Faux Hot Chocolate

You may have been following along with my Valentine faux food posts such as Faux Valentine's Day Cake and How to Make Easy Faux Ice Cream. Today I am adding another fun faux food idea that is not only cute but can be used throughout the winter season. 

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Today I am going to show you how to make  Faux Hot Chocolate. 

Dollar Tree sells these really nice 18 oz glass mugs in their store and on their website.  You can buy a quantity of four for only $5 on their website and have it shipped free to your local store.

 

I painted my mug to look like hot chocolate using this paint that I think I got from Michaels. Once it was dry, I touched up a few spots with another coat. It really looks like the color of hot chocolate. 

To make the whipped topping I used a tub of Dollar Tree lightweight spackle.

II add a small amount of water to the spackle so that it was a creamy texture.  Be careful not to use too much or it will become runny.  I found out the hard way.  Place your spackle in either a icing bag or a plastic bag. 

 

I cut an end off a  stryofoam ball and placed it on a foam plate.  The ball is the perfect size for the base of the whipped cream topping .  I almost forgot mention, before you start using the spackle trace around the top of the mug on the plate in pencil, so you know how big you should make your whipped cream. 

I added small glass brown beads to the spackle while is was still wet to look like chocolate sprinkles. I also cut a red and white straw to about two inches long and placed it in the spackle whipped cream. 

Once it was dry, I gently cut the circle line on the foam plate. the spackle begins to crack which it might if there was too much water in it like mine was, I touched it up with a slightly wet paint brush. 

My whipped cream topper is just slightly bigger than the mug so it sits on top. If you would like your to fit inside, you might want to fill the mug with crumpled paper or something similar to support the topper

The last thing I did was add a heart decal from a page of window clings to use as a Valentine's Day decoration. 

I hope to make more of these in the near future.

 

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Faux Valentine's Day Cake

 

I am teaching a Dollar Tree crafting class this weekend to a local group of woman, and I am quite excited about it.  As you know if you have followed me for awhile, I love crafting and I also love the Dollar Tree.   Some of my favorite crafts to make are faux food, and with Valentine's Day coming up it seems like the perfect time to make some for the blog and for the crafting class. 

 ** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

I meet the woman who started the crafting group at the Dollar Tree so we could chose which craft to have a the class, we decided on a faux Valentine's cake made from a paper mache heart box.

Here is what I used for this cake 

Paper Mache heart box

a 3 piece glitter paper pack 

Valentine table scatter (it looks like candy) 

felt heart stickers  

Tool Box all purpose caulk , their lightweight spackle will work as well 

I used the smaller 4.5 ounce size of caulk because I already had some on hand, but they now also have a larger 8 ounce version in a different tube. 

This first thing that I did was cover the box in the glitter paper.  I tried to fit it to size as best I could. It worked pretty well. One the top where the paper met it wasn't perfect, but that was okay because it would be covered in caulk.  

While I did have icing tips in my original picture, it did not fit on the smaller caulk tube.  I could have gone downstairs to get a baggie to use with the tip, but I decided to see how using the tube with out a tip.  While it is not a fancy shape, it looks like icing and the tube was easy to use. 

I added one of the table scatter hearts on top with a little bit a caulk. 

I added a few felt heart stickers on the side for a pop of color. I left this particular faux cake on the simple side because it is an example for the class.  I will be making another one during the class.  You can use what ever you want cover or embellish your cake.     Glass beads look great as sprinkles. Foam heart picks look like cupcake picks.  They even have glitter heart stickers in various shapes and sizes.   

I will be sharing the other Valentine  crafts and tell you how the class went soon.  

If you like the looks of faux sweets, Dollar Tree currently has their Sweets Fairy Garden Houses and accessories, as well as their other many themed fairy gardens available in limited quantities online.  

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Unicorn Valentine Card Box

 

While we still have a month until Valentine's Day, it is time to start thinking of the Valentine's Day class party. One thing that I always enjoyed doing with my kids is making the valentine box. I still use this box, and use it for storage now.  It was not that hard to put together, and almost all of the items came from the Dollar Tree. 

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Here is what I used to make this unicorn box 

A box for the body (shoebox, tissue box, gift box or even a mailbox)

4 cardboard tubes for the legs

2-3 curly bows (multiple bows on each) for the mane and tail.

round container/tumbler with lid (something unicorn head shaped) or floral foam for the head 

craft foam or pre cut glitter hearts for snout

googly eyes

colored wrapping paper  or paint 

cardstock (color of choice for horn) Dollar Tree now sells premade unicorn horns in the party aisle. 

I was lucky enough to find this sturdy shoe box size Valentine card box on clearance at Target a few years ago. It was already white, so I decided to make my unicorn white. You can use whatever box you have on hand.  You can paint it, or cover it in whatever color you decide. 

 

When making the unicorn, I was not sure on which shape I wanted to use for the unicorn's head.  I will show you what they both look like.  

If you would like a rectangle head, find the largest craft or floral foam in the crafting aisle. Leave the plastic on if the foam is in multiple pieces like the one in the photo.  I wrapped it in white wrapping paper that is available in their gift wrap aisle.  

If you prefer a rounder look for the head, I wrapped a cup I found in the dish aisle.  I am not sure if this particular cup is still available, but you should find something similar.  I liked the round look better for my unicorn so this is the one that I decided to use. 

This is the dual temp mini glue gun by Gorilla Glue that I just got. It is very highly rated.  I love that it has the dual settings because I tend to burn myself when using a lower quality glue gun. 

I painted four cardboard tube white to make the legs and then hot glued them to the bottom of the box. I also used hot glue to attach the head to the top of the box. 

The next step is to chose which ribbon you want to use for the mane and the tail.  They have several different types of curly ribbon and various colors that will work well. I went with the curliest ribbon in multiple colors for my unicorn. 

The curly ribbons have multiple bows on each card. Arrange them as big or as small as you would like. To get this extra full look, I used four of the smaller bows for the mane (two bow cards), and two smaller bows (one bow card) for the tail.

Dollar Tree now makes so many pre-cut hearts in various sizes and colors.  They didn't have as many as they do now when I made this box, so I cut out pink hearts from a scrap piece of pink craft foam. 

I used a piece of cardstock to make the horn, but now they have already made unicorn horns in the party aisle.  The last step is to add the eyes. I drew on eyelashes, but if you would prefer real ones, there are a bunch of fake eyelashes to choose from in the beauty aisle. 

UPDATE: I found both the horns and lashes at the Dollar Tree today that you may be interested in using on your unicorn.  

Your unicorn is now ready to collect those Valentines at the class party. 

If you are interested in Valentines you can print and share with your friends, I have several Valentine items in my Etsy Shop.  My biggest seller last year was my Bee Valentines. I am currently making some new styles for this year, including some unicorns.  

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Dollar Tree Unicorn Valentine's Day Card Box

 Valentine's Day is about a month away.  I work at a school, so I know Valentine's Day is a pretty big day in the classroom, especially at the elementary level.  It can be quite exciting for kids to make a card box to hold all of the class valentine cards. 

I made this Unicorn Valentine Box a few years ago using almost all Dollar Tree items.  The items not from the Dollar Tree were items you may have laying around your house. 

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Here is what you will need 

A box for the body (shoebox, tissue box, gift box or even a mailbox)

4 cardboard tubes for the legs

2-3 curly bows (multiple bows on each) for the mane and tail.

round container/tumbler with lid (something unicorn head shaped) or floral foam for the head 

craft foam or pre cut glitter hearts for snout

googly eyes

colored wrapping paper  or paint 

cardstock (color of choice for horn) 

I used a box with a slot cut in the lid for my unicorn body. Whatever type of body you choose to use, there needs to be a way to get the valentines easily in and out of the box.   My box was already white, so I decided to make a white unicorn, but you can make yours whatever color you like.  

To make the legs, paint four cardboard tubes

When I made my unicorn, I had a hard time deciding which head shape I wanted.  In this picture are what both options looked like. 

I covered both items with white wrapping paper. Expert tip.. If you chose to go the square floral foam route, DO NOT remove the plastic off the foam! It's much better to wrap the entire brick as one piece.  I found out the hard way that the floral foam is made from five smaller bricks that I had to re-attach, and it was a little bit messy.   I personally preferred the shape of the plastic container head, which is what I decided to use in the end.  You can attach the head with hot glue or double sided tape. 

I found it easier to attach the legs to the bottom of the box with hot glue instead of tape.

 

The curly ribbon bows have several smaller bows on each card.  Arrange the bows as desired to make the mane and tail as full as you prefer.  I used four smaller bows for the mane, and two for the tail.  

 

I had some pink craft foam on hand from the Crafters Square aisle, so I cut out small hearts for the snout. If you prefer pre-cut hearts, I have also seen them available at the Dollar Tree. 

I rolled a piece of cardstock into a cone shape to make the horn, and hot glued it in place.

The last step on the unicorn is to add some googly eyes, and if desired some eyelashes. (Dollar Tree sells fake eyelashes in the make up aisle that would look really cute!)  

Here is the finished Unicorn Valentine Box.. 

If you love all things Dollar Tree like me, be sure to follow me on Instagram. Over there I share Dollar Tree hauls, finds and DIYs. 

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