Welcome to another In Detail post. This week I’m talking about Sequins and Shaker Cards.
First I’ll take a look at a selection of the sequins available in the Ellen Hutson shop, including those that are pre-blended and those sold individually, which can be custom mixed. (You'll find sequins as a category under Embellishments in the storefront.) Then I’ll put together a shaker card from start to finish, using the Impression Obsession Christmas Tree Cutout die set and a sentiment from the just-released Essentials by Ellen Merry and Bright by Julie Ebersole die set.
To begin, I looked through the storefront searching for a variety of sequins considering color, shape and size. With the upcoming holidays in mind, I focused on metallic and holiday colors.
If you’re interested in a sequin set that has already been “blended” for the holidays, consider the Pretty Pink Posh Classic Christmas Mix with 6mm flat sequins in red, green and gold.
With Halloween on the horizon, there’s the Taylored Expressions Hocus Pocus mix of cupped sequins designed to coordinate with the Hocus Pocus collection including a 6 x 6 paper pad and kit.
Looking for some variety in terms of shape? The American Crafts WOW! Christmas 1 Glitter Shapes set includes four tubes containing evergreen trees, snowflakes, gingerbread people and candy canes. There are two colors for each shape. For example, there are white and red candy canes and silver and white snowflakes. The Christmas 2 set (not shown) includes presents, stockings, lightbulbs and reindeer.
Moving onto non-blended sequins, the Doodlebug Rainbow Assortment offers sequins in twelve colors; there are six shades of color in matte, clear and opalescent finishes in each of the containers.
Let’s make some mixes. For the first, I’ve combined Pretty Pink Posh 6mm Flat Silver Stars with red and green sequins from the Doodlebug Rainbow Assortment.
For the next, I mixed the Pretty Pink Posh 6mm Flat Silver Stars with the Pretty Pink Posh 6mm Gold Circle Confetti sequins.
I mixed the trees from the American Crafts WOW! Christmas 1 Glitter Shapes set (the trees come in two shades of green) with sparkling clear sequins in 4mm, 6mm and 8mm from the Pretty Pink Posh Exclusive Ellen Hutson Mix.
Finally, with a color scheme that could work for New Year’s, I mixed Pretty Pink Posh 4mm and 6mm gold cupped sequins with purple ones from the Doodlebug Rainbow Assortment.
As you can see, it’s easy to mix color, shape and size for unique combinations.
Before we get started on the shaker card, I want to show you the die set I’ll be using. The Impression Obsession Christmas Tree Cutout die set includes three tree designs, a star and a tree outline.
The three tree designs do not cut on the outside line. The outline die cuts on the outside.
The tree designs can be cut with the outline die or can be used for the knock-out technique, as described in the In Detail article on Die Cutting Techniques.
I wanted to use the knock out technique on the interior of my shaker card. While I could have simply backed the die cut with a piece of cardstock, I was concerned that the edges of the die cut could trap sequins, so I chose the easiest of the three patterns to create an inlaid background. Inlaid die cutting is also covered in the aforementioned In Detail article on Die Cutting Techniques.
To begin the shaker card, I die cut a rectangle with the Stitched Rectangle die (4" x 5 ¼"), from the My Favorite Things Blueprints 13 set. (I discussed this die set in this In Detail post.) I then centered the tree outline on the rectangle and die cut it.
Next I cut the tree design from green cardstock and again from a white cardstock panel, into which I planned to inlay the green pieces.
A section at a time, I replaced the white pieces with the corresponding green ones. I taped the back of the panel to secure the pieces at each step.
Once the tree was fully inlaid into the white panel, I adhered an acetate panel (from a Hero Arts Acetate Card) with Be Creative tape to the card front panel cut with the tree outline die.
Next I adhered 1/4" Foam Mounting tape along the perimeter of the tree outline in order to form a container for the sequins.
I added red candy canes and silver snowflakes from the American Crafts WOW! Christmas 1 Glitter Shapes set to the inlaid panel and then carefully placed the card panel on top.
Before we finish the card, I want to show you the signature packaging for the Essentials by Ellen Stamp Sets and Dies, which includes a durable clear envelope and labeled card stock backer for convenient storage and organization. The die storage features an attached magnetic sheet, to ensure that even the smallest of your dies is stored securely!
The Essentials by Ellen Magnetic Die Storage can be purchased separately in packages of 25.
To finish my card, I used the merry die to cut a sentiment for the card front panel out of gold foil. I also cut a star (included in the Christmas Tree Cutout die set) from the foil to put on top of the tree. I attached the completed card panel to a card base made from Neenah Heavy-weight Cardstock.
I hope you've enjoyed this exploration of sequin options, as well as this tutorial on how to make an inlaid shaker card!
--Jean
