As you can tell, this week is all about Art Card challenges and ATCs!  Dani's challenge is so perfect for this week!!  I LOVED Beth's post about Tonya and her ATCs that she made with the May and June Vintage Plum kit's.  Here is the blog post again for those that missed it: http://www.vintageplum.com/blog/06-19-2009/atc_anyone

Well, I have been talking with Tonya about ATCs because I know many of you had some questions.  She said she would love to share more specific info about ATCs.  This is what she said:

"An ATC (Artist Trading Card) is about 2 1/2'' to 3 1/2''. They are the same size as a baseball card and can even fit into the same sleeves that baseball cards are kept in. The sleeves will fit into any normal size 3-ring binder. Each ATC is also signed on the back by the creator and usually given a title. You can make these cards for trade or to make your own little collection at home. You can use paint, pencil, marker, or anything you like to make them; even your scrapbook and card-making supplies. Just decorate them like you would decorate a card or scrapbook page. Anyone can make these fun little cards and enjoy the excitement of trading them with your friends, family, and/or fellow VP members. Flickr has many groups full of others who love to trade and collect ATCs. You can also search for ATC swaps online. The possibilities are endless for making ATCs. It is so much fun and very addictive."

I would encourage you to make some ATCs of your own and post them in the VP gallery!  Be sure to link up your ATC to this blog post as well!

To help you with your ATCs, Tonya has created some ATC backs and she has made them available for download for free!! 

Here is one example:

Check all of them (along with some collage sheets Tonya has made) out here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/collageartistry/sets/72157606635472809/

To find more inspiration from our very sweet Tonya, you can check out her blog here:  http://collageartistry.blogspot.com/

Oh, and I didn't forget about the giveaway!!  In celebration of our July kit (Cherry Pie) release tomorrow, Tonya is giving away one of her AWESOME ATCs made with a couple of VP kits!!!  For a chance to win this very special ATC made by Tonya, leave a comment here by Friday, July 3rd.  Winner will be chosen at random on Saturday, July 4th.

Let's see those ATCs ladies and be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win one of Tonya's!! 

Thank you Tonya for sharing all this information about ATCs, for your awesome ATC backs and your adorable giveaway!!  We love you! 

A recent post by Beth featuring beautiful ATCs by Tonya really inspired me. When I was thinking up challenge ideas for this week, I kept thinking about art cards. I've only done a handful of ATC swaps - and not very many personal art cards on my own. I always love them when I see them, but for some reason without a photo to scrapbook, I get a bit blocked creatively!
(I hesitate to call the cards I usually make ATCs unless they're for a swap, since they don't follow the typical ATC rules and I'm not usually trading them, either just giving them or keeping them.)

So the challenge for this week is to make some art cards! Any size, any theme, as many as you want.

I made a couple and they only took  me about half an hour each, so quick and fun:

(see larger and more details here: http://www.vintageplum.com/gallery/users/general_gallery/layout/art_cards_for_weekly_challenge_june_29th_july_5th )

And as we all know, I don't like to measure and don't own a paper trimmer so I just took some left over cardstock peices, cut retangles off the ends and made them into art cards! I may keep them, or send them out as RAKs later on.

So, my challenge to you, take a little time, make some art cards, follow the rules, break the rules, anything goes. Well..... ok, I do have one rule you have to follow: have fun with it!

Edited to add: This is also a great way to use up kit leftovers! Both my cards were made with paper from the June kit!

Weekly Challenge Details:
Enter the contest by posting your project here: http://www.vintageplum.com/contests/users/weekly_challenge_art_cards

During that entire week, all forum members will be able to vote for their favorites (you can vote for more than one) and the project that receives the most votes by Sunday at 8pm cst will be the winner of that challenge.  The winner will have their name and project displayed in a special place.

We will also do a random drawing at the close of the contest and one lucky contestant will win a $5.00 gift certificate to be used toward a future kit purchase.  Please note that there is only one entry per person for the drawing even if you entered more than one project.

We look forward to seeing what all of you come up with!

Complete Rules: http://www.vintageplum.com/forums/vintage_plum_forums/on_your_mark_get_set_go/weekly_challenge_contest_rules

This week's challenge is from our very talented Lea!  The challenge is to make the most of the images on your paper.  You can make anything with this challenge such as, a card, layout, altered project...whatever you desire! 

Lea's example uses one of the cute block papers in the June kit to create her card sentiment from it. 

Details:
Enter the contest by posting your layout here:  http://www.vintageplum.com/contests/users/weekly_challenge_make_the_most...

During that entire week, all forum members will be able to vote for their favorites (you can vote for more than one) and the project that receives the most votes by Sunday at 8pm cst will be the winner of that challenge.  The winner will have their name and project displayed in a special place.

We will also do a random drawing at the close of the contest and one lucky contestant will win a $5.00 gift certificate to be used toward a future kit purchase.  Please note that there is only one entry per person for the drawing even if you entered more than one project.

We look forward to seeing what all of you come up with!

Complete Rules: http://www.vintageplum.com/forums/vintage_plum_forums/on_your_mark_get_set_go/weekly_challenge_contest_rules