ATC fun......

ATCs (artist trading cards) are works of art the size of a baseball trading card.  artists create them primarily to trade with one another.  but some artists sell their cards as well.  many die-hard ATC artists do not sanction selling them.
probably the most important factor involved with ATCs is the trading of them.  the act of trading them face to face is what some ATC artists describe as THE art itself or art happening that is central.   these are called trading sessions.  the idea is that a large group of artists meet with multiple cards in hand (the cards can be all different or all the same - duplicates) and look around and trade with whomever they like.  in the trading sessions i have been to, the artists usually lay their cards out on a table.  the cards are protected in baseball card sleeves (plastic).  you walk around looking when you see something you just have to have...you take a card/ leave a card.
there is another group of artists who do ATCs for sell, these are called ACEO (art card editions and originals) they can be found on ebay by the thousands.   prices range from cents to hundreds of dollars depending on the artist. 
although they are called artist trading cards, you do NOT have to be an artist.  any medium may be used and any surface as long as the dimensions are 2/12" x 31/2".
i have seen them made of glass, fabric, plastic, metal, etc.  beginners often start by doing straight up collage, stuff they have clipped from a magazine and glued to a blank as seen by my work above.
i did a series of cards recently that were inspired merely by the idea of valentine candy sayings.  i was inspired by the single words or short sayings. see above the word "always" is one of them.    others i have shared on facebook.