Halloween Chocolate Box Day 12 of S & S Halloween Blog Hop

It's day 12 of Smeared and Smudged Forum's 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop!  This has been so much fun, hopping and commenting AND I thank everyone for the awesome comments you've give me! 

Below are all the fabulous bloggers:

Terra,Tori,Kristy,Kapree,Alison,Christine,Kelli,Windy,Susan,Alex,Monique,Jane,Sugar,Black Dragon,Lisa,Shell,Jean,Julia,Jennifer,Loren,Christy,Vee,Lady Brayton,Lindsay,Little Black Kitten,Celeste,Leigh,Pam,Donna,Valerie,Helen,Sharon,Lisa,Karen,Carolyn,Pam

It's no secret that I love chocolate. I love looking at it as much as eating it! So I have a series of polymer clay chocolate boxes in many themes. This one might be my favorite! It's Halloween themed, of course!
Here a few of polymer clay chocolate boxes with tutorials:
 The Tempered Empress Chocolate Box 
 The Mike and Candy Show Chocolate Box 
 The Joy Chocolate Box
 The Wedding Chocolate Box
 Materials for the chocolates:
 Polymer clay - dark brown, white and a touch of orange
Aluminum foil
Crochet needle for smoothing the clay
Clay stamps for the pumpkin faces

	Each chocolate begins as a compacted foil lump - ball, square, rectangle - slightly smaller than your finished size will be.Condition a ball of clay that is about half the size as the foil.
	Flatten and form the clay around the foil.Smooth the clay by rolling it gently on a smooth surface. Take a small piece of clay flatten the bottom and pull out several points for the stem. Add it to the top of the pumpkin.
	Use your crochet needle create the sections on the pumpkin.Lay the needle on the clay and roll it from top to bottom.
	This is a close up of the angry eye stamp.
	Here is a wide eye that can be turned to make the pumpkin look in any direction.
	The triangle eyes are super easy to make.The mouth stamp is a wiggly smile. Bake the clay as directed. The stamps must be baked before using. I normally use paper to decorate the box, but I wanted to try one that is all chocolate.

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Wordless Wednesday

The Mike and Candy Show Chocolate Box

 

My latest chocolate box art piece represents my brother's and my inner musical natures.  It's full of family symbolism and love!

We come from a musical family.  Mom was professionally trained and our brother, Steve worked as a musician. My brother Mike has always played guitar and we have always sung.  But we hadn't sung together in 3 + decades until a few years back when we moved close to Mike and his lovely family, as well as my parents.  Suddenly there was music again!

I used polymer clay skeletons to represent us because that's an important part of the chocolate box pieces for me - the inside of the box is the hidden treasure laid bare.  It's the inside story.
The bejeweled chocolates are polymer clay and there are some small details that represent our family.  My mom's pewter bird pins are all about our shared love of nature - Mike is especially fond of birds just like Mom.  I set in some small clay beads I made, pearl beads from our grandma's broken jewelry collection and one of a pair of earrings that Dad brought back from Okinawa for Mom.  The three smiling faced chocolates represent Mom, Dad and Steve.
The Mike and Candy Show is the name I list our music under on YouTube.  Click here to hear one of my favorites!

Chocolate Box Mixed Media Art

I've been playing with polymer clay tiles on chocolate boxes.  I love this new look!  It's feels like eating a leather bound chocolate romance novel with my eyes.

Okay, that's a stretch, but I actually assess art like that.  Is it a treat for the eyes?  And if so, what kind of treat?  Or, if not, what is undigestable about it?  Yes I do have food issues, but I think it makes life fun.  Have you ever consumed a sunset with your eyes?  Or more to the point, with you whole being?

I used brown clay for both the chocolates and tiles.  I treated the tiles with rubber stamps and metallic paste.  The focal point is a tiny heart cut from clay with red crafting foil burnished onto it.

I've been putting words and gems on the chocolates, but I wanted to carry over the sophisticated feeling of the stamped clay on these.  I know I've barely scratched the surface of possibilities for design, surface treatment and theme.  I have many rectangle chocolate boxes as well.  I also have larger heart shaped boxes.  So many choices!

Have you made any chocolate art?  I would love to share it here!  Email me at candace@cool2craft.com with high resolution photos and stories.

2011: A Year In Preview

I posted this piece in the beginning of 2011.  It was a statement about what I wanted to see and do that year. It was really fun to make!  If you made a chocolate box to represent what you want from 2013, what would be in it?

 Click here to see details and explanations of my symbols.


I'm in love with making chocolate box art.  I started this in December and have added on steadily.  It's all about this year.  What do I want to invite into my life this year?  Oh, romance, travel, adventure, prosperity, the usual.  It's going to be a delicious year!  What does your year look like?