Alice in Wonderland

This is the last Artist Trading Card I'll be posting for a little while.  One swap group has come to the end of the planned swaps and I participate in a couple other groups on a semi-regular basis but probably won't join in while I finish up some new projects.  I do have a large series to make by the end of the year (and I hope sooner) with a quilt theme.  I am still in the planning stages for that group of cards.

The small group had a theme of "Alice in Wonderland" this month.  I recently downloaded a lot of images from the original illustrations of the book from Twisted Papers.  They are beautiful, crisp images that can be enlarged a great deal without becoming pixelated.  This LINK will take you directly to the page with many Alice in Wonderland images.

I brought the image into my StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0 software and started doing some digital magic.  I applied a color wash in tan to the image and then softened the edges.  I added some background paper for the base layer.  The phrase "go ask Alice" from "White Rabbit" by the Jefferson Airplane kept going through my head as I was working, so I added that and made it the same color as the background paper.  Then I used the filters to add a three dimensional edge and sphereize the image.

I adjusted the size of my image to ATC dimensions (3.5 x 2.5 inches) and then took the image into my printing program to fit eight on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of matte photo paper.  I cut heavy brown cardstock as a backing for the photo paper - I like my ATCs to be on the thick rather than the thin side.

I got out my colored pencils and did just a bit of hand tinting.  I haven't wandered into the world of coloring with Copic markers...yet... The pencils were a good way to add a bit of spark.

For the backs of the cards, I cut the teapot from A Child's Year at 2 inches in a pretty pink patterned cardstock.

I hand wrote the details on the back with my white Signo gel pen.

Several of you have asked what people do with the ATCs.  I have all of the ones I have traded for in a binder or a basket and look through them from time to time.  It is fun to see all the different "takes" on a common theme and to see and try new techniques.  I need to get the groups of ATCs together and take some photos so I can have a quick reference back to these ideas.

I haven't seen the Tim Burton "Alice in Wonderland" yet - have any of you?  I have heard mixed reviews, but I am sure I would enjoy the visual treat with all of the bright colors I have seen in the previews.

Have a great weekend!