Marshmallow Men Crafts
Marshmallows are spongy confections made from sugar or corn syrup. According to the National Confectioners Association (candyusa.com), the Egyptians first made sticky marshmallow treats for royalty and the gods around 2000 B.C. The candy was made from wild mallow plants, which grew in the marshes around the Nile. Today, cornstarch and gelatin are used to make marshmallows, which is less time-consuming than using the natural mallow root. Create your own marshmallow men crafts for the holidays, for parties, as gifts and to eat.
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Holidays
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"Better Homes and Gardens" featured marshmallow men in its holiday issue in December 1960. These marshmallow men are ideal for holiday decorations such as centerpieces or as part of a gingerbread house. You need regular-sized marshmallow and mini-marshmallows for this project. Cut one regular-sized marshmallow for the head and connect it to an uncut, regular-sized marshmallow body with a toothpick. Stick on mini-marshmallow arms and legs, using toothpicks holding them in place. Use a black marker to draw faces on the heads. To craft a hat for your creation, form a cone with red wrapping paper and attach it to the marshmallow man's head with glue.
Parties
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Making marshmallow men is an ideal craft for a children's party. With adult supervision, offer different sized marshmallows in a variety of colors. The children form the men with toothpicks or thin pretzels holding the confections together. For young children, use thick buttercream frosting made of butter and powdered sugar to hold the marshmallows in place rather than toothpicks. Be sure the frosting is very thick so the marshmallow men stay together. The children should spread a tablespoon of frosting on a paper plate to use to stand their man in place.
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Gifts
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Marshmallow men make gifts for birthdays or other special events. Craft a marshmallow man from white felt so that it lasts longer. Sew together long rectangular pieces of felt to form a head and body, and sew on circular pieces to make the flat parts of the marshmallows. Sew small beads on for the face and buttons. Make a cone hat from red felt. The marshmallow man will look similar to a snowman. Add a loop at the top of the marshmallow man's head and hang it like a decoration.
Eat
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Craft marshmallow men as edible treats. Use a graham cracker as a base. Layer chocolate syrup or spread on the cracker to hold a regular-sized marshmallow in place. Cut another regular marshmallow in half to craft a head and stick it to the body with the same chocolate spread. Use the chocolate spread to attach mini-marshmallow arms and legs, or just use pretzels for arms. This marshmallow man will look like its sitting on the graham cracker if you use marshmallows for legs but standing if you use pretzels for arms. With a fine artist's brush, draw a chocolate face on the head of the man. Cut a round piece out of graham cracker for a hat.
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References
Resources
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