Hello there. It’s the beginning of the month and that means and new challenge at Clever Dexter. This month’s theme is just so awesome, because it’s all about ‘Sparkle and Glitter”! To add to this, is our amazing sponsor, Polkadoodles is offering some amazing prizes. Do you need inspiration? Check out the card that I made.

Shaker cards have always been very close to my heart, but I’ve always struggled to make it really tidy. Somehow, I always manage to make a mess and never feel happy with the end result. Traditional shaker cards are layered, but I found a cool way to make a shaker and still avoid all the layering hassle.

The trick: to use cellophane bags! You heard that right. So, we all usually have the cellophane bags that we use to put our cards in. I’ve had a few on my hand for when I want to gift the card to someone. Although, the bag is very flimsy and isn’t stiff. To cover that issue, simply use a clear acetate sheet and insert it in the cellophane bag and, voila!

Let me walk you through the process. So first, I wanted more balloons for this card, so I die cut a few using Simon Says Stamps Celebration Time dies. I also, colored and fussy cut the cute image from the Just Lovely Honeypie digital stamp using watercolors and scissors. Using double sided tape I glued the image in the center of the acetate sheet and few of the balloons over at the top.

Next, I inserted this prepared acetate sheet into the cellophane bag and added the rest of the balloons and some glitter from Heidi Swapp in gold and green, and also some basic dots, stars and heart confetti from a local store. Before moving on, I made the top-folding card base from Accent Opaque 120 lb. In actuality, the length of the card base turned out to be a little short, but you will see how I managed to use it creatively.

Now taking the cellophane bag with all the shaker bits in it, I carefully adhered double sided tape towards the end where you fold and folded it over on the top of the notecard and adhered it at the back. Now, the only issue was that the cellophane bag and the front were not adhered together and I couldn’t apply any glue as you would be able to see it through the clear bag. To resolve the issue, I again used double sided tape at the back of all the glued images, as seen in the image below and stuck it to the cardstock.

Also, for the issue of the cardstock being shorter in the front, I didn’t mind, as all the shaker bits usually settled there and so the transparency was actually welcomed. To even out the height, I made sure that the cellophane bag was leveled the same as the back of the folded notecard.

Finally, the Happy Birthday die is by Erin Lee Creative that I die cut twice on purple cardstock. and glued it on the top of the cellophane bag to give it some dimension.

So yes, this doesn’t have the same movement like a traditional layered shaker card, but it does allow the glitter to more freely.

There is a lot more inspiration over at Clever Dexter , by the other DT. Get inspired and enter the challenge to win some amazing Polkadoodles loot. Don’t forget to tag us!

Challenge entries:

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Glimmer and Sparkle
• Addicted to Stamps Challenge- Challenge #413 – Birthdays
• PolkaDoodles Week 34 – Anything Goes

Have fun and see you soon.