Just last week we were in Utah to attend our son Clark’s college graduation. We were outside taking some photos when I spotted something.

My kids are now use to me going up to perfect strangers asking to take pictures of their food, their outfit, etc. so it was no surprise when I stopped this new college graduate and asked to take a picture of his lei.

He was actually wearing three leis!  A traditional flower lei but then he also had a candy lei and a money lei.

The candy lei was made out of plastic wrap and candy bars and tied in between each candy bar with ribbon – so cute.

But the lei I liked the most was the money lei – what graduate wouldn’t love a money lei!!

Dollar bills were gathered up and tied in the middle and then attached to a piece of ribbon.

There were also little bags of Hershey Hugs and Kisses tied in between the dollar bills.  So fun!!

Everything was attached to some curling ribbon.  I am going to have to remember this one next year when Tessa graduates from high school!!

The next day, after the cookies had dried over night I was ready to put the bouquet together.

For supplies you will need:

A container. I used a piece of green florist foam inside of a white gift bag that I had added black dots to to resemble dice.  I cut off the handle of the bag and turned the upper edge into the inside of the bag to reinforce the bag a bit.  You could also use a vase, a box or just use your imagination!

Filler: You will need some kind of filler, shredded paper etc. to place in and around the cookies once they are placed.

Cookies: Go here for directions.

Misc. Decor: In addition to the cookies I used other items that related to the show – Guys & Dolls.  All the crapshooters in the show wore red carnations in their labels so that was the perfect flower to use to fill in and around the cookies.

I also found some great chocolate bars wrapped like dollar bills at the dollar store!  I hot glued them to bamboo skewers.

I also bought a deck of cards at the dollar store along with some dice.  I used different card hands “full house” etc. and glued the cards together in a fan shape and attached them to a bamboo skewer too.  I also hot glued on a few dice for a finishing touch!

I didn’t end up using the red and black ribbon but it would look cute tied around some of the sticks.

After putting your foam into the container start inserting sticks into the foam.  Be sure and vary the height of your sticks to give it some variety and interest.  I put the larger items in first (candy bars,etc.) and then filled in with the smaller items such as the cookies.

I made a little printed sign for the front cutting the shapes out on my fun Cricut machine and attaching it to a lollipop stick.

Fill in around everything with your filler and you are finished!

Who wouldn’t love their own personalized cookie bouquet!?

I decided that it was time I tried my hand at making my own cookie bouquet – how hard could it be anyway?

Well, I learned a lot during the process and there is definitely room for improvement but it turned out pretty cute for my first try.

I went to an expert cookie baker I Am Baker to find a sugar cookie recipe and frosting recipe that would work well.

I knew I needed a thicker, firmer sugar cookie than I usually make.

I used this recipe.

I have never been a big fan of rolling out sugar cookies.  Mainly because I can never seem to get them an even thickness.  Thanks to my friend Dawn, who is an amazing cook, for this great tip for rolling out cookie dough.  She told me to get two clean paint sticks and set them on either side of my dough.   Placing my rolling pin on top of the sticks gives you a perfectly even cookie dough  – so easy!!  I rolled my dough out to about 1/4″ but next time may try making it a bit thicker.  You could double up on your paint sticks to do this.

Before baking the cookies I was going to use for the cookie bouquet I pressed a white lollipop stick (you can get them at the craft store or a cake decorating store) into the back of the cookie – about an inch or so up into the cookie. Being careful not to push it all the way through the dough. I then took a small, flat piece of dough and covered over the stick on the back of the cookie.  Use a little water to dampen the dough and it will stick a lot better.  Smooth it out with your damp finger.

I forgot to take a photo of this part of the process – sorry!!

So pretend these cookies have sticks in them!

I used a square shaped cookie cutter for the dice and found the heart, spade, diamond, etc. cookie cutters are at our local cake decorating shop.

I also used I Am Baker’s frosting recipe.

You will need two “strengths” of frosting.  One stiffer than the other.

With the stiffer frosting fill a bag and use your smallest, round tip.

Here’s a great tip for getting the frosting into the bag.  Stand the decorating bag up into a tall glass – it keeps it wide open for you to get the frosting in!

I then outlined each cookie with the stiffer white frosting.

Using the runnier frosting and a bigger round tip, flood each cookie with frosting.

I used my little offset spatula to spread the frosting into the corners that didn’t fill in.

I then let the white layer dry and mixed up my black frosting.  I found that the best way to get a real black frosting is to use the brand by AmeriColor.  I found it at my local cake decorating shop but it is also available online through Amazon.  It makes a real black color, not gray!  Their red is great too – you get red, not pink!

Using my smaller tip I outlined each cookie in black and added my dice dots.

I used this same method for the spade, hearts, diamonds etc.

I then let the cookies dry overnight.  The frosting needs to set up before you start working with the cookies or you will have a mess.  I think the cookies taste better the second day too!

Stay tuned for Cookie Bouquet – Part Two, The Assembly!

I have put together a lot of flower bouquets during that time.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, flowers can get a little old after a while so it’s fun to come up with something different.

Candy bouquets make a great gift.

And even a Candy Bar Cake is a great idea.

I am always on the lookout for a new, fun idea.

One night, after one of the performances, I spotted this!

How cute is that?  A flower bouquet made out of playing cards, dice and dollar bills.  The perfect flower bouquet for Big Julie (he’s a really big gambler in the show – I mean really big!!!)  I had to stop him and ask if I could take a picture. Found out that my creative friend Laurie made it for him!  Way to go Laurie.

I decided I wanted to do a little something for all the members of the cast.  Forgetting that it was a rather large cast (50 kids) I decided to make dice shaped cookies for everyone.

It turned into a little bigger project than I anticipated but they did turn out so cute!!
My kitchen table looked like this for several days!

I also made cookies shaped like hearts, diamonds, spades, clovers and some lips for the Hot Box Dolls.  I wrapped two cookies in a cellophane bag and then attached a little card.  I used playing cards for the backing.

We had given Tessa flowers the previous weekend after the show so for closing night I wanted to do something a little different.

I decided to try my hand at a cookie bouquet for the first time.  I learned quite a few things through the process and decided I needed to take an icing lesson from my friend Dawn next time she makes her amazing shortbread cookies but I think it turned out pretty good for my first try.  I made one for Tessa and one for the shows director.

I’ll do a separate post to give you a little more detail on how I put it together etc.  Stay tuned!

I helped the kids put gifts together for all the adults involved in the play – music director, choreographer, orchestra conductor, set designer etc. too.  They received their gifts in these cute white gift bags that I turned into dice!

Hope this post got your creative juices flowing!  Stay tuned for more info on the cookie bouquet!!

Last week and this week have been “show week” at our house.  The two weeks the high school musical – this year Guys & Dolls – is performing.  Tessa is a cute little Hot Box Doll and the featured dancer.

I am busy helping pull together the details for the cast party Saturday night as well as some gifts for all the adults that help put the show together.

I counted up the other day how many high school productions my 3 “theater” kids have been in (I have 3 theater kids and one sports kid!) and it is about 30.  Not only is that a lot of performances but a lot of flower bouquets to present to the performer after the show.

In the past I have gotten a little tired of just bringing flowers, especially when it is a male performer.  Another idea I came up with was a candy bouquet.

I have put them together either in a vase/pot or just wrapped up in tissue like a flower bouquet would come.

I tape the candy bars onto the end of bamboo skewers and tie them together with some tissue and ribbon – the kids love it.

Here is a candy bouquet I put together for Tessa when she was performing in Willy Wonka.  This was an easy one to do as I used all kinds of Willy Wonka candy!  I just wrapped a box in some peppermint candy wrapping paper, put a piece of styrofoam in the inside and covered it with shredded paper.  Popped in the skewers with the candy attached and added a bow.  She loved it!

I’ll be back soon to share plans for the cast party I’m organizing as well as some fun cookie bouquets I am putting together – think dice, spades, hearts, diamonds etc…….

Luck be a Lady tonight!!!

That’s just what a couple of you have done with the candy bar cake idea we shared here on the blog!!

Thanks to Jenni for sharing her darling version of a candy bar cake.  I really like the smaller size….

and here is Carolyn from Australia’s version!!  Yes, all the way from Australia.  Love her use of ribbon and a candle on top!

And here it is all wrapped up and ready to give to someone.

The other cake idea we shared this week was that cute diaper cake.  My niece Michelle sent me a few more photos of another darling diaper cake she made – so cute!!!  Won’t someone I know please have a baby so I can make one of these!!

Do you have a picture of a fun cake you have made?  Any kind of cake?  I’d love to share them here on Your Homebased Parties.  Just send the picture in a jpeg and brief description of the event the cake was for and I’d love to highlight you and your cake here on the blog!

A cake made out of your favorite candy bars – who wouldn’t love one!

I think it is the perfect gift for just about any chocolate/candy loving person in your life.  I know a few college age boys who would love one!!

Here’s what Laurie has to say about her idea:

Here is an idea that I’ve used for years for our parties and gift-giving… Candy Cakes! It’s been so much fun making them for family and friends. The “cakes” usually end up being the hit of the party. My daughters like making them for their friends and I love seeing their variations.

These Candy Cakes usually cost less than $10 to make and can be customized for any event. They can be made up well in advance since they don’t get stale like real cakes. They can be assembled anywhere (even in a hotel room if you’re traveling). I usually use round tins with solid colored sides (I discard the lids) but as you can see in my photo, other shapes work well too.

For the cake shown below Laurie found a 25-bar variety pack of candy bars at Target for $6.99 (did not use them all) plus a few smaller bars for the top tier. The tins were 50 cents at her local thrift shop (she runs them through the dishwasher first and I bet you could find some at the dollar store too).

 Thanks to Laurie for the great step by step tutorial!

Step One:  Gather supplies.  candy bars, tins without lids, cardboard circle, foil, double sided tape, paper shred.

Step Two:  Cover cardboard circle with foil.  Attach several strips of tape to top edge of largest tin.

Step Three:  Place tin upside down (i.e. taped side down) in center of cardboard circle.

Step Four: Attach a smaller tin on top if desired using tape.

Step Five:  Using strips of double sided tape, attach candy bars around bottom tin.

Step Six:  Use several strips on each candy bar to make sure they adhere well.

Step Seven: Keep adding candy bars around tin.  Try not to eat any!

Step Eight: Finished with bottom tin.

Step Nine: Repeat on top tin with smaller candy bars.

Step Ten:  Add paper shred if desired.

Step Eleven:  Add a paper strip on top…

or a bow….

or a fun toy or even a tiny blue pail filled with even more candy.

Perfect for any occasion!

Wrap in cellophane for the finishing touch and easy transport.

Who are you going to make your first candy cake for??

Please excuse my lack of posting here at Homebased Parties.  A combination of technical problems due to a mean old blog hacker and a case of tennis elbow have slowed me up a bit!  I’m getting back into the swing of things here though and have lots of fun party ideas to share with you.  If you have a fun party idea to share I’d love to hear about – send me pictures!  You could be a Party Guest here on the blog!!

As you may remember I celebrated a pretty big birthday earlier this month!!  In fact I turned 5 decades old.

My friend Sherra who lives in Atlanta wasn’t able to be at the party but she sent me the most amazing gift.  I wanted to share it with you because it is the perfect gift idea for someone celebrating one of those milestone birthdays – the ones that end in zero!

She helped me take a trip down memory lane, through the 5 decades of my life.

Of course, who doesn’t love to receive packages in the mail?!  Especially when they are filled with lots of other packages!

In fact there was a present and a picture  for each decade of my life!
 
I was so cute back in the 60’s!

Sherra found this amazing vintage – yes I guess I am old enough for something from my childhood to be called vintage – party book.  It was perfect and I absolutely love it.  It reminds me of a Betty Crocker Children’s cookbook I had as a child!

And then the 70’s, not such a great look with my long straggly hair.

But I actually squealed when I opened the 70’s gift – it was a coaster made from an old 45 of Donny Osmond singing “Go Away Little Girl” and an entire CD of Donny!  I love it!!  Yes, I was one of those teenage girls with posters of Donny all over my bedroom!

And then the 80’s  complete with my nice permed hair and my first baby.

What a better gift for the 80’s than a collection of great 80’s hits!  Remember Wake Me Up Before You Go – Go by Wham and Change of Heart by Cyndi Lauper?!

And then there was my business look of the 1990’s

I love the Southern Living magazine so was excited to get their collection of  their best recipes from the 1990’s!

  
Think I’m looking a little better in the 2,000’s!

One of my dreams was to travel to Italy with some girlfriends to celebrate our 50th birthdays together and take cooking classes.  Unfortunately that dream isn’t going to come true this year (I’m going to England instead!!) but Sherra sent me another cookbook with lots of yummy Italian recipes so I can teach myself!

And then there was the Here & Now.

This present was some of my favorite things!  Pretty notebooks and some great motivational art!
 

Wasn’t that an amazing gift!  Sherra did all of her shopping on Etsy.