Altered Playing Cards

 

 In early June, I had the pleasure of meeting Seth Apter for the first time after emailing with him for many months regarding a class that he was going to teach at the studio.  And every once in a while I decide to take a class at my own studio...'cause that's one of the fun things about store ownership!  I knew immediately that I wanted to take Seth's class...altered playing cards.  Seriously, how much fun is altering 52 cards...tiny little works of art...I couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn about Seth's style of creating.  And I was not disappointed.  Seth is a great instructor...we all had an amazing time in class.  Thanks, Seth!

Today, I'm sharing two of my favorite cards that I've finished. I think I've finished five or six so far in total and the goal is to complete at least one a week for an entire year.  Humm...I better get busy on finishing a few!

During the class, we mostly focused on creating the paint layers on the cards and just barely scratched the surface on finishing the decorating.  We started by covering all of our cards with black gesso.  I initially only covered once side, loving the look of the card backs, but have ended up applying gesso to most of the backs as I've been using that space for journaling.  We all arrived with pre-gesso'd cards and then got to work on adding more paint.  Seth likes to mix his acrylics with glazing fluid, which makes the paint translucent.  This allows you to apply multiple colors of paint, while still being able to see some of the black (or other colors) on the card base.  The glazing fluid also leaves the card with a lovely shine...not too glossy but just a hint.  Great contrast between the matte finish of the gesso.  Once our paint layers were dry (and if I did this again, I'd add more color.  These are a bit too dark for my taste but I do like the pop of bright teal!), we used stencils and other objects to add a bit more design.  Of course I had to add splatter to every card!

 Once I got home I was a bit obsessed with finishing some cards...once those ideas start, it's hard to not run to the studio and forget all about feeding the family and cleaning the house!  I grabbed some vintage papers and added a bit of text to most of my cards (the house on the first card and the circles on the second) and I even dug through some of my old scrapbooking stash and found some great little icons to use on the card, like this doll that I aged and added a glitter heart.  I'm thinking that these cards are the perfect canvas for using up old lettering and other misc. pieces that have been forgotten.  I can't wait to make more and then end up with 52 completed cards...a tiny diary of life over the past year...I think it's time to get back in to the studio...

Enjoy and check out supply links below!

Acrylic Paints (PaperArtsy are the perfect choice)

Black Gesso

The Crafters Workshop Stencils

Glazing Fluid

White Gel Pen