DIY Wedding

credit – Sarah Parrott on flickr

When one thinks of summer one of the first things most people think of is… the beach! What’s one thing that one finds at the beach? Sea glass! That’s why I thought this diy candy recipe would make a perfect wedding or party favor for those having a summer, beach or waterfront wedding or event. Like a lot of the ideas on my blog the recipe is fully customizable to give you the ability to tweak it to fit your special day. There are so many flavors and colors to choose from and also a variety of pretty packaging options!

First things first, lets start with the recipe so you can make your own sea glass candy right at home!

DIY Homemade Sea Glass Candy

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 to 1 teaspoon flavoring oil, depending on strength of flavor – You will want to make a test batch to get the color and flavor intensity just right! *See notes below for links to some sites with a HUGE selection of delicious flavor oil options. You can also try baking, craft or your local grocery stores!
• Liquid or gel paste food color (Gel Paste Colors tend to be more intense!) Available in most craft and baking supply stores or online. *See notes below for links to sites offering a wide selection of colors.
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and place on a wire cooling rack.
2. Stir sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat just until sugar dissolves.
3. Without stirring, boil until candy thermometer registers 300-310 degrees which usually takes about 30 minutes. You can test by dropping small amount into ice water; syrup should separate into threads that are hard and brittle when ready!
4. Immediately remove from heat and wait a minute or two for boiling to stop.
5. With a wooden spoon, stir in flavoring oil and food color until well blended. Immediately pour onto prepared cookie sheet.
6. Let cool completely, about 20 minutes.
7. Lightly dust slab of candy on both sides with confectioners’ sugar, brushing off excess sugar.
8. Break into small pieces.

Store airtight. Makes 1 pound, 6 ounces(4 cups)

 
That’s it! Make one color/flavor or a few batches of different coordinating colors to make pretty mixes! Pack them in little tins, bakery bags or bakery boxes with some pretty ribbon or twine and maybe even add a cute label or sticker with your names and wedding date, your wedding monogram, etc. The possibilities (as always!) are endless. Let your creativity explode! (Need twine or custom designed labels or stickers to personalize your yummy sea glass treats? Check out my shop website and I can help you out!)

It’s so simple and delicious. The hardest part will be not eating it all up before the wedding!

*Note – Helpful web links!

• Wilton – Large Selection of Food Coloring
• LorAnn Oils – Huge Selection of concentrated super strength flavors plus they have food coloring too!
• Layer Cake Shop – Another great selection of yummy flavoring oils and food colors too!
• Weddings*n*Whimsy – My stationery, paper products site – Custom designed paper products for weddings and events such as tags, labels, place cards, table numbers and more! Plus much sought after luxe baker’s twine in a huge assortment of colors.

credit- Sarah Parrott on flickr.com

My friend Ana from Craftification shared a great idea with me that I thought everyone here would love! Candy Lollipop Centerpieces! These would be great for a candy or sweet themed wedding, a wedding/bridal shower, baby shower or even a birthday party like a sweet sixteen! Use them on the guest tables or as extra decoration for your Candy Buffet Table! Lollipops come in such a huge variety of colors an flavors you are bound to find the perfect combination of delicious sugary goodness that will liven up any table..(And be edible afterwards! A great take home present for your guests.)

You can go as big or as tiny as you like with these lollipop centerpieces depending on your event and table size!

All you will need are…

• Lollipops (or suckers) – The big swirly ones are stunning to look at and add a real POP to the design…But don’t forget you can add in some small ones as well like Blow Pops and Tootsie Roll Pops (or a favorite of mine..Jolly Rancher! Yum!) too. The Rock Candy on lollipop sticks would look amazing as well! Cake Pops may work too! See my post here for instructions on how to make your own.
• A container to display them in – So many options here! A small fish bowl, a chunky glass square vase, a (clean) flower pot, a shallow rectangular tin, a bucket..etc. Use your imagination! If you end up using a bucket or metal tin or bucket of some sort you may want to spray paint it to match the rest of your theme (think bright or pastel colors!). Leaving it as is can look pretty too depending on the rest of your theme. Sometimes a plain metallic finish or clean, simple white will work best. Use your judgment/creativity!
• Styrofoam or floral foam
• A little hot glue (might be necessary if you are using large lollipops!)
• Cotton Candy or Loose Candy to fill the container and hide the foam. Some loose candy ideas would be – Gum Balls, Mike & Ikes, Jelly Beans, Gummies, etc! Chocolate pieces like M&M’s can work too..just make sure it won’t be so hot they will melt!
• Optional - Design or purchase 2″ round labels for the face(s) of your big swirly lollipops with your names and event date! (Many girls seem to be using publisher to make their own stickers and labels. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that you can check out my design site where I offer custom labels/stickers for purchase!)
• Optional - A little ribbon to tie bows on your lollipops for extra pizazz. A little tip if you do – Wrap ribbon tightly around the lollipop stick twice before tying a bow. It helps the bow stay put and look more professional!

Now all you need to do is put the foam at the bottom of your container, put a little bit of glue on the tips of your lollipops and stick them in. (You may want to play around with the arrangement before using the glue!) Then, when everything is how you want it to be fill up the container with your loose candy or cotton candy to hide the foam used to anchor the lollipops. Done! SO easy and yet so eye-catching! It will have your guests drooling and unlike flower arrangements they are a built in favor (and won’t wilt!). Love it!

As always if you use these instructions to create a yummy lollipop centerpiece of your own please share your photos with me!

Credit- Carol Browne on flickr

Cake balls are a yummy treat that have been around for a little while but has been gaining a lot in popularity the past year. And why wouldn’t they? These delicious little cake ball bites are both yummy and snack size..making them perfect for a delicious wedding favor, something pretty for your wedding treat table or something fun for your kid’s table.

There are so many different options and variations on these cake ball treats that I’m sure you can find one (or two..or three…) that will fit perfectly into your big day edibles. Your guests will love these tasty little treats! The cake ball recipe below is so easy.. Let’s get started!

Wedding Cake Balls Recipe (Can be made into Lollipop Cake Balls or Cake Pops too!)

You will need…

• 1 18.25 ounce package of cake mix
• 1 16 ounce container of prepared frosting
• Chocolate for Melting and Dipping
• Wax Paper
• Toothpicks
• Optional – Lollipop Sticks if you are making cake pops, Parchment Piping Bag to pipe melted chocolate
• Optional – Sprinkles, Chopped Nuts
• Optional – Mini Chocolate Chips to mix into the cake and frosting mixture
• Optional – Flavored Extract such as peppermint to add to the cake/frosting mixture (Be creative!)

1. First, bake the cake as directed on the box and then crumble it into a large bowl. (Some people recommend trimming off the edges to make crumbling easier!) Allow to cool just slightly.
2. Stir in frosting (and optional mini chocolate chips) until well blended. (You can do this by hand or using a hand mixer) Add half of the frosting first and then add more as necessary (Sometimes only half of the frosting is needed to make a nice tacky mixture without being too mushy!)
3. Put mixture into the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Overnight is fine too! This makes rolling them into balls much easier.
4. Once the mixture has been cooled line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper (aluminum foil is fine too if you do not have wax/parchment paper). Then use a melon baller or small cookie scoop (or your clean hands!) to form small balls of the cake and frosting mixture. Place on the lined baking sheet.
5. Freeze the balls for an hour or two. (If you are short on time you can skip this step but it makes dipping them in the chocolate much easier and cleaner!)
6. Before removing balls from the freezer melt your chocolate.
7. Remove balls from freezer. Stick them with a toothpick and dip in the melted chocolate. Use a second toothpick to gently push the ball off the first toothpick and onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (If the balls slide off the toothpick into your melted chocolate they weren’t chilled long enough in the freezer!) If you are making Cake Pops stick the ball with a lollipop stick instead of the toothpick and allow to stand on the baking sheet.
8. If you are adding sprinkles or chopped nuts and candies do so now!
9. Put in the fridge to set!
10. If you are drizzling or piping melted chocolate onto the chocolate coated balls do this after they have had time to set in the fridge and then put them back in the fridge to set again.
11. That’s it! You’ll have a bunch of yummy cake balls you can wrap in transparent bags with ribbon, place into clean white boxes with a specially designed label or pile them high on a pretty plate to serve to your ravenous guests!

I know you’ll have a great time coming up with a delicious combination of cake mix, frosting, chocolate and sprinkles to perfectly suit your wedding day. Here are some ideas to get your creativity brewing!

• German Chocolate Cake Mix – Pecan Coconut Frosting – Chocolate Almond Bark
• Chocolate Cake Mix – Chocolate Frosting – Dipped in Milk Chocolate sprinkled with Andes Candy Bits (Like Girl Scout Thin Mints!)
• Strawberry Cake Mix – Vanilla Frosting – Dipped in Dark Chocolate(Like chocolate covered strawberries!)
• French Vanilla Cake Mix – White Chocolate Almond Frosting – Dipped in White Chocolate
• Chocolate Cake Mix – Butter Cream Frosting – Dipped in Milk Chocolate
• Cherry Chip Cake Mix – Cream Cheese Frosting – Dipped in White Chocolate
• Fudge Cake Mix with Peppermint mini chips mixed in – Fudge Frosting – Dipped in Dark Chocolate
• Lemon Cake Mix (Optional mix in mini white chocolate chips) – Lemon Frosting – Dipped in White Chocolate
• Red Velvet Cake Mix – Cream Cheese Frosting – Dipped in Milk Chocolate
• Carrot Cake Mix – Cream Cheese Frosting – Dipped in White Chocolate

If you use this recipe to make your own delicious wedding edibles be sure to send us some photos! We would love to feature your work

And on a personal note – Sorry I haven’t updated in so long! I promise I haven’t forgotten about the site. My hubby and I were lucky enough to have our first baby 6 weeks ago so I had been consumed in the pregnancy and now taking care of our little goober. I will continue to update as often as I can though..The site hasn’t been abandoned!

Credit – Elena’s Pantry on flickr

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Sometimes when all is said and done the bride and groom are left with a bunch of favors left behind by their guests. This won’t happen if your favor is an edible! I found this delicious recipe for diy oreo truffles on the kraft website ad thought it would be a perfect diy favor idea for all of you planning your own wedding!

They only require a few ingredients so they are extremely affordable and they don’t take very long to make! Here’s the recipe!

Oreo Truffles (Makes 42 individual truffles!)

• 1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided
• 1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted (Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate..Choose your fav!)
• Optional – Candy sprinkles for additional customization – find some in your wedding colors!

1. MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.
2. DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. (Here is where you can also add some of your candy sprinkles to add some color! You could also wait till after refrigerating  and further decorate your truffles with different colored chocolate by piping pretty designs or swirls on top!)
3. REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

credit: Kraft Foods

That’s it – you will only need to wrap them up for your guests! Some cute packaging ideas would be individually wrapping each truffle in cellophane (clear or colored) with a pretty bow to match your theme and a favor tag. You could also put them in pretty favor boxes!

If you make truffles for your big day using this recipe please be sure to send us the pics! We would love to see!

credit: talekinker on flickr.com

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Food is the perfect wedding favor (it never goes to waste!), and what would be more perfect for an edible wedding favor in the fall than do it yourself homemade candy apple favors? These yummy chocolate caramel covered apples will leave your guests drooling when they see them at your place setting, and they are quite darling wrapped in cellophane with a colored bow to match your theme! You can even attach little tags with your names, wedding date..even your personalized monogram! They are so easy to make and can be customized in so many different ways to create a delicious favor all your own.

You’ll Need…. (This recipe creates 5 apples, multiply as needed to treat all your guests!)

• 5 large Granny Smith apples
• wooden craft/popsicle sticks
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 14 oz. package of individually wrapped caramels (unwrapped)
• 7 oz. chocolate candy bar broken into pieces (Milk chocolate, dark chocolate or even white chocolate will do! Or, you can do without it completely if you only want your apples covered in caramel!)
• tbsp Shortening (if also dipping in chocolate, ignore if only dipping in caramel)
• Goodies/topping to further decorate your treats – chopped nuts, sprinkles, coconut, chopped pieces of candy/candy bars (chopped peppermint candy or even heath bars!)
• Wax Paper
• Cooking Spray

Let’s start!

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and dip each apple in briefly to remove any wax that may be on the skin from the grocery store. Wipe dry and let cool.
2. Insert craft/popsicle sticks into each apple, through their core.
3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and spray with cooking spray to prepare a place for your apples to cool.
4. Melt unwrapped caramels in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave with the two tablespoons of water. Cook on high two minutes, stir (be careful it gets hot!), and continue heating and then stirring in one minute intervals until the caramel is completely melted.
5. Holding each apple by the stick, gently dip each apple into the melted caramel and then carefully transfer it to the wax paper you prepared earlier. If you are going to be dipping your apples into chocolate, refrigerate for 15 minutes. If you are only dipping your apples in the caramel skip ahead to step 7 to coat your treat with nuts, chopped candies or sprinkles instead of allowing to dry and then refrigerate to set.
6. Next, heat chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave with the tablespoon of shortening until melted and smooth. Dip each caramel coated apple into the melted chocolate to cover the caramel and then hold apple over the bowl allow the excess chocolate to drip off.
7. Once you have allowed the extra chocolate to drip off, gently roll in the chopped nuts, sprinkles or chopped candies you chose to decorate your apple treats.
8. Set on wax paper and allow to set (If you skipped chocolate, it’s best to set your apple in the refrigerator)…and you’re done!

That’s all you need to do to create these delicious autumn themed favors! Once the apples have set wrap them in cellophane (clear or colored to match your theme!) and tie with your favorite colored ribbon. Place one at each guests place setting or gently arrange in a big basket for your guests to grab on their way out. It’s so easy to make, and they are so delicious! Your guests won’t leave these treats behind and their tastebuds will thank you

credit: erica8431 on flickr.com

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Chocolate covered stirring spoons are a delicious idea for a diy wedding favor or coffee bar treat! Also, with the large variety of colored spoons at party stores and the variety of colors you can find of the candy making chocolate wafers..they can be made to fit your wedding theme to a tee! Guests will love dipping these hand dipped chocolate spoons in their favorite hot drink..from coffee to hot chocolate! Yum!

You will need:

• plastic spoons
• chocolate (the chocolate wafers found in most grocery stores and craft stores are perfect! They are small discs of chocolate that come in a ton of different colors, and are created specifically to be melted down for projects like this! Otherwise, any chocolate should do if you aren’t looking for any specific colors.)
• baking paper
• cellophane bags or wrap
• ribbon
• optional: parchment cone (disposable pastry bag)
• optional: candy sprinkles

Now let’s make some yummy spoons!

1. Start by melting down your chocolate. This can be done however you feel most comfortable! Some like to use a microwave or double boiler. Personally, I like to take one of my medium size pyrex glass bowls and set it on top of a medium sized sauce pan that is boiling a small amount of water. Either method you use, make sure you stir often and do not allow the chocolate to burn! Once melted, allow the chocolate to cool just slightly so it will adhere to the spoon without being too runny.
2. Next, dip each plastic spoon one by one into the melted chocolate (fully submerging the head) and lay them on a sheet of baking paper. If you are going to add candy sprinkles, sprinkle them on spoons before chocolate hardens! Allow the chocolate to cool and set.
3. Optional – If you want to add more color to the spoon, feel free to melt another color chocolate in the same way as above, fill a parchment cone with the chocolate and pipe swirls, designs or zig zags across the head of each spoon.
4. Once the chocolate on the spoons have completely set, wrap each spoon with cellophane and tie with a pretty ribbon.

That’s it! Once completed you can either set one spoon at each place setting for a yummy favor (maybe include a small bag of hot chocolate or coffee too!), or group in large mugs or vases near the coffee bar. Your guests will love this thoughtful treat..and you’ll love how affordable and easy they are to create! So delicious!

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Floral/Flower Ice Cubes would make a great personal detail for your wedding day! It would be perfect for a spring or summer wedding, especially if your wedding theme is garden related. They are extremely easy and affordable to make, and can be customized more specifically to your wedding theme with your choice of flowers and even food coloring.

The cubes can be added to drinks and cocktails (maybe dress up your signature cocktail?), added to punch and more..be creative!

Flowers can be found in your own garden, your local farmer’s market or even your grocery store. Just make sure the flowers haven’t been treated with any chemicals or pesticides, and they are safe to ingest (See chart below!)

You will need…

• Edible flowers that have not been sprayed or treated (Pansies, violas, wallflowers, lobelia, and miniature roses work nicely. You can also use just petals from larger flowers such as rose petals, just be sure the flowers are non-toxic! Here is a great chart about edible flowers for reference. )
• Water (I’m personally fine with tap water, but you can use filtered or bottled water too!)
• Ice cube trays (Regular ones work fine and look beautiful! If you are feeling extra creative you can also use the shaped ice cube trays, such as hearts or stars, depending on your wedding theme.)
• Optional – Food coloring

That’s all you need..here we go!

1. If you are going to color the water for your ice cubes you will want to do this first! This isn’t necessary as the flowers being frozen inside each little cube are more than beautiful enough to stand on their own. Some, however, want to further incorporate their wedding colors into the cubes..and this is one way of doing it! I suggest taking a large plastic container like a gallon milk jug, filling it with water and gradually adding food coloring one drop at a time and shaking the color in until you reach the color you are seeking. You don’t want a lot of color..you still want the flowers beauty to show through in the cube..but a slight hint of pink..green..blue (any color you like!) can be a creative addition to your cube.
2. Next, fill your ice cube trays half way with your water and freeze until firm.
3. Now, add your choice of small edible flower or flower petal to each cube compartment and cover with more water.
4. Freeze again until firm..and they are ready to go! You can either serve them immediately or put them in large zip-loc freezer bags to save until you need them.

As long as you have the freezer space, these ice cubes are a gorgeous little detail for your wedding reception. There are so many different colors of flowers and food colorings that the possibilities are endless when it comes to coordinating these cubes to your wedding theme.

We’d love to hear your your creative combinations for these cubes..and of course if you make them we want to see pics!