So I took a whack at shaker cards again, and I am definitely getting more confident.
I had to make (well, WANTED TO MAKE) birthday cards last weekend for 2 kid’s birthdays. Since one of them is really into unicorns at the moment, I thought the Lawn Fawn “A Little Sparkle” set would be perfect!
A few months back, I created a card I really enjoyed using this set. I wanted to use similar elements, but somehow incorporate a shaker.
The weekend prior, I made the trip to Craft Fancy in Arlington Heights (Illinois), because the brands carried at Big Box Retailers is sort of bland. Craft Fancy had a great selection of a lot of products, but their Lawn Fawn area really caught my eye. They had their “Spiffy Speckle” 6 x 6 paper pack, and I knew I had to get it, even thought I didn’t have a specific project in mind.
Detour: Shopping for random 6 x 6 paper packs is one of my favorite things to look for. I try not to overdo it, as I don’t like having paper sitting around forever, but it’s so easy to throw a few 6 x 6 packs in your shopping basket. They are absolutely perfect for almost all aspects of a A2 sized card, along with A2 Envelope Liners.
Back to the card: So while I was thinking of items I could turn into a shaker element, I thought it would be really cool to make a rainbow. I found a rainbow with 6 stripes in Cricut Design Space, and originally thought of just using plain cardstock in 6 colors. I was struggling because I really wanted this card to have more of a pastel look, and I would say most of my cardstock stash is solid vibrant colors. Then a lightbulb went off, and I remembered that I bought the speckle paper set!
Now, the rainbow I used had 6 stripes, and the speckle pack had 6 colors. You’d think it would have been perfect, but it never works out that way, right? I had to compromise and sacrifice an orange color for incorporate their turquoise color. I figure’d I’d manage.
First, as usual, I colored my images. I used Copic Markers for everything, and decided to make the unicorn a light pink.
I cut out a few items with my Cricut:
- (1) 4″ x 5.25″ panel with a rainbow window
- (1) Square acetate window, measuring about 3.5″ x 3.5″
- (6) Rainbow Stripes in different sizes that fit into each other
On the 4″ x 5.25″ panel, I used the Kindred Stamps Cloud Stencil that was included with their “Part of a Pride” Limited Release Box, and I used it with Shaded Lilac Distress Oxide Ink.
Detour #2: I will not bash other companies and tell you specific designers and products that I do not like. So understand my vagueness with this story. Earlier this summer, I bought a cloud stencil that was more along the lines of a mini-stencil (It was more of a strip rather than a full 6″ x 6″ standard stencil in size). Now, I’ve been getting much better at not buying craft products on Amazon, so this product was purchased directly through the design company. There was part of this cloud stencil that, on the bottom, was cut very close to the top of the stencil. So, when I’d use my blending brush, I would sometimes have to large of a stroke, and shade in the under part, which didn’t really help the cloud effect I was going for. If you look at the card I made in June, look at the center right side of the card. You’ll find an odd half circle at the edge of the page that looks out of place.
Unfortunately, I don’t see myself using this product much in the future. I was really excited when I found out the Kindred Stamps “Part of a Pride” Box was going to include a standard stencil size in the cloud design, and it works perfectly. If you’re going to invest in a cloud stencil, I would advise that you pick one that is a full stencil size, rather than a strip. It will help minimize potential mistakes.
After I shaded the clouds, I adhered my acetate window to the backside of the card so it completely covered the rainbow window. I stamped my sentiment, adhered the 2 white clouds to the base of the rainbow, adhered the fairies on the acetate and then used foam tape to adhere the unicorn in the center.
On another sheet of white cardstock, I carefully layered each stripe of the rainbow and adhered it with my Thermoweb Tape Runner XL (I use this adhesive 90% of the time, and it has been my go-to since I started card making in 2016). I then cut out the rainbow, but left about .25″ of the white paper around the rainbow so I could easily adhere it once placing my sequins.
I used the Kindred Stamps “Party Confetti” Shaker Pack and loved the way it looked with all the colors.
Finally, once my shaker element was all situated, I mounted the 4″ x 5.25″ panel (containing everything I’ve discussed up to this point) on a 4.25″ x 5.5″ panel of white paper with purple speckles, from the Lawn Fawn “Spiffy Speckles” pack.
I also used the speckle pack as an envelope liner and paired it with a Paper Source A2 Luxe Blush Envelope.
And that’s my card!
Do you have any special hints or tips when you make a shaker card that I should try out in the future? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Crafting!
Your card is beautiful. I tried my hand at a shaker for the first time last week, and it came out okay, but I clearly need practice. What do you do to make the edges of your card feel more finished? I feel as though, with the card front popped up, the sides look undone, but it is probably inexperience on my part. Thanks for sharing your lovely card.
Shari
I am SO sorry about my late response. I am needing to adjust how I’m notified about notification. I do get what you’re saying, but don’t really know how to conceal the foam. I would say try to make your foam placement look clean and uniform!! That will help make it look more thought out. I hope this helps!