Friday, July 16, 2010

Sweet Sugarplums--A Tutorial

A sweet confectionery reminiscent of bygone days. Old fashioned morsels of goodness that conjure up wonderful childhood Christmas memories for me. Of course, in my youth, peppermint was the dominant flavor and quite possibly the only flavoring used for these. Nowadays, they are made in many flavors but my favorite continues to be the original peppermint. One glance at these and I relive my childhood memories all over again.


To create these sugarplums, you will need 2 fabrics (white and a contrasting color), bias tape maker, fabric glue, scissors, an iron, a pressing surface, a needle, and coordinating thread.

*To make the candy wrapper, cut two 2" x 2-1/2" fabric pieces.
*Place the first fabric rectangle onto an ironing surface, right side facing down.
*Fold up 1/4" from both 2" ends. You will end up with a 2" square piece.
*Bring both raw edges to the center and press flat.
*Bring the 1/4" folded ends together. Press flat.
*With needle and thread, take running stitches at the 1/4" folded edge. Pull thread to gather and knot off. Try to hide your knots within the layers.
*Repeat this with the remaining fabric piece.


For this project, I used a bias tape maker that makes 3/4" single fold bias tape.


Fold the bias tape in half to create quarter fold bias tape that measures 3/8" in width. Press flat. You will need approximately 12" of each color to make the candy piece depending on how tight you roll it and the thickness of your fabric.


Place two bias tape pieces together and begin to roll it into a spiral pattern, adding fabric glue as you go around. The finished candy piece measures approximately 1" in diameter.


Glue the candy wrapper pieces to both sides of the candy spiral. I began by gluing one wrapper piece over the raw edge left from wrapping the candy spiral and then glued the other to the opposite end. This hides the raw edge nicely.


Spearmint flavored sugarplums.


Strawberry flavored sugarplums.


Refreshing peppermint sugarplums. I can almost taste it now.


These sugarplums would make cute embellishments on a Christmas-themed mini scrapbook, picture frame, or wreath. Or, just use it as decorations for your Christmas tree.


A garland would be really sweet with the addition of fabric yo-yo's.


These sugarplums are so much fun to make and so sweet to look at. Enjoy the tutorial!

Have a fantastic weekend.

Aloha!

27 comments:

gunturina said...

Hi,

Thanks for sharing the tutorial, must try this one..

Regards from Malaysia!

Unknown said...

hii..
love all your DIY..
thanks a lot for the tutorial you have shown..
i"m happy with it..

regards from me
kakzaa @ Malaysia

mama Pola said...

Спасибо за урок,восхищаюсь Вашей фантазией!

Unknown said...

Hiya, thank you so much for sharing this tutorial. I have just started to read your blog and have you fixed in my RSS feeder so I don't miss anything. I think these lovely little sweeties will look fabulous on my christmas tree. I think they would be great to for little gifties..

Thank you again

Rumi said...

Adorable! And calorie free :o)

Beansieleigh said...

Hi Lettie! Oh I have the biggest sweet tooth around! Cookies, cakes and candies.. I love them all, so these little sugarplums are absolutely IRRESISTIBLE!! Thanks for sharing how to make them, and have a great weekend! ~tina

Mariví Troy said...

thanks!! so adorable!
Have a fantastic weekend you too.

sweetiepie said...

How cute!!!!! I can see an entire tree decorated with these.

Thanks for sharing.

Mimi said...

They are absolutely adorable and I can see these in a little girl's hair, too. Thanks so much for sharing them with us.

Mannick...91 said...

Great, you still have great ideas.
It would make a nice necklace too.
Good Sunday.
Annick

emy said...

Fantastic!!! Thank you for tutorial.
Ciao Arlette!

Emily said...

Oh My! These are adorable! You are good!

Vernie and Tony said...

Your imagination astounds me!!
Thank you so much for sharing!

LaVerne from Idaho

Annette said...

thanks for the lovely tutorial... They look so sweet...mmmmmmmmmm yummy

Simona said...

your creations are very very very beauriful !compliments

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

That is so much fun! I love the Christmas tree idea. Thanks so much for this, I'll be linking.

Tracey said...

Hi

These look really cool,
Thankyou for showing how to make them

Take care

Unknown said...

These are so adorable! Thanks for sharing...Now I need to go check out the rest of your blog.... I've never visited here before!

half pint honey said...

cute! great tutorial.. thank you so much for sharing!

. said...

Arlette

Que idéia linda a sua...parecem balinhas,e muito fácil de fazer,não?
seu blog é muito lindo...
Bjs

Suze said...

very cute!

Tolentreasures said...

As always, I love your creations! Makes me want to say that I am sick and go home from work and try them. They would be great just as bowl fillers also.
thanks for sharing! You're the best!

Cathy

Sarah said...

I absolutely love these - they turned out so well!

AverettLadyNana said...

Really cute idea! They'd make a cute hair-clip I bet too! Will have to show them to my dd for her dds.

VickiT said...

Hello ~ I just found you via Cut Out and Keep and I am SO glad I came to your blog. These little candies are such an adorable idea. Just super cute. These have so many great ideas swirling my head right now but the first was how cute those would be on a little dress for my Granddaughter, with a matching headband.
Thank you so much. Great idea.

Esther said...

Hi,

I love all your tutorials. The fabric flowers are great to make. Your tutorials are very clear and easy to understand. I used your candy spiral idea for a shoe re-do.
If Possible please have a look

http://www.creativitymypassion.blogspot.com/2010/10/upcycling-shoes-re-do.html

Thanks

Nilde Lima said...

Olá.Obrigada por nos presentear com lindos tutoriais.Abraços aqui do Brasil.