Candy Corn Wreath

Preserve wreath and KEEP THE BUGS AWAY by following these directions FIRST:

Don’t have to let all your hard work go to waste after Halloween is over!  

1. Dry Out Your Candy Corn
Since candy corn is sweet—and therefore sticky—the most important thing you can do to preserve your handiwork is to let it dry out completely before you begin the project. This allows the natural moisture to evaporate, making it much easier to work with and less attractive to bugs. To do this, spread out the candy in a single layer on a metal baking sheet or wax paper. Store in a cool, dry place for 3 to 7 days until candy hardens, becomes stale and loses its sticky feeling.

2. Coat the Candy Corn
Once it’s been dried out, coat the candy corn with Krylon’s Preserve It! spray-on protectant to preserve the color and keep insects away, recommends a Michaels store manager. Lay candy on wax paper in a single layer and apply spray according to product directions. Follow the manufacturer’s recommended drying times for handling candy. Once the protectant has completely dried, flip candy over and repeat on the other side until drying process is done. Available behind the counter at most Michaels stores or at JoAnn.com.

Note: If you've already completed the wreath, you can still spray on a layer of Preserve It! to keep the bugs away. Apply several coats to the wreath and follow the manufacturer's drying times before hanging it up.
After October 31, simply wrap the wreath in plastic and store carefully in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

1. You’ll need a Styrofoam wreath (ours is 16 in.), black duct tape, a hot-glue gun, a wide ribbon and candy corn (we used Brach’s).

2. Cover the wreath in tape.

3. To get a sense of how the corns will fit, lay them around the wreath in single rows, with one row pointing left and the next pointing right, but don’t glue down. (It won’t take long and your final product will be more polished.) Remove the corn from the wreath and hot-glue the pieces in the pattern one at a time, starting from the outer edge of the wreath inward, until you’ve covered the entire top and side.

4. Repeat the process in the center, starting at the same point as you did for the top so that you can cover any corn-free space with the ribbon when you’re finished.
5. Wrap ribbon through the wreath at the candy corn seam, tie into a bow and hang on a sturdy nail.



SOURCES:
Photos: Todd Huffman/Woman's Day
http://busybhomemaker.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html
http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Home/Crafts/Halloween-Craft-Candy-Corn-Wreath.html
http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Home/Crafts/Preserving-Your-Candy-Corn-Wreath.html