Day 8 - 12 Days of Christmas

Today can be a gift or I am going to make a few to decorate my table on Christmas Day, what are we talking about... a

Christmas Cracker

Its very easy to make, I started off with a 12 x 12 piece of patterned paper from the Holiday Treasures set (yep no I Wish today) and cut it down to 5 3/4" x 12".

Score the long side at 5 5/16". Then you will need to score the both short sides at 2" 2 3/4" and 3 1/2".

Fold both ends into the centre along the 2 3/4" lines.

Next you will need this template, make sure you cut it at 100% and it should be the right size. Cut it out and place it so that the spikes are level with one folded edge and paperclip in place.

And cut out the bits between the spikes.... do the same the other end making sure you line the edge up with the same side as you did before... at the end cut across the rest of the paper at a 45 degree angle.

Open out and put double sided tape all the way along the small fold which is along the long edge of the cracker like this...

I then decorated the middle before I stuck it together, I took a strip of Very Vanilla and stamped it with the snowflake stamp from the Season of Joy stamp set and then mounted it onto some Real Red Cardstock...

Stick it firmly in place along the centre of the cracker using double sided tape..

Next you need to roll the cracker, it is easier to stick the middle section first, but it is a bit stiff because of the extra card you have added, I did this by just peeling the middle section of double sided tape first and sticking the middle into a round, you then need to get your fingers up inside to push the tape together so it seals really well. Next do the same with one end and then the other....

Pinch one end closed and tie with a piece of red ribbon, then add whatever you want to the inside of the cracker and then tie the other end with a piece of matching ribbon.

You can make these to match the colour of your table decorations and can put a personal gift in each and maybe hang a tag off with the persons name on it.... although it has lots of stages, this was very quick to make...

Will be back tomorrow with Day 9 of the 12 Gifts of Christmas...

Have a good evening all, take care xx