Artist Trading Cards

I’ve been seeing ATCs on several blogs lately and, blow me down with a feather if my friend Sally doesn’t gift me with ATCs as well.  This got me thinking that I’d do a couple of ATCs and share them on the blog today.  The only rule is the size; 64×89 mm or 2.5×3.5 inches.

What I really like about the Artist Trading Card is that anyone can make them. They're totally creative, fun and really, really addictive once you start. If you’re like everyone else these days thinking your life is too busy, making these tiny original works of art is not a huge time commitment, and it’s good for your soul. I also use them as gift tags or little notelets.

I used texture paste mixed with a few dry tea leaves from a used tea bag on this one, as well as a bit of paper ribbon from my stash. The stamp comes from the EEA4 Paper Artsy set by Everything Art and is stamped in Potting Soil Archival Ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I used a glue gun to attach the dried flowers [I think they’re Primulas from last winter’s blooming [which I found in my stash] and pop ups to lift the heart to the same height as the stems of the flowers. I tied a bit of twine around the ATC then ran Potting Soil Archival Ink around the edge to finish it off. It is a little fragile with the dried flowers, but beautiful none the less.

I used Distress Collage Medium and a small piece of left over dictionary paper. Distress Crayons in Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed and Shabby Shutters. I stamped the background with the chicken wire stamp from the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamp Mixed Media set using Archival Viridian ink. I inked up the Tim Holtz Cling Mount Stamps: Bird Feather and stamped the nest twice once on the ATC and once on a spare scrap using Potting Soil Archival Ink then fussy cut the nest from the spare scrap. I coloured both with Gathered Twigs and Peeled paint distress Markers using an Aquafine water colour brush.

The wings come from the Finnabair “Don't Forget To Fly cling stamp set”. I stamped and coloured them, fussy cut them together with the Pin Up Doll [which I also had in my stash] and coated her in multi medium gloss, then cut a slit in the nest, inserted her into the nest then glued everything down. I couldn’t resist a bit of doodling on the wings with my White Posco pen. I ran Potting Soil Archival around the edges and lastly used two Big Chat Idea-ology stickers to finish it off.

On this ATC I used a die cut from the Sizzix Mixed Media #2 set. A layer of Ranger Distress Collage Medium and distress crayons in mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean and Wilted Violet.  I used a stencil and a semi dry baby wipes to remove a bit of colour on the bottom of the ATC. I did this after I took the pic. Finished it off with some twine and two words from the Big Chat Idea-ology stickers.

I love, love, love this ATC.  I stamped the flower from the Anatomy Of A Page Dylusions Cling Stamp Set with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink. Used Ranger Distress Markers, an Aquafine wartercolour brush and added some doodling with a White Posco Pen.  Lastly I ran my Black Archival ink pad around the edge to finish it off.

The background of this ATC was created using a scrap of dictionary paper, some texture paste and a bit of paper lace. I used a little Aged Mahogany Distress Spray along the left edge and around the outside. The trellis was a cut using Tim Holtz Frameworks Die Lattice and coloured with a bit of Bundled Sage Distress Ink Spray. I wound a bit of white cotton around the Distress Sprayer then glued it to the trellis using my heat gun. The butterfly comes from the “Don't Forget To Fly cling stamp set”.  I added a bit of glitter to the wings and finished it off with a couple of words from the Idea-Ology Chit Chat Stickers. I ran my Black Archival ink pad around the edge to finish it off.

I stamped a few images onto tissue paper using black Archival Ink and when dry glued it to the ATC using Ranger Distress Collage Medium then covered it all with some Gesso. I drew the girl and coloured her with Water Colour pencils. I used a text stamp over her dress and added a word from Big Chat Idea-ology stickers.

On this ATC I used texture paste mixed with a few dry tea leaves from a used tea bag, as well as a bit of paper ribbon from my stash. I used Moss Green Brusho on the background. The images come from the EEA4 Paper Artsy set by Everything Art and were stamped using Black Archival ink then coloured with Terracotta Bushos. I don’t know where the paintbrush stamp comes from.

I inked up an image from the EEA4 Paper Artsy set by Everything Art and stamped using Black Archival ink for this ATC. Coloured it by rubbing Ranger Distress Markers onto an acrylic block and using and a Water colour brush.  The image didn’t stamp dark enough so I used my Black Posco pen to go over it here and there.

Well that’s it for today’s blog. I hope you’ll all spend some time making an ATC or two.  They’re so fun to make and there is definitely something magical about making these miniature pieces of art.