Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Discussion topic - postcard display

Joyce posed a question in a comment that is so good I decided to make it a blog post where we can all see it and share answers.

"How do y'all store or display the postcards received? I, of course, want to keep the ones that come to me, and of course won't let anything happen to them, but I'd like a creative way to store/display them.  Can you share some of your ideas with my please? Thanks"

Leave a comment with your ideas, and feel free to leave a link to a blog post or photo that showcases your system.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

My questions exactly! For display, I have a lovely metal wreath specifically designed to display greeting cards or postcards. It was a gift from several years ago, and I have no idea where it came from. It's perfect for display. But for storage......???? Right now everything is in a box. Plenty of them could go into an ordinary album meant to hold 4"X6" pictures, but so many of the postcards are too big for that or differently shaped, as in our recent round postcard swap. So for storage, apart from a box, I'm stumped and am anxiously awaiting solutions (for larger/oddly shaped postcards not conforming to 4X6) from other swappers.

Leslie said...

Look at the 3rd image down in this post. It's a board with grooves cut into it about 1/2" apart. I have lots of pieces standing up in the grooves, smaller items in front. I rotate pieces now and then.
Another way I display things is to clothes pin them to a string on the wall or running from one wall to another, high enough to walk under. Or look at this cool idea from Pinterest (along with a zillion others).

Anonymous said...

Leslie, very cool display ideas. Recently I saw a display where a large picture frame was emptied of its picture, a subtle background was created, and then clothes pins (the clippy kind) were glued on to the background....providing a way to clip cards on and then take them off at will to change them out.
For storage, I meant to say this in my earlier post: obviously I'm looking for storage solutions that do not involve adhering the postcard to a surface, because I want to be able to see both sides of the card.

Jo Murray said...

I'll be watching this space with baited breath....my postcards are in a box. Woe is me.

big mamabird said...

i have done the clothes line idea but have such a small house that it's a temporary thing, besides keeping them in a bowl which gets riffled through and checked out a lot,my latest experiment is a simple ring binder book...as in the postcards are ruthlessly hole punched and then threaded onto rings, it's really cute and fun and you can see both sides and i really like it. of course i have been known to recycle postcards...adding another layer and sending then onwards to new destinations!

Cynthia said...

They are in the slots on my antique desk - informally by year.
When I need a lift I grab a handful and look at them. That's enough or I will drive myself crazy sorting an resorting.

Unknown said...

I bought a little easel and alternate the cards. Doesn't take up alot of space and let's me enjoy each one individually.

lee said...

this is the way I store mine, I always like to flip thru them, so I wanted a way to work for me

http://leekre.blogspot.ca/2013/04/mail-me-some-art-discussion-topic.html#comment-formd a way that would work for me

I think if you click on my name it will take you there

Anonymous said...

Karen, thank you so much for posting my question the way you did. I truly appreciate you!!

Some really good ideas, and I am glad y'all posted. I'm already using the string and clothes pin idea on my livingroom/hallway wall, with my own journal pages hanging there. I love that slotted board and have no idea where to get one and don't have tools to make one(which reminds me: That 70+ peg coffee cup rack is amazing. Good find, it's got me drooling from envy, lol!). But! I absolutely can get a file box and will do so this week. Decorate it, and let it sit on my computer desk!

Wonderful ideas, thank you all...got more coming?!?!?! Joyce

Anonymous said...

I like my post card wall in my studio. I can leave them up for quite a while and rotate them through for another batch as mail art collage - like an inspiration board of mail art. xox

Terrie said...

I use a bulletin board too and change them out periodically but I need a MUCH bigger board. I actually have a couple of pretty decorated boxes that I keep them in, grouped by who sent them or what swap they're part of - all MMSA cards together etc. The box doesn't have a lid so I have the pleasure of all those cards poking up to grab my attention. I tried a hole punch and rings and they kept getting tangled and torn, so the box is a better solution for me.

Trula said...

I also use a photo box and string with clothespins, but I also have a fairly cheap photo album that fits two 4x6 photos per plastic page. Because it is so cheap, it is extremely easy to carefully rip apart the fused plastic sections that make 4x6 spaces, and turn the plastic sleeve into one 8x6 section. This allows me to hold most flat mail art, although it doesn't work too well for 3-D art.
Trula

Mandy Fariello aka FarStarr said...

I have a couple of solutions that work beyond the "dumped in a big box" method that I also use...

In my guestroom we have a fabric covered full sheet of rigid insulation (from Lowe's) screwed to the wall with brass screws and grommets. You can use pushpins through the fabric and it holds a lot of postcards!

My other solution is loose binder rings. I punch just one hole in a corner of the card and put it on a ring. The individual rings can be hooked on cup hooks on the wall or down a doorframe. I haven't had Terrie's problem of them tangling on a single ring.

I also have a wire Christmas card holder from the thrift store that I spray-painted green and mounted on the side of a bookcase. That one is always in view and holds my favorites.

Parabolic Muse said...

Oh, wow. I just saw this. I don't know if anyone's going to read what I have to say, but before I read all the others, let me say I have been thinking about this a lot lately! Because having them all in a box is not acceptable! I'm going through a studio renovation, and when I'm done, I want those all out on a shelf or a wall. So, I've kept in mind something I saw on Hanna Andersson's blog, about punching them and putting rings through them. Then with the big rings, you can leaf through them. The completed book can sit on a shelf and be seen by all. I may even make a cover for that.

Another thing I want to do is create postcard-sized framework. I may do this by cutting niches in a large piece of foam core (decorated, of course) and back that with other large foam core. That way, several can be hung in that frame at once.

Otherwise, I'm hoping to find inexpensive frames somewhere and at least be able to switch out the cards so that they all get a viewing.

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