Junk Mail Revisited

I like to have a supply of my handmade fabric and paper postcards handy. They make special occasions and just saying hello a bit more special. A recent review of what I have on hand has found me in need of creating more postcards.

The easiest and quickest way to create my own paper postcards is to collect some junk mail. I’ve done this in the past and had quite a bit of fun. You can see the results of those efforts here and here. The process always starts with rolling gesso onto both sides of the junk mail.

When the gesso has dried, I use watercolor paint to apply color to both sides. I apply a second color to both sides and when that has dried I use a damp rag to rub the paper, combining the colors and smoothing the whole look of the paper. Here I am in various stages of adding the watercolor paint.

And here are the ‘blank’ postcards, ready for sketching, writing or whatever else stirs my fancy.

I chose a few to add some paper images to:

I will leave the remainder of the postcards as they are for now. I think some sketching would be nice on them. It has been fun to revisit this process. The results are always different! And I get a great supply of personal postcards ready to mail off.

My first introduction to junk mail produced quite a fun book. You can see the process for that project here, here and here.

Be strong. Be patient. Be kind.