HOBBYKUNST: DT Dawn

Sometimes an idea turns out even better than you guessed it would. This card is one of those for me. I love how it's simple, colorful, fun to look at (and play with!) and just makes people smile when they see it.

Shaker cards can be intimidating but simple shapes help to simplify the making of them. There are a number of ways to make them as well, which is also confusing. This was the first way I learned and how I continue to make basic shaker cards.

I cut 2 pieces of heavy duty card stock to 216mm x 89mm. On the first piece, I lined up my cutting die so it was centered and cut that out. I put that piece over the 2nd piece and put them into my Misti. This let me know exactly how the butterflies would look through the small windows. I kept that top piece in throughout all of the stamping. I stamped the 2 butterflies from the Mathia Hurra for deg stampset in Distress ink colors Festive Berries, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn and Prize Ribbon. I then stamped the 2 sentiments from the same stampset with Villainous Potion (to keep with the rainbow theme.)

I took the top piece, flipped it over and first added a piece of acetate with some score tape. I then added foam tape along all of the sides of the cutouts, including in between all of the squares. I took my powder tool and wiped it along the inside of the foam, where the bling would go, so sequins wouldn't get stuck on any tape. It's not 100% foolproof but it helps a lot to keep the sequins moving. I blew out the excess powder and then wrote down which color went into which square. Remember, it's upside down now so you have to remember to add things in backwards when it's color coordinated like this. (This tip was added after I didn't do that the first time and had to make a 2nd with the colors in the right places!)

I added more foam tape around the outer edge of the piece and then started adding bling, all different kinds as long as they matched the color I needed, to each square.You can add as much or as little as you want - there are no rules! If you want the sequins to move, add less. If you want them very blingy, add more. (I'll have a blog post soon with a 'stuffed' shaker card.)

The hardest part is placing the butterfly stamped piece on top of the foam tape correctly. I found that standing up and looking directly over it is the easiest way. If you go slowly, you can make micro-adjustments until the very last second. But if that scares you or seems impossible, you can always add another piece of acetate over the boxes so the sequins are trapped and the stamped images can still be seen. Then you can add the 2 pieces together in the normal-for-you way.

After that it's just a matter of attaching that panel to card base. You could also stamp the butterflies directly on to your card base if you wanted to skip having an extra piece of cardstock on the card but I like the heavy feel of a shaker card. It doesn't feel like it will break when it's shaked and trust me, it will be shaked a lot!

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!

Until next time....
DT Dawn