TGIF – Christmas Crackers with Kelly

Hello and welcome! It’s Kelly here today and I hope you’re all ready for Christmas and anticipating the joy and happiness of the day! I have officially sent out every single Christmas card I’ve made this year as well as a few stragglers from years past! With that being said, my creative spirit can never really be finished with Christmas! My project today is perfect for those of you who many find yourself in the same position and eager to create!

As soon as I saw the All Wrapped Up Collection, I knew it would be perfect to create Christmas crackers to be placed at each dinner setting on Christmas Eve or Christmas day! I created 7 crackers in total and I will explain how I made them and some tips and tricks to make assembling them a cinch! My cute mom and sister did the twelve days of Christmas for me one year and gifted me the beautiful “Night Before Christmas” tableware! They’re my favorite thing to use each holiday season and these crackers will look so cute at each place setting!

Ahead of making my crackers, I had saved any empty rolls of wrapping paper and paper towels. I just couldn’t bring myself to use empty toilet paper rolls! Ha ha! You can also find cardboard rolls online if you’d like that better. I used a finely serrated saw to cut each roll to 4 inches; you can choose what size suits you best. I purchased rolls of crepe paper that measured 10 inches, so I wanted the overhang to be long enough to add the scallop details. You can see in the photos that I made a few without scalloped edges so you can decide what you like best. You’ll also want to decide ahead of time what all you’ll be putting inside your crackers; traditionally they hold a paper crown, a joke, a sweet, and maybe a small trinket for children.

I used the Ribbon Maker: Large Scallops Die and the Ribbon Maker: Petite Scallops Die to cut all of the details for the ends and the body of the crackers. I used liquid glue to attach the smaller scallop pieces to the ends of the crepe paper and set them aside to dry. To assemble, I simply added a 3 inch or so piece of 1/4-inch ScorTape to each of the long ends directly in the middle where it would adhere to the cardboard tube. I used a piece of grid paper to center everything and get the proper placement. As I mentioned earlier, my crepe paper measures 10 inches and the tubes are 4 inches. I simply laid the crepe paper out straight on the grid paper, placed the tube on top at one end between the 3 inch and 7-inch mark to make certain the tube was centered and rolled it up securing it at the end with the ScorTape. From there, I tied the ends (fill them up at this point) using silver stretchy cord. I used more ScorTape for the larger scallop piece in the center; this can be easily repositioned if needs be. I had a few that I didn’t center that well and it was a breeze to reposition, surprisingly enough!

As much as we all love “handmade”, I often like to use something that gives my project a professional touch; cue the hot foil! I used the Tag Team Duo Holiday Sentiments Hot Foil and then die cut them using the Tag Team Duo Die. I added them to the middle of the crackers using foam squares in the middle. I tucked some greenery that was colored using assorted Distress Oxide inks using the Big Branches: Eucalyptus, Pine, and Ruscus dies! I tucked pieces here and there around each of the sentiments until I was pleased with the placement. I actually wanted to embellish them even more, but then remembered that they’re “crackers: and will be shredded come celebration time! Ha ha! You can definitely add as little or as much as you’d like depending on your preferences! If you like this idea, but don’t feel like you have time to put them together before Christmas, you could always make some glitzy crackers for New Year’s Eve! I can see all of the sparkles now!

I had so much fun putting these together and I think my family will love them! My cutie patootie 3^rd grader came home from school the other day with his “tissue paper and curling ribbon” cracker and had so much fun pulling it and eating the treats! Oh, and that reminds me…..you CAN buy the actual “crackers”….the part that goes inside that makes a cracking noise when it is pulled. They came in a pack of 100 so I opted not to get them, but if you’re making a large amount and you’d enjoy that feature, then I say add them! Thanks for joining me today! Have a merry Christmas and a wonderfully happy New Year!