Snowy Wishes Card

I was thinking over the holidays, when was the last time I sent a card just because; for no other reason then to say hi or I'm thinking about you? Sure I send lots for Christmas, other holidays like Valentine's and Easter, and of course for birthdays but not very often otherwise. Getting a card from a friend always gives me warm fuzzies inside and I know everyone enjoys opening an envelope with some thing other than bills inside.With that in mind, I created a special card for ER's Godmother Alicia in Arizona. It's got a few special touches, like a shaker box and a little gift in the form of a laminated magnetic picture for her refridgerator. To start, fold an 8.5"X11 sheet of cardstock in half and cover it with paper. Make a pattern for the opening, shown above, through which my photo will show with a scrap of paper. Lay it down on top of your card and then use an X-acto knife to carefully cut it out.

To make the shaker box, use the paper pattern used above to trace onto cardstock:

• Use X-acto knife and a ruler to cut out the inside to form a frame.
• Glue frame to a transparency sheet.
• Cut around edges of frame, DO NOT cut center out.
• Apply two layers of double sided foam tape on top of the transparency, that's glued to paper frame.
• Add snowflake cut-outs and small sprinkle of blue glitter in center empty space.
• Remove backing from tape and press firmly into another transparency. This will seal the snowflakes between the two layers of transparency but still allow them to move about freely.
• Cut out completed shaker box from second transparency.
• You will end up with the following layers: paper, transparency, snowflakes, transparency.

Cover seams between papers on card front with ribbon. Attach shaker box over the opening previously created. Here is a side view so you can see the dimension of the shaker box. Instead of using a second layer of transparency you can also use patterned paper. Mine has two clear layers because I want the photo to show through and be easily removable.

Here's the card with the photo attached. To make the photo magnet, run photo through a Xyron machine loaded with a laminate and magnet cartridge. Tape it into place. Normally, I try to hide any signs of embellishment on the front of the card so they do not show on the inside, for instance the backs of metal brads. However, in this instance I wanted it to be clear that the photo can be removed and enjoyed.

Here is how I embellished the inside. Alicia is always commenting on how much she misses the changes in seasons. Today as I watched the snowflakes come down, I was thinking we'd have to send her some. That inspired the whole card.

A bow, metal snow man, die cut letter sentiment, and little more foam tape finish up the front of our "Snowy Wishes" card.

Shared At: I'm Lovin' It Fridays at Tidy Mom, Tickled Pink at 504 Main, Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge, Friday Fun Finds at Kojo Designs, Friday Link Party at Creation Corner, and Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Scrappy Saturdays at Scrappy Gifts, Scraptastic Saturday at Young and Crafty, and Weekend Wrap Up at Tatertots and Jello.