Christmas Joy and Warm Cocoa

I’ve always been fascinated with Mason Jar gifts – it feels so “back to basics.”  Cakes, cookies and cocoa are wonderful treats, but there’s something really cool about giving these in a way that allows the recipient to cook the ingredients when they are good-and-ready to enjoy them.

The “mix-and-mingle” opening of our World Card Making Day event included a 3-D Holiday Gift idea.  We walked around the room, sharing what we made and ogling at what others made.  At the sounds of the whistle (it was actually just me screaming into the microphone), we paired up and swapped – kinda like a more risky Musical Chairs.

Here’s the 3-D Holiday Gift idea I made for the swap:

Jar of Love, Jar of Cheer, Holly Jolly Greetings, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Stampin' Up!, Brian King

Here’s a close-up of the tag that adorns this jar of cocoa, crushed peppermints and marshmallows:

Jar of Love, Jar of Cheer, Holly Jolly Greetings, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Stampin' Up!, Brian King

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Products Used.  It’s a quick-and-simple tag, but can you tell what products I used?  Because there are so many items mashed into this simple tag, the products might not be recognizable right away, so I’m excited to share them.  Here’s a quick run-down of each item:
    • The Lots of Labels Framlits are used to crop the tag and the layer of Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper on the front of the tag.
    • The Jar of Love bundle (stamp set and Everyday Jars Framelits) are used to stamp and crop the jar on the tag.
    • The lid on the jar could have easily been stamped with the Jar of Love stamp set, but I used a similar lid from the Jar of Cheer stamp set.
    • I used the Holly Jolly stamp set to stamp the sentiment “wishing you” with Cherry Cobbler ink.
    • I cropped “enjoy” with the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits and then carefully snipped the “en” off to create a sweet “joy.”
    • I tied off the tag with a couple of layers of Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine.
  • Cropping the Tag.  Here’s a quick summary of how I cropped the folded tag using the Lots of Labels Framelits – such a sweet shape for a sweet tag:Jar of Love, Jar of Cheer, Holly Jolly Greetings, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Stampin' Up!, Brian King
  • Enjoy the Joy.  Were you paying attention to the list above?  I know you sometimes skim and sometimes just look-and-go.  I know.  In case you think the “joy” cutout isn’t from Stampin’ Up!, you are wrong.  I cropped the word “enjoy” from the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits and then carefully snipped off the “e” and the “n”.  How fun!  “Wishing you joy” just makes sense to accompany a jar of delicious cocoa.

    Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Stampin' Up!

    Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Stampin’ Up!

Stamp Sets:  Holly Jolly Greetings, Jar of Love, Jar of Cheer  Papers:  Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper, Soft Suede, Thick Whisper White  Inks:  Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Archival Basic Black  Accessories:  Lots of Labels Framelits, Everyday Jars, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

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22 Comments

  1. So tricky to crop the “joy” from “enjoy.” Great tip and fabulous holiday gift!

  2. Oh, I can almost smell the delicious aroma from a hot cup of cocoa with all of those crushed peppermint bits and marshmallows.
    I wish I could have seen you guys doing the swap, that sounds like tons of fun.
    Thank you for sharing this wonderful and delectable treat idea with us.
    XO
    Maria.
    PS. When will we start seeing the cards from your Holiday swap? I’m anxious to receive mine.
    Thank you again for doing this Brian 😉

  3. As always, clever and charming! The card that is. Well, probably you too!

  4. There you go again! I knew the joy looked familiar, but I just couldn’t figure it out! Thanks again for a wonderful event – the 3-d’s were AMAZING!

  5. Oh, la la, Brian! I love hot cocoa, and this gift is the best! That tag…love the “joy” you made with it – clever, very clever, you are! 🙂

  6. Great Idea and a lovely gift. Do you share the recipe of contents?

  7. Very yummy swap, two thumbs up for cropping the enjoy!

  8. Hey Brian. How about a recipe for the cocoa? Love this idea. So cute.

  9. So fun! I’d love to see a video of the swapping process and see all the projects. Is this possible? It had to be a fun time. I am guilty – I have used the little mini treat bag die but never any of the other pieces. This will be on my to do list as there are some fun dies with that. I love mason jar gifts and the newer version where you gift the stuff in a mug which you can microwave the contents. Enjoy indeed!

  10. What a beautiful gift Brian and it sounds like you had fun on the microphone!

  11. I had to read this three times to really comprehend that you cropped the enjoy….so smart! This is really adorable. The tag is just perfect. And, I so wish I had some cocoa with peppermint…..know where I could get some? ??? You just happen to have the most perfect recipe. THanks for sharing it with me. You’re the best ?????? xoxo

  12. Great idea! Dang, that’s a lot of layers of bakers twine! LOL
    And I’m so using my snips on “joy”! TFS

  13. I love, love, love it Brian! I bet the end winner of this cocoa gift is really enjoying it. Hmmmm I never thought to put the peppermint into my cocoa but now I’m going to head to the kitchen and give it a go. It’s cold enough here this morning to make cocoa a good alternative to the cup of tea I usually have. Thanks.

  14. LOVE this! Yummy Yummy in MY tummy! Did you crush all those peppermints yourself? What a fabulous idea! A great hostess gift or for a co worker, or just about anyone. I mean, who doesn’t love hot chocolate? TFS

  15. Mr. Clever, that’s what you are! I’ve given mason jars containing ingredients for cookies and brownies as gifts but have never tried hot chocolate. Are you willing to share your recipe? Thanks for all that you contribute to the world of paper crafting, Brian!

  16. This is adorable! What size jar did you use? Are the ingredients the amounts for one serving? Or more? I would love to make this!

  17. Thanks for all your kind comments. I’m so glad you like the gift. Now, time for confession…I made the tag (before I had the ingredients to add to the jar) with the intention of buying the right ingredients for the jar. The event came so fast with so much left to do, so I had to “make do” – a day before the event, I purchased a big container of Swiss Miss cocoa, peppermints and marshmallows. I used a food processor to grind the peppermints to a fine powder and poured the three ingredients into the jar. This gift was made to look pretty – form over function. 🙂 I will likely use the other jars to make gifts for coworkers and neighbors. I’ll find a “proper” recipe for that. 🙂

  18. Love this idea for a fun and easy gift. Will you share the recipe?

  19. Brian, what a great gift idea with a great tag. can you share your recipe?

  20. I would Please like your hot chocolate recipe? I’ve never tried it this way. Would love to make for neighbors. Thank you so much for the idea.

    • I commented earlier (in the comments) that I added a bunch of hot cocoa (Swiss Miss) with crushed peppermints and marshmallows. There are lots of recipes online, but I was out of time and needed to just get this done. 🙂

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