Fantasy Candy By Laura Bray

Who doesn’t love sweets? Who really doesn’t love what they do to your thighs? With the beginning of summer looming, I created a project for you to enjoy candy without making bathing suit season a traumatic event. Here’s my “recipe” for Fantasy Candy*!

Ingredients:

Art Institute Glitter’s Fantasy Film in a variety of colors
Scissors
1” Styrofoam balls or 1” wood beads
Tweezers
Heat gun

Instructions:

• Cut a 4” square of Fantasy Film.
• Take a Styrofoam ball or wood bead and place it in the center of the film. Roll film around ball and secure by twisting ends of film on either side of the ball. If you are using wood beads, make sure the holes in the beads do not face the wrapped ends. You will need to access the holes later in the project.
• Pick up the “candy” with a pair of tweezers. Using your heat gun, blow some hot air onto the candy. Still holding the candy with the tweezers, turn it so that all surface areas are exposed to heat. ONLY expose the candy to the heat gun for 1-2 seconds! Any longer and you could damage the film and lose the definition of the design. CAUTION: If you are using Styrofoam balls, they will melt if held under the heat too long. It’s very important to only expose your candy to the heat 1-2 seconds and to use tweezers to hold the candy when it is under the heat in order to prevent burns or fire. Wood beads can handle the heat better but, in order to get the look of the candy you want, keep the heat exposure to a minimum.
• Your wrapped candy will look almost like the expensive glass candies in the stores.

Once you have made about dozen candies, you can create a whimsical garland with them.

Fantasy Candy Garland

Ingredients:

Needle
Embroidery Thread
Candy necklace or candy colored beads


Instructions:

• Decide on a length for the garland and cut embroidery thread to that length. Be sure to account for extra thread on each end to use for hanging the garland. Knot one end.
• Thread a needle with your cut embroidery thread.
• Take candy necklace and break it apart if using. If you want the garland to last, or have concerns about edible elements, use candy colored beads on the garland instead. The necklace candy can also be coated with shellac to extend its shelf life.
• Take a Fantasy Candy and string it onto the embroidery thread by carefully pushing your threaded needle through the middle of the candy. If you used wood beads for the project, poke the needle through the holes in the bead. Push the candy to the knot at the end of the thread.
• Take candies from the necklace or beads and thread four or more onto the garland.
• Alternately thread Fantasy Candy and beads or candies to the garland until the garland length is reached. It’s best to end the garland with a Fantasy Candy.
• Knot the end of the garland.
• It’s ready to hang!


*Fantasy Candy and Fantasy Garland ARE NOT edible! These projects are for decoration only. They should be kept out of reach of children, pets, or anyone else who might try to take a taste!

About Laura Bray

Laura Bray is a professional artist, designer and crafter. She lives in Southern California with her husband, daughter and their dog, Jack. She loves having a career doing what she loves and she shares her business knowledge with other artists and crafters so that they can do they too can live and work creatively. For more information about Laura and to sign-up for her free newsletter, visit her website at www.katydid-designs.com.