Making Candyland Party Props

 At my work we are having a Candyland themed party this week.  While I do not have pictures of this year's decorations yet, I do have some pics of candy and treats I have made in the past that would make great Candyland Party Props. 

**this post contains affiliate links

Where to start? I think I will start with cupcakes.  I have made two very different kinds of cupcakes.  

I made the cupcake in the top photo as a Christmas decoration. I used a flower pot I had from last summer, a clear 14 inch plastic plate, a large red ornament from Dollar Tree, and expanding foam.  

I sprayed expanding foam on the plastic plate and added the ornament before the foam dried. The plate was the perfect size to fit in my Dollar Tree flower pot from the Plus section. 

You can see how to make the other cupcake from the Dollar Tree laundry basket in this post here.   Also in the photo are pool noodle lollipops.  I made bigger ones this year with two noodles, and rolls of cellophane. 

While we are not using these faux lollipops and cotton candy for our party this year, they would make perfect party props or  Valentine's Day decor.  You can see how I made them in this post here.

I made this Princess Lolly out of poster board.  Instead of using flat lollipop cut outs like in the picture, she could be holding the 3-D styrofoam lollipops. 

Last year I made this gingerbread man out of cardboard for the party.  He was the the leader of smaller gingerbread characters the kids had made. 

This year for Christmas I made a 5 foot gingerbread man for the corner of our dining room. He is very easy to make and all of the supplies come from Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby.  I bought the brown poster board from Hobby Lobby.  You can see how to make him here.

A fun craft for a Candyland party are these party boxes made with paper mache boxes and craft foam. While I bought this kit from Oriental Trading  with every thing you need to make 12 boxes, it can also easily be made with supplies from the Dollar Tree. 

I will be adding more Candyland props after the party! 

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It's Party Time! Let's Dare to Share!

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!  

We made it to the weekend :) 

So I had a bit of a dilemma this week.  As many of you know that I went to Ohio State, and I am  a die hard Buckeye.  While we did not make it to the National Championship this year,  Michigan did. If you know anything about the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry you know it is very hard to root for the other team.  I was torn between rooting for Washington, or rooting for Michigan so we had a Big 10 win.  I'm curious, which team would you root for in this situation?     In the end, Michigan did win, and we had a Big 10 win.  

On the blog this week, I shared how we made Valentine's Day Heart Pops for my daughter's class when she was younger.  If you still find any mini candy canes on clearance, pick them up because you can use them to make these heart pops. 

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Over on Instagram, I shared some new Easter finds and a few hauls.  I will be stopping by my local store this weekend if the weather does not get too bad, because one of the assistant managers told me that they got a ton of new items in and on the shelves.  

In my Etsy Shop, I have started to sell some of my St. Patrick's Day and Easter hunts. :)   This makes me really happy. I did not have the chance to add a new listing this week, because I have been working a lot on the Candyland party at work.  They have asked me to make several printables for the party, which will eventually end up in my shop. The party is next week, and I will be writing a blog post about it.  We have been decorating all week, and it is looking very festive and fun. 

If you are interested in joining my newsletter/email list, make sure to sign up in the upper right hand corner of my blog.  I am currently sending out emails once or twice a month, but hope to make it a weekly newsletter. 

   

Now that you know what I have been up to this week, I would love to see what you have been doing.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

 

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Valentine's Day Heart Pops

It is now the perfect time to re-share how to make Valentine's Day Heart Pops.  We are still a month away from Valentine's Day and you might also be able to find the candy canes you need to make these on clearance. 

When my daughter was in 4th grade she wanted to bring a special treat to her class for their special read in party. 

To make heart pops you need mini candy canes, lollipop sticks and some melting chocolate.  

Unwrap the candy and flip them in opposite positions so that they make a heart shape on a piece of parchment paper.

When making the pops, you will be using  a lollipop stick in the middle of each set of the  candy canes. 

You can use any chocolate you have on hand.  We had some red Wilton candy and decided to use it for our pops.    

The best way to melt the chocolate is in the microwave using the 30 second method.  Place the chocolate in a glass bowl and place in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Take it out, and stir. Continue melting your chocolate for 30 seconds at a time until it is completely melted. Be careful and use an oven mitt while doing this, because the glass bowl does get hot.  The chocolate is usually melted by around 90 seconds. 

Once you fill the heart with a little bit of chocolate, add the stick and pour on a little more on top to cover to stick.  Adding the stick in the middle of adding the chocolate will help to cover the stick completely. 

We added a little bit of sprinkles to our hearts before placing them into the freezer for 10 minutes.  The freezer hardens the pops, and gives the chocolate a bit of a shine. 

We placed each of the pops in a small red cellophane bag, and tied on a white curling ribbon.  She wrote each child's name on in fine tip mark to the pop stick to make sure each child received one. 

The kids loved the pops, and we had a lot of fun making them.   

 

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It's Time to Dare to Share!

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!  

Last Friday seems like such a long time ago. I have done a lot in a week.  On Saturday we saw the movie Wonka and LOVED it!  Timothee Chalamet does such a great job as young Willy Wonka, and he is easy on the eyes.  LOL! 

 

On Sunday we made a quick trip to Michigan to celebrate New Year's Eve with my friends, and spend some time with my kids who I was not able to see over Christmas on New Years Day.

On Wednesday I went back to work, and have been trying to get back into my usual routine. I did not get a lot done on the computer, but have plans to catch up on things this week. This weekend we might be hit with a winter storm, but it looks like main part of the storm will miss us. I guess we will find out over the next couple of days. 

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

 At work we are planning a huge Candyland party that will be held later this month.  Last year we had the party in March, and I made this Dollar Tree Cupcake.    I have since made a lot of other candy props for my own Christmas decor that I may be using as decor at the party we well  I will be sharing a blog post next week on how to make Candyland decor and our party preparations. 

I have been sharing a lot of Dollar Tree Valentine's Day finds over on Instagram.  This year's finds are really good, and you can find some really good gifts.  They are also starting to get in  a lot of Easter items in the Plus section this year that are really worth the money.  You can see many of the items over on  Dollar Tree's Website.  Remember if you are not able to find  something at your store, you can always buy online and have it shipped FREE to your store.  Some items need to be bought by the case, but many are available in small quantities. 

Well it looks like it is almost time to get this party started.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

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Happy New Year Dare to Share!

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!  

I have to admit something.  You know that silly meme going around on the internet that says you don't know what day of the week it is this week because they days are all blended together, and you are full of either cookies or cheese.  I forgot what day of the week it was most of the day, so I almost forgot to post the party.  I was also out watching my team play in a bowl game tonight the last few hours, that was not that fun to watch. Most of our team was not playing in the game, so it did not go our way.  Oh well, hopefully things will be better next year. 

I was not on my computer a lot this week. We were keeping busy enjoying our time off of work.  I'm still not completely healthy, but I am feeling a lot better.  Honestly at this point, I don't even remember what completely healthy feels like anymore, since I have been fighting virus after virus pretty much since August. 

On Wednesday of this week, we visited a place I love to visit at Christmas time. If you are ever in the Dayton,Ohio area stop by the Clifton Mill in Clifton, Ohio. It is decorated with 5 million lights, and it is gorgeous! It was on the Christmas Light Fight a few years back, and it won that episode. It can get a bit crowded, but is so worth seeing.  

On Thursday night, we went to see TSO (Trans Siberian Orchestra)  in concert. It is always so much fun if you love rock music and lights. It was my second time to seeing them in the last few years.  

Since I was not on my computer much, I did not write a blog post this week.  Over on Instagram, I am starting to share a lot of new finds that are arriving.  Most Dollar Tree stores are putting out their Valentine's Day items, and some Dollar Tree Plus stores also have their Easter and Spring items starting to go out.  While I am not ready for Easter yet, (it's in late March this year) it does make me happy to think of Spring instead of winter. I am NOT a snow and winter fan.  At least living in Ohio, it is a little bit warmer than it was when I lived in Michigan.  :) 

Well it is getting late, and I need to get this party started.  Link up and HAVE FUN!  

 

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It's the Holiday Dare to Share!

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Well it's just a few days before Christmas, are you ready?  I am so not.  Today was my last day of work until early January, and  I am still fighting some kind of bug.  Most of my shopping is done, but NOTHING is wrapped.  I got my tree up just a few days ago.  The big family tree has lights on it, but the ornaments are still in the basement. They kids were supposed to put them on, but no one went to the basement to get them.  Maybe the ornaments will make in on the tree this weekend. 

We have been reorganizing the crawl space the last few months, and D had some trouble finding my box of usual ornaments.  After looking for a little bit, I decided to change it up and use some of gingerbread items on hand and make a big gingerbread tree.  Almost all of what I used are Dollar Tree items. It is in the corner of our dining room, and are still some boxes to put back away around it, so I did not get a full photo yet. 

I also finished my giant cupcake for the front porch last weekend. It was super easy to make.  I used a clear plastic round tray, and a can of expanding insulating foam for the frosting.  The cherry is a large Dollar Tree ornament.  The blue planter is also from the Dollar Tree Plus section.  I bought it last summer, and grew plants in it. Since the foam is on the plastic tray, I just laid it on top of the planter.  I can remove it from the planter whenever I am ready to grow plants again.  I will be making a few more cupcakes  next summer when the planters are in the stores. 

My blog post this week is a round up of our favorite reindeer recipes.   The Reindeer on Rye recipe pictured is from when my son shared recipes for Cooking with Kyle.  Also included in the round up are Reeses Cup Reindeer, Magic Reindeer Corn and more. 

If you have not had the chance to check out my Amazon Storefront or LTK store linked in my Instagram bio, I would love it if you went over and took a look.  I am sharing the fun finds I see at Target, Walmart, Kohl's and more.   In my Amazon store, I am adding a lot of gift, and stocking stuffer ideas. 

Well now that you know what I have been up to this week, I would love to see what you have been up to.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

 

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My favorite easy Christmas reindeer recipes

We are currently watching the Reindeer Games on Big Brother.  That show made me think that I have several reindeer recipes on the blog from over the years that would be be fun to revisit. 

One of my favorite reindeer recipes is from when my son made these Reindeer on Rye Sandwiches for his cooking series Cooking with Kyle. 

Another fun recipe was our Magic Reindeer Corn. It is so yummy for humans, or if you sprinkle some in the front yard so the reindeer stop by with Santa. 

These marshmallow reindeer pops really came in handy one night when I found out the night before my daughter needed them, that she needed 35 treats for her classmates the next day.  They were easy to make and the kids loved them. 

These Reeses Cup Reindeer are quick and easy to make, and quite the favorite at a holiday party.

While this is not an actual reindeer recipe, it is one of our favorite fudges to make every year. Here is our recipe for Rocky Road Fudge.  It is mix of chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, and marshmallow.. :) 

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It's Time to Dare to Share!

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!

 How can it only be 10 days until Christmas?  Being sick the last few weeks has caused me to be very behind on our Christmas prep.  We will finally be putting out our Christmas tree this weekend.  It is normally up a few weeks earlier than this and it feels weird that it is not up yet.   I have been able to get some of my Christmas DIYs finished, so it does feel a little Christmasy, just not   

In the corner of our dining room we now have a five foot gingerbread.  I made two six foot standing Halloween characters to greet the trick or treaters this year, and decided to use the same process to make a slightly smaller gingerbread. You can see how to make them all in my post How to make a giant gingerbread nutcracker.

I have been working on a few other Dollar Tree Christmas DIYS this week as well, I just have not had time to blog about them yet.  

Over on Instagram this week I have been sharing lots of stocking stuffer ideas, and Dollar Tree finds.  I have also been adding a lot of new gift ideas in my Amazon Storefront and LTK store in my Instagram Bio. 

In my Etsy Shop my Christmas Treasure Hunts are really beginning to sell.  I have several different versions if you are looking for a fun game to play with you kids. 

Well now that you know what I have been up to this week, I would like to see what you have been up to.  

Link up and HAVE FUN! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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How to Make a Giant Gingerbread Nutcracker

 

This past weekend I finally finished a Christmas craft that I had hoped to have finished a few weeks ago.  Being sick two times in the last month, I had to delay the project just a bit. 

Standing in the corner of our dining room there now stands a five foot tall gingerbread boy.  I am just over 5 feet tall, and we are approximately the same height.  

This past Halloween I made six foot monster nutcrackers that stood our our porch greeting the trick or treaters. I had hoped to share a blog post on how to make them, but I finished the witch so last minute, I decided to write a post on how to make a Christmas standing nutcracker. Both sizes of nutcrackers are made the same way, and can be decorated any way you want. 

I used three regular size Dollar Tree laundry baskets to make the taller monsters, and three smaller baskets to make the gingerbread. 

All three nutcrackers use the same legs. You will need a piece of foam board for each leg, and a pizza pan for the base.  Roll each piece of foam board, and secure it with a couple of zip ties. I then used a combination of E6000 and hot glue to attach the legs to the pizza pan. 

One reason why I chose to make the gingerbread man a with the smaller baskets is because it uses less poster board. I used a 3 1/2 pieces of brown poster board that I bought from Hobby Lobby for only 99 cents.  I used two pieces to cover the baskets.

I used thin strips of poster board to cover where I attached the poster board on each side. It will be covered with part of a pool noodle for the arms. 

When making the larger nutcrackers I needed up to 6 pieces of different colored poster board.  I used purple, black and green for the monsters. 

I used part of a poster board to shape the head, and then I cut out a circle to cover it.  You will also need a circle to cover the body, so the head has something to sit on. I have about half a poster board left. 

I used craft foam to make the gingerbread's face and buttons. I did get a little more detailed, and made some 3D features on the monsters. The gingerbread man is a little more simple with flat circles and wavy icing pieces. 

I glued on the craft foam details and the pool noodle arms. Each arm is a little less than half a noodle.  I still might add a few more details. 

I found a couple of peppermints in a package of gingerbread house wall decor (also from the Dollar Tree)  I had made a little peppermint tree out of a styrofoam cone and a strand of tinsel.  I sat it on his head just to see what it would look like. It kind of looks like a peppermint hat.  :) 

He now stands in the corner of the dining room in what is being decorated in a gingerbread theme. 

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It's Party Time! Let's Dare to Share!

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!  

Last weekend we started our Christmas shopping, and doing a few Christmasy things. Then on Monday I felt a familiar feeling. I then woke up on Tuesday sick again! This is the  fourth time in four months. Thankfully though, I think it is just a simple cold this time, and is almost gone. I am so ready to go more than a couple of weeks without catching something.   I know it's a downfall of working with small children, but it has been a lot for me. 

Because I was not well most of the week, I did not write a blog post.  I have been working a little bit on my Christmas DIYs that I had hoped to have done before December.  Better late than never, I guess. I will be sharing those as soon as I am done. 

One thing that I was able to finish this week was my newest  Christmas Treasure Hunt. In this hunt they are using the clues searching for hidden gifts or a surprise.  

If you have a Christmas elf you will want to check out my Instagram.  Lately I have been sharing a lot of ideas for your elf, by using finds from the Dollar Tree and Dollar Spot of Target.  I have been sharing more Dollar Tree find reels as well. 

Speaking of Target and Instagram while you are over on Instagram,  check out my new Amazon Storefront and LTK store in my Instagram bio. I have been sharing a lot of affordable gift ideas for everyone in the family.  

Well now that you know what I have been up to this week, I would like to see what you have been up to.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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