Just the other day I had a mom ask, “What can I do with all these dang conversation hearts?” Evidently her daughter’s school has a fundraising tradition of selling boxes of those message-bearing candy hearts, and every year her daughter comes home weighed down with pounds of the pasty pastel-colored well wishes. And every year, they sit on a shelf gathering dust until spring cleaning, when they are unceremoniously dumped.

I’m not a huge fan of the powdery confections as an edible treat, but I do find them to be a magnificent crafting supply!

The first step though, is to preserve the little buggers. You’ll want to buy some spray shellac, available at most hardware stores in the paint section. Before you start, lay out a tarp or protective sheet over your work surface. Place a paper towel or piece of cardboard on your work surface, then line up all your hearts (front sides up), so that they lay flat and separate from one another. Following the directions on the can, apply one coat of shellac to the hearts. Let dry and apply a second coat (this makes them nice and shiny; one coat will leave them with a matte finish). Once they are dry, flip them over and apply one coat to the back (you should only have to do one coat, unless you want the backs to be shiny too). Once they are totally dry, you are ready to use them as embellishments on just about anything. Place them in an airtight container and you should be able to keep them for future projects.

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