ATC's - Just For Fun!

Lately I have really started getting into the making of ATC’s (or Artists Trading Cards) just for the enjoyment of making them! It is a good way to use up bits and pieces from your stash, and I think they may be a good way of getting started in making cards (Val, are you listening?) if you don’t know where to start.

Basically the only rule is that they must be 2 ½ inches by 3 ½ inches, or the same size as a baseball card, or a plain old deck of playing cards. In fact, many people use playing cards as the base for their ATC’s!

This first one was really fun, mostly because of the bright colors! Cheery, don’t you think?

The paper I used was from the Sassafras Lass line called ‘Vintage Yummy’, and this specific paper is called ‘pleasantly puzzled’. I love the crossword puzzle look!

The flowers are Prima, the flower shaped brad is old as the hills and I couldn’t tell you what brand it is!

I used Crystal Stickles on the flower, a Jenni Bowlin rub-on of the bird on the branch, some small stamps and brown ink to stamp the J O Y letters. 

The ribbon is from my stash.  I ran it through my sewing machine on a long stitch to baste it, then drew the threads to make it ruffle up.  I love the texture it creates!

The ‘create’ epoxy sticker and the small frame beneath it are from old Brenda Walton sets by K & Co.

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The next two ATC’s were made using Websters Pages line called ‘Your Life. Beautiful.’ and this specific paper is called ‘peacefulness’.

I’m afraid this first one may be a bit busy, but I just kind of went with the flow of things, and this is how it turned out!

 
Once again the paper is Websters Pages.  The 'Today' tag is by Creative Imaginations/Creative Cafe and is simply called 'Price Tags'.  I got them at a local scrapbooking store.The ticket is from Tim Holtz idea-ology's journaling tickets.
 

 
The flower was cut freehand from a piece of corrugated box that once held a McDonalds Quarter Pounder with cheese.  I was putting hubby's dinner wrappings in the trash, saw the pretty kraft paper and kept it, the clean part at least!  I cut it, inked it, then ran it through the cuttlebug with the swiss dots folder.  The 'leaves' are from an old scrap of some Fancy Pants paper.  I cut them freehand, too, and ran them through the swiss dots embossing folder as well.
 
 

 
The charm and angel are from my stash, as are the button and pom-pom fringe.  The pearl is from K & Co.  The Stickles is 'platinum'.
 
Now, the last ATC for today is my favorite of all the ones I've made - ever!  The paper is Websters Pages (as listed above), and the body of the bird is the reverse side. 
 
 

 
 
I inked the edges of the base card, then used an emery board to 'sand' the edges of the bird for contrast.  The wing is cut from a piece of the paper that had a pretty swirl on it.  I took a damp tissue and dampened the paper to get it to 'curl' a bit, and inked around the edges.  I used Stickles 'stardust on the wing and tail 'feathers' as well as the butterfly.  
 
 

 
 
The tail feathers are made from a bit of raveled brown twill ribbon that I folded and glued to give it the shape of a bird's tail.  The gem used for the eye is from Prima's 'e.line', as is the brown 'pearl' on the bow..
 

   
The ribbon for the bow, lace and flowers are from my stsh.  The bottom flower is a hydrangea blossom that I stamped with a flourish stamp and brown ink to match the flourishes on the paper.  The top 'millinery' flower is from Glitter Your World - a favorite source of mine for pretty 'stuff'!
 
And that's it!  Three pretty ATC's.  I'm hoping to do one ATC per day this year, and I have one made for Jan. 1st, and one started for Jan. 2nd, so we'll see how that goes!
 
I know it's 'back to the real world' for most folks tomorrow.  The holidays are over and everyone is back home from travels and back to work and school.  Have a great week, everyone!  Blessings, Becky.