GWEN LAFLEUR
  • Home
  • Workshops
  • Tutorials
    • Heat Embossing Tutorials
  • Store
    • New, Restocked, & Sale
    • The Boho Bazaar
    • Original Artwork
    • Tools & Supplies >
      • Paint, Ink, Pens, & Color
      • Embossing Powder, Rubber Stamps, & Accessories
      • Embellishments
      • Paper & Paper Embellishments
      • Trims, Textiles, & Stitching
      • Washi Tape
    • My Products
    • ShinHan Art Supplies
    • Original Jewelry
    • Downloadable Collage Cut-Outs
    • Gift Cards
  • The Artist Tribe
    • The Artist Tribe Project Gallery
  • About Me
    • Publications & Exhibitions
    • Portfolio >
      • Mixed Media Canvases & Panels
      • Dimensional and Assemblage Art
      • Art Journaling & ATCs >
        • "Pourquoi" Artist Book
      • Books, Jewelry, Hand-carved Stamps, & Textile Art
      • Beaded Jewelry
    • Newsletter
    • Blog

ATC Tutorial

Artist Trading Cards with a Southeast Asian Theme
Whenever I share any of the ATCs that I've made for swaps or giveaways, I'm always asked how I make them. I love to create highly detailed and layered Artist Trading Cards - it's just so much fun to work with those tiny little canvases! I've put together a few different ATC tutorials over the years; this one shows a few different cards being made with some of my own travel photographs.
Southeast Asian Themed Artist Trading Cards | Gwen Lafleur
Most of the time I made my ATCs one at a time and I don't usually know where I'm going to go with them. I'll typically start with an image and then see where it takes me - that was the case here.

The images used in my tutorial photos are from Myanmar and Bali, including a photo of a large reclining Buddha statue from a temple I visited, as well as a monk walking down the side of the road with his food pot and a fan to block the sun. The statue is from a garden in Bali. I cut the larger photos out of my printed sheet and then fussy cut around the parts that I wanted to use on my cards.
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 1 | Gwen Lafleur
Next I'll either ink or paint the background of the card.
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 2 | Gwen Lafleur
For this batch of cards I stenciled all of the backgrounds. On my Buddha card, I used my Ornamental Petals stencil and on the Monk card I used my Ornamental Embroidery design. The Balinese statue card uses my Ornamental Floral Screen stencil. I also usually add some inking around the edge of the cards at this point to begin to frame them - for these I mainly used Sepia and Black Archival Inks with a mini foam blending tool.
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 3a | Gwen Lafleur
PictureSoutheast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 3c | Gwen Lafleur
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 3b | Gwen Lafleur
I usually like to add a border element of some kind. For these I mainly used gold cardstock that I'd punched with various border punches and then inked, but you could also use Dresden trim or I'll frequently use washi tape as well.
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 4 | Gwen Lafleur
It's definitely not a secret that I adore embellished fabrics, trims, etc... and I have an ever-growing collection that I like to use in my artwork. I grabbed a piece that fit well with my colors and theme and used some of it here. You could also use ribbon, plain fabric, more washi tape or border stickers... whatever you prefer. I like the raw edges of the fabric contrasted with the sharp edges of the borders and photos - this helps embed the image better into the overall design without leaving visible hard, straight edges.
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 5a | Gwen Lafleur
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 5b | Gwen Lafleur
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 5c | Gwen Lafleur
Next it's time to embellish. I use a lot of faux jewels and sari appliques for Asian themes and I also added some dots made with dimensional fabric paint and used a gold paint pen to edge the cards and give a hint of a gilded effect.
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 6a | Gwen Lafleur
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step 6b | Gwen Lafleur
I will also frequently use rubons as final finishing touches. They're great for adding a small image or word and I like them because they can be applied over top of multiple layers and textures. Of course, they do have a tendency to flake off over time so I typically coat them with matte medium to seal them. You can see one example with the butterflies on my Buddha card below, or on the Monk card above I've added an arrow rubon.
Southeast Asian Themed ATCs - Tutorial Step7 | Gwen Lafleur
I repeated that same basic process for all six of the ATCs in this batch. You can see close-ups of how they turned out below - click on any of them to see the full image.

You might also like...

Gwen's StencilGirl Stencils - Ornamental Collection

$5.00 - $14.00
Shop

Irresistible India - Downloadable Collage Cut-outs

$4.49
Shop

Embellished Sari Scraps (2 Ounce Packs)

$6.99 - $7.99
Shop

German Dresden Trim & Shapes (42 Styles Available)

$2.49 - $9.69
Shop

Gwen's StencilGirl Stencils - Art Deco Collection

$5.00 - $14.00
Shop

Sari Ribbons & Yarn from Darn Good Yarn (13 Styles Available)

$12.99 - $18.99
Shop

Gwen's StencilGirl Stencils - Decorative Collection

$5.00 - $7.00
Shop

Gwen's StencilGirl Stencils - Spring 2018 Collection

$5.00 - $14.00
Shop

Enchanting Elephants - ​Downloadable Collage Cut-Outs

$2.29
Shop

Gwen's StencilGirl Stencils - Boho Collection

$7.00 - $14.00
Shop
Peacock Feather Logo Image
EMAIL ME
Data Safety | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
​
© COPYRIGHT 2025 by Gwen Lafleur. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Workshops
  • Tutorials
    • Heat Embossing Tutorials
  • Store
    • New, Restocked, & Sale
    • The Boho Bazaar
    • Original Artwork
    • Tools & Supplies >
      • Paint, Ink, Pens, & Color
      • Embossing Powder, Rubber Stamps, & Accessories
      • Embellishments
      • Paper & Paper Embellishments
      • Trims, Textiles, & Stitching
      • Washi Tape
    • My Products
    • ShinHan Art Supplies
    • Original Jewelry
    • Downloadable Collage Cut-Outs
    • Gift Cards
  • The Artist Tribe
    • The Artist Tribe Project Gallery
  • About Me
    • Publications & Exhibitions
    • Portfolio >
      • Mixed Media Canvases & Panels
      • Dimensional and Assemblage Art
      • Art Journaling & ATCs >
        • "Pourquoi" Artist Book
      • Books, Jewelry, Hand-carved Stamps, & Textile Art
      • Beaded Jewelry
    • Newsletter
    • Blog