During the week, the days are often go, go, go! I am so consumed with getting everyone else fed, dressed and off to school/work, and then busy with a million things at work. I often find myself needing a snack throughout the day to keep my energy level up. But in an effort to make sure I have a healthy snack (and not whatever random, greasy snacks are at the convenience store down the street) I recently discovered new Curate Snacks bars. Made from wholesome fruit, nuts, and grains, the bars come in six fun combinations like Indulgent Dark Chocolate & Hazelnuts or Harmonious Blend Marcona Almonds & Apricots. They have the texture of a bar you’d make in your own kitchen!

Today, I’ve partnered with Curate to show you how to make a snack kit that we created inspired by these fun and brilliant combinations. I like to make a snack kit on Sundays to bring to the office on Monday so that throughout the week, I can grab a morning or afternoon pick me up from it.

Here’s how to make these super cute snack kits…

You'll need:

–paper mache round box

–acrylic paint

–gold leaf kit

-paint brush

Here's how:

1. Started by painting the box white so the colors on top are as bright as possible. Once the white paint is dry, we used two different colors to paint random areas of the box. 

2. When the colorful paint is completely dry, apply gold leaf adhesive with random brush strokes around the box. You can have fun with this—some can be larger areas and others can be small. The adhesive will go on milky and then dry clear. Let it dry for about an hour. 

3. After the adhesive has completely dried clear, you can now apply the metal leaf. Apply large sections of the leaf on top of the sticky adhesive areas and then peel off the excess. Use fingers to brush off excess gold leaf that does not stick to the box.

4. When all the metal leaf is applied, apply a thin coat of the sealer (from gold leaf kit) to the entire box.

You can apply this technique to any box—a shoe box, gift box, or any other paper box or container you come across!

And then, here are three ways we filled them inspired by flavors of the Curate bars….

1. Fruity Fun – Inspired by Marcona Almonds, Lemon, Honey, Quinoa, Balsamic Vinegar and Apricots, this one includes: honey sticks, baguette, cheese, clementines, tea, ginger apricot natural soda, and the Curate Harmonious Blend Bar.

2. Choco Latte – Inspired by Almonds, Quinoa, Vanilla, Dark Chocolate and Chia Seeds, we put together a mix of chia seeds and coconut milk (to make an easy chia seed pudding), raw almonds, coffee, and the Curate Indulgent bar.

3. Gettin' Figgy with It - Inspired by Mission Figs, Oranges, Hazelnuts, Sunflower Kernels, Quinoa, and Balsamic Vinegar, we combined a soft pretzel, fresh squeezed orange juice, green and red grapes, sunflower seeds, and the Curate Dark & Tempting bar.

I get cranky when I don’t eat so keeping these kits around has helped me stay nourished (and happy) throughout the day. These would also make a fun give to give for someone starting a new job to keep at their desk at work!

*This post is in partnership with Curate. All words are my own.

{Photos by Casey Brodley. Crafts and styling by Julia Wester.}