Going Crackers!

Well ... what a week it has been on the old goggle box this week!  Poor Martha evicted from the Bake Off tent, Lady Edith almost burnt to a crisp in Downton, plus the long awaited return of two favourites in the Crafty Cow household, Strictly and Gogglebox **newsflash ... Jay has had his haircut!!**

Now on to this week's crafting news... 

Have I mentioned that I am in love with Stampin' Up's Envelope Punch Board?  No?  Well, I am totally and utterly besotted! 

Not only can it make ... er .... envelopes, but also a whole host of other super crafty projects, from boxes to baskets to bags to ... crackers!  I know! So cool right?!  **let's hope Youngest is not reading this (highly unlikely), otherwise I would probably be told in no uncertain terms with eyebrows raised 
heavenward that 'NOBODY says that any more and certainly not PARENTS!'**.

I had already seen a tutorial on how to make a cracker using the EPB whilst waiting for mine to arrive (Click here for link) and couldn't wait for it to come so that I could try it out.  I have only had it a few days and so far I have made 4 christmas crackers, 3 pretty boxes, 2 dinky baskets, 1 cute giftbag ... and a partridge in a pear tree!  **erm ... just kidding about that last part ... haven't quite worked out how to make one of those yet** :)

I decided to make sample crackers in 3 sizes ...

A small one, which measures approx 5.5" and uses a 4.5" x 6" piece of card or paper.  I chose some designer paper  from the Sweet Taffy range.

This was surprisingly sturdy considering it is paper, but I wouldn't use it to hold anything on the heavy side.  It would make a really nice individual table decoration holding a chocolate or two ...maybe one of those yummy Lindt chocolate truffles ... **oh great, now I REALLY want one of those ...**.  The big advantage with this size is that you could make 4 crackers out of one piece of 12x12" paper or card.

I then tried a medium one, which measures approx 7.25" using a 6.5" x 8" piece of card stock.  I used  Lost Lagoon and covered with designer paper from the Moonlight paper stack.  This is much more sturdy and would stand up to holding something heavier.  A word of caution though if you are going to use card stock - make sure that it is not too thick as you will need to punch through a double layer on the Envelope Punch Board.  I would recommend testing a punch through two pieces first to ensure that it goes through OK.  If it is too thick, do not force it or you may break your punch!  The Stampin'  Up! card works fine.

Finally, I made another HUGE cracker, which measures just over 11", using a 9.5" x 12" piece of card.  For this one I used up some random christmas papers and card stock that I had in my stash.  Again, this card was not too thick and so had no problem punching through the double layer.

I will be demonstrating how to make one of these at my November workshops and classes, so if you would like to have a go, just let me know! :)

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again next week!
TTFN
Bev x