Christmas Crackers

Hi Everyone,

Its not long now til the big man arrives with gifts for all.  I love this time of year, thinking of what unique gifts or decorations I can come up with each year.  People seem to enjoy the handmade gift more I think because it shows  how much effort and thought you have really put into each gift.
Christmas crackers were on my design team list to make this month.  This turned into more a chore than I intended.  I had originally intended to decorate an old tin I had and fill it  with a glass Christmas decoration I had found at Crabtree & Evelyn.  Unfortunately I forgot to leave 1/4 of an inch at the top so the lid would fit on again, so it did'nt fit!!  What to do?  So I chopped off the bottom with a can opener and carried on, so my container turned into a Christmas Cracker.
The paper I have used is from last years Pink Paislee Christmas range - honestly I have so much Christmas themed paper that I have tried to be good this year.....................................................until I saw the new range from The Scrapcake, but thats a whole nother story :)

So heres the end result of my inital mistake :)

and heres a few close up shots.

I have used to Spellbinders Poinsettia and 2011 Christmas Ornaments to decorate the cracker.  The bauble ornament has been stamped with embossing ink and embossed with white powder.  The stamps are from Waltzing Mouse Stamps.  The triple bow is made with a bow maker.
To make the ends of the cracker.  I have pleated a strip of calico and used double sided tape to adhere it - hot glue did not work against the metal of the tin.  For the paper I would advise to have two strips of 12x12 cut in half and then pleated using an acordian fold method.  When I made mine I discovered when it was too late that I only had one sheet of the striped paper to go around each side, when I think it would've looked better with two strips joined together, so I had to make do.  So if you do use x2 pieces of paper you would have more of a pleated look that what I have.  The edges of the paper are punched with a Martha Stewart border punch.  Considering how things went Im pleased with how the cracker turned out .................mistakes and all! :)

So have a go, would love to see what you come up with!

Happy Scrapping
Megan

Welcome.............................................

To a new beginning!  Well thats the plan.  Ive been upfront before about my laxidasical attitude towards blogging - for me it tends to be a chore, bit like ironing, I put that off too lol!  But now I found myself in the situation where it had been nearly 6months since I had blogged, so time to start afresh and start with a goal I think, so Im going to try blogging once a week, or share everytime I scrap something new.

So here goes.

I must also mention gorgeous redhead I know, who seems to have amazing scrappy talent but also is a whiz on the computer.  The lovely Toni has helped me sort out my new blog.  She also has a blog I love to read because shes such a great story teller, wish I had her aptitude for blogging, sigh. Go check her out and you'll see what I mean  http://www.chickchat-toni.blogspot.com/

At the moment my creative juices are not flowing, and the pool of creativity seems to have been quite stagnant for awhile and in some ways Im not surprised.  First I came down with the Flu - that would be the womens' variety, not the mens!, then my Crohns Disease flared up,  then I got a kidney stone and reacted to the medication they put you on to pass them, causing me to have an irregular heart rate, and finally now I am well again.  All this over the last three months. Phew!
Work also seems to have become a chore.  We have had a lot of people leave since the February quake and had hardly anyone apply for those positions, so my shifts and everyone elses are not great.  Lots of nights and split shifts and extra shifts to help out.  So my problem could just be that is the end of the year, its been a tough year down here, and I need time out.  I have a week off at Christmas to spend with family and Im looking forward to it!

In June I became part of the Scrappin Patch family, joining as part of their OTP design team.  There are two of us doing OTP, me and Sarah Gough, who makes the most awesome cards and shes just got on board the design team at Zva Creative  GO SARAH!!
Needless to say with no creativity I have'nt been up to much.  Novembers DT kit included We R Memory Keepers papers Family Keepsake.  I thought they looked all patchwork/quilty so I decided on doing a wall hanging.  I purchased a frame from The Warehouse, and took the glass out.  I added some Melissa Frances resin frames, Petaloo flowers, punched some Martha Stewart butterflies, and a bit of Dusty Attic chipboard. The little houses and trees and popped up using foam magic mount, not that you can tell from my photo!  Its now on display in the shop if you want to see it in real life.

Thats all for now, tomorrow Im going to share a Christmas Decoration Ive been making. 
Have a great day!