2018 Topic 1: ATCs Mary Watkin Hi everyone, Darcy here to spend New Year's Eve with you. I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas week with families and friends. Of course we have also had round up week, looking back over some of the incredible blog post inspiration from the past year. It has been lovely and relaxing to curl up with a blog post and a chocolate or two. I have recently been converted to gin and may have had several plum and vanilla mixes, they were especially lovely. So onto our first challenge of the year. As usual we change things up slightly each year, and so to kick off the year we will have a month long challenge. We are going to be sharing so much inspiration with you and so many new products that we need a month to fir it all in. We have also changed the prize for now, and will be giving away the much sought after PaperArtsy aprons to challenge winners. Barbara Yaya ATC's, I am sure you have all heard of them if not made some, but for those new to these mini pieces of art here is a little background information. ATC stands for Artist Trading Card, these have been around since the late 1990's, so they are a relatively young form of art. Though other forms of collectable cards have been around for over 120 yrs. A Swiss artist, M.Vänçi Stirnemann, was having a huge exhibition of his artworks which were all tiny pieces, the same size as baseball cards. At the end of the exhibition people were encouraged to swap their own art for one in the exhibition, this developed into a trading project. Anyone, from any walk of life, or skill level could take part. The most important part of the ATC project was that the cards were traded and not sold. Within a few weeks of this Swiss project ending other artists had set up more trading sessions in Canada, and from there it became a phenomenon that spread around the world. There are dedicated websites with galleries and forums just for chatting about ATCs. The flower cards below were all on the Illustrated ATCs website. Some people confuse ATCs with ACEOs, the latter stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals, these cards can be sold, and that is the major difference between the two. One can be sold and the other should be freely traded. Besides being given away, there is a standard size for ATCS, that is 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches (64mm by 89mm). This is smaller than most playing card decks. Here is a great template that shows an easy way to get the maximum number of ATCs from one sheet of A4 card wwith very little wastage. Mirkwood Designs ATC's can be any theme, any colour, any medium, literally anything goes, however they tend to be fairly flat as they are often mailed out. It is also easier to store them if they are not too chunky. The following two cards both have embellishments but you can see they do not add too much bulk. An ATC does not need to be paper or card, it can be fabric, just adhere to the size guidelines. Quilting Arts This one has such fabulous textures and layers, fabric, stamping, embossing, old paper, what is not to love. Belinda Spencer Anything goes, what will be your chosen theme? I especially love the simplicity of this doodled flower with text. Arts for All These cards have such lovely blended qualities over the torn paper edges. If you like the distressed look then these are for you. These are done on playing cards, so not strictly ATCs, but there isn't much difference in size. Claudia Neubacher Some people like to round off the corners of their ATC's. Anne Kristine More mixed media, stamping and layering. I love the eye peeking out from the butterfly. Kelly Hoering Mostly artists will make a set of cards in one theme, they will keep one from the set and trade the rest. All traded cards should be numbered on the back, and should also have a title and the date and the artists name and contact details on the back. Magda Bolinksa A minimalist set now from our own Ellen Vargo, these could be traded as is or built upon. Ellen Vargo These ones are so yummy, the gorgeous colours that pop, the sniped paper feathers, the painty, corrugated texture in the background and the tiny words and number embellishments. April Marie Cole These birds are so bright and pretty, they were fussy cut from scrapbooking paper, the artist had added such interesting layers beneath them. Terhi Koskinen This set comes from a theme that is just 'yellow' , a lemon and a yellow frog are amongst others on her blog. Your theme does not need to be complicated, a simple colour is enough. Sally Rose Sally Rose This one really caught my eye, the image is a simple vintage photo, but how clever is the hinged, acetate door. Arte Banale A small paper clay heart adds subtle dimension to this set. Katja These great zendangles are simple but very effective, it is all about the variations in length and pops of colour. John Bloodworth This is possibly my favourite, because .. well just look at her, so weird lol Karen deWalt This set looks to have been influenced by zettilogy, what are your influences? do you have a favourite artist or song or book? any of these things could inspire a set. Illustrated ATCs.com These cards have been done in a Tim Holtz style, these really stood out as the stamping is so crisp and clear. when working on such a small scale it is important to keep stamping as clear as possible, always use the right ink for your surface. Redanne There was so much inspiration, but I couldn't pass by these wonderful creations. I love the humour in them. Rosie Schirrmeister Once you have your ATCS made you need somewhere to store them and to store your swaps, you can buy plastic pockets for trading cards and keep them in a binder, but there are some fab handmade storage ideas out there. Of course you can just pop them onto a book ring and hang them in your studio rather than hide them away. Stephanie Ackerman I do really like this box though , it is filled with small envelopes to hold the ATCs, this could be made to match your cards or to match the decor of your room. Anjuli Johnson I hope that has inspired you, I pinned so many cards, it was hard to choose. One sheet of A4 card will give you 10 ATC blanks, so pull out a sheet and get cracking. We would love to see what you make, and if you feel inspired why not swap your cards with other people. Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks! ~ Darcy Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. To join our challenge: 1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page. The current topic link Topic 1: ATC's will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 4th February 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00. (Please note the challenge is 1 month long due to significant new Product news during January) All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use. Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!