Warm Wishes & Hot Chocolate for Two

ANYTHING but a CARD, ATG, TAG GOES...now that's a fun challenge! It's the current challenge over at 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown. So...my project is a Hot Chocolate for Two pocket folder. To create it, I used a pattern created by Andrea Walford, from the Paper Crafter's Library. (I am not providing the link because you have to be a member of the Paper Crafter's Library to access it.) After I had made the folder with two pockets, I was ready to start embellishing. Selecting the patterned cardstock was the challenging part for me. I finally broke down and used some of my favorite cardstock. It's a gorgeous, glittered Christmas collection from MME, called I Believe. I've had it in my paper stash for awhile and I finally convinced myself that it was time to start using it. So, I began by cutting (gasp!) a handmade mug shape from it.  I added a bit of brown cardstock to represent the cocoa and added highlights with a white colored pencil. Next came the handmade candy cane. I cut the shape from white cardstock and added the red stripes with a marker and highlights with a gel pen. I made a slit in the cocoa and slid the candy cane in and adhered it. To make the steam, I used artistic wire and shaped it, then poked it into the cocoa and adhered it.  I mounted the cup with dimensional adhesive onto an oval that I cut from white cardstock. I inked the edges of the oval and wrote Warm Wishes with a marker.  I adhered this to the front of the pouch. In Andrea's version, she used a tube filled with marshmallows. Since I didn't have a tube, I inserted two candy canes. They can be used as stirring sticks and add the delicious taste of peppermint to the cocoa. (AND yes, I know it's April and candy canes are hard to find in the stores, but I have several dozen still hanging around from the post Christmas sales.)  Inside I placed a package of hot chocolate mix in each pocket then tied it closed with the ribbon.  Here's what the inside looks like:

MY INSPIRATION: Andrea Walford's Warm Wishes Hot Chocolate for Two

Turns out....I forgot didn't get this posted in time to make the challenge.  But...I'm so glad I actually put one of these together. 

Supplies: Cardstock: MME "I Believe" Glitter Cardstock, red/white: Recollections, Wire: Artistic Wire, Markers: Bic Mark It, Ribbon: Oriental Trading, Candy Canes, Adhesive: Scotch ATG,  Red-line tape, Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares, Ink: Studio G, Colored Pencils: Crayola, Gel Pen: Sakura, Hot Chocolate: Swiss Miss, Pocket Folder Tutorial: Andrea Walford Paper Crafter's Library