There are quite a few candy craft kits out there. I often see candy jewelry kits at the 99 Cent Only store, but haven’t picked one up before because the packaging made me doubt that it was manufactured in this century. This little heart box/locket on the other hand looked bright, clean and inviting.

The ”Be My Love” Edible Jewelry Kit has four compartments with three different colors/flavors of candy beads and a single white charm. The kit also features a cord to hang the whole kit from your neck (or doorknob) and an extra three feet of cord in a little bundle inside the box. The ingredients/nutrition label on the back of the package can be torn off to reveal a gift tag.

Though there’s a whole yard of cord in there, the beads only add up to about 12” of coverage. However, a careful crafter can use knots (like the way pearls are strung) to space the candy beads out and still make it feel full.

As a candy, they’re not bad, in fact they’re very cute. The beads have a glossy panned coat of colored glaze that really makes them sassier looking than their simple pastel pressed dextrose kind on those elastic strands.

Pink is strawberry
Red is cherry
White is possibly pineapple

Most bags of candy necklaces give you more candy than this little package does. However, the fact that the kid might be occupied with a craft before munching on the candy is rather attractive as treats go. The candy is also much better than some of the super cheap candy necklaces I’ve bought at the dollar stores, so I guess you get what you pay for. The little box is also nice and practical for keeping things like small barrettes or things like paper clips and thumbtacks later. (Of if you have a child who likes Polly Pocket, this could be a shoe keeper!)

This really isn’t a candy review so much as a product highlight. While I generally don’t like candy novelties, there are a few new products this year that really engaged me (the Gummi Lightning Bugs). Mostly because they combined candy and interactivity, instead of just being a fancy shaped container.

The Bubble Message Maker is a like the old Dymo label makers that uses strips of tape that you embossed letters on, one at a time. Here you make messages one letter at a time on bubble gum strips (bubble tape).

The center handle portion holds the roll of bubble tape, in this sample I have green apple, but the cool thing is that you can refill the Bubble Roll Message Maker with ANY standard width bubble tape.

The top of the message maker has a dial with all 26 letters (but no numbers or punctuation). You simply turn the dial to the desired letter and then press firmly on the little button to imprint the bubble tape. Roll the tape forward a full click and then repeat for your desired word or words.

The button was a little hard to press, so it took me a couple of tries to get the hang of it. The message isn’t really that clear, but it’s possible different colors of bubble tape are better for this than others.

Making a message is a little time consuming and of course takes patience (and there’s no delete button) but looks like a fun toy with a bit of candy with it with the added bonus that it’s refillable.

(The gum is made in the US, the toy is made in China.)

Okay, this product has a freakishly long name ... almost as long as the product itself. The Florida’s Natural Au’some Fruit Juice Sour String (henceforth called Sour Strings) is a long string about the same diameter as a thick clothesline and made from all natural ingredients and fortified with good stuff.

What I loved about this product is that they’re true to what they say. The first ingredient is fruit puree 64% is fruit ... then sugar. The puree comes from pears and oranges and the real fruitiness is quite evident. It tastes like a zazzed up fruit roll up, but in a little bit friendlier shape.

The roll of string is coiled up and allows you to unravel a little and then clamp the package shut to cut it off. It’s covered in a little granulated sugar to keep it from getting sticky.

It’s super sour. I mean, the outside really is sassy, back of the mouth tingling sour. Once that dissipates it’s a nice mellow orange flavor with both the sour and zest notes to it. As you eat it there’s a slight grain to it, which I suspect is the pear puree - you know those little crunchy bits you get in pears?

Overall, it’s a really nice fruit and candy product that I would buy again. It’s more wholesome than some other gummis/fruit chews and has no gelatin for vegetarians (and it’s Kosher, too). However, my husband, who usually likes gummis and sours was not wild about it at all, so go figure.

The whole pack has 100% of your vitamin C and 30% of your vitamins A, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin and Iron & Zinc. There’s even 10% of your Calcium. However, I can’t see eating this in one sitting. It’s a nice little pick me up because of the super-sourness, but the texture doesn’t quite engage me the way that a gummi bear does.

The pack is kinda cool, easy to share and easy to throw in a bag or stuff in a pocket. From their website it looks like they also come in bags instead of the hard pack coil and in other flavors (strawberry, apple and blueberry). I also picked up some of their Fruit Juice Nuggets, which I’ll also review shortly. The price is a little steep for so little candy, though the easy to share pack is nice. I recommend looking for them on sale, but you know, fruit is far more expensive than sugar.