Easy Artist Trading Cards for Beginners

Aug 15

Are you a crafter who’s always wanted to make artist trading cards (ATCS) but don’t have a stash of leftover scraps and ephemera to use? You’re not alone! In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to create beautiful ATCs using a few simple techniques, stamps, and die cuts, plus…. You’ll be able to use these techniques again and again to make beautiful ATCs perfect for swapping or using in your journals.

Hello everyone, Valerie here. Have you thought about making ATC cards, but don’t have a “stash” of leftover ephemera to use? That’s me! I don’t keep scraps very often, so making ATC cards has felt a little intimidating. So today, I will walk you through a few easy steps to make some ATC cards using the beautiful new “In the Garden” collection.

Step 1: Out of Backgrounds Volume 2 cardstock, cut pieces of card to measure 2.5” x 3.5” and round the corners using your favorite corner punch; these are the bases of your ATCs. How many ATCs you want to make depends on how many bases you should cut.

Next, we need to add a little extra grunge to the ATC bases. I used the Cracked Fields background stamp to add a simple crackle effect. I used my favorite ground espresso distress ink to stamp. I also inked the edges of the ATC cards before final assembly.

Step 2: I wanted to keep these ATC cards simple and easy, so I chose a few pieces to add to each card. First, let’s make some Sunflower bouquets using the “A Garden of Love Stamp and Die Set”. I stamped the flowers using different distress inks. Using the die from this set meant no fussy cutting!

I wanted one more quick and easy item to add to these ATC cards. The “Journal Phrases 5” stamp set was perfect! I was able to stamp this one time, cut out each sentiment and add a little distress ink to each.

Step 3: Now we are ready to assemble our ATC cards. For each ATC, add the Sunflowers and a sentiment. For a little extra fun, I added some twine to each Sunflower Bouquet.

Thank you for following along as I made some easy Artist Trading cards! Hopefully, you are feeling inspired to use the “In the Garden” Collection to make some ATCs of your own! Have a great day! – Valerie

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