Ever wanted to create a craft postcard and do it without pressed wood pulp?

With this card, you can take any thin wood, particle board, etc ( <1/4") and send a post card to your favorite person!

They're easy to make and fun if you have scrap wood from a project. I had some 1/4" plywood left over from putting a more durable sheathing over drywall in my workshop.

The wife had me cut down the scrap to 4"x6" pieces for the post cards.

You'll need:
Some form of wood or board no more than 1/4" thick.
Table saw or circular saw or bandsaw if you're feeling adventurous (watch your fingers)
Decorations: old magazines, string, lace, yarn, leaves, buttons, beads, anything you can find that looks fun!
Tools: scissors, glue, tape, sharp knife

Have fun and watch your fingers!

Step 1: Preparation

So, first you'll need to find your materials for the project. Cutting the wood is one of the first steps; remember 4" x 6" for each card.

Gather all your decorative items and all your tools together as well. Old artsy or outdoorsy magazines help immensely. Plus, this is something perfect for getting rid of scraps from other projects (wood, yarn, trim, edging, buttons, beads, etc.)

It's always fun to find something to get rid of what may have been considered garbage not 5 minutes before.

Step 2: Cut and Paste

Cut everything to length, size, shape and have fun gluing.

This is the easiest step, since all you really need is your imagination and the willingness to possibly get your fingers a little sticky.

One thing I've noticed? Put the magazine pictures (or any other flat, mostly 2D materials, down first), they glue best and can be glued over much more easily than taking yarn and beads then trying to cut pictures to fit around them.

Step 3: Drawing/Painting

After you've put down all your solid materials, it's a lot easier to then do your painting and drawing. Sharpies, oil/acrylic paint and markers/crayons are plenty of options for more colorful decorations.

These are also viable choices for writing out your message on the back. However, I would say not to do that at this step yet. Writing on the back of something with glue on the front tends to make a rather annoying mess to clean up. Plus it might ruin your art! That's not good!

Step 4: Dry!

Best to let the card dry overnight before writing your message or mailing it off. Most family glue takes a few hours to set, most workshop glue/adhesive takes overnight to cure.

Whenever I'm doing a gluing project, I tend to use something silicon based. They might take a little while longer to dry, but they hold like liquid concrete anchors!

When my wife glues something, she uses something from Elmer or some kind of wood glue. These dry pretty quickly, but can be peeled off with too much activity.

Know thy adhesive! Choose wisely!

Step 5: Final Touches!

Now's the time to write your quirky message! Or just a regular message, you know, whatever floats your boat.

Funny thing, these do float rather well.

Keep in mind, wood bleeds with a lot of ink. Sharpies and other marker messages might be pretty short. If you use something like T-shirt paint in one of the pens they have for that, it'll be rather accurate, but you'll have to wait a little while longer for it to dry.

Step 6: Mail!

Yes! You can, in fact, mail these!

The only stipulation is they'll take two Forever stamps. You'll have to check with your local Post Office for the exact cost of postage.

Enjoy, and I hope your recipient enjoys as much as you and I have!