The September Paper Pumpkin kit, Hello Pumpkin, provided all the materials to make these cute holiday crackers for either Halloween or Thanksgiving. Holiday crafting is the best and we’re finally at that time of year. These little guys could easily hold a fun-size candy bar, some chocolate nuggets, a seasonal lip-gloss, or everybody’s favorite: cash.
I recommend creating the embellishment layers first. Use one of the laser cut little mats and then adhere the whole setup to the box. It’s so much easier than trying to wrangle all the little pieces on one at a time. (Ask me how I know.)
And speaking of little pieces…you are going to have a ton left-over for making alternate cards. Let me show you a couple of ideas.
Cats and Cobwebs
I started this card with a Basic Black base and a layer of Pumpkin Pie card stock that I embossed, using the Cobwebs 3-D embossing folder in the holiday catalog. The embossing adds fantastic texture so all I needed was a small collection of the pre-punched pieces to finish it off. I stamped the pumpkin cutouts with the faces in the stamp set using Memento ink. I used the same ink to stamp the sentiment from the kit on one of the pre-punched banners. The pumpkins, sentiment and black flowers are lifted on Dimensionals. The final touch was the orange rhinestone bling in the center of the flowers from the Holiday Rhinestones pack in the annual catalog.
Thankful Wreath
Did I mention this kit had a TON of pre-punched pieces in several colors? Well, this card proves it. Built on a base of Cajun Craze, I used a four-inch square of Very Vanilla as the base for my wreath. I started by stamping the leaves and flowers around a scrap 1-1/2″ circle that I temporarily adhered to the square. I used coordinating inks in Mossy Meadow, Cinnamon Cider, Bumblebee, Pumpkin Pie, and Cajun Craze. You can’t see a lot of the stamping in this photo because it’s mostly covered up. The reason to do the stamping first is so that if you have gaps in your paper pieces there isn’t a stark blank area. It’s all filled in. This makes it easy to add as many or as few pieces as you want to your wreath.
Once I was done building my wreath, I added it to the base. Then I added a linen twine bow. I used a laser-cut, Cajun Craze mat underneath the sentiment from the kit and that is lifted on Dimensionals. For a final touch, I added a small strip of burlap ribbon and some of the “scrap” diamonds from the cracker boxes. I love the country vibe of this card, but it is a bit fussy to complete.
Hello, Pumpkin
The last alternate I have for you also begins with a base of Cajun Craze and a four-inch square of Very Vanilla. I added a layer of Bumblebee DSP from the In-color DSP pack available in the annual catalog. The pumpkins are pieces from the Paper Pumpkin kit. Several of the small ones are on Dimensionals. I cut the end of one of the cracker boxes off and added it to the Very Vanilla card. The twine is from an old kit. Linen thread would work well here too. The entire piece is added to the base with Dimensionals. Finally, I used the kit to create the sentiment and added it directly to the base with glue dots. This simple fall themed card could be used for either holiday or just a general note.
I hope you’re having fun with your Paper Pumpkin kits. If you aren’t subscribed, you can easily sign up with the link in the sidebar to the right. If you have any questions about a kit or need ideas, please contact me. I love talking to fellow crafters!