so exciting waiting for the artful postcards coming in.
Take care!
My series of “stylin gals” has sprouted wings and are off to their new homes. PLEASE let me know when you receive. AND I received my first one today from Sharon S! How lovely. :)
I mailed my postcards today. I always have so many ideas about what to create, but then I just sit down and go with the flow!
Hi i’m catherine from france, sorry for my bad english ! my plan wasn’t realy a plan, just after I subscribe to the Swap, I rediscuver an old box with a lot of pictures and postcard from china, I traveled in Shanghai in 2013. like Hanna there are a lot of things in my studio and I totaly forgot this box. My post card were made in few days because I was very exciting by the project. I used postcards, scrap papers, fabrics, I glued and sewed them. There were ready 10 days before the 1st of May. I sent all my postcard the may 3 to USA, Danemark and Canada. I enjoy ! can we send you some cards’ photos (I scan them) ? thank you for your colorfull creativity… Catherine
So excited to participate in the Swap again! I made 21 postcards this year. My 10 official swap postcards will be in the mail today. (The remaining 11go to friends and family, many who also participate in your fun swap!)
My mom and grandma mailed their swap postcards on Friday. We’re all looking forward to happy mail! Thanks again for all the hard work you put into organizing this swap! We look forward to it all year!
Ive received one of your lovely postcards in perfect condition, despite the miles travelled from the US to Australia. Thanks so much.
Me too, I´ve got one of these great postcards!
Thanks to you, Arielle!
Another fun swap and I’m eagerly awaiting my mail everyday! I sent my cards off last week, so some should be arriving to their destinations as I write this. I sent to USA, OZ, New Zealand and Germany! I always enjoy making the postcard for this swap, and this time was no exception.
I posted on my blog and added all the postcards I made to my flickr account if you would like to see them.
Thanks for another fun swap, Hanna!
I´m one of the lucky ones, who got one of your wonderful postcards!
Thanks so much for this colourful arty present.
Take care
Marina
And grazie mille to Hanna for this great Swap!
I´m so sorry for writing arty! I thought it means “artful”!!!
That´s what I wanted to say!
Take care
Marina
I sent my cards out yesterday morning, Monday, and received two in the afternoon mail! Such fun.
I mailed my post cards yesterday…May 7th to the US, Canada and France. I received my first two post cards today!….from Mary in Florida and Nancy in California…. and they are beautiful!
YAY! Postcards all mailed out and I have so much FUN doing this swap. Thank you Hanna for organizing this for us twice a year. This world of ours needs this energy and love that we create – the more the better! Much love – Christine
Hi, Christine,
you were on my list and I`ve send to you my postcard the 3. of may.
I hope, it arrived in good condition.
Most of my addressees in the USA had already got their cards.
So, I hope, you did, too.
Greetings from Germany
Marina
Postcards for the swap sent today! Apologies a little late but better late than never! I didn’t plan mine this year. My schedule is pretty hectic looking after my 4 year old and part time job. So I took advantage of some paintings I made earlier. Very simply gesso base on catalogue pages and played around with poster paints. Finished off with washi tape and of course, a quote! Thanks for organising again 😀 X
Mine are out!!!! I’ve gotten such wonderful post cards already. Mine are ink sketches with stickers. :)
I made my postcards using a Gelliarts plate and bright acrylic paints; then I found bits of printed type that represented things I wanted to say and then I added in prints from scanned in antique photos. I just mailed them Friday, May 11th. Sorry I was tardy but as the above person said, better late than never!!! Just way too much going on to get them completed timely!!! I’ve received several in the mail so far!
Hello I’ve just completed all my postcards and ready to go out. I had done tehe paintings weeks ago and then once I got the addresses, I went blank. I panicked, having no idea what was going to go onto of the paint. The pressure was building. As each day went by. And today, while having had a busy week behind me and another one in front of me, I stopped, I got out my supplies and just started. No plan, no direction, I just felt I needed colour and love. So that is the main theme for the cards, positive messages and colour. I hope they find my 10 exchangers well. Thanks for the challenge Hanna
Very cool Hanna! I did mine with hearts so I could include them in my 365 Somethings project. I made them from a kids’ jigsaw puzzle. They are on my blog here. They were mailed about two days after I got the addresses. I’ve received 4 cards already. One from France! Thanks for hosting again.
I’ve been doing some linocuts and experimenting, so I had an idea of what I was going to do. I started a vacation on May 1, and of course, forgot to bring my cards. Oh well, they will be mailed out tomorrow! I agree that I could have a dozen craft tables and there still would be no space. I’ve been using the cardboard tops of file boxes so I can stack up my projects. Love Art!
Late, per usual in responding.
My postcards all went out 5 May. So far I’ve received seven, (I think that’s a pretty good return). It’s been such a treat to check the mail for more than adverts and bills.
I made my 10 postcards by collaging various papers onto recycled cards. Each postcard had a butterfly, a vintage postage stamp and a small ATC size picture.
Such a fun way to destash – and share my vintage postage stamps.
I’ve now received 8 gorgeous cards – 7 from the US and one closer to home, from New Zealand.
Thanks for such an international mail exchange project Hanna.
I’m new to making my own postcards and I’m loving all the inspiration here! I’m having trouble keeping my painted and Collaged Postcards flat. 😕 They always end up curled around. I start out with cereal boxes. I’ve tried lightly spraying the back a d putting them face down on some parchment paper with a heavy book on top. They flatten out but they don’t dry. Once they do dry, they curl up again.