Army of Love

How do you show a special someone that you care? With googly eyes, of course. I made these little valentines gnomes for my students and a few other choice recipients, using Hershey's kisses and some simple craft supplies. I actually had my students make them as a craft project last year, but I ran out time during class and decided to make them at home, since I have been lounging around nursing a cold. Am I a dork who stays home and makes candy gnomes and bakes banana bread all day? Sigh. Yes. But I did it while wearing a sassy 1950's housewife apron and drinking a mimosa--that's at least kind of cool, right?

Materials: Hershey's kisses, felt squares, scissors, small googly eyes, hot glue gun (or craft glue and some paperclips), sharpie, soup can, colored "office dots" stickers

Time to complete: I made around thirty of these cuties in a little under an hour.

Directions:

1) Use the sharpie to trace around the bottom of the soup can on the felt. One circle makes four gnome hats. Cut out the circles and divide each one evenly into quarters--you should end up with four triangular shapes per circle. 

2) Glue the hats shut by squeezing a thin line of hot glue down one of the straight edges of the triangle and folding it to seal. You should  now have a long, thin triangle that is hollow inside. If you are using craft glue, do the same, but let it dry clipped shut with a paperclip.

3) Put a blob of hot glue around the top part of the kiss and slip the hat on. Press to make sure it sticks.

4) Glue on the googly eyes.

5) If you want to include a label, use those colored circle stickers that you see on stuff at a garage sale--I know them as "office dots," but I'm not sure if that's their official name. They are the perfect size to write on and stick to the bottom of your gnome.

There you have it: Your own Army of Love. Happy Valentine's Day!