The ATC Wedding Guestbook

I have a sister who was recently married. It’s become a tradition for me to do some kind of handmade item for each of my sister’s at their wedding, and as I brainstormed ideas, I began to think of the ATC’s I had been making.  I started an ATC art journal not too long ago, and a few other of my projects-in-progress are ATC heavy, so the idea popped into my head to do a wedding guestbook with ATC’s for my sister’s reception.

There are so many guestbook ideas out there, and I’ve wanted to try them all. Writing messages on Jenga blocks, signatures on a super large mat for a wedding portrait, and even polaroid photo booths.  By the way, if you have any unique or awesome guestbook ideas, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!!  I have 3 sisters and a brother who are still single, and I’m going to need some more ideas!

Since my whole family, including the bride, traveled from out of town for the wedding, I decided to make something simple.  This ATC wedding guestbook was perfect!

ATC’s, or Artist Trading Cards, are tradtitionally cards that are 2 1/2*3 1/2 inches- the size of a baseball or playing card.  Artists will create unique paintings, designs, and mixed media from these cards and trade them with other artists.  The name Artist Trading Card has come to mean any card of this size that is used for any kind of project, and not just for trading.

My sister’s wedding colors were rainbow and black.  She had 10 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen, each with a different color, so I didn’t worry about shades or color combinations when I created these cards.  I used drops of india ink sprayed with water to create these unique patterns and color blends.  I’m sure you can imagine how long it took for me to individually color 200 cards, especially since I had to spread them out as I went so they could dry.  (Hint: it took several days)  Also, paper has a tendency to curl and warp when you spray it with water, so once each card dried, I stacked them together as neatly as I could, and flattened them under several large, heavy boxes overnight.

Since these cards are the same size as baseball cards, it’s easy to find plastic sleeves for them.  I found most of these at Office Depot, though they are available at art stores like AC Moore, as well.  The final touch was adding full page sheet protectors so I could add a few photographs throughout the album.

I will admit, I was nervous about this.  You never know how things will work out at a wedding, but this album was perfect.  Everyone loved it!  They chose the colors they loved and took their time writing heartfelt messages to the bride and groom. Once everyone’s cards were displayed in the pages the album was a burst of color, and I know it will be a wonderful keepsake for my sister and her new husband as they start their life together.

Let me know what you think in the comments!  How do you use ATC’s?  Do you have a unique wedding guestbook idea to share?  How would you alter this project?  Let me know, and thanks so much for stopping by!