How to Make Unique Peeps Arts and Crafts

I love Peeps! The adorable, brightly colored, squishy chicks and bunnies are a sure signal that Spring is right around the corner. Yellow Peeps chicks were introduced in the 1950's by the Just Born Candy Company. In the early years each individual critter was hand made by squishing marshmallow goop through a pastry bag . As demand for the candy grew it became necessary to automate the creation process so in 1954 company owner Bob Born helped to design a machine that was capable of producing dozens of Peeps at one time.

In later years the Peeps line expanded to include different shapes like bunnies, Christmas Trees, jack-o-Lanterns, snowmen, footballs, eggs, and teddy bears. The colors of the bunnies and chicks also expanded to include pink, orange, blue, green, and lavender. In 1999 vanilla flavored Peeps were introduced into the consumer market.

I don't eat Peeps anymore but as an adult I am absolutely amazed by the variety of wacky art that imaginative people create with the marshmallow treats. Peeps have been used as a medium to create a variety of famous Peep's paintings like The Last Supper, Peep Jesus, Peepflowers, and the world famous "Give Peeps A Chance" sign.

Others have used Peeps to make representations of famous movie scenes. My ultimate favorite is a rendition of the scene in Thelma and Louise where the dynamic duo chooses to drive over a cliff rather than face having to go to jail-or worse yet back to their unfulfilling lives. Coming in a very close second is Peepwee Herman in a scene from Peepwee's Big Adventure, the tale of a boy-man who goes on the ultimate quest to retrieve his beloved bicycle that was stolen by the cold-hearted Francis.

Using Peeps to make a wreath is fun and so easy a child can do it. Best of all everything you need to construct it can be found at your local Walmart. To create the wreath you need:

•  Peeps
•  toothpicks
• a straw or styrofoam wreath

 Spear each Peep with a toothpick, push the other end of the toothpick into the  wreath and presto you have a cute decoration to hang on your wall. If you want to be really creative add a springtime bow. I personally like to use the Peeps Bunnies instead of the Peeps Chicks because the wreath is more uniform and doesn't pop out so much.

I absolutely lost it when I saw that people were using Peeps to create topiary. If you want to be creative and make your own you need:

• 2 styrofoam balls
• 1 flower pot
• 1 dowel rod or stick
• Easter Grass
• toothpicks
• Peeps

Push one styrofoam ball onto each end of the dowel rod. Place 1 of the balls into the flower pot and cover it with Easter grass. Skewer a Peep with a toothpick then push the other end into the remaining styrofoam ball. Continue the process until you run out of Peeps. You can also use a styrofoam wreath if you would rather have a donut shaped topiary.

Why not be creative and hop down to your local store, buy yourself a pack or two of the little critters, and have fun. I'd love to see your own origional Peep creations.