Edible Tree Crafts
Edible tree crafts can be cute and creative activities for preschoolers who are learning about trees or serious works of art for an artisan cake maker. It can stand alone as a centerpiece for your buffet table or be one of many decorations on top of a two-tier cake. Whichever kind of project you are embarking upon, you want to be sure to use tasty ingredients so that the final result not only looks impressive, but tastes good too.
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Cake Decorations
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A tree can serve as an adorable cake decoration for all different types of themed cakes. For a princess party, trees can be the magical forest surrounding the castle, while for an avid exerciser's party, trees can line the hiking path.
You can create these small, edible trees by putting green food coloring in a spray bottle with some water and misting a bowl of Rice Krispies until they turn green. Twist a small piece of floral wire around the bottom of an empty grape stem and dip the upside-down stem completely in melted chocolate. While the chocolate is still wet, dip the stem partially in the green Rice Krispies to achieve the effect of leaves on the branches. Hang the stems by attaching the wire to a cabinet handle or something similar until the chocolate has hardened and dried.
Chocolate Candies
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This is a very easy way to create edible trees, but you will need to find a chocolate mold in the shape of trees. Melt equal amounts of white chocolate and dark or milk chocolate in separate pots. Put a few drops of green food coloring into the white chocolate and mix until it is evenly colored. Fill the molds by carefully ladling the dark chocolate into the bottom half of the tree shape until it reaches the top of the trunk and then filling in the rest with the green-colored chocolate. Take care not to allow the chocolates to mix. Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened.
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Rice Krispie Treats
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This is similar to the first idea, but it can stand alone as a treat instead of being used as a cake topper. Dye one container of Marshmallow Fluff green with a few drops of green food coloring, and mix it together with half of a box of Rice Krispies. Form trunks for the trees from empty toilet paper rolls or thick wooden dowels, and use the green Rice Krispie treats for the top of the tree. Take small handfuls of the treats and shape them into uneven balls to resemble a treetop, then stick them onto the top of the "trunk."
Hanging Candy
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This craft is perfect for young kids because it is extremely easy to do and everyone will enjoy the results. You will need a low tree-shaped hanging rack, such as the clothes tree from sparkability (sparkability.net, $94.85 as of January 2011), and small, colorful plastic bags. Lay a variety of candies on the table and give each child one of the plastic bags. The children can go around the table and fill their bag with the candies of their choice. Tie up the bags with some green ribbon and hang each bag in a different place on the "tree."
This can serve as a party decoration or table centerpiece for a family tree-themed party, Christmas party or nature-themed party. The children can do this activity one by one as they arrive so that no one is unoccupied, and when the party is over, they will each collect their own bag as a goody bag to take home.
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