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hA very simple, yet eye-catching Christmas craft is the hard candy wreath. Give it to friends as a gift around the holidays, or hang one on your door or office cubicle. Because it encourages people to take a piece (or two!) of candy, it's always a conversation piece and a nice way to add some holiday cheer. Kids especially love this decoration!
What you'll need:
* lots of plastic wrapped hard candies (either a multi-colored assortment, of the festive, red and white peppermint striped)
* sharp scissors for cutting and curling ribbon
* lots of colored curling ribbon (again, depending on your candy choice, choose complimentary colors)
* wire coat hanger, or wreath form
* one large bow for top of wreath
* spare "kids" scissors to attach to wreath
What you do:
* If using a wire coat hanger, you'll need to cut it and form it into a circle, depending upon the size wreath you wish to make. Of course, the bigger the ring, the more candy you'll need--you want the wreath to be FULL of candy!
* Next, cut a number of pieces of ribbon into 12" strips.
* Then take one piece of ribbon and make a loop around the ring, the way you would to tie a bow. Before you tighten it, insert the plastic wrapper of the candy and then pull it tight and tie a knot. Take the sharp scissors and curl the ends of the ribbon tight to the ring.
* Keep in mind as you go along, that you want to completely hide the ring, so getting the candy snugly against the wire is very important.
* Continue this all the way around the ring, overlapping some of the pieces to make the wreath fuller. Leaving some of the ribbon curls a bit longer than the other adds a nice effect as well.
* When all the candy is in place, attach the bow to the top of the wreath.
* Finally, cut one piece of curling ribbon approximately 6" longer than the length of your wreath. Tie one end to one of the scissors' handles, and the other to the top of the wreath at the back. The scissors should hang down below the wreath, thereby welcoming visitors to snip off the treats!
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