Tootsie Rolls as Modeling Clay

Ah, the first week of November, when the only food you have in the house is leftover Halloween candy.  (Or is that just me?  Please don't say I'm the only one that has this problem!)  The best candy, as far as I'm concerned is the rare and wonderful "Tootsie Fruit Roll".  Not only are they more delicious than chocolate Tootsie Rolls, they also make excellent crafting materials.

These.  Buy them ALL.

Before you go around making crafts out of them, lemme tell you the best thing about the "Fruit Rolls".  They come with a VANILLA flavored roll.  And you can COMBINE THEM to create even more interesting flavors!  So, you can squish a lemon and a lime together to make a 7-up flavored roll, or a cherry and lime to make a cherry lime-aid flavored roll, or an orange and a vanilla together to make a CREAMSICLE-flavored roll.  (This satisfies both my sophisticated adult palate, and my urge to play with my food like a four-year-old.  It's what you call a "win-win situation".)

Creamsicle roll.  2x as big, about 100x more tasty.

Lastly, let's say you're sitting around your house, waiting for people to bring you food since you don't actually have any real food in the house.  All you have is a giant bowl of leftover Halloween candy (and those three bags of Fruit Rolls your husband purchased because they were on sale).  While dreaming of actual food, why not make a tiny replica of your favorite meal?

Please ignore the green ink stains on my hands.

The main problem with Tootsie Roll food is that is takes about 20 minutes to make yourself some, and about .2 seconds for your husband to eat it.  

You can also use Tootsie Rolls as a sort of substitute for fondant for making decorations for cakes or other treats.  Here is a really fantastic post on how to make tiny steampunk hat cupcake toppers from chocolate Tootsie Rolls.