Wish you were here

How would you like to receive a 100-year-old postcard in the mail?

I found several books of antique souvenir postcards at a market stall on the weekend. I kind of want to keep them because they are quite beautiful, however, call me sentimental but I also kind of want to give them flight.

So I have decided to do just that.

Postcards have always been created to travel the world through the post, carrying messages of surprise and thoughtfulness and silly stories and "wish you were here." That's their destiny. They shouldn't be hidden away in boxes or drawers, and these particular postcards have waited an entire century to be free.

Would you like one? I have 60 postcards, and I'm happy to send them to anyone, anywhere in the world. I might tell you a little story, share a moment from my life, or write a snippet of a poem. It'll be a surprise and, like the postcards themselves, each message will be different.

If you'd like to receive one of these lovely, old postcards in your letterbox, simply give me your address and I'll get writing. You can either do-so in the comments, or, if you'd prefer to keep your address private, use the form I've created below. I'll choose the postcards randomly, and send them out on a first-come, first-served basis. I'm happy to write to your friends and family too, if you want to send me their addresses.

I'll update this blog post to let you know when I've run out of postcards.

Yours sincerely, Naomi xo

UPDATE 25 May, 10pm:  As of just now I have run out of postcards, so I have disabled the form and am sitting down to write the ones I promised. If you missed out, I'm sorry! I promise to host another project like this as soon as I can find more vintage postcards, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, I still send mail-art to subscribers of this blog, so if that is something that interests you, you can find more information and request mail here. 

Rainy day patchwork postcards

A little while back I painted a series of five geometric water-colour paintings. They are patchworks of triangles, really. For me, they are interpretations of what it is like to look through thick, antique diamond-paned glass windows, while it is raining.

Recently I had them printed as postcards, so that I could have something colourful and pretty to hand if I wanted to send someone a quick note, and so that I would be able to include the set of five with other gifts when I'm writing to people through this blog.

Five-minute botanical postcards

These lovely, botanical postcards seriously take less than five minutes to make. Here's how to create your own:

∧∧ Take a stroll around the garden and choose some leaves in shapes you like Pro-tip: For best results, choose leaves that are soft (like geranium), not hard (like eucalyptus), and beware leaves or stems that are too fleshy as you'll just create mush rather than patterns

∧∧ Position a leaf on a piece of paper, then cover it with a paper towel Pro-tip: Try to have something flat-surfaced but cushioning underneath it, such as cardboard or several sheets of paper. You could also use a cutting board, that gets VERY loud

∧∧ Holding the paper towel in place, start hammering all over the leaf Pro-tip: Keep hammering until you can see the complete outline of the leaf in the paper towel, then hammer a bit more in the middle to fill it all in. Don't forget the stem

∧∧  Take off the paper towel and peel away the leaf to reveal your lovely stamp!

I made the postcards you see here using watercolour paper because it was thicker and could survive the post as a postcard. Once I'd created my botanical stamp, I just grabbed an old postcard and tore around it to get the size right. I also made some other stamps on standard copying paper, which I'll cut out and paste onto cardboard to create greeting cards.

This was a very child-friendly activity, with my three-year-old and my not-even-two-year-old both helping me, although much to their frustration I insisted on "helping" when it came to the hammering bit.

What do you think? Will you try making these?

#postcardsforposties + free adult colouring

You guys. What a fantastic response you gave to the "postcards for posties" idea that I shared last week. Thank you! I've been inundated with emails and messages saying "I'm in." So let's do this!

Will you join me in saying thank you to the posties of the world? I was thinking we could start a bit of a hashtag movement - #postcardsforposties - and pop some handmade postcards in the mail for as many posties as possible. They are the women and men who deliver our mail: rain, hail, snow or 40+-degree shine (and the thousands of men and women who sort and manage our mail to get it there). They deserve a bit of recognition and gratitude, don't you think?

Don't worry if you never visit the post office, or if you don't know the name of your postie. This movement is simply about spreading the gratitude. You can sign your name to the postcards or keep them completely anonymous. It's up to you. Here are some ideas...

* Have you recently sent someone a heavy parcel? Write a postcard to "The Postie at [your friend's] post office" and thank them for carrying your heavy mail

* Is the weather really horrible this week? Pouring rain? Heatwave? Massive winds? Write a couple of anonymous postcards addressed "To the Postie" and drop them in any mailboxes you pass on your way to work, thanking the posties for braving the elements to deliver your mail

* Did a postal staff-member go above and beyond to help you out? Write him or her a postcard and mail it to that post office (or slide it under the door after hours). If you don't know their name, just describe the person and/or the scenario in your message

I'm sure you have a lot more - and a lot better - ideas than me. Let's start thanking our posties!

Free postcard printables

What with with the massive interest in adult colouring at the moment, I thought I'd create some printable colouring-in designs for you to make your #postcardsforposties. (If you want to. Of course, feel free to make your own instead. Go to town!). There are four designs to choose from:

>> "Thank you" pigeon post >> "I hope it doesn't rain on you today" >> "You're bloomin' marvellous" >> "May all the dogs you meet be friendly"

Step 1: Click on the design that you want to download, then hit print (they make a standard 4 x 6" postcard, allowing for a bit of a white border, which keeps postage costs to a minimum). If you have a printer that can take cardstock, print onto that. If not, just print onto normal paper, then paste your picture onto some cardboard to make it stronger to survive the post.

Step 2: Colour, paint, collage or do whatever you like to the picture. (Be aware that water-soluble paints and inks etc may run if you end up posting your postcard on a rainy day - that said, I always use water-soluble gouache or watercolours, and so far no problems)

Step 3: Write your message on the back. If you are actually going to post your postcard (rather than just drop it into a letterbox), lay it out roughly the same way as a normal postcard. In other words, lay it it horizontally then write your message on the left and put the address and stamp on the right. (Here's how I did this for Jenny's postcard, if you're not sure)

Step 4: Post or drop off your postcard! Now do another. Let's get thanking the posties of the world!

ps. If you do this, don't forget to let me know, and use the hashtag #postcardsforposties if you are sharing on social media, so we can try to build up a bit of momentum. Imagine if people all over the world started spreading gratitude to their hardworking posties! We could be proud of that.