Three Minute Thursday - embellishing Christmas chocolates

Good Morning! Welcome to another Three Minute Thursday - the place to visit for speedy ideas. If you've turned up here because you haven't made any Christmas cards yet - no problem! Just go to Labels on the right hand bar and click on Three Minute Thursday: you'll get loads of card ideas, all taking around three minutes to make!

Today though, I'm thinking not about cards but about chocolate (so no change there!)

These mini chocolate bars take about three minutes each to decorate and would make a pretty gift in a box or bag. They also make great stocking fillers or decorations for a Christmas table - each place setting getting a different design.

The best way to make them is to gather together designer paper, ribbons, punches and embellishments in one place, bring out the mini chocolate bars and enjoy letting your imagination run riot! I advise you to buy twice as many chocolates as you need in case you find yourself absent-mindedly nibbling on them...!

This one is wrapped in Jolly Holiday designer paper layered up with Old Olive satin ribbon and 1/4" Real Red grosgrain ribbon on top, tied in a knot. I used the two-step bird punch to cut out a stalk and added 'berries' with the 1/4" circle punch. The berries are highlighted with a white gel pen.

This gorgeous paper is from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' kit. I wrapped some Early Espresso 5/8" grosgrain ribbon around it and topped that with Old Olive 1/8" taffeta ribbon tied in a knot. A leaf punched out of Early Espresso card stock with the two-step bird punch is tucked under the knot and I punched three 'berries' out of Real Red card stock with the 1/8" punch. Again, I used the white gel pen to add highlights.

Another design from the Jolly Holiday paper pack is used here. It is topped with a label cut out of Real Red card stock using the Modern Label punch. A piece of Early Espresso 1/4" grosgrain ribbon with the ends snipped into a V shape is laid on top. I made faux suede by running a piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock through the crimper repeatedly to break down the fibres and then splitting it apart into thin pieces of paper. The flowers are cut from the faux suede with the Boho Blossoms punch and decorated with Old Olive brads. Snipping between each petal gives the flowers more dimension. An Old Olive leaf adds the finishing touch.

This chocolate is the simplest and quickest of the batch. I wrapped it first with one of the striped designs from the Jolly Holiday papers, then with some Cherry Cobbler faux suede (see above). I cut the snowflake out of the Christmas Jingle paper with a 1" circle punch and added a Real Red brad before attaching it to the chocolate bar with a dimensional.

The poinsettia-style flower makes this chocolate look quite flamboyant! I cut two flowers out of Real Red card stock with the 5 petal punch and one pointed flower with the Boho Blossoms punch. The flowers are layered together, pierced in the centre and secured with an Old Olive brad. The chocolate is wrapped in Jolly Holiday designer paper, then Very Vanilla faux suede (see above). I tied Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in a knot around this, tucked an Old Olive leaf into the knot, then added the flower with a dimensional.

I really enjoyed decorating these chocolates - it makes a fantastic therapy session when you're fed up with Christmas shopping! Hope your Christmas preparations are going well. My own will resume today as all the tummies in our house are well again and have returned (with their owners!) to school. Thank you so much to all who have sent get well messages - I really appreciate it.
See you tomorrow,