VALENTINE'S DAY is around the corner and you really don't have to spend a lot of money to share your love sentiments - you can craft your love.
And your sweet thought doesn't have to be for the one you love, but also can be for those for whom you have love - your son's teacher, the neighbor who helped you shovel or even a former junior high friend with whom you have re-connected. Spread the love around and make the creative time worth it. You will certainly brighten up somebody's day.
Working with polymer clay can be really fun for this holiday as it yields all kinds of possibilities. Earrings, necklace pendants and clay hearts are crafts that first come to mind when thinking of polymer clay. There are so many more projects out for this versatile crafting supply. Creating a whimsical candy bowl is one of them. With just a few colors of polymer clay, you can make a heart-shaped, multi-colored bowl. People love holiday-themed gifts because then they have something to use next year for their sweet treats.
Play with the color combinations to make this a really fun bowl for your candy. Combinations of pinks, purples and reds will pop, and the traditional pink, white and red will also be sure to please.
To give the craft a little extra something, a brush of metallic pigment powder over the entire piece takes it from a kid-looking clay project to a rich and more finished look.
For this project, you will need three blocks of polymer clay, a rolling pin or brayer (a smooth soup can also works), an oven, a piece of cardboard, scissors, a soft-bristle makeup brush and a light-colored metallic pigment powder (Pearl Ex powders can be found in the art aisle of local craft stores.)
Begin by softening your clay by rolling small pieces of it in your palm. The clay will be tough at first, but will soften quickly from the warmth of your hands. Once it's soft, break off small pieces and roll into balls a little larger than 1/4 inch in circumference. Try to keep the balls as close to the same size as possible. Roll out balls of all three colors.
Flatten the balls into polka dots with the rolling pin or brayer. Roll one way across the ball and then roll the other until they are flat and about 1/8-inch thick.
Once all of the balls have been flattened, lay out the dots so that they overlap, creating a sheet of dots. Mix up the colors. Do not use all of the dots; save some for the sides of your dish. Make the sheet big enough to form the base of the candy dish. Be sure to overlap each dot about 1/8 inch.
Roll the sheet of dots with the rolling pin or brayer. Be sure to go both ways on the sheet, across and up and down. This will connect the dots to each other.
Cut a heart out of the sheet with the scissors. Set aside. Use the remaining balls and make a line of dots, overlapping by about 1/8 inch and alternating colors. Roll the rolling pin over the line and be sure to go both ways, across and up and down.
Secure the side of the dish by lining it up with the tip of the heart and gently pressing the bottom edge to the edge of the bottom of the dish. Continue pressing the side around the heart until you have come back to the tip. Pinch the two ends of the sides together at the tip. Create the indent of the top of the heart by pinching it with your fingers. Go back over the seam of the dish and press a little more firmly to be sure the side is stuck to the bottom.
Use the makeup brush to brush a thin coat of pigment powder over the dish.
Bake according to the polymer clay instructions.

Claudia Esbenshade is a Lancaster Newspapers reporter. Contact her at Cesbenshade@Lnpnews.com