candy kabobs and pipe cleaner doggies {valentine ideas}

Fun last-minute Valentine ideas from Jennifer! Oh, and if you want to read the really funny true story behind her doggie favors below, check out her other blog, 5 Fat Friends. Enjoy!

My family is very patient with me. I am a little late mailing gifts for every holiday. Birthdays, Christmas, you name it. I’ve been thinking about Valentine's Day for weeks, but I got my grandkids packages in the mail today. Everyone likes getting mail even if it’s late.

I made these cute little candy skewers for all the grandkids and little nieces and nephews. This is such an easy project. You just thread candy on skewers.

I don’t remember where I bought the bamboo skewers, but I think they are available just about anywhere. I bought a little of the candy at a candy store, but it was about $9 a pound. I stopped at a couple of grocery stores and didn’t find much candy that I thought would work. Then I stopped at TOP Foods in Snohomish (WA). They have a ton of bulk food. It was all less than $4 a pound, so check your local grocery stores for bulk candy. I bought lots of soft gummy candies and heart shaped peeps. I dumped it all out at my house, sorted it into bowls and started threading it on the skewers. When I had it all skewered I wrapped it in cellophane and tied it with a bow.

I saw these cute little Valentine dogs on anther blog and knew that I had everything on hand to make some, so I decided to add them to my family's Valentine package. You just need pipe cleaners, google eyes and some tacky glue. I made the first one while waiting to for my husband to finish up some computer work. His expression was so cute that I just had to make a few more. Before I knew it, I had a whole table full of puppies. My fingers got sore so I started shaping the pipe cleaners with a pair of pliers. This project was so simple and so addicting that I made them all in a couple of hours. A friend dropped by this evening with her 5-year-old son and he enjoyed putting together his own puppy. It might make a great family project!

Happy Valentine's Day!