**2/6/09- Sign ups are officially closed, Thank you!!!
There are many reasons why I love this community, not the least of which the creative spark it ignites in myself and my family (you all say I do it for you, but you also very much do that for me too!). Emma had some studio time with her Aunt Jenny while we were in Colorado over Christmas, and they made some Artist Trading Cards together. When I posted about them, Erin emailed me to say she thought it would be a great idea to create a kid's artist trading card swap, and you know what, she's right! What kid doesn't adore mail addressed to them? So, we have created a new swap for your children, ages 4 and up, to create their own Artist Trading Cards and swap with other kids around the world (hopefully), as well as in the US.
My sister-in-law created this special kids ATC swap button , so if you wish you can add it to your blog sidebar, just link back to this post or Erin's for an explanation.
What exactly is an Artist Trading Card, you ask? Here's a little bit of history and information on how they are done, materials used, etc. There are Flickr groups devoted to these your kids might get inspiration from. I know my own kids often start with big blank paper when drawing or painting, but I have to say, the smallness of these cards (2.5" x 3.5"/6.35cm x 8.89cm) creates great opportunities for concentrated creativity and more detail (as well as a perfect excuse to pull out the good art supplies).
The rules are simple to create these tiny little works of art:
- If you are interested in this swap, please send a message to atckidswap@gmail.com by this Friday, 2/6. Let us know your address, your child's name and age. International swappers are welcome!
- This is exclusively a child project (no adult ATC's please), for that reason, we are specifying that participating children be ages 4 and up.
- We will group everyone into groups of 6, meaning your child will make 5 cards to mail out.
- Artist trading cards are the perfect size to fit into a standard envelope, so to keep it simple, the participants are not obligated beyond mailing the actual card out to its recipient (plus any information about the card they'd like to add). Anything extra is up to the sender and is not expected or required.
- Finished cards should be mailed out to their recipients no later than 2/28.
Okay, so that's about all I can think of right now. Sign up now and we will notify the participants on Monday, 2/9 of their group and more details. A big thanks to Erin and Jenny, who really planted the seed for this whole idea.
