Introduction: Stencil Postcard - UPDATE: It Makes It Through, Sort Of

By supamoto
About: I like to make things for the internets. I also sell a pretty cool calendar at supamoto.co. You'll like it.

Instead of writing a couple of addresses, just cut them out. This way you can just send a piece of wood and your buddy won't mind that it doesn't literally say anything. The material speaks for itself. Besides, sending an old-fashioned message is what email and IM and text message and cell phones are for.

Step 1: Cut It Out!

Or burn it out. I grabbed the nearest stencil font I could and dumped in a couple of addresses in Illustrator. I then sent that over to a laser cutter and after a few tests with the material I cut out the whole thing. If you do this, it's important to reverse the stencil since the wood can get charred. I could've tried to clean it up a bit, but I like the burnt effect in there so I left it.

Step 2: Look Really Closely

Do people really click through the other images? I just wanted to highlight this macro photo and looking at the finished work doesn't "do" anything really. But it is fun to do.

Step 3: Stamp It and Hope*

I was hoping to talk to a postal employee about the postcard before I mailed it, but no such luck. The line was long so I went to the automated machine instead. A 63-cent debit from my card and I had a sticker for official stencil travel across the lower 48. Now to wait and see if it makes it.

Step 4: Success!

The postcard made it through, but not in one piece. Oddly enough, it split in a vertical line and not along the grain. I think that it was going through a curved mail sorter and couldn't make the turn.