Snowman Shaker Card

Hello crafty friends! Today's post is a winter shaker card. I was inspired by a couple challenges to use the colors, the snowman theme and to depict an activity in the snow. I've never done a shaker card but have intended for some time to make one. If you're not sure what a shaker card is, read on!

In the closeup below, you'll get a better idea of it. Basically, a decorative pocket is made with acetate as the top so you can see through it. Inside are beads and sequins that can move freely when shaken; thus the term shaker card.

This is a 5" x 7" card when folded. The card base is white. I cut a mat out of blue and white paper and two more mats out of a snowflake paper and from light blue card stock. I also cut out one of my new favorite Cricut images, the scalloped circle that serves as the shaker's frame. To put some finishing touches on the mats, I punched a tree border on the top of the snowflake paper and stamped a border showing kids playing in the snow on the top of the light blue card stock. Once the light blue was stamped, I ran it through a snowflake embossing folder being careful not to emboss the top where the stamp was. To finish it off a little more, I glued a piece of glittery white ribbon just below the stamped image.

To create the shaker to hold the sequins and beads, I first stamped the snowman on a piece I cut into a rough circle shape. It didn't need to be exact because the frame covers it up and gives the illusion of a perfect circle underneath. Then I used that rough circle as a guide to draw another a circle on the fun foam and drew another circle about 1/2" outside of the inner circle. From this I could cut out a foam ring which serves as a padding between the stamped bottom of the shaker and the acetate top. I cut another circle out of acetate which I recycled from some packaging. It's always good to re-purpose things right? I don't usually save "trash" unless I have a plan for it. I have a small work area and not a lot of room. Since I knew I was going to do a shaker card, I saved some packaging for this project. You could also use acetate overhead sheets from an office supply store if you wanted. Once all the pieces were ready, I created a sandwich starting with the snowman circle at the bottom. Then the foam ring was glued to the top of it. This is when I could finally add the sequins and beads inside the foam ring. Once that was in place, the shaker was sealed with the acetate on the top. The frame went on top of it all and hides all the imperfections and gives it a pretty finished look. Kind of ingenious isn't it?

At this point, I completed the assembly. I glued all the mats down and the shaker on top of the mats. The final touches were the glitter ribbon, the flower, a couple gold snowflake sequins and some enamel dots in blue and white. It still looked a little empty so I used the same stamp set to stamp JOY on white card stock and attached it with a layer of foam tape to give it dimension.

I hope you enjoyed today's card. I'll be back again soon so stay warm and happy crafting!

- Janet

SUPPLIES:
Close to My Heart - C1468 - Winter Joy
Cricut Circle Frame Shape from Lori's Garden
The Paper Studio - Embossing Folder - Snowflakes
Flower - Prima - Flower Embellishments
White Glitter Ribbon - Hobby Lobby
Misc. sequins and beads from my stash
Misc. papers from my stash
Tree Punch - Creative Memories
Fun Foam - Blue
Recycled clear plastic
Enamel Dots - Homemade

CARD CHALLENGES
FantabulousCricut
Little Scrap Pieces Show It Off Saturday - Let It Snow
Craftin Desert Divas Linky Party
Bitten By the Bug - All Time Favorite Cricut Cut
DL Art January Linky Challenge
Robyn's Fetish Challenge #245
Cute Card Challenge #355 - What's New
Mojo Monday Challenge