Recently

There has been a lot of thought going into creatively celebrating special occasions recently.  From spending long segments of my time at hospitals/physical therapy appointments for Kevin to 30-60 minute work blocks during Graham's naps; it's been difficult to put together birthday, anniversary, etc. gifts as I have traditionally done.  

Mom's 70th birthday is coming up on Sunday the 7th and I decided on creating a candy bouquet.  I originally got the idea of the basic structure of candy bouquets from the Cherub Cafe Holy Angels- a local restaurant managed by The Sisters of Mercy.  Check them out, they do amazing work and the food is fantastic!  I've commissioned them for everything from party gifts (Cotton Candy Factory) to catering for small parties.  I'm working with pretty specific dietary needs, so I needed to design and create the bouquet myself.  

All work in, I was able to complete this project in 40 minutes.  

The materials used here:
2' diameter glass vase
raffia (approx, 5 feet) for accent bow
one silk rose stem, cut to separate all blooms
one silk cat tail stem, cut to separate all greenery
floral picks
sugar free Russel Stover chocolates
pink tissue wrap
1' floral foam (which is wrapped in the pink tissue) 
2 pink pipe cleaners for accents/depth
2 green candy bags, cut to fit over a floral pick
gift cards
hot glue to keep it all together

To create these bouquets, I always start with my center stem, which is the highest, and I build the bouquet around that.  The chocolates were hot glued to the floral picks to create rose stems (both front and back of the floral picks were covered).  A polishing touch I tried out and actually love was to take green candy bags and create a 'leaf' to cover the base of the gift cards.  

I can't wait to deliver this to her in Spartanburg on Sunday!  A 70th birthday is a huge celebration and calls for something truly personalized.