Courtly Love January Challenge Still TIme!!!

Hi there all you crafty people.  Today I am up on the Gecko Galz Blog to show you how you can make an easy peasy mixed media ATC Card for the January Challenge.  And yes, there is still time to make something to enter.

So here is my featured Card and the supplies you will need.

• One 3.5 x 2.5 heavy cardstock or any other material you would like to use for your base.
• Gecko Galz Iced Bound digital paper
• Xyron CreateASticker
• Neocolor II wax pastels
• Gecko Galz Digital Image Sheet entitled True Romance
• pop dots
• Art Alchemy Sparks Acrylic Paint Unicorn Hair
• glitter glass
• stickles in crystal

You can use anything you want to as a base because you will be covering it with a patterned paper.  I used a beautiful blue marbled paper called Iced Bound from the Gecko Galz Winter Wonderland paper pack.  I then used my xyron machine to make the patterned paper a sticker and then carefully stick the paper to the base.  I then added a moon glow behind where to couple would sit using my NeoII color pastels,  Next I fussy cut image of the moon and the couple from the Gecko Galz Digital Image collection called True Romance.  After that I painted the moon a shimmery silver color using Prima's Art Alchemy Sparks Acrylic Paint in Unicorn Hair. Next I added some glitter glass to give it some dimension. I then popped the image up using pop dots.   I then added the stickle dots to mimic stars and lastly added my title.

I hope you can take away a little something from this post and truly hope you visit Gecko Galz Etsy Store.

And go ahead, enter the monthly challenge, I dare ya to!!!!

Until next time...

ATC's for the Curious

So what exactly is an ATC  An ATC or Artist Trading Card is nothing more than an original piece of art made by an artist then traded to other artists like you would pokemon cards or the old fashion baseball cards.  This type of art is very fun because the cards can be made using any type of materials, media or techniques.   These cards are usually made as a one of a kind piece of art, but sometimes the artist will make a series of cards all with a similar theme.  These works of art are not usually sold but should be traded instead.  

There are a few rules where ATC Cards are concerned and they are as follows

1. The ATC must measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches or the exact size of a playing card.
2. An ATC is meant to be an original piece of ART not a photocopy or print.  Some groups allow digital works of art so it would be wise to check the swap requirements. 
3. The cards must be traded for other cards—not sold.
4. The cards should be flat enough to fit into a plastic trading card sleeve. 
5. The artist should add their name, contact information, the title of your work and the date it was completed. 

So how do you make one of these beauties, well let me tell you!!

You begin by selecting a base for your card.  This could range from a cut up cereal box, to  watercolor paper, plain cardstock, canvas panel, playing cards, the cardboard you get in packaging.  After that you cut your base to the appropriate size.  Your artwork can be in a vertical or horizontal orientation. 

You would then need to decide what you will put on top of your base,  Here the possibilities are boundless.  You could cover it with a patterned paper, after adding gesso your base you could paint it, with either acrylics or watercolors, you could apply modeling paste through a stencil, you could use a rubber stamp with a glue base and emboss an image on top of your base.  Again, the possibilities are just about endless.  

After finishing your base card you can now begin the fun process of adding 2d and 3d items to your card.  These could include digital or photographed images, paper flowers, beads, sequins, glitter, ribbon, fabric trims, and small chipboard pieces.  Just remember that your work should fit in an ATC envelope or sleeve.

Once completed, you should definitely find a group of like minded people to trade your cards with.  If anyone would like to trade with me, I'm up for the challenge.  My only stipulation is that I can only do one a month.  So the first one to ask will be my partner. 

Here are some examples of my ATCs through the years 

Happy swapping my crafty peeps!!!

Gecko Glaz Courtly Love January Customer Challenge

It's time for a new Gecko Galz Customer Challenge!!

This month our Challenge theme is "Courtly Love"

Feel Free to grab our badge and share on your blogs.There is only one rule, and that is you need to use at least ONE product from Gecko Galz!! It can be one of the free products, stamps, collage images, or digital papers!! It is up to you!! The winner will receive a $25 Gecko Galz Shopping Spree!!!

Hmmm?

This ATC Card has a mixed media background also. Here I used masking tape that was wrinkled up and added to the card. Then the card was painted with heavy body white gesso. When dry I painted with Black Gesso. I then came back over the top with Art Alchemy's Wax in Vintage Silk. Think I went a bit over the top with the wax. I wanted more of the black showing, What do you think? I cut the Image from Gecko Galz Vintage Flirtations. The image was inked with brushed corduroy and added to the card. I then added some strung pearls and rosettes from my stash, the butterfly was also from my stash. then added the words.

For a list of other design team members who have created some beautiful artwork, please go to http://geckogalzscrapbooking.blogspot.com/ or Gecko Galz

We can't wait to see your creations!!

Thank you for visiting!

You have until 11:55 pm Eastern time on January 29th to play along!

You can link up your creations or send a photo of your project to us at geckogalz2014@gmail.com.