If you have enjoyed scrapbooking then why not look into the world of making Artist Trading Cards - or ATC's as they are known. Here I show you some examples and give an introduction to the 'create and swap' idea.
Atc's are cards 21/2 inches by 3 1/2 which you design and decorate yourself using whatever methods you want. Rubber stamping, collage, photography, fabrics, painting - anything goes! The idea is to just have fun and express yourself. You can add embelishments but try to keep the cards low enough to store in a plastic wallet. Many people use cardstock as the base, but there are no rules apart from those mentioned.
My personal favorites are the 'vintage' themed cards or ones with a 'distressed' finish. This method, made famous by Tim Holtz, involves giving cards and components a lived in or well worn look. He promotes the use of sandpaper to take the newness off photos and ephemera. Altered art is my preferred style - which means changing images to give them an individual look (like adding the starfish horns to the devil in the photo above right)
There are no rights or wrongs, no judges here...it's all about expressing your imagination and having fun!
If you want you can join a swap group - there are several Yahoo ones and a couple of e-Bay ones too. The concept is that a host puts forward a theme, you make a set number of cards and forward them to her by the due date and in return you get that number (or maybe one less) back. They'll all be different of course because they will be from other players around the globe, but all on the same theme.
The first step is to get your equipment and materials together. If you have done some cardmaking, or scrapbooking you probably have stuff you can use. Assemble things on the card to get some ideas together. Start putting on your background. If you are collaging it with layers of paper tissue and glue for example you might find it easier to work on an A4 sheet of card which cuts neatly up into 9 art cards later. On your background you might want to stamp and / or emboss, paint, draw, spray. Just experiment and have fun! Once you have an interesting background you can layer-on your images - die cuts, photos, messages, magazine clippings, embellishments, silk flowers, rhinestones, buttons- the list goes on and on.
Don't forget to sign and date it - it's you mini masterpiece.
Here are somes sets of cards....
Please don't leave this guide before giving it a YES vote below - it's free and anonymous. Thanks!
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