This idea came to me from an interaction with my son.  He has been doing some observational writing for school and sent a copy to his grandmother.  She was moved to tears when she received it.  She is currently at home isolating alone and is feeling lonely and anxious about this situation.  So I thought, why don’t we design a postcard and then send off notes to those we know are alone and/or struggling at this tricky time. So, thank you, Ethan, for sending Grandma your writing and for giving me this idea.

Design a postcard

You will need:

• art supplies
• card stock or thick paper

This activity is totally open-ended.  Your postcard could be a printed photo of you outside doing any of the activities we have done together so far or it could be a watercolour painting of one of the spring flowers we have spotted or a drawing of the woodlouse you raced or a write up of the recipe for nettle soup you made with a dried nettle leaf tucked stuck on.  What are you doing with all those gorgeous leaf prints we made? Really, it could be anything — that is the fun of it.  If you do not have any cardstock at home to make the postcard out of maybe just make a postcard-sized piece of art and write your message on the back, tuck it in an envelope and pop it in the post on your next walk.  Do not underestimate how much it will mean to a loved one to hear from you and to receive an original piece of nature-inspired art from you.

Wikihow have a step by step guide to making a homemade postcard.

And here is a free printable template from Picklebums if you would rather print one and have a printer at home.

Do send us photos of your process or let us know how your loved one reacted.  We love hearing from you on Facebook, twitter and/or instagram.

Happy creating!

April