Candy Crafts for Valentine’s Day

Creating valentines and valentine gifts for friends and family can involve something more exciting than some red construction paper and glue. You can use candy to create a variety of edible favors that can double as valentines and also create some edible Valentine gifts. Kids can participate in making all of these craft projects.

Valentine Caterpillars

Candy caterpillars, suggested by Family Fun, start with a length of thin red licorice rope; how long the rope should be depends on how many candies you want to use. Any red candy with a hole in the center will work and make the treat appropriate for Valentine’s Day. You could also add smaller candies between the larger ones. After tying a knot at one end of the licorice, you string on the candies and tie a knot at the other end. You can add some little eyes with frosting or tiny dot candies and finish off the caterpillar by tying on licorice whip legs and antennae.

Valentine Candy Bouquet

The candy bouquet from Edible Crafts begins with a small bucket; consider buying a red plastic one or spray painting a metal one in a color of your choice. After stuffing green floral foam into the bucket, add the flower bouquet, which is made from wrapped candy attached to lollipop or craft sticks with a glue gun. Wrapping the “stems” with green floral tape helps create a true flower look. Red shredded paper on top completes the look.

Lollipop Flowers

Individual lollipop flowers can serve as Valentine’s Day favors. For a gift, you could wrap a half-dozen of them in tissue, florist-style. These flowers are made from round hard candies such as Life Savers. You begin by putting a craft stick on a baking sheet covered in foil and placing one of the candies on top of the stick and one directly above it; this candy is the center of the flower, and the one below it is the first petal. Continue making a circle with the candies. Heat the candy flower in a 250-degree Fahrenheit oven until the petals have melted together. This will take about 12 minutes. Let the flower cool thoroughly before you remove it from the foil.

Valentine Canes

A quick craft that kids can do by themselves is to glue small candy canes facing each other to form a heart onto a piece of red paper. Then, cutting the red paper around the candy cane into a heart shape, they have a decoration for the front of a Valentine. They simply fold a piece of white paper in half, card style, and glue the candy-cane decorated heart on the front.

Candy Heart Wreath

A candy heart wreath can be any size, but a suggestion from Celebrations, given with their directions for the wreath, is cutting 8-inch circles from foam sheets in whatever color you like. Using white glue, you completely cover the wreath in Valentine conversation hearts. For a raised effect, you can add additional rows. The final touch is to glue on a ribbon bow at the top of the wreath and use packing tape to attach a ribbon onto the back of the wreath to use as a hanger.