Shaker cards

Did you ever wonder if all that see through plastic packaging many products come in could be put to a good use in card making? I did… and after experimenting a bit with all that free acetate craft material, I can tell you: Yes, it can – as long as it is really clear and not cloudy.

Look out for a firm, thick material: Large pieces can serve as a whole card front, adorned with stickers, flowers, ribbons or whatever you choose.

Thin, floppy sheets can be placed on top of stamped or printed images, to create a glossy surface – this can add a bit of glamour to your card!

It can get even more glamourous if you make your own shaker card with sequins, glitter or tiny beads. That is a lot easier than it looks! Take a piece of thick card and cut out a window of any shape you like. Then cut around that window, so you end up with a window frame. Now, cut a piece of acrylic to be your window pane. It needs to be a little bigger than the opening but it should not show outside the frame. Glue it to the back of your frame.

To achieve the depth necessary for your sequins to move freely, you will need to cut the same frame out of some really thick material such as sheet of foam, and glue it to the back of your window frame, on top of the acetate pane. Else, you can carefully place double sided foam pads all around the opening of your shaker window. Make sure you don\’t leave any gaps or the sequins will leave your shaker…

Now it\’s time to fill some sequins, coarse glitter or tiny pearls into your shaker window which now resembles a little box. Dont overfill it, they should be able to move freely. Then all you need to do is seal your shaker box, for example by glueing on another piece of acetate to serve as a lid. This has the advantage that you can test your shaker before you adhere it to the card. If you are confident, you can also glue your card directly on to the back of the window frame. In this case, you need to make sure there is a solid line of glue all around your window opening, to act as a barrier to the sequins. Remember not to turn your card over before the glue has dried solid, otherwise some of the sequins might stick to the glue.

Good luck and have fun with your shaker cards!