Pages 2 Scrap Staff ATC Swap

Have you ever wondered what an ATC is? Heard people mention them, but never took the plunge? Well, the girls at the shop have been having some fun recently with a swap amongst themselves, and wanted to share. But before I treat you to some fabulous papercrafted eyecandy, a little bit about ATC's.

ATC is a short way of saying "Artist Trading Card". Generally, it is a small piece of art measuring 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", or approximately 6.5cm x 9cm for us metric girls. ATC cards can be created using just about any media you can imagine, from paints to paper, inks to pencil - the sky is the limit!

When a formal swap is organised, each member creates the same number of cards as people in the swap, including themselves. These are then numbered and swapped with other members of the group giving everyone a sample of each others work and artistic style. These are usually numbered, with a description and details on the back of the card. It is a fabulous way to get together with like minded people and enjoy each others work and creative expression.

The theme for our swap was that we had to use the colour BROWN, and we had to include a FLOURISH somewhere on our cards.

 Bec used a heat emboss technique to add great texture to her flourish. The natural cracks which occured in the flourish look fantastic. And how about that red stamped sentiment. Just beautiful!

 Next is Sarah's sample. Sarah has a superb vintage style, and combined with the current steampunk trend she has created an amazing ATC. The rich coloured background is courtesy of Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Rusty Hinge - a must have for any inkoholic.

 Sue's card is so colourful and cheerful, it reminds me of a sunny spring day - even with the use of brown! Very clever. The stamped lattice background combined with all the tiny punched flowers makes me yearn for the garden. So fun!

Next up is Tarrah McLean's sample. Vintage style lace, grunged tag, a tiny punched butterfly - how sweet is this! Tarrah's layering style is outstanding. She uses this technique to create interest, depth and plenty of texture on her trading card. Just amazing.

 Our special guest for this trade was Tara Hearne, and yes you are seeing double! Tara went all out in creating her swap which included a tiny handmade envelope with each card. Tara used lots of technique while creating her card, including heat emboss, stamping, paper layering, fussy cutting - the list goes on. And we were all amazed with the matching envelope - she even used a real wax seal on the back! Thank you for playing along with us Tara - we love your work!

Tracey features a butterfly punched from a vintage book page on her card, adding a tiny paper clip on one wing.  Her use of the stamped flourish creates the illusion of movement - so clever! And the depth of colour in her background is wonderful. Match it with a red stamped sentiment and white embossed edging around the card and this is a fabulous ATC.

And lastly, but not least, Kim used modpodge to create a multilayered feel to her card, adding stamped images and paper cutouts to each layer. Love the tiny flowerpot!