ATC Swapping Preparations and Pretty Holiday Nails (these things are not related)

The thing about making a ton of holiday gifts is that my craft table becomes overrun with scraps of paper, material and all the little tiny things that get trimmed off a project. I usually have scads of these little things all over the frakking place which means the usable space on my craft table keeps shrinking and shrinking as I work.

Factoid about me: I hate throwing things away that I know can be useful. Also, if you recall I have a tight budget when it comes to crafting (my husband says it's not a necessity, go figure?).

Paper and fabric scraps get chucked into containers, and boxes and baggies and, you get the point. One of my destash projects is making ATC's (I like to swap them on swap-bot.com). As with many of my projects I tend to start and stop because of the myriad of interruptions that can happen at any given moment around here. So I prep the actual cards in bunches, clear up all my scraps and then keep those handy for when I have a spare moment to whip some up.

Here's how I prep and destash for ATC's:

1. Cut my base cards from heavy card stock, standard ATC card size is 3.5 x 2.5
2. Cut all my larger scraps of paper into backgrounds, same size
3. Gather a bunch of strips and squares to make collaged backgrounds.

4. Adhere backgrounds to bases with a gluestick and make a few backgrounds with the strips.

5. Turn over and trim all the edges so they are the correct size

TIP: ATC traders and collectors are pretty particular about sizing! Make sure that if you are making ATC's for trade that you get them to exactly 3.5 x 2.5 or as close as possible. Most collectors use trading card sheet protectors to store their trades, you want to make sure that your cards will fit into their collection.

6. I like to sew up the edges of my collaged bases to ensure the pieces stay put. If you choose to collage and NOT sew, make sure you are using a tough glue that will really hold on tight!
7. Now I have a stash of bases I can use to create ATC's whenever the mood strikes me and they take up 1/2 the room the scraps did, giving me more work space.

For more information on ATC's check out THIS, for more info on trading ATC's check out THIS.

PS: My nails are super freaking cute right now! I love the new Salon Effects for Christmas! I got mine at Rite Aid, but I think you can pick them up at WalMart too...