Levine - Candy aisle crafts: create fun projects with supermarket sweets

Copyright 2014 by Jodi Levine
Photographs copyright 2014 by Amy Gropp Forbes

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Potter Craft, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.pottercraft.com

POTTER CRAFT and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-0-8041-3791-1
eBook ISBN 978-0-8041-3792-8

Cover design by Robin Rosenthal
Cover photographs by Amy Gropp Forbes

v3.1

For Fred, Sammy, and Lionel, the loves of my life. And for my mom and dad.

JODI

For Adam, Oliver, Owen, and Beatrice.

AMY

JODI LEVINE carried a paper flower bouquet of her own design and fabrication at her wedding in 2000. She wore a dress of taffeta and tulle, which looked as if it had been made with paper coffee filter ruffles and tissue paper flounce (Jodi had also designed a paper dress but was persuaded that it was too perishable in the heat and humidity of August). The table decorations were paper lanterns and crepe-paper bloomsthe bridesmaids carried colorful paper fans in pink and pale blue and foil, and the boutonniere was made of small paper blossoms. Our magazine published this charming wedding and called it A Paper Pastoral. It was a very, very popular story and resonated deeply with so many DIY brides, many of whom emulated the lovely, affordable, but extremely charming ideas at their own weddings.

In the intervening years, Jodi continued her inventive and innovative crafting, and this book is an amusing and inspiring depiction of more of her practical, fun, and inexpensive projects geared to children. Jodi has two active boys who have been sounding boards for her recent craft projects. This book is her gift to usbusy mothers and grandmothers who are always searching for clever ideas, colorful how-tos, and simple, clear instructions using easy-to-find, commonplace materials.

Children and adults alike will love these projects, and after-noons after school and long weekends can now be more creative with Jodis delightful ideas.

AS A KID, I loved combing the aisles of supermarkets for potential supplies for my crafts. Some of my favorite finds were paper plates, doilies, cardboard anything, and candy. Like many kids, I loved candy, but less for eating it than for their colors and shapes and packaging. I thought of it as another craft material possibility. Not that I didnt have a sweet tooth, but baked goodies were more my weakness. I couldnt quite convince my mom to get me these sugary suppliesshe didnt buy my story that I wouldnt eat themand so I got my start in food crafting by making bread dough sculptures out of her scraps, flowers out of cucumber spears, and anything I could using what I found in our kitchen.

My handed-down Betty Crockers Cook Book for Boys and Girls had a formative influence on me. I loved to flip through the pages and see a pear half transformed into a bunny, fudge turtle cookies with pecan arms and legs, and pancakes in the shapes of animals. Food that looked like things! When I was old enough to cook and bake I often turned to this beloved book and made novel desserts, using candy as decorations.

Although I went to art school, I never dreamed I would have a job that allowed me to craft all day long. Luckily enough, I got to do just that working as a craft editor at Martha Stewart Living . In my nineteen years there, some of my favorite projects were the crafty food ones. My passion for this kind of work overflowed and I decided that I needed do a book on edible crafts. I love the idea of transforming common food items like marshmallows and gumdrops. After mulling over the idea for a few years, I started talking about it with my longtime friend and former colleague, Amy Gropp Forbes. Amy was taking a photography class at the time and I fell in love with the photos she took of her children. Her blog, Eclectic Mom, is all about the crafts and projects she does with her family, and our shared interest in these activities prompted me to ask her to partner with me. We had worked together on many kids stories when she was a food editor at Martha Stewart Living, but our friendship deepened when we found out that not only were we pregnant with our firstborns at the same time, but that we even shared the same due date! We both love crafting and cooking with our kids, and we talked and talked for weeks about the idea of doing a book together. Eventually, we agreed that crafts using accessible supermarket materials were really at the heart of what we wanted to focus on, and this book was born.

Some of the prettiest and most craft-friendly edible supermarket materials are candy, but as a mom (like my mom did) I felt conflicted about pushing sugary ideas. Then I thought about the wise Cookie Monster and his realization that there are anytime foods and sometimes foods. It is exciting to be able to make something magical for sometimes occasions like holidays and birthdays with commonplace items from the supermarket. Candy Aisle Crafts is full of ideas for parties, holidays, and rainy days that adults and kids can do separately or together. We hope you will enjoy!

MANY OF YOU PROBABLY remember making stained-glass cookies by crushing hard candies and melting them inside a cutout cookie frame. The stained-glass cookies in my 1970s Do a ZOOM Do craft book were my intro to the endless possibilities of melting hard candies. Later, while attending art school, I had a roommate who was a glassblower, and I became fascinated with hand-blown millefiori glass and, eventually, blown sugar. I had neither the skills nor equipment to do either. Instead, I started collecting and melting store-bought candy. The projects in this chapter use this technique. Making the colorful candy creations feels like working with glassand the only equipment needed is an oven!