Reflections - shaker cards

Hi everybody,
It's Donna here with some more cards using the Jillibean Soup paper that were in the September Cropaholic kit.

The theme for this month's challenge is Reflections, and looking at our favourite projects. I chose this card that I made about a month and a half ago because I love it, and because it highlights one of my favourite things- shaker cards. Here is the card I'm talking about.

In this post I have also included a detailed how-to for making your own shaker cards or elements in your scrapbooking pages. 

I have below a picture of all the elements I used to make another shaker card below. The only things not pictured are clear plastic, like the plastic that the kits come in, and adhesive tape. The important thing here is the rectangular white piece with a square cut out of it. You can make any shape shaker, like the small hearts which are all individual shakers in the card above. If you have a cutting machine, this step is easy, but the same effect can be made by carefully cutting a hole out with scissors.

First I attached the frame to the front of the card. This is optional, but I thought for this card, the pop of green would stop the card from being too pink all over.

 Next, on the back of the panel, I laid down some adhesive tape (glue would be just as good) and cut a piece of plastic to just larger than the cutout window and laid it on top. If you look carefully, you can see the clear plastic in the photo below.

Once the plastic was in place, I added the next layer of adhesive. This time it was foam tape. You can do two layers if the bits that you want to shake around are thicker, as they were in the heart shaker card. The important thing is to not leave any gaps around the window, because the sequins will escape if you do! I had to be especially careful in this case, because the sequins, which come from my stash, are tiny, and also because the You are Amazing panel was only just bigger than the window.

I added some sequins to the middle of the window, then peeled off the middle tape, and placed the You are Amazing panel face down on the window. I then added a little more flat tape to the middle section.

Next, I peeled off all the backing and stuck the shaker element to my card, which was exactly the same size as the shaker panel.

 Finally, I added the flamingos and flowers to complete the card, using a mix of flat and dimensional adhesive tapes.

 Finally, here is the completed card.

Until next time, may you know how amazing you are,

Blessings,
Donna
@donnadoll74

Bowl of Dreams

Hello everybody. It's Donna here today, and I've got a couple of ideas for the papers in the gorgeous August Cropaholic Kit. If you haven't subscribed to this kit before, this is the month to start. So much fabulousness in a box. So, once I could finally bring myself to cut the paper, here's a couple of card projects that use some of the kit. You can expect to see a LOT more of this beautiful kit from me!

First up, I created a cute little shaker card that highlights the wood veneer shapes that come with this month's kit. I also added some sequins to each little pocket. I used the B side of two different papers so that the card wouldn't be too busy, and added a sentiment through the middle. A couple of the cute little puffy stickers from the many in the kit completed the card. 

Here are a couple of closeups of all the sweet little elements. 

Have you had a look at this month's challenge? This month we have a Tic Tac Toe challenge. Have a look at the squares, and choose three in a row to incorporate into your project, horizontal, vertical or diagonal. As an example, I've chosen the middle line horizontally, using Stencil, Cardstock, and Ink.  

I have also used some of the ephemera from the August Cropaholic kit to make this card to play along with the challenge. I have a striped stencil in my stash, and I used this, using ink to colour the embossing paste to match the blue flowers in the basket of the bike. 

A little bit of glossy accents made the bike seat and handlebars stand out, and tied them in with the shine on the puffy stickers.

Have a go, and then upload a picture of your project in the gallery on the Inside Inspiration page to win a gift certificate from the Shop and Crop store. We'd love to see what you create!

If you have enjoyed these cards, and would like to see more of my work, feel free to visit my Instagram page, where you can find lots more cards.

Don't forget, you can save $5 at the Shop and Crop Store using the code DL5. Why not subscribe to the Cropaholic Kit, which will cost less than a cup of coffee a day, and take advantage of the $5 off.
Until next time, happy crafting, and may your days be full of sunshine.

Donna

So Loved cards

Hello everybody!

It's Donna here, feeling refreshed after a crafty weekend away with friends. This is our annual treat, and is equal parts crafting, giggling and therapy! 

I was able to make three cards using the gorgeous "So Loved" papers by Photo Play. These are available as a pack in the Shop and Crop online store, and they really do all work so well together. I have combined the papers in some of my cards today.

For this next card, I used the beautiful music paper as a background to stamp and colour a wildflower arrangement by Penny black stamps. Being a piano teacher, I couldn't resist this paper!

Here's a closeup of the detail, showing the copic colouring, and the background paper showing through.

This final card was made with just the papers, scissors, adhesive, and a black pen, as well as a couple of the stickers included in the pack.I used the pen to add faux stitching, and to highlight some of the words from the song lyrics. Making cards doesn't need to involve expensive supplies.

If you have enjoyed these cards, and would like to see more of my work, feel free to visit my Instagram page.

Don't forget, you can save $5 at the Shop and Crop Store using the code DL5.

Until next time, happy crafting. 

Donna

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Hello! Donna Lewis here. I'm very excited to be sharing my first blog post with you. I've been having a lot of fun with the March Crop Kit,  making cards and Easter projects.  The crop kits contain all kinds of goodies, and all my projects shared here today use the papers, stickers and embellishments from Doodlebug Design inc that are included in the March kit. You can take a look at how to subscribe to the Shop and Crop kits here. You can even get $5 off your purchases at Shop and Crop using the code DL5. 

Firstly, seeing as it's Easter Sunday, let's look at the Easter projects I made. This pillow box was made using the WeRmemorykeepers pillow box punch board. I added some of the sweet papers from Doodlebug Design that were included in the Crop Kit, and the easter egg stickers from the kit. Finally, some twine from my stash finished the project.

As you get to know me, you'll know that I love shaker cards, and the gorgeous "Happy Easter" panel was perfect for a shaker. I cut the panel around the inside of the scalloped border and dropped the sentiment to the back. Onto the front I put some of the stickers included in the kit, and inside the shaker are some the flowers and jewels from the kit as well as some sequins from my own stash.

The images on the Doodlebug papers make the cutest little baby cards. I have cut out the individual images and rounded the corners. They have been mounted on a slightly darker cardstock to make a border for each cutie, as the papers all have very similar tonal value. There was no "baby" sentiment in the kit, so I made my own by writing the word with a Versamark clear pen, and adding white embossing powder and heat setting it. It's hard to pick up in the photo, but each critter has been finished off with some wink of Stella for sparkle, and Glossy Accents on their noses to make them stand out. Too cute!

The next card has been given a soft look by ink blending a background using Distress Inks in Mowed Lawn, Broken China and Fossilised Amber. The sentiment on this card comes from a stamp set from Mama Elephant called "Up and Away" which I also used to make the bunny background paper on the next card. This was the quickest of all the cards to make, but is one of my favourites. 

Here's a close up of the ink blending (and some very cute little faces!)

Finally, a card using several dies and my Sizzix machine.  I clear embossed the Mama Elephant bunnies to make a background. The ground is a cute bunny paper that I'm using as grass, which I have die cut using a scalloped border die. Some cute stickers from the March Crop Kit and a sentiment stamp from Paper Smooches finish the card. You can never have too many cute bunnies!

Hopefully this will give you some new ideas for projects to try with the March Crop Kit, or with any of the other papers you have in your stash. Have a blessed Easter, and I look forward to sharing with you again. If you are interested in seeing more ideas, feel free to check out my Instagram account @donnadoll74.