CrackerBox Cathedral

A few weeks ago, I was excited to post the Kelly Saints Cathedral Clipart Craft Kit I created to transform the Michael’s ArtMinds Wood Barn into a Church for the Wooden Painted Saints.

Well, I felt Julia’s frustration when she couldn’t find this sold-out wood barn at Michael’s…and I’m so excited to present this tutorial to make the Kelly Saints Cathedral

…with a family size box of Pepperidge Farm GoldFish Crackers!

I’m pretty sure that you could use a similar sized box of Cheerios or Shreddies, but I like the way that the Goldfish Cracker box uses mini-corrugated cardboard: it’s sturdier than most cereal boxes.

I decided to add some features to the Kelly Saints Cathedral Clipart Craft Kit, adding 2 more windows, templates to accommodate the Goldfish Cracker Box…and a stone façade and shingled roof! The UPGRADE includes a picture tutorial and the templates for the structure and steeple, based on the Goldfish Cracker box.

Don’t worry! If you have already purchased the Kelly Saints Cathedral Clipart Craft Kit, you will receive a special link for the CrackerBox Cathedral UPGRADE. Watch for an email from Arma Dei with your new link!

The Kelly Saints Cathedral Clipart Craft Kit now includes some tips for cardboard construction based on my 5 years of model-making in Architecture School. (Who says I don’t use my degree? =) )

The use of the stone and shingle templates make construction a little more forgiving. I wasn’t too worried about my ‘craft’ in this project, I was designing as I went along and I wasn’t worried about making the perfect cuts. If my seams weren’t quite right and some of the box peeked through, I just covered it up with stone or shingle clipart. Once sealed with mod-podge, it’s really not too obvious and I know that my kids don’t mind a bit.

The windows can be a little tricky to cut, but covering them with the carefully cut or circle-punched window templates…hide any flaws!

You’ll notice how the roof of the Church opens up for play and it is closed shut by the steeple. The steeple might be a little more complicated to make, but templates and tips are included in the kit.

I used cardboard from another box to make the steeple because my helper ended up using the scraps from the Goldfish Box for his art.

The whole project took a couple of hours, but was virtually free given the Goldfish Cracker Box I had on hand and the Kelly Saints Cathedral Clipart Craft Kit I had an extra print of.

Which Kelly Saints Cathedral do you like better and why? Best comment gets a FREE Craft Kit!

NEW 2in1 Kelly Saints Cathedral Clipart Craft Kit*

*includes Cracker Box Cathedral clipart, tutorial and X-Acto Knife Safety Tips

Available as PDF Download Only: $5

IF you have already purchased the Kelly Saints Cathedral Clipart, look in your email inbox for a FREE link to the UPGRADE!