Just over a month ago I had a bright, or some may say insane, idea of doing a monthly ATC swap with the group of crafty friends whom often come to my house for arty crafty fun… The gang who played bravely with paint and paper and glue and canvases only a few days ago! Well they all thought this was a fab idea, and even though some had never made an ATC before, we agreed to have a theme each month (chosen at random from suggestions from the group) and to make one for each in the group and one for ourselves if we so wished … So 7 of the same (or very similar)!

The first month the theme was birds which was suggested by the lovely Julie. Now I had no idea what I was going to do and when I googled and Pinterested … Yes this is now a verb in my vocabulary … I was blown away by the fab offerings from the web of other peoples interpretations of birds on ATCs.

The first time I sat to work on them, I was actually in the cafe of the library near my work where I sometimes grab a coffee in my lunch break and enjoy the break from my work, and I had a watercolour pad, some watercolour pencils and a playing card to use as a template… Here is what happened …

Next time I worked on them was at the swimming pool when my princess was in her lesson and I was in the spectator seats… This time I added more colour with the watercolour and some more definition.

When I got home that afternoon it was time to get out the stamps… First Lovely as a Tree in subtle Crumb Cake ink…

Then to add the birds… Serene Silhouettes stamped in versamark and then heat embossed…

I then cut out the little topper and rounded the corners and set to on the base of the ATC. I used Tangerine Tango cardstock to compliment the sunset background. I added the Woodgrain stamp in the same ink to create a subtle background.

On the reverse I used an old Paperartsy ATC stamp ready to be completed with the details of the ATC.

Then it was time to assemble and put the finishing touches to the ATC. I decided on some gold brads, dream stamped on the side, and a little bit of extra inking to the topper to finish it off.

I have not made many ATCs before, and never so many in one go… But it was a lot of fun. I must admit as we have chosen the themes for a few months in advance I have already finished next months too… But you will have to wait a month to see those!

Happy crafting!

Catherine