This is a really cool project.  There are two main things I like about it.  First, it gives you something to do with postcards, which often have great photos and fun memories but just get thrown away.  Second, it’s a really cool and cleverly designed album.

What’s so brilliant is that you cut a hole in your main paper, attaching your postcard to the backside so that the front shows through.  But you attach it with photo corners, which makes total sense because you really only have about an 1/8″ or less of a frame of paper to attach the card with if you used regular double-sided tape or glue.  Does this make sense?  Here’s a photo from Martha’s site that kind of shows this design:

photo courtesy MSLO, marthastewart.com

Kinda blurry, but you hopefully get the idea.

Generally, the book is pretty simple to make.  It does require some precision cutting, but that’s about it.  And you don’t need mad layout skillz, either; it comes together by itself quite nicely.

Here’s how my pages turned out:

front side ............................................................. back side

A few caveats about this project, though.

• All postcards are not made the same size, as I discovered when I dug through old letters and found some.  There’s only one size template in Martha’s book, so you may have to futz around with enlarging or reducing it on the copier if you have unusual-size cards.
• Who sends postcards anymore? This objection may be the strongest.  I had to wade through piles of old letters I had saved in order to find some.  Not many people seem to send them any more.  And there’s really no use in putting unsent ones in this album; for those, you could just attach the cards to a sheet of paper since you don’t need to see the backs.  SO, I came up with a kind of fun solution.

Send yourself some postcards.  Every time you take a trip, send yourself one or more postcards on which you write a little memory from the trip.  Then, you can collect them all in this album.  Or, you can use this technique in a photo scrapbook album as well, if you are doing one for a special trip.

I was kind of proud of myself for thinking that up.  And I think it’s a good enough idea that I might actually do it myself.  See, y’all, I practice what I preach, yo.

TIME INVESTMENT

approximately one hour per page

Yeah, it took me almost an hour to do each page.  It’s all that precision cutting.  And sometimes it’s hard to get those photo corners positioned just right.

DIFFICULTY

Easy to moderate

If you are spastic with the craft knife, it might be a rough go.  Otherwise, it’s just about measuring twice and cutting once, you know.

TOTAL COST

• 12″ x 12″ album, $14.99 (you need a 12″ x 12″ in order to fit multiple postcards on one page)
• clear photo corners, $3.99
• 12″ x 12″ craft paper, $0.99 each (10 total)

Total: $28.88 for a 10 page album

WAS IT WORTH IT?

I kind of detailed this above a little, but I’d say yes, especially if you happen to have postcards.  Some people have postcard collections, and others might even have vintage ones.  But I kind of love my idea of sending yourself some.  It creates a kind of travel diary with very little effort or time investment.

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