DIY Unicorn Candy Charms That Will Kill You With Cuteness

This little craft started as a brain teaser for me and John, as we experimented with how to put it together. Then it got put on hold while I ordered a few more supplies, lost interest, and eventually forgot about it entirely. 

My fellow crafters know this struggle.

Anyway, so here we are a few months later, and I've finally finished enough of these cuties to show you how it's done. And, full confession: I am completely in love.

BEHOLD!

I'm dying. Are you dying? It's so stinkin' cute ermergersh.

  I also made these:

 

You could use them as cellphone dangles or purse clips, or turn them into pins or little hair barrettes.

Before I go any further, let me give full credit to the artist who inspired this, Alix of SunsetStarlit. Go follow her for the best, most adorable clay crafts, including hand-sculpted candies like these:

 

I don't know if Alix is the first to do this, but I'd never seen charms that look like wrapped candies before hers - and I've been besotted for months. So I set out to find a way to make a similar candy charm without having to sculpt anything.

That's when I remembered all the adorable button options over at JoAnn's, like these unicorns:

And they already look like sugar candies! PERFECT. There are lots of flat button options out there, too. Just clip off the button backs and you're good to go.

Another option for your "candy" is to order plastic or clay Decoden charms online, which is what I did for this larger lollipop shaker charm:

 

 

 (Trying to play it cool but I'm super fangirling over how sweet this turned out.)

It makes the best sound when you move it; the beads rolling around is very soothing, ha.

  The lollipop and beads are both from Delish Beads over on Etsy, which I highly recommend. They have SO MUCH, just browsing through their massive store is fun:

They offer small amounts, too, so each thing is only a few dollars. I still have a few more goodies from Delish that I hope to turn into candy charms later.

Now, let's tackle the wrapper!

YOU WILL NEED:

 

- clear vinyl

- a small round dowel or PVC pipe

- vinyl adhesive (comes in a tube)

- washi tape

- pinking shears

- clear packing tape or Scotch tape

- thumb tack

- O-rings

- finishing hardware (clip, pin back, etc.)

You'll find clear vinyl in the upholstery section of your craft store, sold by the yard. It's extremely cheap, and even half a yard would make like a hundred charms, so ask for a quarter yard.

A quick note on vinyl quality, though:

There are different thicknesses of vinyl, and we've found the thinner stuff has striations through it like you see on the left, while the slightly thicker vinyl is more crystal clear.

That said, thicker vinyl is a little harder to crease into extra small wrappers, while the thin stuff is more pliable.

And, for what it's worth, the striations in the thin vinyl BARELY show, unless you're looking very closely in the right light. So it's your call, but personally I think I'd stick with the thinnest vinyl you can find.

Your measurements will vary depending on what size candy charm you use, but here's the general process:

Cut a strip of vinyl much longer than you need, roll it around a thick dowel or PVC pipe, and secure the edges with strong clear tape. (Packing tape is great, or even shiny crystal-clear Scotch tape.) You'll want your vinyl to only overlap a tiny bit, less than half an inch.

Obviously that's easier said than done, as you'll need to trim both the vinyl and your tape, then line everything up so it's straight, but hey, you've got lots of vinyl to practice with! :D (John recommends taping one side of the vinyl first, then rolling it around the dowel to press down the other side. Hope that makes sense.)

Once you have your clear tube of vinyl, make sure your candy charm will fit inside. It should be a little snug, since the tube will get flattened down on each edge.

I'm only showing the washi tape on the end here, but there's also vinyl glue inside the tube edges, holding them closed. The vinyl glue is essential; washi tape isn't nearly strong enough on its own.

After you've glued and taped the edge, it's time to tape it one more time with clear packing tape:

This effectively laminates the paper washi tape, giving it more strength and protection.

Finally, to finish the edge, trim off the excess tape with a pair of pinking shears:

And that's one end done!

Now add your candy charm and any filler beads:

Then trim the tube to size, and repeat the steps above to seal the opposite end.

Ta-daaaa.

To turn your new candy into a wearable thing, you can either glue it to a clip or pin back, or poke a hole through the corner with a thumb tack to add an O-ring:

You can also poke the hole before filling your wrapper; either way is fine.

To finish my charms I used these hanger things:

I think they're for cellphone dangles? Really I just bought them for the cute colors.

Decisions, decisions ...

And that's it! We're done!

Oh wait, I also added some star bead dangles to the unicorn candies.

But after THAT, we're done!

(And if you're wondering where my blue unicorn charm went, let's just say... so am I.)

 

 (::glares meaningfully at cats::)

More beauty shots:

 I'm sure you're wondering what the backs look like:

The clay lollipop looks great from both sides, but be aware the flat buttons definitely have a "bad" side. If that bothers you, just turn your button candies into pins or clips instead of hanging charms. (Or make sure it hangs in a way that it won't flip over.)

I hope this made you smile, and maybe inspired you to make your own candy charms now! I'm still brainstorming what other little figures or beads or toys I could put inside a wrapper, so if you have any ideas, hit me up in the comments.

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Wait! Before you go, if you're looking for more fun tutorials, check out my Craft Page! I've got over 150 different project previews there now, all on one page for easy browsing.

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::Squishy Internet Hugs::