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What’s on my mind:

We traveled quite a bit this past summer… three places were new-to-me, never-been-before adventures. In the past, these exact type of travels would inspire me to bring home a souvenir… a coffee mug, a small decor item, a memento, etc.

Now that I’m in a phase of declutterring, these pieces no longer have a place to travel home in my suitcase. However, I did discover an old school souvenir that I could actually put to use in a meaningful way: the postcard.

I got curious about how postcards came about. Here’s a quick read about their history and five reasons why they are amazing. ​

And fun fact: World Postcard Day is October 1! Find out ways to participate here.​

Real Letters:

Pictured below are a few postcards I both sent to and received from friends. The colorful art and photography are right up my alley.

The last trip we took this summer was to Red River, New Mexico for a family reunion. Being in the cool air of the mountains in August was perfection and our fly fishing excursion was a favorite family memory for all of us. We spent the entire morning learning the ropes and caught over twenty fish between us.

As we were shopping around town later that afternoon, I found postcards with a pretty fly fishing illustration. What a great way to remember that day and experience! So… I bought several postcards with the design below and after we were home and settled, I sent each of my family a quick note in the mail reminiscing about our adventure and expressing gratitude for our time together. It’s probably not the typical use for a postcard, but why not send one to the very person you traveled with commemorating that trip and experience?

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Inspiring me today:

Of course postcards can be purchased, but did you know you can buy blank cards to make yourself? I decided to try my hand at watercolors during our trip to Maine. I intended to paint several cards but only managed to get one done. These pretty red flowers were all along the highways and stood out to me. I would have loved to paint the water scenes and architecture details of the houses, too, but simply didn’t have time.

You can find the blank postcards HERE. If painting isn’t your thing, you can use a photograph, stamps, or cut magazine pictures and decoupage words or pictures onto the blank card. The charm is in the personalization!

This and That:

If you visit the World Postcard Day site, you’ll find a more lengthy explanation of the history of postcards HERE.

Extras for you:

If you want to have a quick place to start, try printing this hot air balloon postcard:

​​​Hot air balloon postcard printable.pdf.pdf​

Print, cut along the dotted line, and you’ve got two cards ready to send. I recommend using a heavier card stock so they are sturdier to handle mail processing.

Happy Writing!

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❤️ Jill

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