My Winning ATC

I've just had another wonderful surprise! I joined the monthly contest in ATCs for All and guess what! I won for the month of February! My entry was a mixed media collage of two trees (The theme was "Trees"). Here's how I made it...

1. First I cut the card to standard ATC size -2.5" x 3.5"

2. Then I gave the card a coat of gesso. This makes for a nice texture when you color it.

3. I gave the card a light wash of acrylic (or was it watercolor?) in varying shades of light blue.

4. Then I made a light pencil sketch of the two tree trunks and branches. I wanted to let the trees form a heart since the month of February is Valentine's month.

5. I painted the trunks and branches with acrylic paints, trying to put darker shades on the right side of the trunk. When painting I like to have different shades, mixing a little bit of different colors so that it's not just one flat trunk with one color.

6. I painted book paper in varying shades of green (again) and cut the paper up in leaf shapes.

7. I pasted the leaves to the branches, making sure that I kept the heart clear of leaves.

8. I used colored pencils for the hills and background. Again, I used different colors. The gesso gives the colored pencil a nice texture. I also gave the edges a darker violet color to sort of frame the card.

9. Almost done, just a few flowers at the base of the trees and two birds in the distance, painted with acrylics. And although it can hardly be seen, a heart carving on the trunk. Inside the heart, it says "ATCs".

10. Then, I pasted a backing on the card with the title of the card "February Trees", my name, signature, and email address and the date.