I hope you can tell what this is...

I'm kinda using you guys as guinea pigs. I'm hoping you can tell right up front what this is...

NOPE...not a poop on a stick! Sorry for the horrendous colour blow-out...that is Kiwi Kiss up there, not that you'd know it from my pic. Do you need another pic to help you make up your mind?

Yes, it is on an easel card...whatever it is. No, it isn't a dead olive! Ooooh look, there's a 'mini-me' on the inside too.

Would it help you to know that it was being delivered with a beautiful tin of Koko Black Chocolate Shavings? Quite simply the richest, most decadent and delicious hot chocolate I have ever tasted. Most likely the most delicious hot chocolate known to mankind (this is my story...prove me wrong ;-).

If you're still stumped...I've blown it big-time, and you should click away right now (and I'll hang my head in shame)...

It's a COCOA POD!

I have to make at least four of these babies in the next few weeks. They are to be teacher gifts (I'm fairly confident they don't frequent my blog...so I should be safe with the spoiler)! But if you couldn't tell what it was, then perhaps I should re-think my strategy. I don't think it'd be nice for the teachers to think I was giving them dead olives (or any other icky stuff) as part of a thank you. That'd give the wrong impression entirely. These teachers rock! Totally. I want them to feel appreciated.

I plan on scoring a central vein in the Kiwi Kiss leaf next time, I think it needs that. The cocoa bean shell and stem will be in Early Expresso in the final products, not Choc Chip. I just didn't have enough of that on hand today. Early Expresso matches the Koko Black packaging perfectly.

The thanks die-cut sentiment was a real shocker to stick down. I ended up picking little glue globs off the end of my snail with my paper piercer and delicately sticking them to the back of the die-cut in random places to hold it down...talk about labour intensive!

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Kiwi Kiss and Confetti White (all Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip and Kiwi Kiss Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Punches: Small Oval and Blossom Builder (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Ovals Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Distressed Stripes and So Swirly Embossing Folders (Provo Craft) and Leopard Print Embossing Folder (Darice), Olivia Alphabet Dies (for the 'thanks' Provo Craft), Chocolate Chip brads (Stampin' Up!) and the green ribbon is also an old one of SUs, from a promo I think (maybe SAB?).

The main stem and large leaf are hand cut. I didn't have a leaf die or punch that looked right. The central pod split has also bean hand cut (a ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...I crack myself up). It must be time for me to go now.

Ciao, ciao!

Blogged to: Till The World Ends - Britney Spears, Discolights - Darren Styles, You Get What You Give - New Radicals and The Key, The Secret - Urban Cookie Collective.