Above: Woo your Valentine with a yummy handmade box of chocolates.
Eek! There's only a few days to go and you're valentine will be expecting something spectacular! Why not make your loved one a box of chocolates? It's pretty cheap and is sure to woo your beloved.
I used to make these chocolates with my Dad as a kid, and a few years ago when money was tight at Christmas, I made a few boxes for presents, complete with a selection choice card detailing all the different chocolates! The recipients loved them so much, I often make them as last-minute gifts.
All you need is a few supplies and an hour or so. Follow a couple of youtube videos for the two origami tutorials and melt a bit of chocolate, et voila! A homemade box of chocs anyone would be thrilled to receive.
Materials:
200g of chocolate - use which ever type you prefer - but it must be plain, none of that caramel business! (I used a supermarket own brand of Dark 85% cocoa),
A microwaveable bowl or bain-marie,
A silicone ice cube tray - can be regular rectangles or any shapes you like,
2 x sheets of square pretty paper (I used scrapbook paper which is 12" by 12"),
A pair of scissors,
(Optional) 1 x sheet of origami paper or patterned paper 5" by 5" for the heart,
(Optional) A few edible goodies to go inside the chocolates - e.g love hearts, nuts, marzipan, mini marshmallows, etc,
(Optional) Edible glitter or sprinkles (not chocolate though or they will melt),
(Optional) Ribbon to tie around the box
Above: say it like you mean it with love hearts and chocolates - what's not to love?
Tutorial:
Step 1:
Break all of the chocolate into small pieces and put into a microwavable bowl. Put the bowl into your microwave and heat for 2 minutes, checking and stirring every 30 seconds so that the chocolate doesn't burn and melts uniformly.
N.B You can also melt your chocolate in a bain-marie on the stove.
Step 2:
When all the chocolate has melted, pour a little into the silicone moulds/ice tray. Place your filling on top and cover with more melted chocolate.
You can also put some nuts etc on the top for decoration. I finished some of mine off with a few love hearts and a sprinkle of edible, non-toxic glitter for a bit of added bling!
Step 3:
Place the moulds or ice cube tray into the fridge for about an hour or until the chocolate has set.
You can also leave them out to set (but I would place a plastic container over them to stop dust etc settling on them!).
While the chocolate is setting, make your box for the chocolates to go in.
Right: Pour the chocolate into the mould and decorate.
Above: Making an origami box and heart is easier than it looks!
Make the box.
Step 4:
Using the video tutorial below, make a square origami box.
The video doesn't mention this, but make the bottom half of the box a little smaller by cutting your square down to start with. You need to chop off about 1/16th", but make sure that it's still a square by cutting it off of 2 (not opposite) sides.
(I had to stop and start the video to follow along as it goes a little quick at times).
If you want to add a heart for Valentines day, you can also follow the video tutorial below to make a winged origami heart. Stick the heart to the box and wrap with a ribbon.
