Right now we’re getting very excited as we look forward to our eldest granddaughter spending part of her summer with us without the rest of her family. Lots of things are planned, with rest days factored in. We’ll definitely be doing some shopping and that made me think of gifting her some money. Using the Cracker & Treat Box Dies I created a unique and fun way to do this. While doing that I also thought of a quick and easy way to hold the ends of the cracker closed.

QUICK CRACKER

I began with a 5″ x 6″ piece from the Fresh As A Daisy 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. This is the perfect size to fit the main die from the Cracker & Treat Box Dies. As well as cutting out the basic shape the die also adds ‘scored’ lines. All I had to do was fold the paper along the lines and gently sharpen the creases between my fingers. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I glued the final panel onto the first one to create a cylinder shape.

Next. at one end I gently pinched the area with the diamond-shaped holes and held it together with a mini elastic band. I rolled some paper money up and used another elastic to stop it unrolling. Then I placed the money inside the cracker before securing up the other end.

TIP – Use a small elastic band to keep the ends of the cracker closed while you work. You can then cover them up with ribbon or twine bows if you wish.

CELEBRATE

All I had to do now was decorate the front and for that I first reached for the Zany Zoo Stamp Set. I though that the little skunk with binoculars would be perfect to signify our summer adventure. However as I opened the stamp case, out fell some critters that I’d die-cut from the coordinating Zoo Crew 12″ x 12″ DSP pack. To my delight one of the die-cut pieces was the skunk I was going to stamp, so that was obviously meant to be.

Next I chose “something great to celebrate – you!” from the Zany Zoo Stamp Set. I started by stamping it onto some Thick Basic White Card with Tuxedo Black ink. Then I found the perfect size die to cut it out in the Timeless Arrangements Dies. All I had to do was add the skunk to the end of the die-cut sentiment with a little liquid glue.

Having done that I decided to cut a leafy foliage piece using another of the Timeless Arrangements Dies. So going back to the Fresh As A Daisy DSP I found a sheet that was a simple abstract pattern in Wild Wheat colour. However I didn’t want the pattern on the reverse of the sheet to be visible on my finished cracker. So using liquid glue I fixed the DSP onto some Thick Basic White Card before doing the die cutting.

From there I glued the leafy piece onto one of the cracker panels. Then I added the assembled sentiment with a piece of Foam Adhesive Strip and my granddaughter’s gift was complete

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Zany Zoo Stamp Set and coordinating Zany Zoo Dies in a bundle. Using the single ‘bundle’ item number to get these two items meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying them separately. Also availble in a discounted bundle is the Timeless Arrangements Dies with the Timeless Arrangements Stamp Set (not used today) . I’ve included links to both bundles below in case you want to explore either of these options.