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).

Mom, love you so. XOXO.

And so after coloring using watercolor pencils in my last project (Mother's Day ATCs) I wanted to get in touch with my inner child again by coloring some more in these tags I made for a Mother's Day tag swap organized by Ms. Sasa at TeaTime and Craft (formerly Graceful Crafting).  This time I colored in digital stamps that I purchased from The Greeting Farm.  I used these two in particular: the Cupcake Anya digi and the Valentine Anya digi.  Aren't they super cute?

So here I was, trying out different coloring materials - markers (Stabilo, Staedtler, Sharpie) and colored pencils (Prang and Staedtler).  I didn't dare try the watercolor pencils, because I knew they would run. And for this particular project, I wanted the lines crisp and really distinct because the stamps have a cartoon-ish quality that I really love.

And so with all the experimentation that I did, I ended up using different combinations of colors and some are more vibrant than others.  The ones with the subtler colors were done in pencil, and the brighter ones, of course, were colored with markers.  I've found that it takes much more effort to use the pencils than the markers (even if they pencils are better for detailed work), which why there are only three of them out of the twelve.  Markers or pencils, this is indeed painstaking work - coloring with highlights and shading in the hair, skin, and clothes.  But it did help that I was able to draw inspiration from Kristina Werner's coloring her stamped images, especially in this one card, from Day 25 of her 2012 Holiday Card Series.  Isn't she gorgeous?

I also anticipated that I had to do some fussy cutting here, and I practiced first.  Even though I've always loved paper crafting, I must say, I'm a little bit lacking when it comes to cutting with scissors.  I even have a hard time cutting a straight line with them, that I'd rather use a box cutter than scissors.  But the trick here is to try to cut as close to the outline as possible, but not to worry if you go beyond it.  You can always use a black marker to fix the booboos. :-)  In facts, I ran the black marker all around (along the edges) the fussy cut image to give it a more finished look.
 

 

All I had to do now was to assemble the tags.  I used assorted polka dot patterned papers for the background, which included assorted scraps from previous projects and newly purchased paper from Kraft Yard.  Stamped the sentiments, then added fabric and paper flowers, some ribbon, eyelets, twine and plastic charms and here they are the finished tags!  Whew.

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.