ATCs

My friends and I got together and came up with the idea of an ATC party where you make and trade ATC’s, eat snacks, and have fun! (If you don’t know what ATC’s are, you can read more about them here, here, and here.)We put our plan into action and it was a great success! Here are some tips in case you would like to plan your own.

First, know how many people are coming. About 15 people came to our party, and mostly they were friends from church who make them.
Cut out blank ATC’s ahead of time, or have your guests each bring a few. We used on average from 5-10 cards per person. It kind of varied.
Set out a bunch of supplies. We also had a painting table and a drawing/gluing/etc. table. Here is a list of some supplies you can set out:

Sequins
Colored scrap paper
Glitter
Buttons
Magazine pages
Pretty tape
Stamps and stamp pads
Fabric scraps

And of course the basics:

Markers
Crayons
Colored pencils
Scissors
Glue/ fabric glue/ tape/ glue stick

So yeah, it was a lot of fun. (But it did take quite some cleaning afterwards! 🙂 ) It’s a good idea to put a scrap piece of paper down at each person’s place, and maybe a tablecloth on the table.

And now for my ATC’s. These are some of my favorites:

Top: Mushroomscape

Bottom: Toadstools. Get it? The toads are sitting on the mushrooms?

Top: Whimsical Landscape

Bottom: And…

Top: Cute as a Button

Bottom: A Full Heart

Top: Transformation (I kind of forget the title, actually. 🙂 ) I made this one by folding a paper in thirds, gluing the middle fold to the ATC, and cutting the two edge folds into three sections.

Bottom: Rainbow Hedgie I got the idea for this from Pinterest

Top: Scallops

Bottom: Crayon Resist This one I made by drawing with crayon first, then painting with watercolor over top. The paint doesn’t stick to the crayon lines, but it does stick to the paper.

Top: Coat Pocket Made out of fabric, marker, button tape, and sequins

Bottom: Herringbone I made the prints from scratching the pattern in Styrofoam, and using it like a stamp with a stamp pad.

Top: Oodles of Doodles

Bottom: Connect-the-Dots This one was a lot of fun to do. I just drew lines through the white dots on the paper to make a picture.

Top: Bubbles

Bottom: I’ve Got My Eye on You

Uh… Top and Bottom: Fall Collage

Whew, that was a lot of “favorites!” Do you like making ATC’s? It would be fun to see your ATC’s too!

***Allison***

(Note: if you have no idea what ATCs are, or would like to know more about them, you can visit this site: flourishingbyrestfulfalls.wordpress.com)

My sisters and I, and some of our friends, enjoy making and trading ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). I thought I would share some of the fun ideas we have thought of, and some of my favorite cards that I created. (Another note: one of the rules of ATC making is that you can’t copy the exact thing on the card, but you can definitely be inspired by something, and make your own twist on it.) And 3…2…2 1/2…1… Here we go!

*********************************************************************************************************************

I made this by drawing a design with glue. I let the glue dry (mostly), taped on some tinfoil, and carefully pressed it around the designs. Then I just outlined the bumps with Sharpie.

This one took me practically forever to make, but it turned out pretty well. The idea here is that you can put a game on a card. It doesn’t have to be a maze – it could a word search, a hidden-picture, a crossword, whatever! I also laminated this with packing tape so the pencil wouldn’t smudge, and no one would be tempted to draw directly on the card. It’s probably a good idea to tell the person you’re trading it with that they should just use their eyes and fingers to play the game instead of a pencil.

How to Draw a Cute Kitty by yours truly. Idea: drawing-lessons on a card.

(These last two cards I did not make.) Idea: You don’t have to just draw! You can add ribbon, dried flowers, or even googly eyes!

This last one was made by my friend who had the clever idea of putting a favorite recipe on the card. Just make sure to include some art – after all, it is an ARTIST trading card!