Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog: Card Cafe Thursday with Amy Sheffer!

Hi all, it's Amy Sheffer, and I'm excited to be joining you here today! The sizzling hot shaker trend shows no signs of cooling down anytime soon, which is good news for fans of that fun technique! Today I'm sharing three shaker cards that venture outside the box in terms of shaker filler. Sequins and beads are fantastic, but there are many other creative ideas for filler, too!

Supplies: Jillibean Soup Stamps & Dies: Latte Love; Shaker Card Base: Coffee Cup; Shaker: Coffee Cup; Patterned Paper: Bowl of Dreams; Other: White Staz-On, various dye and pigment inks, white card stock, white linen thread, paper piercer, coffee beans

I may never have considered coffee beans had it not been for some adorable new Shape Shakers products by Jillibean Soup. The coffee-themed sentiments in the Latte Love stamp set and the Coffee Cup Shaker practically demanded to be filled with actual coffee beans! I like the Jillibean Soup shakers because they are a little deeper than other shakers, so the coffee beans and other thicker items fit perfectly with no modifications.

I stamped the sentiment onto the shaker window using white Staz-On. This is a fun and perhaps unexpected place to add the sentiment, especially since the white ink shows up so well against the dark beans. Use care when stamping on the shaker, as the inked stamp can be slippery against the acetate surface. You may also want to put a block or other sturdy support inside the shaker in order to have a stable surface to stamp on. If you goof, wipe off the ink with a little bit of rubbing alcohol and try again! (Mine took a couple of tries!)

For interest, I added some stitched "steam" lines rising up from the coffee cup and topped them with die-cut hearts.

Supplies: Jillibean Soup Stamps: Oh Happy Day, Rock Star; Shaker Card Base: Star; Shaker: Star; Patterned Paper: Chit Chat Chowder, Bowl of Dreams; Pea Pod Parts: Souper Celebration, white; Other: various dye and pigment inks, watermark ink, white embossing powder

Shaker cards are ideal for kids and especially fun when filled with non-traditional shaker filler. Here I've used a star-shaped shaker, also from Jillibean Soup's Shape Shaker line and filled it with tiny gum pieces. I don't want to tell you how many stores I went to looking for old-fashioned Tiny Chiclets. Anyone remember those? They were the teeniest, tiniest little colored squares of gum. Sadly, Tiny Chiclets have been discontinued, but I did find something similar called Bits & Pieces by Dubble Bubble.

I used the star as the flame for a birthday candle and added two additional candle die-cuts as well.

The candles are on a birthday cake made up of some hand-cut wonky rectangles in fun patterns. I stamped a happy birthday sentiment on the bottom layer and heat embossed it in white.

Supplies: Jillibean Soup Silhouette cut file (red apple, design # 33132), large circle shaker card, large circle shaker, bean board alphas, wood veneer "thanks"; Other: black and white baker's twine, paper clips, wood veneer stars

Last is a simple and fun teacher thank-you. Here I've turned a large circle shaker element into an apple and filled it with with "teacher" things: paper clips, letters (they spell "teach") and some wood veneer stars. Push pins, mini binder clips, and brads would be fun too!

I cut the apple components with my Silhouette from a combination of patterned paper and card stock. Even the green number pattern is teacher-perfect! I cut the large circle from the center of the apple using a Spellbinders circle die, and used that behind the shaker for a seamless look. Finishing touches: a wood veneer "thanks" sentiment and some black and white baker's twine.

Thanks for joining me here today. And thanks SCT for having me as your guest!

~ Amy Sheffer

Hi all, I'm Amy Sheffer, and I’m super excited to be guest designing for the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog! I live in Virginia with my husband and our three children, ages 16, 13, and 9. I’ve been dabbling in various arts and crafts since I was kid. A friend introduced me to scrapbooking nearly twenty years ago, and stamping and card making came along soon after. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed being part of the online card making community, as well as designing for some really fantastic companies, stores, challenges, and publications. When I’m not stamping or busy being a mom, I also enjoy volunteering, photography, DIY home decor, and reading.