What's your postcard-writing "ritual"?

Your cards look pretty cool! Taking some hours to paint them, that is real passion!

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You are so kind! Thank you :blush:
The thing is, I wasn’t(still am not) able to find postcards where I live (in India)… so this is something that combines both my hobbies :sweat_smile:

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And that is fine!

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That’s a fantastic take on the Postcrossing project. :+1: I often think that I’m trying to show our best side. One Postcrosser had on his profile that “each postcard is an ambassador to the world”, but I don’t remember who it was.

I enjoyed reading everyone’s approach, some of you are really meticulous!

My routine is simply:

  • Request addresses, normally just a few at a time, when I have time.

  • As I read the profile, I begin to consider which postcard to send. I have collected many postcards from which to select, but no doubt sometimes my card is not to someone’s taste. I do think the message is more important though, so I have a positive approach to this and remember the original intent of this wonderful project.

  • I look at the recipient’s Postcrossing Favourites, and often look to see which postcards they’ve received before from the UK. But I don’t look at online albums of collections.

  • I should say, I really enjoy reading people’s profiles. Maybe I’m becoming nosy as I age? :wink:

  • I add stamps and Airmail sticker to each postcard. I use a Zebra Mildliner, in grey or blue or a similar pastel, to make two bands, on which I (twice) write the postcard ID.

  • I write my message, either with this ballpoint, or my preferred liquid-ink rollerball, a Pentel Energel. (If the postcard is too shiny, it has to be the ballpoint regrettably. I say that because my handwriting flows easily with the rollerball.) Sorry for the excessive detail about the pens, but… I really like pens.

  • Finally I write the address. I then usually leave the postcards on my desk overnight to dry, and post them the next day. I just noticed that the manufacturer’s website claims the rollerball ink is fast-drying. I disagree!

Over the years I’ve tried to streamline and simplify the way I write on the postcards. I always leave plenty of space for the address, and for some reason I don’t like a division in the middle, between the address and the message. So, that means writing my message, sometimes quite long, with a controlled, consistent hand. In theory. In practice, improvement is still required. :worried:

Oh, and I often listen to music on my phone while I write. For some reason, Finzi’s Five Bagatelles makes for happy postcard-writing.

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One of my classmates had his SAT entry rejected because his handwriting was so poor. So he ended up having to retake the test.

As for postcard writing, when I started, I used cursive for any country where English is the official language, but now I’ve switched to printing (as in handwritten print, not computer print) rather than cursive as a default because so many people can’t read cursive. If people want cursive, they need to specify in their profiles that they would like to see cursive if possible. (When people specify this as “handwritten”, this is confusing to me because both print and cursive can be handwritten and I assume they just don’t want anything printed by a machine. I might use cursive if I can deduce that the person is over 30.)

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@figtrees, if reading profiles is nosy, then I’m guilty, too. :woman_shrugging: It’s interesting to see what people write about themselves, and helpful to gather ideas about what to add or remove from my own profile. And since you like pens, I think you will enjoy this topic!

@syaffolee, your poor classmate! :joy:

The cursive portion honestly made me feel like this. :rofl:

I would have been so upset, not only because that is such a bizarre and ineffective way to “confirm” that students haven’t cheated, but also because the test itself was so vapid and procedural that I simply lost interest midway through. I even enjoy taking tests (I was that weirdo), but by the time I got to the essay portion, I was so impatient to finish that…well, let’s just say that my essay lacked inspiration, which was reflected in my score. :sweat_smile: (Is there even an essay portion anymore? I thought there was some discussion about replacing or eliminating it.)

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Thank you, I bookmarked the pen thread!

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Since I don’t have a job, i request one card every time one arrived at my destination or I recieve one. It’s a way to save money and gain trust.
I usually look for a postcard that matches the person’s interests. If I don’t have one, i use one of the one’s that i like.
For writing i write down about my day or something the person wants to know.
I use thin washi tape and stickers on every card, even draw something on it.
And then it goes into the postbox on the same day (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

I have no idea whether or not they’ve replaced or eliminated the essay section. It’s been too long.

I personally don’t like standardized testing. It only shows how good you are at memorizing and taking tests. It doesn’t show how people are good at problem solving, how persistent or dedicated they are, or how well they communicate in a social situation, or even how honest/ethical they are–which are far more useful skills to have in the real world.

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I’m under 30 and can read cursive.
All my notes are in cursive, when I write Blockletters, I fell like back in first class.

New to postcrossing, but I an a quote collector and try to include one on each post card I send. I do read the profile and consider the details there when choosing the post card I send and the quote, if any that I use

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I just spent my post card writing time tonight reading all the routines that members do. Fascinating comments!!! In the beginning some of my cards were on the blah side as I didn’t have too many choices. Now I stock up when on vacation. Those cards are the best!!! I have choices to make as I try to fit the profile, then choose the proper stamps, usually around 6 stamps (some plain and some pretty (sometimes I have exactly what they want) and a sticker. I fill up every space on the card, date, weather etc… At first I wrote then after a while I thought that a number of people will not understand my writing, so for non English countries I print. When I draw a Russian address I have my wife write it down, even a sentence in Russian (she’s fluent). I would love to add some artwork to it but I’m not talented enough like my daughter. I’ll even add very special stamps to a stamp collector (my daughters art work on a stamp)!!!

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My nevbie’s “ritual” yesterday, 21-st December 2020, for sending my first 5 cards.
Adresses I have, profiles are read. I have no any cards or stamps at home. So, I go to post office, 2,5 km away from my house. And so.
There is a queue on the street to enter in the post office, because just 4 persons at the same time are allowed. All people wearing the masks.
I take from a pocket and take on my mask, and stand at the end of the line. After 15 min standing, I am in and start to choose cards. There are just Christmas cards, no any about our town or at least about the country. Three weeks earlier I have seen very nice cards, now there are just rests- like just for a checkmark. I chose 6. Happily, there is a card about our capital under the New Year firework. I chose it for the 2 people, but some different cards for the rest 3.
Cashier tells me, there aren’t Christmas stamps for the price, needed for the Europe countries, so she will give me a bit more expensive- like for America. Ok, I agree.
Then I am sitting near the table in the post shop (while another people are standing in the queue on the street) and trying to write at least something in my poor English.
Then I go out, put the cards in the letterbox outside, take off the mask, and somebody else happily enters in the post office.

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Such is life during a pandemic! :wink: I am so happy that you have joined Postcrossing! Do not worry about the selection of postcards available to you–the most important thing is your friendly message. And never worry about your English, either–it is already great!

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My postcard writing routine:

  1. I grab all my supplies: postcards, stamps, computer, and a pen.
  2. I lay all of my postcards on the floor so I can see them all at once.
  3. I request an address, hoping it’s somewhere exciting!
  4. I read their profile, then examine my cards to decide which card I think they will like the best.
  5. I write a message (starting with my name and city/country), date, ID, then the address.
  6. I place the stamp!
  7. Then I walk down the street to my mailbox, give the postcard a kiss for good luck, and place it in the slot!
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If Germany is exciting to you, then you’ll get many exciting addresses. :blush::innocent:

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I have thought of this and am curious!

What steps do you have when writing a postcard? And what order do you usually do them in?

For me it’s the following:

  1. Putting on the stamps
  2. Writing the address
  3. Decorating with Washi or Stickers
  4. Actually writing the message

Please let me know your process!!!

If a topic like this already exists please let me know🙈

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I do the below because I’m right handed and don’t want to smudge. If I’m glueing on the address I do that after stamps.

1 stamps
2 ID and message
3 address
4 (decorations)

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For me it’s the same. 1-2-3-4.

I usually put on 3-4 stamps which require lots of space so if I write down addresses first, it’ll be harder to arrange the stamps.

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Address
Stamps
Writing