A Spooooky Halloween Shaker Card featuring Chibitronics!

Hi everyone,

Happy Halloween!  I have an awesome treat for you today.  No tricks, I promise!  I love making shaker cards and this one is special because it incorporates an awesome new product called Chibitronics, which are tiny circuit stickers that light up when you connect it to a battery source.  If you're a non-engineer like me, you might scratch your head and say "huh - circuits?" -- but TRUST ME... this product is so fun and easy to learn how to incorporate into your craft projects.

So, here's the light-up shaker card I made and below I will outline the steps and materials I used to make this SPOOOOOKY greeting card.

Chibitronics Spooky Halloween Card

MATERIALS NEEDED

• Chibitronics Starter Kit (stickers, copper tape and battery).  For this card, I used approx. 8" of tape, 4 Chibitronics stickers (2 yellow, 2 red) and 1 battery.  If you're new to Chibitronics, I highly recommend reading the tutorial to understand the product.  Or just read the steps below!

Chibitronics Starter Kit

Chibitronics materials used for this card

• Card Making Supplies: Die Cuts (Sizzix Oval Nesting Dies - 3 sizes, My Favorite Things Stitched Square, IO Stamps Picket Fence), Decorative Paper, Foam, Acetate, Adhesive, Embellishments (ribbon, stickers and confetti for the shaker window).

STEP BY STEP TUTORIAL

• Step 1: Cut the different pieces of paper, acetate and foam.  For this card, I used:
• Orange card stock for the card base (5.5"Hx11"W), scored down the center
• Black card stock for the borders (5" square), two pieces
• Inside page die cut with the stitched square die (approx. 4.75" square)
• Front page die cut with the stitched square die and also the smallest oval die in the center to make a window.
• Picket fence cut out of black paper
• Halloween patterned paper for the shaker window interior and frame (small and medium oval die cuts)
• Foam die-cut from the large and medium oval dies
• Acetate die-cut from the large oval die

Die-cutting Fun!

• Step 2: Plan Battery Placement and Create Battery Holder
• I created simple battery holder using a piece of black card stock (1"x2.125", scored at the 1" and 1.125" mark).
• To keep myself from getting confused I added "+" and "-" to the paper so I knew where to place the battery.  
• I cut the copper tape in half lengthwise so I could have a thinner strip and also have more tape to use in another project.
• I decided to place the battery in the bottom right cover of the card

Battery Placement



• Step 3: Chibitronics Circuit Sticker and Copper Tape Placement
• Use post-it notes (my preference) to mark off where to place the lights
• Add copper tape according to the layout.  Note, one piece runs to the negative side of the battery holder, the other to the positive side)
• Move post-it note markers out of the way to put the circuit stickers on the tape
• Add pieces of foam around the battery to hold it in place and keep from rolling

Mark off placements for the circuit stickers

Lay out the copper tape according to the guide and add the circuit stickers

• Step 4: Test the Lights


• Test the lights to make sure everything worked (I placed an acrylic block on the battery holder cover so I could have two hands free to take this photo).
• It works!

It Lights Up!

• Step 5: Assemble the Shaker Window
• Add Halloween confetti to the center of the shaker window.
• Cover the foam window with the piece of acetate that we cut out in Step 1.  You can use any kind of clear liquid glue for this. 
• Add foam around the top and right edges for structural support.

Sequins and Foam!

• Step 6: Assemble and decorate the front of the card
• Using small black foam dots, add the bats to the front of the card (I pulled these bats out of the confetti... they're so cute, I mean spooky).  I like the black foam dots for these smaller embellishments because the blend in when you look from side view.
• Add the picket fence and ribbon to the front.
• Notice the circuit stickers show through this front paper.  If you used a darker card stock, the stickers may not show through.  Vellum and light card stock work best.  Or, you can cut holes to really see the lights.

Decorating the front

Completed front and back panels

• Step 7: Add both panels to the card base and you're done!
• That was easy, wasn't it?

• Here's a side view of the card so you can see the lights glowing:

Stay tuned for more cards incorporating these Chibitronics circuit stickers.  I have a few things cooking...  For more information about these products and to order your own starter kit, head to the Chibitronics site.

Happy Haunting!