Freshly Made Sketches #607

 Welcome to Freshly Made Sketches #607!

I often talk about it being hard to let go of what I first see in a sketch, and this week was no different with the fabulous Amy O'Neill's sketch of a skein of yarn! Maybe it is only the knitters out there that will have the same response as I did.  

Unfortunately the design in my head was not coming out on paper so I put it aside,  taking another look at the sketch while thinking about Christmas images. And then it came to me that a Christmas cracker was the obvious answer. For the record, even though Christmas crackers are readily available in the US, I don't know anyone here that grew up with them as part of the Christmas feast. As a Canadian with British parents, they are every bit a part of the holidays to me as Santa and stockings.

It took a bit of sketching and poking through supplies that haven't seen the light of day in a very long time to come up with my version of a Christmas cracker. 

The crepe paper was cut to size using a scalloped edge border die for the base. A piece of patterned paper was scored along the long sides so it could wrap around the crepe paper and the folded edges adhered to the aqua napkin, allowed the cracker to have a rounded shape. Snips of pom-pom trim are added for fun and interest. The platinum MFT Bitty Holiday Wishes sentiment heat embossed on aqua vellum finishes the design.

I hope you check out the amazing Clean Team designs, along with a Challenge #600 Celebration winner and guest designer Colleen Begley, at Freshly Made Sketches this week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie