A Trick of the Hand: Using Playing Cards to Create Artist Trading Cards (ATC's)

Who remembers collecting and trading baseball cards? Or maybe you collected gaming cards like Poke’mon or Magic cards? For the past 20 years there has been a new variety of trading card on the scene: Art Trading Cards (ATC’s). These are miniature pieces of artwork (the size of a standard playing card) and they are traded around the globe!

Before we explore the wonderful realm of ATC’s let’s first take a quick historical look at the trading card industry progression. Trading cards began in the 1700’s as essentially a means to advertise a service or product. After lithography was invented, those cards included illustrations, too. Baseball cards became popular in the mid-late 1800’s and could be found in candy and tobacco products. Their popularity continued through the 1900’s. Contemporary society expanded trading cards by including sports other than baseball, adding games and comics and including the entertainment industry at large. Artist Trading Cards were introduced by M. Vanci Stirnemann of Switzerland in the late 1990’s. Stirnemann created 1,200 trading cards as part of an exhibit. He encouraged others to make their own unique cards and trade with him at the end of the exhibit. And so began a global movement!

ATC’s are made using a huge array of materials and can be completed in a relatively short amount of time. This art form is well-suited for artists of all skill levels and ages! I think of them as miniature versions of art journaling pages. Fun size and portable! ATC’s must be 2.5”x 3.5” so if you have a deck of cards we can get creating!

I’ve used decks of playing cards for years for other purposes. They are great for teaching children how to sequence numbers, learn telephone numbers and practice math. When I was providing behavioral health support to children and youth, I would use cards to create portable “toolboxes” for coping strategies. They were the perfect size for making daily affirmation cards as well. Now, I delight in using all those extra packages of playing cards to create darling works of art! (They also work well for junk journal components, but more on that in a future post!)

A few supplies to begin:

· Gesso (for providing a primer and textured base for your paint and papers to adhere to)

· Mod-Podge (to glue and seal your project)

· Paints (acrylic, watercolor) & supplies (brushes/cleaner, spray bottle, etc.)

· Sponge (natural or synthetic), makeup applicator wands

· Scrapbook paper, newspapers, book pages, sheet music, any type of paper! Fabric too!

· Markers (Sharpies work well)

· Stickers and/or 3-dimensional embellishments (buttons, paper flowers, etc.)

· Rubber stamps and ink

There are so many awesome ATC’s on Pinterest if you’re looking for inspiration. The four of mine that I’m sharing with you today are inspired by the “Spring has Sprung” theme. I sketched ideas for each specific card on a sheet of graph paper before beginning and determined what my color scheme would be. I wanted to keep the colors vibrant and include one focus word for each card. I’m actually surprised I didn’t include more buttons (I love buttons!!) but I was really liking the layers of paint and music paper and wanted to keep this batch simple. Like Spring!

First, apply a generous layer of gesso to the front of your cards. Because the cards are glossy, this step creates a base that gives your paint and papers something to stick to. Let this dry completely before proceeding.

Once the gesso is dry you can add some paint layers. For two of my cards I used acrylic paint and the other two I used primarily watercolor. I have a small blow dryer for crafts that makes it quick and easy to dry. Drying each paint layer before applying the next layer will reduce smearing and unwanted blending of colors. Of course, if you desire a blended look then pretend you are finger-painting and have at it! I enjoy lots of layers of texture so I add paint, ink and mod podge throughout the project.

Next, select a few embellishments and papers. I like to tear my papers so they have a jagged edge. Use a stencil for cutting pieces or adding additional paint/ink elements. Test placement of embellishments on your card until you have a design that pleases you. Then glue or use mod podge to affix your embellishments.

Two more steps to go! Add a thin layer of mod podge to seal in your embellishments and add another textural effect (gloss). Let this dry completely. The final step is to use an ink pad and a sponge or make up applicator to run a layer of color around the edges of the card. This frames the entire piece and creates a lovely finished look. In my ATC’s you can see that I used this technique on my word banners, too.

I hope this quick tutorial inspires you to create a unique Artist Trading Card! It’s a fun, low-stress project that is a great creative outlet for living-in-wellness. Let me know if you’re interested in a swap!