I love ATCs !

 ATCs are small works of original art that artists make and trade. 

When I first saw them they were being made using playing cards.  Here’s one of the very first ATC’s I ever made…

I thought you were supposed to keep the general appearance of the playing card (suit and number) visible, but I soon learned that wasn’t the case.

I still have all the beautiful cards I’ve received in my first trades.  They are kept in pocket pages made for  baseball cards.

One of my favorites from my friend Missy called “Queen of Hearts”…

Another cool one by my friend Carla called “Creation, Day 4″…

Isn’t this one pretty? My friend Sandy traded this one with me. It’s called “Birds of the Field”…

I wondered if there were people out there still trading….?

I got online and found an online ATC swapping site (I’m continually in awe of the internet folks) and have already signed up for my first swap! It’s a 3 for 3 swap with the theme “Bird is the Word”–the cards have to have a bird somewhere on them and the word ‘bird’ included on them.  How fun is that?

 I also found out from the site that the official dimensions for ATC’s is now 2 1/4″ X 3 1/4″, which is a bit smaller than a playing card. It’s good to know the rules.  🙂

I can’t wait to start trading again. I love to get tiny pieces of original art in the mail.

  To make it even easier they sell ATC cards in different types of paper at Hobby Lobby.

Can’t wait to start collecting again!