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I love these cards! They mail flat but become three-dimensional when opened. Unlike other postcards, they have the ability to stand on their own.
Make one telescoping postcard for one partner using the following procedure:
Cut five heavy cardstock or Bristol board 4" X 6" (10.16 cm X 15.24 cm) rectangles. These are approximate measurements. Please don't make your card any smaller, but you can make it bigger if you prefer to do it that way. Using a pencil applied with light pressure, draw borders around three of the rectangular card pieces. (You can set the other two aside for now.)
The first should be 1/2" from the edge (1.27 cm).
The second should be 3/4" from the edge (1.9 cm).
The third should be 1" from the edge (2.54 cm).
- Stamp images around the bordered cards using the pencil lines to guide you in placing the elements. The images on the first card will be closer to the edge and the images on the third card will be closest to the center. This will give your finished card a telescoping effect. (I used a daisy stamp for the card in the example.) Parts of stamped images can cross over the pencil lines in places, but they should be mainly contained by the border.
Note: I like to begin with the second rectangle and complete it (including cutting) before stamping images on the other two. This helps me plan the composition and get the elements in the right places.
Erase the border lines. Draw any additional designs or elements you would like to include in the composition. (I drew the rabbit, rocks and leaves on the card in the example.) Color the three cards you've stamped and enhanced with additional drawings. You can use paints, markers, ink, colored pencils, crayons, etc. Cut the center and other details from each of the three colored rectangles. I use an X-ACTO knife to do this. Be sure to leave the border intact around the edge of each of these cards. Stack the three cards on top of each other. The card with the 1/2" (1.27 cm) border goes on top and the card with the 1" (2.54 cm) border goes on the bottom. If you need to make adjustments to the design by cutting out elements on the second and third cards, this is the time to do it. Lay the stack on top of one of the remaining two blank rectangles. Look through the window made by the cut-outs and decide where to stamp or draw the image on that card. This will be the bottom card in your composition. Lightly mark where you'd like to place the final image. Remove the stack, stamp the final image (I used the girl with a watering can for the final image in the example), and color the entire card.
With the exception of the two green accordion-folded pieces in the picture, you now have something that looks similar to this:
Cut two pieces of lighter cardstock or heavy paper into rectangles equal to the size of your other rectangles. These will become the accordion-folded pieces that will make the card three-dimensional. I used a bone folder to score my green rectangular pieces at every 1/2" mark. Make accordion folds (lengthwise) on each of these two pieces of paper so that you end up with four full "mountain peaks" on one side and three on the other. Press down one of the accordion-folded pieces so that it makes a stack with the two edges and three full peaks facing away from you. Run a piece of double-stick tape (I used thin, red "baloney" tape) or a thin line of glue along the top flat surface of the accordion-folded paper. (This surface will be 1/2" wide if you're making a 4" X 6" card.) Place the top edge of your first stamped/colored/cut rectangle (the one with the narrowest border) along the edge of the sticky surface of the accordion-folded piece. Your second, third and final decorated rectangles will be taped or glued, along their top edges, into the three full "peaks" that you folded. When you've finished securing them to the accordion folds, you'll have one free edge left at the back of the folded paper. (This is where you'll attach the backing to turn it into a postcard.) Turn your project upside-down and repeat the process to attach the bottom of your stamped/colored/cut rectangles to the second piece of accordion-folded paper. Take the final blank rectangle (that you set aside way back at the beginning) and write on it as if it were a postcard. Include your partner's address, your SB username and the swap title. Tell your partner how glad you are that you got to make this for him/her because it turned out to be so cool! (You don't really have to do that, but I do hope you feel that way!) Squash your telescoping postcard down and wrap it in plastic. A Ziploc bag will work well for this. You can tape the edges of the plastic to the unfinished back of your project. Do this before attaching the postcard part in case your post office gets cranky about sticking stamps to plastic. Securely adhere the "postcard" rectangle to the back of your project. Be sure to use a very good double-stick tape or glue for this. Run a piece of mailing tape around the edge. It will be stuck partially to the plastic on the front and partially to the postcard on the back. Make sure to put the stamps on last so they can be cancelled. (Don't put them under the tape.)
If you're nervous about sending your beautiful work off in a plastic wrapper, you can squash it down and place it in an envelope for mailing.
Please don't hesitate to ask questions! Although I tried to make the directions complete, I wouldn't be surprised if they're as clear as mud. lol
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