Summer is right around the corner which means fun in the sun, and for me, some ice cream with a cherry on top!  To completely understand this, I need to take you back a few years…

When I was little, I used to ride my bike to and from school, about 2 miles away. On my way to school, I would take the back roads and side roads, enjoying the scenery, often jumping off driveways and curbs since my bike was a BMX at that time. On the way home every day, however, it was a very different story.  I would take the main roads and stop off at a store called Thrifty’s.  I would make sure that my bike was locked up tight, and head inside with my backpack on, and a nickel in my sock.  Yep, I said sock.  For the eight years that I attended Saint John Eudes Catholic School, I had to wear uniforms that consisted of a plaid skirt, a white shirt, and little black mary jane shoes with the ruffle socks that fold over.  I had no pockets, but that sock could hold a nickel perfectly, even while riding a bike.  I would walk inside the store with a smile on my face, hoping the line wouldn’t be too long.  There, amidst the general grocery and drug store items, there was a small ice cream counter that had the most glorious selection of ice cream flavors a kid could want.  When I was 6 years old, I could barely see inside the glass case and had to stand on my tippy toes….but that didn’t stop me.  With my hair in little blond pig-tails, I would hold on to the counter and peak over for a view. Some days I went with mint chocolate chip, other days I’d mix it up would try some rainbow sherbert or mango sorbet. But I ultimately became a creature of habit and would only get one kind.  The hair grew longer, and I grew taller but the flavor never changed….the double chocolate malted crunch. It was glorious!  It was a light milk chocolate color and flavor, with small black chocolate chips, and white malted milk balls.  They used an ice cream scoop that made the ice cream look like a cylinder on the cone.  It felt really special and way better than the over-priced ice cream shop down the road. And the best part of all is that it was only 5 cents for a cone.  Just one nickel is all I needed for a great afternoon.

I would hop back on the bike, and leisurely pedal back home and I enjoyed my daily treat. Most days I would finish before I got home.  I remember one time when I was about 9 years old, and I made it home before I finished the cone.  My little brother who was about a year and a half old looked up at my treat with wildly big eyes.  He asked “iscream”? I said yes. He got so excited that I decided to share it with him…and a new tradition was started.  I’d get my ice cream on the way home, pedal as fast as I could, licking the edge and hoping it would sustain the California heat.  I’m not going to lie…many times it ended dripped down to my hand, but it didn’t matter.  As long as I had a little left to share, my little brother was happy.

By the way, my “little” brother is now 6’2” with a Master’s degree in Psychology, teaching high school and college classes…but he will always be my “little” brother.  And even today, I still share everything I can with him.

So while my favorite ice cream came in a cylindrical shape on a cake cone, ice creams have elevated over the years to waffle cones with different flavors and fun toppings. I even had ice cream cakes every year for my birthdays! So, to commemorate my childhood love of ice cream, I am creating a waffle-cone ice cream extravaganza…of course with whipped cream and a cherry on top!

You Will Need:

• Hot glue/glue gun
• Artificial flowers in white, pink, red and yellow (or brown?)
• Tin snips or heavy duty scissors
• Ribbon to hold up the wreath
• Chicken wire or “poultry fence” in plastic
• Cone-shaped coco liner for plants
• A few zip ties
• Scissors

Ho-To:

1. Take out your coco liner and decide if you like the size. These come in many sizes, so if you need to make it look like more of a cone, cut the back of it down the middle and hot-glue it back together.
2. Once happy with your cone shape, take the poultry fence and cut a piece out that will fit over your cone. Wrap it around the front side and cut down any excess on the back side. Attach together with zip ties.
3. Fill your cone with flowers in groups. Put the bottom color/flavor in first.
4. Add the second color, keeping in mind that you want these to look like ice cream flavors.
5. After the second color, add a smaller amount of white flowers, to look like the whipped cream.
6. Take one red flower and put in on the top to look like the cherry.
7. Add ribbon to the back of the cone (in a Spring color) to create a handle for the door.You can hide this or make it part of your design.

Tips:

• If you are having trouble having your flowers stay together in bunches, use a zip tie to hold them together in the cone.

This DIY is perfect for your summer decor and will give the entrance to your home that little bit extra. For more summer DIY inspiration make sure you visit us at Home & Family and share with us all of your crafts and DIYs on Instagram and Twitter @paigehemmis