DIY: Postcard Wall
I have a habit of picking up postcards and other papers, especially while traveling. While studying abroad in Lyon, I amassed quite a pile of wonderful postcards which I loved too much to send away or keep hidden in a stack of papers. I also had, on impulse, bought a box of postcards based off of the wonderful Paris vs. New York book (and blog, here). With all of those postcards crying out to be used, I thought I would make a small-scale art installation in my college room (also shown here with the tiny shelf makeover), and the vast wall by my bed seemed to be asking for something wonderful to fill its emptiness. I could have just taped them up to the wall (like I did in my NYC entryway), but I wanted them to have more substance—I think my NYC entryway works because it feels like a massive bulletin board, but this space in my Charlottesville room by my bed wasn’t going to have the same feel.
I love the look of a bunch of similar frames (who doesn't?!). Here's an image from the wonderful Nick Olsen in last month's Architectural Digest:
All red frames from Elle Decor:
Bigger scale here from Elle Decor:
One of my all time favorite rooms by Tom Scheerer. Love the wood frames!
Yes. (Elle Decor again)
This collection of black frames by Steven Gambrel (a fellow UVA alum! Wahoowa) makes my mouth water:
And how great is this grouping by the revered Ralph Lauren? (Seen on Little Green Notebook)
But, alas, all of those frames would’ve been pricier than I was looking for in this project. What I really wanted out of the “installation” was a 3-dimensional quality with the postcards popping off the wall.
To achieve this 3-D look, I glued foam core to the back of the postcards and then hung them on the wall. Foam core board is super cheap—I got several boards from the dollar store and cut them down to be about ¼” smaller on all sides of the postcard. I recommend using an x-acto knife and straight edge when working with foam core; it's so much faster than scissors, which don't give a clean edge anyway.
I realized when I cut down the foam core that the white foam showed on the sides of the cards and was rather unsightly, so I grabbed some black craft paint and quickly covered up the white foam with black paint.
After the paint dried, I used rubber cement (which I prefer to Elmer's glue when working with paper because it doesn't wrinkle) to attach postcard to foam core board.
Because the foam core backing covers up the writing on the back of the postcard, I wanted to make a note to remind myself later where the cards had come from. I had some labels lying around, so I recorded the necessary details on the backs that way:
Then I hung them all up... ta-da!
Do you have any great DIY ideas to share? Contact me here or in the comments below... I'd love to share them on The Spoonful! And happy Labor Day!
