Wood ATC and a Gelli Plate

Artist trading cards are always fun to make.  I find that working in a small size is challenging.  The hardest part for me is covering up my background.  Backgrounds can stand on their own.  When you select the right elements, that's when the magic happens.

Here is my finished project, four ATCs lined up.

The first thing you're going to notice is that the heads don't match.  I only had three kids heads. I chose the illustrated head to go on the fourth card.  Don't worry, I have added "the heads of children" to my next shopping list.

What I want you to know about this set of ATCs is that they are made on wood from Unique Laser Designs.  And they were so easy to make!

First, gesso your wood.  Gesso is your friend.  It primes your surface and makes your paint appear more vivid.   Then apply your base color to the ATC.  I used a bright green.

While the gesso was drying, I used my die cut machine to cut several pieces out of old greeting cards.  Thick glossy cards make excellent reusable templates for several projects.  Just don't tell that relative that sends these cards how you use their store bought mementos.  (If you don't make your own cards, support your local crafty person!)  And if either of these options are not available in your home, file folders are the next best thing.

I decided to used my Gelli plate to make the background of this ATC set.  I then used my die cutter to make a template to use on the Gelli plate.

For the next layer of paint, I had chose orange.  I applied it to my Gelli Plate and set down my ATCs.  When I pulled the ATCs up, I saw orange.  Too much orange.  I spritzed the ATCs with water and then wiped the centers clean of the orange, just leaving a bit of orange around the edges.

I opted for pink instead.  After seeing how the paint transferred to the ATC, I also decided to use the "ghost image" on the ATC.  I put the pink paint on the Gelli Plate, put on the die cuts, then peeled them back off.  Then I placed the wooden ATCs onto the Gelli Plate.  The result was a finer, less blobby transfer print.  

This is how the ATCs looked after the Gelli treatment:

I was thrilled with the result and wanted to keep them the way they were.  I convinced myself to go on with my project.  Using black ink, I grunged them up a wee bit and inked the edges of the cards.  

After searching through my stash, I found colorful rub-ons.  I applied these to the four cards.  

I finished the ATCs off with the collage heads, flowers and the ULD word blocks.  Here are the individual ATCs.

Brave

Dream

Hope

Joy

Unique Laser Designs products used:

ATC set

Brick Wall Stencil

The words blocks are the bricks from the stencil!

As always, thanks for stopping by.  Your visits are always appreciated!