Storing Postcards: How to make a ring-bound booklet

 

I've been wondering for awhile now about what to do with all the Postcrossing postcards I've had stashed away in the cupboard.

 

I really didn't want to lose any, but I am beyond wanting a "postcard wall" or anything along those lines. What I wanted was a means by which I could store the cards without having to worry about them getting lost or damaged, ensuring their longevity, but still allowed them to be viewed.

 

Initially, I thought a solution may be to put them into a photo album or journal, but upon investigating this option, I realised that photo albums can be quite expensive, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on this project, nor was I overly keen on the album designs. It soon dawned on me that if I were to use albums, the backside of the postcards, where the senders have written their messages, wouldn't be visible.

 

Then last weekend I was cleaning out some drawers when I came across an abundance of old curtain rings. These were left here by the previous owners (perhaps even the owners before them) for the large, heavy drapes they had at the windows. But since we have removed and replaced those with simple lace curtains, we've not had a need for the rings.

 

That is, until now!

 

I realised pretty much immediately that I could put those rings to use and make booklets out of my Postcrossing postcards, binding them together in a way that will prevent any from getting lost, whilst still displaying both sides of the cards.

 

It's so quick, easy and inexpensive (even if I'd had to purchase the rings, it would still have been cheaper than photo albums) that I thought I'd share the process, in the event that anyone wants to do the same thing.

 

 

First, collate your cards and put them in order. I found that 30 cards per booklet was a good number, as it makes it comfortable to flip through the cards once they've been bound.

 

Then using a two-ring hole-punch, punch your cards. I like to stagger the positioning of the holes, so the cards are in a slightly different place within the booklet. This makes the booklet feel sturdy.

 

 

Once you've punched holes in all your cards, feed the rings through the holes, one card at a time (as pictured above), starting with the last/bottom card first and working your way to the first/top card (one placed on top of the other).

 

 

Once all cards are on the rings, you should have a neat little booklet that hasn't cost a fortune to make, and allows yourself (and others) to browse at leisure, without having to worry about losing or damaging the cards.

 

Smash & Scrap

 

I've been rediscovering old hobbies like scrapbooking and smash books. I found some unfinished projects in the cupboard: A scrapbook album of our holiday to New Zealand in 2011, my first ever smash book, half-planned and barely started travel journals of our camping adventures on the Eyre Peninsula, and of my trip to Sydney in 2012.

 

I remember putting them away, thinking that I would return to them when I had more time, and then promptly forgot about them entirely. But it would be nice to finish them, and to start some new projects once they are done. I create a lot of scrap and smash book type things that always end up being sent to other people, but I've never actually finished a project for myself. How bizarre!

 

So, since I (in theory) have more time on my hands these days, I thought now would be the perfect opportunity to take the hobby back up, and as such, I've spent a fair portion of my weekend sorting through photos, keepsakes, card stock and embellishments, and searching ideas on Instagram, Pinterest and blogs.

 

Now I am just itching to get started!

 

Do you smash and/or scrap?

 

 

365 Mail Art Project: Week 25

I spent a lot more time writing letters this week than making mail art, but I did get a few pieces finished. I have a heap of craft bits and pieces lying around so I'm trying to use those up, in addition to the usual reuse and recycle, which comes in handy when there's no craft store locally to buy new things. It's friendly on the wallet too.

 

 

 

#83 of 365:

Recycled kiwis for Maaike in Holland...

 

 

#84 of 365:

Recycled Brian Froud faerie for Laura...

 

 

#85 of 365:

A pink cupcake birthday card...

 

 

#86, 87, 88 and 89 of 365:

And I put a rainy day to good use by making some old school Friendship Books (the original mail art).

365 Mail Art Project: Weeks 8 - 10

Oh! How I would love to be showing you a multitude of mail art pieces from the last three weeks, but alas! I've only managed to make 3 pieces during that time on account of a certain bathroom renovation, which has taken up all my time and energy. And it's still ongoing: As soon as I finish this post I must get back to painting it.

 

But for now, here's some mail art:

 

 

#21 of 365:

Inspired by said bathroom renovation I am sending Ulrika in Sweden the bath I wanted but couldn't have...

 

 

#22 of 365:

Whilst Laura in Canada is getting the Mr Armitage I wanted but could not have...

 

 

#23 of 365:

And my sweet penfriend Ele in Italy will be receiving a vintage Santa, who I suspect will be arriving a little late. Cést la vie!

 

 

I'll be back next Friday the 21st December with some mail art in celebration of the apocalypse! That's assuming, of course, that the world doesn't plunge into darkness and I lose my internet connection as a result. That would be so very annoying.

365 Mail Art Project: Week 7

 

#18 of 365:

A jumble of thoughts for Claudia in Germany, doodled on a hot (and therefore uneventful) afternoon...

 

 

#19 of 365:

The first piece of Christmas-themed mail art for the season (although it most certainly won't be the last) for Turea in England. The baubles are hand-stamped and the envelope I made using vellum paper...

 

 

#20 of 365:

Another Twinings tea box envelope, this time for Dara in Australia, decorated with a bit of washi tape and a decoupage cut-out.

 

 

365 Mail Art Project: Week 6

 

#14 of 365:

A bit of witch history, animal magic and a splash of red for Lauren in Australia. I finished it off with a tiger postage stamp.

 

 

#15 of 365:

Do people keep the envelopes that their mail comes in? I do. 

This envelope for Klementina in Croatia (with whom I share one of my longest penfriendships) is made from vellum paper and decorated with peacock teardrops.

 

 

#16 of 365:

Yet another handmade envelope (this time using a page from a gardening magazine) highlighted with some green teardrops for Nicki in Australia.

 

 

#17 of 365:

Faeries for Astrid in Austria! This envelope was made from an old Brian Froud calendar (Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, to be exact), to which I've added the teardrop decoration. My letter to Astrid is so terribly overdue, but what better way to send it than via faeries doing silly things!

 

 

Monday Mail Out: Making colourful stationery - tutorial.

Living where I do, it can be quite the challenge to find interesting and attractive stationery for letter writing, and with the added cost of postage shopping online can become expensive. So when I'm looking for a bit of inspiration or just something a bit different, I simply make my own.

If you'd like to do the same, you will need:

Writing paper

Scrapbooking paper, cardstock or wrapping paper

A circular die cutter (for cutting shapes)

Glue

Scissors

Paint and a paintbrush

Step 1: Using the die cutter, cut as many circles as you will need from your scrapbooking paper, cardstock or wrapping paper.

Step 2: Glue the die cuts to your writing paper, leaving half the circles exposed at the edge, as seen above. I put mine along the bottom, but you could run them down the sides or all the way around if you wanted to.

Step 3: Cut the circles along the edge of the paper so you end up with a semi-circle pattern, as above. Use the remaining halves to make the same pattern on another page.

Step 4 (optional): Take your paint and paintbrush (I use a children's watercolour set and a thin brush), pick your colour...

...and paint a border on your paper.

Step 5: Repeat the process until you have as many sheets as you need.

Step 6: Write a letter!

Written correspondence has been a hobby of mine for a long time, & Monday Mail Out is a weekly feature whereby I can share my love for the lost art of letter writing. I hope my experiences will encourage others to send out letters on Monday too, and have them rediscover the joy of sending and receiving mail. If you have a blog, feel free to join in.

The Week in Pictures...

What a week!

* Gale-force winds for 5 of 7 days. That kind of weather is almost biblical. Almost.

* September is my least favourite month of the year. The weather is awful. One week in and it flattened my peas, tore the blossoms off the apricot tree, and gave me hayfever. I want to delete it from the calendar.

* I'm still drowning in citrus fruits. At this point in time it feels as though citrus season will never end. It's lucky I like citrus. This week I squeezed over a litre of lemon juice and froze it in cubes for future use.

* Bailey-dog's favourite flavour of homemade kibble so far is fish.

* Art journalling is my new favourite way to waste time and use up scrapbooking leftovers.

* I finally figured out how to blog via iPhone. But it doesn't do all that I want/need it to. Technology is pretty awesome sometimes, and sometimes it's pretty darn frustrating too.

Sunday Scrapbook #12: Golden Bay, NZ...

[Scrapbook page created March 2012]

Sunday Scrapbook #11: Auckland, NZ...

[Scrapbook page created March 2012]

Sunday Scrapbook #10...

This is how our dining room table looks at the moment, since I decided to start a new scrapbooking project yesterday.

I like to have all my scrapbooking ephemera, card stock, brads, stampers, stickers etc spread out before me so that I can see all the options I have as I work on each page.

The table will stay this way until I have finished the current project: The chaos is a great motivator!

This is the front page for my new project, an album of favourite photos and keepsakes from our holiday to Melbourne and New Zealand last year. So far, I have completed 9 sheets, although I expect that by the time I am done the album will consist of 20 pages in total (that's 40 separate sheets).