Repurposed Postcards

Vintage postcards are easy to find and can be very inexpensive and are great to craft with.  I want to share with you a couple of great ideas for using postcards to craft with.

Decoupage Them

I love old postcards! Well really, I LOVE old Texas postcards the best.  I have framed postcards that are precious to me.  Last week my dear friend was cleaning out a closet at her church and found some old Texas postcards.  She knew I would love them.  They arrived in the mail and I almost had to call in sick the next day because I was obsessing what I was going to craft with the cards. I really wanted to decoupage with the cards but they were too thick. At this point the copy machine at Kinko’s became helpful.  I made copies of the post cards I wanted to use. 

On the way home I stopped at Hobby Lobby for some Mod Podge.

                                                    Now all I needed was to find something to apply the postcards to.

The first thing I wanted to make was a a set of coasters with the repurposed postcards decoupaged to the bottom.  I found the glass I used at Hobby Lobby.  There were not intended to be used as coasters but as candle holders.  They make great coasters. I simply decoupaged the copy of the postcard to the bottom of the coaster.  After is was dry I gave it a coat of gray paint to make it look finished.                                                                            

I had so much fun decoupaging the coaster that I went to the junkiest garage in Texas and found another perfect thing to decoupage.

I bought this big tin at a flea market in Waco, Texas about a year ago.  It is large and heavy but I could never figure out what to do with it. I love the bottom but the top had serious issues.  

I used the copies of the postcards to decoupage onto the lid. I love how it turned out.  I did not repaint the bottom. I just decoupaged the copies of the postcards to the top.  I like the vintage feel of it.  

Frame Them

Some postcards are so lovely that they want to be shown off.  Big letter postcards are really nice framed.  The card below reminds me of a great trip we took to Niagara Falls and when I found it at an antique store several years ago I knew I had to have it.  All I did was frame the card in a frame from Hobby Lobby.  

                                                                                  This lovely now lives in the Man Cave.  

There are so many good places to find vintage postcards to repurpose.  Some places to look are:

1. Garage sales/Estate sales- postcards are almost always in good shape when you find them.  They usually have been stored away and are in great shape.

2. Antique stores/Vintage shops-postcards are not usually expensive and make great collectibles.

3. Ebay- many great postcards can be found here.  I have bought many large letter postcards at great prices.