Wednesday, April 18, 2012

"Lollipop, lollipop" ...


... "oh lolli, lolli, lolli, lollipop! Ba boom boom boom." Hayden keeps singing this song around the house lately. She seems to think it's pretty catchy. I actually used to sing it all the time when I was a kid, although it's from before my time, too.

Since we both have lollipops on the brain, we made some fresh strawberry and kiwi pops, just for fun. Kiwi slices are the perfect round toppers to place on lollipop sticks, along with strawberry sliced hearts. These disappear rather quickly, so I find myself replacing Hayden's eaten toppers with new slices quite frequently.

In the summer, it's fun to freeze the fresh fruit pops to make them last longer, much like a real lollipop (melon balls are perfect for this, too). I guess you could also dehydrate them, too, like Rawkin Mom Samantha of Color Wheel Meals does for her kids (love her rainbow of flavors).

If you really want your lollipop to last, you can make a cute lollipop-inspired necklace to wear around your neck. Although not edible, it is a lot of fun.

I had seen Rachael Ray sporting one around her neck the other day on her show. It wasn't the first time I'd seen one of these lollipop necklaces, but it got me to look them up online to see how much they cost. Honestly, they are a tad pricey ($100-$300, but at least some of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society), so I opted to make my own version out of items I had in my house.

I found an old gold chain from a necklace I haven't worn in years, a swirly bead that reminded me of some kind of butterscotch or butter rum candy I had as a child (or Jupiter; it does kind of resemble Jupiter), an open jump ring and an eye pin (similar to a head pin, but with a loop on the end) for jewelry making, as well as a plastic hollow lollipop stick.

Assembly was quick and easy. First, I cut the lollipop stick into the desired length (I cut mine slightly longer than an inch in length).

Then, I used my jewelry-making tool to attach the jump ring to the eye pin. I threaded the bead, followed by the piece of lollipop stick onto the pin, and created a loop at the bottom to secure them in place.

Finally, I put the finished lollipop charm on the chain
and tried it on my neck.


What do you think?


The kids knew right away that it was a lollipop. Love it! <3