To help us get inspired, I asked three great friends to be guests this week sharing some ideas for making Artist Trading Cards – ATCs. See these posts:

Lisa ATC blog

Today’s guest post is from upstatelisa and she’s sharing a few of her ATCs with us.

About upstatelisa

As for a bit about me… I’ve been sewing since I was 13. I took an introduction to quilting class just before my first child was born (she’s almost 19) and since then I’ve been making quilts for my family, friends and the walls of my house. I started art journaling a couple of years ago and that has taken my fiber art to a whole new level. I am lucky to have met Michele and Milo in person (she lives in my hometown!) but home is now in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains of New York.

ATC inspiration from upstatelisa

I have loved crafts ever since I can remember….and at the age of 13, when my paternal grandmother gave me some money toward my first sewing machine, a whole new world opened up to me!

While I wish I could create quilts and art all day…it just doesn’t happen… life does. So… I made a pledge to myself that even if I can’t quilt or make art or write big blog posts on my original blog.

An ATC (artist trading card) measures 3.5″ x 2.5″. This size can be somewhat limiting at times but it gives me a chance to experiment on a small scale before I get myself committed to finishing a big project (and I have plenty of big projects to finish!) My studio is filled with fabric, scraps, buttons, thread, yarn, paints, rubber stamps, inks, stencils, moldable foam… you name it… I probably have it!

Lisa-studio

(And it ain’t pretty!)

So how do I start? Usually pretty early in the morning! I am an early riser and often get some art done before I head out to exercise or the rest of my family arises!

Generally, I have already pre-cut pieces of canvas, muslin or heavy weight interfacing to the dimensions of the ATC. And then… whatever tickles my fancy!

For example,

I cut down a piece of blue fabric and added a few scraps and arranged them on the background, holding them in place with a wee dab of glue

ATC

and then pressed it to a piece of heavy fusible interfacing. I took the ATC over to my machine and did a bit of what I like to call “thread scribbling”

ATC

Trimmed it down et voila!

ATC

For another ATC, I couched some glittery threads to a background fabric

ATC

and added some buttons to make this ATC…

ATC

Other ideas might include (but are definitely not limited to):

collage….

ATC

embroidery or punch needle embroidery….

ATC

fusible appliqué

ATC

marbling

ATC

fabric weaving, fabric painting, thread sketching, image transfer, embellishing… the list is endless!

lisa-collage

ATCs

Artist Trading Cards – Inspiration from upstatelisa

3 thoughts on “Artist Trading Cards – Inspiration from upstatelisa

  • April 18, 2012 at 11:34 am
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    Thank you so much for sharing your ATC’s! It looks like anything goes, just use your imagination!

    I’m certainly less intimidated about doing some, and it looks like this is a chance for me to get some of the ideas out of my head and onto fabric, without a major commitment. Just what I need!

  • April 18, 2012 at 11:33 pm
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    I’ve got to say…I Love Your Workroom!! Sometimes I look at my workspace and wonder how on earth I get anything done. :-))

    Looks like some fun and awesome creations. Thanks for the inspiration.

  • April 20, 2012 at 11:02 am
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    Hey there! Congratulations on the guest post! I’ve been watching your “lttle blog” even though I have not commented and you are a wonderful source of inspiration. What can I say….”An ATC a day keeps the blues away!”

Comments are closed.