Nothing says “love” (or “intense like”)like a candy bar…

Valentine’s Day is coming soon – and I always tried to be sure to bring in a little treat for everyone in my division as well as sending treats into school with my kids.  (As the allergies and other complexities of kids’ nutritional profiles emerged, I started to limit those candy bars to teachers, aides, volunteers, and (of course) the ladies in the front office and the cafeteria!)  We’ve hit the winter doldrums by mid-February and then some…

I used Hershey Chocolate bars for this project, as they are my favorite.  However, when I went to buy one to work with, I saw an enormous variety of sizes and shapes and flavors.  I limited this project to Hershey bars – but I will give you the “formula” to design your own in case your taste for candy bars runs more exotic than Hershey! 

I used Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Papers from the Sweet Talk pack found in the Mini Catalog for January-June 2022 and the Friendly Hello from the Sale-a-bration! Catalog.  (The Friendly Hello paper is available for free during the Sale-a-bration! Period from 1/4/2022 to 2/28/2022 with a purchase of $100 or more!  And is this set cute…) Here is a template, with measurements, to make this easier.

(Here’s the formula for other candy bar sizes:  cut a strip of DSP using the width of the bar + 2X the depth of the bar.  In the case of the Hershey Bar, it is 2-1/4” wide and ¼” thick.  So the strip of DSP that the template shows is 2-3/4” wide = 2-1/4” + ¼” + ¼”.)

Because this cute little pouch was meant to hold a candy bar, I wanted to be sure that the sides were sealed well.  Instead of liquid glue, I chose to use Stampin’ Up! Tear ‘n Tape adhesive.  This is always my preference for cards that are going to be opened and closed more than normal (because they are so cute and unexpected) or when the panels have been embossed, to assure that there is enough adhesive. 

With the box all set, it was time to decorate for the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday.  Although “love is in the air” at this time of year, I much prefer “like” being in the air – and a dash of humor thrown in!  My go-to bundle for love and humor is the Stampin’ Up! Nothing’s Better Than Bundle.  It has great sentiments and some pretty cool dies as well…and it serves very well for this project.  In fact, it is the only stamp set used for all 4 pouches.

Using the “Chocolate” die, I cut enough to decorate all 4 cards in cardstock colors to match.  Stampin’ Up! Real Red, Highland Heather, and Pool Party were my color choices, with one Basic Black word to serve as an off-set shadow on the busy background.

The two red boxes are decorated with two hearts punched, using Stampin’ Up! Heart Punch Pack.  Before punching the hearts out, though, I stamped the “Today’s plan:  Consume” on cardstock that I then embossed using Timeless Textiles 3D embossing folder.  I added the sentiment “And be awesome” to the bottom of the pouches.

The other two candy cards have a small heart mini-card added to the front.  I created this little “cardlet” by folding a piece of Basic White cardstock in half and punching the heart, leaving the fold viewable from the top.

I punched a second white single heart out to be a base and allow the card to look like a complete heart.  Then I mounted each card on to a complementary colored scalloped heart background.  One uses Highland Heather while the other scalloped heart is punched from Pool Party.

The tiny “cardlet” uses the sentiments “You’re just like” on the outside with “you make everything better” on the inside – with “Chocolate” finishing the thought.

I decorated each of the pouches with ribbons at the top and Rhinestone Basic Jewels in an odd number on the face to add some bling.

As if chocolate isn’t enough?

Thanks so much for stopping in to look at this cute remembrance for friends, family, school and work mates.  Whether your recipient likes Hershey Bars or not, this cute and thoughtful giftie will be appreciated.

And as Maya Angelou told us, “People will never forget how you made them feel”.

This week’s challenge at Tic Tac Toe Challenge offered a lot of inspiration for this treat card! The object of this challenge is to satisfy at least one row, column, or diagonal on the card. I think that my sweet treat greeting might answer a couple!

Here are the products that I have used for today’s project: