DIY Wedding Challenge: Small Candy Centerpieces/Favors/Placecards

I originally made these to serve as small centerpieces placed on the tables at our engagement party.  There was one per table, and each held about 8 lollipops which guests could just take at the end of the meal as a sort of 'thank you for coming' favor.  Since it was held shortly after Valentine's Day, I went with a red heart theme. 

You can really customize it serve your needs though.  They can act as small centerpieces, as mine did, or you can have them as a placecard/favor.  Use a shot glass or maybe a votive candle holder, cut the sticks shorter, and put people's names on the signs.  Put it in front of the placesetting and voila - a placecard that also acts as a favor.

Materials:
- cardstock paper
- small glass vases
- wooden skewers
- 2 bags of M&Ms
- heart shaped lollipops
- double sided tape
- Decorations (stamps, various shaped brads, punches, etc.)

Procedure:
1. Cut the white cardstock into 1" x 2.5" rectangular shapes.  Cut the color cardstock into 1.5" x 3" rectangular shapes.  The amount depends on how many centerpieces you'll make.  If you make 10 centerpieces, you'll need to cut out 20 white and 20 color rectangles because each sign is double sided since it will be in the center of the table and viewed 360 degrees.

2. Place the white cardstock in the middle of the color cardstock (there should be a 1/4" border) and adhere it with double sided tape.  This just creates a nice layered look on each sign.

3. Decorate the white cardstock as you please.  I used six different stamps, heart-shaped brads, double heart punch, and embossed the 'Thank You" using a black stamp pad, black embossing powder, and a heat gun.  I made it so that one side said "From the Heart" (which I thought was appropriate given the heart-shaped lollipops) and the other side said "Thank You."

Pictured above are the 5 different designs I created.  Sorry it's dark.

4. Cut the skewers into approximately 6" sticks. 

5. On the back of one of the signs, put three strips of double sided tape vertically (2 on each side, 1 in the center).  Stick the skewer on the center strip.  Put another piece of double sided tape horizontally over the skewer (to prevent the sign from sliding down).

6. Place another sign on top so that the back of it adheres to the tape (press firmly so it sticks) and now the sign is double sided.

7. Fill the small vase with M&Ms (because these are less expensive than rocks - I bought these right after Valentine's Day so they would be cheaper) and stick the sign and lollipops in it.  You're done!

Notes:
- If you make these into placecard/favors:
a) I would suggest not using the lollipops because they'll be too big compared to the shot glass/votive holder
b) Continue to make the signs double sided so that people don't see the skewers.  But obviously you don't need to decorate the back side
c) scale down the rectangles

- If you live in the Bay Area, I bought the vases at the Japanese "dollar store."  It's a good source for cheap, cute things (it's hard to tell in the picture, but the ones I got had cherry blossoms etched on it and they were $1.50).  There are two big chains - Daiso and Ichiban Kan.  You can find them in San Francisco, San Mateo, El Cerrito, Union City and San Jose.  Because of that, each centerpiece cost me less than $5.