Hot Chocolate Gift Basket

-Products used for this project provided by Cricut. This post may contain affiliate links.-

 

Earlier this year when I got the Cricut Mug Press one of my first thoughts was how great it would be for Christmas time. It makes it so quick and easy to make fun personalized mugs that could be paired with something warm to drink, which for my family usually means hot chocolate. 

I wanted to put together a little hot chocolate themed gift basket, with some cocoa, a cute mug, coasters, and a few other things. I started by looking at mug designs in Design Space and I really liked the Holiday Sweater Mug Design. I like that fair isle/holiday sweater type of design, so I used that as my basis for the whole basket. 

The mug design came with a cute tag that you could add to your mug if you want, but I didn't know how I would add it to my basket so I chose not to make it for my project. I used the same star/snowflake design on the mug to make a matching coaster, as well as a border for the dishtowel that I used to line the basket. 

I put all of it together in a basket and added a little box of hot cocoa, some marshmallows, and a candy cane. I think it made a cute little gift basket and you could make any style or design you want to do to fit the person you are making the gift for. 

There are lots of cute mug designs in Design Space, or you can use the templates there to make your own design. You can also use Infusible Ink transfer sheets in a solid color like I did, or they come in so many fun patterns that look really cool on mugs, or there is also always the option of using the Infusible Ink markers or pens to draw a design, either with your Cricut or freehand. Lots of different ways to make a unique mug gift basket.

How to Make a Hot Cocoa Gift Basket with a Cricut

You will need:

• Cricut Maker or Explore (I used my Maker 3)
• Cricut Mug Press
• EasyPress 2
• EasyPress Mat
• Cricut Infusible Ink compatible Mugs (I used the 12 oz size)
• Cricut Infusible Ink compatible Coasters (I used the round ceramic coasters)
• Infusible Ink (I used Cherry Red)
• Iron On  (I used White)
• dishtowel or fabric napkin to use as basket liner
• basket or crate
• hot cocoa and other items you want to include in your basket like candy canes and marshmallows

Instructions:

The first thing that you will want to do is choose a design. I knew I wanted to do a fair isle/holiday sweater type of design so the first thing that I did was look at the mug designs available in the project section of Design Space. I found the Holiday Sweater Mug Set and it was exactly what I was looking for so I used that as the basis for my whole basket. 

If you do not find a premade design that you like, or if you want something more personalized you can create your own mug design. Cricut has several templates available to help with this. 

Whether you are using a design or template make sure you select the right size for the mug you are using, because that will change the size of the wrap. 

I used the star or snowflake design (I don't know what to call it) and used that to make the coaster design, and the border for the dishtowel. 

Cut the coaster and mug designs out of Infusible Ink. 

Cut the border out of iron on. 

Weed all of your designs. 

Use the mug press to press the design onto the mug. Wrap it around the mug, place the mug in the press once it is preheated and ready, press down the top and wait for all of the progress lights to turn on and the press to beep. Lift the top to open, carefully remove the mug and let cool. Then remove the wrap and any bits of Infusible Ink that make have stuck to the mug. 

Press the coasters following the instructions in the Heat Guide for the materials you are using. I layered the mat, cardstock, then the coasters with the design side down, butcher paper, then the EasyPress set to 400 degrees for 240 seconds with no pressure.

Press the border to your dishtowel or napkin. I pressed it at 315 degrees for 30 seconds. 

Once everything is ready you are ready to put together your basket. 

I used an unfinished wooden crate. Before I put the basket together I painted/stained it so it looked more finished. I just used brown acrylic craft paint and wiped it off immediately with a wet wipe so it only left a thin layer of paint and looked more like it had been stained than painted. 

Then I put the dishtowel in as a basket liner with the border edge in the front. 

I added the mug and coaster to the basket, as well as a little box of hot cocoa mix. 

I put some mini marshmallows in a little baggie, tied it with a ribbon and stuck it in the mug. 

Then last to finish it off I stuck a candy cane in the mug with the marshmallows. 

You could also add some Christmas candy, hot chocolate bombs would also be cute. If the person you are giving it to is not a hot chocolate drinker you could add another hot drink, apple cider, tea, or coffee. Whatever you think the person you are making it for would prefer. You can easily personalize it to fit anyone.