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Valentine’s Day conversation pieces
Candy conversation hearts are used to decorate a wreath for Valentine's Day. | Ryan Pagelow~Sun-Times Media
Updated: February 7, 2013 12:08PM
Make your Valentine’s Day a little sweeter with these crafty ideas that celebrate the holiday’s most iconic candy.
Broken Heart Bark
Don’t worry. In this recipe the only hearts breaking are the ones made with sugar.
You need:
Silicon heart molds (an ice cube tray would also work)
White chocolate candy melts (available at craft stores)
Conversation hearts
Heavy-duty Ziploc bag
Hammer or wooden mallet
Dish towel
Directions:
Break some hearts! Place candy hearts in a Ziploc bag and cover with dish towel. Use hammer or mallet to smash hearts into tiny pieces.
Place heart pieces inside the molds.
Melt white chocolate in the microwave (at 30-second intervals). Pour chocolate over the candy pieces, being sure to fill each mold. Set aside for a few hours until the chocolate hardens.
Pop the bark out of the molds and flip over to showcase the heart mosaics that have formed on top.
Thank you to Meaghan Mountford and her cookie lover’s dream blog, www.thedecoratedcookie.com, for sharing this recipe.
Conversation Heart Wreath
This craft looks tricky but it is actually quite simple. For best results, use a glue gun, unless you are making it with your kids, in which case you might opt to use Styrofoam glue or tacky glue.
You need:
Styrofoam wreath form (available in the floral department of most craft stores)
Conversation hearts
Strong adhesive (glue gun, tacky glue, etc.)
Ribbon
Directions:
Cover the Styrofoam form with candy hearts using small dabs of glue. Be sure to add a line of hearts to the inside and outside of the wreath. When dry, add a ribbon and hang on a door or wall.
Thank you to Erin Sutch and her blog, www.craftsandsutch.com, for sharing this lovely craft.
Conversation Heart Vase
Salt and pepper, cookies and milk, flowers and candy — some things are just meant to go together, which is why this candy-filled flower vase is the ultimate Valentine’s Day craft.
You need:
1 large vase
1 small vase
Conversation hearts
Flowers
Directions:
Place the small vase inside the large vase. Surround the small vase with candy hearts.
Fill small vase with water and place flowers inside.
Tip: If you don’t have a small vase on hand, try using a tall juice glass.
Conversation Heart Games
Perfect for classroom parties or after-school activities, these games take sweet fun to a whole new level.
Color Bingo
You need:
Bingo boards (available at www.pioneerlocal.com/mommy)
Conversation hearts
Directions:
Just like traditional bingo, this game is played by having one player call out colors while the other players mark their boards. The first person to get five across wins. Players can use the candy hearts as markers for their boards and the caller can use them when choosing colors at random.
Memory
In this game, a little preparation goes a long way, as you only want to use hearts that have matching phrases.
You need:
Matching pairs of conversation hearts
Directions:
Set up the board by placing the hearts in a grid. Players take turns flipping over two hearts at a time in a quest to find matching pairs. The person with the most pairs at the end of the game wins.
Sorting and Ordering
Help your kids work on their alphabetizing know-how by placing conversation hearts in alphabetical order. You can also have them sort through the candy and identify the most popular phrases and colors.
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