Creativity 521 #114 - DIY Ferrero Rocher chocolate flowers

A friend was asking on what gifts to get for the teachers on Teacher's Day and some of us who were present at the table started to share our ideas. I think she was right when she said to the dads "This is usually on a Mum's task list only, right?" Anyway, I let her in on something simple that we were making, and she asked "So you do the same every year, right?"

Well, that's the thing. We make sure that we give out something different every year, no matter how simple and inexpensive our gifts may be. You see, my emphasis is that the gifts have to be made, not bought. Sure, you can get something from the gift stores but you have to add in a personal touch somehow and make it more customised. Yes, to me, handmade gifts are still the best way to get the kids involved and show their sincerity from the heart.

So, this year, we chose to do something not too hard but considering that we did two and a half dozens of them (yup, we gave to their school teachers, their enrichment class teachers, assistants, admin staff and even the cleaning auntie), it was not a surprise that we ended up working on the gifts for nearly a week. Here's sharing all about how we did these yummy, lovely and easy-to-make DIY Ferrero Rocher chocolate flowers in today's Creativity 521.


Materials:

1) A box of Ferrero Rochers (depending on how many you need)
2) Satay sticks
3) Ribbons (one thicker than the other)
4) Cellophane paper
5) Metallic paper / Flower wrapper / Crepe paper (or any other material you can use to wrap the flowers)
6) Scissors
7) Sticky tape
8) Optional: Hole puncher, card stock, colour pencils for personalised tag

Firstly, cut out a square piece of cellophane paper (preferably clear coloured with minimal design), wrap it around a chocolate and stick it in place. I find that this makes it more hygienic and presentable, besides less flimsy and thus easier to work.

Next, cut out another square piece of cellophane paper, preferably one with a bolder design. Fold it upwards along a slanted line in the middle so that you can four corners sticking out. Stick one end of satay stick in the centre of the paper and wrap the paper around the chocolate so that the corners stick out as shown above. Use sticky tape to fasten everything in place.

Well, I initially wanted to have three rochers in every bouquet but let's just say these chocolates ain't exactly cheap and considering that we needed to do over two dozen bouquets, I decided to just stick to one stalk each. Yes, a little measly but I'm hoping the teachers will be touched to see the effort and time the kids put in for this seemingly easy gift.

To wrap up the flower, we used golden metallic paper, flower wrappers and any kind of nice paper I had saved over the years from bouquets and gifts. All we did was to cut a square/rectangle piece, stick the satay stick lengthwise in the middle, make folds on the two sides and bring them to the centre. Wrap the paper around the satay stick and use sticky tape to secure in place. Adjust a little here and there to make your wrapper look as nice as possible, and if you need to, you can just cut away the satay stick at one end to shorten it.

Now, one of the highlights of this project was learning to make ribbon bows! I must tell you, I have so many rolls of ribbons at home and I've kept them for years too. So, I knew I wanted to make a nice bow for the flower so there couldn't have been a better time to take these ribbons out and put them to good use.

To make a ribbon bow, wrap the ribbon neatly around your fingers around 8-10 times. Once one end overlaps the other a little, cut it off as shown.

Fold the middle part backwards, make an inverted V shape cut, and when you open it up, you should have a bow shape as shown. Use a thin ribbon to tie around the middle and make two knots so that it is tightly fastened.

Starting from one side of the bow, put out the innermost ribbon loop towards the left and then the next loop to the right. Twist it a little at the middle part towards the back so that the loops stay in place. Turn to the other side of the bow and do the same, pulling one loop to the left and the next to the right. Keep alternating between the two ends until you finish all the loops.

This is what you will achieve at the end. Beautiful, right? I really love how simple it is to make and how lovely it looks at the end. It's also a great way for the kids to work on their fine motor skills too!

Just to add a personalised message, I designed this tag in powerpoint and printed it out. Yup, I really wanted the teachers to know that they deserve nothing less than gold for everything they've put in for the little ones.

To attach the tag, punch a hole at the tip, slot in one end of the ribbon and then tie the bow around the flower, making sure that it is in the middle facing front.

Let the kids write their own names or any personalised message they have for the teachers and we are all done!

Yup, these are how our Teacher's Day gifts look this year. Simple but sincere, inexpensive yet so dear. It's been quite a while since the girls and I sat down to craft properly so I'm glad we did it together. They miss these times and so do I!

Here's wishing all the teachers out there a very HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY 2017! Thank you for being the guiding light and for making a difference in our little ones' lives.

For more craft ideas and DIY tutorials, visit my gallery here.