name that sweet giveaway and tutorial

i got the idea for my birthday blog party favors from my local quilt & scrapbook store, ETC. they were sitting in a jar on a display counter, looking sweet and tempting. and they were $5 a piece. i thought to myself, "$5 is a bit pricey for a fat quarter that is usually about $2.50. surely the packaging can't be that expensive and they look easy enough to make." so, i found some candy wrapping supplies at a chain craft store to give it a try myself. sure enough, it was simple and a money saver.

i think some crafty person at the shop must have whipped up these treats. they weren't packaged professionally with a company name, there wasn't any copyright or logo on them, not even a price tag - just a handwritten sign advertising them. therefore, i think it's okay for me to share my version of how i made them. i spent a grand total of about 10 minutes figuring out how to put them together. maybe they're all the rage on pintrest, but it's the first time i've seen them so i can't credit anyone else with the ideas i'm putting out because they are my own. if you thought of it first, never fear. i'm not making a dime off of this. 

making them myself, in fact, was quite a bit cheaper. by buying a package of sticks and one of bags, the price for each individual stick and bag was about $0.05 each. (where is my "cents" symbol on my keyboard?!) if you add in a bit for your ribbon or baker's twine, you have likely only added $0.50 or so to the total cost of your fq.

my only problem here is i don't know what to call the darlings. "fat quarter lollipops" just doesn't sound very yummy or cute enough. so i'm going to need some help with this. and i'm offering a giveaway for the help. see the end of the post for details.

now, on to sweet making!

the supplies you will need, other than your fat quarter, is a package of 4x6 cellophane treat bags, cookie/lollipop sticks, and something to tie off the lollies, like ribbon or baker's twine.

from here on down, i'm going to use small photos in the interest of keeping the scrolling to a minimum on this post. but all photos are stored larger so you can click on them if you  need to see them more clearly.

i tried two different methods of tying: a thin ribbon and baker's twine. i like the baker's twine better since i think it compliments rather than detracts from the fabric. the ribbon, even though small, seemed to dominate.

start by folding your fat quarter (fq) in half across the length (the selvage should be one of your ends you put together for the folding). give the fold a quick finger press to make yourself a temporary guideline for further folding.

open up the fq and fold the bottom edge up to that crease you just made at the halfway point.

fold the top down to meet the bottom edge in the middle. you could just start with folding in half, but making your fold this way will hide the raw edges of the fabric.

fold in half again so your fq is now folded in 1/4ths.

fold over one more time so your fq is now folded in 1/8ths.

there will be two edges to your folded strip: the top shows lots of folds, the bottom shows one continuous line. use the side with only one visible edge to the fabric as the top of your lolly for a neater look, if you care.

now to hide that last raw edge, you are going to fold the fabric strip in half across the width this time so that your raw edges meet up together at one end. your final fabric strip is approximately 2" x 12". (now, i didn't measure this so don't get out your measuring tape and freak out if yours doesn't match up to those specifications. i said approximately.)

place the stick on the fabric strip almost to the top, but not quite touching it (about 1/4" away), with the end of the stick extending out away from the edge of the fabric that shows all the folds.

tuck the raw edges of the fabric to the other side of the stick and begin rolling toward the other end, sleeping bag style. you will need to pinch down and sort of tuck in fabric as you go to keep it looking neat and flat.

there you have a rolled lolly. time to package.

put the lolly roll inside the cellophane bag, pushing it all the way up to the top.  turn the lolly so that the fabric fold is on the backside opposite you.

you can see there is lots of room still in the bag and there are two funny, pointy little ears on either side of the  lolly. that can be fixed.

slide the lolly over to one corner of the bag and pinch the bag snugly against the bottom of the lolly on the side with excess bag.

use your finger to tuck the corner of the bag in on itself. then, still holding it pinched close to the fabric, begin to wrap the cellophane bag around the fabric so that it lays close to the fabric. (you can do this with your other hand unless you are also trying to photograph as you go. ha.)

when the bag is wrapped closely to the fabric, twist it all the way around the stick. now your sweet is more tightly wrapped and there isn't so much excess bag hanging around.

if you moved the fabric fold end to the back of the bag, you can wrap the excess cellophane toward that fold so that all your not-as-pretty parts are in the same spot, giving you a nice clean look on the front side where your bow will go.

 keeping the bag pinched up against the stick and still wrapped around it, secure the bag with your choice of tie. you could use the twisties included with the bags, some sort of ribbon, baker's twine, etc.

i tried securing mine with a small elastic before i put the ribbon on, but because the stick was so long and the top so fat, it wasn't possible to get the elastic tight. i've found the ribbon or baker's twine hold it just fine.


oh, and lastly, tuck that other little ear/corner, that is still sticking up on the right side, in with your finger.

so there you have it: you have turned that fat quarter into a little sewers sweet, perfect to gift to a sewing friend or as a prize or favor for a sewing get together.

but what to call it?

here's the giveaway part!
if you have any brilliant ideas for names, please leave me your offering in comments. next saturday, july 6th, i will pick the name i like best and send you a prize. you can have your choice of a kit to make your own lollies (bags, sticks, baker's twine) or i'll send you a couple i made. you decide!
sorry, giveaway now closed

and even if you don't have a name, you can leave me a comment if you'd like.

linking in with Let's Get Aquainted! hosted at heart of charnwood this week.