Crackers Are Not Just For Christmas

 

     The challenge at River Of Creativity this month is all about Celebration, this doesn't have to be Christmas, it can be the celebration of anything. I have chosen to make a cracker because I like them and think it's such a shame they only get used at Christmas, they're great for any occasion.

     This cracker is actually a half normal size version, great for tea parties and other get togethers, it also means you can cut two from one A4 sheet of card.

     Glitter card makes for a very bright cracker and using the Craft Artist non shed, non shed because it's not actually glitter atall, means there's no mess.

     Using the new strip dies from John Next Door, JND235 Shiregreen, I cut several lengths of black card to decorate the cracker before assembly. Two strips with one side and the bar middle, then one strip with both sides and the bar middle. All the strips were attached with redline tape as it's good and strong.

     To make the rosette I cut two strips in black using only one side die and stuck them together to make one long strip. Then I scored the strip at every pattern repeat, each diamond point and each gap between diamonds.

     Once all scores were made I pleated the entire strip and glued the ends together to make a ring. After the glue had dried I gently pushed the straight side of the ring down on my craft mat to make it form a rosette, this took a little bit of encouragement but it's so worth the time spent. Happy that the rosette was alright I glued a small piece of black card under the centre of the rosette, placed a small weight on top to hold it and went away for a cup of tea while it dried.

      In my stash I found a nobly clear gem that would fit perfectly over the small hole in the rosette, but I didn't want a clear gem so I coloured it yellow with an alcohol marker before sticking it firmly in place with strong glue. As the rosette had a flat back because of the small card circle it was stuck to it was easy to fix to the cracker with redline tape.

      This cracker won't actually crack, I didn't put a snap inside but you could if you wanted to. I chose to use curling ribbon to seal the cracker  because I like the curls you can make with the ribbon ends, I have used two lengths on each end to get extra curls.

      You can make these crackers with any colour combination you wish and any decoration that suits the occasion, so why limit their use to Christmas. A cracker is not just for Christmas, it's a great way to wrap a small gift any time of year.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes

C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas Present

A Perfect Time To Craft - Anything Goes

Classic Design - Anything Goes

Creatalicious - Anything Goes/option Christmas