Since she was a child, growing up in Croatia, Antich [which is her creative name] has collected stamps.

But like most collections, her stamps began to pile up. Mostly, those stamps “that aren’t good for proper collecting; i.e., with chipped edges, missing corners and similar damage that occurs when stamps travel. Sometimes,” she added, “you could also unintentionally damage a stamp when removing it from paper.”

What to do with the growing pile of damaged stamps?

Being a self-described “crafty person”, Antich made the logical step to use the damaged stamps for stamp art. And she quickly discovered that she liked giving them “a new life”.

Her initial efforts were tentative. Of course, she made mistakes, as she learned. Eventually, Antich had the idea to create silhouette postcards of different objects, using stamps.

For her first silhouette postcards, Antich made a shaped hole in postcard stock, but found the effort to fill in the hole with stamps to be quite difficult. So, she started to do some research on the Internet about stamp art, and there she learned “what I was doing wrong … I needed to cut the shape, glue the stamps on the shape, and then glue the shape to the postcard surface.”

Since that a-ha moment, ideas simply popped into her head, often randomly. There were animal silhouettes, such as dog, cat, koala, kangaroo, hedgehog and so on. One day, while watching TV, she decided to try to make a panda.

And then, she thought, she’d make some fruit designs; maybe strawberries. But she didn’t have enough red stamps. However, her abundant stash of green stamps led her to create a green apple stamp creation.

Antich continues to find ideas in her everyday life, as well as is inspired by the work of other postcard creators who use stamps in their creations. You could call this art stampix. That is, postcard art that uses stamps.

Every stampix that Antich creates begins with an idea, then a “messy process” of searching through her damaged stamps stash, where she will find – or not – the colours needed, or the relevant images that she might use. Or both.

When she doesn’t have the colour she wants, Antich quickly pivots to a different concept. For example, “one time I wanted to do a butterfly shape out of only butterfly themed stamps, but I was missing a few to finish. While looking for the last one or two [needed], I located a bunch of horse stamps, so I made a horse shaped card. Then I chose many lovely green colour stamps, so I made a turtle. I didn’t get my initial thought but made two lovely cards nevertheless.”

Isn’t that often the way with the creative process? Process ignites inspiration.

The process also gives Antich some peace. Postcard-making “relaxes me after a hard day at work. It is … mind relaxation and, as a result, I create something lovely. I’m also very happy to send my handmade cards to someone else and to receive a positive review.”

What is it about postcard joy?

For Antich, it’s the joy that she derives through her creative process, and then when she sends the card to someone who often tells her that her creation gave them joy.

For us at Postcards to the Front, there is the joy derived through choosing a card, then writing a personal message of support to a Defender who needs a bit of sunshine in their day. And then, we imagine … will the card make them smile? Make them feel warm and cared for?

Antich has made hundreds of different cards. Most ideas originate in her own creative mind. Sometimes, she gets specific requests.

Initially, Antich created her stampix creations to share with family and friends. Eventually, though, she decided to send them out into the world, offering them, “little by little to people who like handmade cards.” After receiving a lot of positive comments, she wanted to share them with many more people.

Caption: Some of Antich’s stampix creations

After seeing Antich’s creations on the Postcrossing website, Australian postcard warrior, Anne, asked Antich whether she’d be interested in creating a design for Ukraine’s Defenders.

“I was really happy to do so,” Antich told us, “and in the end, to my joy, I managed to create three!” Tryzub. Ukrainian heart. You are the heartbeat of Ukraine (sunflower). Aren’t they lovely?!

Stampix creations by Antich (Croatia). Finish design by Jean-Michel Komarnicki (Canada). Printing by Coba Studios (Canada)

Antich works alone, in her quite crafting space, but these three cards for Postcards to the Front are another story.

“It was great to collaborate with other people to create these postcards,” Antich shared. “It gives a different perspective on things which are sometimes missed when you work on your own. Also, all the lovely people I collaborated with gave me new ideas and without them I wouldn’t be able to make the postcards.

When she asked us for ideas, she repeatedly heard a desire for yellow/blue themes.

“But I don’t have enough yellow stamps,” she told us.

Normally, friends and family supply Antich with lots of stamps. Whatever they have. She also sometimes swaps her handmade cards for stamps in any condition so she can use them for future postcards.

So, we put out a call to Postcrossers and to our friends and family this past spring asking for donations of used yellow and blue stamps. Yellow, especially.

And they came!

“Thanks to a lot of great people all over the World,” Antich beamed, “but mostly in Canada, Australia, the USA, and Ukraine, we gathered lots of yellow stamps and I was able to create the three postcard designs.”

Antich tells us that she’s got some other ideas. Stay tuned …

And if you’re wondering, Antich doesn’t sell her stampix creations, and she has never had them mass created. “Some people suggested to me that I could do so, but I never had the time. This is the first time my cards have been mass printed, and I am so proud that these cards are for writing to Ukraine’s Defenders.”

And we’re so grateful to have such beautiful cards to write to Ukraine’s Defenders. Thank you Antich!