Postcard from a Six-Pack

It's Friday! It's Friday!

I am five states away from my residence, having traveled 16 hours in a sedan with two dogs, an eighteen-year-old cat, and three adults. I honestly didn't think I would be posting this week, but sometimes things just turn out that way.
I am also taking my final college course of ever right now, which has been compressed to four weeks and is an online course. Wish me luck.

Now, when I moved so far away from my family, I took up sending mail. I always wanted to get mail when I was a kid and e-mail just isn't the same! So I badgered friends and family alike into sending me letters, and then, because I have no end to my free time, I scrapbooked the letters. When I wasn't writing letters, I was making stationery. I also sent postcards, generally as a cheat to send a letter that wasn't two pages. Then my friend, SarahBee, turned me on to Postcrossing. In case you didn't click that link, it's a magical site where you sign up to send and receive postcards from around the world. So then I had even more use for postcards. So then I made my own. And what did I have on hand? Something with a cool design? Something that I could easily recycle? Something that would return to my kitchen again and again, a

renewable resource, if you will?

Six-Pack Postcard

First, cut the broad sides off of your six-pack. I start by cutting around the edges, then snipping the inner pieces that separate the bottles. You won't use the entire side (unless you want a really huge postcard?) so you can be messy. This is a little tricky, so if you've just emptied the six-pack, you might want to find the safety scissors.

When the piece is safely removed, decide what placement you want for your postcard. I like to drink Blue Moon, and they have a very pretty design that gives me easy to follow lines. The one downside is that it makes for an "oversized" postcard, so I have to use letter priced stamps. If you want a standard size, for the US of A you can make the sides 6"x4.5". I like to use an existing postcard as a stencil to check size, and they're handy for the next step too!

Now that you have a lovely postcard shape, peel any excess waste off of the back from the part of the pack that separated the bottles. This can leave a slight marred spot, but no one will complain.

When you have a nice, neat surface on the writing-side of your card, use your existing postcard to draw a dividing line between the letter-area and the address-area. If it's as impossible for you to write a neat address as it is for me, I recommend also drawing four lines for the address. Your spare postcard which has been so handy till now will also make a lovely straight edge and right angle. Verily, it is the best of tools.

Finally, write a lovely letter and mail it to a friend. Or, you know, sign up for postcrossing and mail it to a stanger. Whatever you want.