This is a super easy project that makes fun, unique candy wrappers. I made a set for this Halloween, and also made some for an upcoming baby shower I am hosting, but you can also do it for birthday's (parties favors or presents), trade shows, Christmas, housewarmings, Easter, or when ever you would give candy.

All you need is
*Candy
*Template Kit (optional)
*Printer
*Paper
*Glue

I used this template kit from Peppermint Creative. It cost $9.50 (of course I got it on sale), and includes the templates you need to make wrappers for the following candies:
Altoid Mint Tin (50g / 1.76oz), Cadbury Caramilk Bar (52g / 1.83oz), Specialty Hershey Bar (43g -Canada), Regular Hershey Bar (45g Canada), Hershey Extra Dark Bar (100g / 3.52oz), Regular Hershey's Bar (1.55oz USA), Large Hershey Bar (5oz USA), Cadbury Fruit/Nut Bar (200g / 7.05oz), Hershey Rolo Candy (1.7oz), M&M Mini's Tube (1.08oz), Lifesavers Roll, Mentos Roll, Mini Assorted Hershey Bar, Hershey Kiss Bottoms, 7x5" Treat Topper (fit to standard ziplock sandwich bag)
It also includes "stamps" you can put on the wrappers like bar-codes and themed nutritional information. If you do not want to buy the kit, you can always measure the candy, and open a file in the size you need.

This project was just one set back after another, but in the mind frame of Julia Child, I kept going, and the end result isn't EXACTLY what I was expecting, but it still looks good to me.

Step 1: Open the File

After you purchase the template, extract all the files. Pick the kind of wrapper you want to make and open the file for it. I was using a USA Hershey bar (1.55oz).

Step 2: Add Layer

I don't want to "decorate" directly on the template, so I opened a layer to put my brushes and text on. In case you don't know how, it is really simple. At the top click layer and in the drop down menu chose to add a layer. The box that pops up will have the measurements of the current layer so you don't have to change anything.

The template has boxes on it to tell you what goes where, and I want to still use them as a guide. I just needed to see the basic outline, so, in the Layers window, I clicked the background layer, and change the opacity to about 50%.

Step 3: Decorate

If this were a paper project you would add stickers, stamps, or cutouts to the wrapper now. The digital version of this is to add stamps or brushes. To add the stamps that come in the digital kit, click on "file" and in the dropdown menu choose to open in a new layer. When the box opens up, pick the one you want, and double click on it. Move the layer by clicking on the icon in the toolbox that looks a cross with arrows coming out of the lines. to resize the icon to fit the area, click on the icon that is a smaller square and a bigger square.
To add a brush click on the paint brush icon in the toolbox. Then pick the brush out of the menu.

Step 4: Add Text

Click on the A in the toolbox to open a text window. Type the message in the box and use the boxes I highlighted below to change the font, size and color. You can move the text wherever you want. Use the small boxes in the corners of the text bubble to make the text layer bigger or smaller.

Step 5: Using the Eyedroper

If you want the color of your text or a brush to match another color EXACTLY, use the eyedropper tool. Make sure the layer that the color is located on is chosen. Click the icon that looks like an eyedropper, then click the color you want to match. I clicked the cherry on the cupcake, so now the text matches exactly.

Step 6: Open a Real Background Layer

We don't want the grey template to be the back. Click on the layer button on the top and open a new layer like before, but this time, make it white. To change the color, click the bucket fill icon, it looks like a paint bucket getting poured out. Then pick a color by clicking on the square at the bottom of the toolbox. A box will open up with a big square to pick colors from. There are also boxes towards the bottom that have all of the recently used colors in it. After you pick a color, click on the white area to change the back ground color. For the baby shower candy, I changed the background to pink.

Step 7: Save and Print

Save the images as picture files. Below are the ones I made this go round. I made 2 of the bigger wrappers, 1 for halloween and 1 for a baby shower. I also made some smaller Halloween wrappers for the nugget bars.
I printed my wrappers on a kind of glossy, magazine type paper. While I was printing, I ran into problem #1, my printer was running out of colored ink, so my beautiful orange background came out a beautiful orange to pink gradient. Like I said before not what I was expecting, but nice none the less.

Step 8: Cut Out Wrappers

While cutting out the wrappers, I encountered problem #2. Maybe it was the paper I used, or maybe it was my impatience, or maybe it was too much black in one area, but the ink was NOT dry. I waited about 5 minutes before I started cutting, and when I did the nugget wrappers, my finger tips turned black. The next day, I touched the candy, and no ink came off, so, my advice, wait until the ink dries completely, then cut them out. I have a shaky hand due to low blood pressure, so I can never cut a straight line, and I ended up with a little white left over on the edges, but it doesn't effect the way the candy tastes, so I say ehh, it's all good.

Step 9: Wrap Candy and Glue

Or maybe it should be Glue and Wrap Candy. What ever.
When I got to this step, I realized problem #3, or 4, or ... well who can keep track. My husband bought the wrong size candy. But, since we live out in the boonies, another trip to the store could take an hour, and I didn't feel like waiting, so I made do with what I had. The big ones were too small,and the small ones were too big, but here's how I see it:
The big ones do a good job of covering everything up so it's kind of a surprise what's inside. The small ones show enough on the edges, so you know just what you're getting.