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Heart Felt Card by Lisa Fulmer

Tiny Gift Box by Rebecca E. Parsons

Box of Chocolates by Candace Jedrowicz

These chocolates are the best! Celebrate JOY with these no-calorie polymer clay chocolates. As featured on Mixin’ it Up with Rebecca LIVE internet TV – Polymer Clay Chocolates by Candace Jedrowicz

I started making polymer clay chocolates in decorated boxes last year and I’m totally in love with this medium! It makes sense for me to represent my “word” for the new year with a chocolate box. My word, as you can see, is JOY!

I’ve been practicing joy for a while now. How do you practice joy? Let me tell you! Just close your eyes…not yet! Read the next part first. Think of something that makes you feel happy, but not just happy, full-on gleeful. Hold that thought while you take inventory of your body and mind. How do your toes feel? How does you belly feel? Is your mind relaxed and completely focused on joy? If not, try to fill your mind completely with just that joyful thought. As other stressful or doubtful thoughts pop up, give yourself permission to let them go for now. When you are so familiar with the joyful state of body and mind, place reminders where you will see them all day. Post It Notes with the word joy, or whatever word you want to use, on mirrors, fridge, dashboard, etc., will reinforce your practice. My favorite practice is when I wake up. I stretch and feel my comfy bed, pat my dog and lay my face on my honey’s arm and think how fabulously blessed I am, how grateful I am to be. Just being is enough to be joyful about!

Making a Joy Chocolate Box is an important expression of joy. Any mindful action you take helps to bring your aspirations to life. This project cements my intentions by giving them a physical form. I included representations of many of the things I associate with joy. As you read each step, I hope you’ll be envisioning your own chocolate box, or any creative expression of your own “word” for the new year.

	I started with a small chocolate box. It was $1 at our local discount store. I selected dark colored polymer clay, lovely papers, word stickers, gems, Aleene’s Tacky Glue and some other fun things.

	I loved the papers I worked with! They make me smile. Even the ones that don’t show in the finished project make me happy, because I know they’re there – a joyful foundation for my work.

	I’ve read that the two most powerful words in any language are “I AM”. They are a proclamation. In the end, you shape your reality with your thoughts and words, because they are your beliefs. I wrote my proclamation in the bottom of the box. That’s my foundation. When you make your proclamation, consider your wording thoughtfully. Say what you are, or want to be, rather than what you aren’t or don’t want. Positive intentions create positive results.

	This gorgeous chocolate brown paper was the backing for some of my stickers. What a find! I used a line of Tacky Glue on the top edge of my box bottom to capture these tiny shiny red glass micro beads. The box they’re in is a fabulous tool. It has two sizes of stoppers on opposite ends. You put the piece you’re working on in it and pour your beads over it, then you can funnel the extras back into the bottle. I use it for all kinds of projects.

	I decided to do a cutout for the word “Inspire”. I want to highlight it, but not have it overshadow the main word. I traced the word block and used a craft knife to cut it out slightly smaller than the block.

	Inspire, in this case, is the action word that makes the word JOY a process of giving. I gave it a gold leaf frame to represent its importance.

	I used the adhesive pen to make some gold leaf accents on the lid.

	Because these polymer clay chocolates are an odd shape, I used a core of aluminum foil. If you want them to be about the same size, make all the core pieces first. I compressed and smoothed the foil shapes by rolling them on the table. I flattened a conditioned chunk of the polymer clay, wrapped it around a foil core and smoothed the clay with my finger tips.

	While the clay was baking, I finished the box top with glittered chipboard accents.

	When the chocolate pieces were cooled, I gave them a coat of matte finish sealer, glued them into their paper cups and glued the cups into the box bottom. I love the finishing process. I can go as wild as I want! I bent pieces of 26 gauge copper wire to spell out JOY on two of the chocolates, and letter stickers on the third. I put word and letter stickers on the outside edge of the box top and bottom. I used words that describe what, in my mind, comes with a joyful heart – Harmony, Love, Peace and Wisdom. And you know there had to be gems!

	I wanted to include a dangle element. I love things that move and make noise! Okay, so it doesn’t make noise, but I love it anyway. I used silver letters to spell JOY and glitter glued them in bright colors. I wrapped 26 gauge copper wire around the handle of my craft knife to make large jump rings for the letters.

	More gems, you say? Don’t mind if I do! What is joy if it isn’t sparkly and colorful?!

	I used an 8″x8″ dimensional frame. I took the glass out and glued the box bottom to the background. I cut two 1″x1 1/2″ pieces of black card stock. I glued one piece in the box top inside the left outer edge, bent it toward the center and glued the bottom of the card stock to the background. I glued the other piece of card stock to the inside of the right outer edge of the top and the outside of the bottom left outer edge. In other words, the box top is secured to the background by one piece of card stock and secured to the box bottom with the other. What’s in your chocolate box of life?