Chocolate Dipped and Drizzled Strawberries

Just before Valentine's Day I saw a grocery store ad in color that caught my eye. I cut it out to keep as my inspiration for a creative project. Here is the ad.

And here is what I made: An amigurumi Box of Chocolate Dipped and Drizzled Strawberries.

Before joining ravelry.com, I had never heard of the word amigurumi. Amigurumi is a Japanese word that combines ami, which means crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, which means stuffed doll. Amigurumi often refers to small, stuffed crocheted or knitted animals but can also be used to apply to items of other representational shapes that are aesthetically pleasing but particularly that are cute or fun.

The Strawberries:

The strawberries are all crocheted with leaves and stems cut from felted green wool. To simulate the white drizzle, I used puff paint. While the puff paint was drying, I made a folded paper box to hold the strawberries.

The Box:

The folded box, just over four inches across, is comprised of two pieces of 12 inch square paper: one for the top and one for the bottom. I chose an understated print for the top and a sheet of plain black for the bottom. Before folding, I trimmed the black sheet by about 3/8 of an inch on two sides (side and top) so that the paper was a slightly smaller square. When folded, this smaller size made it possible for the top of the box to fit snugly down over the top of it. For a finishing touch, I wanted ribbon to crisscross on the top. In my spools of ribbon I found two colors to match the strawberries: a dark green grosgrain and thinner, bright red satin. I wanted to layer the ribbons with the wider, dark green color, on the bottom and the red satin ribbon on top for a two-color look. The ribbons are glued into place on the interior sides to become a part of the top of the box. That is, they are not intended to be removed. Finally, I placed a shiny, gold seal on the very top.

Assembly:

You cannot really see them here, but little silver candy wrappers hold the strawberries in the box. Five chocolate dipped and drizzled strawberries were placed into the box with one in the center and the others at the corners.

What a fun, guilt-free, calorie-free little gift!