ORGANIZING
Tips for
Tuesday
We're going to depart a bit from our normal organizing tips so I can share with you an easy gift idea made with items you may already have in your house.
I wish I could give you a legitimate reason why I have so much chocolate on hand, but unfortunately I can't. It's not like I eat it all, evidently I just like having it around. If there's a sale and a coupon, I just have to take it home with me!
I wish I could give you a legitimate reason why I have so much chocolate on hand, but unfortunately I can't. It's not like I eat it all, evidently I just like having it around. If there's a sale and a coupon, I just have to take it home with me!
A while back, I saw the idea for a candy bar birthday cake in an issue of "All You" magazine (great for coupons too) and thought this would be perfect for my nephew's birthday. He's fifteen and skinny as a rail, so he can handle the calories. That, and being the youngest of three boys, I'm sure he won't have it all to himself, even if it is his birthday.
I stock up on school supplies during the summer when they're at rock-bottom prices, so I was able to make this using items I already had on hand. (And I still have chocolate left over. I know, I know, that is so not good, but if you come for a visit, I'll share.)
So, here's how I did it:
- 15-20 candy bars (the number depends on the widths)
- Cut a circle, 6 inches in diameter, from foam core (or styrofoam)
- Trim a piece of poster board into a strip 4 1/2 inches tall and 21 inches long.
- Approximately one yard (36 inch) of 2-1/2 inch wide ribbon.
- 3 or 4 sheets of tissue paper
- Curling ribbon - I used blue and white
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Hot glue gun (or a high quality sticky glue)
2. Place a drop of hot glue on the line at one end of the poster board and attach the foam core. Continue placing glue on the line and rolling the foam core until the poster board is completely wrapped around the foam core. There should be a bit of overlap. This will give you a cylinder with the foam core in the middle stabilizing it.
3. Attach the candy bars around the cylinder by putting a couple dabs of glue on the posterboard and letting it cool a few seconds before adhering the candy so you don't melt the wrapper. Continue this process until the entire cylinder is covered.
4. Crunch up the tissue paper and use it to fill the top of the cylinder. Cover with gum, mints and snack size candy bars.
5. Make ribbon curls and tuck in the empty spaces. Tie the wide ribbon around the outside of the "cake."
Happy crafting!
Lisa
