Children wanting to sweeten their summer vacation can enjoy a visit to Sweet Afton's in Gardner Village.

Sweet Afton's is offering hourlong classes for children on Tuesdays and Thursdays through August. In each, participants will complete three different projects, usually centered on a theme.

"The children are not making candy, they're playing with it. It's candy-oriented," said Anne Hansen, owner of Sweet Afton's.

During a class June 28, mice were the day's theme. Children first adorned mice made out of powdered sugar and evaporated milk with tails, eyes and whiskers. Next, they decorated tiny cardboard boxes with red, white and blue crepe paper for the Fourth of July. Their last project was to make a mouse out of a Snoball cupcake.

For Jacob Stoller, 6, the candy had more appeal than finishing the project. "I want to eat it," he said, while watching Hansen glue candies to the top of his box.

Erica Schacht, who teaches the classes, said she gets her ideas for projects from a variety of sources. Some come from recipe books, while she discovers others on the Internet. Both boys and girls participate, although they think differently about the projects.

"The boys like to eat the candy and go home with a sugar high," she said.

Schacht also likes the level of independence participants show.

"It's fun to watch them do things by themselves," she said. "Most things are pretty easy and fun. Moms can get away and go shopping for an hour."

Thus far the classes have had a warm reception, Hansen said, with most classes filling up completely and many children becoming repeat customers.

Katie Peterson, 12, from South Jordan, said the mice class June 28 was the second she attended.

"It's fun — you get to make stuff and eat it. It keeps you occupied," she said.

Peterson enjoyed the chocolate fruit class where participants dipped fruit in chocolate. Her cousin Brooklyn Jones, 7, of Draper, agreed. "My favorite was probably the chocolate fruit — it was good," she said, adding that she liked making the eyes and tail of the mouse. "You can be creative and do your own mouse thing."

Emily Tripp, 9, from Draper, said she liked many aspects of the classes. "I like making stuff ... basically all of it," she said.

Tripp especially enjoyed making a candy gram for Father's Day.

Sweet Afton's is in Gardner Village, 1100 W. 7800 South, West Jordan. Classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The cost is $15 per child per class and is non-refundable. Hansen encourages parents interested in enrolling their children to sign up early. Most of the July classes are already full, but some in August are still open.

She loves seeing the children enjoy their creations after making them.

"Licking their fingers and eating the candy (are some of my highlights)," she said. "I just love playing with candy and putting the candy in but using it for projects. The kids get to take the leftovers home and share them with their families."

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E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com