Hard Candy Wreath

I am a before and after school child care provider. I have had my 6 to 12-year-olds do this project with great success. It is a little time consuming but with a patience it looks great and is a fantastic gift for the holidays. This project can also be used as a Valentine Day project or Easter craft depending on the type of candy you use.

Parental supervision is recommended.

This project is rated AVERAGE to do.

What You Need
 
 

  • 1 coat hanger

  • Approximately 30 pieces of assorted, wrapped hard candies, suckers, etc.

  • Approximately 30 pieces of colorful curling ribbon, cut into 8" pieces

  • Wire cutters

  • Pliers to bend the hanger

  • Masking tape

  • A dull pair of scissors to curl the ribbon


 
How To Make It
 
 

  1. Unbend the hanger and cut it in half (this will be enough for 2 kids).

  2. Bend the 1/2 hanger into a circle leaving about 4" at the top to make a hook. Twist the end to make it look like a circle with a hook on it.

  3. Cut your curling ribbon into 8" pieces.

  4. Fold your ribbon in half. In the middle of that ribbon tie one piece of candy. Tie it on the end of the candy where the paper twists.

  5. Now tie the candy with 2 knots tightly on to the hanger. Tie the candy right next to the wire to help cover it up.

  6. Use the scissors to curl the ribbon on each end.

  7. Repeat the process for all your candy pieces.

It might take a few more or less than 30 depending on the size of each candy. Suckers should be tied close to the head. You may add a ribbon on the top to cover the hook if you want. Some people also tie on a pair of scissors so people can eat the candy when they visit.
 


 Heart Package Tie-Ons

A little package tie-on for a Valentine package. The other side can have a TO/FROM designation on the heart.

This project is rated VERY EASY to do.

What You Need
 
 

  • Small paper mache heart with loop

  • Liquitex Basics Gesso

  • Craft paint

  • Tulip paint, optional

  • Paint brush

  • Wax paper


 
How To Make It
 
 

  1. Coat heart with one or two coats of Gesso. Let dry after each coat.

  2. Coat heart with one or two coats of craft paint. Let dry after each coat.

  3. Using the tulip paint, write your "conversation" heart message on heart. Let dry.

  4. Write your "To/From" on the back of the heart. Let dry.

  5. Attach to your package.


 Tips
 
Liquitex Gesso in the artist supply area of my local craft store. This product gives a base coat to Papier-m'chÈ items. Without this medium, the paint tended to crack.
 

 Love Bugs Hat

The Love Bugs wiggle when the child moves their head. You can make the hat up ahead of time if the children don't have much time to create the hat. The children can decorate their Love Bugs Hat with stickers, markers, or crayons.

Parental supervision is recommended.

This project is rated EASY to do.

What You Need
 
 

  • Red felt

  • Black chenille stems

  • Red chenille stems

  • Wire cutters

  • Needle nose pliers

  • Pen

  • Scissors

  • 10 mm Wiggle eyes

  • Hot glue gun

  • White poster board

  • Ruler

  • Stapler, tape, or glue (to fasten hat together)


 
How To Make It
 
 

  1. Cut out 4 hearts (2 1/2" tall x 3" wide) out of red felt.

  2. Cut out 2 hearts (1" tall x 1 1/2" wide) out of red felt. 

  3. Cut a strip of poster board to fit around a child's head and about 2" wide.

  4. Determine where the sides of a child's head is by trying the band on. Mark with pen.

  5. Cut red chenille and black chenille stems in half using the wire cutters.

  6. Glue the stems on the outside of the poster board where marked.

  7. Glue a small heart over each of the chenille stems that are attached to the poster board. (See photo) 

  8. Glue a large red heart at the other end of the chenille stem.

  9. Bend the black chenille stems in a "V" shape. Bend the ends over twice using the needle nose pliers to create the feet for one piece, and the antenna for another piece. (Note: This also hides the sharp end)

  10. Add wiggle eyes using glue to the "face" of the love bug.

  11. Let the children decorate using lace, stickers, markers, and crayons.

  12. Tape, glue, or staple the hat to fit the child. (Paper clips also work)


 
Tips
 
You can use a cookie cutter to obtain a heart shape for the body of the love bugs. You can use tacky glue, but it will need to set up overnight before wearing.
 


 Valentines Envelopes

Make your own envelopes for your Valentine cards. This project can be used for any holidays or for everyday use.

This project is rated AVERAGE to do.

What You Need
 
 

  • Scissors

  • Glue

  • Pencil

  • Wallpaper, construction, or wrapping paper

  • Envelope

  • Stickers


 
How To Make It
 
 

  1. Open and unglue envelope and lay flat (try to keep the fold lines visible) to be used as pattern for the new envelope.

  2. Place the paper you choose to design your new envelope on the table, lay pattern on top and trace outline with pencil.

  3. Cut out the new envelope fold in the same creases as the envelope pattern, glue ends together.

  4. Don't forget to leave the top open to place a valentine card in.

  5. Insert card and seal top of envelope with glue or a sticker.

  6.  

Valentines Recipes

Stained Glass Cookies

Ingredients
Make basic ice box cookie dough, and chill
Lifesavers candies
You'll also need plastic sandwich bags (one for each color) and a rolling pin

Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll into strips about 1/4" thick. Use to make heart outlines on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Pinch ends together well. Start with simple shapes and then try more complex ones.

Sort the Lifesavers into plastic bags by color. Crush them with a rolling pin. Use to fill openings in the cookies.

Bake at 375 F for 8-10 minutes untill lightly browned. Cool completely, then peel off foil.


 
Heart Shaped Food

Many families enjoy making normal foods special by making them heartshaped on Valentines Day. Here's some ideas to get you going.....

Heart Shaped Pancakes
Pancake batter can be poured into the pan in all kinds of shapes - my kids love this one year-round

Heart Eggs and Toast
Cut a heart shape out of the center of a piece of bread (cookie cutter will help). Then put the bread into a pan, and break an egg into the open heart-shaped center. Cook. Spread a little jelly on the heart shaped pieces of bread that are left, and serve.

Heart Sandwiches
Build your sandwiches, then use a cookie cutter or knife to cut out a heart shape. Cut the remaining sandwich into a couple more pieces for a sandwich puzzle.

Heart Shaped Pizza
Bake your own pizza, and make the crust shaped just a little differently for this special day...

Heart Shaped Meatloaf or Burgers
Make heart shapes before you start cooking

Heart Shaped Cake
You don't need a special pan if you have a square pan and a round pan that are the same dimensions across. Bake 1 square and 1 round cake. Then cut the round cake in half, and put each half against one of the square cake's sides.

 

"I Love You" in Different Languages

Croatian : Volim te (most common)
Czech : miluji te
Danish : Jeg elsker dig
Dutch : Ik hou van jou
Flemish : Ik zie oe geerne
Finnish : Mina" rakastan sinua
French : Je t'aime
Gaelic : Ta gra agam ort
German : Ich liebe Dich
Hungarian : Szeretlek te'ged
Icelandic : ?g elska ßig
Italian : Ti amo
Irish : taim i' ngra leat
Latin : Te amo / Vos amo
Norwegian : Jeg elsker deg (Bokmaal)
Eg elskar deg (Nynorsk)
Polish : Ja Cie Kocham or Kocham Cie
Portuguese : Eu amo-te
Scot Gaelic : Tha gra\dh agam ort
Serbian : Volim te
Slovak : lubim ta
Slovene : ljubim te
Swedish : Jag a"lskar dig
Swiss-German: Ch'ha di ga"rn
Vlaams : Ik hou van jou
Welsh : 'Rwy'n dy garu di.
Yr wyf i yn dy garu di (chwi)