Spring ATCs at the River of Creativity

I have done it AGAIN - this post is too early - the challenge doesn't start until tomorrow {4/5/22}!! So take the rest of today & create something for us :) I apologize for the confusion!!

Hello! Time for another challenge at River of Creativity! For challenge #12, our theme is spring as well as anything goes but a card - that's right, put away your card blanks and get inky with us!  I had planned on making something completely different than these Artist Trading Cards but nothing seemed to coalesce, so I listened to the universe and made a set of 6 ATCs instead of struggling to create something that just wasn't working! I've had a small box of scraps that I have amassed over the years {small die cuts, pieces of Dresden, punched patterns, stickers, scraps of paper, etc} and I decided to use what I had in the box to make set. I'd had the box for so long I really needed to go through all the things I had saved and figure out if I was truly ever going to use the pieces or not; so I went through the box, set aside what I really wanted to use and threw the rest away so a lot of what you see on these is from that scrap box and is almost vintage {grin - ok not really, but I have had it for a long time!}.  Enjoy!

 

I used a bunch of assorted products on these little guys, and I stuffed them full of bling! I used gems and sequin mixes from Picket Fence Studios, Dresden scraps from Alpha Stamps and many other sources, washi tape (and matching die) from Pinkfresh Studios as well from my stash, a ton of Dream Drops {I used  Indigo Eclipse, Cloud 9 and Love Potion} from Tonic Studios and many other bits and pieces, including stickers and more that are from my huge stash.  The background paper for these ATCs is from ModaScrap from the Fly and Scrap Collection, 6" x 6" paper {I could not find it on the ModaScrap site, but I did do a search and it is available}. I also used a bunch of small alphabet stickers and tiles, most from companies that aren't in business anymore, sadly.  All this stuff I've saved over the years

needs to be used so I can get new stuff! I had so much fun making these ATC's; I am finding myself using lots of bling and glitz in my work lately and I just went nuts with these. Knowing that if I really didn't like how something came out, I could just throw the paper away {I have so many blanks that I have amassed over the years, I could probably make an ATC a day for the next year!} and begin again with no harm.  Something about these little canvases is so freeing!

I was showing these to my roommate and explaining how "back in the

day" we'd make a bunch of ATCs, using the same design and bring them to stamp conventions and trade.  I think I still have a notebook full of traded ATCs. Do you remember those good old days? Hopefully, soon, we will be able to attend stamp conventions again - I miss the energy and all the cool products! Thanks for dropping in and get out your creative muse and create anything but a card and join us at the River of Creativity, optional theme of Spring - hope to see you there :) Christi

PS: To see the smaller pictures bigger, just click on them. If that doesn't work please let me know ~ Thanks!

I am entering my Spring ATCs in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Easter/Spring
Country View Challenges - Spring is Coming
We Love 2 Create - Anything Goes
Four Seasons Challenge - Spring Challenge
The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers, #207 - A is for ATC 

Week 2 {And The Chickens} of Janis' Birthday Celebration!

You can read all about Janis' birthday celebration here and see my week one All Those Cats ATCs here.  If you missed week 1, no worries as you have ALL month to whip up some ATCs and enter! Yeah, I went a tad crazy with the cats and entered four - you can see my post here.

What are ATC's? ATC stands for Artist Trading Cards.  There are no requirements to make them {unless you are participating in a swap or, in this case, Janis' second theme is And The Chickens} EXCEPT they must be 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", the same size as a standard playing card or trading card.

For this week, Janis choose All Those Chickens. Sense a theme here? Anyway, this one had me seriously brainstorming.  I have NO chicken stamps, no chicken paper, no chicken anything. Then the light bulb went off - I do have roosters! Aren't they technically chickens?!?  I'm not sure, but I am sure that Janis will adore my ATC.

I'm not going to go into detail about how I made each one; it's fairly self explanatory but, if you have any questions, just ask! 

Never Dull Your Sparkle

What I Used to make my Rooster ATC:
DCWV Tie Dye Stack {discontinued but available}
Darice Clouds Embossing Folder, #1217-53
Lawn Fawn Grassy Border Die, #LF613
Dresden Roosters {red foil & white paper}
Computer Generated Saying 
Stash 

Once I found the chicken roosters, the hardest part was deciding what font to use for the sentiment.  I'm sort of a font junkie and I have entirely too many.  I ended up using Fontdinerdotcom Sparkly, but it took me about two days to decide! Oh well - I think I chose the perfect font for this ATC. 

I hope you join the birthday celebration over at Her Peaceful Garden; get out those scraps and make some ATCs! They really are addicting and I think limiting yourself to the tiny canvas stretches your creativeness.  I appreciate your stopping by and stay tuned for more fabulous ATCs. Thanks! Christi

I am entering my And The Chickens ATC in the following challenges:
Her Peaceful Garden - And The Chickens
Pixies Crafty Workshop - #320, Use Snippets
A Bit More Time to Craft - #62, Anything Goes
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations - #360, Anything Goes

Celebrating Janis' 60th Birthday! {week 1 - All Those Cats}

Janis, from Her Peaceful Garden, and I met back when she had her first Cat Lovers Blog Hop {here is the link for the 2017 hop} - she is a cat lover, as I am, and she is owned by about 13 cats; both feral and house cats.  We've become friends over the years and I adore her.  When she began talking about her birthday and how she wanted to do ATC's for her online celebration, I was so happy! I LOVE ATC's and used to participate in many swaps online.  I hope this little party of Janis' encourages ATC's to make a comeback.  

What are ATC's? ATC stands for Artist Trading Cards.  There are no requirements to make them {unless you are participating in a swap, or, in this case, Janis' first theme: All Those Cats} EXCEPT they must be 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", the same size as a standard playing card or trading card.


I'm not going to go into detail about how I made each one; it's fairly self explanatory but, if you have any questions, just ask! 

I try to use scrap papers to make my ATCs - here is a picture of my scrap bin {I only put small snippets in it} just to give you an idea of how small the pieces for your ATC can be. There is a picture of the side of my little bin, and then the bottom.  I save more than I can ever use, but it comes in VERY handy!





Here are my four ATCs for week one of Janis' birthday party:

Paw Prints

What I Used to Make my Paw Prints ATC:
Heavy White Card, cut into ATC size
Snips & scraps of various pink & purple papers 
Penny Black, Nine Lives Set, #30-050
Stampendous, Cat Sayings, #SSC1222
Small Heart Punch
Hero Arts Ink in Pink Tourmaline, Ruby & Amethyst                       

 Balloon Kitty

What I Used to Make my Balloon Cat ATC:
Heavy White Card, cut into ATC size
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Penny Black, Purrfect Day, #30-027 {discontinued but available}
Unknown Coloring {colored this image AGES ago}
DCWV, Tie Dye Stack {discontinued but available}
Distress Marker in Broken China

Sneaky Kitties

The Mama Elephant "The Cat's Meow" stamp and die are MUCH longer than an
ATC.  In fact, it's called "Crowd of Cats" and according to the ME website, it measures 5 3/4" x 2".  In order to make this ATC and the Meow ATC, I cut the image down into two separate groups of cats, then added single cats in places. Also, I colored the kitties with whimsical colors - I figured why not and I need a break from trying to color them realistically.  This goes for both of the Mama Elephant ATCs.  

What I Used to Make my Sneaky Cats ATC:
Heavy White Card, cut into ATC size
Mama Elephant, The Cat's Meow, stamps
Mama Elephant, The Cat's Meow, Creative Cuts Dies
Detail Water Brush
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Clean Color Markers
Watercolor Paper
Palm Frond Punch
Various Green Paper

Meow

I needed a break from using realistic cat colors, so these kitties are colored fancifully.  I cut down some dimensional dots and dotted the birthday hat, the blue balloon, and the meow sign but you can't really tell in this picture. I also added some single cats to round out the group.

What I Used to Make my Meow ATC:
Heavy White Card, cut into ATC size
Mama Elephant, The Cat's Meow, stamps
Mama Elephant, The Cat's Meow, Creative Cuts Dies
Detail Water Brush
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Clean Color Markers
Watercolor Paper
Dimensional Dots
Washi Tape in Glitter Purple

Finally, here is a picture of all four together.

I hope you enjoyed my ATCs.  I really have a great time making them and going through my snippet box to see what inspires me.  My favorite is the meow ATC - which one is yours? Thanks SO much for your visit and I hope you come back soon! ~Christi

I would like to enter all four of my creations in the following challenges -
Her Peaceful Garden Birthday Celebration - Wk 1, All Those Cats
Addicted to CAS - #130, Cat {At least 2 of my ATCs are CAS}
Crafting with Friends - M, #61, Anything Goes
The Outlaws - Twisted Thursday - Twist: Fur {lots of virtual fur here!}
2 Crafty Critter Crazies - M, Anything Goes w/ a Critter
Fairy-Tale Challenge - Use Mini Stamps {The 2 ATCs using ME are Mini Stamps}
SUYP - M, Anything Goes and/or LOVE

Always Use Rubber ~ Destination Paris (#3)

I know this post is late - I got my dates messed up.  Ah well,  Better late than never, right? I made this card for the Always Use Rubber Challenge, #3, the theme this go round is Destinations.  You can use any type of destination, real or imaginary, as long as you use rubber/polymer stamps.  We'd love to have you join us!

I decided I'd like to go to Paris - I wanted to make this card look like an old fashioned post card.  What do you think?

What I Used to Make my Card:
(Most of these products are discontinued but readily available online)
Kraft Card Base
White Cardstock
Adirondack Ink in Latte, Currant & Caramel
Tim Holtz Stamp Set French Market, #CSS25863
Tim Holtz Washi Tape (I think it's Correspondence?)
Martha Stewart Pastel Mini Pearls
Basic Grey Bling It Rhinestones
Dresden Star in Gold

I have had these Adirondack Ink pads since I started stamping back in the '90's - they were the first ink pads I ever bought and I still love the color palette.  I know Ranger is discontinuing and revamping their inks, but you can still get these beautiful earthtone inks from most places online.  So, thinking about the vintage postcard look I wanted, of course I turned to these ink pads.

Another Look

I began by stamping the diamond pattern from the French Market set using the caramel ink and a very light touch.  I then stamped the Eiffel Tower over the background using the currant ink.  To blend the background and the image a bit better, I stippled latte ink over the entire piece.  I added the washi tape to the top and bottom of the panel and blinged it out a bit.  I cut the Dresden star in half and added that to the sides of the main image.  Lastly, I mounted the stamped panel to a Kraft card base. 

I enjoyed "getting back to my roots" with the ink choices and stippling (something I haven't done in SO long).  I hope you'll break out some of your long lost rubber and join us at Always Use Rubber! ~ I hope to see your stamped cards and projects there ~ Christi

I would like to enter my Destination Paris card in the following challenges:
Everybody Art Challenge - #387, Vintage
Brown Sugar Challenge - #223, Anything Goes
Craft Stamper Magazine (November) - Anything Goes

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