CCT - Technique ....

... Hi! It's been a while since I've posted anything - been on holiday to Disney - but more of that later. Today I'm sharing a rather clean and simple card for our new challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown - CCT08. For the next couple of weeks we want you to use the SHAKER technique on your Christmas cards. Here's my take on the technique:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Star of Light
Inks: SU - Pool Party, Island Indigo
Dies: Cheery Lynn Star Die K108
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU DP - Winter Frost; Cheery Lynn Shaker Card Kit; Sequins; Spectum Noir Sparkle Brush - Clear

I recently purchased a Cheery Lynn Shaker Card Kit that includes all you need to make a star shaker card - dies, metal shaker bits, acetate and foam - and decided to use it on today's card. I have based the layout on the sketch from CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#218, but I have turned it to make a landscape style card.

I started by picking my design papers. I used the star die from the kit to cut the base layer and the acetate, and the frame die to cut the top frame and the foam. The sketch shows a band behind the rectangle and rather than use ribbon or paper, I decided to create a band of small stars behind the shaker element. I stamped the stars using a pale aqua ink and added a few lighter areas of stars on the front of the card. I adhered the base of star flat to the card front and then stamped the sentiment. The foam in the kit comes with adhesive on both sides, so I simply removed the backing paper and attached the foam layer to the base star. Next I added a mixture of sequins and some of the tiny metal embellishments that come with the kit. I didn't put a lot of sequins in the shaker as I still wanted to be able to see the design paper. I removed the backing paper from the top of the foam, attached the acetate and then finished the element by adding the design paper frame. I stamped an simple star on some white card, cut it out and adhered that on top of the star shaker. I added some sparkle to this star with my clear Spectrum Noir brush. On the inside I cut a mat layer of design paper and on the white panel added another band of aqua stars and a Christmas greeting.

After cutting out the star frame from the design paper I was left with a large star, so I decided to decorate an envelope to match the card. I also added a tiny little star in dark aqua. You can see the card and envelope below, along with a close up of the shaker element on my card:

Now, do visit our blog to see more inspiration projects from the rest of the Design Team. You've got plenty of time to play along with this challenge. Deadline for submission is midnight (BST) Friday 5th May (7.00pm EDT) - you've got an extra week for this challenge! Do have a go!

I mentioned earlier that we were at Disney for Kat's spring break. It's not a place I've longed to go to, but Kat and her friend, Alyx, were both very, very keen to go. So, we took them for a week. It turned out to be great fun for us all. Kat and Alyx are both old enough to go off on their own, so Jonathan and I were able to go round and just have fun. We even went on a few rides!! We walked miles and miles. It was a really fun break. The only downside was that our flight home was cancelled by Delta (weather related) and Jonathan ended up driving back to Michigan from Florida. He's my hero!  Here are a few photos from our holiday:

I think the girls are at just the right age to really enjoy Disney. Old enough to go off on their own, keeping in touch by text, and young enough to want to see the Disney princesses and characters!! Love them both!

That's all for now - hope you all have a good weekend!