July Collage Stuff ATC Swap

The July Collage Stuff ATC swap is titled "Pick a Card." Participants must use part or all of a playing or game card in their ATC design. I knew I wanted to use these heart-shaped playing cards that I've never done anything with before - in the one of the art stashes. (I'm always the last one done with my ATC's for these swaps.) I like to use text in my backgrounds. I looked for a photo that would work with the theme and found this pink paper. It's a good starting point. It lets me look at the sizes of the elements and decide where I want to go with the design.

Here is the final design. I like the background, but most of it is covered. I glued vintage text to a chipboard ATC base. I stamped with this background stamp I've been using for everything lately - the Acanthus stamp and embossed with gold detail embossing powder. It needed color, so I dabbed on some magenta liquid watercolor. It was too pink. I smushed the whole thing down onto my Fired Brick distress ink pad. Perfect! Now there is dark red mixed in with the pink! The playing card (1/2 of the playing card) was too bright. I stamped it with a crackle stamp and embossed with gold embossing powder. I glued on the heart. Next the image. The woman's dress was too pink so I colored it with a Red Stardust pen. (love that sparkle!) I glued the couple down, but they seemed too bright. I diluted some Making Memories Manilla paint and dabbed it around with my fingers and over the couple. I got this new Cricut cartridge, "Home Decor", so time to put it to use. I cut the branch out of some red paper and then made it darker with the Fired Brick ink pad. The bird is from a punch. I punched it out of red paper. Didn't like that. I made the bird darker with the Fired Brick ink and didn't like that. I ended up painting the bird with gold paint. What should this ATC say? Since I put the bird up in the corner, I decided on "lovebirds". I love the Acme labelmaker site! I made the "lovebirds" there. I outlined the word with my red sparkle pen. The last step was to edge the ATC with gold paint. Love those Ranger paint dabbers.

I only have to make 10 of these or so. I'll be able to get them done in time to swap out the ATC's!

If you haven't embossed anything lately, get out the embossing powder and heat gun! Have fun with it!