Join the ATC craze!!

I've had several fellow bloggers and artists want to know what are ATC's? I've put together just a quick ATC summary and referenced two sites at the bottom of this blog for excellent sources to get you going.
Simply put ATC's (artist trading cards) are a combination of baseball trading cards and artist sample cards. ATC's originated in Zurich in 1997. They are small pieces of art created to be traded, NEVER sold, between other artists. This trading encourages camaraderie and technique sharing among other artists.
There are only three criteria to implement when creating ATC's: 1. they are NEVER to be sold, only traded, either in person, via Internet, or snail mail, but preferably in person; 2. Finished size must be 2.5" x 3.5" (this speaks of the contributing influence of baseball trading cards on ATC's); 3. Must have card info on back to include but not limited to: card title, artist name and/or contact info, and card number (if part of a series or edition). You can use ANY medium, technique, or style you want.
These cards are about making a miniature piece of art that you can share with others. They reflect who you are, at the time of creating and/or they allow you to play with new techniques/mediums on a smaller canvas. This enables you to complete your project faster and use less materials.
I use my ATC's as a way of experimenting with new techniques/medias and then incorporate it into my scrapbook. But my all time favorite part about ATC's is getting together with other scrapbookers/artists and trading. I LOVE learning new techniques and hanging with other artists!
For more inclusive information click here (http://www.artist-trading-cards.ch/) to see the original ATC artist's website or here (http://www.cedarseed.com/air/atc.html) for an amazing resource to get your appetite wet for ATC's.
Write back with questions. Nikki