Muse Token ATC

I found this gorgeous distressed green paper and decided to take a chance with creating an ATC in a pale green color. It was quite a leap but I was willing to try it. I used the Simple Things stamp by Stampendous. I embellished the ATC with a torn light blue paper, a green ribbon and a Tim Holtz muse token. Then I finished up the card with a Tim Holtz mini paper clip. I think this one looks kinda trendy, a sharp contrast to my vintage ATC. I really had fun making this one.

Tea and Lace ATC

I took weeks to plan this ATC. Searching my local fabric and notions stores for the perfect lace and then trying to find adhesive pearls to go with it. At the end, it came out exactly like I imagined. This ATC was created in the vintage style, my favorite style when making ATCs, thus far. It includes a vintage image of a girl surrounded by a tea cup, pitcher, lace, and vintage fabric napkins. I rolled the edges for some texture. Then I added a strip of lace with a Tim Holtz mini pin attached to it. I attached some adhesive pearls and used distress stickles to make the design at the corner. Lastly, I finished off the card by distressing the edges.

Another Graphic 45 ATCs

This one was most fun to make because it has a special meaning to me. I just had a baby girl and my ultimate goal in life is to inspire her. This ATC is made with Graphic 45's Baby to Bride papers, lots of distressing, acrylic paint, and some grungeboard wings. I submitted this ATC for a swap on the All Things Tim group for a challenge themed Spring Pastel Colors. I think it came out just adorable.

Butterfly ATC - Graphic 45

This is the second ATC I made at the Coral Springs Craft Guild ATC meeting. I just love butterflies and the Graphic 45 papers had these beautiful die cut embellishments that I fell in love with. I finished off the card with some punched butterflies and inked everything for just the right look and feel. I just love this card and I gave it to the biggest butterfly-lover I know, my co-worker Tania.

Plunging into ATC

In my city there is a group called the Coral Springs Craft Guild who meet once a month to participate in crafy activities. I found out that they were meeting this months to make ATCs and I decided to join in.

Before the meeting the Craft Guild posted some links to sample ATCs and I started looking around at some amazing work that people around the world have made. I was particularly drawn to the vintage style ones that look just amazing. Here are some inspiring links to share:

B-Muse
Art-Cards
CedarSeed

It was the most fun to attend the ATC making event and I got to meet some wonderful people. I brought with me some papers from Graphic 45, a company that my friend Gine introduced me to. These papers are just the right vintage look that I wanted for my next ATC.

So at the event I made this ATC in mostly red. With a tag from Graphic 45's botanical line, some vintage buttons that I cut out from Graphic 45's fashionista line and layered dimensionally, various vintage writing papers, and a few additional embellishments that the group shared. I inked mostly everything for that vintage feel. All together, I feel very proud of it. I think I've come a long way since my first ATC.

My First ATC

Definitely my favorite part about papercrafting is the social aspect of it. Scrapbooking is at its best when I am surrounded by all my friends as we ask for each other's advice on color coordination or embellishment selection and then "ooh" and "ahh" at each other's final project.

Then I learned about ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) where you make a collage out of anything on a small playing card sized cardstock and then trade them amongst other artists. My favorite part is that they are so quick to make and in no time you can feel proud about your latest creation. Then you get to trade them and show off what you made, what fun! This was an even more social aspect of papercrafting and something I felt drawn to right away.

I recently joined a Tim Holtz fan club group and chose to participate in my very first ATC swap with my fellow Tim Holtz fans using Tim's techniques and any of his products or the Ranger product line. My favorite products are the Ranger Acrylic Paint Dabbers and chose to use those to make my first ATC card. The theme of the swap was contact information, so this card has information about me and my blog.

I used Acrylic paint on the ATC background. Die cut some corner embellishments, medallion circle, and swirl and then used Acrylic paint on those as well. Finally I printed out my contact information and an Ibis bird image for the focalpoint and gave those an acrylic paint treatment as well. And I proudly submitted a set of these for exchange.

When I got back the ATCs that the other artists had made, I realized just how amazing these artists are and that there are so much more possibilities when making ATCs. This group is truly inspiring and my next ATCs will need to step up a notch, in my opinion, lol! Looks like a personal challenge I'll enjoy. Practice makes perfect, they say. I can't wait to try some new ATC styles and techniques!