5. Once the papers are decorated, use a ruler to measure, draw, and cut lines on the cardboard or cereal boxes to make 4- by 6-in. rectangles. These will be your postcards. Lay these out on the back of your decorated papers to see how many you can fit, leave a small gap between each one to make it easier to trim with scissors once glued. (Alternately you can be more selective about which parts of the decorated papers you want to be on the postcards. Have the decorated paper facing up, lay your card rectangle in the area you want to be on the postcard and do a rough cut larger than the 4- by 6-in. rectangle.) Use a glue stick to cover the entire side of the cut rectangle (glue the printed side of the cereal box, leaving the blank side free to write on, check which side of the cardboard rectangle is the neatest and glue the other one.) Lay the glued rectangle down on the back of the decorated paper and press firmly. Trim with scissors. You are ready to write your postcards—don’t forget the postage stamp at top right!
6. Consider including information for voters on your postcard. For example: “Register and plan your vote! Check out PlanYourVote.org.”
California Voting Key Dates
- October 5: Counties will begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots.
- October 19: Last day to register to vote.
- Late October: The earlier you send in your ballot, the better.
- November 3: Election Day!
Reflect
After creating your postcards, consider the following questions:
- What was your favorite mark-making printing tool and why?
- What tool would you have liked to try that you didn’t have? What kind of mark do you think it would make?
- How do you feel about cutting up your art and sending it to people as postcards? Some artists might find that challenging. Can you come up with ideas to make this project easier for them?
Share
Perhaps you could take photos to document your postcard-printing project and show to friends to encourage others to help. If you make lots of postcards for the Get Out the Vote drive, maybe you could mail one to a friend or family member and tell them all about it—it’s fun to get mail!
We would love to see what you make too, so please tag us on any social platform using the hashtag #deyoungsters.
Image credits:
- Ben Shahn, We Want Peace, Register to Vote, 1946. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2006.24.46.4. © Estate of Ben Shahn / Licensed by ARS / VAGA, New York, NY
- Process photos by Hannah Freeman