Packing Tape Postcards Instructions

Below are instructions to create your packing tape postcard! I also added more process photos of the sample I sent in your mail for reference at the bottom of this post.

The example above uses a fake address of a fictional character. Some of you may have known right away! :) If not, it's from To All The Boys I've Loved Before.

Materials You'll Need: 

• Packing tape
• Flat items to decorate with / sandwich between the tape.
  • Try to use items that are double sided if possible since it will may be visible from both sides.
  • Have fun with it and try different things!
  • A few ideas: confetti, stickers, magazine and paper cut outs, googly eyes, ribbon, tissue paper, dried flowers  etc.,
• Your recipient's address and your message written on a piece of paper or 2 pieces of paper.
  • If the ink doesn't bleed through, you can use the same piece of paper and write the address on the front and the message on the back.
  • If the ink will bleed through or you'd like to use different papers, use 2 separate pieces (this is what I did for my postcard shown above)
    

A Few Notes:

• Check to see what the standard postcard size(s) are in your county. In the US,  postcards are usually 4x6" or 5x7”. (My example above is 4x6".)
• MAILING YOUR POSTCARD: I spoke to a clerk at my post office regarding mailing these type of postcards and her suggestion is to put it in an envelope to ensure it gets delivered. Since it's thin / not made of paper, she was worried it might not be recognized as mail.
  • I have seen people mail these type of postcards without an envelope and it does get delivered but I wanted to mention this! If you'd like to try sending it without an envelope, you may want to add a few more layers of packing tape to your finished postcard or use cardstock to write your address/message on to make it a little thicker. I think a larger sized postcard would work better as well. Depending on the size and weight, I may also add extra postage just in case.
  • If you want to make sure your recipient gets it or are sending it quite far, I think I'd use the envelope method!
• Besides postcards, smaller versions of these make cute gift tags! Use a hole punch to add a hole to string it through ribbon. You can also make bookmarks and many more items using these materials and method!

Instructions:

1) Tear off a piece of tape the size of your postcard length (the longer side) + an extra inch or two (this is so you have some extra tape at the edges to handle the tape and trim off any fingerprints later). Lay it sticky side up on your table.

TIP: When I am putting the tape down on the table, I will take one of the items I plan to decorate my  postcard with and stick it onto the postcard edge so I have a spot to put my finger down on without adding more fingerprints to the tape. Then you can easily hold down the tape with one finger and remove your other fingers from it and the decoration becomes part of the postcard.

3) Tear off a third strip of tape and repeat step 2, adding the third strip to the second strip. This should create a large enough surface for your postcard. Add more tape if needed to get the desired size.

4) Now for the fun part: add your different elements and decorations to the tape! There are many different ways you can approach this! Here's the process I followed:

I envisioned the front of my postcard as the side facing down so I started by sticking my recipient's address face down to the tape. 

If mailing your postcard without putting it in an envelope, add your stamp to your postcard.

Then I added the message to my recipient on top of the address. Since my message was larger than the address, there was enough tape showing to secure it. (TIP: If there wasn't enough tape showing, adding a tiny bit of glue stick to adhere it really helps! Otherwise, when you go to add the final layer of tape, the static can pick it up and move the placement!) 

After these two elements were added, I moved on to the decor, starting with the smaller items first. That way, more items could be added and the larger item that goes on top creates an interesting background. (There are steps for this process at the bottom of this email.)

Add the next layer of items, filling in the empty spaces on the tape. 

Add a final layer of smaller items if you'd like--since you'll most likely be putting this final layer onto decor you've already laid out in the last layer, I would add a bit of glue stick to adhere it and make sure it stays in place. 

Once you are happy with everything you've stuck on, you're ready for the final step!

5) We will now be covering the entire thing with more tape to seal everything in! It's basically repeating steps 1-3 but this time with the sticky side down.

Tear off a piece of tape the same length as your postcard and starting from the bottom, put down your tape (sticky side down) sealing the items you have placed between the 2 pieces of tape. Repeat this process with a little bit of tape overlapping to make sure you don’t miss anything until you’ve covered the entire thing. (I go from bottom to top because I feel like starting with the edge closest to me was the easiest way.)

6) Trim your postcard to size. You can add more stickers or washi tape if you'd like.

7) You're all done and it’s ready to mail!