Sweeping The World Of Beads

A trend that is sweeping the world of beads is the creation of beaded artist trading cards. Artists of virtually every art medium are creating these baseball card sized works of art and trading them with their colleagues, friends and other interested parties.

“A bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 millimetre (0.039 in) to over 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery[1][2]. Beadwork is the art or craft of making things with beads.” [SOURCE]

The only two rules are that the cards must be the exact size of a standard baseball card, and that they only be traded, not sold.

Most of the time, artisan bead workers make their ATC’s from rectangles of cloth three or four plies thick. They either stitch their beads directly onto the cards, or make decorative bead pieces on looms and somehow adhere them to the cards.

Since the cards are so small, the designs are usually kept relatively simple. However, occasionally an artist will turn out an unusually ornate piece.

Seed beads are the best bead choices for artist trading cards. Seed bead usage helps keep the ATC flatter than other types of beads. Seed beads also lend themselves to smaller work. The beads are usually stitched together first, but sometimes artists prefer to glue them onto the cards individually.

Seed beads are not the only types of beads that are used on ATC’s. However, because of their small size, they are the most practical.

Once the desired design has been created on the ATC, many artists prefer to make their own special envelopes as holders.

Typically, these are made from velvet or silk to help transport the ATC’s safely. The cards can be kept in albums or re-traded.