Spreading some ATC love...

One of my friends is quite the artist, and has just recently been introduced to the world of Artist Trading Cards. It was her birthday last week, and I wanted to make her a couple friendship themed ATCs, and then I decided to kick it up a notch and make a little holder for them as well. I googled for a template, and ended up making my own (simple measurements and lots of scoring :) based on this design. I used heavyweight paper, and it's actually quite sturdy. I was originally going to just tuck the flap into the box, but I didn't like how it looked, so I started playing around with closures. I know I have some good BasicGrey magnets floating around here somewhere, but I couldn't find them, so I ended up pulling out a couple small ones that had come with a kids art set - they don't hold all that well, but it was sufficent.

For the ATCs, I used a variety of bits and papers I had floating around in my "pieces" box. Stamps: bra & coordinating saying from Crafty Secrets; coffee cup & 2 other sentiments from Cornish Heritage Farms; dragonfly from smARTworks. Paper & all embellishment for ATC box from K&Co Brenda Walton scrap pad.

Tea & Cookies

This smARTworks' Tea Party was hosted by the owner herself, Susan, and she provided this great sketch. I played around with a few ideas and ended up going with some rather somber colors this time around. I know, I know - it's spring time and we're surrounded by bright, happy colors, but we've had plenty of gray, rainy days lately, too!

Anyway, I stamped the flower (Wonder) with palette metallic silky obsidian onto some speckly white cardstock, then matted it with bazzill bling. I stamped the sentiment using the same ink onto a strip of gray (same as the card base). I texturized some black cardstock for the other layer, and then punched a couple circles from the bazzill to use as embellishments, then anchored them with silver brads.

I ended up doing one other project - inspired by Susan's recent postings of Artist Trading Cards - and this one comes with a little confession. Somewhere way down deep, I actually sort of like cutesy, country stuff. In *SMALL* doses. So a cute little ATC seemed appropriate :) I stamped the pitcher (Country Bitties) onto a scrap of watercolor paper, then added color with wc crayons and a waterbrush. I stamped the phrase (partially inked, from Lilac Blessing) and added a couple buttons to complete the country ensemble. It might be cutesy, but it still has a bit of "grunginess" courtesy of the BasicGrey paper!

So how 'bout checking out what the other smART cookies have created at In the Works, Mama Dini's Stamperia & Sweet Somethings!

Scraped Oil Pastels

Had some fun playing around with another technique from the newest TJ Newsletter. I knew I had a basic set of oil pastels (I think I picked them up on clearance last year for under a buck - no idea what I'd do with them but it was a good deal. Do you understand why my craft space is so heaped up?!), so went to town with blues, greens, and a bit of brown. The images are all from Time to Stamp, and the accent piece was cut with a Cuttlebug die.








After I finished the card, I had some scraps left - pretty small, but too pretty to just toss - so I pulled out some other dies and made some ATCs. Simple but fun! Stamp is from Serendipity.

My BasicGrey - Dove ATCs

When I was trying to decide what to do for my ATCs, I stumbled onto my stash of Dove wrappers - I had saved several that had fun sayings, but hadn't decided what I wanted to do with them. Well, I decided to mix them with another of my favorite things - BasicGrey paper - to make these fun little cards.

For those of you who might not be familiar with ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), I'd really encourage you to give them a try! They're 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches (same size as baseball or playing cards), and rather addictive... Plus you could mail one off and end up winning a House Mouse stamp and other goodies (see post below).

ATCs

I recently swapped some ATCs with Chia, and received these lovely little works of art. They really are much lovelier in person, and the little details are just great. I've now made a grand total of *FOUR* of these puppies, but I must admit that I'm having fun. Anyhoo, these are the ones I received, and I'll share mine tomorrow.

Would you like to make some? Chia is holding a contest right now, with some very nice prizes up for grabs. Check out all the details here!

Another ATC

Well, I was reading over the info for tomorrow's event, and I realized that each person is allowed to enter two ATCs. So of course I had to make another one! These are the same size as a baseball card, so it's fun but also challenging to work on such a small canvas. This time I used patterned paper (BasicGrey - Scarlet's Letter), then layered on some funky lace, vellum, and die cut clock hands. The "tick tock" is stamped using Technique Tuesday's small Williamsburg alphabet (clear set), and then I handwrote "it's later than you think." And let me tell you, that's soooooo true! This girl needs to get to bed...

By the way, since I've mentioned several times that I've cut myself off from spending on craft stuff, I thought perhaps I should add a word of explanation about tomorrow. I am actually helping out at a vendor booth, so not only do I get in free, I even get paid to be there! I've adapted my personal challenge somewhat for tomorrow: I can't spend more than I earn. I'll have limited shopping time, which will certainly aid in that goal, but I am just looking for a few things so hopefully I can be a good li'l stamper. I'll report back on Monday!

My first ATC!

I'm going to the Allentown Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival this weekend (more info here), and they're having a little ATC (Artist Trading Card) contest. The theme is Clocks: Tick, Tock, and the winner gets "rubber bucks" that can be used at any vendor booth. I've never made an ATC in my life, but the lure of freebies is just too tempting. I started with Going Gray cardstock, then stamped it with a few images from the "It's About Time" set. I then swiped over that with a few different colors of acrylic paint, and overstamped a few words. The finishing touch: some actual watch parts (purchased from this same expo, several years ago). I layered it onto some cardstock, so I now have my very first ATC. The small size is fun to work with, but I think I'll stick with cards for now. And you can bet I'll let y'all know if I do win!

day lived well. check.