Giant candy decorations are so much fun and I just love making them! I have been busy making them for months to decorate my house as a huge gingerbread house for Christmas. I've made giant rock candy, candy canes, gum drops, candy necklaces, Sixlets, and lots of different lollipops! As I have been busy creating decorations, I have also been working to create tutorials that I can share with you! This is the third tutorial in my mini series on how to make giant candy decorations. Join my email list to make sure you don’t miss out on fun future tutorials!
Step 1: Gathering Materials
This is a very simple project with the super shortlist of materials. All you need is:
3 pool noodles of any color
6 shades of pastel paint (suggested colors - pink, blue, white, yellow, orange, and green
1 to 2" paintbrush
Pair of scissors
Long string at least 7'-8' long
80 grit sandpaper
Step 2: Sand Your Noodles
Before applying any paint to the noodles it is important to give them each a quick sanding using a rough grit sandpaper (I use 80 grit). This will remove the shiny coating in the noodle and create a rough surface for the paint to adhere. If you skip this step your paint will not stick!
Step 3: Paint Your Noodles
Once all of your noodles are roughed up, it is time to cut them in half and get to painting. Paint each noodle half with one of your six paint colors.
A helpful hip before you start painting is to make sure you know where you're going to put the noodles after they are painted! I recommend placing them on sticks that you poke into the ground outside. I also leave a small portion at one end of the noodle unpainted so that I have a place to hold it without getting paint all over my hands. Let the paint dry completely. Depending on the thickness of your paint and the temperature of the air this could take anywhere from just a few minutes to several hours.
Step 4: Cutting the Candy
Once the noodles are painted and dried it is time to cut them into candy bits. I recommend cutting the noodles into 1.25" slices but there's definitely no rule saying you need to be that exact!! I use a piece of cardboard with 1.25" marks as a quick and easy guide to help me cut my noodle candies to size. Use a serrated knife to cut the noodles into slices.
Step 5: Shape the Candies
Using a pair of scissors, cut the outer edge off each candy at a 45 degree angle on the top and bottom. These cuts will shape your candy. Yes, I know that I am telling you to cut off some of the paint you just put on but don't fret, it's all good!
Step 6: Back to Painting Again
Now comes the long step! Time to paint the top and bottoms of each piece of candy. This is not a hard step, just time consuming. If you cut your candies into 1.25" pieces and use 3 noodles for this project, you should end up with approximately 128 pieces of pool noodle to paint!
To make it as quick as possible, I like to use a pretty big paint brush (1-2"), and I don't worry about keeping my fingers clean. It is messy, but placing 2 fingers in the noodle slice to stabilize it, and quickly brushing on some paint with the wide paint brush helps make quick work of this step...or as quick as it can be.
Step 7: String Em' Up
Once all the candy pieces are painted and dried they can finally be strung. This step doesn't really need much of an explanation. Simply string the candies on your cord (I used .5" elastic) in any order you like. When done, tie the ends together to make a loop. All done!
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