My Mother ATC

This post is long overdue.  Back in April, I posted that I joined a tag swap and was so excited that I included lots of pictures (sort of a step by step) of the tag-making process.  Well, soon after that project, I joined another swap - with ATCs (artist trading cards) this time.  It took me quite some time (again) to figure out what to do, but in the end I was captivated by an image that I downloaded a long time ago from The Graphics Fairy. This image of a mother holding her sleeping child is just so sweet that it gives my heart a little tug every time I look at it.  The daughter is even holding a doll - how adorable!

I used watercolor pencils to color the image, as I wanted the bright colors to make it cheerful, but I also wanted it to have a softer look.  I also included a snippet from the poem "My Mother" by Ann Taylor, which is just as sweet.  And then added just a few small embellishments (gold ribbon, lace, and mulberry flowers with pearl bling for the centers) to finish it off.

I must admit though, that this project wasn't as easy and straightforward as it's described here.  It took me a while to figure out what paper to use - it's heavyweight paper that's more like watercolor paper than cardstock.  And what to use for coloring - I tried different kids of markers, colored pencils, and ended up with the watercolor pencils because they gave me the best results.  Although it took so much time (even to just finish five of these) because I had to wait for the paint to dry.  I guess it was a good thing on hindsight that this summer was super hot, so that it didn't take as long for the paint to dry.  But all in all, the effort was well worth it, as it is a very special ATC for a very special woman in our lives - our moms!

Special thanks to Ms. Kathleen B. Hernandez for hosting this Mother's Day ATC swap at the Filipino Scrapbookers Club.