A Christmas Crafternoon: Chocolate Bark & Crafty Cards

Let me preface this post by saying that I am a messy crafter. So please excuse the mess in the background of the crafty pics - as well as the chocolate under my fingernails. Oops!

Christmas seems to bring out the crafter in us all, don't you think? It's many people's favourite time of year to drag out the craft box and reacquaint themselves with their PVA glue, coloured ink pad and sequins.

Homemade = Bestmade when it comes to Christmas gifts, so why don't you carve out some time this weekend for your very own Christmas Crafternoon?

But first, to the chocolate.

This chocolate bark is the answer to your prayers. Dark, creamy, sweet, soft and crunchy and relatively low in sugar (if you use 85% cocoa - my fave), plus absurdly quick and easy to make.

You will need:

300g dark quality chocolate, chopped (I used Green and Black's 85%)

3 slices of candied orange, sliced

2 tbsp pistachios

2 tbsp goji berries

5 pretzels

6 dried wild figs, halved

(You could really use any fun toppings you liked here!)

What to do:

Line a baking dish (I used a 20 x 20cm) with butter and baking paper.

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

Pour melted chocolate into baking dish and quickly top with all your fun toppings.

Place in the fridge to set for one hour.

I used baking paper and cute pink cord to wrap them into little bundles of deliciousness.

Indulge and enjoy!

Now you've got some super cute chocolate bundles to give as gifts, you really need a jazzy card to accompany them. I'll let the photos below do the talking, but basically you'll need a stash of contrasting paper (I bought some graph paper, gold card and neon pink card from the newsagents - so cute!), some double sided tape (which I use for E V E R Y T H I N G), a pair of scissors and a stamp pad and alphabet letters. I got mine from Typo. Or just a fancy pen will do.

And lastly, you'll need some sweet-as-pie place cards (that double as name cards - winning!) on the big day, so snap up some funky pom-pom decorating string and mini wooden pegs (I got mine from Typo), and give these a whirl.

Finally, pop them all under your washi-tape Christmas tree and crack the champers gorgeous, because it's holiday time!

This is my last post for 2013 and I would love to take this opportunity to thank YOU so much for being apart of This is Lifeblood this year and helping grow this community to what it is today. It wouldn't be the same without you and I am forever grateful. I wasn't sure what to expect when I launched this blog and whats more, I wasn't sure who would even read it.

I am so, so thrilled that you do. Thank you.

I really hope you stay on board as we launch into 2014 and I look forward to connecting with you then!

Stay safe, HAVE FUN and give your loved ones big smooches and extra-long hugs. Have the best Christmas ever!

Love Claire x