Craft Site Directory Newsletter: January 2007
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SECTION 2):*~*: Artist Trading Cards
Incorporating your favorite arts and crafts techniques into miniature works of art.
If you are active in the arts and crafts scene either offline or online you have probably already heard about Artist Trading Cards, or ATCs as they are often called. They are miniature works of art created by artists and crafters to trade with other artists and crafters. The only real rules are that they measure exactly 2.5 by 3.5 inches or 64 by 89 millimeters(the size of a standard poker playing card or collectible US baseball card) and that they can only be traded or given away, never sold. They also should be thin enough to fit into the sleeve of manufactured or hand made albums for collectible cards.
The craze started in Switzerland in the mid to late nineties, then spread to Canada and other parts of the world. They are currently very popular in North America with trading sessions being held in most major US cities and throughout the world. The cards can also be swapped via snail mail through web sites with dedicated areas just for arranging swaps.
Artist trading cards are fun to collect and even more fun to make! The great thing about these miniature works of art is that just about any technique can be used to create them. For example, those interested in beadwork can use beads as the focus for their artist trade cards. At the following link, if you click on the links at the very bottom of the page(2004 Page 1, 2005 Page 1, 2005 Page 2...) you can see examples of ATCs made with beads:
http://www.beadartisttradingcards.com/
At the largest exhibition of artist trading cards ever held at the time, representing more than 500 artists, and one of the first ever held in the United States, some of the winning entries incorporated sewing and quilting into their designs. At the next link, click on 'House of Cards' then the link that says 'ATC entries' that appears after you click to see the winning entries:
http://www.europeanpapers.com/
Artist trading cards should have a sturdy base, usually card stock is used. But if your forte is metal work, woodworking or polymer clay, these can also be used a base as long as it's not too thick. Designs in cross stich can be mounted to a sturdy surface, minature knitted and crochet items can be used as accents, they can be mini oil paintings on canvas, decoupage, collage work, rubber stamping... the only limits are your imagination!
To find out how to get started making ATCs and find other artists and crafters to trade with, visit our new section just for artist trading cards. We have attempted to compile a list of the best artist trading card websites currently available online:
http://www.craftsitedirectory.com/artisttradingcards/
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SECTION 1):*~*: What's New at CraftSiteDirectory.com?
SECTION 2):*~*: Artist Trading Cards
Incorporating your favorite arts and crafts techniques into miniature works of art.
SECTION 3):*~*: Free Craft Projects for January
Links to craft project instructions that have been added to various websites this month.
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