Artist trading cards (ATCs) have been a bit of a mystery for me. We’re supposed to create a little piece of art on a 2.5″ x 3.5″ “canvas,” but when does a mini card stop being a mini card and become an ATC? Well, my take on this may not be right, but I always try to put a little extra sumthin’ sumthin’ into my ATCs.
This time, I started with a chipboard base that I covered with a scrap of glittery blue and green patterned paper that I have been hoarding for years. I then added one of the Hatters from The Greeting Farm that I colored up with the following Copic colors:Â Skin: E000, 00, 21, 11, 04 with R20 blush; Grapes: V12, 09; Blue plum: B34 and 39; Strawberry: R83, 85 and 89; Blue-green part of outfit: BG45, 49 and 78; Hair: Y21, Y26, YR24 and E25 Â I fussy cut her out, inked the edges of the paper so the white edges wouldn’t show, and popped her up on double sided foam adhesive to add a little dimension.
For the background, to add more shine and shimmer, I used a gold foil paper die cut using the Winnie and Walter True Multifaceted Heart Cutaway Die and backed it with more of the glittery blue and green patterned paper but positioned so that less of the heart background would be glittery (less busy) and more of the attention could go to the beautiful heart die cut itself and to the Hatter girl. Then to add a little twist, I scored the die cut from the back so that I could wrap it around to the left side and onto the back of the ATC.
Then to add even more sparkle, I glued on a couple of flower wood veneers that I coated twice with Champagne Gold Stickles. One coat left some of the wood showing (which I didn’t like), but after letting the first coat fully dry, adding the second coating really made the flowers look like thick pieces of glittery metal.
Lastly, to take this from a card to a more elaborate ATC, I added an altered hat pin that I made with teal and pearl glass beads. To set off each bead, I added small and medium sized silver metal spacers, and to take the pin over the top, I added an antique brass bird charm (I clipped off the eye of the charm) to the face of the largest bead with E6000.
This ATC is being entered into the following challenges:
Winnie & Walter Precious Metals Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes with Optional Twist of Green and Gold Challenge
Not Just Cards Anything Goes Challenge
Crafty Gals Corner Anything Goes Challenge – WINNER
Just Keep Creating Anything Goes Challenge
Crafts Galore Encore Anything Goes Challenge
Card Mania Let It Shine Challenge
I am rapidly becoming one of the biggest fans of your work! Love your treatment of this image! Thanks for sharing with us at 613 Avenue Create!
Hugz,
Chana
Oh you are so kind and encouraging, Chana! Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave such a sweet comment. Big hugs, Kristina
Oh my goodness, this is just great, what an awesome ATC, I love the main image and the colours and other details really stand out. Thanks so much for sharing your creation at
Anything goes October link-up, Just keep on creating
Susan xx
Thanks so very much Susan! And thanks also for picking one of my cards (the doggies in Halloween costumes) as a featured project in your challenge for September. I couldn’t be more thrilled! Big hugs, Kristina
Wowza! I am a BIG fan of fussy cut, 3D images and you have made this ATC a mini piece of art with all your elements! Love the stick pin and the charm you added to the bead, love the blending on your image and I love the texture you created in the background. Well done Kristina, and thank you so much for sharing your project and creativity at 613 Ave C!
~ginny, DT for 613 Ave C: [ATG/ Green & Gold]
Owner: RubberMAD (GettyCollection.com)
Oh my goodness, Ginny, what a super sweet and uplifting comment. You are so kind! I can’t tell you what your incredibly nice words mean to me. TFStopping by and big tight hugs, Kristina
Gorgeous ATC! The image is super cute and so beautifully coloured.
Thanks for joining us at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
Mandy xx
Thank you so much Mandy! I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and leave me crafty love! Big hugs, Kristina
You packed a lot of texture and dimension in this stunning ATC! Love the rich colors and the hat pin is gorgeous!
Thank you for joining us at Crafty Gals Corner for our Anything Goes challenge.
Thanks bunches Rae Ann! I really enjoyed making this ATC and coordinating stick pin. Thanks for your super sweet comment! Hugs, Kristina
OOh, I don’t see many ATCs and haven’t made one myself yet. This is so sweet and I love all your texture and embellisments. Thank-you for joining us at the Crafts Galore Encore Challenge ‘Anything Goes’.
Nicola CGE DT Amethyst Lily Designs
Thank you so much for your super sweet comment, Nicola! I love Craft Galore Encore and your anything goes challenges that let us share a variety of crafts with you all. Big hugs, Kristina
I’m so glad you chose to post an ATC! I love making them and trading them, but it seems that few people know what they are and trade them. I tend to think of them as a little card or scrapbook page that can have a little extra dimension. Congrats on winning one of the challenges…so far! 🙂 Wish you luck on the rest. Love your blog and your digital stamps.
Thank you so much for your super sweet comment! I had fun with this little ATC and I hope to get back to making digis soon. 🙂 Big hugs, Kristina
Wonderful touches of gold – love the way you tucked in that heart die cut! Thanks for spreading The Gossip on w&w’s The Gossip Column!
Thanks so much Taheerah! It was really fun to play along. 🙂