Spring "Blooms" Candy Bar Bouquet

When I can construct a budget, friendly gift for someone to enjoy it is a win-win situation. I love to make economical gifts for my family and friends. Last time I made a candy bar bouquet, I finally remembered to take pictures as I worked.

Materials

Floral tape           12 inch or 10 inch bamboo skewers          green tissue paper          Invisible scotch tape      

3 packages of snack size candy bars (18 candy bars)         low-temp glue gun          glue sticks

Pinking shears or decorative scissors       4-inch ceramic pot           wired ribbon     

Filler for ceramic pot - I recycled pieces of styrofoam, but you can use floral foam, swim noodle pieces, etc. A batch of plastic wrapped rice crispy treats will even work!

 

 

Step 1 - Preparing Materials

·         Take 18 bamboo skewers and cut five to 6" length; five to 8" length; and eight to 10" length

·         Wrap skewers with floral tape. Start about 2" above the pointed end and wrap to blunt end.

·         Cut eighteen 1"x 1/2" rectangles from the green tissue paper. I didn't measure, I just estimated.

·         Cut eighteen 3"x3" squares from the green tissue paper. Again, I didn't measure, I just estimated.

Fill ceramic pot with filler. Stop about a 1/2 inch below the rim. (I like to place crumpled green tissue paper on top of the filler and poke the skewers through it.)

Step 2 - Assembling Your Candy Bar "Blooms"

• Place a line of hot glue down the skewer from the blunt end. It should be about half the length of your candy bar. WAIT a couple of seconds, then place the skewer against the back of a candy bar. If you don't wait a couple of seconds, you could shrivel the candy bar wrapper, or melt the chocolate. Impatient? Then use tape, but the result won't be as cute, in my opinion.
• Then, put a couple drops of glue on top of the skewer and place a green rectangle over it.
• Continue until all eighteen skewers are done.
• Poke a skewer through the center of a 3" tissue paper square. Then slide the square up to the candy bar. Gather the tissue paper gently around the skewer and tape it into place with invisible scotch tape.

Step 3 - Arranging Your Bouquet

• Start with the 10" or 12" skewers and stick them into the pot, starting with one in the middle and space the rest evenly around the pot. I like my bouquets to be balanced and pretty from all sides. Just place and replace skewers until you're happy.
•  After all the skewers are placed, arrange" leaves" and fill in any bare spots with more tissue paper.

• Cut a length of wire ribbon; fold each end in half and clip diagonally from the fold to the open edges. Look at the picture to see your result.

Tips

·         Make your bouquets smaller or larger by using less or more candy bars. Smaller bouquets would need 4" skewers, 6" skewers, and 7" skewers. This will create a nice shape for your bouquet. Larger bouquets would need more 6" and 8" skewers.

·         Use raffia instead of ribbon.

·         Use full size bars for 6" - 8" pots.

·         Use scratcher tickets in place of the candy bars.

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Thanks for the mounds of love and all the joy you have given me. Your worth $100,000!