There's this huge craze sweeping Craftster these days, called ATCs, or more formally, Artists Trading Cards. The concept has been around since like 1996, but I've just started seeing them within the last few months. Basically, they are little pieces of art the size of a baseball card that artists trade amongst themselves.
I've never really considered myself an artist, though I do have a degree in "art." But these seem like fun, though really I think I just love the aspect of getting things from different parts of the world. It's kinda like a low-commitment pen pal. I always wanted a pen pal growing up. I love mail, always have, always will.
I've never really considered myself an artist, though I do have a degree in "art." But these seem like fun, though really I think I just love the aspect of getting things from different parts of the world. It's kinda like a low-commitment pen pal. I always wanted a pen pal growing up. I love mail, always have, always will.
I've had these images sitting in my Flickr for a few weeks, and I've been dying to show my first attempts at ATCing. I participated in a movie themed swap, and one of my partners was in England, so it took awhile for the post to arrive. Everyone has received, so now I can share without the free of a partner stumbling across their "surprise."
My cards aren't as detailed or sophisticated as some (or a lot) that I've seen, but I was able to experiment with some different mediums, as well as see a movie that I have never seen (The Princess Bride). Though that's not really anything new these days, with our recent addiction to Netflix (btw, if anyone would like to friend me on Netflix, let me know – I could really use some recommendations).
So… can you tell which movies were in my partners' top five movies? *Side note: I'm kicking myself, I always freeze up when asked favorites! Why did I not put School of Rock on my list?!*
Well, there's…
• Aladdin - "Repression": I used a purple swirly fabric as a background, and after hunting through all our old Disney VHSs, came across this fabulously huge picture of Jafar. I also used the gold border from a VHS Aladdin insert, then added a vellum flap with a Jafar quote, "You're speechless, I see. A fine quality in a wife."
• Star Wars - "The Dark Side": Obvious, I hope. I embroidered Darth Vadar, as well as the Star Wars logo on navy blue fabric (I didn't have black! And it was pretty dark), then layered the fabric onto the card that I colored crimson red. Pretty straight forward.
• Mean Girls - "We Wear Pink on Wednesdays": This was my most formulated card, though didn't turn out exactly as I had planned. 3.5 by 2.5 inches is small, and with Lindsay Lohan in rehab, she's tough to find in magazines. The background is a photocopy of a book on the lifecycle of bees, I specifically chose a diagram of the Queen Bee's reproductive system, with a pink wash over it. Lindsay has an embroidered/collaged crown and a vellum piece was added that says, "or wannabe?"
• The Princess Bride - "The Princess Bride?": Is a collaged image of the grandson character, comprising of Fred Savage's adult head and Walter Payton's body. A piece of flannel fabric was added, and I wrote the quote, "Aww, grandpa. This is a kissing book." Pretty funny, eh? It's gotten good response is the swap gallery.
If you haven't tried ATCs yet, you might want to give it a try. It's a nice way to be able to create art, but in a manner that is not that time or space consuming. Plus you can always trade with some of your blogging friends, and end up with some pretty creative and unique displays. Which is actually what I'm thinking of doing. How cool would it be to have cards lined up in a long, skinny frame from all the artists/crafters that I so enjoy everyday in the blogosphere?
My cards aren't as detailed or sophisticated as some (or a lot) that I've seen, but I was able to experiment with some different mediums, as well as see a movie that I have never seen (The Princess Bride). Though that's not really anything new these days, with our recent addiction to Netflix (btw, if anyone would like to friend me on Netflix, let me know – I could really use some recommendations).
So… can you tell which movies were in my partners' top five movies? *Side note: I'm kicking myself, I always freeze up when asked favorites! Why did I not put School of Rock on my list?!*
Well, there's…
• Aladdin - "Repression": I used a purple swirly fabric as a background, and after hunting through all our old Disney VHSs, came across this fabulously huge picture of Jafar. I also used the gold border from a VHS Aladdin insert, then added a vellum flap with a Jafar quote, "You're speechless, I see. A fine quality in a wife."
• Star Wars - "The Dark Side": Obvious, I hope. I embroidered Darth Vadar, as well as the Star Wars logo on navy blue fabric (I didn't have black! And it was pretty dark), then layered the fabric onto the card that I colored crimson red. Pretty straight forward.
• Mean Girls - "We Wear Pink on Wednesdays": This was my most formulated card, though didn't turn out exactly as I had planned. 3.5 by 2.5 inches is small, and with Lindsay Lohan in rehab, she's tough to find in magazines. The background is a photocopy of a book on the lifecycle of bees, I specifically chose a diagram of the Queen Bee's reproductive system, with a pink wash over it. Lindsay has an embroidered/collaged crown and a vellum piece was added that says, "or wannabe?"
• The Princess Bride - "The Princess Bride?": Is a collaged image of the grandson character, comprising of Fred Savage's adult head and Walter Payton's body. A piece of flannel fabric was added, and I wrote the quote, "Aww, grandpa. This is a kissing book." Pretty funny, eh? It's gotten good response is the swap gallery.
If you haven't tried ATCs yet, you might want to give it a try. It's a nice way to be able to create art, but in a manner that is not that time or space consuming. Plus you can always trade with some of your blogging friends, and end up with some pretty creative and unique displays. Which is actually what I'm thinking of doing. How cool would it be to have cards lined up in a long, skinny frame from all the artists/crafters that I so enjoy everyday in the blogosphere?
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