7 things to do with an old postcard
To haul dusty boxfuls to the charity shop is as much a part of the New Year routine as getting fit or starting a new hobby. How to declutter and keep your vintage postcard collection is a tricky issue.
It’s no longer enough to store my old postcards in a box and forget them for another year. If they are staying, they need to ‘Spark Joy’ – (Yes, Marie Kondo, I hear you). So, how can we use our old postcards, half a lifetime of memories, and save them from the paper skip?
This is what I’ve got so far:
1. Bookmark
I used to use an old postcard of Minneapolis as a Bookmark. It is still tucked into the pages of a Garrison Keillor novel that I bought on a short visit in 1988. Where else could inspire my next good read? A postcard of the Yorkshire moors for the Brontë sisters or Dorset for Hardy perhaps?
2. Revision Notes
And talking of reading, why not hand some old postcards to a student to use as Revision Notes? How much prettier than a pack of index cards. Using visual imagery is known to aid memory. With luck, they’ll be effective too!
3. Notebook
Gather some sheets of scrap paper together. Place between two vintage postcards and use a pretty ribbon to bind the whole thing together and you’ll have a simple homemade Notebook.
4. Gift Tag
If like me, you save your Christmas cards to make next year’s Gift Tags, you’ll know that an old postcard is just the thing to finish off a smartly wrapped present. How pretty it would look on ribbon with simple brown paper, or tied with string around a special bottle.
5. Craft
Perhaps crafting is your thing. Try embellishing your vintage postcards with Embroidery or cut out and reconstruct them into a fantastic Collage. There are some fabulous examples online for inspiration. Use the striking prints on 19th-century postcards to create new art for the c20th.
6. Creative Prompt
Of course, repurposing a treasured antique postcard may seem like vandalism to some. Luckily, there are many ways to use a vintage postcard without destroying it. To a writer, a shoebox of old postcards provides a rich resource. Describe the scene on the front or use the old message as A Creative Prompt for a short story.
7. Frame them
Or why not just Frame Them? The church where you were married; a favourite beach; your hometown; a beloved country view; all offer a talking point for your wall or a unique gift for someone special.
Don’t leave your vintage postcard collection in the dark like buried treasure. Let’s make 2022 the year to display, repurpose, enjoy them.
Sounds a good idea; I wonder where I put my souvenir post cards? Anyone free to turn out drawers and Cupboards? Who knows I may have hidden treasure🤞😉