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Art Trading Cards-Small, But Mighty!
by Cindy RolandStamping Deck Cruise Director
The first time I saw an Art Trading Card or as in our world they are fondly referred to as ATC's, I was very intrigued. How could anything so small and insignificant be so popular? Well, they may be small but they are hardly insignificant. Quite the opposite, in fact.
The standard size for an ATC is 2 ½ by 3 ½ inches. I don't know how this rule started and I doubt that if you broke the rule, anything drastic would happen to you. But for the sake of this article, (I'm not making any promises!) we will try to stick to it. I am assuming that the reason they are that size is because that is the size of a standard playing card/trading card. I could be wrong, but I have a suspicion that this may have been where they got their start. Many people collect them and save them just like trading cards. There are groups that specialize in only ATC's, making, sharing and trading them. This is another good reason to keep them a standard size.
They may be standard in size but that is as far as the uniformity goes. These little cards are mini expressions of great big art. You can own a virtual museum in a 3 ring binder. Each and every card is a mini canvas with someone's personal artistic expression placed on it. Now, you can start to see the excitement and popularity of these little dynamos. The styles are as plentiful as the artists and I can only give you my examples. I see so many wonderful and creative styles every time I seek them out. I see actual drawings, quilling, watercolors, quilting, calligraphy and the list goes on!
This first example is an obvious one for me as my favorite color is green and I love leaves. Are you getting the idea of what they are all about? Write a little something on the back of them as to why you created the little artwork. Share it with your friends. Very clever!
I have seen so many that use quilting on them, a wonderful way to express your love of quilting in a small way. I absolutely don't sew but I love fabric, a good reason to use up scraps, add texture and color. I adore country kitchens so I used that as a point of inspiration. I also love to do collage; now you get it! This is some of my Country Collage set. This is a good way to use all those little odds and ends that you have hanging around in your junk drawer and share them with friends.
The next examples I will show together as they are both very simple, fun and quick. That is the best part of ATC's It is a chance to make a creative piece without spending a lot of time and material, but still express yourself. Gather up some scraps and pieces and start putting them together.
Now, I purposely did not promise to stay in the boundaries. That is the beauty of art, is to stretch the boundaries and go beyond the limits. I tried to do that with these. As I stated before, ATC's are a wonderful way to express yourself and be creative without a huge investment in time. Well, even though they are small you can still invest a lot of time and energy into them. I wanted to try this and stay within the confines of 2 1/2" by 3 1/2". I had a real problem with that. So, I fudged the rules a slight bit. These ATC's fall under the standard size when they are all folded down.
I like to think of them as a knock-off of my Grandson's transformers. I can hear you laughing from here! Yes! Transformer paper dolls! I had a lot of fun doing them and although I invested a little more time in them than the other trading cards, they were a real pleasure to complete. I fondly named them Sister Suns and the Muumuu Girls. They are all set to hit the road on their premier tour. I hope they at least made you smile.
OK, I have shown you my examples of ATC's and as I have said before you are only limited to your imagination and the little canvas that you have in front of you. Use up those tiny pieces of cardstock and stray buttons and stickers that seem to sit around, too good to throw away, but not quite big enough to use. Now you have no excuse, find an inspiration point and start from there.
Thank you for stopping by to see me this month. I hope I was able to share a new and interesting way to look at Art Trading Cards. I think that if I were to start swapping art, this is a real good starting point. What fun you could have sharing and creating with a bunch of artists.
Please enjoy your stay in beautiful and festive Brazil. Enjoy the Carnival! There will be lots of music, merriment and excitement in the air.
I will be here next month to share a cup of coffee, some friendship and another trend. Drop me a line if I can be of any help to you or just to say hello. I always enjoy hearing from you.
Cindy Roland
cindyrolands@ssreflections.com
Stamping Deck Cruise Director
S.S. Reflections, Inc.
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