Scrappy Cafe: San Francisco Shaker Card

There is just something about San Francisco that makes my heart swoon. It is my very favorite city in the world -- and I have been to many cities in different parts of the world. I think I am biased because I grew up right outside of SF in the bay area. Often I would take the ferry with my Dad from our hometown to Pier 39 to spend the day. Of course I did not realize how much I cherished it until I moved away to the Southwest where a natural body of water is hard to come by. Every time I go back home I make sure to take my kiddos to Pier 39 the same way I used to go when I was their age -- by the ferry. This is one of my all time favorite views of the city and I can only get it on the ferry:

The first time we went into the city, my kids did not understand why it is so special. They have been to cities in Southern California and were not impressed with the water because they had seen it before. They also have spent time in Maui and were repulsed by my adoration of the muddy bay water -- even though I am convinced it is what makes the sourdough from SF so delicious ;-) I explained to them it is the culture of the city. It is the people that make it so special. They finally understood once they saw a street performer:

After the street performances and being scared by the "Bush Man" (A dude who looks like a bush and leaps out in front of you) we always stop for clam chowder and sour dough bread at my favorite spot (that cute little attitude in the corner is my daughter):

The ferry ride back to my hometown is topped off with hot chocolate and usually one of us falling asleep for a quick nap.

When I saw the San Francisco Stamp by Brutus Monroe I knew I had to have it! I decided to make a shaker card out of it making sure to pay tribute to parts of SF that I adore. Here is how I created my SF card. First I used red foil paper from http://www.rinea.com/. This is some pretty cool stuff and I highly recommend you make your way over to their website and order a pack or two. It embosses lovely, can be shaped easily and holds well, cuts smoothly and can be stamped on. That is just to name a few things I love about this paper. The fact that it originated in Germany and I remember making stars out of it while living there, is beside the point and I will address more of that in later posts. For now, lets just get back to the shaker card (no more chasing rabbits -- I promise ;-) ) I stamped three images using my Stazon ink pad: cardboard (from a box I was about to recycle), red Rinea paper and a white card.

I wanted to bring in some Mermaid Blue Distress ink by Tim Holtz because it reminds of the houses that are in SF. I even painted my house this color living in the Southwest because it reminds me of the houses in the Bay Area.

The Cardboard is what will serve as the shaker portion of the card. I cut the snow globe out making sure to go outside of the stamp lines. It is important that you cut outside of the lines so the cardboard is not visual to the eye once it all comes together.

The Rinea foil paper is the front of the card. I choose this paper because the red is spot on to the color of the Golden Gate Bridge. It also is very easy to cut with an exacto knife. It does not take much pressure at all and it is a clean cut. It was important that I cut on the line of the stamp. I did not want to have that vary from section to section.

To assemble the card I used Beacon 3-1 and attached the cardboard to the card being careful to line it up just right.

To fill the shaker I used things from my stash that remind me of SF. First I punched three little hearts (because I left my heart there and I like the number three!). I used gold mica flakes to represent the dirty bay water (I'm not even kidding about this! It is one of my favorite things about the city -- dirty water). The little glass beads reminded me of the waterfront. Finally the cute little white flowers represent the bushes and flowers found at Pier 39.

Packaging material works great as a clear overlay! I adhered it with the Beacon 3-1 because I could slide it around it needed, yet when it dried it was secure.

I carefully added my last layer making sure to hide the cardboard. I used Beacon 3-1 for this too!

I wanted to add a little bit more piazza to the card so I embossed the scraps of red Rinea foil paper. Since there is red on one side and gold on the other, I decided to use the gold! It embossed perfectly!

To hide the rough edges I used a red and white trim. The houses in the bay area all have white trim for the most part. This reflects that!

To finish that card I added three sweet hearts that I punched from the leftovers of the Rinea foil paper. This also covered where my trim meets and adds a little more personality to the card.