If you don't know people interested in swapping ATCs, or if you're like me and just can't bear to part with some of your creations (!) -- why not make them into home decor items? Here, I simply made my Valentine-themed ATC and then placed it on a plaque. There's another suggestion for ATC swaps ... you can make them seasonal and then use all the cards you've swapped in a grouping for your seasonal home decor.
Here's what the plaque looked like when I found it on clearance at the craft store -- I knew it had good potential for altering!
Basic Grey's Sugar Rush paper matched the colors of the plaque perfectly, so I just decoupaged the paper to it and then added some of Maya Road's pearl trinket pins to the beads, to make them a little more special:
Again, I gave my ATC some shape by die cutting some of the pink solid Sugar Rush paper with a Labels Four Nestabilities die -- the second to the largest die in the set measures almost exactly 2.50" x 3.50" (ATC size). Then I stamped Karen Lockhart's wonderful new Love Angel with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored her with the Copic markers pictured below.
TIP: I like to use the Cocoa ink as opposed to black whenever I want to keep my final colored image a little on the softer side -- to match the softer pastel colors of the paper I'm working with.
To achieve a nicely graduated shading like I did on the Angel's dress, start with a base coat of your lightest Copic color (BV0000). Doing this first will "prime" the paper and make the next colors blend easier:
Then add the middle shade of your 3-color grouping of markers (BV000) to the bottom two-thirds of the dress:
Next, add the darkest color in your grouping (BV02) to the very bottom of the dress:
The last step is to go back with your first lightest color and blend everything together. You can then add back in a little bit of the darker color at the bottom of the dress, if it needs more definition. Sometimes I repeat the last two colors another time, just to get a little deeper color saturation.
I cut out and mounted the angel with foam tape to the Nestie die cut, which is also on foam tape:
To give the die cut stability, I backed it with some of Ellen's fabulous Craft-a-Board. I love that it is a beautiful shade of cream and cuts easily most of the time with Spellbinder's dies -- see it peeking out of the edges of the pink Labels die cut? Much nicer than traditional chipboard! The more open kind of die like the Labels Four I used here usually cut very easily all the way through the board on a first pass through your die cutting machine (mine did here). More detailed dies may take a few more passes through your machine or require a little snipping of the Craft-a-Board in spots where it may not have cut all the way through -- but that's just the nature of low-profile dies.
TIP: If a die isn't cutting through the Craft-a-Board (or ANY thicker material, such as GrungePaper) all the way, use this sandwich in the Wizard die cutting machine to help get a better cut (from the bottom, up):
-Spellbinders White Master cutting mat
-Die, cutting side up
-Material to cut
-Eyelet Setting Plate (copper colored metal plate that comes with your Wizard)
-White Master Mat
I used Glossy Accents to adhere the die cut paper to the die cut Craft-a-Board -- it gives a good, quick bond. The tiny hearts the Angel is dropping are the punched-out centers from Martha Stewart's Lace Heart Edger Punch, attached with Quickie Glue Pen and shimmered with Copic's Clear Spica Glitter Pen. The Angel's wings and hearts on her dress were also covered with Clear Spica and Pink Spica was added to the heart she is carrying (hopefully you can see all that shimmer if you click on this photo to make it larger):
I think I know two little girls who will love to have this revamped plaque hanging in their room (if they can get it away from Mom)! It will be good for Valentine's Day or any day you want to spread a little love!
Stamps: Lockhart Love Angel
Paper: Basic Grey Sugar Rush, Neenah Natural White
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa ink pad, Copic markers, Copic Clear & Pink Spica Glitter Pens
Accessories: Craft-a-Board, Labels 4 Nestabilities dies, Martha Stewart Lace Heart Edger Punch, Maya Road Vintage Pearl Trinket Pins, Royal Coat Decoupage Finish, Ranger Glossy Accents, Quickie Glue Pen
