Bring on the Chocolate!

“There’s nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate.” (Linda Grayson). February may be known for love…but it is also the time for chocolate! Is your mouth watering at the mention of chocolate? Mine is. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Now that we got that out of the way…

Chocolate is a very popular topic. You can find books and movies about chocolate such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Chocolat”, and “Growing up on the Chocolate Diet”. There are many jokes and quotes about chocolate, maybe the most popular being “All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt” from Charles Schulz,or the often quoted “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get” from Forrest Gump. There’s also t-shirts with slogans like “If wearer of the shirt is found vacant, listess, or depressed, administer chocolate immediately” or “Chocolate is the answer”. You can even find songs about chocolate! So it makes sense that we can also find chocolate in our scrapbook pages.

Some of the best moments caught on camera include kids and chocolate. But you can also create a page about your own love for chocolate. Or if you are one of those strange people (and I do mean strange) who do not like chocolate, you could even create a page about that. At first glance, you may not even be able to tell that my “Chocolate Love” layout is about chocolate, but it is. But Candice’s “Chocoholic in Training” layout is very obviously about chocolate. I just love how much brown is on her page, it really makes the chocolate in the pictures stand out. I also love how she included the chocolate photo as a design element. And Lisa’s “Life is Like a Box of Chocolates” layout looks just like a box of chocolates…doesn’t it look yummy?

Chocolate Love by Pamela Young

Supplies: Paper: Fancy Pants Designs, Pink Paislee, Chipboard, Ribbon: Maya Road, Brad: BasicGrey, Paint: Making Memories, Scribbles, Tickets: Jenni Bowlin Studio.

Design Notes: I printed my photos as a collage but left a spot for a title. Then I overlapped my title over the photos.

Chocoholic in Training by Candice Greenway

Supplies: Paper: Collage Press, Making Memories, SEI, BoBunny Press, Die Cuts With A View, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Alphabet Stickers: SEI, Making Memories, Rub-Ons: Die Cuts With A View, Die Cuts: Bazzill Basics Paper, Stickers: 7 Gypsies, K & Company, Ribbon: American Crafts, May Arts, Bling: Queen & Co, Kaisercraft, Pearls: Kaisercraft, Brads: Doodlebug Design, Photo Anchors: American Crafts, Ink: ColorBox (Clearsnap), Other: staples, file fastener. Tools: Border Punches: Fiskars, Other: stapler. Digital Supplies: Brushes: Rhonna Farrer (Two Peas in a Bucket), Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0, Fonts: AvantGarde, Wendy Medium, Cafe Rojo.

Design Notes: A "waterfall" booklet is the perfect place for adding journaling, lists, ephemera and extra photos. To create the booklet simply take 3 or 4 pieces of cardstock or patterned paper the same width but in graduating heights and bind them together using a file fastener; add decorative borders, tab stickers, ribbon and a sprinkling of bling to finish the booklet off. To carry the chocolate theme through I used a stock photo of a slab of chocolate as an innovative design element.

Journaling:The hidden journaling details this little guy's love for chocolate {just like his mama!} and lists his Top 10 favorite chocolate treats at age 2.

Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates by Lisa Blastick

Supplies: Paper: Colorbok, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Prismatics, Flowers: Prima Marketing , Quartz, Bazzill Basics Paper, Die Cuts: Nicklin Designs, Chalk: ColorBox (Clearsnap), Glitter Glue: Ranger Industries, Ink: Ranger Industries, Staz-On (Tsukineko), Other: pencil.Tools: Electronic Cutter, Cartridges: Cricut (Provo Craft), Punches, Stamps: Martha Stewart Crafts, Decorative Scissors: Fiskars. Digital Supplies: Software: Microsoft Word, Other: fonts, images.

Design Notes: I love using swirls and circles and layering on top of each other. I also love to make my own embellishments. I made the paper 3D chocolates and added stickles for icing!