Resourceful Artwork

I was raiding straightening up my husband's office a month or so ago when I came across this postcard paper.  My girls play pretend post office all the time and love giving and receiving letters.  We usually just send letters with some of their artwork included.  I thought this was a great idea to kill two birds with one stone!  I replaced all their white paper in their baskets with this postcard paper.   Now when they go to stamp, paint, color, draw, etc they always use these sheets.  My oldest learned that you can rip them apart (they have perforated lines).  They sometimes choose to use them in the 4x6 rectangle or sometimes as a full sheet of paper.  I find that the 4 x 6 size is perfect for them as they never really use the whole sheet of paper anyway.  We've been saving a lot of money on paper since we started doing this!  

This post is kinda all over the place.  Bare with me!  There were a lot of different inspirations to this idea....

Postcard paper... you can find it at any office supply store.  I'm sure Walmart carries it as well.  

My girls always hard at work in their art space.  

I come from a HUGE family.  I am one of 6 and I have countless Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, etc.  Every single one of my siblings and their children live in a different state.  We try and stay as close as possible through pictures, phone calls, Skype calls, and at least one yearly visit.  I often make these photo books up for my girls on all their adventures with their cousins.  Even though they live so far away,  I feel like they are so close to them.  My oldest LOVES having her cousins as pen pals.  

My girls and a bunch of their cousins received these mailboxes for Christmas.  They were purchased at Joann's Craft Store and come in a variety of colors.  I deliver the letters that they get from their cousins in here and they also put their letters in to mail out.  

Below are some of the 4 x 6 postcards they created.  We use these to:

1.  Make a post card out of them.  It is best to hand deliver these to the post office as they sometimes are not completely flat.  If they go through the automatic feeder they may not take.  Not only is this a great way to send a quick note, but it costs less than a regular stamp!  My girls use these all the time for their letters to their cousins.  

2.  Make a note card

3.  Fold them in half and use a hole punch in the corner to act as a gift tag.  

4.  Place them in a photo album to save.  They fit perfectly in the little sleeves!  

Bingo dabbers

Soy crayons

Markers

Stamps

Glitter Glue

Liquid watercolors

Watercolors

Tempera Paint

RL