Wallpapering with Postcards?

[Pumpkin Becki]

Wow Jules, I think that's looking completely fabulous. I adore those sorts of images (and had no idea you could buy them as postcards). What a brilliant idea!

[julesapple]

Well, I am all out of postycards with 1¼ walls to go.....another 400 cards on order!

Jules

[stella]

Wow that looks amazing well done

[Claire72]

Wow! That looks fantastic!!! Very colourful, great idea for the smallest room.
Bet the postcard supplier is wondering what you are doing with all those postcards!

[lizzylemon]

Love it - simply gorgeous.

[Nicos]

Jules.....Do you have a link for where you've bought them from????
They really do look brill!

just wondering ....do you have a favourite one???

[julesapple]

Jules.....Do you have a link for where you've bought them from???? They really do look brill! Just wondering ....do you have a favourite one???

I got the two boxes of Penguin postcards for Christmas, but I bought the box of Puffin postcards from Amazon. In fact, all of the boxes came from there. I've got more on order.....I need another 4 boxes.

Amazon.co.uk: Penguin postcards

I like quite a few of them, but my favourite is probably Swallows & Amazons. It has such great memories linked to it.

Jules

[Mikey]

Not sure if you decided on what to seal them with but have you considered Shellac, its a natural product and will work on most surfaces and is a great sealant.

Also can be used to give a slightly aged effect to the cards if thats what you want.

Looking good.

[julesapple]

Not sure if you decided on what to seal them with but have you considered Shellac, its a natural product and will work on most surfaces and is a great sealant.

Also can be used to give a slightly aged effect to the cards if thats what you want.

Looking good.

I've bought some decoupage stuff called ModPodge. It's American and is highly recommended. It dries clear with a matte finish. It arrived today and I'm going to have a try shortly. I'm hoping, as this stuff is basically a glue, that it will tame the few sticky up edges I've got.

Shellac would have been lovely, especially for the aged effect, but it's quite a dark room already.

This morning I've been poring over the vintage maps we're using for wallpaper in the bathroom. They are truly fascinating, I can't believe just how much places have changed in the last 60 years or so. On one map I found a village called Norton, just a few miles from me and yet, now, there is no trace of this village. Not even in road names. Just amazing. How can places disappear?


Jules

[HeyWayne]

Haven't seen this post before but that looks fantastic!

I was going to suggest laminating them and creating "tiles" that can be wiped down (being a practical sort), but I think the overall effect would have been inferior to yours. Looks great.

[buzzingtalk]

Wow, that's amazing! What a good idea and one I will surely steal once I have a house of my own

[HeyWayne]

Wow, that's amazing! What a good idea and one I will surely steal once I have a house of my own

Why not build a house with all the leftover book innards that will undoubtedly be available once this craze really gets going.

[julesapple]

Why not build a house with all the leftover book innards that will undoubtedly be available once this craze really gets going.

I'm having a hard time already trying to convince myself that I have to deface the maps to get them on the wall...can't put the covers on, they're too bulky. I'm not sure I could ever wilfully destroy a book. Hence the postcards. I guess you could shred and compost book innards?

Other things that would look good are;

Vintage postcards in sepia or black & white
Sheet music
Old books (children's, encyclopaedias, cookery etc etc etc)
Handmade paper
Printed paper napkins
The Financial Times or old newspapers
Vintage greetings cards (aagghh! threw out 100 of 40's, 50's & 60's card when Nan died)
Vintage gardening books or magazines.
Beermats (these would be insulating too as they are dense)


The choice is endless, choose a theme or mix'n'match. Pick up the ball and run.......

I haven't been very green with my postcards as they are all new, but the maps are repurposed. That's the latest buzzword - repurposed.

Jules

[Hilary B]

I'm having a hard time already trying to convince myself that I have to deface the maps to get them on the wall...can't put the covers on, they're too bulky. I'm not sure I could ever wilfully destroy a book. Hence the postcards. I guess you could shred and compost book innards?

Other things that would look good are;

Vintage postcards in sepia or black & white
Sheet music
Old books (children's, encyclopaedias, cookery etc etc etc)
Handmade paper
Printed paper napkins
The Financial Times or old newspapers
Vintage greetings cards (aagghh! threw out 100 of 40's, 50's & 60's card when Nan died)
Vintage gardening books or magazines.
Beermats (these would be insulating too as they are dense)


The choice is endless, choose a theme or mix'n'match. Pick up the ball and run.......

I haven't been very green with my postcards as they are all new, but the maps are repurposed. That's the latest buzzword - repurposed.

Jules

If you use a digital camera to copy the maps, you won't need to deface the originals! I'd be a lot more bothered using old maps for that sort of purpose, afer all, they aren't being made any more....

[julesapple]

Nope, old maps aren't being made any more, but they were fairly mass produced and most of mine were found languishing in plastic boxes in second-hand book stores or junk shops, getting tattier by the minute. I bought 10 from a chap in Hay who admitted that he was just going to take the maps down to the tip if they hadn't sold within the next few weeks.

I had thought about copying some postcards, but I'm not sure the computer printed stuff would stand up to the paste - it would ruin the photo paper's finish and possibly make the ink run. Spray adhesive might be better for copied images. Also, I wonder how much ink it would take to cover a wall in decent quality copied images? I guess it would be worth it if you wanted to use very special pictures etc where the original was irreplaceable.

Jules