Here be ATCs (and CATs)!
I just realized that most of my posts are on ATCs. 
You be the judge whether that’s good or bad, but it’s simply because I’ve made quite a few of them already since they’re quite easy (and fun!) to put together, compared to other pieces (like the parchment fans) that can take some time to finish.
You may have also noticed that many of the ATCs feature CATs (hey, nice anagram, huh!). Yeah, I love those furry feline friends of mine (more than a dozen at any given time!), and I’m wondering if I should spin off an ATC Cats blog, similar to Scrapbook Cats. Hmm. We’ll see.
Mother and Child
Mother and Child, Collage.
Perfect for Mother’s Day! I was lucky to catch Piper and her kitty Strider in this really “Aww, that’s so sweet” moment, and knew this photo had to be in a vintage sort of setting. I converted the photo to sepia, put it in a heart-shaped frame under a vellum sheet embossed around the edges to resemble lace, and added a pink satin bow.
The background paper, btw, is a vintage paper-backed foil giftwrap that reminded me so much of my mom – she had this ottoman upholstered in yellow leatherette with huge copper rose prints, plus recipe books covered with paper-backed foil giftwrap that was so popular at the time.
Anyway, going back to this ATC – I loved this picture so much that I made a digital scrapbbook page for it! Check it out at my other blog, Scrapbook Cats.
Shoe Crazy
Faro is Shoe Crazy!
What is it with cats and shoes anyway? If they’re not commandeering your flip-flops, they’re turning your patent leather shoes into a scratching post, or locking your sneakers in a tight embrace.
Faro seemed to be loving my battered (and hopefully not smelly!) sneaker to pieces when I snapped this pic. A background of Post-Its, inkjet printed text (font: Girls are Weird), and some hearts cut out from foil completed the look.
Bad Days
Fifi having a bad day.
Another excuse to use my latest find — dome alpha stickers! The background is actually metallic blue card (it doesn’t show up nicely in the pic) with a strip of vellum acting as a mat for the letters.
I only realized a day after taking her photo that Fifi wasn’t feeling quite well, hence the long face, so we made a quick trip to vet. We learned she was dehydrated, and had her confined. She quickly recovered, but ran off after a few months — my sister saw her at the sari-sari store down the block. Fifi looked contented with her new family, so we didn’t bother to get her back. I still see her strolling near the store once in a while, but she probably doesn’t know me anymore.
Best Buds
Best Buds, 16 March 2008. Collage.
One of my more recent ATCs. Note the happy, scrapbookish style. I assembled this when I was in one of my scrapbooking moods, and I was excited to try out my new heat gun, embossing powder and clear stamps.
This card commemorates the unique, though sadly short-lived friendship of Coal (in black fur) and Tubby (in white fur). Tubby passed away a few days after this was taken, a few hours into the New Year, due to some strange malady. 
Coal passed away last week of September this year due to some kidney ailment. Oh well, we’ll meet each other at the Rainbow Bridge…
Trivia: Yes, that’s a stainless steel mixing bowl they’re snuggled in!
Fun tip: Jewelry price tags are the perfect size for ATCs, and for scrapbooks as well!
Drifting, Falling
Drifting, Falling, 1 May 2006. Collage
One of them quickie ATCs I made just to get over a “gotta make stuff” fit. I had just bought a pack of gem-like leaf embellishments and I needed an excuse to use them pronto! Handmade paper and vellum over patterned paper, topped off with a leaf embellishment and inkjet-printed text inspired by The Ocean Blue’s “Drifting, Falling”.
Via Mermail
Via Mermail, 1 May 2006. Collage.
Can you imagine what it would be like if you had a message from Atlantis? The old message-in-a-bottle route might work, but surely there must be a more efficient way of getting a message from the deep blue ocean to its intended recipient!
I was playing with the words “Mermaid” and “Email”, and quite naturally stumbled onto “Mermail”. I then knew just what kind of graphics I needed: an old world map, a sea monster of sorts, and a quite modern stamp from Singapore. The map, merman and text were inkjet printed on cardstock; the stamp was saved from some old business correspondence.
This is my first-ever ATC, heavily inspired by Nick Bantock’s “Urgent 2nd Class: Creating curious collage, dubious documents, and other art from ephemera”.
ATCs: Artist Trading Cards
Artist Trading Cards, or ATCs, were first started by M. Vänçi Stirnemann, an artist from Zurich, in 1997, who based the idea of miniature artworks on the concept of traditional trading cards. ATCs are the same size as trading cards, 3.5 x 2.5 inches (64 x 89 mm), and are meant to be swapped — never sold.
ATCs are a great way to express your creativity. You can use whatever medium and technique you want and feature on whatever subject you want, as long as you follow these rules:
- The cards have to be 2.5 by 3.5 inches (64 x 89 mm) in size.
- The cards should be signed, dated, and numbered if they’re part of a series or edition. They should have your contact info as well.
- The cards should NEVER, EVER be sold. If you want to sell your cards, call them ACEOs – Art Cards, Editions and Originals. More on this next time.
If you want to know more about ATCs (and ACEOs) and participate in swaps, check out the ff sites:
Parchment fan v.2
Parchment fan, dry embossed and finished with peral paints and metallic gel ink. Design courtesy of Janet Wilson.
This fan was made from clear (colorless) vellum, then painted with pearl paints and a metallic gel pen. I used an eyelet to hold the sections together, but maybe I should have used a cord instead to soften the look.
Anyhow, this was designed by Janet Wilson, another of my favorite parchment craft gurus. You’ll find details of the project in her book “The Art of Parchment Craft”.
Parchment fan
Parchment fan, dry embossed. Design courtesy of Martha Ospina.
Yes, I’m a fan pf parchment craft, thank you. Sorry, couldn’t resist the pun.
Here’s a parchment fan I made years ago. I used cream vellum to capture the look of old lace, and finished it off with a matching ribbon and gold embroidery floss. The design is featured in Martha Ospina’s book “Pergamano Parchment Craft”. Check it out!
