Hi, I'm Torrey. Welcome to Left Field, where creativity runs amok and imagination is ALWAYS more important than knowledge. Shoes are not allowed but ties are optional. This is a repository of snippets from my life out here in Left Field. One never knows what shiny bits of creativity will be found here... cards, scrapbook layouts, photography, poetry, recipes, ponderings, rantings and musings. It could be anything! Life in Left Field is always changing, always real, always ...interesting.

February 15, 2016

Trading Up

Hidy Ho, crafty peeps!

I'm here today with another fun project for Crafter's Companion. Today I'm offering up a small collection, a scattering if you will, of ATCs. For those of you who haven't a clue what an ATC is...ATC stands for Artist Trading Card. It's a mini, ORIGINAL piece of art that measures 2.5" x 3.5". Basically, it's roughly the size of a business card.

They are the artsy-fartsy version of a baseball trading card. They are meant to be traded between artists--given and received--and collected--and loved. They originated in Switzerland in the mid 1990s, and have skyrocketed in popularity over the last 20 years. They can be made using just about any medium--paint, pencil, pen, ink, mixed media, fabric, metal, wood, plastic, polymer clay--as long as they are flat(ish) and measure 2.5" x 3.5" (64mm x 89mm). They are SUPPOSED to be able to fit in a standard trading card sleeve. Though, some of mine have been a little more dimensional in the past.

Here is my little trio:

I started by embossing a piece of watercolor paper with an embossing folder. I created a Letterpress effect...to do this, just ink up the raised surface of an embossing folder (I brayered on the ink), then emboss the paper as usual. This creates a Letterpress look with a debossed image that is inked. Then I did a watercolor "wash" background over the debossed area with my Spectrum Aqua markers. I scribbled the marker randomly over the paper and used a large flat brush and some water to move the ink around to create a painterly effect.

On a separate piece of watercolor paper, I stamped the images, watercolored them with my Spectrum Aqua markers, then cut them out. I'm having some difficulty doing really fine detail stuff right now, so my cutting was not-so fussy for this project. As most of you know, I am METICULOUS when it comes to cutting stuff out. I leave NO WHITE showing around an image. But today...not so much. It was a lesson in acceptance for me, that's for sure. For the sentiments...I did a color wash on the paper and let it dry BEFORE I stamped the sentiment...this ensured a crisp, clean stamping without running.

I finished them off by using my Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen to add glimmer to various elements of the cards (yeah, I know...it doesn't show up in the photograph...but trust me, there is all sorts of sparkly goodness on there). I added the finishing touches of white dots with a paint pen.

Ingredients:
Crafter's Companion products used:
Other supplies:
  • Memento ink-Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
  • White paint pen (Sakura) 
Thanks, as always, for journeying out to visit me here in Left Field!




2 comments:

  1. These are so "you"! I would have known they were yours from a mile away! But then again, not many know you better.

    Love ya!

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