# Candy Flower Garden with Wrapper Butterflies
> Twist leftover candy wrappers into butterflies, then glue sugar candies into flowers on a picture frame, adding twig stems and yard leaves. A fine-motor Halloween-candy craft that uses up leftovers.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/candy-craft/
- Ages: 4–8 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids
- Skills: fine-motor, nature-exploration, creativity, patterns
- Cautions: nuts, food-dye, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- 20 piece Small sugar candies (flat round candies, candy hearts)
- 4 piece Candy wrappers (e.g. lollipop wrappers) (household)
- 1 piece Picture frame from the pistachio shells craft
- 1 bottle White school glue
- 3 piece Leaves from the yard (household)
- 3 piece Small sticks (household)
- 1 piece Plate or tray to hold the candy (optional) (household)

## Substitutions
- Instead of shell frame: Painted cardboard or heavy cardstock with no shell border (Editorial suggestion for a nut-free backdrop (not in the post).)

## Safety
- Small hard candies are a choking hazard for young children. Supervise closely and keep loose candy away from babies and toddlers.
- Plastic candy wrappers are a choking and suffocation hazard for babies. If a little one crinkles wrappers, an adult stays right beside them and collects every wrapper afterward.
- The frame used in the post has a border of pistachio shells (a tree nut). For children with nut allergies, skip it and use a nut-free backdrop.
- Don't eat candy once it has had glue on it. If snacking is allowed, set aside a few clean pieces.
- Check family and school allergy and candy policies before using candy with a group.

## Before you start
- Make the pistachio shell frame from the earlier shell craft, or prepare another backdrop.
- Save and smooth out candy wrappers.
- Gather small sticks and leaves from the yard.

## Steps
1. Smooth out a candy wrapper.
2. Give it a good twist in the middle to make a butterfly. Twist a couple more times so it holds its shape.
3. Lay candies on your frame in flower shapes.
4. Glue the candy flowers down, one piece at a time.
5. Glue a small stick under each flower for a stem.
6. Glue leaves next to the stems.
7. Glue the wrapper butterflies above the flowers to make it 'beautifuller'.
8. Leave your candy garden flat until the glue is dry.

## Tips
- You might have to twist the wrappers a couple of times for them to hold their shape. Sounds simple? Trust me, it is not that easy for a 4-year-old. It calls for some serious motor skills.
- Our girls love to throw wrappers up and pretend they are butterflies. Twisting them into real butterflies quieted them down.
- Expect some resistance: Big S said 'That's my food, mom!' before she turned her candy into crafting material, and she munched on a few along the way. They really were irresistible.
- Crinkling wrappers is fun for babies: the sound of crushing plastic excites the young ones. Stay right beside them and gather every wrapper afterward.
- The candy flower patterns looked so cute they inspired us to make a whole scenery.
- On the lighter side, she learnt that eating too much candy can give you a tummy ache.
- One reader always seems to have an excess of candy and found this a good way to use it. (from readers)

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012)

This candy craft will come in really handy when Halloween rolls around. Crafts with candy and crafts with candy wrappers may seem undoable because you might think "my kid would want to eat that candy, not craft with candy". But kids love to create with non-toys, even candy remember.Read on.. Like many kids, Big S loves her sugar candies. With candy comes the need to keep reminding that the wrappers need to go to the trash bin. The girls love to throw them up and pretend they are butterflies. Laughter and giggles to follow from all the messing up.

- Sugar candy
- Candy wrapper

To quiet them down, I took the wrappers and started twisting them to make simple butterflies. The candy wrapper play is perfect for my baby who is almost 1. The sound of crushing plastic just excites the young ones.  Smooth out the wrappers and give them a good twist. You might have to twist them a couple of times for them to hold their shape. Sounds simple ? Trust me it is not that easy for a 4 yr old. It called for some serious motor skills.  We made some cute, colorful butterflies. Big S squeals: Flowers mommy ! Butterflies need flowers . I saw the pack of candy and said " Let's make flowers with these" Big S: No. That’s my food mom. Did she just say candy is her food? Resistant at first to turn the little delicacies into crafting material, she finally started making flower shapes with them. Sure enough munching on a few here and there. They really were irresistible. The candy flower patterns looked so cute, it inspired us to make a scenery with them. This is where things got a bit more interesting. She chose the picture frame from our earlier “shell crafts” as the backdrop for our scenic creations.

- Picture frame from “nuts about shells”
- Sugar candy
- Glue
- Leaves
- Small sticks
- Candy wrapper butterfly

   She made the candy flowers and glued them to our frame. Small sticks and leaves from the yard made the stem and leaves. She added the butterflies to make them – you guessed it – “Beautifuller”



Pretty neat don’t you think ?

- Understanding Nature
- It screams out – Fine motor skills
- On the lighter side she learnt – Eating too much candy can give you a tummy ache.

Thanks for reading

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[**We started using the pistachio shells here.**](https://www.funlittles.com/pistachio-shells-craft/) Hello Visitor, Thanks for stopping by our little space here. We encourage you to stick around and take a look at [**couple of**](https://www.funlittles.com/paint-with-spaghetti-brooms/) our [**popular posts.**](https://www.funlittles.com/animal-resist-painting/)

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