Beautiful Backgrounds Swap, Due July 21, 2017

Due Date: Due July 21, 2017
Sign-up/Withdraw: Due July 21, 2017
Number of cards: 3:3, 6:6, 9:9 or 18:18
Number of players: Unlimited
Medium: Open to all

Beautiful Backgrounds Swap, Due Due July 21, 2017



RETURNS MAILED 7/28



I am continually amazed at the creative processes that go into doing different backgrounds. Some days I spend as much time trying to analyze a card background, as I spend admiring the card's foreground.

I thought an exchange of cards would be helpful to get everyone restocked with beautiful backgrounds who may have run out, what with all of the trading going on.

This swap is open to all types of background art, and any media is welcome.
Use Acrylic paints, Alcohol Inks, Watercolors, Stamping, Stenciling, Embossing, Gelli Plate Printing, CitraSolv, Collage, gelatos, gesso, marbling, bleach, resist, wax paper, shaving cream, cloisonne technique.

You can experiment and try something new. Or you can send me some of your old reliable techniques. Here's your chance. Get out some supplies and Art!

It would be lovely if you could make a note on your technique(s) ON THE BACK SIDE OF YOUR ATCs - Did you use watercolor, acrylics, copic markers? Just write something simple, if you are rushed, or give complete directions on how you made your creations if you feel so inclined.
Others, besides me, are curious about how a background was made.


* This is a multiple card trade. Make as many cards as you wish, up to a total of 18, and receive the same number back. Due to people sending in anywhere from 3 cards to 18 cards, it is not possible to guarantee all cards will be from different people. Therefore, you may get more than one card from the same artist. I will, however, do my best to provide an assortment in your returns, starting with as many different artists as possible, but if multiple cards are by the same artist, I will attempt to sort out a change in color and/or style.

* If you send in your cards in the 9 pocket page, you may wish to send in a maximum of 9 or 18 cards, and if sending 18, you can put two cards in each pocket, then fold the page into thirds for mailing, although you may be able to get more cards into a couple of the pockets if the cards are not too thick. The additional weight of the 9 pocket pages will increase your mailing costs, both to mail to me, and to receive your returns, so please assure there is sufficient postage on both your mailing envelope and on your return envelope.

* I still expect each card to be in individual sleeves, even if sent in the 9 page pockets. Remember, I am trading these backgrounds out again, and individual sleeves protect the cards.

* ALL mediums and techniques are welcome.
* All cards need to be sent each in their own plastic sleeve EVEN IF YOU ARE USING A 9 POCKET PAGE PROTECTOR.
* All cards need to be standard ATC size: 2.5” x 3.5”
* ONLY ATCs allowed. No APCs accepted.
* ONLY original cards. No prints accepted.
* All cards need to be sturdy enough to earn the name “card” (no floppy or flimsy paper)
* Please sign up by posting to this swap. You need to post here so people can find you to give itrades and You Rocks!
* Please put the Swap name and your Username on the back of all cards. And please write clearly on everything!
.....We can't give you itrades and/or You Rock! points if we don't know who you are.
Remember, you should always give rep points for all cards you receive in your returns.
that is (another reason) I suggest you sign your cards.
people cannot give rep points if you didn't sign your cards.

* Please confirm there is enough postage on the envelope.
.....Please check both the envelope you send to me, and the envelope I need to send back to you.
* If you are unsure about mailing ATCs, or just may want to pick up some good tips for shipping, here is a great link.
http://atcsforall.com/forum/showthread.php?t=909

* If you are inside the U.S., please include a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope 4 by 9 1/2 inches, with the same amount of postage it took to send your cards to me.

* International participants, if you have U.S. funds, or U.S. postage, it is greatly appreciated since International return postage to you can get pricy. However, since many of you do not have access to U.S. stamps, I will cover your postage. Please include a self addressed envelope 4 by 9 1/2 inches (10 x 28 cm), or if you do not have the correct size envelope, please include a large mailing label with your address and I will provide the envelope.

* I apologize for being so demanding about the envelope size, but the postal rates in the US charge extra for thickness. When cards are stacked, or overlapped, in (a smaller) envelope, it almost always costs more to mail. If you send me a small envy, the cards get stacked. When I use the 4 inch by 9 1/2 inch business size envelopes, I can spread the cards over the area, making a THIN package, and only pay for basic (minimum) postage.

* Cards are due to me by July 21, 2017. Please allow sufficient lead time for cards to get to me, particularly if you are an International participant. Returns will be mailed promptly. Late cards will be returned, as it is unfair to those participants who always have their cards in early or on time.

* It would be great if you posted your cards to the thread to inspire us

* A hostie card in this theme is appreciated but not at all expected!
If you choose to send in a hostie card, please let me know. Since the number of cards you can send in is variable, I don't want to have any confusion about how many cards I need to swap out and return.

* Thank you for considering this swap! If you have my address from previous swaps, it hasn't changed. If you are new, or have not been in one of my swaps for a while, please PM me for my address when you are ready to send cards.

* Above all ~Have fun!!!



Current Participants
Beautiful Backgrounds

*rn1. jo.on.the.go - Cards Received 6/29
*rn2. CiCiCreates - Cards Received 7/11
*3. ann_stebbing - Cards Received 6/29 * FRANCE
*4. Donnacr - Cards Received 7/11 * AUSTRALIA
*5. Rosa - Cards Received 7/17
*6. electricdesigner - Cards Received 7/05 * U.K.
rn7. ThouArtDelyrias - Cards Received 6/29
*8. RavenInked - Cards Received 6/29
*9. londonont1 - Cards Received 6/29 * CANADA
*rn10. RaineyDay - Cards Received 6/29
*11. Cindylou - Cards Received 7/11
*12. Just Ducky - Cards Received 6/29
*13. Vicki Z - Cards Received 6/29
*14. JoyceG - Cards Received 6/21
*15. BluSkyHare - Cards Received 6/29
*16. Daphne75 - Cards Received 7/05 * THE NETHERLANDS
*17. katelnorth - Cards Received 7/17 * LONDON
*18. BalloonLady - Cards Received 7/11
*19. Jennifer - Cards Received 7/05
*rn20. Jeaniouspaintings - Cards Received 7/17
21. Katroush - Cards Received 7/17
*22. Mhitchcock - Cards Received 7/11
*23. CastleQueen5 - Cards Received 7/17
*24. mpittman469 - Cards Received 7/17


* INTERNATIONAL

Anyone out of beautiful backgrounds other than me?
Here are some ideas for techniques that some have used to make beautiful backgrounds:
This information and the comments have been copied from comments within this thread.
Check the individual comments for additional information, or google the technique.
There are You Tube videos available on line.

glue resist
watercolor on Yupo paper
alcohol inks on Yupo paper
Citrisolv

acrylic pouring is VERY messy stuff. This was definitely an outdoor pursuit for me. I got the paint on my potting bench, my clothes, the grass, and it was windy so my polythene sheeting, which was flimsy to say the least, helped spread it even further. However, it was fun and I love the results.

Brusho --- highly pigmented water colour ink powders. Beware though, they seem to be reactivated if you put water on top. Nice effect actually. Dry the cards for a couple of hours and test them again after 24 hours.
I re-did the brusho cards 24 hrs later with water brushed over the top.
Half I left unwashed. Half I brushed with water. One has a touch of copper in it. One of those happy accidents, my brush wasn't completely clean. Try adding metallics.

Debossed/faux letter press pattern - you swipe an ink pad gently over the RAISED side of your embossing folder, insert your card and emboss as usual. The ink is then pressed into the Debossed sections of the card.

Embossed pattern - I embossed the cards as usual then swiped an ink pad gently over the raised design (press too heavily and the ink colours the lower background).

Shaving Cream
shaving cream technique using acrylic paints
shaving cream technique using food coloring
shaving cream in pastel watercolor curves, applied wet-in-wet. When dried, paint tube caps and straws were dipped into blue acrylic paint and stamped on

shaving cream - I squirt a good amount of shaving cream into an A4 size shallow oven tray, smooth it out, then add random drops of food colouring. I swirl these around using a cocktail stick until I have a pattern I like then I lay a sheet of photocopy paper over the top and smooth it gently into the pattern. Pull this up carefully and scrape the shaving cream off the paper, then let the paper dry.
The first couple of papers will have vibrant colours, with this fading to pastel as you make more copies.

Pastel Flowers
hand-drawn flowers and filigree painted with pastel alcohol markers.

bubble wrap
watercolor dots applied wet-in-wet, then bubble wrap pressed on and lifted off

lace look stamping
watercolor background painted and dried.
Real lace quickly painted with liquid acrylics and pressed onto background, lifted off

jo.on.the.go said:

marbelized backgrounds I took a class in making marbeized paper
Fill a pan with water, place a few drops of special paint on top of the water, gently swirl the paint (it doesn't mix with the water unless it gets really swirled around) and slowly dip watercolor paper on top of the water surface.
You can buy marbleizing paint from Cheap Joes - the set isn't expensive.

Click to expand...

RavenInked said:

marbelized backgroundsI am having way too much fun with this one.
These were marbled using Marabu easy marble paint (available from Amazon), but marbling paper can also be done by floating cheap oil paints or nail polish in warm water, stirring gently with a chop stick, coffee stirrer, or similar item and then dipping the paper in, or dragging the paper through the polish.

Click to expand...

marbelized backgroundsI've looked at the kits in the past, but they always seemed like more effort than necessary and too much mess. Neither of the two methods I've used for the cards I've posted were very messy (Marabu easy marble paint or nail polish). I'd recommend disposable gloves to prevent staining your fingers and a well-ventilated area, but once the paint comes out of the water it is almost dry (and finishes drying quickly). No mess beyond water.

marbelized backgroundsI would think any marbling technique using water would be less messy than the shaving cream!

marbelized backgroundsI use liquid starch and Splash Acrylic Inks for marbling![/QUOTE]

Nail Polish I tried the nailpolish yesterday. Disaster Firstly it sunk to the bottom, then I stirred it and it all stuck to the stick. I don't know if it was because the nailpolish was old

Just Ducky said:

paint bucket background .... I really love these but yes, they are messy to make... but still...

outside on my porch I set up 2 or 3 buckets..(I sure them ice cream plastic tubs)
line the tub/bucket with a plastic bag (easier for clean up)
fill to the very top with cool water.... you will need spray cans of paint in the colors you like
spray a thin layer of paint on top of still water.... now just completely dip you paper in the bucket... not really fast but quickly.... you will have both sides of your paper painted...
lay out flat to dry.... then I take each paper and put between wax paper and iron....
this will remove any big drips and also help to flatten your papers...

now when I cut my papers... I usually cut a piece about 6x7... that way it fits the bucket and also I will have a choice of which part of the painted paper I like to use best...

hope I am not making this sound hard because it is not... I usually make these twice a year and make many at once so just a couple days of mess and a year of fun...

Click to expand...

jo.on.the.go said:

Palate Background This is my sneaky little trick for making them. I use a styrofoam plate as a palate for mixing my acrylic paint. When I am done with the painting, I let the paint on the plate dry, and then I cut it into ATC sized pieces.
As for styrofoam plates - yes, they are a little thicker than usual. But because they are styrofoam, they probably weigh less than a regular card. Even with the extra thickness, they still fit into a regular sleeve.

Click to expand...

Saran Wrap Technique
Another one I used to do long ago was to lay down wet watercolor and drop in some deeper blotches, then while just starting to loose its sheen, lay on a piece of Saran Wrap loosely and press down all over. Let dry for a few hours and lift off. You should have lighter areas of interesting lines and angles. Haven't tried that for a while. I think it has to be Saran though. It needs to be really clingy.

plastic wrap technique, You can also wrap the plastic, wrinkly fashion, over a cylinder like a dowel and roll it over the paint like a rolling pin

Scratch pictures The underneath colors are crayon. On top of that I painted black acrylic. When the paint was dry, I scratched through the acrylics to reveal the crayon underneath. I don't seal the crayon and acrylic backgrounds.

Watercolor with Coarse Sea Salt (course sea salt sprinkled on wet watercolor)
What I did was use a good watercolor, let it dry, then spray it again with quite a bit of water. Then I sprinkled on the coarse sea salt and let it dry for a couple of days (it's humid in the Northeast). I recently, finally, bought some good color, Daler & Rowney Aquafine. I really like it as some of the colors in the palette are opaque and some are tints. The color holds well after drying so that you can re-wet and layer on top without it loosing it's grip on the paper.

Watercolor with coarse sea salt
I love the way that salt technique looks, I used to do it so successfully many years ago, and now I can't seem to get it right. Maybe the regular table salt is too small a size, but I think that's what I used before. Probably paper too wet or not wet enough?

Watercolor with coarse sea salt --- or bleach
You can get amazing effects with watercolour for backgrounds. Try adding some salt OR a little drop of bleach to your painting water. Then mix with paint and drop onto paper. They give very different results.

washi tape strips strips laid edge to edge of each other
can overlap
can have space between strips
the pattern on the washi tape "makes" the card

I just saw this. Please sign me up and I will swamp you. I have a large collection of backgrounds that I was becoming bored with, and somebody may certainly be able to use these (maybe).

The first three are what I call "Palate Background". This is my sneaky little trick for making them. I use a styrofoam plate as a palate for mixing my acrylic paint. When I am done with the painting, I let the paint on the plate dry, and then I cut it into ATC sized pieces.

The fourth is watercolor on Yupo paper.
Edit: I deleted the thumbnails because I needed the attachment space.
Hope you got to see the images before deletion.

I made four "Scratch" pictures. The underneath colors are crayon. On top of that I painted black acrylic. When the paint was dry, I scratched through the acrylics to reveal the crayon underneath.

There were also a number of marbelized backgrounds. I took a class in making marbeized paper and I cut up pages I colored.

Edit: I deleted the attachments because I needed the attachment space.
Hope you got to see the images before deletion.

Those cards are gorgeous, jo.on.the.go.
I remember painting over crayon when I was in grade school, but I never thought about using them for ATCs backgrounds.
Do you need to seal the crayon and acrylic?

And the first three of the first batch are actually cut from styrofoam plates?
Doesn't that make them really thick?

They are so pretty.
They look like encaustic wax paintings.......

To answer your questions, Boots:
I don't seal the crayon and acrylic backgrounds.
As for styrofoam plates - yes, they are a little thicker than usual. But because they are styrofoam, they probably weigh less than a regular card. Even with the extra thickness, they still fit into a regular sleeve.

AWESOME cards, jo.on.the.go.
Thank you for posting such FABULOUS inspiration.
I signed you up.

What a good idea for an exchange, VickiZ! Looking forward to seeing what happens on this thread

OK, Vicki, you can sign me up. I have some shaving cream cards already made up, and I may try some glue resist and also what I call "lace stamping". We'll see how they turn out!

Hi WildGoose.
Long time no see.
Hope you can join us.

Welcome CiCiCreates.
I signed you up.

LOVE shaving cream backgrounds.
Everyone says they are so MESSY, but I don't think they are so bad.

Ooh, yes please. I have a tin full. I can't resist playing and creating backgrounds. It's always nice to see what other people come up with. For instance I would never have thought to try watercolour on Yupo paper. I get some great ones from cutting up old often failed (in my eyes) watercolours.

Yes, we are already trading ideas for making backgrounds in different ways.
Welcome ann_stebbing.
I signed you up.

I have just come home from a weekend at a craft conference with my daughter - strange to say I also came home with some new supplies. I can't wait to try them out and this swap gives me the perfect 'excuse'.

Hi Donnacr.
Good to see you back.
"Waves happily"

A weekend craft conference......How exciting, and FUN.
Welcome to the party.
I am sooo glad I gave you an "excuse" to use your new supplies.
I signed you up.

Okay ~~ I'm in

AWESOME!
I signed you up, Rosa

Please sign me up (International - UK)

I am only going to show a representative example of my marbleized backgrounds. I am swapping four with the major color blue, four with orange and two with purple.

I made these in a class where I learned to marbleize paper. Fill a pan with water, place a few drops of special paint on top of the water, gently swirl the paint (it doesn't mix with the water unless it gets really swirled around) and slowly dip watercolor paper on top of the water surface.

You can buy marbleizing paint from Cheap Joes - the set isn't expensive.