ATC Frame Tutorial

I had so much fun playing with our extended line of ATC Frames, that I thought it would be fun to share.

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For the first ATC, I started with our Gothic Arch Frame (Stencil Board Material) and the coordinating ATC Base. I first stamped it with a permanent black ink and then outlined the edges of the frame with a permanent marker. You can also ink the edges, but I find the marker to be less messy :). Copic markers work nicely too. While the frames can be painted, they also look cool natural.
...............................................................................................Using a sponge brush (I love these because they don't leave brush strokes) I painted the ATC base with yellow acrylic. If you are impatient like I am, you can speed up the paint drying with a heat gun.
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Next, I stenciled on some birdies using the Small Flock Stencil.
.................................................................................................. I wanted to add some blue to the sky so I added a light wash of aqua using some watered down acrylic paint on a paper towel. Once that was dry, I used a lovely lady from the Medieval Magick Collage Sheet and attached her to the base with Mod Podge. I love Mod Podge (matte) and use it for just about everything!
.................................................................................................At this point I attached the ATC Frame to the ATC Base with Mod Podge, and then as a final touch I painted a small Chipboard Bird Cut-Out with the same aqua paint and then layered it with a unpainted Masonite Gear again using Mod Podge.
................................................................................................. And here she is!
.................................................................................................. For this next ATC I decided to use the 4 Pane Window Frame in Chipboard. I knew I wanted to go with a shabby cottage style for this one.
.......................................................................................... I quickly painted the frame with some aqua paint, and then after that dried, I brushed some white on top of the aqua to give it a "chippy" look.
.............................................................................................For the background, I decided to use a Masonite ATC Base. Yes, you can mix and match! I painted the base hot pink, and then added some white rub-ons. I cut out a doll image from the Hello Dollie Bodies Collage Sheet and then attached her wiht Mod Podge. I just attached the whole doll and then cut away where she hung over the base. Easy.
................................................................................................... I wanted to attach some cream mini paper roses and thought they needed a bit of color so I sprayed them with my airbrush system. Since the roses are paper, you can color them with ink, misters, markers, paint, etc.
........................................................................................................ I attached the frame and roses with Mod Podge and then added a glittered K sticker outlined with a fine black Sharpie to make it pop. These would make a fun personalized gift. And since the back is wood, you could glue on a small picture hanger and hang them on the wall!

................................................................................................ For this last ATC, I decided to go with a Chipboard Fancy Frame Style 1 and a Chipboard Base.

........................................................................................... First, I lightly painted the pieces with a cream acrylic.
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I wanted to go for a grungy look on these so I added some brown ink (I just smeared it around with my fingers) and then added some Gloss Mod Podge with a sponge brush for texture. I sprinkled some green embossing powder on the pieces and then embossed for a "mossy" look.

When I was visiting Maryland I had the opportunity to visit Edgar Allen Poe's grave site, which inspired this piece. It was quite Moss covered.
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Using a Poe image from the Poe Collage Sheet, I doodled on it a bit with a fine Sharpie and stamped around the border. I roughly cut him out. I doesn't have to be perfect, just big enough for the frame.
........................................................................................... At this point it was easiest to glue the image face down in the frame so I could see exactly where it was going. And then I glued the two pieces together with Mod Podge.
......................................................................................... I used little office clips to clamp down the piece while it was drying.
............................................................................................ Using some of the new Small Wings (Bat Wings in Stencil Board) I colored them with my black copic marker. Because the stencil board is smooth, it colors with copics very nicely!
....................................................................................... Finally I attached the wings and an unpainted Masonite Gear. I stamped a few swirls around the edge of the frame. I purposely stamped on a paper towel first and then on my piece for a more worn look.
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I hope you enjoyed that! I know I did. If you would like to play with some frames of your own, you can find all 28 HERE! And please feel free to use any and all of the above tips in your creations. Have fun! xoxo