((a tutorial)) ... magazine postcards

If you're like me, and you collect various art magazines, you're probably keeping them hoarded up in your room because the art in them is too amazing to just throw out. This used to be my problem. I have so many art mag back-issues piling up in my closet that I refused to throw out because the artwork and photography in them is too nice to just toss out into the trash or recycle bin. So, I was always trying to think of ways to re-use the art in some way, to maybe give it a second use, or a longer life.

A few weeks ago, I came across the "Magazine Page #2 - Handmade Postcard" swap on swap-bot, and finally (!), I'd found a way to recycle the pages and give them another use: awesome artsy postcards! :D


Now... I'm not really a collector of postcards, but I loved being able to make my own handmade postcards, and the idea of sharing the art I love with other people was another plus! :D

So... for anyone interesting in making their own, I've decided to post a tutorial with my method for creating beautiful (and sturdy) magazine page postcards.



(keep in mind, it's image intensive. so.. if you're on dial-up, my apologies.)


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The above is a sample image of some of the postcards I've made using the steps after the jump below.



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Now, first things first. What will you need for this project?:




* Some magazine pages you want to use

* A couple pieces of thin cardboard (or sturdy cardstock). Cut up grocery/cereal boxes work well for this!

* An x-acto knife with a sharp blade

* A good cutting mat (optional, maybe? but this will protect whatever surface you're cutting on)

* Scissors

* A few sheets of blank postcard-sized cardstock (most craft stores sell packs of pre-cut postcards for about $2.99) [usps guidelines for postcard sizes]

* 1 can of Elmer's Craft Bond spray adhesive

* 1 roll of permanent clear laminate (i bought mine at a wal-mart for about $6)

** If you don't want to use vinyl laminate, you could also use clear packing tape to laminate the top of your postcard, but because packing tape isn't wide enough, you will use about 3 strips to cover one postcard, and that might cause tape overlay lines.

* A disposable liner to protect your spraying surface. An old paper grocery bag will work.



Optional:

* A postcard rubber stamp (if you want, you can just draw the separator and address lines yourself with a pen and ruler)

** A pen and ruler

* Stamp ink

* Glue sticks


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Okay, now that we have everything we need, we can get started!




The way I normally start this off, is by gluing one of the blank white postcards to a section of cardboard. Make sure to cover your spraying surface with something you don't mind getting spray glue on (like an old paper bag.)

For those of you opting to use glue sticks instead of spray adhesive, this is where you begin gluing the white card to the cardboard. Make sure to press firmly along the corners, because this is where the card is more likely to peel back up.


(The reason I add a cardboard layer is so the final postcard ends up a little more sturdy. The postal service isn't exactly gentle with handling postcards, so the sturdier the postcard, the less likely it will rip during transit.)


Set this aside to dry, and move on to the next step...



Find the image you want to use for your postcard, and measure out how much clear laminate you'll need to cover it, and cut it out.

Using clear packing tape? Get it ready for the next steps.




Once you've got your clear laminate sheet cut out, you'll need to peel it off the protective sheet, and lay it (smooth side down) on a clean, flat surface. (Make sure not to let the sticky side touch anything.) Now that the laminate is on your flat surface, take your image, and carefully(!) lay the front image onto the sticky part of the laminate. Smooth out any bubbles, and firmly press your image down to adhere it more.

For those of you using clear packing tape, all you need to do is cover the entire image in strips of clear tape. It might take about 3 strips, and it's okay if the tape extends past the magazine page. We'll get to that in the next step.




Okay, so now you should have a piece of a page laminated, and there is probably some extra on the sides of your selected page, right? Well, all you need to do about that is slightly trim the edges of the page. (see below for an example)..

Be careful in trimming your page, because if you cut off too much from the sides, you might not have enough to cover your postcard. It's better to have more than you need, than just barely enough.

When you've got your page trimmed, you might notice that the laminated side is really shiny, and possibly clear-frosted looking? (check second image below) If you want, you can eliminate some of the frosty look, by using either your nail, a coin, or a strong credit card, and rubbing it against the tape/vinyl. It should look much better after this. :)




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Alright! Now that we have our cardboard and laminated image, what do we do next?




First, take the postcard cardboard, and carefully(!) trim off the extra cardboard using your x-acto knife. It might take 2-3 slow slides down the side to cut off. And definitely make sure to be careful, because if you're not, you might accidentally slip and let the knife cut into your postcard. So go slow, and keep constant pressure.




After you've finished with that, head outside to glue the postcard to the backside of your image. Press firmly down on the postcard for better adhesiveness and apply extra pressure to the corners. Same thing goes for anyone using glue sticks, only... you won't need to go outside for this. :P

Once the glue has dried, you'll need to trim off the page edges...





NOW!!! Flip your card over and voila! You're done! And this is what the finished product might look like.



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Additional step: if you want.. you can take your postcard rubber stamp, and apply the separator/address lines to the back. Or you can draw them on with a pen and ruler.




Other than that, that's it!!

I'm not exactly sure if this was a complicated tutorial, I have a habit of making things seem overcomplicated because I try to include every detail, but if it introduces someone to something new, then I guess it was worth it. :)