Shades Of Tangerine: I Spy Postcard (DIY)

I spy...

I think my obsession with I Spy books started after an elementary school book fair. I appreciate all elements of the book: the finding, the detailed photography, the simple poems, the themes and the random collections of things. In this post, I'm going to tell you about two things:
a quick I Spy inspired project AND all of the wonderful places you can spy me on the web! This is one of my very favorite projects to do with kids because its fun, fast, and they all seem to enjoy I Spy books. Even though I'm an adult, I will admit that I love to make them too.

You will need:

magazines

clear contact paper

glue stick

5" x 3" piece of paper

4" x 6" piece of card stock

ink pen

To create this fun challenge, you can either use a collection of random images or choose a theme for your card (like the books) such as: baby animals, fancy french things, the color red, etc.

Today I made four cards with these themes:

*Black, White and Yellow

*Food

*Travel

*Weird Science

With the theme in mind, go to town cutting small things out of the magazines. Look for a variety of media: pictures, sketches and graphics. Search out images smaller than a quarter and keep an eye out for multiples of the same thing - for example: cut out three different images of horses.

Collect as many little images as possible, at least two dozen, including letters and numbers. Move the magazine clippings on your paper until you are happy with the arrangement, then glue them in place. Try not to overlap, but leave as little open space as possible.

The more pictures you have, the more challenging your card will be.

Glue the paper collage to the center of your card stock, then flip it over.

Style the back to look like a post card. Most postcards have a center line, the word 'postcard', lines for the address, and a square in the upper right corner for the stamp.

Decide what elements you will add to yours. I added the message "made especially for you" and one of the extra images to the upper left corner.

Now, its time to write the I Spy poem!

The poem follows a specific pattern. I found this pattern on the Scholastic website (the activity is for children, but don't feel bad: adults can enjoy I Spy books, too).

Practice writing your poem on scrap paper a few times.

When the poem is to your liking, write it around the edge of the card.

Remove the backing from a section of clear contact paper (larger than your card) and place it sticky-side-up on the table. Set your card face down on the paper, press gently, then cut off the excess.

The contact paper will prevent your delicate paper images from snagging on other mail during its travel.