ATC...what?

For a long time now I've wondered exactly what an ATC is. I've seen some really great examples, but still never quite "got it".

Well, thanks to an awesome challenge on my favorite scrapping website (http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/), I finally tried one of my very own! And not only did I make my first ATC, but I tried a new technique as well. Stamping with bleach.

Both were so much easier than I expected.
An ATC is kind of like a baseball card for scrappers. Artist Trading Card, to be precise! The measurements are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". Tiny!! It definately takes getting used to (especially for 12x12 scrappers like me!). Other than that the design is whatever you want to make it! I'll have to say I really enjoyed making an ATC. It was kind of liberating! :)

Stamping with bleach is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You place a paper towel in a shallow dish and soak it in bleach. Then you use it as a stamp pad to ink your stamp. Then stamp the image on a piece of colored cardstock. It's fun to try different colors to see what results you will get. On my ATC I stamped the cross onto brown cardstock and it turned a sort of caramel color. I cleaned my stamp immediately with a baby wipe. I haven't heard any reports of the bleach harming the stamp,but I just wanted to be safe.

The flourish in the corner of the card was made using my Cuttlebug. It was from the "Fancy Corners" four pack of embossing plates. I just trimmed around the outside edges and adhered it to the corner of my card.

The challenge was to incorporate one of the names of God, along with an appropriate verse. You can make any type of card or page. There's really a lot of freedom. I chose to do ATC's because I wanted to try them anyway. When I am done I can display them and have all those beautiful names and verses to look through. It's a year long challenge and the host chooses a new name every two weeks. I started at the beginning with "Holy". The verse I picked was Isaiah 47:4

As for our Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel.

Here is a link to the challenge:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=399890

I hope all this information was helpful. I tried not to make it too jumbled! I am excited to share more creations, reviews, info and whatever else!! :)