ATC, Artist Trading Cards for Scrapbookers

Popular with scrapbook aficionados, ATC’s, or artist trading cards have actually been popular with a wide variety of artists for a long time. Even if you have never scrapped a day in your life, you might enjoy making some ATC’s, especially if you have a favorite artistic hobby that you cannot get enough of, or are looking for a creative way to advertise your craft or talents. For the scrapbook artist though, ATC’s can be the perfect outlet to try new techniques, sample color combinations, and even make use of contact sheet prints.

By definition, an ATC, or artist trading card has two sides. One side should include your personal information, much the same as a traditional business card. The other side, with any available space leftover on the side that contains your contact details, should be as creative an outlet for your work as you want it to be. Many scrapbook artists choose to sign their cards, but not include contact information, and that is purely a personal preference. Do whichever you feel most comfortable doing, adding, or subtracting any personal details you want.

An ATC should be 2.5″ X 3.5″, and can be rendered vertically or horizontally. While it might be tempting to go a bit bigger depending on your choice of artwork, refrain from doing so, as this standard size is readily accepted and expected by those who trade and collect ATC’s in general. Even someone who may only have a few, if they have created any sort of portfolio or similar organizational tool for them, will appreciate the fact that you followed the size guidelines that have become a strict standard for this type of artistic rendering.

The base of your ATC’s can be cardstock, heavy watercolor paper, a playing card, or any media that is sturdy enough to support your choice of work. If you choose a lighter weight paper, a protective envelope of just a slightly larger size can be used to help protect the finished piece.

If you choose to create in a larger frame to begin with, cutting the cards to size once you have completed a larger piece of work, as some do, you will need to cut the finished piece when completed. This is a great way to get several cards out of one piece of work, though I always seem to end up with some cards that contain a lot of detail, and a few with very little detail when I do this. To ensure an even, smooth cut, I have found that using a good paper cutter with ruler marks simplifies the process nicely.

Start your ATC by considering those techniques you have wanted to try, but might have avoided due to the complexity of a larger layout. Sewing or embroidery on a scrapbook layout for example, might be tempting, but you are unsure how it will look. Practice on some artist trading cards to perfect your sewing and try any stitches you are unsure of. Thought of adding metal elements to a scrapbook page but thought they might be too thick or too heavy? Again, using them on an ATC first, will provide you with hands on feel of how heavy a page might be, or how glam it might turn out if executed in the right manner.

Artist trading cards are the perfect way to sample and to share. Remember that the fun in the end is giving them away, or trading them with others so you can see what they have been trying out!