{Mixed Media Tutorial} Charmed ATCs by Amy

Good Morning crafty friends, Amy here, with a fun little tutorial using the Groovy Shoes stamp set.

So here's my process:

Start with a sheet of Watercolor paper and mist it with water. Dab some Distress Stain of your choice onto your craft mat and swirl your watercolor paper around in it. Dry between colors so you don't "muddy up" your colors.

I used Wild Honey, Faded Jeans, Fired Brick and Dusty Concord Distress Stains. Continue until you are happy with the colors/design.

Next, blend some Barn Door Distress Ink thru the Stained Glass ARTplorations Stencil randomly on your paper.

Then blend some Broken China Distress Ink thru the Mini Bubbles ARTplorations Stencil for some added texture to your background.

ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" in size, but trim your paper into 4 pieces at 2 1/4" x 3 1/4". This will allow for a base of 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" later on in the process. Keep your excess paper for future projects, cards or journal pages. :o)

Next, stamp the shoes from the Groovy Shoes stamp set onto watercolor paper using black StazOn ink or any waterproof ink.

Then color the images using the same Distress Stains from Step 1, by simply misting your paper with water, and dabbing the stain onto your craft mat and using a paintbrush to watercolor your images.

Once, dry, fussy cut your images and set aside. 

Stamp the GROOVY sentiment and a shoe onto your cut ATC bases from Step 4 with black StazOn ink.

Glue your fussy cut watercolored images onto your ATC base and highlight with a white Paint or Gellyroll Pen. I also used the small daisy from the set and colored it in with the white Paint pen as I thought it added to the "groovy" vibe of the cards. ;o)

Here's where the CHARMED bit comes in. When thinking of how to embellish my ATCs I got to thinking or a charm or metal embellishment. Only problem was I didn't have any. So I stamped the large daisy from the set onto some Shrinky Dink Paper with black StazOn ink. I'm told Plastic Food containers also work for this step, but check out YouTube for cooking times.

Color in your images with markers, I used vibrant Sharpie Markers here. Fussy cut your flowers and use a 1/8" hole punch on the largest petal to punch a hole thru. be sure to HOLE PUNCH prior to cooking.

I pre-heated the oven to 325 F and placed my images onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper then added another sheet of parchment paper over top and placed a smaller baking sheet on top. This prevents the images from curling into themselves. Bake for 2-3 mins and let cool. Look at how cute they are next to the original stamp size. :oD

 Next, I used pliers to added a ring and chain to all the flowers. I got the rings and chain at my local dollar store, so it's not an expensive embellie at all... plus the possibilities and sizes are endless depending on your project needs!

Add your charms thru a corner of your ATC using a 1 1/16" punch and glue down to black cardstock pieces cut to 2 1/2" x 3 1/2".



To finish add some dimensional dots or enamel dots and VOILA! Some groovy charmed ATC's using the versatile Groovy Shoes stamp set.


Here's a closer look:

I sure hope I've inspired you to CHARM your projects up! :o)

Products used: Groovy Shoes, Stained Glass and Mini Bubbles

Others:Watercolor Paper, Distress Stains, Distress Ink, Black StazOn ink, MISTI, Shrinky Dink Paper, 1 1/8' and 1 1/16' hole punches, paper trimmer, scissors, non stick craft mat, glue, Molotow White Paint Pen, Nuvo Crystal Drops, pliers, metal ring and chain

Happy Craftin'!

Amy