Hello again, crafters!  Boy, it sure doesn’t feel like a week has gone by since my last post.  Between vacation, house guests, and getting ready for a new school year, I don’t which end is up anymore!  But luckily I always have my craft supplies to come home to, and this week’s project features both the new Kat Scrappiness Stitched Scalloped Heart dies, and a pretty mixture of sequins and jewels.  Let’s go ahead and get into the details.

I started off by die cutting two hearts, the pink one in the largest size, and the mint one two sizes smaller.  I chose these colors because of the Kat Scrappiness “Mint Sparkles” sequins and the “Pretty Pink Jewels” I wanted to use.  In order to make my shaker element the way I wanted, I needed to turn these solid hearts into frames.

To accomplish this, I very lightly drew a pencil line around the inside of the stitched line on each heart.  This line is only a general guide to keep you on track as you cut.  I used my long-handled X-acto blade for the cutting.  I refer to this tool as my “razor blade on a stick,” to remind myself that it’s lethally sharp and not to get too reckless when I use it!  Slow and steady is the best way to use it, not pressing too hard.  When you’re all done, with fingers intact (!), gently erase any pencil lines with a good eraser.

I cut two more hearts of the same sizes out of acetate sheets, then used a strong adhesive to attach them to the backside of my frames.  I used some clear tape to tack down the small heart within the larger one because I wanted it to stay in place.  I then trimmed down some long strips of Scotch foam tape, peeling off the release paper so that it’s completely pliable.  It’s very easy to run it along the curves to get the perfect edges around your hearts.  You want to be careful here because this foam will be the “wall” holding in all of your tiny shaker elements, and you certainly don’t want them coming out.  I then set this piece aside for a bit to work on a background panel.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how much I love to create my own patterned paper, and this was the perfect opportunity.  I found some pretty “Bubble Gum” pink ink and “Mint Macaron” to create a simple plaid design.  To this I added some stitched line stamping in a glittery gold embossing powder.  This helped bring some bling to the card, as well as matching some of the awesome sparkle in Kat’s sequins and jewels!

Once my stamping was done, I layered this custom piece onto some of the same pink card stock as before.  Using a matting layer like this is a very easy way to give your card a finished, polished look.  Then I attached the layered piece onto my card base, which for this project is a white 5″ square card.

Now for the bling!  I started by pouring some of the “Mint Sparkles” sequins into the smaller heart, then added just a few of the tiniest Pink and White Jewels.  I poured more sequins into the bigger heart, then added both colored jewels in an assortment of sizes.  I made sure that the jewels would be face-up in the shaker window so that the facets would sparkle.  The shaker is too shallow for them to flip over, but roomy enough to allow them to slide around.  If you ever find your shaker is too shallow for the filler you want to use, simply add a second layer of foam tape on top of your first to get a deeper shaker.

Does anyone else save their sentiment until the last step like I do?  Sometimes I can really paint myself into a corner doing that, but this is why banner dies are such a life-saver.  I easily found a simple “You Have My Heart” sentiment that fit perfectly into this die from Kat’s “Crafters Essentials 1” die set.  I heat set it in the same sparkling gold embossing powder I used in my plaid background on the same mint card stock as my heart frame.  Again, this consistency in products is what’s going to bring all of your card elements together in the end.

And that is my finished card!  I just love the soft colors, and it was all inspired by those gorgeous sequins!  I am definitely going to be stocking up on this mix because I never want to run out of it 🙂  I hope that some of the ideas I shared this week will inspire you to try them, especially nesting a shaker within a shaker.  To pick up any of the supplies I used today, please follow the individual links, or use the shopping link below to get started.  Don’t forget that you can also use my discount code “CYNTHIA10” to save 10% off your entire purchase.  I’ll see you again at the end of the month, and have a crafty day!

Kat Scrappiness Shop