Decorative Napkin Collage/USAQ DT Project #2

I am new to ATCs.  I never understood the crazy love people have for them. What is so exciting about a 2.5 x 3.5 playing card size piece of art? Having never tried it I couldn't get it. But now I do.  Its a size you can deal with. It's a small corner of the world you have control of. It's not the entire page, or a big canvas.  It's like a vignette of a painting, or a technique.  Package sized so you can take it with you.  I dig it.  I haven't made many but now I want to.

My kit this week consisted of:

Little ATC boards

PPA Matte Glue

European napkins

Napkins pull apart into 3 sections. Do this or your project will look bulky.  You don't need the extra backing. The paper is quite nice when it is thin.

I glued it down over the ATC card with PPA glue. It's a nice glue. Archival and will protect your work from damaging UV light.  So no color fades over time.  It has a nice consistency and works much better than other glues in keeping papers from wrinkling.  I use it all the time for putting down papers.

While it was wet I ripped the sides of the paper against the ATC to cut it off. 

I colored in the butterflies with Copic Markers to intensify the color.  Copic markers come in subtle shades that I like. 

At this point I cover the ATC with clear gesso because whatever paint I want to add I want to do it on a solid ground. Gesso has a bit of chalk in it and when this dries I would be able to use pencil over it if I wanted to. It transforms the surface to one that is slick to something gritty. 

When it dried I painted around the butterflies with Golden Fluid Acrylics in Titan Buff.  I want my card to have a painterly effect and not look so much like a napkin.  Painting over unneeded background does the trick.  I also used Lumiere paint to embellish the green in the wings.

I added smaller butterflies with rub ons. It is good to repeat your motif in a painting (in this one it is butterflies) and it makes it more interesting if you vary the sizes.

I stamped "I am seeking: onto the bottom with violet Staz On Ink.  Melody Ross makes wonderful stamps with healing words on them.

  I used Titan Buff to go around the M a little to make sure you could see it since it was stamped over the dark butterfly and didn't show up.

I put crackle paste by Tim Holtz over the image and let dry for several hours.

  

Final step is to spray Walnut Ink over the ATC and wipe off with a towel. This creates dark areas inside the crevices. The result is a distressed vintage looking painting.

Leave a comment for a chance to win this ATC! You have until Friday.

Now let's see what my USAQ Team Members did with their kits! (This is the best part, to see all the different ways creative people can use the same products)

Sarah Anderson
Connie Vogt

Lea Cioci

Jessica Griffin

Jan Hennings

Terri Sproul

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