Tips and Tricks: How to Make Doodle ATCs

Here's another installment of Tips and Tricks Tuesday.  I'd like to make this a regular feature on the blog some day.  Today I am going to show you how I made a series of 10 doodle ATCs, or Artist Trading Cards.

Step 1
Grab a sheet of white cardstock and randomly color it with markers.  I used my Chartpak Ad Markers, but any markers will work.

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on May 13, 2016 at 9:22pm PDT

Step 2
Start doodling with a pen color that will show over all the colors.  I used a black pen and some tangles from the Tangle Patterns website.  Cover the whole sheet of cardstock with the doodles.

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on May 15, 2016 at 9:49pm PDT

Step 3
Measure and cut the cardstock into 10 rectangles that measure 2.5" by 3.5". 

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on May 19, 2016 at 6:55pm PDT

Step 4
Protect the doodles with Mod Podge or a varnish and add artist information to the back of the ATCs.

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on May 22, 2016 at 6:06pm PDT

Voila.  You now have 10 beautiful doodle ATCs to share with friends or strangers.

 Do you make ATCs?  Do you doodle?

Have you ever made anything like this project?

FO: April ATCs

ATCs, or Artist Trading Cards, are small works of art that are made to be traded with other artists.  ATCs are the same size as baseball cards, 2.5" x 3.5", and every single one is completely different.  

Last month I participated in my first swap on Craftster, the Ongoing ATC Swap (here is a link to this month's swap).  I have wanted to sign up for a swap for a very long time, but I know that I am not always good with deadlines.  ATCs seemed like the perfect choice: small enough to create within a deadline.  Now I am addicted :)  I love making tiny little works of art and experimenting with new ideas and techniques.

During the April ATC swap, I created two cards.  The first was titled "Lord Shiva."  The person I made this card for listed two themes that I combined to make this card: gods and goddesses and collage.  I started by covering some cardstock with a page from an old book.  I then painted the page with acrylic paint.  Then I collaged an image of Lord Shiva (from a National Geographic story about a water park in India) and a yellow flower (also from a National Geographic).  Finally I added some gold  around the edges and glued a jewel over Shiva's third eye.

I made a little tangled notecard to send the ATC in.

The second ATC that I made in April was for a science fiction theme.  I checked out the swapper's Pinterest page and saw a board devoted to Doctor Who.  One of her pins was a Tardis necklace.  It was shaped like the Tardis and had neat circular designs cut out.  I tried to recreate it with paper, markers, paint and pens. 

I started this card with some water-soluble markers.  Then I painted over them with some pearlescent paint with smudged the markers a little and gave the whole card a blue hue.  I added details on top of the paint with gel pens, then varnished the whole thing to protect it.  I also make a cute Doctor Who themed notecard for this ATC.

Because I sent two ATCs, I also received two ATCs.  First I received an awesome drawing of a dolmen from Craftster member blupaisan.

I also received a sugar skull themed fabric ATC from audio.  It has little beads sewn on it.

I've signed up for the May ATC Swap and have already sent out 3 different ATCs.  Have you ever made ATCs?  Have you ever participated in a craft swap?