My son was gearing up to make his class Valentine’s cards- hand made, of course- and we decided on a compromise: make decorated juice box sleeves that would double as his cards for his classmates. (For you new readers, I’m big on juice box sleeves- see my posts here.)

We had fun cutting out 2 sizes of hearts on the Cricut (we used the hearts on the Plantin Schoolbook cart), and then we ran the larger heart through the Cuttlebug embossing folders to add texture. We used a plain Elmer’s gluestick to layer the 2 hearts together, and all was well.

However, when it came time to adhere the foil-covered chocolate hearts, we ran into a major adhesive malfunction! I was using the new Elmer’s Glue Adhesive Dot Stamper (which worked great on my daughter’s birthday-themed cutouts earlier in the week.)

I noticed that the candy hearts were pulling away and unwrapping with such a light-weight adhesive, even if I used two! Ooops! Wrong product for the job! Enter in Pop-up Glue Dots to save the day! One of these thick, wide, ultra-tacky dots held the candy securely to the paper sleeve!

I tell you this not to diss Elmer’s product- I LOVE many of their products- but rather to illuminate the point- you MUST have the right adhesive for the job for a craft to be successful. I’ll continue to use the Dot Stamper when adhering paper-to-paper for cards, tags, and scrapbooking- but I’m going to keep my “powerhouse” Glue Dots around for the heavy lifting!

Check out the other project I made on CraftsUnleashed, featuring Glue Dots: Candy Roses! You can make those just in time for Valentines’ Day, too!

You’ll need:

• white craft glue, like tacky glue or Sobo (“super” glue optional)
• about 6 inches of velvet ribbon, 1/2 inch wide (grosgrain will work in a pinch. The velvet actually helps to grip the hair, and keep the clip from sliding out. Do NOT use satin ribbon for this reason.)
• “alligator” hair clip
• 1 small heart-shaped yo-yo
• 1 small button

To start put a little glue on one end of the BACK of your ribbon. Open up the hair clip, and start gluing the wrong side of the ribbon to the INSIDE TOP of the clip. Wrap it around to the top (you can let go of the clip now, and let the spring hold it in place.) and glue the ribbon to the top. Make sure you match the edges of the ribbon, so that it lines up nicely. Do an eyeball measurement and figure out how much more you’ll need to go OVER the top PINCH portion of the clip, and down over the edge- to the spring. Give yourself about 1/4 inch more. Trim the ribbon to length, and then glue the raw edge under. Finish gluing your ribbon over the pinchy part of the clip, and the folded-over edge to the back side. Set it aside to set up.

If you haven’t made your yo-yo, do it now… (or use felt hearts, flowers, etc.) When you’re done sew a button into the gathered hole of the yo-yo. Use double thread for strength, and add a dab of glue to the knot. You can also add a rhinestone, if it’s one of those buttons that’s flat on top. Just glue your rhinestones in securely, using a “super” type glue. Don’t want those suckers falling off and little ones eating them!

Now you can stitch or glue your yo-yo embellishment to your ribbon-bedecked clip. Since my little girl is past the “stick-it-in-your-mouth” phase, I just glued my yo-yo on. (And I actually used Fabri-Tac glue for that, now that I think of it!) Let it all dry for a few hours or overnight, and presto! You’ve got some fun and cutie-patootie clips for your tresses!

If you’d like to read my review of  the Clover Heart-Shaped Yo-Yo makers, check it out here.

I used some Strathmore cards (just watercolor paper card blanks) and a smudged on some chalks to create the background. I also dusted on some pearl-ex gold powder to add some shimmer to it. I added some felt lace and photo corners, and then cut a 2 1/2 square window. I affixed the yo-yo with button embellishment to the “inside” of the card, so it’s still there when you open the front cover.

It’s not a very fancy card, but charming nonetheless!

To see my review of the Clover Heart Yo-Yo maker, click here.

To see my other Yo-Yo Crafts, click here.

I ran across a blog: Ramblings of a Crazy Woman, who had two absolutely cute ideas for candy hearts! The first is making bingo game with them! You know, make a grid and put the sayings on the hearts in the squares. Then pull hearts and read them to cover up your squares.

How Craftastic is this???!!!???

She also suggests gluing the candy hearts to the outside of a glass votive candle to make cute little decorations. (I guess that’s better than eating all fo them!) I wonder if they hold up year to year?

Another Craftastic idea.

I found an Etsy artist by the handle of “Luaricsales” who embeds candy hearts in resin and makes pendants. That’s also a novel idea with the left-overs. Resin can be a little fussy, but even newbie crafters can be successful with it.

Carol from “In The Nest” blog came up with this idea for topiaries…. she’s go full instructions on her blog. Looks easy and cute!

Or how about making Candy Heart Tacks for your bulletin board? Found this step -by – step on OffBeatLiving.com.

And, lastly, but not leastly, I have a YouTube vid for you about making a non-edible pretzel wreaths.

I think I need to go have a snack!