I made a big batch of Valentines to go out to the usual suspects! I’m fascinated by shaker cards, but don’t make as many as I would like, so I went to town for Valentine’s Day.
In order to keep the weight down and minimize rigidity so I could use just a First Class stamp, I cut A2 card blanks along the crease and then used stash V-day cardstock to make tops in the same size.
I made 16 total, between 2 and 4 of each of those in the photo. The X and O are cut on my Sizzix BIg Shot using TH dies. Then acetate is cut slightly bigger than the “XO” and glued to the back. I made a “well” for the “shaky stuff” by cutting a fun foam square and gluing it to the acetate. When the glue was dry, I sprinkled in clay shapes, confetti hearts, sequines, and chunky glitter, then glued the other side of the foam well to the back of the card which I had stamped a sentiment on.
I used a corner cutter to round the corner to cut a little more weight and also make the corners of the envelope less rigid. The big sorting machines don’t like super rigid envelopes which is one reason thick or lumpy cards need to be hand sorted and cost more to send by USPS.
This is also why I didn’t follow the technique I recently learned for making the fun foam “well” the same size & shape as the - keep it flexible and light!
Did I over think it? Probably. I had fun doing so, though! 
PS While photographing these, I realized I forgot to help Vivienne make a card for the vet office, so I guess I’m not quite done yet!
I have a hard time finding uses for that striped style that’s often in pads, so I was excited that it seemed to work out for these.