FREE ATC Kit Instructions
Welcome! Either you are familiar with these Free Artist Trading Kits or you stumbled across this while looking elsewhere on our website. These free ATC kits can be found at any OnOurTrail.com approved ATC Trade Displays which can be distinguished by Top Hat Tom hanging nearby! Each kit is filled with upcycled and recycled art materials that we are aiming to divert from landfills and give new life. Our goal is to get people creating and exploring various art materials to get the feel of what they like and don't like. So we designed different crafts to help you explore and try new things on a very approachable format: 2.5" x 3.5". The standard trading card size.
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Kits will be distinguished by an 'S#' to indicate which kit it is. This indicates what materials are in them and generally what sort of instructions may included.
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They will either have a "D" for "Drawing Focus" or "C" for "Collage Focus".
We have discovered people hit three key groups: One or the other, or both! So we try to keep the skills within these. For 2024, we may try experimenting with different crafts so please make sure to check back here for updates on the newest kits. We will be using our website more this year to communicate so sign up for the newest info!
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Currently the two locations you can pick up free kits are:
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1) Who Gives a Scrap!
810 Arcturus Dr, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80905
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2) The Next Us
525 N Cascade Ave, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903
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Kits at these location will have a QR code on them to take you to their page that includes instructions and a short video to follow. We were finding that the amount of printing and time being consumed to prep the instructions was far too costly (and painful) so we have opted to use digital means to save paper.
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*BELOW ARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR 2023 KITS AT WGAS*
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We will be removing and replacing the items below in this upcoming month. Feel free to skim through them to see what you can expect or if it's something you'd like to try!
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Another means of obtaining free kits is to have a location near you install a Trade Display near you! Each location will have different kits available monthly they are kept up.
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S1
Items included:
Colored Pencils or Crayons and Stickers
A basic set with some drawing tools and stickers. Relies more on your creativity using your given color palette and selected stickers. [INSTRUCTIONS]
S2
Items include: Crayons and Alphabet Stickers
Each kit includes alphabet stickers to use as either the word prompt or as unique shapes. Take a look at them differently and see what unique art you can make!
[INSTRUCTIONS]
S3
Items include: Various Black Blank ATCs and a White Crayon or Colored Pencil
Test the white crayon on different types of black paper to get a feel of the materials and see the differences! Feel free to pick the topic to draw, but focus on the materials more than anything! [INSTRUCTIONS]
S4
Items include: Alphabet Rub-Ons and Crayons
Testing out rub-ons both for the process and to experiment with! Will you use it to write words? Or turn them more into brush strokes/shapes for something else? What do you see? [INSTRUCTIONS]
S6
Items include: Recycled Items
*This requires scissors and glue/tape*
100% Recycled Materials! A fun challenge that gives you fun sought-after materials to play with: book pages, music pages, and maps! You are given a piece of recycled product cardstock to draw your own embellishments to show that great materials can be found anywhere. You are also given a piece from our own artwork for you to cut up and use!
[INSTRUCTIONS]
S5
Items include: Collage Items
*This requires scissors and glue/tape*
You are given a selection of papers. stickers and embellishments. These are more for people who don't really care for drawing and want to work with provided shapes and colors instead. [INSTRUCTIONS]
S8
Items include: Mixed Media
This kit includes various materials such as paint, popsicle stick, embellishments, stickers, paper, and more. Play around with layering and various materials to see what combinations you come up with!
S7
Items include: Paint and Etch!
This kit includes crayons and a small container of paint with a toothpick and a popsicle stick. Try the technique of etching into the paint to see your design over the colored crayon background underneath! The paint works decently fine without the drop of dish soap but found out later that quite a few other recipes recommend it. Will work on improving this set for the next release!
S9
Items include: Embellishments, Papers and Word Bubble Stickers
Everything needed to create a quick and fun comic panel. Using the word bubbles given, create a one-panel comic (or use it in tandem with other cards) to create a funny story!
S10
Items include: Embellishments, Papers or Color Pencils, Magic Card
Let's make our own Player Made Trading Card! Using the magic card given as inspiration and a reference, draw out a template for your card and fill it in with either an item, a hero, an enemy, or an event card!