Shaker pocket tutorial

When I was trying to decide what to do for my title card for the week of July 4th I knew I wanted to use sequins so when I was playing around trying to decide what to do I ended up with a sequin shaker pocket idea. I then spent a good amount of time trying to figure out the best way to do it.

First I designed the text portion of the card in Photoshop Elements. I wanted to make sure the cut file would fit on the card and allow enough room around the edges for my text. I printed the text on the woodgrain cardstock and then cut the USA from it on my Cameo. The cut I used was a trace of my USA map outline that I shared awhile back but there are several USA outlines in the Silhouette store or .jpg's can be found online that you could trace.

Then I cut a piece of vellum to 4 x 6 and also cut up a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet protector down to 4 x 6 as well.  The plastic protector will be the top and the vellum will be the bottom. You could easily use plastic for both parts but I didn't want my pocket completely transparent.

Make sure to look closely at your plastic protector when cutting, try to use a piece that isn't scratched or marked up. I had to fish thru my stash to find one in good shape.

I used some washi tape to hold these two pieces together so they wouldn't move around while I sewed them together. Make sure you use a washi that isn't too sticky so it won't tear the vellum when you remove it later. 

Note: Be careful when handling and filling your vellum and plastic pocket, the plastic can scratch easily and the vellum will crease if bent.

You could very easily just stitch around the perimeter of your plastic and vellum and fill it with your sequins but I wanted to make sure that my sequins stayed within the cut out portion of the USA.

I layed the positive piece down and matched the edges so I knew the correct placement of the cut out. I then added some tape to the back of the negative cut so I could stick it down on top of the plastic.

Basically you want to put the puzzle pieces back together exactly on top of your plastic and vellum.

Remove the outer frame and your left with the exact placement of the cut out.

Carefully stitch around the edge of your USA cut getting as close as you can, make sure to leave a portion open so you can fill it.

Play around with quantity and variety of your sequins. You'll notice some of the smaller fit into the Florida and upper east coast areas nicely. You don't want to pack it too tight or the sequins won't move around.

I layed my piece back on just to make sure I stitched up the opening in the right spot.

When done sewing, trim your threads and remove all the washi tape from your edges and completely cover the mask with adhesive. I made sure to especially cover the edges really well of the cut out so it would sit down tight on my plastic.

When you lay your mask on top you get a shaker pocket perfectly sized to your cut file.

 

Here is a look at the backside of mine. 

 

This could be done with any shape for any occasion. I hope you give it a try. If you do please make sure you link me back so I can see it.