Postcard Cards

Veiled in Secrecy

Materials

5" x 6-3/4" blank folded card
vintage postcards
glue or adhesive of your choice
scissors
deckle-edged scissors
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers stamps:
Ornate Background (997-M)
Chocolate Mold with Bees (1217-D)
Pastilles (1218-H)
French Envelope Marking-Z
Foreign Labels #2-Z
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers collage sheets:
Valentine Stuff #2-Z
French Stuff #1-Z
ink pads
tulle fabric
sewing machine
tiny paper flowers (flowers #1-z and #2-z, roses-z)
tiny eyelets
eyelet setter
hammer
1/8" hole punch
6" ribbon

Steps:

1. Using a sponge or favorite tool, apply pale pink ink to the blank card (figure A). You don’t have to cover the entire card.

2. Stamp "Ornate Background" (997-M) in olive green twice, once in the top right and once in the lower left.

3. Stamp the "Pastilles" stamp in gold in the lower left, going off the left and bottom edges.

4. Stamp the "Chocolate Mold with Bees" (1217-D) in copper on the upper left side.

6. If you are using a fairly inexpensive postcard, you can use the original; if you want to keep and save the original postcard or if it was pricey, then color copy it on good-quality paper. You can even have it copied on a textured paper such as watercolor paper. Cut out around the edge with deckled-edge scissors.

7. Glue postcard or copy to your prepared card in the lower right corner. Do not go all the way to the edge, but leave a border of the base card showing (figure C).

8. Cut out the "Scribe" green oval label from the "French Stuff #1-Z" sheet and glue it about 1 inch up from the bottom of the postcard, half on the postcard, half on the card.

9. Cut out the vintage "Chocolaterie" label from the "Valentine Stuff #2-Z" sheet and glue it in the upper right corner of the postcard, covering the corner with the label (figure D).

10. Stamp "Par Avion" and "Avignon post mark" from "French Envelope Marking-Z Sheet" in gray randomly overlapping a little onto the postcard. Stamp another postmark from that same sheet in a light green on the upper right side going off the edge of the card, on top of the little French chocolate label.

11. Choose tulle in a color that matches the ink you used on the card or colors that appear in the postcard itself. You can even choose a dark color as it will only "veil" your design, not mask it! Rough cut the tulle to be about 7" x 9" or so, just so it's bigger than the front of your card (figure E).

12. Using a sewing machine, sew the tulle to the card about 1/4 inch away from the edges. Stop sewing about 2 inches before you close off the sewn rectangle; insert the 10 tiny paper flowers (stems cut off), and finish sewing.

13. Trim off the excess tulle using the edge of the card as a guide (figure F). Don’t forget to trim any hanging threads on the inside of the card.

14. Punch two 1/8-inch holes for the eyelets in the center left side of the card. Set tiny pink eyelets into the holes with an eyelet setter and a hammer. Push the ribbon through the two holes from the inside of the card, tie into a bow, and trim off any excess (figure G).

Materials

4" x 11" card stock
4" x 5-1/2" card stock
scissors
glue or adhesive of your choice
ink pads
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers stamps:
Italian Writing (1030-K)
Confetture (1087-H)
Pisa (8164-D)
Post Karte (991-J)
Italian Postal Markings-Z
Baci Baci Baci (1129-C)
Foreign Labels #1-Z
craft knife
two-sided tape
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers collage sheets:
Italian Stuff #1-Z
Envelope Markings -Z
1/8" hole punch
decorative blank labels
tiny eyelets
hammer
eyelet setter
9" black tape
cutting mat
ruler
2 washers or 2 card stock circles, 1/2" in diameter
3" x 4 1/2" photograph or color copy
3-1/2" x 5" clear acetate (optional)
9" thin string or cording

Steps:

1. Fold the 11-inch piece of card stock in half so it is 4" x 5-1/2". Unfold and lie flat.

2. Cut an opening out of the right side panel, leaving a 3/4-inch border all the way around. The opening will be 2-1/2" x 4" (figure H). Save the piece you cut out to use later as a template for the photograph.

3. Using your favorite ink application tool, apply saffron ink all over both sides of the 4" x 5-1/2" piece and on one side of the 4" x 11" card. Then apply cardinal ink with a scrunched-up tissue randomly on top of the saffron base. It will look like old stucco.

4. Stamp the "Italian Writing" in pale blue twice, randomly, on one side of the short piece of card stock and twice on the long piece, one time on each half.

5. Stamp "Confetture" in gray/blue randomly on all the sides of both pieces of card stock.

6. Stamp "Baci, Baci, Baci" in pink randomly on all sides of both pieces of card stock.

7. Stamp "Perfetta" in blue randomly on all sides, and stamp "Lowza" in gold randomly on all sides of both pieces of card stock. (Both stamps are from "Foreign Labels #1-Z".)

8. On the short piece of card stock, on the side where you stamped the "Italian Writing" stamp twice, place a blank decorative label where you will address the mailer to the recipient. Place another smaller label in the upper right-hand corner for the return address. Make sure to place it about 3/4 inch away from the edge so it doesn’t get in the way of the black tape.

10. Stamp "Post Karte" in black on the opposite side of the front of your mailer. Above that stamp "Cartolina Postale Italiana" from "Italian Envelope Markings-Z". This is where you will write your message and sign your name (figure I).

11. Cut out the "Via Air Mail" labels from the "Envelope Markings-Z" collage sheet and glue it to the back of your mailer on the long piece of card stock, not the side with the frame cut out.

12. Cut out two vintage stamps from the "Italian Stuff #1-Z" collage sheet sheet. Glue one on the front of your mailer (side with address labels) in the upper right corner. If you are going to put this through the mail, glue it to the right of the corner, leaving room for the actual postage. Glue the other little label/stamp on the opposite side, in the little square from the "Post Karte" stamp.

13. Take various Italian postal markings from "Italian Postal Markings-Z" and "post mark" the two stamps you just applied. If you're actually mailing this from a foreign location, let the post office post mark it! (figure J).

14. Take the strip of black tape. Place it vertically on a lined surface, such as a cutting mat, to keep things lined up. Lay the smaller piece on the left with the message area facing up and the longer piece of card stock WRONG SIDE UP, with the frame/cut out side on the right. Leave a small gap between the two pieces (figure K).

15. Fold over the black tape (figure L).

16. Using a 1/8-inch hole punch, punch a hole on the right side of the front of the smaller piece, 2 inches down (center) and 1/2 inch over from the right edge. Fold that smaller side over onto the larger side. Line the hole punch up with that hole and punch a hole onto the center panel. Insert a tiny eyelet into one of the washers and insert into the hole on the front of the mailer. Set the tiny eyelet from the back. Set the other washer/eyelet on the good side in the hole in center panel (figure M).

17. If you will be using acetate to act as the "glass" between your photo and the frame, use two-sided tape and apply acetate to the back of the frame. Use two-sided tape to attach your photograph behind the frame opening (figure N). If it’s a horizontal photo, make sure it is facing the same direction/orientation as your message. If it’s a vertical photo, make sure you tape it upside down so when the frame is flipped over, it will be facing the right way.

18. Using two-sided tape, tape all four sides of the wrong side of the frame. Fold the frame onto the center section, which covers all the unstamped areas of your mailer and covers the back of the eyelet in that center section.

19. Wind one end of the thin string around one of the washers and the other end around the other wheel to close it for mailing, like "inter-office" envelopes. The recipient then opens it, folds the addressed side back to act as an easel, and winds the cord around the wheel in the center section to form a tent. Then it’s a standing picture frame/souvenir! (figure O).