Office ATCs

...Or how to pass the time on a slow day at work.

I had enough to keep me busy most of the work day, but not enough to fill a full eight hours. I had down time. I was bored. And my work computer doesn't have solitaire (I know, it's a true hardship, believe me!). So what's a crafty person to do with little to do? Why, get creative of course! All it took were a few basic office supplies and I had plenty to play with for a while.

Materials:
* Light-weight cardboard--anything light enough to cut will do, such as a Kleenex box
* Scissors or paper trimmer
* Adhesive (I keep a cartridge of MonoAdhesive on my desk, but a gluestick will do)
* Colored memo notes or copy paper, newspaper, scraps of leftover wrapping paper (from birthday, retirement or Christmas parties)
* Pens or colored pencils

Process:
I started by cutting a piece of light-weight cardboard down to ATC size, 2.5" x 3.5". Next, I took a sheet of paper from my memo cube, folded it, and cut out triangles, changing the widths and heights for variety, but keeping them short enough to fit an ATC. I did this with several different colors, and even found a piece of gold foil wrapping paper to use as well.

I then decorated some of the colored triangles with "garland" and "ornaments" using my colored pens--I even used the paper from a Hershey Kiss as the garland on one tree (yellow tree on a blue ATC). I tore the edge of plain white copy paper for snow drifts, and used a Presto! Jumbo Correction pen by Pentel (whiteout in pen form) to make snowflakes, the garland on a dark tree ("Comfort and Joy" card), part of the snowdrifts on one card, and even to decorate one of the trees. Here's how they turned out:

And this is what two of them look like when used for full-size (4.25 x 5.5) cards:

Thursday Thirteen #23: ATCs

This week's topic is inspired by Briana, who recently initiated an Artist Trading Card swap at Romance Divas. What are Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)? Here are thirteen things you need to know about ATCs.

1. ATCs are 2.5 x 3.5 inches, the same as commercial trading cards, such as baseball cards and cards for trading card games.
2. ATCs are made to be traded, not sold.
3. ATCs are unique works or small limited editions of prints.
4. ATCs are usually made on a base of cardstock, though other mediums such as metal, stiffened fabric, plastic, clay, balsa wood, leather, embroidery canvas, acetate, and heavy watercolor paper can be used.
5. Any media can be used to create ATCs: textile arts, pencil, watercolor, acrylic, oil, collage, digital art, calligraphy, beadwork, rubber stamps, pen and ink, colored pencil, airbrush, markers, photography, paper piecing, Origami – basically anything artists use.
6. Anything can be used to embellish: ribbon, feathers, beads, charms, shrinky dinks, brads, silk or paper flowers, chipboard, etc.
7. ATCs can be planned out around a theme, or can be created haphazardly. You can build a card around a favorite quote, or to promote your latest book. You can build them around a holiday, or around nothing at all. The only limitation is your imagination.
8. Cards should be sturdy enough to survive mailing, and of reasonable thickness (meaning, not flimsy—you want your work to last).
9. Don’t think of ATCs as scaled down works of art, but consider the size of the card before you start designing. Be mindful that some techniques are better suited to larger projects.
10. The back of the card should include the artist’s name and contact info (email/web address), as well as a title if applicable.
11. In a swap, each person makes the same number of cards, which are then sent to the group host along with an SASE. The host collects each person’s cards, separates them out, then uses the SASEs to send each participating member a card from all other members.
12. ATCs do not have to be elaborate works of art. Sometimes less really is more.
13. You don't have to be an artist to make ATCs. They can be a wonderful way to stretch your creativity. If nothing else, they’re a great procrastination tool when you should be doing something else: writing, editing, cleaning…you get the picture.

For more information on the Romance Divas ATC swap, organized by Briana, click here.

If you are interested in joining a Splitcoaststampers swap, you can find one here.

You can find examples of ATCs by doing a simple web search. To browse the beautiful ATC gallery at SplitcoastStampers, click here.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. Elle 2. Jennifer McK 3. Kris Yankee 4. Jennifer Shirk
5. Tempest 6. Gina Ardito 7. Ann Aguirre
8. Debbie Mumford 9. Savannah Chase 10. Ava Rose
11. Paige Tyler 12. Ember Case 13. Amelia June
14. Lia Morgan 15. Ciar Cullen 16. Robin 17. Jenna-1
18. Babe 19. Seeley


(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!