Happy Purrthday

My very best friend is having a birthday this month so I thought it was a 'purr'-fect time to break out my new stamps and dies from Lawn Fawn.  Speaking of new, did you know that Dies R Us is beginning to carry other really cool products such as paper, inks, and about 1000 more different supplies?  Just pop over and take a look at all the new goodies and don't forget to check out the New Arrivals!

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Blue Card {Core'dinations Sea Glass Paper Pack}
Lawn Fawn Meow You Doin' Stamps, #LF1315
Lawn Fawn Meow You Doin' Dies, #LF1316
Lawn Fawn Ready, Set, Snow Stamps , #LF973
Lawn Fawn Ready, Set, Shake Dies, #LF975
Acetate {I used an overhead projecter sheet}
Hero Arts Ink in Intense Black, Sapphire and Deep Blue
Sequins {stash}
Glitter {I used a chunky, glass type glitter from my stash}
Watercolor Paper
Derwent Watercolor Pencils
MISTI
VersaMark Ink Pad
6mm White Craft Foam {Michael's}

This is the actual foam I used.

ENABLER ALERT: The Core'dinations Sea Glass Paper Pack is still on sale, 50 sheets for $2.97! Just follow the link above and it will take you to Consumer Crafts.  Now, on with the post!

I love shaker cards and I LOVE the fact that they are SO easy to make now! Gone are the days of piecing tape together or scraps of dimensional dots! I could explain exactly how I made this card, but Kelly at Lawn Fawn has made an awesome video that explains the shaker card process - check it out!  In the video, Kelly explains how she used foam to make her shakers and I literally ran out right then to my local craft store {Michael's} looking for the 5mm foam she talks about.  I'm not sure if she got the size wrong, but there is NO 5mm craft foam, anywhere, that I could find.  Not even on Amazon! But, there was 6mm foam.  I wasn't sure if that one millimeter was going to foil my attempt to use the dies with it, but I bit the bullet and bought it anyway.  I am thrilled to say it worked perfectly.

I thought I'd show you a few of the steps for making the card just in case videos aren't your thing.  This is very photo heavy, so grab a drink and a snack.  I've made all these photos small so this post wouldn't take forever to load.  If you want any of the pictures to be larger, just click on it.

First, out of the 2 stamp sets, these are the stamps and dies you need to actually construct the shaker snow globe.

 

 I've stamped the globe on white card using black ink. 

 Now I've lined up the die with the stamped image and cut it out.

The front of the globe is cut and ready to go.

 Next, use the same die and cut your foam.

Next, cut your acetate cover using the same die that you used to cut out the back of the globe.  I enhanced this photo so you could see the acetate.

The next step is attaching your foam to the back piece of the globe.  Then, you want to attach your acetate to the front piece, so you essentially have two separate pieces of your card.  Then the fun part! Decorate the back piece with whatever you choose, then add the shaker bits; again, it's your choice.  I've used glitter, cut outs from cardstock, sequins, and beads.

If you live in a dry area, or just seem to attract static electricity, it could cause your shaker bits to clump together. Some people rub the sides of the foam with

an anti-static sheet, cornstarch, or baby powder and even use the little anti-static pouch you use when you wet emboss.  Once you have finished decorating the inside of your card (the back piece with the foam attached) simply add your shaker bits and attach the front of your card (the front piece with the acetate attached) to the back and you now have a shaker card!  Just a quick word about acetate - I've literally used the same package for years; I don't even know if they make it anymore.  I've used packaging leftovers, too.  Honestly, the packaging leftovers can be bulky and I found that it doesn't dry as flat as transparencies do, but I've seen many a successful shaker done with left over packaging.  You can literally purchase acetate sheets made for shaker cards as transparencies can be costly.

Now that you've made your shaker piece there are different ways you can use it.  There are some cute options in the Lawn Fawn video I referenced above; for this project, I attached the shaker piece to an A2 card.

The background I made

Now, since my friend lives on the East Coast and is currently getting pounded with snow, I didn't want to use the characters that came with the Ready, Set, Snow stamps.  Instead, since she loves cats as much as I do, I grabbed a cat from Meow You Doin'? set {which I had already colored and cut out} to use as the focal point.  I also added the cute little birthday hat that comes with the set.  Once the shaker portion of my card was done, I decided to add a layer of blue paper to the white card base.  I used the paw print and the can of cat food with the candle to make my own background paper using the VersaMark pad.  I love it!

Looking at the card now, I see I need a bit more practice putting the pieces of the shaker together, they're a tad wonky; but, as I always say, that's the beauty of homemade!

Another look with the Hero Arts inks I used.

I hope you made it to the end of my tutorial.  I appreciate your stopping by to visit and I hope you keep in mind that there is a NEW project posted daily on the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog.  Have a fabulous Sunday and I'll see you next week! Christi

Don't forget to join in on all the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog.  

There's  a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month

 and one lucky  randomly drawn winner will receive a gift voucher prize to 

the Dies R Us Store.  For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us 

links are provided below.

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 I am entering my Happy Purrthday Card in the following challenges:
Brown Sugar Challenge -M, Birthday, #274
Scrapy Land Challenges - M, Anything Goes, #81
Double D Challenges - M, Birthday/Anniversary Using the Mood Board {I used color and the general celebration}

Seize the Birthday - M, Anything Birthday Goes