St. Patrick's Day Chocolate Mint Holder

Do I use a 3 leaf or 4 leaf shamrock?? The symbol of Ireland is a three leaf clover, the plant said to have been made famous by Saint Patrick, who used the three leaves as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity. However, before that, the Druids allegedly used 4 leaf clovers (which only appeared as an anomaly, approximately one in 10,000) as a charm to ward off bad luck. It seems more appropriate to me to use a 3 leaf clover for anything that actually says "Happy St. Patrick's Day"...so that's what I did on my samples for today:

The innards of these treat holders are chocolate mints, which I found in my local "club warehouse" store. You know the one--it belongs to some guy named Sam. These super yummy treats come in these cute, shiny green individual packets, and look like a sandwich of dark chocolate bread slices, with a mint green spread in the middle.

***Alternate Candy Ideas***

If you are using a different candy or treat in these holders, please share what works for you, and I will add it. Consider getting candy in coordinating colored wrappers, for example, green or gold wrapped candy for St. Patrick's Day. An asterisk denotes project dimension adjustments.

• (1) Bite Size Snickers
• (2) Stacked Hershey Nuggets*: 2" x 6" card stock, scored 2.5" from each end

I would like to get a video up for you tomorrow, but after being sick for so long, that might be way too optimistic. For now, I'd like to offer you the simple text instructions below. Please note that I originally designed this treat holder for use with the NEW Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, however, that item is currently on back order until March 24th (and is slated to be unavailable for ordering starting March 8th--so order yours today if you want to make sure you are on the list). Anyway, in my instructions, I will show the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch method, along with THREE alternate punches you can choose from, for your convenience:

UPDATE: Video Tutorial is HERE.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut Gumball Green card stock to 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", then cut 5-1/2" x scant 2" strips (just less than 2") from the pieces. One sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" card stock will give you 8 treat holders. Score 2-7/16" from each short end of the card stock piece.
2. Punch the top off each short end of the card stock. The Scalloped Tag Topper Punch allows you to punch the top and the hole at the same time. If you use any of the other punches, you will need to go back and manually create the holes for the ribbon.
3. Alternate Punch Tops: Slide your scored card stock in the paper guide from the back of the 2-3/8" Scalloped Circle Punch, Decorative Label Punch, or my fave for St. Patrick's Day, the Blossom Punch, and cut just the very tip of each short side from the scored card stock piece.
4. Lay your scored and punched piece flat in front of you in portrait orientation, and stamp the "happy st. patrick's day" saying from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (wood-mount , clear-mount) just above the top score line, using Gumball Green Ink Pad.
5. Punch four hearts from Pistachio Pudding card stock, using the Small Heart Punch, and lay them above the stamped saying to judge the spacing you desire. Adhere the top heart, and one to each side of it. Remove the bottom heart.
6. Freehand cut a stem from the bottom heart that you used for spacing, then adhere the stem. I like to use the Tombow Multipurpose Glue to adhere the heart pieces and stem.
7. You will need a permanent yellow and a permanent brown marker for this next step. Color a medium-sized Basic Rhinestone with the brown marker and let dry for a few seconds. Dab with paper towel if you wish. Then, color over the same rhinestone with the yellow marker. This should give you a gold colored rhinestone. If it is too yellow, just color over it again in brown, and once more in yellow, to get the look you want.
8. Using your Paper Snips, slide the tips of the barely open scissors under the self-adhesive dot under the rhinestone and lift it off the backing. Now, place the rhinestone at the center of the shamrock and press in place.
9. Alternate Punch Tops: Go back and punch a hole on one short end. Then bend the piece at the score marks and hold the ends flush together, and punch through the hole you already made, to get the hole in the same place on the other end.
10. Cut some ribbon to tie the treat holder closed. I cut a 3" length when using the Pistachio Pudding Ruffle Stretch Trim, or the Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon. I cut a 4" length when using the thicker Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon. Loop ribbon through both holes of the treat holder and tie in a single knot.
11. Center the candy in the package and fold excess material around the back of each side. Then tuck candy into treat holder. The bulk of the candy package helps hold the candy in place, so you don't need any adhesive. This way, the treat can be removed without damaging the treat holder. [Note: if you want the ends of the candy package to show, you will want to secure the candy up higher in the holder with a couple of glue dots before tying it closed with ribbon, because when the candy naturally rests at the bottom of the holder, and the sides of the package are sticking out, the treat holder tends to tip over.]

Let me know if you have any problems with my instructions, or finding any of the supplies in my ONLINE STORE.

~Kimberley Morris Colorado Springs, CO
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator since 1994
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (SHOP ONLINE 24/7!)
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