DIY No-Bake Candy Buttons!

If you were a child of the 90's (heck, if you were a child of the 1930s!) you're familiar with candy buttons, or candy dots. They're drops of colored sugar on a piece of paper. While they're a classic of everyone's childhood (ok, most people), they did have a couple of disadvantages:

1. You always had paper stuck to the bottom of them and you subjected yourself to eating paper.
2. You were stuck with the three flavors made - cherry, lime (the blue ones), and lemon.

But did you know you can make your own? With the help of some Jello and wax paper, you can pick any flavors you want (grape, orange, berry blue - you name it) and not have to deal with eating paper anymore!

Here's what you'll need to make your own candy buttons:

1. White card stock paper
2. Wax paper
3. Jello (I chose cherry, orange, and lemon)
4. Powdered sugar
5. An egg white
6. Scissors
7. Double-sided tape
8. Plastic bags (for however many flavors you're making. 3 flavors = 3 bags)


Start by cutting your paper into 2"x11" strips (1 sheet of paper should get you 4 strips).

Do the same for the wax paper - cut four strips of 2"x11" wax paper.

Use double sided tape to attach the wax paper to the card stock.

Mix together 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar with 1 egg white in a mixer for 3-4 minutes.

Divide the mixture into as many bowls as you have flavors. Add 1/4 tsp. of Jello powder to each bowl.

Put each mixture into it's own plastic bag, cut off a bit of the corner, and squeeze the filling through the bag onto the wax paper. I did four rows of each color but however you want to divide it up is totally up to you.

Let them harden overnight and that's it! Your homemade candy buttons are ready to be eaten! The great thing about choosing the flavors you want is that you can color-coordinate with whatever holiday is nearby (red/white/blue for 4th of July, green/red for Christmas, and the ones I made look ideal for Valentine's Day).

Be warned: you'll have enough to make quite a lot! I made 8 paper strips and probably could have made 9!

TOTAL COSTS: About $12 to make 288 buttons, or 8 strips of 36 buttons

$.99/box of Jello
$2.49 for powdered sugar
$2.49 for a dozen eggs (but you only need 1 egg white)
$4.09 for double-sided tape
$2.09 for box of sandwich bags
Wax paper, card stock, and scissors already on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 40 minutes + overnight to harden

15 minutes to cut out the paper and wax paper strips (though I used a ruler and was very exact, which took time)

15 minutes to whip up the powdered sugar and egg white and to add the Jello powder

10 minutes to pipe on four sheets

Overnight to harden

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5

The only "difficult" part might be getting even-sized dots, if you're not used to piping. However, the more you do it, the easier it'll be and this project certainly gives you enough to practice with!

Red Velvet Cinnamon Truffles

Many people really enjoyed my post about Oreo Peppermint Truffles so in the spirit of American Heart Month (and Valentine's Day), I saw this post about red velvet truffles and wanted to try them with a hint of cinnamon on top. Now let me point out this recipe is in no way heart-healthy, I'm simply associating it with American Heart Month because it's red. So, with that being said, let's get started!

You can either make the red velvet cake from scratch, or you can buy mix from the store like I did and save yourself some time and energy. Along with that, you'll need:


* Cream cheese (original post calls for 3oz. but because I bought a cake mix, I used 8oz.)
* White chocolate coating (original post calls for 12oz. but I used 16oz. of vanilla candy coating)
* Powdered sugar (original post calls for 1/2 Cup but I used 2 Cups)
* (optional) Cinnamon imperials for the top of the truffles


Make your red velvet cake first. It doesn't matter how it looks because you're going to be breaking it up into crumbs later. So don't worry if you try flipping the cake onto a cooling rack and you accidentally tear off the bottom of the cake that's still stuck to the pan... like some people... ahem...

Once your cake is baked and cooled, start to combine your cream cheese and powdered sugar in a bowl.

Next, crumble up your cake and start to add it to the bowl.

Using a Tablespoon, scoop out some mix and using the palms of your hands, roll into balls and place onto a plate. Note: your hands are going to get very messy!

Now the original post says to put them in the fridge for at least 4 hours... well, I did 30 minutes in the fridge and about 20 in the freezer and they were fine. During this time, melt your chocolate so it's ready by the time you take your cake balls out. Shouldn't take too long to melt at all.

Dip your cake balls into the chocolate and place on a plate.

If you like, you can decorate each with three cinnamon imperials. Note that even with 16 oz. of chocolate, I was only able to cover 28 of the 45 truffles.

Place back in the fridge to harden and take out when you're ready to devour!

TOTAL COSTS: About $13 to make 45 truffles (all prices are from Vons)
$1.99 for cake mix
$1.99 for powdered sugar
$1.99 for Cream cheese
$4.49 for CandiQuik
$1.99 for cinnamon imperials

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 2 hours, 45 minutes
35 minutes to make the cake
20 minutes to let cake cool
40 minutes to make balls
30 minutes to let balls harden in fridge
20 minutes to let balls harden in freezer
20 minutes to put chocolate and cinnamons on balls

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
It's practically a cake walk (har har) - the only "difficult" thing is to keep an eye on the chocolate so it doesn't burn. Other than that, they're as delicious as they look!

Geeky Valentine's Day Cards

Do you have a kid who is obsessed with video games like Minecraft? Or are you with someone who misses old school Atari games? Why not make them a Valentine's Day card that'll be right up their alley! I found both of these cards on Instructables with easy step-by-step instructions but since my blog is about breaking down the how to, how much AND how hard to projects, I'll provide my own step-by-step instructions with photos and tips of what not to do!

Card #1 - The Pixelated Pop-Up Heart

Here's what you'll need:
1. Tape or glue
2. Scissors
3. Ruler
4. X-acto knife
5. Whatever colored paper you want for the card (I used red construction paper)
6. Whatever colored paper you want for the envelope (I used white card stock)
7. Something to protect your table while cutting (I used scrap cardboard)
8. A printer to print off the heart template and the envelope template


Once your templates have been printed, cut out the heart template and start cutting where the yellow lines are and scoring (i.e. - not cutting all the way through) on the gray lines. This will be the longest and the most detailed step so take your time and if you mess up, that's ok, that's what the second heart is for!



Next, you'll need to fold only parts of the paper, not the entire paper. See where the yellow lines are? That's where you'll want to fold.

Blue line = bad folding. Yellow lines = correct folding

Do NOT fold like the blue line because your heart will not pop up correctly.

Bad folding. Bad, bad folding.

Slowly start to pop out the heart (I recommend pushing from the back very gently). It pops up easier than you think. Then get another piece of paper and tape or glue it to the back.

Cut out your envelope template, fold on the dotted lines and tape it together to hold your card. Note that your card will not lie flat so don't force it!

And that's it! I gave mine to Batman... he was shocked I didn't cut myself once while making this.

TOTAL COSTS: $4.29 (still cheaper than buying a nice card from the store!)
20 cents for a piece of white card stock from Staples
$1.09 for a piece of red card stock from Staples
(though you could use printer paper and construction paper)
$3 for an x-acto knife at Blick's
Tape, scissors, cardboard, ruler, and a printer were all on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 15 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 3 out of 5
It's not difficult to score and cut the lines, it's just time-consuming and you really have to pay attention or you could accidentally cut what should have been scored and then the heart won't pop-up!


Card #2 - Retro Valentine's Day Card


Here's what you'll need:
1. Packaging tape (though any clear tape would do)
2. Scissors
3. X-acto knife
4. White card stock (I only needed 1 piece, not 2)
5. Red construction paper (though card stock works too)
6. Something to protect your table while cutting (I used scrap cardboard)
7. A printer to print off the template


First, print out the template and cut out the pink and the white cards. After they're both cut out, trace one of them onto the red paper and cut out a sheet of the same size.

Next is the hardest part - cutting out the red hearts but leaving the black lines intact. This is not easy and will take forever, but it'll be worth it in the end. Just make sure you have something protecting your table and take your time!

Once the hearts are cut out, tape the pink card to the red card along the top, bottom, and left side, so as to create a pocket.

Draw a small square on the right side and cut it out.

Then make sure your "Happy Valentine's Day" white card can fit inside the pocket you made and draw a small arrow pointing out, so the recipient can "fill" in the hearts when they pull on the tab.

And you're done! Now be careful if you're going to write a note on the white card, because it could show through the heart.

That big white space makes it tempting to write something...

But you'll see it through the hearts!

Batman liked this one so much he ate it up. Literally.

TOTAL COSTS: About $7
20 cents for a piece of white card stock from Staples
$1.09 for a piece of red card stock from Staples
$3 for an x-acto knife from Blick's
$2.99 for packaging tape from Vons
Scissors, cardboard, and printer already on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 30 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 4 out of 5
It's really difficult to cut out the hearts while leaving the black outline intact, especially around the middle point of the heart. With time and patience, though, you should be able to get it!

Fruit Roll-Up Fortune Cookie Valentines

I've posted a few Valentine's Day gifts for him and her... but what about the kiddos?? I'm sure you would want to let your little ones know how special they are to you and what better way than to secretly include a fortune "cookie" in their lunch with a little note, just from you! I found this post on SheKnows and wanted to give you a few tips before tackling this project:

First, get your supplies together:

1. Parchment paper
2. A DARK marker (you'll see why later)
3. Fruit Roll-Ups
4. Scissors
5. A round cookie cutter or something to trace around with a knife (I used the top of my Women's One-a-Day Vitamins jar)

First, write your messages. Cut strips of parchment paper to put inside the fruit roll-ups (mine measured to be roughly 1 3/4" x 1/2"). Draw a heart and write a message - my marker was pink and barely showed up on the paper, so keep that in mind when writing your notes.

Next, the original post suggests laying four Fruit Roll-Ups on top of each other before cutting them out with your cookie cutter/tracing the circles out, but I recommend three layers (it's not as thick and bulky but I encourage experimenting!). Note that my Fruit Roll-Ups were multiple colors so I divided them into green/red and yellow/red circles.

Once your circles are ready, lay your message down and bring the top and bottom together. I found it helped to pinch all around the edges before bending the center in to make it look like a fortune cookie.

Note: if you choose to only do 1 layer of Fruit Roll-Up per fortune...

Chances are you'll be able to see right through. Also, I found it doesn't stick together very well.

Bend it in the middle and you're done! Your kid will have a fun treat at lunch and know just how much you love them without being embarrassed in front of all their friends!

TOTAL COSTS: $6 to make as many as you can!
$3.99 for Fruit Roll-Ups
$3.99 for parchment paper from Target
Scissors and marker already on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 45 minutes
15 minutes to make the fortunes
30 minutes to cut out and form the "cookies"

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
It helps there aren't a lot of steps to take to make these adorable treats for your little ones. Be creative and Happy Valentine's Day!

Coconut Oil Valentine's Day Gifts

Ok, why hasn't anyone told me the awesomeness of coconut oil yet? Seriously, this stuff is so versatile... cooking and baking, beauty, ointments... someone put together a list of 101 uses and I just tried two tonight. Guys - if you need an easy, cheap, homemade Valentine's Day gift for your lady friend, go to your kitchen and get these four things to make a body/shave scrub and a facial scrub:

1. Coconut oil
2. Sugar
3. Baking soda
4. 2 empty jars

Don't know where to get coconut oil? I know for a fact that Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Vons has some. So you have no excuse. Sorry.

Ok, so in one jar, mix equal parts coconut oil and baking soda (for facial scrub). In the other jar, mix equal parts coconut oil and sugar (for the body/shave scrub). Then combine.

    

Notice how it all pretty much looks the same? You'll want to make sure you know which jar is which, as the sugar is going to feel better on the legs than baking soda (since it's a natural exfoliant). If you happen to have any lavender or peppermint extract, or a couple drops of red food coloring, that would be a nice added bonus, but certainly not necessarily. Make some labels by hand or print some out, give to your sweetie, and be silently pleased with yourself when she gives you a big smackeroo.

Now, does the body/shave scrub actually work? Well, I shaved one leg with it and one without and the leg that had the scrub felt a lot smoother. Now, this could just be a psychological, but hey, it's cheaper than any shaving gel on the shelves!

TOTAL COSTS: About $14 to make as much as you want!

$10 for coconut oil

$2.69 for sugar
$1.59 for baking soda

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Less than 5 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5

Seriously, it's three ingredients to make two awesome scrubs. Doesn't get much easier than that!