A Little ATC Action

I've been playing around with ATCs for a few years now, and I must say, to be so simple, these little pieces of art are easy, creative and addictive. An ATC, or Artist Trading Card, is a collectible card, sized at 2.5" x 3.5". They are for keeping, collecting or trading, usually with other artists and crafters.

I love ATCs for many reasons...they are quick and easy, they are a great use of scraps, and there are absolutely no rules. No matter if you're into paint, stamping, doodling or just using up some of your stash, you can make an ATC.

The possibilities are endless when making these, but I usually like to start out in one of two ways - with a blank piece of stiff cardstock or chipboard (the backers that come in paper packs or cereal boxes work great), or by simply using a standard size playing card.

Step 1: I painted my playing card with simple acrylic white paint, like Claudine Hellmuth's Studio paint in Blank Canvas.


I let the paint dry to the touch, but not completely.

Step 2: I sprayed the card with Maya Mist in Turquoise and blotted it dry.


Step 3: Because I wanted to stamp on top of paint and mist, I decided to use a solvent ink like Staz On in Black. I used two of my favorite Studio Calico stamps, Hot Air Balloon and Schooltime ABC Border . I stamped very lightly with both so as to just give the impression of the stamp. I also took a new and yet-to-be-revealed Studio Calico stamp, and stamped right in the middle of the mist. Because the paint hadn't dried yet, the stamp pulled the paint off in all the right places, revealing the red design of the playing card underneath.



Step 4: I added some random bits and pieces from my desk...a scrap of paper from January's kit that I punched with a binder punch very similar to the one in the shop, did a teeny bit of stitching and stapled on a random word.


And that's it! Easy peasy and so much fun. If you want to learn more, there are countless websites dedicated to making ATCs and you can always check out the past posts about ATCs on the blog. I'd love to see yours, so feel free to link 'em up!