So you wanna get started making ACEO? Congrats! You’re in the right place. You are soon bound to be swarmed with your own little artistic creations, trading and selling away.
The only solid rule to ACEOs, or “Art Cards, Editions and Originals” is that it needs to be a certain size: 2.5 by 3.5 inches (64 mm × 89 mm). You’re really only limited by your imagination in terms of what to use to create the card. Not only what you put on the card (paint, markers, pen, pencil, mixed media, etc), but what kind of material you use to make the card itself. You’ll typically want thicker paper such as 140 lb watercolor paper for example. If you use typical computer paper you’re going to end up with a flimsy card that doesn’t hold up so well to paint or heavy use of markers. If you’ll be making the cards yourself I highly recommend using a paper trimmer instead of attempting to use scissors, just so you can make sure you have straight lines.
“I don’t want to fiddle with cutting cards into the correct dimensions, I just want to buy what I need and get started putting ink on paper, all this planning is cramping my initiative to get creative.”
Who said that? Me? When I found out about ACEO I took off to etsy and ebay to look for premade supplies so I could hit the ground running. Honestly, if I hadn’t done that I don’t know if I would have gotten as far as I did with creating any ACEO at all.
The following links are stores and shops I have personally purchased blank ACEO cards from and can vouch that they are top notch:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BurntCarmine
https://www.ebay.com/usr/cottage_of_colors
https://www.ebay.com/usr/browntwinz/
So now you’ve got all the supplies to get started, what next? You make your first ACEO. You make your first dozen. They are pouring out of your ears, they’re everywhere. You proudly post them on social media. Uh oh, now someone you know wants one. Someone you don’t know wants to buy one. What do you do?
When shipping ACEO i’ve found that the best an easiest way is to slap a couple of forever stamps on an envelope and send them on their way. Before putting them in the envelope, I always make sure to put them in a plastic sleeve and a top loader. Both of these things can by found on amazon or ebay, below are a few links in case you aren’t familiar with the protective sleeves I’ve mentioned:
https://www.amazon.com/Sleeves-Toploaders-Baseball-Stardard-Football/dp/B08SJ5KPYS/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=card+sleeves&qid=1629379851&sr=8-7
https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Pro-Baseball-Football-Basketball/dp/B004KHV24W/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=top+loader&qid=1629379881&sr=8-8
Seal em up, ship them out, and keep creating everyone!
KMO ACEO 