Giant Candy Canes

I was asked to help with some props for the Christmas play this year and so I signed up to make some giant candy canes, seems easy enough, right? I started by looking around on Pinterest, Google, and YouTube for ideas. I wasn't impressed with what I was finding and so I came up with a design of my own. There are some great ideas out there using larger PVC piping and cardboard tubes but the cost and time required was too much for what I was in for. So I decided on the following process.

You will need:
2 10' sections of 1/2" PVC pipe
2 rolls of white duct (duck) tape
2 rolls of red duct (duck) tape
4 pool noodles
Hair dryer or heat gun
Some scrap wood and piece of plywood (could also use a deck or come up with a different way to bend the pipe)

Step 1: Step 1 - Creating a Template

Start by laying out the shape of the candy cane on the plywood. I used a trash can lid to trace the curves and adjusted it until I liked how it looked. Next, cut up some small pieces of scrap wood and nail or screw them along the line you have drawn. Alternate pieces on each side of the line leaving space in between for the PVC pipe

Step 2: Step 2 - Bending the PVC

Start to feed the PVC pipe through the template heating it with the heat gun or hair dryer as you push it through. This process takes a bit of time, just keep applying heat, alternating sides, and pushing the pipe further into the template in increments.

Step 3: Step 3 - Adding the Pool Noodles

Once the pipe is shaped and cooled pull it out of the template and then slide two pool noodles over the PVC pipe. Cover all of the pipe except for whatever is left over at the bottom. You can cut this extra piping off and make the candy canes as tall as you need them to be.

Step 4: Step 4 - White Tape

Start with the white tape and wrap a piece around the seam between the two pool noodles. Then starting at the top, wrap the white tape around the noodles on an angle until you get to the bottom. Do this about three times until all of the pool noodle is covered in white tape.

Step 5: Step 5 - Red Tape

Starting at the top, wrap the red tape around at an angle (like a candy cane) until you get to the bottom. This is the hardest part, try to keep the tape flat and evenly spaced as you wrap it. This is best done with two people, have one person hold the candy cane and the other hold the tape. Have one person turn the entire candy cane as the other applies the tape. You may have to work with it a little bit before you get it the way you want it.

For a full video walkthrough of this project click here

For more DIY's and how-to's please check out www.simplesuburbanliving.com