With everything that’s been going on around here, I’ve decided to ask for a little regular help. Starting today, I will be introducing a couple regular site contributors…

Meet Holly.

Holly is a Utah-based event planner and stylist. Her work has been recognized on several large event sites.

Amidst running her business and raising three kids with her husband, Holly highlights great party ideas on her site Paisley Petal Events.

Her first contribution to the site is INCREDIBLE, so without further ado…

Valentine’s Day Donut Tree

Hello everyone! I’m Holly from Paisley Petal Events. I’m so excited to be contributing to the SNAP!, where I will be sharing really fun ideas for the holidays and other special occasions in your life!

And I just have to say that I CAN’T WAIT for the SNAP! conference! I seriously am counting down the days until we get to hear from the AMAZING lineup of speakers. If you haven’t bought your ticket yet, hurry up! You’ll be sad if you miss it, I promise!!

I have to admit that Valentine’s Day hasn’t always been one of my favorite holidays…I think it can be a little cheesy, how about you?

But then, last year I had a really great time planning a Valentine’s Day party for my 3 year old daughter and her friends…

This year, I’m doing 14 Days of Valentine’s Day for my kids & husband. Each day starting on February 1st I’m putting a little surprise in a small mailbox I decorated for each of them. Hopefully it will be a reminder of just how much I love them.

Anyway, on to the project. A Valentine’s Day edible topiary or donut tree could be use it a couple of different ways…you could serve it on Valentine’s Day for breakfast or for dessert, you could bring it to a school party as a fun treat for the kids to enjoy, or you could use it as a centerpiece for your Valentine’s Day party dessert table!

Valentine’s Day Donut Tree Supplies

Here’s what you need:

1. 18″ foam cone

2. 1 piece of pink tissue paper

3. Approx. 100 toothpicks

4. Approx. 60 donut holes (40 glazed and 20 powdered)

5. 2 bags of Wilton Pink Candy Melts

6. Approx. 20 strawberries

Valentine’s Day Donut Tree Assembly

To begin, wrap your piece of tissue paper around the foam cone and cut off excess. Use tape to adhere the tissue paper to the cone.

This tissue will cause you see pink in between your donuts and strawberries, rather than the white foam.

I didn’t remove the plastic that came on the foam cone so that the little foam pieces don’t come off and get in your food, but I did remove the sticker that comes on the cone.

Now, put your cone on the serving piece you are going to use so you don’t have to move it later and risk some sort of accident!

Create your pink donut holes by dipping regular donut holes in pink candy melts.

I ended up using 2 bags of Wilton candy melts and I melted 1 bag at a time. Melt your candy in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between each segment until your melts are liquid.

I also added a dollup of shortening to make it a little thinner and easier to dip the donut holes into.

Use a fork to dip your glazed donut hole into the melted candy and place on wax paper to dry. I was able to make about 40 donut holes.

While your donuts are drying, get your strawberries ready.

Cut your strawberry in half vertically. Then take each piece and cut out the stem in a v shape to create your heart.

Look how cute they look all lined up together!!

Once your donuts are done drying, it’s time to start creating your tree!

Start at the bottom of the cone and insert the toothpick about 1/2 inch up from the bottom and halfway into the cone leaving enough space for the donut to fit onto the toothpick. (Inserting the toothpick into the foam first is easier than putting the donut on the toothpick and then inserting – I tried!)

Continue adding donuts around the bottom of the cone in whatever order you want…alternating between pink and powdered. Your toothpicks will be about 1 inch apart to make the donuts fit snugly together.

Continue with the next row, adding strawberries and donuts as you make your way up the cone. The strawberries aren’t as deep as the donuts, so you have to stick the toothpicks into the cone a little bit further than with the donuts.

Pretty soon your cone will be full of yummy donuts and strawberries just waiting to be eaten!

To serve, simply pull off the donuts and strawberries you want to eat and wash them down with a nice cold glass of strawberry milk – yum!

The decorative medallion on the top of my tree was made using a 2″ printable party circle, some red scrapbook paper, crepe paper streamers, a bamboo skewer and some ribbon.