Make and Trade Artist Trading Cards

Sometimes large pieces of blank white paper can be intimidating to a little artist. Did you know that some artists and crafters enjoy creating and trading miniature works of art called Artist Trading Cards? These small canvases are inspired by the old collectable baseball cards. At just 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches in size, they fit in a standard trading card protector sheet. Artists can paint, draw, color, collage, or use any kind of mixed media to create their cards. Give this unique form of artwork a try with your troop.

Cut some white cardstock down to the correct size. Give each girl nine blank cards, enough to fill a whole protector sheet, or less if you have less than nine girls in the troop. Explain the Artist Trading Card (ATC) concept to the girls and show them some card examples.

To start, encourage the girls to decorate one card using lots of color and filling the whole piece. It can be a concrete or abstract design, but have them make something simple enough to reproduce fairly quickly. Then, have them make eight more of the same design. They should sign and date the back of each card. When everyone is complete, allow the girls to trade them with each other. Make sure that every girl keeps one of her own cards and trades the rest. Provide the girls with a trading card sheet protector to store their masterpieces.

This "collecting" hobby helps the girls appreciate their creative uniqueness. The cards could also work in nicely with several badges including the Junior Journey "Agent of Change". Have the girls choose a design that represents a woman in history that had an impact on the world to help them earn their Power of One award. You could also create Artist Trading Cards to swap with other troops at an event or camp, a sister troop from outside of your area, or from a foreign country. The fun of this artistic trend is the sharing a little of yourself. Help the girls appreciate that they each have something wonderful to offer.