Postcards

What is Postcrossing?

The goal of this project is to allow anyone to send and receive postcards from all over the world!

The idea is simple: for each postcard you send, you will receive one back from a random postcrosser from somewhere in the world.

Over the years, I’ve thought about alternate ways to use my beautiful stash. With few exceptions, postage stamps are works of art.

A few weeks ago, I took the plunge and removed the postage from my Postcrossing cards by soaking them in warm water. I watched my dad do the same in his basement den in the early sixties. I’m amazed that those memories are so vivid.

It took a few days to complete, and not all stamps were salvageable due to the newer adhesive; however, I ended up with over 600 postage stamps. What a haul!

Sorting is relaxing, too. I initially sorted by color and theme, depending on the volume. There were more blue stamps than any other color, with orange and purple being the most scarce. I had a handful of cartoon stamps, four or five cat stamps, and many flowers.

Once I started making cards, I ended up with stamps everywhere: stuck to my sweater, on the floor, under the cat, and so on. I ended each crafting session by gathering my stash back together for the next time.

It’s interesting that creative pull once you’ve come up with an idea. I looked forward to those hours of crafting time.

Here is a sneak peek of a few of the cards I made.

I’ll share more tomorrow.

Several years back, I discovered Postcrossing while researching vintage postage. I’ve always loved snail mail and for years kept up a correspondence with friends worldwide.

Postcrossing is the creation of Paulo Magalhães. Simply put, he started the project so he would receive more postcards in his mailbox. To date, 68 million postcards are in circulation.

“The goal of this project is to allow anyone to send and receive postcards from all over the world! For each postcard you send, you will receive one back from a random postcrosser.”
Paulo Maglhaes

I set up a Postcrossing profile in March of 2016. Over the years, I’ve sent and received 257 postcards from 40 countries.

The organizer in me enjoyed sorting the cards by country, but as my collection grew, I started sorting by subject. As a result, my collection includes gorgeous cat photos and illustrations, botanical drawings, and clever garden illustrations.

This is one of my all-time favorite cards

It seemed a shame to keep these miniature works of art in a box, so I came up with the idea of laminating several cards to use as a cover for my garden bench.

First, I created a template using a piece of thick gift wrap, then arranged the cards within the parameters of the bench’s surface.

Our local teacher’s supply store has an oversized laminator. They charge by the inch, so it’s a bargain. I used the laminator to fuse the cards to the gift wrap, returning home with what looked like a large placemat.

I slid the sheet of laminated postcards below the clear acrylic top.

I’m pleased with the final results and reminded once again how a bit of creativity soothes the soul. It’s fun remembering when each of these cards arrived in the mail, and what a joy it is to send and receive cards around the world.

Postscript: May I send you a postcard? If you would like a card in your mailbox, please send me your name and address via my contact form. I’m happy to post your card anywhere in the world.