When February rolls around, we certainly see no shortage of Candy Boxes on the shelves! Here’s the deal with those retail candy boxes: anybody can go to the store and buy one. A true gift from the heart will always have the element that can only be produced through a labor of love. So hands off those retail hearts! We’re going to show you how to fashion a homemade one in four steps.

For this project, you will require a few things. A box or tin of a desirable shape, confetti (or construction paper and scissors), small cupcake wrappers, candy (or other types of treats) and maybe some paint. The more romantic the colors and theme, the better. White is a good neutral color to choose for your miniature cupcake papers if you’re not sure what the color of the outside of your box or tin will be yet.

So you need your heart first. You are going to require either a box or old tin. A heart shape container is not required however fashioning your gift after a heart is typically desired for this project. If you only have metal tins instead of boxes you should still be fine. Spray paints of various kinds can be used to alter the appearance of the tin. You could try painting the outside of the tin pink and white. Red and white are two colors that also work well for this application. These are the two color schemes most commonly seen with the retail sold heart boxes.

Next, you are going to take around a handful of confetti. Store bought or homemade is fine. Spoiler Alert: homemade confetti is cut up construction paper! The more colorful the better! If you can secure confetti that matches your box, even better! This confetti is going to be placed at the bottom of the box/tin. It provides a liner as well as decoration for your object of affection to enjoy.

Take a stack of miniature cupcake liners (the kind for baking) and place them over top of the confetti that you spread out in the box/tin. These liners are going to be what holds our candies. Put as many as will comfortably fill the surface area of the confetti bed without crowding.

When you place treats into the papers, they can be wrapped or unwrapped. Keeping them wrapped will add an element of surprise. Unwrapping them first will destroy any lingering “retail” motif that you are looking to kill off with this homemade gift! This choice is strictly a matter of personal preference. Baked goods or homemade candies that were never even wrapped could be used in this container. The sky (and your imagination) is literally the limit with this project.

After you finish the box, you can tape it shut and sprinkle some additional confetti on top for an artistic effect. Chances are your loved one will appreciate this homemade box full of sweet treasures far more than a simple store bought one.