an ATC adventure

Not long ago, I read an article that asked how do we show that we care - there are different ways to do that, not all of us are the same - I make (and eventually send) cards. I know several people who are going through difficult times lately, and when I listen to them (another way to show caring) I want to be able to reassure them that everything will be OK.  I didn't want to write out cards, though - I still have several thank you notes to write.  After pondering it a bit, I decided to make some Artist Trading Cards, thinking a recipient could keep one in a wallet or purse, add a magnet to display it on the fridge, or add velcro to mount it on a car dashboard.  

I turned to some challenge blogs for color inspiration, and started with Dynamic Duos:

stamp sets - Really Good Greetings, Beautifully Baroque; ink - Rose Red, Midnight Muse; card stock - Very Vanilla, Watercolor paper; Big Shot with Chalk Talk framelit; Stampin' Spritzers, sponge dauber

 I tried Less is More next.  I think this is a clean and simple design, but I don't work in the small ATC size often, so it may not have enough "white space"?

stamp set - Really Good Greetings; ink - Garden Green, So Saffron; card stock - So Saffron, Watercolor paper; Big Shot with Apothecary Accents framelit, Stampin' Sponges, Stampin' Spritzers

I decorated the back with flowers, so I needed something less feminine, and decided to work with the combination at Colour Me...!:

stamp sets - Really Good Greetings, Truly Grateful, Hardwood; ink - Basic Black, Versamark, Smoky Slate, Real Red; card stock - Bermuda Bay, Smoky Slate, Real Red

One of the women I want to give a card has a son who's struggling; I wanted one more masculine card in case she'd like to share hers with him, and the colors (and photo!) at Color Throwdown were perfect:

stamp sets - Really Good Greetings, Gorgeous Grunge; ink - Versamark, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango; card stock - Watercolor paper; Stampin' Emboss powder - Black; punch - 1-3/4" circle; Stampin' Sponges

Whoo - my white balance is way off on the last photo, and it sure washed out the So Saffron sun - guess I better look at that tonight!