Postcrossing Blog

Ever heard of PostCardens? They’re tiny gardens that grow up in postcards! Intrigued? Yvi-1 tried them out and is here to tell you all about it! :)

Ever since I visited the PostCarden site, I knew that I would one day have to own one. Initially, these flowering greeting cards were only available in some of the countries of Europe. I waited patiently for their arrival in the US. Around the beginning of April 2010, B5+10 (Brooklyn 5 and 10), a US online retailer, began selling them. I ordered immediately.

PostCarden produces three styles which are all available at B5+10. I ordered all three – Botanical Garden, Green City, and Backyard Garden. At a cost of $12.95 USD (plus shipping), they are expensive as just a greeting card but inexpensive when one considers that it serves as both a gift and card. The best part is that these can be mailed! The Carden comes in a cute cardboard box that has space for an address and stamp and message on one side and an artistic image on the other.

I chose the Backyard Garden for my growing experience. Once I opened the outer carboard box, I found a second box which revealed a seed packet and what looked like a pop-out book. I followed the instructions and set up my Carden. The seeds provided are of cress. When the seeds grow the plant can be eaten. I set the Carden outside in my lanai. Each day I watered the PostCarden with about four tablespoons of water and then set it in direct sunlight for a few hours. Within 24 hours my seeds sprouted!

Visitors enjoyed looking at my PostCarden and it was definitely a point of conversation. Once watered, the seeds take on the strong earthy smell of a garden. My PostCarden cardboard warped a bit due to my messy watering practices and the fact that local humidity is currently between 70–90%. My Carden lasted almost two weeks.

I will leave it as a surprise to you what a fully grown PostCarden looks like. Unfortunately, my PostCarden did not grow as high as the sample pictures on the official site but I attribute that to high temperatures and not enough water. I did not choose to eat the cress but was happy to find that the PostCarden is fully recyclable or mostly compostable (there is a thin plastic tray to prevent leaks). I have two PostCardens left and will be sending them as gifts soon!
Note that mailing seeds may be restricted by country, region, or state.

PS – Postcardens are sold on the PostCarden site, or through one of their worldwide retailers. And they have just released a fresh new batch of them, perfect for the World Cup! Check them out! :)

Maybe you want to make your Christmas cards a bit more unique… something that involves your family, something that will make grandma and grandpa smile! Don’t worry, Paper Culture has got you covered!

Paper Culture makes modern Christmas cards, with a unique touch: your photos! They have designers waiting to work with you on every order, to make sure your cards look perfect and stand out.

Have at look at some of their lovely creations:

Don’t these just make you go “awwwww…”? The fonts, the colors, the photos… they’re perfect, especially if you have a kid in the family who is fond of making cute faces for the camera! Who wouldn’t like to receive a card like that? :)

By the way, all cards are made in 100% recycled paper, and if you’re in a rush, they can even mail the cards directly for you! So what are you waiting for? Go to Paper Culture and make your own cute Holiday photo cards! :)

Every year come November, we scout the internet for the cutest Christmas stationery, hour after hour of intensive and dedicated research. Our requirements are simple: something different and uncomplicated, and at the same time, something that will make the recipient smile. :)

This year, we’ve decided to put together a small guide to tip you on the best Christmas stationery we found out there. There will be several parts to this guide, so that we can cover different styles and sources. If you have any tips, please share them with us on the comments!

Our first stop is moo.com! Many people turn to Moo to make their own personalized postcards or business cards (using your Flickr photos, for instance), but did you ever notice their Ready Made design collections? There is some serious talent and cuteness there! Here are our 5 favorite picks for Christmas (texts from the moo site):

1. Blanca Gomez is a Spanish illustrator who began drawing as a child in Madrid, and although forced to grow up and get a proper job, she kept drawing by night. Her self-professed 'dedication to small things’ shines through here as a keen eye for detail.

2. Marc Johns, a Canadian artist, creates whimsical drawings filled with dry wit and humour. His simple style shows objects combined in weird and wonderful ways and gives a voice to the inanimate objects we thought we knew so well.

3. Tired of the same old greeting cards with mushy sentiments and “sorry for your loss” drivel? If so, are you in for a treat! Superindustriallove takes pride in its irreverent and offensive greeting card creations. Give them out at church or to kids in the hospital. Send them to slightly senile relatives or just buy them for your own amusement – the possibilities are endless.

4. Frieda Bird is a graphic-designer living and working in Germany. She hardly ever leaves the house without a pen and some paper as she just loves to watch and draw. Everyday life, animals, people, things. Most of all she likes to spot and capture sweetness in everyday moments.

5. Lara Cameron started creating patterns as a break from her graphic design job. Overwhelmed with positive feedback, she decided to take it a little more seriously. Her delicate work shows art deco and Japanese influences.

For lots of more lovely Christmas postcards, visit moo.com!

Once in a while, many of us love to receive some cheesy-looking and colorful postcards.

Our friends from Australia have made a fun and interesting set of new postcards called Bendy Friends. These postcards are not your regular postcards. They are colorful, thicker, shiny, and obviously bendy!

According to the Bendy Friends’ official website, these flexible postcards are made to be durable. You do not need to put them in an envelope nor worry too much about them being lost in the mail. They are extremely noticeable with their colorful designs. Moreover, Bendy Friends postcards are made from strong, flexible, and colorful foam.

You can choose your own Bendy Friends character from a wide variety of choices—from Disney’s most-loved cartoon characters to Australia’s adorable endemic animals.

The Bendy Friends can also end up on your recipient’s fridge. The makers attached a small magnet on the back of each Bendy Friends postcard for easy fridge attachment.

If you’d like to check out their whole inventory, simply visit their website.

You can also order your very own Bendy Friends postcards from the site. They ship everywhere! Just download the order form and either mail, fax, or email it to them.

Many people are saying that these postcards are made for children. Sure, why not? However, the Bendy Friends postcards cater to everyone who like durable, bendy, and colorful postcards—both children and the child-at-heart.

Some people love receiving postcards that show beautiful scenes or pleasant paintings while others prefer those that have some kind of personal touch. Not surprisingly, many people love getting postcards that are witty… that make them think… that tease their brain… and at the same time, make them laugh.

Introducing… Indexed Postcards by Jessica Hagy.

Thanks to fellow Postcrosser, Addis R. Perez (username: rainmelonpie) from Puerto Rico, who shared with us the info about Ms. Hagy’s unique set of postcards. Now many of you will know about these witty postcards and may love them, too.

Indexed postcards started as simple, weekday-morning blog entries back in 2006. On pieces of 3×5 index cards, Jessica Hagy would connect a number of words and phrases wittingly with charts and diagrams that look like those figures that you encountered in your high school geometry or algebra class.

Some of the cards comment about controversial topics such as immigration, religion, politics, and the media while most are based on real life experiences and observations of the author—all written in such a way that makes you realize how real the connections are!

Here are some of Jessica’s most famous and most controversial Indexed creations:

Zip it back up. There are secrets in there.


All mixed up

These Indexed cards and many more have been featured in various media outlets such as Time Magazine, GOOD Magazine, BBC Magazine Online, NY Times Freakonomics, PC Mag, Yahoo, and Guardian UK. You can check out more of Jessica’s work here: Indexed.

Good news for many Postcrossers who love or will love Jessica’s brilliant creations: Jessica Hagy has teamed up with Chronicle Books and published an Indexed Postcard Book. Just follow this link to check it out: Indexed Book on Amazon.com, .ca, .co.uk, or .de.

What do you think of them? Do share!