We Represent The Lollipop Guild....

  You know those people you run across that you just know you'll keep?  Anne called them kindred spirits.  We have one of those.  My girls adore her.  She adores my girls.  And I adore the whole situation!  Almost every time my kids see her, she gives them a Dum-Dum.  (They love her even when there are no suckers!)  I decided that she needs a Dum-Dum tree.  This a super quick and highly affordable crafty gift.  Perfect for people who like to sugar up kids and send them home.  (Happy Grandparents Day!)

Supplies:  Flower pot, Floral Foam, Glue (I used Gorilla Glue), Suckers, a knife, a marker

First, put the foam in the flower pot and check the size.  I wanted mine shorter so I marked line on the top to cut off.  

Floral foam is really easy to cut.  I used a paring knife with no trouble.

Put your glue on the bottom.....

...and shove it into place.  You have to give it a good push to get it all the way down to the bottom of the pot.

Now, the fun part:  decorating the tree!  I started at the bottom and only pushed the suckers in far enough to have the head of the sucker stick over the gap between the pot and the foam.  I worked my way up.  When I make another one, I will start at the top and go down with the sucker sticks put in at an angle to avoid them bumping in to each other.  I think I might be able to fit more in that way too.

Run out of suckers after bedtime and have a lollipop tree with male pattern baldness.  :(  So sad!  I had two bags of suckers that should have equaled sixty four pieces of candy.  Subtract as many as three little girls can pilfer without mom knowing it and you'll still need at least one more bag.  If I were doing this again with these suckers, I would buy four bags.  

TA-DA!!!!

Finally done.  Isn't it cute!  I love it.

Ok, so.......I ran out of suckers and thought I would need one more bag.  I ended up needing three more bags.  I also took the thing apart and put the suckers in from the top down.  It works much better.  And, yes, more will fit that way.  Not a *plus* when you're likely to miscalculate the amount of candy you'll need, but it sure is cute!