Glittery Springtime Artist Trading Cards by Laura Fraedrich

The second project I’d like to share with everyone are my Glittery Springtime ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). If you’re not familiar with ATCs, they are small works of art that are made to be traded with fellow artists. There are only 2 rules to making ATCs….one is that they have to be 2.5 by 3.5 inches big, and the other is that they can’t be sold, only traded. Other than that you can make them however you want and with whatever media you choose. I first became addicted to them about a year and a half ago when I came across a few groups on Yahoo that are dedicated to arranging ‘ATC swaps’. Basically, they give you a theme and you make the cards accordingly, send them in to the swap host, then in a week or so you get back cards made by other swap participants. The first time I received an envelope of cards in the mail, I was hooked. I now have a big binder filled with hundreds of ATCs that I never get tired of looking at. To see some of the other ATCs I’ve created, please visit:
http://www.thepeculiarpalette.com/atcs.html
And yes! I would love to trade with you!



For these cards, I started by making a background using alcohol inks on glossy cardstock. Next, I used gel medium to collage some plain white tissue paper onto the background. I then cut out some of my doodles that I drew and glued them onto the card. If you don’t like to draw, rubber stamps will work just fine for this part. I used Designer Dries Clear adhesive with the metal writing tip to randomly put glitter around my doodles. I started with one color, let it dry, then applied the next color until I achieved the desired result. Lastly, I used scissors to trim a decorative border on the cards and mounted them to plain black cardstock.



Supply List:
Black and glossy white cardstock (2.5 by 3.5 inches)
Other white paper for doodling or rubber stamping images
Scissors
Adirondack alcohol inks, applicator, and blending solution (www.rangerink.com)
Fine tip black marker for doodling or
Rubber stamps and inks
Designer Dries Clear Adhesive by Art Glitter Institute and Metal Tip
Art Glitter (Ultrafine Opaque Neon: Shocking Pink and New Wave, Ultrafine Opaque: Ponderosa, Cranberry and Celery)



Additional References:
ATC trading groups on Yahoo (go to Yahoo groups and search for these):
ATC_connection
Artisttradingcards
ATC_world
ATC_Fun
ATC_SwapsGalore

ATC trading website:
www.ATCsforall.com


DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/2