Make Candy Bouquets Lots of Ways (2024)

The time of year that I see candy bouquets in stores is mostly

around Valentine's Day. After looking at the price tags on

them, I looked even closer to see if I could copy the

technique and make some more inexpensively myself.

Depending on the materials and candy that you choose,

you can make candy bouquets in any price range.

They are fun and easy plus folks are really thrilled to

receive them. They can be tailored to any season and

for lots of different reasons.

Most traditional candy bouquets in stores are in vases

or coffee mugs. Keep your eyes open for inexpensive holders

foryour candy bouquets if you are making some in the future.

This vase and coffee mug came from a consignment sale for $1 each.

You are certainly not limited to using traditional holders

for your candy bouquets. Thrift stores usually have baskets

that you can spruce up with paint. Walmart and Dollar Tree

have inexpensive seasonal items that can be used to

hold your candy bouquets also.

Metal pail from WalMart $1

Bunny box and pail from Dollar Tree $1 each

Red ceramic pot from Dollar Tree $1.

Also keep your eyes open for good deals on candy.

The best candy to use for the bouquets has a flat back.

That's where you will add the stick on the candy.

This is my dining room table with supplies ready to make candy bouquets for Valentine's Day.

Another element that you need for candy bouquets is a

stick to hold the candy upright. Some folks use craft sticks

(similar to a Popsicle stick) for this purpose. I liked the

skinny wooden skewers that are used for shish-ke-bobs.

At my grocery store they are on the kitchen supplies aisle.

They can be hidden under the flap on the backside of most

candy bars and make people wonder "how'd she do that?"

More directions for taping the candy on the sticks is at the end of this post.

Also in the picture above shows another important item

you need and that is CLEAR tape (not invisible tape).

Another necessary item is foam to hold the candy on the

sticks upright. There are different types of foam that work.

All of the above pictured foams came from Dollar Tree ($1 per pack...duh).

The green foams are generally floral foams. Floral foams

havekind of a velvety look.They are not as sturdy as

styrofoam-typefoams but they are easier to cut if needed.

Styrofoam-type foam looks like lots of tiny bubbles. It is

harder to cut (if needed) but holds the sticks and candy well.

If you are making lots of candy bouquets and want to save

money on the foam, you can try making your own blocks

An optional item is a filler that hides the foam.

This can be tissue paper, paper napkins, basket filler,

Honestly, I had so much fun making and giving the candy

bouquets that it is the only craft I have done for about two

months. That means I have lots of pictures and lots of ideas

to share...too many for one blog post.

Because different folks might be interested in only one

type of candy bouquet, I am breaking the bouquets into

categories. You can click on the links further below

to go to apost for a certain type of candy bouquet.

For this post I'll share how I made a budget traditional

candy bouquet in a tall vase.

Here are my supplies...wooden skewers (in background), vase,

foam, paper napkin, and candy (main candy not pictured).

Most of the candy bouquets in stores fill the bottom of the

vasewith a small candy. I was disappointed when these

heart-shapedcandies only filled the bottom of the vase.

I could have gone backto the store to get more or used

Hershey kisses instead but, alas,I am cheap.

I decided to try to make the bouquet without filling the

vase with small candy to save money.

I placed an unfoldedred paper napkin over the vase

opening and pushed around piece of floral foam down

(but not too far that itwould fall into the vase) on top

of the napkin. The napkin will serve to hide the foam.

This was the first candy bouquet that I made and I

thought that I needed packing tape (which is stronger

than regular tape) for the larger candies. Really, if you

use several rows of regular clear tape, it holds well too

(and to me it is easier to use than the packing tape).

This candy bouquet was for my husband. He loves Lindor truffles.
I found these small packages at the Dollar Tree.

Candy bouquets can be a bit of a balancing act.

I added five packs of Lindor truffles to the foam, trying to

get them as near to the center and equally spaced as possible.

To hide the foam a little better, I cut another red paper

napkin into fourths, pinched that square in the middle,

fluffed it upwards, taped it onto a toothpick, and

inserted it into the foam also. Make as many as needed.

Because the foam was more or less "floating" in the vase,
the top wasa little wobbly once the candy was added.

I tied four pieces ofthin red ribbon around the napkin and

below the bases of thecandy bags. The ribbon's ends went

north, south, east and west. The ribbon on each side was pulled
tight and then taped securely for a couple of inches down the
vase.That made it much more steady. Ends were trimmed.

If you decide to fill the vase with small candy, you could probably push the foam down

in the vase further and it would have a base to sit on. I'm not sure if you would

still need to use the thin ribbon to secure it or not.

A red bow made of wired ribbon from the Dollar Tree was

added to the bouquet to make it a little fuller looking.

This candy bouquet was less than $10. Similar ones in

gift shops were priced at $40.

Using a similar technique to the vase candy bouquet,

As you can see in the photos above, you can make the

candy bouquets in different sizes. I was able to find the

wood skewers in different sizes to hold up the various

sizes of candy. If you need to cut a skewer down to fit

the candy and the container, the best thing I found to cut

it is a pair of hand yardclippers...its like cutting a twig.

If you are using a wider craft stick you can just tape it on

to the backside of the candy securely with clear tape.

If you want to hide the skewer on candy with a flap on

the back here's how...

Pull the flap up and place the skewer next to the fold.

Tape the skewer onto the candy bar well with clear tape.

You can run the tape along the skewer vertically or

tape several times across with shorter tape horizontally.

If you are going across horizontally, be sure not to tape the flap open.

Then close the flap over the skewer and tape the flap

down so it hides the skewer.

When you are pushing the candy bar into the foam, push

on the stick and not the candy.

For the smallest candies you can use toothpicks even.

Another thing I found a Dollar Tree are these plastic

"co*cktail forks" that worked for small candy too.

No telling what YOU will find to make creative candy bouquets

when you keep an open mind and open eyes!