While there are some great classics, such as sequins and seed beads, this post is going to explore a sizable range of shaker card filler ideas that go beyond these beloved standards and which may help to open up your paper crafting repertoire all the more.

What is a shaker card?

Shaker cards are a delightful form of card that involves creating a window in the design (generally on the front) of your card and sandwiching one or more types of “shakeable” materials between two tightly sealed layers, one of which is often transparent or semi-transparent so that the shaker contents remain visible.

When your card is moved around or shaken, the materials in the window shake, rattle and roll to and fro, adding fun, festive cheer to a huge range of handmade card designs.

The window/opening of your shaker card can run the gamut from small to medium to the entirety of the card front (and any size in between), just depending on the design of your card and the other elements you may be including on it.

In my Heartfelt Thanks Bat Sequins Shaker Card, for example, I made medium-ish sized shaker element with sheer tulle for the front of my shaker area.

If you’re new to this type of card and wondering how to make a shaker card, here are a few of the many terrific posts and videos that exist online for this topic:

-How to Make a Shaker Card Tutorial from the brand Chameleon

–Shaker Card Options from Jennifer McGuire

–Snow Globe Shaker Card Ideas from Lynn Dunn

When were shaker cards invented?

That, my crafty friends, is something that is most likely lost in the ether of the past. Trust me, I’ve searched high and low and haven’t yet found a source for the first known shaker card (be it commercially produced or handmade) or a date as to when the concept of shaker cards was first invented.

I can tell you, however, that I distinctly remember seeing shaker cards in the 1990s and reading mentions of them on various paper crafting forums, including SplitCoast Stampers in the early 2000s (and onward).

Shaker cards really started to take off in popularity several years ago now, with brands such as Jillibean Soup and Queen & Co. quickly bringing specifically designed shaker card making sets and related products to market as the popularity in this style of card skyrocketed.

I highly suspect that handmade shaker cards date back to the 1980s or maybe even earlier. It’s possible the commercially produced cards that included shaker elements date back further still. I’m going to keep researching this point and will update this post (or discuss it in a future entry) if I hit on any reliable information.

What shape can a shaker card window be?

This topic would make for a great post unto itself and maybe I’ll pen just that one day (be sure to let me know in the comments below if you’d be interested in such a post).

The short answer is that shaker card windows or openings can be pretty much any shape that your heart desires and that you have the tools required to make.

Some of the more common shapes for shaker card openings include circles, ovals, rectangles, squares, diamonds, hexagons and honeycomb shapes, hearts, stars, flowers, butterflies, clouds, the sun, pumpkins, windows, snow globes, Easter eggs, Christmas trees, Christmas ornaments (baubles) balloons, various types of fruit (from watermelons to lemons to cherries), cupcakes, mason canning jars, and mugs and teacups, and placing your shaker elements behind die cut words.

If you have the supplies needed to make other shapes (which – much like some of the ideas just mentioned – may entail owning or having access to a die cutting machine and metal dies or a digital die cutting machine), you can let your imagination run wild!

I’ve seen tons of creative shaker cards over the years. Here is a small handful of some of fabulously cool looking shaker card shape ideas that have crossed my path so far:

–Apple Shaker Card by Sarah Douglas

–Bicycle Wheel Shaker Card by Toni Maddox

–Candy Corn Shaker Card by Amy Sheffer

–Crescent Moon Shaker Card for Eid by SoulKittyHigh5s

–Dinosaur Egg Shaker Card by Patty Bennett

–Easter Basket Shaker Card by Jennifer Synder

–Fiddle Leaf Plant Shaker Card by Carly Tee (Love her charming Birthday Cake Shaker Card as well! Just as I do her darling To The Moon Infinity Shaker Card)

–Gumball Shaker Card by Barbara Anders

–Ghost Shaker Card by Lisa Petrella

–Glass of Lemonade Shaker Card by Nancy Nally

–Ice Cream Cone Shaker Card by Carrie Rhoades

–Kite Shaker Card by Nichol Spohr

–Necktie Shaker Card by PaperCrafter Magazine (card maker not credited)

–Snowman Shaker Card by Bunny Vance

–Umbrella Shaker Card by Wanda Guess

–VW Van Shaker Card by Heather Holbrook

–Wedding Cake Shaker Card by Carol Payne

–Wine Glass Shaker Card by Donna Mikasa

–Witches Hat Shaker Card by Ruthie Lopez

Again, you can really let your creativity soar when it comes to shaker card making. This applies both in terms of what shape or design of window you opt for and in regard to what sorts of materials you put inside your shaker card opening.

If you’re looking for oodles of great ideas for what to include inside of your shake card, read on!

The ultimate list of things to put in a shaker card

• Sequins of all sorts, kinds, shapes, colours – go wild!
• Confetti (including homemade with a hole punch)
• Cake sprinkles and other low moisture decorative baking supplies
• Buttons
• Tiny pieces of ribbon and trim
• Beads (including, but certainly not limited to, seed and bugle beads)
• Pompoms
• Miniature dice
• Gem and rhinestones embellishments
• Flatback charms and embellishments
• Sticker pack types of small stickers (with the paper backing left on)
• Other types of stickers (place them onto, and lift them off of, a piece of fabric multiple times to help get rid of the stickiness on the back or put them on paper or cardstock, carefully cut around, and use as needed)
• Chipboard, cardstock and other types of alphabet letters and numbers
• Very small (1/12^th or small usually) dollhouse and similar types of miniatures
• Wood veneer shapes
• Plastic die cut shapes
• Paper die cut shapes
• Metal charms
• Plastic charms
• The metal parts from zippers
• Glitter of all kinds (including “snow” glitter)
• Sand (natural and artificially coloured)
• Small glass tiles and domed glass pieces such as those used to fill vases
• Table scatter mixes
• Pebbles and other tiny rocks
• Coffee beans
• Dried (real) flowers and leaves
• Artificial flowers and leaves
• Miniature craft project or home decor bird’s eggs and Easter eggs
• Sawdust shavings
• Dried seeds and seed pods (pumpkin seeds would be great for fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving Day cards)
• Real (dried) or faux moss and suitable (ethically sourced) dried lichen
• Ethically sourced shells, mini starfish, and sand dollars
• Pieces of real or artificial sea glass
• Small mirror tiles
• Pencil and pencil crayon shavings
• Wax crayon shavings
• Dried herbs and spices (such as star anise, pieces of cinnamon sticks, cloves, dried mint leaves, etc)
• Mini pinecones
• Dried pine needs
• Small birthday candles
• Tinsel
• Easter grass
• Small fabric, stitched, embroidered, etc appliques and lace shapes
• Robin’s Nest (brand) and similar styles of plastic “dew drops”
• Scrabble tiles and other types of small sized board game pieces
• German and other types of glass glitter
• Miniature/small crocheted doilies and other crocheted shapes (hearts, butterflies, flowers, stars, etc)
• Punched and die cut shapes
• Miniature pinecones
• Faux (plastic, paper, wood, etc) ladybugs, butterflies, bumblebees, and other types of insects
• Feathers
• Pieces of wool, yarn, crochet thread, fun fibers and other similar materials
• Rice, dried pasta, lentils and other very long-lasting dried foods
• Dried bird seed mixes
• Stitched appliques
• Thread (regular, metallic, embroidery, etc)
• Small spirals or other shapes made from crafting and beading types of wire
• Felt shapes of all kinds
• Hardware items such as small screws, nails, washers, bolts, etc
• Pieces of chain
• Pieces of rope
• Small, (likely) closed paper drink umbrellas
• Mini tassels
• Small origami shapes
• Mini Styrofoam balls (though static could be an issue with them)
• Mini polymer shapes (hearts, stars, flowers, etc)
• Various jewelry making components (spacer beads, jump rings, end caps, knot covers, etc)
• Miniature plastic Christmas lights
• Googly eyes
• Gemstone chips
• Microbeads (aka, caviar beads)
• Mica flakes
• Epsom salt
• Foam shapes (handmade or store bought)
• Jewelry making cabochons
• Mini (doll clothes type sized) buttons
• The contents of silica gel packets (can be dyed different colours with stamp pad reinkers)
• Small slices of ethically sourced real branches/wood
• Cancelled or unused postage stamps
• Mini fall and Halloween plastic and foam pumpkins
• Half (faux) pearls and similar products
• Small puzzle pieces
• Tiny paper tags
• Plastic or metal snaps
• Small, low moisture candies (such as Lifesavers, gumballs, Rockets, Tic Tacks, etc)
• Salt, including coloured salts such as black and pink varieties
• Dried corn kernels (e.g., Indian corn)
• Mini plastic icicles  
• Eyelets and grommets
• Small jingle bells
• Mini plastic craft rings
• Safety pins
• Standard and fun shaped paper clips
• And for shaker cards – such as fishbowl designs – that include a liquid component, products such as hand sanitizer, hair gel, and liquid dish or hand soap

Further ideas for shaker cards

Abundant as that list was, no doubt there are numerous other possibilities when it comes to what you can include inside of a shaker card.

If you have any ideas that you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments below.

And, remember that shaker cards often combine two or more materials and/or different types or colours of the same sort of product together to create unique, eye-catching and seriously cool shaker card filler recipes.

This is another area where you can experiment and play around time and time again.

I started compiling today’s list for my own paper crafting projects years before I launched this blog, and just know I’ll start a second version of it with any additional ideas you suggest, I think of myself, or that I come across in the online and offline crafting worlds.

It should be noted as well, that shaker elements and the products that are used as fillers inside of them are not limited strictly to cards.

This same type of paper crafting technique can be utilized in/on tags, gift bags and gift boxes, scrapbook pages, mini albums, fused or sewen clear plastic pockets and pouches, and numerous other types of handmade projects.

Shaker cards add instant joie de vivre to your cardmaking projects, but they can also be more formal or serious. For example, shakers can be used for get well, sympathy, wedding, anniversary, and loss of a pet cards.

I really enjoy making and chatting about shaker cards, so don’t be surprised if you see other posts starring or dedicated to this topic here as time goes on.

Do you have a favourite material or “recipe” of crafty products that you like to use in your own shaker cards?

The post The Ultimate List of Things to Put in Shaker Cards appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

I’m one of those people for whom October 31^st is so much more than “just” a single day or brief chapter of the fall.

It is #Halloween365 year-round in my house, my heart, my wardrobe, my spiritual path, and most definitely my paper crafting!

To me, themes and imagery of Halloween, Samhain, and autumn time align with my deepest self, and I am often at my happiest when I get to connect with All Hallows’ Eve in ways that are personally meaningful.

If I’m able to share those with others – be they kindred #Halloweeneveryday team members or not – I’m on cloud nine.

Recently I created this fun shaker card which taps into some of the spookiness of Halloween, while still being appropriate at other times of the year – especially if the recipient is a fellow Samhain adoring witch.

Heartfelt Thanks Bat Sequins Shaker Card

While many people are busily whipping up cute, sweet and beautiful Valentine’s Day cards, I’m busily digging through a plastic storage tower for a little container of bat-shaped sequins.

I smile to myself as this point hits me, Halloween patterned papers sprawled across my desk as, outside, it snows for the umpteenth time this winter.

I enjoy a good Feb. 14^th project, too, please don’t get me wrong. At the moment though, my mind is delightfully focused – as per usual – on the end of October.

Like a lot of my paper crafting projects, the idea behind this card came about quite organically. I often pull out various supplies and let them speak to me, if you will, playing around with combinations and ideas until I hit upon one that seals the deal.

I knew that I wanted to create a thank you card with strong components of both gothic and Halloween styling and that a shaker card was the order of the day.

As is usual for me, I started by making a good-sized card base. In this instance, I used that beloved favourite of paper crafters everywhere – kraft cardstock.

The card base for this project measures just over 7 inches tall and 5.75 inches wide (excluding the portions of the design that extend beyond the card base itself.

Layers upon layers upon layers

I love layers. Seriously love them. I genuinely struggle most of the time if I have to make a project with just one or two layers.

That doesn’t mean that everything I create is twelve layers deep, but chances are, there are at least a few layers to give the project a sense of depth, dimension and increased visual interest.

This bat filled shaker card was no exception.

Putting this Halloween Thank You Card Together

After creating my card base from kraft cardstock, I die cut two deckle-edged squares. One in dark rusty orange, the other in a fabulous Halloween floral print piece of paper from DCWV that features teeny skulls in the center of each bloom.

I then used two smaller dies from the same nested die set to cut out the middle layers here. These are the green and glossy black cardstocks you see here (if I could buy stock in Tonic’s glossy black mirror card, I happily would!).

Using the same sized die and a smaller sized die from that set, I created the kraft cardstock frame for the shaker element of this card.

Before I layered the middle layers onto the orange cardstock, I used pinking shear scissors (a nod to the deckle edging of the die cut pieces) to trim a strip of green cardstock. I topped this piece with a strip of the same skull flower paper used in the background.

Once the middle layers were in place (elevated with foam squares), I created the shaker element of this card.

The background orange and black bat print paper that I used for my shaker is from the same DCWV Curiosities 6×6 inch mat stack.

I love using mesh, lace and tulle for shaker cards, so I opted for some finely woven black mesh as the “window” part of my spooky shaker.

Into the shaker card went a mix that I created of olive green, terracotta red, and classic gold sequins, to which I added the star of the show, black bat-shaped sequins.

I attached the shakers window to the middle layers with foam dots. I then embellished the frame of the shaker with bat-shaped black sequins and small black rhinestones (gems), as well as a sentiment strip that was capped off on each end with an ambery gold hued rhinestone.

To give the sentiment strip a greater sense of dimension, I gently curved it in the middle before applying it to my project.

Next, I repeated the skull flower paper with a thin band at the bottom of the card. Immediately above this, I placed an even smaller band of the same dark orange cardstock I used earlier.

After that, I die cut leaves in two different colours of green cardstock along with a stitched heart die cut from the same orange cardstock I’d already used.

I ever-so-lightly inked my leaves in shades of ink just a whisper darker than their respective cardstock colours. I then clustered the leaves and hearts, topped each heart with an ambery gold heart-shaped rhinestone, tucked round rhinestones in the same colour around the horizontal strips of paper in the middle of the card, and set about die cutting the “thank you” part sentiment.

To do this, I used a “heartfelt thanks” word die and cut out two matching sentiments. One in glossy black mirror cardstock, the other in the same olive green used elsewhere on my card. I intentionally offset the two colours to create a layered shadow effect.

I also die cut a stitched heart from the same green paper, which I placed between the two words and topped with one final bat sequins.

For one final hit of sequins, I placed individual orange and gold coloured sequins on four of the green leaves, alternating (diagonally) the colours on the top and bottom sets of leaves (which, I had arranged in the same way, with alternating colours on both sets).

I created my message space inside the card and with that, this festively fall time inspired make was complete, ready and waiting to fly like a bat in the night to its recipient.

Card making tips and ideas from this project

-Use glossy (and/or metallic) papers and cardstock in selective areas to add sheen and really help a project pop.

-Ink or otherwise colour, such as with pencil crayons or markers, your die cuts for greater depth and, in some cases, to help them look more lifelike.

-Repeat the same sequins that you used in your shaker elsewhere on your card.

-When working with bold, eye-catching colours, ground them with a neutral shade. In this case, I used kraft, but white, cream, light brown, or even black could have worked here as well (had I gone with black, I likely would have swapped the glossy black cardstock for a different paper or cardstock).

-Turn square-shaped dies into diamond-shaped ones by rotating the angle of the square when you adhere it to your project.

-Not all leaves need flowers and vice versa. While we often associate the two as going together like peanut butter and jelly, either can look spectacular in its own right – especially if you use two or more colours to help them stand out all the more.

-Curve your sentiment strips. Whether they’re premade or handmade, cardstock, paper, vellum, cork or another type of pliable material, curving your sentiments lends a great sense of dimension to your make.

-Use a patterned paper as the background for your shaker – especially if you’ve primarily, or solely, used solid colours elsewhere on your project.

Patterned paper from smaller sized pads, such as 6×6 inch and 8×8 inch pads, with their inherently smaller sized prints often work especially well for the relatively modest sized amount of space available behind your sequins or other shaker elements (this background are is also a fun spot to place part, or all, of your sentiment – provided it can be read when the card is at rest).

-If you don’t have glossy paper or cardstock, but want the look for your sentiments or other elements of your project, top them with clear embossing powder (Wow Clear Embossing Powder is a good option), Glossy Accents, or a similar clear glaze product that dries to a translucent finish.

Products to help you recreate this Bat Sequins Shaker Thank You Card

-Cardstock in kraft (you could use taupe or light brown instead), dark orange, olive green, and medium green.

-Glossy black cardstock – I used Tonic Studio Glossy Black Mirror Cardstock

-Bat and skull flower print papers – I used two prints from the 6×6 inch DCWV Curiosities Mat Stack

-Sentiment strip – I used a die cut piece from Gracious Elements Die Cuts by Authentique

-Corresponding ink in a shade just slightly darker than that of your cardstock leaves – I used Morocco and Pistachio from Tsukineko’s Memento line of ink pads

-Ink to edge some of the paper and cardstock layers – I used Cottage Ivy and Toffee Crunch from Tsukineko’s Memento line of ink pads

-Pinking shears or pinking edge decorative scissors – I used Fiskars Paper Edgers in Mini Pinking

-Set of deckle-edged square shaped nesting dies

-Thank you sentiment mental die (or use stamps, stickers, rub-ons, or sentiment die cut pieces instead)

-Leaf-shaped metal dies

-Stitched heart-shaped metal die

-Round and heart-shaped dark golden yellow rhinestones (gems) – mine are from the “Crafts” brand sold at Dollarama stores

-Small black rhinestones (gems)

-Black tulle

-Green, orange, and gold round sequins

-Black bat shaped sequins

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

Halloween cards, not just for Halloween

Naturally, there are some recipients who would be more welcoming of an October 31^st themed card in the final weeks of winter than others.

I personally feel it is important to be respectful of peoples’ taste, beliefs and interests (if such information is already known to you) when creating projects that you’ll be giving away.

Many individuals live for Halloween and if you fall into that camp, chances are some of your nearest and dearest already know this about you and may quickly understand why there’s holding a bat themed card before the Easter Bunny has come calling yet.

If you have people in your life who adore fall, Halloween and/or Samhain, consider adding a fabulous touch of autumn to their day outside of October by creating a sweet, spooky, silly, or otherwise sensational All Hallows’ Eve related make for them at this point in the year.

Naturally, you can replicate or take inspiration from this design and use other types of materials here as well. This same general design could be used for a ton of different occasions – Valentine’s Day included.

All cards are card maps unto themselves.

And if you didn’t want to go this overtly Halloweeny, you could use a small dose of October perfect products instead. Say pumpkins, a scarecrow, a black cat, bats flying across a full moon, bare-branched trees, a Victorian-style gate, or a pair of pointy-toed witches boots, for example.

If you prefer to make and give Halloween cards when jewel-toned leaves are falling, that is completely okay, too. You could either put together a card like this now and tuck it away for later or save the project idea in your inspiration file or on Pinterest to create come autumn.

Crafting is a year-round activity that grants us the ability to connect with any holiday or special occasion that we desire whenever the urge strikes.

If you want to make Christmas or Yule cards in June, go for it! Canada Day or Independence Day cards in November, why not?

Or, as in this case, Halloween paper crafting projects in February. Have at it!

Life is too short and the giving of cards to those we care about too important not to create what we want, when we want – no matter the current season.

Show me your paper crafting makes!

If you make a project based on or inspired by this card – or want to share any of your other handmade crafts with me – please use the hashtags #WitchcraftedLife and #WitchcraftedLifeMakes on social media so that I see your beautiful creations.

Project share

Pin the image below – or any other in this post – to Pinterest, pop it into your Instagram Stories, post in on Twitter or Facebook, or share it anywhere else you wish to help yourself find it again and to inspire others at the same time.

The post Heartfelt Thanks Bat Sequins Shaker Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.