Candy Wreath: Pretty in Peppermint

I've always loved candy wreaths. I've seen them done a variety of ways: with gumdrops, candy canes, sweet hearts and red hots. I think the fascination with circular candy crafts started when I lived in Hawaii and I discovered candy leis. Taking a normal, long-standing boring old floral tradition and shaking it up with candy would astound any six-year-old, right? It's only logical that I became fascinated with the idea of replacing every ordinary object in my life with candy. And during the holidays, well, I can actually get away with it!

This year, I decided to tackle my very own candy wreath with festive holiday peppermints. I bought the candy for my candy wreath at Smart & Final. Seriously, their candy section is divine. Bulk confections at awesome prices that really can't be beat. I make numerous trips to Smart & Final during every holiday season.

How to make a Candy Wreath

You'll need:

• Smart & Final Starlight Peppermints
• 12-inch styrofoam wreath
• Hot glue gun
• 3-4 feet of red ribbon
• Clear spray lacquer

Unwrap all of the peppermint candies.

Glue them onto the styrofoam base for the candy wreath, starting in the center and working your way out. You'll want to place each peppermint candy layer slightly adjacent to the last one to fill in as much of the wreath as possible.

Don't stress too much if you can't completely cover the wreath and there are some gaps where the peppermint candies don't meet completely. It'll look okay in the end.

This is where I did things a little wrong. I should have sprayed my candy wreath with a clear coat of lacquer before hanging it on the door. Instead, I hung it up, snapped a couple nighttime photos and went to bed.

The next morning, it looked like this. The thick morning dew came in and totally melted my candy wreath. Oops. I was about to start over when a guest dropped by, saw it on the counter and said, “Oooh, I love how you made it all swirly. How'd you do that?” So I rolled with it and acted like it was intentional. Shhhh, don't tell!

If you want the “swirly” look yourself, go ahead and spray your wreath with a heavy coat of water and let it dry overnight. Then spray it with a couple clear coats of lacquer to protect it from further meltiness. Make sure your candy wreath is completely dry before hanging it up (tip: I flipped it over and sprayed the backside of the candy wreath just to make sure that no rogue melty peppermints would get stuck to my door).