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

I love rainbows and I love making cards with colorful rainbow on them. While this one might seem complicated, with the aid of a Misti, it's quite easy to make. 

I found the center of the card and stamped the main Birthday greeting from the Nedovertekst stampset in Versafine ink. I knew then how much room I had on both sides. I put the stamp in my misti so that I could move my card evenly to stamp all the colors. I used the background grid of the Misti as my guide and slid it 2 squares to the left, and later to the right, to stamp all of the colors I wanted.

I stamped Gratulerer, also from the same stampset, in Festive Berries, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Prized Ribbon, and Wilted Violet, giving me a vibrant and colorful rainbow.

I then took the heart shaped balloons from the Mathia Vennertekst stampset and stamped them in Twisted Citron and Saltwater Taffy. I used a black pen to draw over the strings and add a little bow. I attached the panel to my card base for a rainbow colored, clean and simple birthday card.

Until next time...
DT Dawn

 Good for any gender, this Birthday card is colorful and bright - and also very quick to make!

With the end of the school year came lots of appointments, gatherings, and grilling. I needed a quick birthday card for an unexpected birthday party my son was invited to and 30 minutes later, this was the result.

I started with a piece of watercolor paper and used my Misti (It's best to stamp 3 or 4 times on watercolor paper due to the texture) to stamp an old triangle background stamp with embossing ink. (It's no longer made but this would be a great alternative!) I embossed it with clear embossing powder and didn't worry about getting any excess off as I wanted it to be a little imprecise.

Once it was melted with my heat gun, I used Art by Marlene's Brighter than Bright watercolor and and used all the colors in big splotches. I dried the watercolor with my heat gun and die cut Lawn Fawn's Giant Happy Birthday sentiment in white cardstock.

I cut a small piece of vellum and attached it to the watercolor panel. I then attached the sentiment to that and finished it off with some old shiny stars in rainbow colors. I attached it to my cardstock base and it was done!

This was really a quick and playful way to make a card needed under a deadline!

Until next time...
DT Dawn

 Cards for boys/men are sometimes challenging to create. Today I have a birthday card for the geeky ones in our lives. 

Very simple, this card focuses on the birthday wishes with images that mean something to their inner geek. (I speak from experience, being a geek myself.)

First I stamped one of the images from the Spellbinder All Geek stampset as the background image in Distress Ink - Mustard Seed and Rusty Hinges. I stamped the computer screen and added the birthday wishes sentiment in Peeled Paint. I fussy cut the monitor and die cut some stackable rectangles in coordinating colors.

I added a strip of black scrap paper to add contrast and piled everything together into the center. I added foam tape to the rectangle pile and the computer monitor for extra dimension.

The best part is that you could easily change the colors to your friend's favorite colors to personalize this even more!

Until next time...
DT Dawn

 I love stamps that are just perfect for Birthday cards! (It makes my job so much easier!) This stamp set from MFT - Birth yay! is absolutely one of those stamps!

All of the animals are already set up on top of each other so there's no need for crazy masking! All you have to do is color it and you're done! 

I decided to go a little fancy and have a color-rich rainforest type of background. All kids love colorful things! But you could also easily have it as a clean and simple card as well.

Once it was colored (with Copics), I die cut an old Papir Design die in bright, contrasting colors. (I don't have any of the new ones yet but I really do like the font. Have you seen them?)

I added my colored panel to my card base, affixed the sentiment and my card was complete.

Until next time...
DT Dawn