ATCs: Dad, love you!

Another swap that I joined that had a Father's Day theme was an ATC (artist trading card) swap that was hosted by Kathleen Hernandez at the Filipino Scrapbookers Club (FSC).  It actually is a joint project among members of the FSC, Philippine Crafters Association, Treasured Memories Online Scrapbook Group, and Pinoy Scrapbookers.

I made nine this time because I joined two groups, which made this swap twice as much fun as the last one.  It was twice as challenging though, as I found it hard to come up with a masculine themed card.  So I ended up making ATCs that still had hearts and flowers, and flourishes and bling... I guess it is something a daughter would make for her dad. ;)

And some of the other participants admitted to me that they had some difficulty, too, and yet everyone seemed to be up to the task in the end.  There was quite a number of shirt-and-necktie type ATCs, but it was interesting to note that each has its own unique interpretation.

Materials:  Cardstock, patterned paper (All About Scrapbooking), vellum, paper flowers (Prima), gem stickers, jute twine;  tools: pen (Dong-A) and die-cutting machine (Making Memories Slice using the Vintage design card).

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.

First ever ATC

I first encountered ATCs (artist trading cards) on youtube, on the APieceofCraftdotcom channel, where Marion Smith talks about starting an ATC club.  The cards are basically made to showcase the artist (a business card of sorts), using any kind of medium/media just as long as it's all contained on a 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" card, which are traded among artists (not sold/purchased).  I was instantly intrigued, not necessarily because I wanted to make them myself, but as an ongoing project for an elective I am teaching in school.  My idea was to assign s specific topic/theme for each month and the students swap cards when they're done.  This is was a bit of a challenge for them since the subject is Special Topics in the Life Sciences, so it was cool to see what ideas they came up with trying to interpret scientific concepts in an artistic or creative way.  I had students who were anxious at first as they feel that they are not creative at all, but it really wasn't about the end product being pretty or visually compelling.  It was actually all about their thought process.  And the swap at the end of each month didn't hurt at all.  So anyway, this particular ATC has nothing to do with the class I was teaching, but it was simply me trying my hand at it.  On a scrap piece of black cardstock, I tried out some stamps (Fiskars and 7Gypsies) that I bought recently and heat embossed the stamped images.  I also added some paper flowers (Prima), brads, and bling.  And then I rounded the corners to finish it off.  It's really very simple, but I'm happy with how it turned out.  And I have it on display in my craft space ever since I finished making it.