Inspire Me: Bring on Spring!

Howdy everyone!  And Happy Monday!  I'm Allison Cope and I'm here to share with you for Inspire Me Monday!

I have a sweet couple, Brenda and Keith, that live next to me here on the lake in Alberta.  It was Brenda's 75th birthday on Saturday so I wanted to make a birthday card to send along to her to wish her a happiest of birthdays.  So I was wracking my brain as to some inspiration for her card so I thought I would pay a visit to Pinterest.  Why not right?  Since Spring is only a few weeks away I thought I would search for a Spring piece of inspiration.  This is the photo that caught my eye...

Click the image for the source.

I just loved the gorgeous bouquet and the colors that had been pulled out of it!  It said "Spring" right away to me.

I love interactive cards!  They always make for the most interesting cards to give special people in your life so I chose to make a fun shaker card for Brenda's birthday card.  And here's how I made it...

Step One:
I created a very simple card base with some patterned papers and stitching. 

Then I die cut an oval with an oval die cut from the inside too to create a frame.  Next I die cut a piece of acetate (the tissue is still on it!) that was wider than the frame's hole and less than the diameter of the outside of the oval frame.

For my focal image, I die cut a piece of watercolor paper and then gold heat embossed the stunning (and rather Springy looking!) bouquet from the Countryside Bouquet Deluxe clear stamp set.  I used some watercolor pencils to add color and then used a waterbrush to soften and spread the color throughout the image.

Step Two:
I flipped the frame to the back side and added ring of strong adhesive to the back.  Then I removed the adhesive backing and laid the acetate over top of the hole in the frame.

Step Three:
Next I added an endless ring of foam adhesive to the back of the frame.  You need an endless barrier to prevent any of the contents of your shaker from falling out.  I gathered some sequins and gold microbeads to place inside my shaker.

I cut the foam only part of the way across to allow it to bend around the oval and remain one solid surface on the inside of the oval..

Step Four:
Then I carefully added all of the contents of the shaker inside the foam barrier.

Step Five:
I carefully placed the colored image face down over top of the exposed foam adhesive; matching the ovals up and pressing firmly.  Voila... you now have a simple shaker element to add to a card! 

Here is the completed card which includes a birthday sentiment from the new "Short Stacks" clear stamp set.

The greeting matches the gold embossing of the bouquet...

So the next time you are in search of some inspiration for a creation, don't forget about Pinterest!

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope you are inspired by my card today and try this simple and easy shaker element for your next gift.

Happy creating!

 ~ Ally ~


Supplies:
Stamps:  Power Poppy (Countryside Bouquet Deluxe, Short Stacks)
Patterned Papers:  My Mind's Eye (Market Street)
Dies:  My Favorite Things (Stitched Ovals), Avery Elle (Gift Tags Set)
Cardstock:  Recollections Cream Cardstock, Stampin' Up! (Baked Brown Sugar)
Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh (Sparkling Clear),  CraftMedley
Ink: Versamark, Kimberly Watercolor Pencils
Embossing Powder:  PKGlitz (Gold) 
Microbeads:  Recollections
 Misc.: twine, thread.