This idea came from
Julia Bettencourt at Creative Ladies Ministry (www.juliabettencourt.com) via Pinterest, of course. All I did was cutsie it up a bit with things that I already had, added some Valentine cards from the family and popped them in the post. Quick, inexpensive and CUTE!
Supplies:
cellophane bags
ribbon or tulle
Conversation heart candy
(1 large bag = 3 cups of candy)
french fry boxes
coordinating paper
decorative elements, if desired
My cellophane bags were 3" x 11" and I think are designed for chocolate/caramel dipped pretzel rods. They were the perfect width for my french fry boxes so I just cut them down a bit after filling them.Each large bag of conversation hearts will do three boxes. Put one cup of candy into each cellophane bag. Allow a bit of head room so they don't all settle down to the bottom and make your box bulge. No one likes a bulgy bottom!
Tie with ribbon or tulle or jute or whatever you choose then cut off the excess cellophane.
Print out the free printable from Creative Ladies Ministry (
www.juliabettencourt.com) by clicking
here or on the image above. Each copy will have six images (see above). I printed mine onto pale pink paper, mounted it onto white card stock, then cut around the outside edge with decorative scissors. Easy. You could just attach these as a tag around your baggie of candy if you wanted to. I had purchased these adorable French fry containers from
Pick Your Plum* (
www.pickyourplum.com) quite a while ago. I buy a lot of containers for my missionaries through them...sometimes I get my inspiration for a package from the container. Strange, I know. I found the exact ones that you can purchase from ETSY by clicking
here or you could Google 'French fry box template' (images) and there were about three million to choose from...or you could treat yourself to some French fries and then take apart the container to use as a pattern but you'll have to treat yourself to at least a medium size to get a box instead of a little sack. Yeah...I'd go buy some fries if I were you. Oh, the sacrifices we make for our missionaries! They're worth it though, don't you think?
Attach the tag to your container using double sided tape. You could use glue...but...it might not stay 'stuck' because the boxes are so slick. Embellish if desired. I used a flower punch and coordinating paper with a 'pop' of bright yellow for the center. If you 'crimp' each petal with your fingernail (see arrow at left) you can make your flower look three dimensional. Cool huh? Julia also has directions for a cute cover for the boxes of conversation hearts. You can see it by clicking
here. Adorable!
You can fit two of these little treasures into the small Flat Rate box from the post office. One for your missionary and one for their companion. Because these were so inexpensive to make AND mail, I called our local mission and asked for the names of some missionaries that don't receive mail and we're sending a package to them as well. Makes me smile and I hope it brightens their day!
And...just in case you want to 'man it up' a little...here's one that I did with red tulle and washi tape. How did I make the bow? Just tie a regular bow and then cut the loops and 'fluff'. Even easier than the above tutorial. Love it!
Every missionary loves letters from home, right? I found this free Valentine Card download from MUFN Inc. (
www.mufninc.blogspot.com) in coordinating colors - I just love it when things work out like that! You can find it by clicking
here or on the image on the left. We cut them apart and had the whole family write little 'love notes' on the back of the cards and included them in our care package. Your missionary will love it!
*What is Pick Your Plum? It's like a way cool, deal of the day site. Every day at 7 a.m. MST a new deal will be delivered to your email. The deals will be available until the item is gone and sometimes they're gone super FAST!! They have a little bit of everything from well...French fry containers to maxi skirts (just bought two last week, thank you very much). You really should check them out. Way fun. Way inexpensive. Way cool. Promise.
