Friday, February 10, 2012

Old-Fashioned Candy "Milkshakes".

It's February 10th and that means one very important thing:

Breaking Dawn comes out tomorrow.

The Vow comes out today.

It's my last day of being 24!
I'm in full-on celebration mode... which means there's a sparkly purple tiara on my head, which I plan on wearing absolutely everywhere, I'm not even joking, a season of Charmed somewhere about in my room, that I bought and hid from myself two weeks ago, and birthday expeditions being planned that involve spending time with family, hunting down sugary pastries, blowing up balloons, visiting Alcatraz, baking heart-shaped things, maybe some confetti, hopefully some fireworks... and basically spending the entire weekend in my pajamas.

Oh yeah. And somewhere in there are these milkshakes... 
... which fill me with glee and make me crave a strawberry milkshake all at the same time. 
These were so much fun to make and, if you don't super glue M&Ms to yourself and/or buy the wrong size foam ball the first time around, can be put together in less than ten minutes. I'm serious! They're perfect for Valentine's Day, birthday parties, last-minute festive centerpieces or gift-giving... or for absolutely no reason  at all.

Let's do this! 

Old-Fashioned Candy "Milkshakes" 

An ice cream sundae glass 
M&Ms
1 (4-inch, 4 7/8-inch, or 5-inch) white foam ball, cut in half with a sharp knife
Glue dots or a hot glue gun
A straw
Salt water taffy
1 red heart-shaped or round candy (like milk chocolate Lindt balls) for the "cherry" on top

Fill ice cream glass with M&Ms. Eat a handful. You deserve it. 
Cut foam ball in half. Set on top, securing to the rim using glue dots or a hot glue gun if you must. 
I really do recommend using glue dots for a less messy, super easy and low-stress experience. My first attempt at making these ended up with liquid glue dripping into the M&Ms and it was awkward for everybody. I found these clear adhesive 3D dots at Michael's... 
And they pretty much saved my life. 
See? Four dots. That's all you need. No need to go bananas here. 

Plop the fake ice cream on top. Press down lightly to anchor it to the glass. 
Gently poke your straw through the foam (P.S. Heart-shaped straws. Walmart. $.97)... 
... then hot glue or glue dot taffy all over the place (I used glue dots for this part too)! 
I found these Valentine's-colored taffy at Trader Joes. They were festive. I was into it.
Glue a red heart-shaped or round candy on top and look! 
You made a milkshake. 

It's magic, how crafty you are. 

Make someone's day this Valentine's weekend with a candy milkshake... then celebrate with a real milkshake. It's the best thing to do in these situations.