How to use Blank Cards / US Games

[Tarotrine]

Can somebody tell me what materials I can use on the Blank Cards from US Games?
This is a blank deck with 80 cards and I don't want to spoil them. The deck is still packed in plastic, if the cards are not so useful I want to sell them.
I've read that the surface was a slightly slippery - please tell me the best way to use this cards. I don't think that watercolors are suitable but can I use ordinary pencils or ink pencils?

(excuse my English... It takes many efforts to me to read so many topics for searching the answer, if there is...)

[Friture]

I don't have any experience with blank cards,
but I hope this thread can help you:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=46763

[Tarotrine]

Thanks for the answer....
The link is rather old and I do hope there are now more experiences with this blank cards.
The glossy(!) cards can be used with permanent marking pens and acrylic paints (with a sealer) is what they mention in the topic. Not much possibility's so far ....

[Chronata]

I was going to reply to this...but realized I already did

In all that time, I haven't any new ideas... other than Sharpies now come in more colors than they used to.

[Winterchild]

Dye inks...... or alcohol inks are excellent, or gesso them, you can use encaustic wax too. Once you have a background you can do pretty much what you like. You can also sand the surface lightly to get other stuff to grab on more, ie pastels... and then you seal it all.

This is some encaustic art I did on shiny/slippery cards and some inks too if you follow the album...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/raggedp...57624013628540

Good luck LMK if you want anymore help...!

Oh if you want to test techniques without wrecking you cards use old playing cards to practice on!

ETA I found an altered playing card with inks too:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/raggedp...7624013628540/

[Tarotrine]

Thanks Winterchild - Nice drawings,

I've tried to rename 6 cards from the Lenormand Tarot (!) with ink pencils and that was hard to do, almost impossible... so if normal playing cards do have the same surface as the blank USGame cards I'll try that.

What do you use to seal the cards and are the afterwards still usable to shuffle them?
Some decks I've covered with thin adhesive book-plastic to make them smoother.

Here is a link how I make a cardbox but the comment is in Dutch.
http://imageshack.us/g/855/visiondoosjeb9.jpg/

[Winterchild]

Did you paint that box? Stunning!

I use a matte gel medium to seal the cards or you can use an artist fixative which is a very fine spray. The fixative is less sticky but once dry the matte medium is fine.. you jiust need to take care you dont smudge the ink as you apply the medium. Some permanent dye inks need no sealing at all.

[Tarotrine]

I've printed the image and sticked it on the inside box, than I covered it with adhesive book plastic. I found the image for the foreground and a logo on the Internet. The back is just the back of a card. And the sides are made in PhotoShop with the clone stamp and some text to. Then, and that's important PhotoShop could not printed out in the right measures! So I made a model of the box in Ms-Publisher and placed the pictures on it. Publisher can measure very securely. On the moment I don't have Ms-Office anymore and found an good free alternative for Publisher: Serif PagePlus Starter Edition.

Are these pencils usable? http://www.stabilo.com/pages-com/products/point-88/